To Protect a Princess by Jess Michaels

Chapter 16

Ilaria saw the steel in her brother’s eyes, and it reminded her of their father. The cold, distant king, the man with ice in his veins. Only Grantham wasn’t quite that. The way he’d clung to her when he hugged her told her how deeply he loved her. And she loved him. Even if she hated that his direction had been why Jonah lied to her.

She cleared her throat. “The first time I came here, I was jostled in the crowd. When I got into the carriage, I realized my gown had been…well, I told myself it was torn. But it was sliced. With a knife.”

She watched as Jonah’s lips parted. “You…you didn’t say anything when I saw you next.”

Grantham tossed a glare at Jonah. “And you said nothing to me about my sister coming here. So I suppose we were all kept in the dark.”

Ilaria caught her brother’s hand. “I asked Jonah—Captain Crawford—not to tell you about my being here. He kept watch over me, just as you apparently asked and he protected my secret as I asked.”

Grantham gave Jonah another look but said nothing. “Continue.”

“The second time I came here…” She looked again at Jonah as she thought of that night in the hallway when he’d dropped to his knees in the hallway and made her come until she could hardly breathe, hardly speak. “The second time I was approached by a man, the same one from tonight. I thought he was just being forceful in his interest, but when he walked away he called me princess.”

Now Jonah took a long step toward her. “Ilaria! I asked you what he said.”

“And I lied,” she admitted. “I suppose we’re even on that score. I tried to convince myself it was just some silly endearment said by a man who was too familiar. It’s obvious now that he knew who I was all along. And he must have been planning his attack.”

“How did he attack you?” Remi asked.

Ilaria looked to Jonah. She couldn’t say it, she hoped he could see that. And he did, for he stepped forward and told them all about her fall and the knife and the struggle afterward that she had not been conscious to see. With a shudder, he withdrew the knife in question from his pocket.

“He dropped this,” he said, holding it out.

Grantham got up and stared at the knife, taking it and yanking the fabric that was wound around the handle, rending it from the weapon and unfurling it. The flag was similar to the flag of Athawick, with its swan centerpiece and dancing whales to each side. Only instead of being blue and white, the background was black, the swan and whales a disturbing blood red.

“This is the flag of the rebellion,” he whispered, holding it out toward Jonah once again.

“Rebellion?” Queen Giabella said. “What are you talking about?”

Grantham’s jaw set and the rage in his face was nothing like Ilaria had ever seen. “Grantham,” she whispered.

He paced to Rivers’ desk and slammed the knife down on the tabletop, tossing the cloth next to it. He faced Rivers and Annabelle, “I realized this is your establishment, Mr. Rivers, and that you saved my sister’s life tonight, for which I am eternally grateful. But what I am about to say is highly sensitive.”

Rivers straightened his spine and Ilaria caught her breath. There were few people who had ever stared down her brother when he was in full king mode. But there was no hesitation to the club owner as he did just that. “I assure you, Your Majesty, that highly sensitive is my business. I recognize your hesitation to speak of private things, but those private things have entered my club now and threatened more than just your sister. So I won’t leave.” He inclined his head slightly. “There may even be a chance that I can help.”

Grantham held Rivers’ stare for a long moment, sizing him up, Ilaria thought. And then his expression grew less hard. “How?”

“I have connections,” Rivers said softly. “And I can find things that perhaps even your courtiers would find difficult to uncover. I will offer my assistance in any way I can. But I must understand what happened in my club tonight and why.”

Grantham ran a hand through his hair and looked at his family, then back to Rivers. “Very well. If I have your word that nothing I say here leaves this club, I don’t suppose I have much choice.”

“I swear to you that nothing you say will ever leave these walls,” Rivers said, his gaze intense on Grantham’s.

“I think I believe you.” Her brother sighed heavily. “I suppose we’re all being revealed as liars tonight. There has been trouble since I took the throne, a trouble I…I kept from all of you. There is a faction of our people who do not wish to have a monarchy anymore. Apparently they would go so far as to murder my sister to make that point abundantly clear.”

As Sasha and Giabella gasped, Remi got up and crossed to the desk. He squeezed their brother’s arm and picked up the flag. “They want you to, what…abdicate?”

Grantham nodded. “I’m receiving regular reports of their behavior from home. My advisors keep telling me to squash them, do it swiftly and harshly enough that it will never happen again during my reign. I’ve resisted—I do not wish to turn might against my people. But I never thought it would go this far.”

“It seems odd it would.” Remi fingered the cloth. “Odd to leave a calling card like this when they must know you are being pressured to retaliate. It feels too obvious.”

Jonah cleared his throat. “I don’t disagree with Prince Remington,” he said softly. “But I think the matter at hand is that Princess Ilaria’s life has been threatened, not once but three times in a short period. She is the target, no matter what the purpose of the attacks is in truth. And she must be our focus. Your Majesty, you asked me to do a duty. To protect your sister. And I have a suggestion as to how that needs to be carried out.”

Grantham glared at him, and Ilaria had to force herself not to stand up, to insert herself between the men, defend Jonah in a way that would make their bond all the more obvious. “You have a suggestion after you have failed three times? After you allowed her to come here threedamnedtimes? For what purpose, I can only imagine.”

