Page 17 of A Problem Princess

“Anyone at all, Princess?” he pressed gently, bringing the conversation back to her.

“I have no idea why—” A thought struck her like a thunderbolt, and she sat up straight. “I’m staying in Princess Caroline’s apartments.”

He blinked, bewildered. “Pardon?”

Setting down her glass, she rose tremblingly to her feet. He took her elbow to steady her.

“I was given the Princess of Wales’s old rooms at Buckingham House because the palace thought I’d be more comfortable there than in one of the regular guest suites.” She clutched at his jacket sleeve. “Some of the staff tonight were borrowed from Buckingham House. Do you think that man saw me there and thought I was Princess Caroline? I know how divisive she is, how even her own husband despises her. Wouldn’t someone in England have more reason to kill her than me?”

Doubt darkened his face. “You’ve never met the Princess of Wales, have you?”

“Well…no.”

“Trust me,” he drawled and dropped a lingering look over her from shoulders to hem. “No one would ever confuse the two of you.”

Heat tingled through her beneath his gaze, and she caught her breath. Her earlier perception of him returned…tall, handsome, charming…dangerous.

“Then why?” she rasped out, her fear once more returning. “What could I have possibly done to make someone want to harm me?”

“Maybe it’s not you,” he contemplated.

She released his arm and took a step back. “What do you mean?”

“What secrets are you keeping?”

Her heart skipped. “Pardon?”

“What secrets do you know that someone doesn’t want to see the light of day?”

“I don’t have any secrets.” She forced an uncomfortable laugh. “I told you. I’m not important.”

“I never said they had to beyoursecrets.”

Unease pulsed through her, and her eyes darted down to her discarded glass of port. She wanted it back. Desperately.

“What do you know?” He reached out and touched her cheek to bring her attention back to him. But once he had it, he didn’t drop his hand away. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

His eyes gleamed as if he knew she’d just lied to him. “Someone tried to kill you tonight. I don’t want to give them another opportunity.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek in a caress she knew was meant to comfort her but that only made her skin tingle. “You need to trust me. I can keep you safe.” He paused. “Who are you protecting?”

“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Is it your uncle?”

“No, of course not!”

“Someone connected to your family, then? Or to one of your parents?”

She froze. Even her heart stopped for one brutal moment before it lurched into her throat. He was staring at her as if he could see right through her to the truth, and she trembled.

“What could I possibly know?” she dodged. Her voice sounded completely unconvincing, even to her own ears. “I’m only a princess.”

This time, the look he gave her at her obvious lie was one of disappointment. “I can’t help you if you keep lying to me.”

“Why would I lie?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” he answered. “But you should know I’m very good at what I do.”