Royal Blood - By Rhys Bowen Page 0,110

the blame for something he didn’t do,” Vlad said. “I attempted to poison Prince Nicholas. I put a gelatin capsule containing cyanide into his red wine at the start of the meal. I planned to be well away by the time it acted. I was not about to let him have the woman I love. I am just angry that I failed. I shall not fail a second time.”

“Vlad!” Matty ran toward him. “How could you? I trusted you. I loved you. I never thought for an instant . . .”

“For you, Maria,” Vlad said. “I did it for you. I didn’t want you to be condemned to marrying someone you didn’t love, when you loved me.”

“We went through that before,” Matty said. “I told you that my duty to my family came first and always will come first. Now put that gun down. You’re not going to shoot anyone.”

“Stand aside, Maria.” Vlad prodded her with the barrel of the pistol.

“You’ll have to shoot me first,” she said, eyeing him calmly and defiantly.

“Of course I don’t want to shoot you.” His voice had risen dangerously.

“I’m not going to let you shoot Nicholas,” Matty said, “or anybody else.”

“Why do you always have to be so bloody noble?” Vlad demanded.

“Because I was born to it,” Matty said.

“Damn you,” Vlad shouted. “Damn all of you to hell.”

Without warning he grabbed Matty around the throat and pulled her in front of him. “She’s coming with me,” he said. “Did you think I was going to give you up that easily?”

“You’re mad. Let go of me,” she gasped as the arm tightened around her throat.

Nicholas took a step toward them.

“Stay back,” Vlad warned. “I won’t hesitate to shoot her, you know. I have nothing to lose now. In fact, why not? Shoot her and then myself. At least we’ll be together in death.”

He was dragging her back to the door, which had now swung shut again. He was reaching behind him with the hand that held the gun when suddenly the door came flying open, catching him in the side of the head and knocking him off balance. As he staggered, Nicholas and Anton fell on him and overpowered him, while Patrascue dragged Matty clear. Vlad cried out in pain as he was pinned to the floor and Nicholas wrenched his arms up behind him.

In the doorway stood a grimy, disheveled and bewildered-looking Queenie.

“Sorry, miss, I didn’t mean to hit nobody, but they said you was in here,” she said. “He’s going to be all right, ain’t he?”

“Princess Maria is going to be all right, which is all that matters,” I said.

Chapter 32

November 24

Finally going home. Can’t wait.

After that only one strange thing happened, or possibly two. Vlad was locked in one of the old dungeons until the pass was cleared. When the snow melted sufficiently, two days later, the cell was found to be empty. Matty and Dragomir both swore that they had not helped him to escape, and indeed the only way out of that cell block was past a door that was guarded at all times. As far as I have heard he has never been found. And I was awoken one of those nights by what sounded like the flapping of large wings outside my window. By the time I got up and managed to open the shutters, there was nothing to be seen.

Lady Middlesex departed, accompanying Miss Deer-Harte’s body home to England. She was a changed woman, subdued and grateful for any little kindness, the bullying and bluster gone out of her like a pricked balloon.

Matty and Nicholas were married as planned a few days later. Nicholas’s father decided not to postpone the wedding, decreeing that the period of mourning for the field marshal would begin after his state funeral, which would be conducted with all the pomp and ceremony and, hopefully, appease the Macedonians. I thought Nicholas was being jolly understanding, considering everything, but he seemed to be genuinely fond of Matty and she of him. As we dressed for the wedding Matty drew me aside.

“We’re friends again, I hope.”

“Of course,” I said.

“You don’t still think that I sent you down that oubliette?”

“Since you almost fell down it yourself, I have to believe that you didn’t,” I said. “Vlad must have been hiding and pushed the button after you’d gone past.”

“How awful if you hadn’t managed to get out.”

“It’s all right. I’d have eaten Queenie,” I said, laughing.

“Poor thing. She was frightfully brave, and she did save you, even