The Secret Princess Read Online Free PDF

of a head start,and he was vastly bigger than she was. Even if she threw herself on him to stop him, she’d only succeed in smearing him with pigs’ muck. The man seemed determined to walk straight into danger.
    Perhaps if he was so determined, she ought to let him do as he pleased. He could find out for himself the wisdom of her warnings. She adopted that approach often enough with her brother, Bertie—notthat he ever seemed to learn, no matter what chastisements he brought upon himself.
    Evelyn entered the great hall behind the man to find a crowd converging around the pelt. The bear sat atop a bench in a heap, its teeth bared, the head balanced above clawed paws in such a way that even if Cook had not smelled heavily of drink, she might nonetheless have been excused for thinking it a livebear.
    Certainly some of King Garren’s men looked determined to give the creature wide berth.
    The man from the woods stepped boldly toward it, grasped it by one furry shoulder, and unfurled it gracefully, the furry hide rippling impressively in spite of the lack of light in the hall.
    “Oh!” Cook shuddered and hid her eyes.
    King Garren bellowed a laugh, his mood considerably betterthan it had been during Evelyn’s encounter with him earlier that morning.
    “A gift for you, King Garren.” The man bowed with a flourish and held out the weighty pelt. “A symbol of Lydia’s commitment to peace in the borderlands. Any threat to the peace between us shall be similarly—” the man paused a moment, eyes twinkling “—disemboweled.”
    Still chortling, King Garren advanced with onehand outstretched cautiously, as though the hollow creature might bite him yet. He felt the fur, relaxing visibly when the animal made no move to attack. “Quite the surprise, Prince Luke—your visit and your gift.”
    Evelyn shuffled backward toward the kitchen, her heart hammering inside her. Prince Luke? She recognized the name—the man had been discussed often enough in the great hall, thoughfrom the words she’d overheard, she’d expected an awful half demon of a man. But the figure holding the bear pelt spoke eloquently and graciously, visibly charming King Garren, who was not easily charmed.
    “You’ll join us for a luncheon banquet in honor of your visit.” King Garren’s words weren’t presented as a question. Evelyn’s heart sank at the invitation, her eyes still riveted on theprince. Cook was in no condition to prepare a banquet, certainly not on such short notice. Evelyn would have to do most of the work herself, but first she’d run to find the serving girls—she’d need all the help she could get.
    “Gladly.” Luke accepted the invitation with a slight bow, a sign of deference to the host.
    Evelyn could only stare as she continued to back toward the kitchen doorwayto find the servant girls. This man was Prince Luke? His behavior was certainly princely, even if his garments were those of a woodsman. She’d suspected him to be a nobleman of some rank, given her grandfather’s insistence that she save his life when he’d lain injured in the hut in the woodland village.
    But a prince! He’d touched her hand. He’d pulled her out of the pigpen. Embarrassmentscratched its way up from the pit of her stomach to her throat. He’d seen her covered in muck. How could she face him again?
    “Biddy!” King Garren shrieked in that awful, goading tone he’d surely perfected with the sole intent of humiliating her.
    She’d have dived out of sight if there had been anywhere to hide, but she was only halfway to the kitchen and the crowd still hovered near thebearskin across the room. There was nothing for it but to respond, or she’d find herself chastised in front of the prince.
    “Yes, Your Majesty?” She crossed her ankles and curtsied.
    “Bring the prince a drink.”
    Evelyn nodded, risking the briefest glance at the prince in time to see him staring at her, his mouth set in a grim line that looked distinctly