airport.
Lizzie emerged from Arrivals to be greeted by a driver in the palace uniform. He took charge of her bags and escorted her to a waiting limousine. When she was settled in the back he showed her the well-stocked bar, asked what she would like to drink, and poured her an orange juice.
‘It’s thirty miles to the palace,’ he said, taking his place behind the wheel. ‘I hope you enjoy the journey.’
The first part of the trip lay through some of the most magnificent rugged scenery Lizzie had ever seen. She watched, holding her breath, as mountains gave way to pine forests, where wild bears still roamed, and then to lakes, serene and impossibly blue under the summer sky. At last they neared Durmann, the capital, turning off just before the city to sweep down the long approach to the palace.
It was a grand structure, a quarter mile long and built from a honey-coloured stone that looked beautiful in the soft glow of the sunset. Two Z-shaped staircases adorned the front, on one of which a man was waiting to greet her. Lizzie recog
nised Frederick from the ball. Smiling, he explained that he would be her host until the King was free.
They embarked on what seemed like a long journey, down endless corridors, until at last they reached the apartment set aside for her use. It was a charming place, a bedroom, a living room and bathroom, with modern facilities, yet a touch of old-worlde grandeur. When Frederick had gone Lizzie stripped off for a shower and a change of clothes that left her feeling ready to tackle anything, even Daniel.
Especially Daniel. Wryly she made the admission to herself.
She wasn’t only here as a historian seeking facts. She was here as a woman who’d been passionately kissed and wasn’t prepared to let it go at that. She considered the elegant trouser suit she’d just put on, and was dissatisfied with it. The green silk dress would be better. It took a moment to change and brush out her red hair again. Dame Elizabeth would have been proud of her.
And so, perhaps, would Bess. ‘Be open to love,’ she’d said, and the soft pounding of Lizzie’s heart was warning her that suddenly she wasn’t as armoured as usual.
The knock on the door brought a smile to her lips. Daniel at last.
But it wasn’t Daniel.
‘Your supper,’ Frederick said, ushering in a footman with a trolley.
Supper was delicious, a wide selection of dishes, all perfectly prepared, and a bottle of excellent wine. Frederick was charming company, but he wasn’t Daniel.
‘I expect you want to go to bed now,’ he said at last, rising. ‘I’m sorry His Majesty couldn’t see you today, but I’m sure it’ll be early tomorrow.’
They bade each other a civil goodnight and he departed, leaving Lizzie feeling very cross indeed. She reminded herself that Daniel hadn’t specified a time. She couldn’t really complain. It was just…
She sighed. It was just that if he’d been half as eager to see her as she was to see him he would have rushed to her.
She watched satellite television for an hour, but took nothing in. She went to stand on her balcony overlooking the front of the palace, where floodlights picked out the two staircases and highlighted the building’s elegant, symmetrical beauty. From somewhere above her head a clock chimed midnight. She returned indoors and closed the windows.
He wasn’t coming now. She took another shower and put on a soft peach silk nightdress before climbing into the vast antique bed that looked big enough for ten. It had probably been built for an orgy, she thought despondently. It certainly hadn’t been intended for a solitary sleeper.
She wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, or how much time passed, but it was very dark when she opened her eyes to the sound of somebody knocking on the outer door of her apartment. She whisked on the peach silk robe that matched her nightdress and hurried out of the bedroom to the main room. The soft tap on her front door came again, and she opened it cautiously.
The corridor outside was dimly lit, and empty except for one man.
‘Good evening,’ Daniel said with a smile. ‘Forgive me for arriving at such an untimely hour, but I thought it best to be discreet.’
‘Of course,’ she agreed, backing away to let him in.
Daniel quietly closed the door behind him. Lizzie went
to the main light switch, but he halted her with his hand on her wrist.
‘I think not,’ he said, switching on a very small table lamp. ‘This will be sufficient.’
The tiny lamp gave a reasonable illumination, while still leaving the room half hidden in shadow. But she could discern enough of Daniel to feast her eyes. He was in day clothes, but without a jacket, his shirt open at the throat, looking more informal than she’d seen him before.
Lizzie felt at a slight disadvantage. She was sufficiently worldly wise to have realised that this moment would probably come. Even to hope for it. But had she hoped for it quite so soon?
Then she put her chin up. She was alone with the most dangerously attractive man she’d ever met, his dark eyes were regarding her with appreciation, and if she couldn’t cope with that then it was time she retired from the fray and took up something easier, like taming lions.
‘I’m sure you understand why I’ve come here so late, and so discretely,’ he said, still with his eyes on her. ‘In fact, I’ve been sure that we shared a perfect understanding from the first moment. Neither of us is exactly inexperienced in the ways of-shall we say-intrigue?’
She smiled, beginning to feel at ease. ‘Does it matter what we call it?’
‘Some people believe that to define things exactly is essential. Others feel that if the essence is right, the rest is froth. You clearly belong in the second group, which I must admit surprises me a little.’
‘Oh? Why?’
‘As a historian I should have thought you valued precise definition. And you are here as a historian, are you not?’
‘In the presence of a king I am always a historian,’ she riposted. ‘Among other things.’
He laughed. ‘Yes, let us not forget that I’m a king, because if I weren’t you wouldn’t be here.’
Not strictly true, she thought, looking at his throat and the few inches of chest she could see beneath it, rising and falling with some emotion that excited her. There was more excitement when he touched her face and wreathed his fingers in the hair that fell over her shoulders, drawing her swiftly close to cradle her head against his shoulder.
He covered her mouth swiftly and suddenly, kissing her with lips that demanded more than caressed. There was no tenderness, just an assertion of power, but while one part of her rebelled at this, another part, infuriatingly, was thrilled at the complete, unquestioning confidence of this man. His power came less from his rank than from his ability to drive a woman into a turmoil of dizzying sensation by his kiss alone. When he released her she was gasping, and shocked at how easily he could make her want to yield.
His face bore a look of resolution, as though he’d just come to a decision. Lizzie waited with pounding heart for what he would say next. But when the words came, they were the last she had expected.
‘I think the time has come to drop all pretence between us,’ he said in a voice that was curiously hard for a man in the throes of passion.
‘I’m not sure I understand you.’
‘I believe you do. When we spoke in London I had-shall we say certain suspicions? Which you obligingly confirmed. You’ve come here to sell, and I am prepared to buy.’
‘Prepared-to buy?’ Lizzie echoed slowly, trying to silence the monstrous thought that had reared up in her brain.
‘At a sensible price, yes. You obviously know the value of what you bring to market-’
‘And what
He looked surprised for a moment, but then shrugged. ‘You’re quite right to put negotiations on a businesslike footing. I’m prepared to be reasonable about money, even generous, but don’t try to overcharge me-’
He got no further. What he might have said next was cut off by a stinging slap from a very angry woman. Then they were staring at each other, each trying to believe that it had happened.
Lizzie had never slapped a man’s face before. She considered it undignified and violent. Now, in a turmoil of hurt pride, hurt feelings and sheer outrage, she was discovering how satisfying it could be.