Jonah flinched, but did not defend himself. He cleared his throat. “She needs to be removed from London,” he said. “Secreted away, even if only for a short time while you investigate.”

The queen got to her feet. “I don’t disagree with Captain Crawford,” she said softly. “My daughter must be protected at any cost.”

“Then we should return home,” Grantham snapped. “We could be on the boat by tomorrow.”

“And destroy all your hopes for this visit?” Ilaria gasped in horror. “Undo all you’ve built?”

Jonah shook his head. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, I’m not sure that solves your problem. You are dealing with a person or persons who are driven to make some kind of point. They might be with this rebel group you describe, or your brother might be correct that they are not. Going home may not alleviate the pressure and if you cannot trust someone within your own household——”

Ilaria’s stomach turned. “You think the culprit could be someone in the household?”

“No,” Grantham said. “I cannot believe it.”

“Then you’ll leave yourself open to danger,” Rivers said softly. Grantham cast him a dark look, but Rivers seemed unmoved. “We don’t like to think that those we trust haven’t earned it. But it is sometimes terribly true. If Crawford could take the princess to safety, I could have my own people, people you can trust completely, look into this attack and its true origins.”

“And how do we explain a missing princess?”

“You don’t.” Sasha’s hands shook as she grasped Ilaria’s. “I will stand in her place.”

Grantham jerked his face toward her. “Sasha!”

“Please don’t pretend that this isn’t exactly what my presence was always meant for. Ilaria’s schedule includes many events where most will not get too close to her. Even those who do, most of them only have seen sketches of her in the papers. I look close enough to pass if need be.”

“And what of the Earl of Bramwell?” the queen interjected. “He would know you weren’t Ilaria, so he would have to be told the truth.”

“Yes. But I think he and his mother could be trusted.” Sasha straightened her back. “We carry on just as you intended, only with me in the place of threat rather than Ilaria.”

Ilaria clenched and unclenched her hands before her. “No. That is too dangerous.”

“That is what a double does,” Sasha said, touching her face gently.

“You are more than my double,” Ilaria declared. “For God’s sake, you are my friend. My sister. Grantham, Mama, tell her this is outrageous. Unacceptable!”

Sasha didn’t allow the king or queen to do that. “It is because I am your friend and your…your sister that I am willing to take the risk. Now that the danger is known, I will be well-protected, I’m sure.”

Grantham ran a hand through his hair as he paced the room. “I don’t like this. I don’t like that we would endanger Sasha, nor that the rest of my family may be at risk. I don’t like that Ilaria would go away with Crawford. God’s teeth, this is a mess.” He rested both hands on the desk top and leaned heavily there.

Jonah stared at Ilaria for a moment. Too long. She felt how desperate he was, how afraid for her. How he would do anything to protect her, even at great cost to himself. “I can protect her, Your Majesty. I vow that to you now. I will die if need be to see her through this.”

“Jonah,” Ilaria whispered, and that elicited several looks from those in the room, including her brother.

Grantham let his breath out in a long sigh. “Fine. I see no other choice at present. Sasha, you and Remi go back to the house. Gather some of Ilaria’s things…quietly. She won’t return until we all feel this danger has subsided. No one else in the household must know what is happening. If anyone asks about her, she is taken ill and only Sasha and her mother are seeing her. We close off her room, we close off everything. Come back in the unmarked carriage.”

“Understood,” Remi said, taking Sasha’s arm. “Come.”

They left together quickly, and Ilaria stood to take her mother’s arm. She felt how tightly her mother clung to her. How her fear seemed to ooze from her like an unstoppable flow. Her mother who had lost so much.

She hugged her tightly as Grantham, Rivers and Jonah all put their heads together to talk about their plan further. It didn’t really matter what it was now. She would be sent away, with a man who she loved but still could never have. And she had no idea what would come of it all.

“Is he trustworthy?” her mother whispered against her shoulder.

Ilaria pulled away and looked into her mother’s eyes. “Yes,” she said. “I trust him. Whatever happened here, it was my fault, my willfulness that caused it, not his failure.”

Her mother held her stare. “Including whatever is between you?”

Ilaria caught her breath. “Mama—”

“I must be very old in your eyes,” her mother whispered. “But I assure you, I am not incapable of understanding what is right in front of me.” She glanced over her shoulder at Jonah. “He is handsome. I can see the attraction. But be careful, Ilaria. Whatever happens, the future remains unchanged. I cannot stop you from pursuing whatever you will pursue when I’m not there to act as a shield. But I don’t want to see you hurt. Not by these blackguards who pursue you. Not by your own heartbreak.”

“I know,” Ilaria said, and glanced at Jonah again. “I won’t.”

She said those words, but they were lies. Deep in her heart she knew she might not, in fact probably could not promise that. Not to her mother. Not to herself. Not when she was finally alone with a man who held the key to all her happiness…and all her heartbreak.

