“Well, you see, love, I never meant to kidnap you. You were supposed to have a little accident on the road, but the men I hired failed to successfully make that happen. Because, of course, poor, sweet, naïve, unloved London would find somebody who couldn’t help but save her. Your knight in shining armor ruined everything. What is it about young pretty little things? Men cannot help but be drawn to you, to help you out of whatever peril you found yourself in. God, to be young again.”
“You sound like you hate me.” My hands shook, and even as I tried to get myself out of my restraints, I knew my aunt had been correct. Every time I moved, the bands went tighter, digging into my skin.
How was I going to get out of this?
I couldn’t rely on anyone else. I needed to get to safety... But how?
“I do. But rest assured it’s not anything that you’ve done to me personally. I can’t have you going to your grave thinking ‘Oh, how could I have wronged my beloved Aunt Rebecca?’”
I narrowed my gaze at her. “What I’m thinking is more along the lines of ‘I can’t believe Aunt Rebecca is such a cunt.’”
Her brows lifted, and I thought she was going to shoot me or have someone come out and just stab me or something, but instead, she laughed. “Oh my, look who’s got teeth. Well, good for you. I always hoped that you would turn out more like me in the end.”
I swallowed, trying to get some moisture in my mouth. “So I was supposed to have an accident, but now you’ve kidnapped me? What’s the next part of the plan?”
“Listen to you talking about a next plan. I mean, how did you manage to find a security consultant, in Paris nonetheless?”
“Good things come to those who are nearly assassinated by their aunts.”
She waved a hand and tsked. When she sat back, she gave me an easy smile. “Relax, we’re going home. You will die in Alden, my love. Now, we’ll have to stage it so that it appears you returned home unbeknownst to Roman, Breck, and Wilder. You thought you were going to fix your little predicament, and then you had an unfortunate accident there. Which is fine. I’ll pick a narrative.”
“You’re crazy.” I knew of course that you should never call a crazy person crazy, but sometimes you had to call a spade, a spade.
“No, I’m not crazy. You think you’re the only one who has ever wanted anything in her life? You’re the only one who’s ever fought for anything? See, with the freedom you were given, all you wanted was someone to notice you and to love you. In my generation, before the laws were different, I couldn’t even date unless my husband had passed away. And after your father died, well, I couldn’t take the throne. All I could do was be an adviser to the young upstart. If he’d been underage, I could have ruled and set things up nicely for myself. But oh no, I had to be content to stay on the sidelines watching children lead my country, my home.”
“That means what? You’re trying to steal it to give it to Barkley? He’d just as soon ruin Alden and you in a breath. He’d be wasted most of the time. High too.”
“No, he will fall in line, or I will remind him that there is a codicil that states should the ruler be determined to be unfit, and ruled so by the Council of Lords, that a regent will be appointed over him. As he’s my son, I will rule.”
I blinked at her, my heart racing as I tried to catch up. “My God, so this is what crazy looks like. I’ve always wondered.”
She pushed to her feet and strolled over to me, placing her hands in her pockets. I tilted my chin up to glare at her. Even though she had the upper hand and the higher ground, I still gave her my best evil-death glare. “So, why lie? Why pretend?”
“Because this has been in the works for a very long time. At the very least, I was hoping to influence the court with your marriage, but you always seem to thwart my attempts. I could have ruled through you, and I’d have had those men’s balls in a vice. Only every young man I introduced you to, you found something wrong with him. You were never satisfied. You always wanted more. You never wanted to be a princess. Over the years, do you understand how frustrating it has been? If you had just done as I told you, things would be easier now.”
“Well, it’s never going to happen now.”
“You’re right. It’s not. Don’t take it personally. I did care for you.” She looked at her nails rather than my face as she said it.
“Oh yes, of course.” I shook my left wrist. “These restraints prove that.”
“Don’t be mouthy. No one likes that in a woman.”
“You know what’s weird? In the last three days, I have learned more about love and connection than I have ever known. My brothers love me, but you kept me separated from them most of the time. And you did that on purpose, so I wouldn’t know how much they loved me. I could hate you for that alone.”
She snorted. “Oh sweetheart, look at you having opinions and thoughts all on your own, not ones that were given to you.”
My hands shook. “I always had these thoughts. I felt sorry for you. You had no one to love you, so I made that my job. Too bad. But now that I see you clearly, I find you lacking.”
Over the years, I’d learned to read Aunt Rebecca’s rage button. It was in the corner of her mouth, the way it pressed ever so tightly when she was furious,
