Page 5 of Second Chance Prince
Freddie cleared his throat. “That may be so, but the princehasagreed to it.”
“He has?” Her voice rose again to an uncomfortable pitch. “Really?”
“Yes, really. All I need now is for you to agree, Roberta, and I can begin to put the pieces together.”
Like a jigsaw puzzle, she thought dazedly. This piece here, that piece there…She tried to collect her scattered thoughts. Freddie wanted her to become engaged to Niki for three months and then to call it off. Roberta wasn’t sure she could make up anything more preposterous if she tried, and her imagination had always been vivid. She couldn’t do it. She wasn’t the person for the job. She would make a fool of herself, and Niki too, and—
“The prince mentioned something about a Mr. Walter?” Freddie was looking puzzled. “That this may help run him off?”
“It certainly would,” Gabriel said before she could think of an answer. “How does the prince know about your persistent suitor?”
“I must have told him,” she admitted uneasily. “You know how my tongue runs away with me, Gabriel.”
Her brother turned to a confused Freddie. “This is a man who Roberta and Antonia call ‘The Most Boring Man in London.’ For some reason, the poor fool has set his sights on the woman least likely to agree to marry him. He cannot seem to understand the misery she would cause him.”
Roberta shot him an indignant look.
“This is a gentleman you have no interest in, but he is interested in you?” Freddie said thoughtfully. “I fear I know the type. There is only one thing that can put a stop to his ambitions, and I have the perfect solution. Become engaged to someone else!”
Roberta had to admire his ability to turn a situation to his advantage. “I am not trained to be a prince’s wife,” she said rather desperately. “Really, I am not.”
“You don’t have to be,” Freddie assured her. “It is only for three months. In fact, any faux pas you make might help to explain why the wedding is called off.”
Roberta tried to recall what else she had said to Niki last night. She remembered admitting she had no intention of marrying, so she supposed he would think it would not matter to her if she was involved in a broken engagement. Or perhaps he assumed she would not expect more of him after the three months were up? Awkward if she insisted their engagement was real. She probablywasthe perfect candidate.
“And then there is the payment he has offered the Ashton family,” Freddie said silkily.
Gabriel stiffened. “I am not selling my sister, so you can forget about that.”
Roberta looked from one to the other. “What do you mean?”
“The prince has offered a substantial sum for your participation,”Freddie explained, avoiding the eyes of his furious friend. “He wanted to help with some rebuilding—”
“No!” Gabriel shouted.
Freddie held up his hands. “Very well, we will discuss it later. Or not. Right now, I must have Roberta’s answer.”
Niki was offering to help rebuild the east wing; that must be it. Roberta was moved by his kindness before she remembered he wanted something from her too. Something that could be challenging and dangerous. Roberta remembered moaning about how boring her life had become. Well, things would certainly be more exciting if she agreed, and she could rid herself of Mr. Walter too. And yet…she was aware of her own limitations when it came to behaving herself in social settings. Just look at the ammunition she had handed to Niki last night when her tongue ran away with her!
Freddie spoke again in a quiet, serious voice, “Don’t forget what this is really about. The prince’s life is in danger.”
All the protests she had just come up with turned to ash. Niki’slifewas in danger, and she had seen for herself last night how that could end. With him lying dead at her feet. That same emotion inside her tightened and ached, and she knew she must do everything she could to prevent that awful thing from happening.
The two men were watching her closely, awaiting her decision.
Niki would be lying cold and dead, and if she refused to help then it would be her fault. There was no choice, really. She had to agree. Roberta took a deep breath.
“Very well. I will do it.”
Chapter Two
Niki stood at the window, hands behind his back, and stared out at the streetscape. Then he remembered he’d been warned to stay away from windows and quickly stepped back.
Blast it all!He was furious and worried, all at the same time. Since his grandfather’s death, he had grown used to being in charge of his life, but now he was being told by others what he could and couldn’t do. His Holtswig bodyguards wore worried frowns, and Freddie Hart wasn’t helping with his reminders about snipers taking aim at him whenever he showed himself.
He was sick and tired of it, which was one of the reasons he had given in and agreed to this pretend engagement with Lady Roberta Ashton.
At least, that was what Niki told himself in public. It was only in his private moments that he reluctantly admitted how fascinating he had always found Roberta. Rather like the boring Mr. Walter, although Niki refused to believe he had anything in common with that gentleman. All the same, he would probably have been better off dealing with his attraction by staying as far away from her as possible, but instead, he was drawn to her in a quite ridiculous fashion. As if she were a magnet and he a pin. For three years, he had rarely given her a thought, and suddenlyit was as if she had been there all along, occupying a special part of his brain. There was no one else he knew who did and said things like Roberta. Was that the reason he was longing to be in her company? He suspected that spending more time with her would soon rid him of this uncomfortable attraction. Or perhaps he just hoped it was so.
