Page 56 of Second Chance Prince
“Yes! We will ride. I hope we will ride every day.”
“Good.”
The conversation lapsed, and the coach continued along the rather bumpy roads. He did not intend to stop other than to change horses, as time was critical. He needed to get home, and they still had a long way to go. Niki closed his eyes.
He was a married man, and he smiled to himself as he acknowledged it. He was married to Roberta, the woman he loved, and he would do everything in his power to ensure she never regretted agreeing to their union. This would not be like the marriage of his father and mother. The thought turned him cold.
His mother, Countess Marie, had been gone for a long timenow, but he remembered enough. Arguments between his parents had been commonplace, and often things were thrown and broken. Servants had watched wide-eyed as Edgar and Marie went to war within the walls of their castle. The two of them had changed lovers as often as they changed their clothes, until eventually his mother ran off with her Italian paramour and was seen no more. Sleepily, Niki wondered if she was happy. He had not heard from her for so many years, but sometimes he wondered what he would do if she suddenly appeared at the door and asked to come home.
Chamberlain Francis would refuse to admit her, and Niki understood why. They did not need any further disruption in his country. Bad enough that someone was trying to kill Niki. He knew he was not a popular ruler among the people, especially those who lived out in the countryside. Those around the castle, in the town, were more sophisticated, and they tolerated their progressive prince. But if his mother took up residence again with all her wicked ways, it would only serve to make matters worse. Niki had to set an example. He needed to be seen as a morally upstanding ruler, with a happy personal life, and nothing like his parents, or even Karl.
He was making a new beginning, with Roberta at his side, and it was his dearest hope that it would go very well.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
It was toward evening, and the end of a long day on the road, and Roberta was dreaming. In her dream, it was a gray and chilly day, and she was riding her horse through a gloomy forest of tall, dark trees. Pine needles littered the path before her, and the only sound she could hear was the thump of Arrow’s hooves. Flakes of snow fluttered down, cold against her skin, but she rode on. She felt afraid but she didn’t know why. She just knew she had to hurry. Perhaps she was looking for someone. Was it Niki? Was he in danger? Yes, that was it, Niki was in danger, and she had to save him.
There was a loud sound, a tremendous crack of timber breaking.
Roberta was shocked awake. For a moment, she was confused, caught between the dream world and the real world, and then she realized the coach was lurching about her, tipping dangerously to one side. She cried out and clung to the leather strap fastened to the roof, but it just swung her around even more violently. The next moment, Niki wrapped his arms about her, as if protecting her body with his. A moment later, the vehicle righted itself, although it gave several violent rocks, as if threatening to fall over completely, before it finally stilled.
There were voices outside, and then the door was forced open and a worried face peered in. “Are you hurt, sir? Madam?”
Roberta opened her eyes. “I don’t think so,” she said.
Niki was already climbing out. “What happened?” he demanded.
“The wheel shaft broke, sir. I’m afraid we can go no further until it is fixed.” The man looked white-faced. “There is an inn not far from here. You can rest there while the repairs are made.”
By now Roberta had managed to exit the coach too, shaking out her skirts and tucking her hair back so that she could see. Her pins had been no match for the coach, and now her hair lay about her in a heavy cloud. The second coach had reached them, and Antonia and Ernest jumped out, wide-eyed, while Freddie and his men were grouped together, watchful for any trouble. Roberta thought that the only trouble right now was with the coach.
Niki spoke with the driver for a time and then returned to where Roberta and Antonia were seated on a fallen log handily placed nearby.
“I’m afraid I have bad news. We cannot go on to Dover in one coach—there are too many of us—and I don’t want to waste time searching for a replacement vehicle. The driver knows the inn and says it is well run and clean and will offer us shelter until the repairs are completed. It should not take too long. Two days, at most. I am sorry.”
Roberta smiled. “Not your fault. And I imagine one or more nights in an inn won’t kill us.”
Antonia nudged her. “Robbie, it’s your wedding night.”
Ernest was listening in and snorted a laugh. Then, seeing the expression on Roberta’s face, he laughed harder.
“Do shut up, Ernest,” Niki said wearily.
Ernest wasn’t listening. “Niki had a very romantic wedding night all planned,” he said. “I heard him talking to Matilda.”
Roberta felt her heart give a little lurch. “Oh. Did you…I mean, were you really planning…”
He cut through her stumbling words, obviously embarrassed. His lean cheeks were pink. “Yes, I did have plans. But never mind. The inn will have to do. Eh, perhaps Antonia can stay with you tonight.”
But Antonia gave a decisive shake of her head. “I don’t think so. And surely it’s bad luck not to be together on your wedding night? It might be an omen.” She widened her eyes comically.
“When did you start believing in omens?” Roberta said.
This conversation seemed rather more than Niki could handle. “I must see to the horses,” he muttered, and strode away.
Antonia giggled, covering her mouth, and Ernest chuckled. Roberta did not feel like laughing. She wondered what Niki had had planned for their first night together. Now she would never know.
She sighed. The inn would have to do. She had heard that first nights could be rather uncomfortable—Estelle was full of terrible tales of disappointed brides. Olivia didn’t seem to have been disappointed though, and Gabriel and Vivienne were always touching each other. She reminded herself that kissing Niki was no hardship. In fact, it was very nice indeed. She often thought of their kisses.
