A Scandalous Adventure Read Online Free PDF Page A

princess, unfortunately, is not. Also unfortunately, we were not told how unhappy the princess was about this marriage—she did not wish to marry a man she’d never met—so we had not expected her to run away. Even more unfortunately, her father, Prince Gottfried, is not a man to be… I do not know how to say it tactfully.”
    â€œIt is impossible to say it tactfully. He is a man who sees insult everywhere and makes decisions in anger. Without stopping to think. Something like this—he would not only break off the alliance but might declare war. That would make both our countries more vulnerable to Prussia,” said the general.
    â€œDear me, he sounds like a most foolish and unpleasant fellow,” said Lady Augusta, frowning. “I assure you we will not say anything that might create difficulties for you.”
    â€œIt all sounds very unfortunate,” said Susannah. “However, I can understand why your princess might have been reluctant to accept a marriage arranged by a man like her father. She seems to be nothing but a pawn in all this.”
    â€œShe is no more a pawn than Prince Conrad is.” Bergen lifted his hands in a pacific gesture. “A ruler—any member of the royal family—has a duty to do what is best for his country. A princess just as much as a prince. And this princess is in many ways very foolish indeed. Unlike her father, Conrad is a man of much honor and kindness, and he is most concerned to do what is right.”
    â€œThen I cannot approve of the princess’s behavior,” said Olivia. “If she truly did not wish to marry your prince, she should have told her father so. She should not go around creating difficulties for other people. That is simply selfish.” She stopped suddenly and blushed, as if embarrassed to have spoken so forcefully.
    Susannah smiled at her. It was so like Olivia, this outburst. Having suffered so much from the thoughtless selfishness of her own parents, Olivia was not tolerant of selfishness in herself or in others. Susannah was not a particularly selfish person herself—at least she didn’t think she was—but she didn’t have Olivia’s willingness to sacrifice herself for others.
    She noticed that Captain Staufer was smiling at Olivia too, a gentle, kindly sort of smile. Far more respectful and admiring than the impudent looks he had been directing at her. With a sniff and a toss of her head, she looked away from him.
    Lady Augusta apparently decided that this was a social occasion and rang for coffee and cakes. She began to make smiling chitchat with the general, giving Olivia a chance to recover her composure. The general responded, but almost without thought.

Five
    Staufer did not know what had gotten into the general, but he seemed to have withdrawn into his own thoughts and was listening with only half his attention. Lady Augusta chatted away at him, and Bergen responded with smiles and nods, but his glances kept sliding over to Lady Olivia. She, in turn, grew more flustered every time the general looked at her.
    Max did not mind, since this left him free to concentrate on Lady Susannah. She was every bit as attractive as he had first thought—even with her hair pinned back severely, her posture stiffly perfect, and her dress buttoned up to her chin. Did she think that buttoned-up dress disguised her curves? It just made them more tantalizing, especially since that peach hue was deliciously close to the color of her skin.
    She was being a most proper lady. Oh, so very proper. She had poured coffee for everyone and seen to it that they all had pastries. At the moment, she was using her fork to take tiny little bites of her slice of raspberry pastry and then sipping delicately from her cup of coffee. Not a crumb fell on her pretty dress, and whenever a speck of whipped cream escaped to land on her upper lip, she promptly blotted it off with her napkin. He kept hoping she would lick