Page 79 of Second Chance Prince
For his sake and for hers.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Niki had spent longer with Freddie than he had meant to, but the other man seemed desperately in need of a sympathetic ear, and he knew Roberta was fond of him. He was like a sort of honorary brother. They had proceeded to Freddie’s rooms down in the bowels of the castle. There were dungeons here—no longer in use—and an armory for weapons and quarters for guards. This was where Freddie strategized with the bodyguards—some of whom could be heard snoring next door.
After a couple of large drinks, Freddie had become quite chatty. He had spoken about his childhood and the days at the orphanage where he had been placed as a baby. Not by his grandmother, like Gabriel, or by the former Duke of Northam, like Charles, but by no one in particular. If someone had ever known who he belonged to, they had never come forward. After his first attempts to find his relatives, Freddie had given up.
“I am proud of my friends, I love them like brothers, but I have had to make my way in the world entirely on my own. First in the army and then in the government.”
“I am sure your friends are right to be proud of you,” Niki said. “Not many of us can succeed without help.”
“And I have succeeded,” Freddie said proudly. “But now…” He dropped his head into his arms. “I need someone to share my life with me, and I thought I had found that person.”
Niki felt a wave of empathy. He knew what it was like to feel alone, to long for a connection with someone else, and until he had found Roberta, he had wondered if he ever would find it.
“Don’t give up,” he spoke before he could stop himself. “I see the way Matilda looks at you. She needs you as much as you need her.”
Freddie peered down into his empty mug and then took out his pocket watch and squinted to read the face of it. “I have taken up enough of your time.” And then, as if just realizing, his hazel eyes grew comically wide. “It is your wedding night, sir! Dear God, what must you think of me? I am as selfish as Tomas.”
Niki chuckled. “I had my wedding night, remember? But yes, I am looking forward to another one.”
At that moment, the door to the guard room crashed open and someone stood there, breathing hard, wild-eyed, his hair standing on end. Freddie stood up so quickly, his chair fell over behind him.
For a moment, Niki did not recognize his cousin. Had the boy come to apologize?
“Tomas?” he said. “What…?”
“Cousin! Freddie! They have taken Roberta!”
Niki was there in an instant, taking the boy by the shoulders, hardly noticing the red mark on his white face. “Who has taken her? What are you talking about, Tomas?”
Freddie eased him gently but firmly away. “Tomas,” he said, “tell us what has happened. Calmly, if you please. Niki, you need to listen because I fear my head is spinning and I will require your help.”
Tomas’s gaze was now fixed on the man he had earlier said he hated, looking at him as if he was his only hope.
“Focus,” Freddie spoke firmly. “You are safe, Tomas. Now speak.”
The thought popped into Niki’s head that Freddie would make a good father, and then he pushed it away and concentrated on what the boy was saying.
At first, he spewed out a mishmash of information, but with Freddie’s careful questioning, it began to make sense. Chamberlain Francis had asked Tomas to come to a room where he had seemed to be offering him what Tomas knew was not his to give.
“He said I was to take your place, Niki,” Tomas said, obviously still shocked by the conversation. “That the country needs to return to the old ways. I told him what I thought of that,” he added, proud of himself. “He—he didn’t like it. And then I said I was leaving, and he slapped me.” His eyes were wide, as if he still couldn’t believe such a thing had happened to him. Niki imagined this privileged boy had never been slapped in his life.
“So you tried to leave, and then what? How does Roberta come into this?” Freddie asked patiently while Niki wanted to scream.
“Roberta was outside the door. She had heard everything, and they knew it. They caught her, and me, and the chamberlain said they would take us into the forest. Todealwith us there.” He swallowed, eyes flicking to Niki, but whatever he saw there was too hard for him to bear, and he looked again to Freddie. “We went down some stairs at the side of the castle. There was a garden and a wall, and I think the stables were nearby. I got away, and I ran. I couldn’t stop and free Roberta, I knew they would not let me, but I thought if I found help…”
“You did the right thing,” Freddie reassured him, briefly clasping his shoulder. He turned and opened the door to the other room, shouting loud enough to wake the sleeping men. “Up, allof you! We have work to do!”
Tomas and Niki stood together as the guards threw on their clothes, listening to Freddie at the same time. They strapped on weapons and loaded pistols, and all the while, Freddie was giving them instructions.
“We don’t know where they’ve gone,” he said, “so we should spread out. There may be tracks, so be aware of that. Take torches so we can see. And dogs. Do we have dogs?”
Niki spoke, relieved there was something he could help with. “Yes, in the kennels. I will fetch something of Roberta’s, so they have the scent.”
As he said the words, the enormity of what was happening suddenly struck him, and he staggered. Tomas caught him and held him upright. “I am so sorry, Niki,” he said in a choked voice. “I should have stayed. I should have—”
“No,” Niki responded, his own voice shaky. “You did the right thing. Freddie will find her. If anyone can, then it is he.”
