The Prince’s Bride Read Online Free PDF

into setting you
     free,” she told him. “I know your reputation, remember?”
    “I remember a lot of things.”
    Dear Lord. He was impossibly charming when he wanted to be. Just the sound of his
     voice sent her spinning back into the excitement of their brief encounter in the coach,
     when he had touched her so enticingly.
    But she must be sensible. There could be no further intimacies between them.
    “I will return later,” she said decorously as she turned to go. She stopped, however,
     when she spotted Pierre at the far end of the corridor, leaning one shoulder against
     the wall, picking at his teeth with a small stick as he watched her.
    Pierre … who had driven the coach and helped carry Nicholas to this room. Pierre …
     who held the key to the lock and was the only person who could open the compartment
     to deliver meals to the prince.…
    Suddenly conscious of her improper state of dress, Véronique gathered her collar in
     a fist and closed it about her neck as she approached him.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked. “And how long have you been listening?”
    “Long enough,” he replied. “After the commotion on the terrace, I had to check on
     His Royal High and Mighty. The marquis won’t be pleased when he finds out about that
     desk.”
    Véronique raised her chin. “Do not look at me as if it is my fault. The marquis will
     have no one to blame but himself. I would consider it the proper cost of locking a
     man up against his will.”
    Pierre always seemed to wear a permanent scowl on his face, and this morning was no
     different. “Someone’s going to have to clean that up,” he said, “and it ain’t gonna
     be me.”
    She squared her shoulders. “Why not you? You’re as much a part of this as I am.”
    “I have to go fetch him his breakfast.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “Then I suggest you alert the butler. Though I suspect he’s
     already aware of the situation.”
    Pierre had made it clear when they arrived that he did not get on well with the servants.
     He worked among them, but considered himself apart—and above them. He wouldn’t enjoy
     having to speak to the butler about such a matter, for the butler was an intimidating
     man and did not consider Pierre to be his superior.
    Véronique tried to shoulder her way past Pierre, but he grabbed hold of her arm. “I’ve
     got my eye on you.”
    He gazed leeringly down the length of her body.
    Véronique pulled her arm free from his grasp, gave him a fierce look of warning, and
     quickly headed back to her own chamber.

 
    Chapter Four
    Nicholas was pacing back and forth in front of the bed when the sound of the sliding
     door in the wall alerted him to the arrival of breakfast.
    Immediately, he moved to the large portrait that swung open on squeaky hinges, and
     opened a second door that slid upward like a sash window. There, in the large compartment,
     he found a tray with eggs, toast, and coffee. The aroma filled his nostrils and fed
     his obsessive desire to find a way out of here.
    After removing the tray, he set it on the nearby chest of drawers, then tried again
     to open the second sliding door at the back, but it was locked securely, as it had
     been the night before.
    He had checked behind all the other portraits in the room to search for another means
     of escape, but found nothing. It was as if this room had been constructed for the
     purpose of keeping someone prisoner and delivering meals.
    What sort of place was this, and what did the French lord want from him?
    He would find out soon enough, he supposed. In the meantime, he must keep up his strength
     and prepare for his meeting with the marquis. Or preferably, escape before that moment
     arrived. So he dug into his breakfast and ate heartily.
    As he spooned some fruit preserves onto a slice of toast and bit into it, he considered
     his plan for the day. His best hope was Véronique. He would do what he must to win
     her trust before Tuesday. In fact, he