* * *

To avoid the eyes of the public and to allow Ilaria more time to clear her head, they did not depart the Donville Masquerade until dawn, long after the club had cleared and the staff had gone home for the night. Jonah trailed behind the royal family, watching as they flanked Ilaria, bearing her up, speaking to her softly as they moved toward the carriages parked behind the club. When they had reached the one she and Jonah would escape in, she hugged each of these people who she loved and then the king, himself, helped her into the rig.

Rivers clapped a hand on his back, jolting Jonah from his observations. He turned to face his friend. “I am sorry, Rivers, Annabelle, for all the trouble,” he said softly.

Annabelle smiled gently, but Rivers tilted his head back and laughed. Normally he was such a serious person, Jonah almost didn’t recognize him.

“Friend,” Rivers said. “This isn’t trouble in the slightest, I promise you. Just as I promise that I will do anything in my power to bring this to a swift and good end.”

“Thank you.” It was Grantham who replied as he stepped up to their small circle. Jonah looked back over his shoulder and saw the rest of the royal family had stepped away to their own rig and were climbing in, ready to go home after this unfortunate adventure.

“My pleasure, Your Majesty. My people will be in contact with you shortly,” Rivers said, then took Annabelle’s hand and the two stepped back into the club.

Which left Jonah alone with the man he had failed. They stared at each other for a beat, and then Grantham shook his head. “If I hadn’t been so distracted, I would have noticed that you are in love with her.”

Jonah set his jaw, but didn’t deny the charge. This man was too intelligent to sport with on this topic. “I am dedicated to her protection,” was all he said in reply.

Grantham looked at him closely. “I suppose you are. And she is an adult, despite the occasional fit of pique.”

“But nothing changes,” Jonah said softly. “I know that. She knows that. When this is over, there remain expectations that she will do her duty. And she won’t fail you. At least not because of me.”

“We know where you are staying with her,” Grantham said. “And I will send word the moment we feel things are safe.”

He turned as if to go, but Jonah caught his arm. The touch seemed to surprise the king, for he jolted and stared down at the hand clenched on his forearm.

“I know you know this, but I must repeat it,” Jonah said. “Be careful with that information. You want to trust those in your employ, but until we are certain, only the family must know about Ilaria.”

Grantham pulled his arm from Jonah’s grip. “Yes, so you and Rivers say. I will be careful,” he promised with a shake of his head. “And I’ll ensure the rest are careful too.”

“Good,” Jonah said. “I hope we’re both wrong about the threat.”

Grantham drew in a long breath. “If you love her, then you must understand I love her too. She is my only blood sister, and if anything happened to her it would…” He bent his head. “It would destroy me. And my mother. It would break all of us. So please, whatever else you do or don’t do, keep her safe.”

Jonah was surprised by the emotion that wavered in the Grantham’s voice, that was bright in his eyes in that moment. But it vanished as the king turned on his heel and walked away without a backward glance for Jonah or for Ilaria, staring out the carriage toward her family. Grantham thrust himself into the vehicle, and off it went. Ilaria sagged in defeat at the door to their rig.

Jonah moved to her, trying to look calm and in control when he felt anything but after the last twelve hours. She slid back to allow him entry and he climbed up. The driver—who Marcus had provided and vouched for, rather than a family driver—already knew the destination, and once Jonah was settled, the rig began to move.

He stared across the carriage at Ilaria. She had always seemed a big presence to him with her jewels and her crowns and her effortless confidence. Her entire life, she had been trained to come into a room and draw every eye to her, make every person feel as if she was the center of the world.

But right now she looked so small as she sat in the corner of the carriage seat, her head bent and her hands clenched in her lap. Her pain, her fear…they were palpable, like a drumbeat between them in the quiet.

“Ilaria,” he said softly.

She lifted her gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” she whispered.

He hesitated. “Are you referring to the fact that Grantham asked me to watch you?”

She nodded.

“I thought,” he began, and then he shook his head. “I thought you would try to escape me if you knew I was another person sent to thwart your desires. And, to be honest, I wanted to be near you.”

She worried her lip at that admission. Foolishly made, considering their conversation earlier in the night when he had told her that they could have no future. When he had asked her to believe he didn’t care about her. But so much had changed in the hours after that, including the fact that he’d almost lost her.

“So where are we going?” she asked, her voice suddenly rough.

He cleared his throat. “It’s a small estate, not so far outside of London. We’ll be there in a few hours. You should sleep if you can after all the evening’s excitement.”

She snorted out a breath. “As if I could get comfortable with everything that happened.”

He hesitated a moment and then moved to her side of the carriage. She watched him but didn’t recoil when he slid an arm around her. He pulled her to his side, and she shivered before she rested her cheek to his chest and wrapped an arm around his waist.

It was quiet for a while, almost to the point where he thought she might have fallen asleep already, but then she lifted her head to look at him. “Jonah?” she murmured.

“Yes.”

“I’m…I’m glad you were there. I’m glad it was you. If I’d ever had to choose anyone, it would have been you.”

She didn’t clarify what she meant by that as she settled herself back against his chest and shut her eyes. She didn’t need to really. He knew she meant to protect her. But also more. All the more that they couldn’t have no matter how much they both wanted it.

He held her tighter as she slipped into sleep. He loved her. That was what mattered. So he would do anything in this world to protect her.