‘Mr Pridham wanted to engage a doctor to examine me—’
Tristan’s statue-like demeanour shattered. He let out a roar.
‘He did what?’
‘I refused,’ Natalya kept her eyes fixed on the Prince. ‘I persuaded him it was not necessary. You may ask the servants at Farnell Hall if you wish. They will tell you we were Mr and Mrs Quintrell, man and wife, while we were there.’ She raised her chin. ‘I am no longer a maid. I gave myself to Lord Dalmorren out of love. I do not wish to marry anyone else and I doubt they will want to marry me, once they know the truth.’
The Prince turned his outraged gaze upon Tristan. ‘Is this true, Lord Dalmorren?’
‘We shared a room, yes.’
‘And we shared a bed,’ added Natalya, meeting his eyes and daring him to contradict her.
There followed a long, tense silence before Tristan exhaled sharply.
‘She would hardly make up such a story...’ his lips twitched ‘...just to marry a mere baron.’
Only then did Natalya realise she had been holding her breath.
‘But you are the Nineteenth Baron Dalmorren,’ she reminded him, smiling.
The look that passed between them was not lost on the Prince. He shook his head.
‘You are more like your father than I had thought, Natalya,’ he told her, a hint of petulance in his voice. ‘You will let your heart be ruled by love.’
‘I will. If love will have me.’ She held her hands out to Tristan. ‘You see, I do not want to be a princess. I want to be a lover, a companion, to face life’s challenges side by side with my mate.’
The Prince closed his eyes and gave a little shudder.
Tristan came over to her, smiling. ‘Such language, my love, you are embarrassing his Serene Highness.’
‘Which shows you just how far beyond redemption I am sunk!’ She took his hands and held them against her breast. ‘I love you, Tristan, and I will marry you, if you will have me. But if you have doubts, if you are not perfectly sure, I pray you will tell me. I am not quite destitute; I shall throw myself on Mrs Ancrum’s mercy. I am sure she will take me on as her companion.’
‘No need for that.’ He smiled down at her, his eyes warm. ‘I quite forgot to tell you, she informed me before I left that she has made you her heir.’
‘There you are, then, I am not at all to be pitied and you need not feel obliged to offer for me.’
‘I do not feel in the least obliged,’ he muttered, pulling her close. ‘I love you to distraction, my heart’s darling, and I want to marry you. More than anything in this whole damned world.’
He kissed her then and for a long, long moment she forgot everything but the comfort of his embrace.
Until a cough from his Serene Highness reminded them of their surroundings.
‘Da, da, you have convinced me that you will have one another and I shall not stand in your way. But there are practicalities we must discuss.’
Tristan dragged his thoughts away from kissing Natalya and reluctantly raised his head. ‘Practicalities? You need not concern yourself, Prince Borkusov, I will deal with everything.’
‘You are marrying my granddaughter, Baron Dalmorren. It must be done correctly.’
Natalya twisted out of Tristan’s arms and turned to the Prince.
‘Oh, I thought you had quite cast me off.’
‘My lands and fortune must remain in Russian hands. If you will not come to Russia, then I cannot make you my heir. However, you remain my granddaughter and I shall do what I can for you while I am in England.’ He paused. ‘Let me see. By your English calendar it is the thirteenth today. If the marriage can take place before I leave on the twenty-second I will attend and give you my blessing.’
Natalya shook her head. ‘It takes three weeks for the banns to be called.’
‘We might obtain a special licence,’ suggested Tristan. The Prince raised an enquiring brow and he explained, ‘The Archbishop of Canterbury will grant a special licence and a couple may be married wherever and whenever they wish.’
‘Ah. Then you may leave that to me. I shall attend to it.’
Tristan coughed. ‘I think you might find, your Highness, that I need to visit the Archbishop in person.’
The Prince waved this away with an imperious hand.
‘My aide-de-camp shall arrange the whole. Natalya will be married at the embassy, as befits her rank as my granddaughter. It is not impossible that one or two of the Allied Sovereigns, perhaps even your Prince Regent, might attend. If they are not engaged elsewhere.’
‘Wait, wait, I pray you,’ Natalya objected. ‘I have not agreed to any of this!’
The Prince looked at her, one brow raised. ‘But you are desperate to marry your Baron, are you not?’
‘I am determined to marry him,’ she said. ‘But—’
‘Then it shall be as I say. I deplore your decision to marry beneath you, but I am a generous prince. I am a benevolent grandfather. I shall bestow upon you a handsome wedding settlement.’ He glanced at the clock. ‘Now. It is very late. We must have a room prepared for Lord Dalmorren tonight.’ He reached for the bell, then stopped. ‘No. I shall go and find Piotr myself.’
When he had left the room, Natalya and Tristan remained at a distance, looking warily at one another. Tristan was the first to break the uneasy silence.
‘I never expected his Serene Highness to show so much tact.’
‘Nor did I. But...’
‘But what, my darling?’
She looked at him. ‘Oh, Tristan, have I coerced you most dreadfully into this marriage? I never meant to do that.’
He laughed and closed the gap between them in a couple of strides.
‘I love you so desperately that I would marry you under any circumstances.’ He caught her hands. ‘The Russian Embassy is not where I expected to become leg-shackled, but it will do admirably. However,
