Page 66 of Lost with a Scot
“What about Aiden and Charles?” Cedric asked.
They’d heard the guards talking about two Englishmen who were locked up in the dungeons with the prince, but Ashton knew that they couldn’t save their friends right now. They’d have to wait out the night.
“We’ll handle that tomorrow as well. I don’t want Yuri to notice anything is amiss. Right now, we have to keep an eye on the captain of the guard. We’ll blend in with the servants and start gaining their trust. I want eyes and ears on Yuri and the captain, and the servants will help us with that.”
“Right...” Cedric kicked the guard’s booted foot deeper into the closet they had shoved him into. By the looks of the cobwebs inside, the closet must rarely be opened, which meant the body would go unseen for at least a little while.
Yuri was clearly a man who did not care about the commoners, and no doubt the palace servants feared for their lives. Ashton had every intention of enlisting their aid in what was to come.
They could lock crucial doors when a signal was given, forcing the royal guards to go down the paths Ashton wanted them to go, or they could create distractions. He didn’t want to risk servants’ lives, he knew they weren’t fighters, but they could contribute in other ways.
“We have work to do,” Ashton said before the two of them slipped away down a darkened corridor, merging with the shadows.
* * *
Anna tensedas someone knocked at her bedchamber door.
“Who is it?”
“Your future husband. I’ve come to escort you to dinner,” Fain said.
Anna wanted to hurl a vase at the closed door, but no matter how good it might feel at the moment, it wouldn’t help her situation. Fain wasn’t her husband. Her husband was back in England. Anna would have given anything in that moment to be in London, in bed with Aiden, his strong arms wrapped around her as he told her stories and made love to her. She would have given her soul for one more kiss... but even that was a bargain beyond her reach.
She went to the bedchamber door, reluctantly opening it. Since she had arrived at the Winter Palace, she hadn’t been locked in, but she was always followed by at least two guards.
Fain stood in the corridor wearing a black evening coat and trousers. She was so used to seeing him in uniform that it startled her to see him dressed as a nobleman. He’d even taken care to comb his wavy black hair, and the scent of cologne drifted toward her, making her nose tingle.
His eyes roamed over her, approving of the dark-green velvet gown she wore. It was one of her older dresses, most likely found in a trunk in an attic, but she was grateful for the long sleeves and full skirts to keep her warm in her room, since the servants weren’t allowed to light a fire in her chamber, nor was she allowed to have any candles. Everyone must assume she might set the palace alight in revenge. Honestly, the thought had crossed her mind.
“You look well,” Fain said, attempting a chivalrous tone.
Anna stared at him. Did he honestly expect her to swoon at his compliments when he was the man who had murdered her parents?
“When I compliment you, Anna, it is in your best interest to thank me.” His tone held a warning, but she was in no mood to placate him.
“Captain, you seem to forget I’m not a trained spaniel who sits upon command. I am the daughter of a king, the kingyoumurdered. Within my body beats the heart of a queen. I’m not a creature to be broken. If you want a wife who bows to your every command and whimpers in fear when you scowl, then you have chosen poorly.”
She pushed past him and began to walk toward the stairs that led to the dining room. For a moment she didn’t think he would follow her, but his boots rang out on the stone a moment before he grasped her arm. He spun her into the nearest wall, pinning her there and wrenching her arm painfully behind her.
“If I but twist another inch,princess, your arm will snap. And a broken arm will not stop me from claiming your body after we are wed.”
Anna twisted in the direction that alleviated the pain in her arm, and broke free of the lock he had on her, but in doing so, it brought her face-to-face with him. His eyes widened slightly in surprise that she had managed to reposition herself out of what he likely believed was a hold that should have kept her still.
“I may not live that long,” she said and shoved him. She aimed for his shoulder, knocking him off balance more easily than hitting him square in the chest. “Now, leave me be so I can enjoy dinner.” She once again left the captain standing there staring at her in utter bafflement.
The few extra seconds it took him to recover gave her just enough time to hide the dagger she’d just stolen from him in her skirts. He had several blades tucked on his body, and she prayed he wouldn’t miss this one. Now all she had to do was survive dinner without him noticing she had stolen a weapon.
Thankfully, the heavy velvet gown had a hidden pocket sewn into the folds. Nearly all of her gowns did. They had been created for the express purpose of concealing a pistol or a dagger. Her father had taken her safety seriously.
Anna smiled as she reached the dining room. When she saw her uncle, she wiped her face of any hint of triumph, and instead looked defeated. If she was to dine with devils, she had to beat them at their own game.
CHAPTER17
Anna’s hands trembled as she held still in front of a tall cheval mirror while a maid finished lacing up the back of the pale-blue satin wedding gown she wore. The gown had been taken from one of the minor noble families who had a daughter close to her age. Most of Anna’s court gowns had burned in the Summer Palace, and when she’d insisted on a fancy gown, in hopes of slowing down the wedding, her uncle had apparently taken what he wanted from someone else.
Her uncle had delighted in telling her over dinner how he had made the noble families fall in line by executing “a few” of the eldest sons of the most powerful men in the country. Facing threats against the lives of their remaining children and wives, the noblemen had conceded to Yuri’s control of the throne. Alone in her room after dinner, she’d wept for those young men, men who’d been friends with her brother. Men who were good and kind, men who would have followed her brother to the ends of the earth. They’d paid for their loyalty to Alexei with their lives. Then as her tears had dried, Anna had felt a rage unlike anything else in her life burn bright as a newborn star in the sky. She would have vengeance on her uncle, Fain, and all of the other men who’d helped kill her family and hurt her people.
Now in the light of a new day, Anna still felt that burning desire to get revenge, but she was thinking more clearly than she had been the previous night. Drawing in a deep breath, Anna stared at her reflection in the mirror and saw a stranger looking back. In an hour, she would be Captain Fain’s property, and by tonight her brother would be dead. If ever hell existed on the mortal plane, this was surely it. But she would not give in to this fate without a fight worthy of a queen of Ruritania.
