Page 48 of Second Chance Prince
It appeared that the two of them had been discussing matters among themselves. With nothing more to say, Roberta just shook her head and closed her eyes. This was madness, and perhaps when she woke up after getting some sleep, it would all have been a dream.
Chapter Twenty-Four
What an evening!” Matilda turned her head on the pillow and smiled at the man beside her. He looked rumpled, but that was her fault. She found she could not help herself when it came to Freddie Hart.
It had been four years since Baron Brooks was taken from her, and although she had been very fond of him and still missed him, this was entirely different. Freddie had muscles in his arms and thighs and buttocks, and when he made love to her, all of those muscles seemed to come into play. Just thinking about his hard, trim body made her feel a little giddy.
“Where is Niki?” she asked suddenly. “You didn’t let him go out on the town, did you? The king seemed set on it.”
“Niki is tucked up safe and sound in bed.”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“I hope Roberta does not change her mind about marrying him,” Freddie said, and she thought he was speaking to himself. “She always said she would never marry.” He looked concerned, his auburn brows drawn down and his mouth in a straight line.
“Never marry? Every woman must marry. And why on earth should she change her mind?” Matilda went on, irritated. “She is marrying a prince.”
She stopped, realizing she sounded like her father. She had been told all her life that the only things that mattered for ablue-blooded woman were to marry well and produce an heir. She had done both, and yet she sometimes felt as if she had wastedyears. Her society friends told her she was being foolish, that she was bored and needed to take a lover.
Freddie was watching her curiously, and she shook off her megrims.
“It is probably a good thing that Karl forced them to confess the secret date,” she went on mildly. “At least it gives me time to travel to Holtswig and begin preparations for the official ceremony.”
“I’m not sure Niki and Roberta would agree with you.”
She shrugged as if she didn’t care. The man was far too cautious. She sometimes wondered what he was thinking and found herself wishing she could read his mind. Once she had made the decision to take a lover and Freddie had agreed, she had been determined to enjoy every moment of their association. It would not last forever. It was an affair, and when she tired of him, or him of her, they would go their separate ways.
Don’t get too fond of him, her friends had warned her.These things never last. But don’t worry, there is always someone else.
The trouble was, Matilda did not want someone else. She was perfectly happy with this man. He seemed to know exactly how to please her, and she rather thought she pleased him too.
“Will you come with me to Holtswig?” she asked.
He seemed to be considering her question. “Not immediately,” he said at last. “I will have to go to Grantham with Niki first. I’ll meet with the prime minister before we go and explain it would be best for me to travel to Holtswig to keep an eye on things.”
“And he will let you go?” Matilda asked.
“I think so. If not, then I will go in a private capacity.”
She beamed at him. A thought occurred to her. “What about the assassin from the theater? Has he said anything?”
Freddie was growing restless. He did not like to answer her questions when it came to his work, especially when they had such little time together. “No, he hasn’t. I don’t think he knows anything to tell. He comes from a poor family in Holtswig, at least he has told us that much, and was brought here specifically to assassinate Niki. Whoever arranged it was clever and covered their tracks.”
“One of those agitators,” Matilda said in disgust. “It really is too bad. Why can they not be happy without pining for the past? It was not so wonderful anyway. The country has been much better since the Lichtenbergs ascended the throne.”
Freddie smiled. “You would say that.”
She turned to face him, cupping his jaw where the prickles of his beard were rough against her skin. “I don’t want to end this,” she blurted out, and held her breath.
His eyes widened. “Then don’t,” he said.
She smiled with relief, but he wasn’t finished.
“Although if we stay together, Tomas may be a problem.”
“What do you mean?” she demanded.
“Matilda, you must be able to see it. He resents me. He wants his mother all to himself.”
