A Dangerous Disguise Read Online Free PDF Page B

promised.
    "I would love to see them, but I suppose they are not in London."
    "Most of them are in the country." A thought seemed to strike him. "Your Highness – "
    "Ola," she corrected him. She wanted to hear her name from his mouth.
    "Ola," he said. "I must compliment you on your English accent."
    "Oh no!" she disclaimed. "In Oltenitza I am held to speak English well, but in England I know that my deficiencies must be very apparent."
    "Not at all. In fact, your accent has grown more naturally English as we have talked."
    He was right. She had been so absorbed in his company that she had forgotten to maintain her Coburg accent.
    "Ah, but I am a great mimic," she said quickly. "My accent improves because I am talking with you."
    "That must be it," he agreed.
    "Go on telling me about your horses."
    "I have one in London, which I ride in the Row every morning – "
    "Excuse me? Row? You all ride in rows?" she asked, trying to look as puzzled as possible. She needed to show a little ignorance to put him off the scent.
    "The Row is Rotten Row, in Hyde Park."
    "It is rotten? Then how do you ride there?"
    He laughed. "It isn't really rotten. Nearly two hundred years ago we had a king called William III, who used it as a short cut to get to Kensington Palace. So it became known as 'the king's road', which, in French, is 'route de roi'.
    "And as no Englishman has ever been able to speak French without mangling it, it became corrupted to 'Rotten Row'."
    "So, this William III – he was French?"
    "No, he was Dutch."
    "So why did they not name the road in Dutch?"
    "Because the English are even worse at Dutch than they are at French," said the Duke grinning.
    "Gott in Himmel!" said Ola, feeling that a touch of German would serve her well at this moment.
    "Exactly!" he said, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
    "You English are all wahnsinnig."
    "I have a horrid feeling that that means stupid."
    "No, no, it means crazy."
    "Oh yes, crazy. I agree to that."
    "I think I should leave quickly before my brain explodes."
    "No!"
    He took her hand in a firm grip.
    "You must not leave," he said, and there was a strange, intense light in his eyes. "You must not."
    Ola could not have left at that moment for anything in the world. While he held her hand in his so powerfully and looked at her with that disturbing light in his eyes, she knew herself to be helpless.
    She had a wild impulse to say, "I will do whatever you wish. You have only to command me."
    But she must fight it, remembering that she was a Princess, and he was a commoner. It was hard because everything inside her was saying that this was a man she could admire, even adore. She longed to yield to that feeling, but she dared not.
    Fear made her behave imperiously, looking down at his hand grasping hers, then giving him an amazed stare.
    "Forgive me," he said. "I had no right to touch you against your will."
    She wanted to cry out, 'But it isn't against my will. I want to touch you back. I want to be in your arms, feeling your lips on mine. I shall always want that.'
    But she only said,
    "Why are you so abrupt and hasty?"
    "Because it's very important that you don't leave. More important than I can say."
    "Why is it so important?" she asked.
    "For reasons which – which I cannot explain. Please – stay with me. And do not be offended."
    Her heart swelled with joy because she was sure she understood him. He would not let her go because he was as drawn to her as she was to him. But, of course, he could not say so.
    "I am not offended," she said gently.
    "And you will stay?"
    She smiled.
    "I have no choice, since you are still holding my hand so tightly"
    He looked down at their clasped hands as though he had only just discovered them. For a long moment he did not move. He seemed possessed by the tension between them, as was she.
    "If I release you," he said slowly, at last, "will you promise not to run away?"
    She sighed, so softly that he could not hear.
    "I promise."
    Reluctantly he