Rescuing Rapunzel (24 page)

“Good.” She slammed her glass on the table and a bit of wine sloshed out. She made no move to wipe it. She simply sat and appraised him. “Still, a quick marriage would be prudent.”

This did make Nick smile. “And why is that?”

“This is the first female you have shown any interest in in years. I am not about to let you try to get out of this.”

“Ah, Mother, you can always be counted on,” he said, managing a smile as he approached her and leaned in to kiss her cheek. In truth, he felt sick to his stomach. He was not the one who would try to get out of this. It appeared his betrothed might do that for him.

“I am not through with you, boy,” she said, grabbing his ear.

Nick winced. “Mother, please. The ear?”

“Now you listen here,” she said, releasing his ear. “I want to be absolutely sure this is what you want. If you have any doubts, do not drag her through this. She has been through enough in her life. It is best to let her go and move on, if you question it at all.” She wagged her finger in his face. “You have hidden behind this betrothal all your life, never letting yourself care for anyone. Katherina is a lovely young girl and deserves someone who cares about her, not some twenty-year-old obligation two men created when deep in their cups.”

He patted his mother’s cheek. “Mother, if she were a peasant girl, I would want her just the same. It is merely a blessing she is also my intended.”

The duchess nodded. “Then by all means, let us plan a wedding.”

“I leave those details to you,” Nick said, and said his goodbyes.

He did not stop to heed his mother’s calls, instead heading directly to Rapunzel’s…Lady Katherina’s…Tressey’s chamber. He was not about to spend another moment away from his intended. They needed to speak, to put that outburst of hers behind them, because, damn it, he loved her. He needed to make sure Tressey understood that. That he wanted to be with her, always.

He stormed through the hallways until he reached her door and did not bother with knocking. He would pull her into his arms, hold her to him until morning. Never let her go.

He had never felt so strongly about anyone before. It did not matter to him that she was his intended. No old promise could have ignited such need in him. Until now, he had viewed women as the means for a moment or two of pleasure until he grew bored. Somehow, he was certain his Tressey would never bore him. Hearing her voice made his heart lighten. Her laughter made him soar. And her love? If she felt only a quarter of what he felt for her, he would be forever grateful.

He burst into her room, a declaration of love on his lips. He wanted no mistakes or misunderstandings between them. She would listen, smile and say that she too loved him, and then…

Then everything would work out.

Naturally, that was not possible.

Tressey stood in the middle of the room, singing a lovely melody Nick did not recognize. She was not alone. Kiki was there–accompanying her on her flute–along with the von Stroebels, who sat on her settee.

Tressey’s voice faltered as she glanced back at him, standing in her doorway.

“Have you forgotten how to knock, brother?” Kiki said, putting down her instrument.

“Do you not have something to do? Men to follow around?”

Kiki narrowed her eyes at her brother. “I was making music for Tressey, so she could sing for her parents. What are you doing here?”

“I…” He could not exactly say, in front of Kiki and the von Stroebels, that he was here to compromise Tressey. If she let him, that is.

“Nick was going to take me on a tour of the grounds,” Tressey said, coming to his side, then facing the von Stroebels. The smile on her face was far too bright for a woman who had been snapping at him a short time ago. “I have only begun to recover from…” She paused, and worry started to mar the von Stroebel’s faces. “From…”

“From that horrible cold you had,” Kiki chimed in. “She had a horrible cold when she first arrived. Could not get out of bed for a few days.”

“Yes, I was ill,” she continued. “But I am much better now.”

“Glad to hear it,” von Stroebel said, the worry lines receding on his face, as well as his wife’s.

“Would you like to come with us?” Tressey asked them.

The duchess shook her head. “How polite of you to ask, but no, we shall retire.” She stood, and as she did Nick noticed how much more invigorated she was. Even von Stroebel showed more strength in his movements, and they did not seem quite as old as they had on arrival.

“We shall see you at evening sup?” von Stroebel asked.

“Of course,” Tressey replied. “I look forward to it.”

Kiki had tucked her flute into its little carrying bag and joined Nick and Tressey.

“Anon then,” von Stroebel said as they left.

“Come along,” Kiki said, heading to the door.

“What are you prattling about?” Nick asked his sister.

“You have to take her for a walk now,” she said, a wicked grin on her face.

Nick gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted to do was take Tressey on a walk. He wanted to kick his little sister out of the room, bar the door and have his way with his intended. However, his sister had a point. Now that he had said he was going to take her for a walk, if they did not leave the chamber it would cause more concern and attention.

“Fine, we will go for a walk.”

Kiki had already headed out the door, a few paces ahead of them. Which was fine with Nick. He needed to talk to Tressey.

“Tressey, I–”

“Not now.” She gestured to Kiki. Tressey’s shoulders dropped just a bit and she leaned to whisper to him. “I did not want to be rude. I should have told them I was resting.”

“Do you think it would have stopped her? She is a monster.”

