The Lost Princes of Ambria 06 - Taming the Lost Prince by Raye Morgan Page B

up.” He looked at her expectantly, his story over.
    She sighed, shaking her head. “Which tells me a lot,” she muttered, “and nothing.”
    “Exactly.”
    She studied his face for a moment. “Were they angry that you left when you did? Did they feel you hadn’t completed your commitment?”
    He shook his head. “There might have been a little of that, but no one actually complained. They knew I was ready to go.”
    He leaned forward. She deserved a better answer, but he just didn’t know what he could tell her that was going to give her the information she needed.
    “Pellea, I did a lot of things that someone might look back on and decide were … out of bounds, perhaps. We were flyers. We raised hell. That’s what we do.”
    Slowly, she shook her head. “I’m pretty sure this is more than raising hell,” she said. “You don’t say ‘dead or alive’ about a little carousing.”
    “Okay, maybe … maybe an old girlfriend decided to take some sort of revenge. Maybe an innkeeper decided to blame me for a fight that might have torn up his bar and is suing for damages. Maybe someone who felt slighted by me in some way wants a pound of flesh. I just don’t know. And I’m not sure what you want me to do about it.” He shrugged. “Do you want me to issue an apology?”
    “What? No. Of course not. Not until we know just what this is about.”
    He bit his tongue, wishing he could lose the defensive attitude. He knew he hadn’t been living an exemplary life. He regretted it. Talking with Pellea, he wasn’t proud of it. But it was lousy being asked to explain it. Life was complicated enough without this stupid wanted poster arriving from Mercuria.
    He sat back. “Leave it to me. I think I can handle this. It might take a little time, but I’ll get in touch with people I knew when I was there. I’ll let you know for sure when I think I’ve really got it pinned down.”
    She nodded slowly. “Do that,” she said. “But make it soon.”
    Kayla knew Max was going in to see Pellea first thing and she hoped they would be able to settle matters. It might be better if she could be there to help things along, but she had some business on the other side of the castle and knew she would probably miss him. So she left Max a message to meet her in the hall of portraits, and to her surprise, he was right on time.
    The fact that there was a hall of portraits was a miracle. During the original rebellion, when the Granvillis had burned most of the castle and killed the king and queen—the parents of the current crop of princes, as well as of King Monte, Pellea’s husband—they had destroyed everything they could get their hands on that might remind anyone of the deposed monarchy. A lot of paintings burned that night, but many of the most important ones were spirited out by various servants who hid them with relatives for the twenty-five years of the Granvilli regime.
    After the restoration of the DeAngelis monarchy, when the castle archivist began to collect them and bring them home, there was a wave of emotion in the populace that touched them all. It was so very important to have these beautiful pictures to tell the story of what their history had been.
    Kayla found Max gazing up at a huge stately portrait of his great grandfather. The fine-looking royal was wearing an ermine-lined cape and looking quite imperial and majestic.
    “Quite a handsome bunch, your ancestors,” she noted, sliding in beside him and looking up as well. She felt proud for him, proud for Ambria. She only hoped he understood what it meant to be a part of this.
    “They certainly seem well-turned out,” he agreed. “But then, you’ve always got artistic flattery on your side when you’re royalty.” He gave her a mock jab in the ribs with his elbow. “The artist makes them beautiful or he doesn’t get paid, I would think.”
    “Maybe.” She gave him a sideways look. “But from the evidence presented by your brothers, I’d chock it all