Truth about Leo Read Online Free PDF

when he opened his mouth to protest. “Meekness! Me! He doesn’t have a single thought for others.”
    She kicked a small, three-legged stool out of her way.
    â€œAnd he blatantly goes against the Bible’s strictures on cousinly treatment. I just hope he enjoys his days in hell for this!”
    One of the scullery maids burst into tears and ran out of the kitchen.
    Dagmar struck a dramatic pose for three seconds. “Well, I’m not going to a convent! I’d sooner starve to death on the streets than become a submissive, pious creature. I just hope that when Julia and I fall over in the square outside of the palace and die of starvation and lack of home, the people of Copenhagen know Frederick for what he is!” On her way out, she snagged a basket of freshly gathered eggs, a wheel of cheese the size of her head, and a small brown puppy that had been tied with a bit of twine to a table leg. She didn’t know to whom the puppy belonged, but she didn’t approve of animals being tied up, and in her present belligerent mood, she didn’t particularly care that it wasn’t hers to take.
    As she left the palace, she began to have second thoughts about the puppy. Not only did he squirm in such a way as to make him difficult to hold, but he also seemed to have a fondness for the boiled pig’s head. It was a bit of a struggle, but at last she managed to pry him off the head, although he did claim one of the pig’s ears. She paused when she reached the guards at the door. “Jens.”
    The guard in question bowed low. “Yes, Your Serene Highness?”
    â€œDo your boys have a dog?”
    He looked startled for a moment, his gaze dropping to the puppy where it chomped happily on the disattached ear. “Er…no, Your Highness.”
    â€œWould they like one?”
    Jens hesitated, then gave a weak smile. “As a matter of fact, the wife and I have spoken on the subject. We thought we’d wait a few years until the littlest was a bit older…”
    Dagmar considered him. “Will you treat him right?”
    â€œMy youngest?” Jens looked surprised. “Aye, the lad’s a bit lively, but—”
    â€œNo, the puppy. If I gave you this puppy for your sons, would you treat him right?”
    Jens blinked.
    â€œWould you love him and cherish him and not strike him just because he has a propensity toward boiled pigs’ heads?”
    His gaze shifted to the head clutched in Dagmar’s left arm. He pursed his lips.
    â€œWould you let him sleep on your boys’ beds, and take him for walks even when it was snowing, and give him things to chew on because you understand that dogs need to chew sometimes?”
    Jens glanced over to the other guard, who shrugged. “Aye?” he said hesitantly, more of a question than a statement.
    Dagmar nodded to herself and shoved the puppy/ear bundle into his arms. “Good. I can go to my death by starvation and lack of home with an easy heart. I have named him Beelzebub. You may call him Bub if you like. Good day.”

Two
    Under no circumstances should a princess lower herself to the sin of telling falsehoods. Likewise indulging in blasphemy, stealing, and thinking impure thoughts about the new head groom who may or may not spend an inordinate amount of time sans shirt while grooming the horses.
    â€”Princess Christian of Sonderburg-Beck’s Guide for Her Daughter’s Illumination and Betterment
    The walk to the harbor wasn’t a long one, no matter how slowly her steps dragged. Truly, she didn’t want to talk to some strange British captain. She didn’t want to be sent to her cousin’s overcrowded vicarage where she’d be a glorified—and unpaid—slave, but the steely look in her cousin’s eyes warned that her choice was that or life in a French convent.
    She shivered. “All I want is a quiet little cottage somewhere, where Julia and I can live out our