Read Online Princess Annie by Linda Lael Miller - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Linda Lael Miller
Tags: SOC035000
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Rafael, mounted on a huge black gelding, leaned down to grip the mare’s bridle and rein her in.
His face was stiff with fury. “What are you doing, riding out here alone?” he demanded. “How did you get away from the stables without an escort? I left strict orders that no one— no one, Miss Trevarren—was to go riding unaccompanied.”
Annie raised her chin and willed herself not to cry. “No female you mean,” she pointed out crisply. She couldn’t imagine Mr. Barrett following such a silly rule, or Lucian, and certainly not Rafael himself, even though he was probably in the most danger of all. “I am not used to being held prisoner in the houses I visit, sir.”
Rafael’s horse grew impatient and began to dance and strain at the bit. He controlled the animal easily, and Annie was affected by the sight in a curiously elemental way that caused her to shift in the saddle. “Perhaps,” the prince countered coldly, “you do not cause disruption in the other houses you visit. You are free to roam within the keep’s walls, Miss Trevarren, but in the future you will do so in the company of a guard.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. There was no reasoning with this man. Why attempt it? In the course of helping Phaedra escape St. James Keep and a forced marriage, Annie would be free of the place as well. For the time being, however, she could only hold her tongue and try to follow the rules. It wouldn’t do to arouse suspicion.
Rafael’s manner softened. “Come,” he said, and a tentative smile was his peace offering. “I’ll show you the lake.”
Annie had been bracing herself for the disappointment of having to turn back, so Rafael’s invitation came as a pleasant surprise. “Have you spent a lot of time there?” she inquired, riding behind him through the orchard, with blossoms covering the ground and billowing like clouds over their heads.
The smile Rafael tossed back over one shoulder was almost free of strain. He might have been a carefree young boy, instead of a widower and the prince of a country in the throes of violent change. “There’s a cottage on this side of the water. Barrett and I used to fish for trout there, when we came to Bavia for a holiday, and swim when the weather was warm enough.”
Rafael’s transformation was incredible; the nearer they drew to Crystal Lake, the more relaxed he seemed. He rode beside Annie through a forest of pine and fir trees, smiling as he told of the time Edmund Barrett had climbed too high and one of the grooms had to fetch a ladder to get him down.
Here was a man, Annie reflected, who lived in a castle and reigned over a country. He was undoubtedly very wealthy, and yet the things that made him happy were simple ones. Knowing that gave Annie a bereft feeling; she wished she could show Rafael her beloved Puget Sound, with its dense fringes of blue-green trees and the snow-covered mountains dwarfing it all. She wanted to take him to her parents’ island plantation in the South Pacific, too, to walk and run on the pristine white beaches with him, and teach him how to gather coconuts and eat their delicious fruit.
She wanted something more, as well. The thought of it brought a blush to her face and made her heart beat faster, but even then she knew the dream was not just scandalous, it was impossible.
Rafael would stay in Bavia, and he would almost certainly die there.
CHAPTER 4
T he cottage was a small stone structure on the rocky shore of the lake. It sported a sturdy gambrel roof of plain shingles, and the leaded glass windows were framed with weathered white shutters. Weeds and wildflowers grew right up to the walls, and it was plain that no one had used the place in a very long time.
The prince dismounted first and held the mare’s reins for Annie. Because she was wearing a divided skirt, and she hadn’t expected company on the expedition, she’d ridden astride, and being forced to swing one leg over the saddle, with
His face was stiff with fury. “What are you doing, riding out here alone?” he demanded. “How did you get away from the stables without an escort? I left strict orders that no one— no one, Miss Trevarren—was to go riding unaccompanied.”
Annie raised her chin and willed herself not to cry. “No female you mean,” she pointed out crisply. She couldn’t imagine Mr. Barrett following such a silly rule, or Lucian, and certainly not Rafael himself, even though he was probably in the most danger of all. “I am not used to being held prisoner in the houses I visit, sir.”
Rafael’s horse grew impatient and began to dance and strain at the bit. He controlled the animal easily, and Annie was affected by the sight in a curiously elemental way that caused her to shift in the saddle. “Perhaps,” the prince countered coldly, “you do not cause disruption in the other houses you visit. You are free to roam within the keep’s walls, Miss Trevarren, but in the future you will do so in the company of a guard.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. There was no reasoning with this man. Why attempt it? In the course of helping Phaedra escape St. James Keep and a forced marriage, Annie would be free of the place as well. For the time being, however, she could only hold her tongue and try to follow the rules. It wouldn’t do to arouse suspicion.
Rafael’s manner softened. “Come,” he said, and a tentative smile was his peace offering. “I’ll show you the lake.”
Annie had been bracing herself for the disappointment of having to turn back, so Rafael’s invitation came as a pleasant surprise. “Have you spent a lot of time there?” she inquired, riding behind him through the orchard, with blossoms covering the ground and billowing like clouds over their heads.
The smile Rafael tossed back over one shoulder was almost free of strain. He might have been a carefree young boy, instead of a widower and the prince of a country in the throes of violent change. “There’s a cottage on this side of the water. Barrett and I used to fish for trout there, when we came to Bavia for a holiday, and swim when the weather was warm enough.”
Rafael’s transformation was incredible; the nearer they drew to Crystal Lake, the more relaxed he seemed. He rode beside Annie through a forest of pine and fir trees, smiling as he told of the time Edmund Barrett had climbed too high and one of the grooms had to fetch a ladder to get him down.
Here was a man, Annie reflected, who lived in a castle and reigned over a country. He was undoubtedly very wealthy, and yet the things that made him happy were simple ones. Knowing that gave Annie a bereft feeling; she wished she could show Rafael her beloved Puget Sound, with its dense fringes of blue-green trees and the snow-covered mountains dwarfing it all. She wanted to take him to her parents’ island plantation in the South Pacific, too, to walk and run on the pristine white beaches with him, and teach him how to gather coconuts and eat their delicious fruit.
She wanted something more, as well. The thought of it brought a blush to her face and made her heart beat faster, but even then she knew the dream was not just scandalous, it was impossible.
Rafael would stay in Bavia, and he would almost certainly die there.
CHAPTER 4
T he cottage was a small stone structure on the rocky shore of the lake. It sported a sturdy gambrel roof of plain shingles, and the leaded glass windows were framed with weathered white shutters. Weeds and wildflowers grew right up to the walls, and it was plain that no one had used the place in a very long time.
The prince dismounted first and held the mare’s reins for Annie. Because she was wearing a divided skirt, and she hadn’t expected company on the expedition, she’d ridden astride, and being forced to swing one leg over the saddle, with
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