Protecting The Princess - Nadine Millard Page 0,7
the stranger.
“Ahem.”
The sound of the golden-haired man clearing his throat brought Harriet’s eyes back to him, and she noted that though his expression remained neutral, his eyes, as they took in the drunk’s hand still on Harriet’s arm, were coldly dangerous.
Without speaking a word, those same eyes rose to meet the drunkard’s, and Harriet almost felt sorry for the man, so lethal was the look.
“I assume you don’t want this man’s hand on you, my dear?” The stranger’s tone was soft and would have been pleasant, if it wasn’t for the dangerous edge to it.
Just who was this man?
Guessing that she was “his dear” though she had no idea who he was, Harriet managed to shake her head.
“Um, no,” she answered.
She had no idea what the stranger was up to, but there was an air of authority about him that made Harriet feel secure in his presence. Strangely enough, she trusted him though that was probably rather foolish, given the fact that he was an unknown to her just like the drunkard.
But she instinctively knew that her chances of safety were far better with the blonde man helping her than the drunk one threatening her.
“And you.” He turned to her would-be harasser. “I assume you would like all of your limbs to stay attached to your body?”
Harriet felt her jaw drop at the words, so softly spoken, so calm.
“Er—yes?”
The attacker sounded as confused as Harriet felt.
“Excellent.” The man was all politeness and joviality once again. “Then remove your hand from her arm, and remove yourself from the vicinity, and we’ll all get what we want.”
Harriet’s arm was immediately released as the drunk stumbled backwards.
“I – I didn’t know that she – that you and she—”
“Well, now you do,” the man quietly interrupted the slurred rambling. “So, be on your way.”
Harriet watched in both relief and confusion as her harasser beat a hasty retreat, nearly falling over himself as he stumbled away.
The silence in his wake was deafening.
Harriet turned once more to stare in consternation at the overly familiar man.
The grin on his face could charm birds from the trees.
But Harriet was too bemused and frankly put out at his high-handedness to be charmed.
“Now that that’s sorted, perhaps you would like to join me for some refreshments?” he asked.
Harriet could only gaze in amazement as he bent and plucked up her luggage, one bag in each hand, as though they weighed nothing at all.
“Shall we?” He smiled, acting for all the world as though they were the greatest of friends or—she swallowed nervously—or something else.
Without awaiting an answer, he turned and headed toward the inn.
Harriet closed her jaw with a snap as her irritation exploded to full anger.
“Excuse me,” she called in her haughtiest tone. “Just who are you and where do you think you’re going with my belongings?”
Chapter Four
Jacob Lauer worked harder than he should have to control his irritation at Princess Harriet’s affronted tone.
Ever since he’d received the missive from the Crown Prince himself the other day, the missive that had him swearing in every language in his repertoire, he’d been dreading this particular assignment.
In fact, he’d been seconds from writing back to Prince Christopher to inform the man in no uncertain terms, that he was a spy, a solider, even an assassin if the situation warranted it. But not, under any circumstances, a nanny.
Especially for a pampered, privileged princess.
But common sense, and a talk with his oldest friend and confidante, led him to change his mind.
“You can’t say no to a direct request from the Crown Prince of Aldonia, Jacob,” Hans said in that irritatingly reasonable tone. “Besides, she’s the Crown Princess. It will be a day or two at most before she runs back to the palace and her luxurious life. You’ll be back to a real assignment within a week. Finding out who the hell wants the royal family dead.”
Much as Jacob would have loved to argue, he’d known his friend was right.
So here he found himself, pretending to bump into the princess outside a coaching inn.
It turned out that her brother’s concerns had been well founded. For Jacob had been watching her since he’d received Prince Christopher’s letter two days past.
He’d watched her skulk around the kitchens after dark. He’d watched her thieving little hands steal a cloak from the servants’ quarters.
And then he’d watched this morning as she’d snuck from the palace at the break of dawn. On the very day the Furbergs were due to come and take her to safety.
Jacob had looked