through the air. “Gone.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t keep this ear and make a purse of it,” she said furiously, failing to keep the sarcasm from her voice.
The prince looked surprised. “Who would want a purse made from the ear of a malodorous coward?”
She didn’t trust herself to speak.
The prince seemed unaware of her fury, pursing his lips for a moment before saying, “But perhaps you areright, and it is safe for you to travel at night. Such a thief is not to be feared.”
She couldn’t believe she was listening to such— drivel ! Damn it, I planned that raid and it went very well! Well . . . it did until he complicated things. She sniffed. “I dare say you’ve experience in those things—holding up coaches and such, so that your opinion has merit.”
“Experience? As a common thief? Nyet . Of course not.”
“Well, there you have it. You canna judge them, then.” She turned on her heel and marched down the path.
He was beside her in a second. “I may have never planned a paltry holdup, but I have planned many battles and faced many adversaries—and all successfully, too.”
“Those are not the same.”
“They are more similar than you might think.” His gaze narrowed and he added in an arrogantly certain voice, “But as you’ve had experience in neither, you would not know.”
Words burned behind her lips, and she walked faster to channel her anger away from her tongue. Her feet hitting the earth harder with each step, she said in a polite, frosty tone, “And yet even an inexperienced person such as myself canna help but notice that these—what did you call them?—inexperienced and amateur thieves won the day. They say you handed over a fortune in gold.”
“They did not win the day. I took pity on them and gave them a few paltry baubles, and sent them on their way.”
Braggart! Liar! Arrogant pig prince ! She had to count to ten before she could speak. “The tales being passed about the villages are quite different. They say the thieves gained a significant amount of coins, as well as Her Grace’s rings.”
“And my grandmother’s supper,” he added. “My Tata Natasha missed the food more than her rings, for she was very hungry, and it was hours before we reached Rowallen.”
“Hours?”
“ Da . We had to calm the horses, find the lost lanterns—such things as that. And waiting for supper is not easy for an old woman.”
Muriel’s heart sank, her anger dissipating. They’d never meant anyone to suffer. Perhaps they shouldn’t have taken the basket of food, but she’d been thinking how welcome it would be to the children, who were tired of stew and turnips—
The prince captured her elbow and pulled her to a stop.
Surprised, she looked up at him.
He brushed her cheek with his fingertips, and in his eyes she saw understanding. This man knew responsibility. How decisions could have repercussions one couldn’t expect. How the weight of one’s decisions could press down, making it difficult to breathe.
“Ah, dorogaya moya , do not look like that. If you’d known my grandmother was hungry, you would have left the basket. I know it.”
The sympathy in his voice soothed the ache ofuncertainty in her heart. “Truly, I dinna know, or I’d have—”
His eyes glinted.
She clamped her lips together and yanked her hand free. “You knew! You knew all along!”
“ Da . The other night, I saw your face quite clearly.” He brushed a finger across her cheek, sending waves of shivers up her back, his eyes darkening. “I would never forget it.”
She found it hard to swallow. “And now, you will tell Loudan.”
The prince’s hand dropped back to his side. “Never. I only said he was a friend of mine to irritate you.”
Aha! When he’d spoken so highly of the earl during the fight, she’d thought then that the prince had been shamming; it was gratifying to be proven right. “The earl dinna have friends. Only sycophants.”
“So I’ve noticed.
“I’m surprised you didn’t keep this ear and make a purse of it,” she said furiously, failing to keep the sarcasm from her voice.
The prince looked surprised. “Who would want a purse made from the ear of a malodorous coward?”
She didn’t trust herself to speak.
The prince seemed unaware of her fury, pursing his lips for a moment before saying, “But perhaps you areright, and it is safe for you to travel at night. Such a thief is not to be feared.”
She couldn’t believe she was listening to such— drivel ! Damn it, I planned that raid and it went very well! Well . . . it did until he complicated things. She sniffed. “I dare say you’ve experience in those things—holding up coaches and such, so that your opinion has merit.”
“Experience? As a common thief? Nyet . Of course not.”
“Well, there you have it. You canna judge them, then.” She turned on her heel and marched down the path.
He was beside her in a second. “I may have never planned a paltry holdup, but I have planned many battles and faced many adversaries—and all successfully, too.”
“Those are not the same.”
“They are more similar than you might think.” His gaze narrowed and he added in an arrogantly certain voice, “But as you’ve had experience in neither, you would not know.”
Words burned behind her lips, and she walked faster to channel her anger away from her tongue. Her feet hitting the earth harder with each step, she said in a polite, frosty tone, “And yet even an inexperienced person such as myself canna help but notice that these—what did you call them?—inexperienced and amateur thieves won the day. They say you handed over a fortune in gold.”
“They did not win the day. I took pity on them and gave them a few paltry baubles, and sent them on their way.”
Braggart! Liar! Arrogant pig prince ! She had to count to ten before she could speak. “The tales being passed about the villages are quite different. They say the thieves gained a significant amount of coins, as well as Her Grace’s rings.”
“And my grandmother’s supper,” he added. “My Tata Natasha missed the food more than her rings, for she was very hungry, and it was hours before we reached Rowallen.”
“Hours?”
“ Da . We had to calm the horses, find the lost lanterns—such things as that. And waiting for supper is not easy for an old woman.”
Muriel’s heart sank, her anger dissipating. They’d never meant anyone to suffer. Perhaps they shouldn’t have taken the basket of food, but she’d been thinking how welcome it would be to the children, who were tired of stew and turnips—
The prince captured her elbow and pulled her to a stop.
Surprised, she looked up at him.
He brushed her cheek with his fingertips, and in his eyes she saw understanding. This man knew responsibility. How decisions could have repercussions one couldn’t expect. How the weight of one’s decisions could press down, making it difficult to breathe.
“Ah, dorogaya moya , do not look like that. If you’d known my grandmother was hungry, you would have left the basket. I know it.”
The sympathy in his voice soothed the ache ofuncertainty in her heart. “Truly, I dinna know, or I’d have—”
His eyes glinted.
She clamped her lips together and yanked her hand free. “You knew! You knew all along!”
“ Da . The other night, I saw your face quite clearly.” He brushed a finger across her cheek, sending waves of shivers up her back, his eyes darkening. “I would never forget it.”
She found it hard to swallow. “And now, you will tell Loudan.”
The prince’s hand dropped back to his side. “Never. I only said he was a friend of mine to irritate you.”
Aha! When he’d spoken so highly of the earl during the fight, she’d thought then that the prince had been shamming; it was gratifying to be proven right. “The earl dinna have friends. Only sycophants.”
“So I’ve noticed.
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