Before he could reply, Christina moved out of his arms.
She slowly walked across the room. Her stride was every bit as sassy as the smile she gave him over her shoulder when she tossed her hair behind her. When she'd opened the doors to the foyer, she turned back to him. 'You have to go home now, Lyon. Good day.'
It was happening again. Damn if she wasn't dismissing him. 'Christina,' Lyon growled, 'come back here. I'm not finished with you yet. I want to ask you something.'
'Ask me what?' Christina responded, edging out of the room.
'Quit looking so suspicious,' Lyon muttered. He folded his arms across his chest and frowned at her. 'First I would like to ask you if you'd like to go to the opera next-'
Christina stopped him by shaking her head. 'The Countess would forbid your escort.'
She had the audacity to smile over her denial. Lyon sighed in reaction.
'You're like a chameleon, do you know that? One second you're frowning and the next you're smiling. Do you think you'll ever make sense to me?' Lyon asked.
'I believe you've just insulted me.'
'I have not insulted you,' Lyon muttered, ignoring the amusement he heard in her voice. Lord, she was giving him such an innocent look now. It was enough to set his teeth grinding. 'You're deliberately trying to make me daft, aren't you?'
'If you think calling me a lizard will win my affections, you're sadly mistaken.'
He ignored that comment. 'Will you go riding with me in the park tomorrow?'
'Oh, I don't ride.'
'You don't?' he asked. 'Have you never learned? I'd be happy to offer you instruction, Christina. With a gentle mount…
Christina struggled to contain her amusement. 'Oh, I'm not laughing at you,' she lied. 'I just don't like to ride.'
'Why is that?' Lyon asked.
'The saddle is too much of a distraction,' Christina confessed. She turned and hurried across the foyer. Lyon rushed after her, but Christina was already halfway up the steps before he'd reached the bannister.
'The saddle is a distraction?' he called after her, certain he hadn't heard her correctly.
'Yes, Lyon.'
God's truth, he didn't have an easy argument for that ridiculous statement.
He gave up. Christina had just won this battle.
The war, however, was still to be decided.
Lyon stood there, shaking his head. He decided to be content watching the gentle sway of her hips, and it wasn't until she was out of sight that he suddenly realized what it was that had bothered him when he first saw her.
Princess Christina was barefoot.
The Countess Patricia was in high spirits when she returned home from her appointment. Calling upon a possible suitor for her niece had been an improper undertaking, yes, but the outcome had been so satisfying, the Countess snickered away any worry of being found out.
Emmett Splickler was everything the Countess had hoped he'd be. She'd prayed Emmett had inherited his father's nasty disposition. Patricia hadn't been disappointed. Emmett was a spineless halfwit, pint-sized in stature and greed. Very like his father, Emmett's crotch controlled his mind. His lust to bed Christina was soon obvious. Why, the man positively drooled when the Countess explained the reason for her visit. From the moment she'd mentioned marriage to Christina, the stupid man became jelly in her hands. He agreed to sign over anything and everything in order to get his prize.
The Countess knew Christina wasn't going to take to Emmett. The man was too much of a weakling. To placate her niece, Patricia had made a list of possible candidates. She'd even put the odious Marquess of Lyonwood at the top of the lines. It was all a farce, of course, but the Countess wanted Christina docile and unsuspecting for what was to come.
The Countess wasn't about to leave anything to chance.
Under no circumstances would she allow her niece to wed someone as honorable as Lyon.
The reason was very simple. Patricia didn't want just a substantial portion of her father's estate. She meant to have it all.
The plan she laid out for Splickler was shameful, even by a serpent's measure. Emmett had blanched when she calmly told him he'd have to kidnap her niece, haul her off to Gretna Green, and force her to marry him there. He could or could not rape the girl before or after the marriage certificate was signed. It made no matter to the Countess.
Emmett was more frightened of being found out than she was. When she told him to include two or three other men to help restrain Christina, the stupid man quit his complaining and grasped the plan wholeheartedly. She'd noticed the bulge grow between his legs, knew his mind had returned to the picture of bedding her niece, assumed then he'd be desperate enough to do what was required.
The worries exhausted the Countess. There was always the remote possibility that Emmett's cowardice was greater than his lust to bed Christina. The plan could fail if there was any interference.
For that reason, Patricia knew she was going to have to get rid of Christina's filthy Indian family. If her niece didn't marry Emmett, and she ended up with someone as strong-willed as Lyon, the union couldn't possibly last long. Christina's upbringing was bound to come out sooner or later. She wouldn't be able to hide her savage instincts forever. And what normal husband would put up with her disgusting ideas about love and honor? He'd be horrified by her true nature, of course. Though it wouldn't be possible for him to set her aside, for divorce was an unheard-of undertaking, he certainly would turn his back on her and turn to another woman for his needs.
Such rejection might well send Christina scurrying back to the savages who'd raised her. The stupid chit still insisted on returning home. The Countess couldn't let that happen. Christina had become her means of getting back into the ton. Even those who remembered her past indiscretions were so taken with Christina that they forced themselves to include the Countess again.
Last of all her worries was Edward. Christina's father wasn't going to take it kindly that she'd outwitted him. As goodnatured as she remembered him to be, Edward would probably still try to get his hands on a share of the fortune. Christina would certainly be able to control her father, the Countess believed.
Oh, yes, it was imperative that the little bitch remain in England until the Countess was finished with her. Imperative indeed.
Chapter Six
Edward kept his private quarters in a separate building adjacent to the main wing of the palace. I decided not to wait to tell him what his men were doing. You see, child, I couldn't believe my husband was responsible. 1 wanted to place the blame on his officers.
When I entered Edward's office by the side door, 1 was too stunned by what 1 saw to make my presence known. My husband was with his lover. They'd shed their clothes and were cavorting like animals on the floor. His mistress's name was Nicolle. She rode Edward like a stallion. My husband was shouting crude words of encouragement, his eyes tightly closed in ecstasy.
The woman must have sensed my presence. She suddenly turned her head to look at me. I was sure she'd cry out my presence to Edward. She didn't. No, Nicolle continued her obscene gyrations, but she was smiling at me all the while. I thought it was a smile of victory.
I don't remember how long I stood there. When I returned to my own rooms, I began to plan my escape.
