Promised to the Swedish Prince - Sasha Cottman Page 0,53
The British were well known for finding loopholes in contracts and agreements when none existed.
“Would you care to join me for a walk out on the terrace, Prince Christian? I expect we could both do with a spot of fresh air,” offered Lady Lynch.
Christian stifled a wry grin at her apparent lack of patience. Had her husband even reached the end of the hallway as yet?
“Of course. We could take a stroll and wait for Sir Vincent to return,” he replied.
She softly laughed. “Oh, my husband won’t be back. Right this minute he is about to climb into his carriage and go to see the voluptuous wife of an Italian diplomat,” she said.
Christian’s mind scrambled to find a solution to the growing problem of what he would do once he and Lady Lynch were alone. Why hadn’t he insisted that Count Jansson or at least Baron von Rehausen had been invited? The answer, of course, was obvious—his old impetuous nature. Habits die hard.
The agreement had his signature on it, not theirs. They had done much of the work on the details, but it had been his negotiations and close relationships with the likes of the Lynches that had got the trade agreement finalized.
As he followed Lady Lynch out the dining room, Christian corrected himself. It had been his and Erika’s combined efforts which had ensured the agreement’s success. If anyone else deserved to be at the dinner tonight, it was Erika.
She is still your fiancée.
Christian had barely set foot on the stone paving of the garden before Lady Lynch pressed herself against him and began to back him toward the wall of the house.
He put his hands up trying to hold her at bay, but she simply laughed. “Come now, Christian, don’t tell me you are going to play hard to get. You grew up around royalty and diplomats—you know how these things work. You got what you wanted and now it is time for you to give me my just rewards.”
His back hit the hard brick wall and he stopped. Lady Lynch took one more step and drew close. Her tongue ran seductively along the top of her lip and Christian swallowed. The light touch of her fingers on his arm sent shivers down his spine.
Why couldn’t you be an ugly overweight thing like your husband?
Anne Lynch was a handsome woman in anyone’s language. Few men would even consider refusing such a blatant come-on.
But he wouldn’t, couldn’t do it. Not to Erika. He had told her he would never betray her, and he meant it. His love for his Swedish countess conquered any sort of temptation thrown in his path. No other woman could compare to Erika. “Please, Lady Lynch. I am engaged to be married. I would not do my fiancée such an injustice by being false.”
She snorted. “Oh, come now, Prince Christian. Even Countess Erika Jansson is not that naïve. She knows exactly what you will be doing tonight. Her father is a diplomat. He will have explained how these things work to her. Why else would you have chosen her as your future wife?”
He closed his eyes, trying to force the horrid realization away. Everyone thought he had offered to marry Erika because she would make the perfect political wife. That in time she would become the same hardened, calculating kind of woman as Lady Lynch.
And if she marries Gustav, that is exactly her fate.
Opening his eyes, he met her gaze, finally sure of himself. “No, Lady Lynch, that is not how things are between Erika and me. I love her. I want to give her the very best life I possibly can.”
The glossy sheen of self-assurance disappeared from Lady Lynch’s face. In its place he caught the hint of long-lost innocence. Of a young woman who had also thought she was marrying for love, only to discover that what she had done was to wed her soul to wealth and power.
To his relief, she took a step back. “Well, this all too embarrassing for words,” she muttered.
“It doesn’t have to be. You can tell your husband that I am a cold fish. Or you could simply say that you and I agreed upon a close working friendship, one which does not require either of us to whore ourselves for our respective countries.”
“Christian, I think you have the makings of a masterful diplomatic statesman. One which I would be honored to call a friend.”
He accepted her outstretched hand, greatly relieved to have salvaged the situation. If