“She is no such thing, she is quite charming.”

“Child’s a menace,” he muttered.

“That woman is older than I am,” Tressey replied.

Nick grumbled as they began their walk.

Chapter 35

Kiki managed to put a few paces between us as we walked through the castle, and my heart began to beat faster. I had noticed a pattern. Nick would glance at her and she would increase her pace while he slowed down.

He had tried it twice already, but both times I managed to slip away from him and rejoin Kiki. This time, however, he kept a grip on my arm and pulled me into a discreet alcove adorned by a painting Kiki had pointed out as a distant relative.

“What?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

I did not like standing in the little alcove with him. Not only because I was not sure of his intentions, or my feelings, but I did not like how my body reacted to his presence. My hands trembled and I gripped my arms tighter, trying to hide it, as I backed into the wall.

“We need to speak,” Nick said.

I tried to squeeze past him, but he did not move.

“Please, Tressey, I need you to understand something.”

“I understand well enough. You are a hero twice over. You rescued a damsel from her tower and she winds up being the same maiden you have been searching for your entire life. You won not only the maid, but the title and the lands.”

He bowed his head. “There is one thing you omitted.”

“And what is that?”

“That my heart won the greatest prize.”

“And what is that?”

“You.”

“You have not won me,” I said, pushing him away in a bid to get past him.

This time he let me slip by, though he called after me in a subdued voice. “Tressey, if you wish to cancel the betrothal, you have my permission.”

I balked. “Your permission? Am I a child who must seek permission to live my own life? I may not be the perfect little lady trained in
propriety
but I am not a child. I am not a prize to be given or taken, and I am not a fool.”

“I do not believe you are,” Nick replied.

“I left my tower to be free,” I said, stomping my foot. “And that is what I am. I will make my own decisions. I will.”

Nick nodded his head, his shoulders slumping. “As you should.”

As I headed down the hallway, moving toward Kiki, other voices started echoing through the corridor. Kiki stood near the entrance, watching a parade of sweaty, boisterous men come through the door.

“What is this?” I asked, staring at the large group of men.

“Practice,” Kiki answered, a smile on her face.

The men walked past us toward the dining hall and Kiki smiled at them. I did the same, following her lead, and felt several men’s gazes roam over me, making me blush and look away.

“Do you always watch them?” I asked, stepping closer to Kiki as the men grinned and waved at her.

“Of course,” she replied. “I do not get to practice with them while there are guests in the castle, so instead I have to live vicariously…” She scanned the crowd. “Why David, did you grace this lot with your presence today?” she called to one of the men.

The man spun, smiling at her. “Just showing these noblemen how things get done.” He winked, and she laughed.

Two men peeled away from the group, coming straight for me and Kiki. Nick joined us, standing by my side, though he did not utter a word. I should have been fine with his silence. Grateful, even. Instead, I felt a strange pain in my gut and found myself wishing he would say something. Anything.

When he did not, I amused myself by mimicking Kiki’s posturing, smiling at the two men who did approach us. Both were jovial, though sweaty and covered in black and brown muck. The smell of them wafted toward me and I stepped back, not wanting to get whatever they were covered in on my new gown. They looked us up and down, one with a grin on his face, the other with a raised eyebrow.

“Hello there, Kiki, and what trouble are you getting into today?” the one with chocolate brown hair asked, holding out his hand. Kiki placed her hand in his, and he leaned down and kissed it.

“Evidently not as much as you. What did you do, wallow in the manure?”

They both let out deep, rumbly laughter and closed in on us. I took another step back, afraid something would shake off.

“This whelp tripped me,” the first said, smacking his companion.

“Only because you flung me into a tree.”

This made the men laugh, Nick joining in.

Kiki glanced at me with an exaggerated sigh. “Ahh, men.”

I wrinkled my nose. “If all men smell so, I am rather glad I spent so little time around them.”

This seemed to amuse them even more, for all three burst into laughter again. I turned to Kiki wondering what I had said, but she was laughing as well.

“Perhaps there are benefits to being locked in a tower,” Nick said.

“Yes,” I replied, smiling my brightest smile. “At least there I can do as I please.”

Nick’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, instead glancing at the two men.

“So, is this lug going to make introductions?” the one with the brown hair asked.

For a moment, I wondered if Nick would, but his manners returned. “My lady, may I present Earl Penn von Eisenburg and Count Bryan von Thalunburg. The other two Charming Nobles. They claim to be my best friends.”

“No one else would put up with you,” the earl–Penn–said, making the men laugh.

Both men bowed to me and I paused, unsure how to proceed. I had not expected men–even such grubby men–to bow to me.

“Pleased to see you up and around, my lady,” Penn said.

“Pleasure,” the count–Bryan–said, his face stiff.

“And this,” Nick said, gesturing to me, “is Lady Katherina von Stroebel.”

I leaned down to curtsey, but Nick stopped me. “You are higher in rank than they. You do not curtsey to them.”

“I am sorry.” I bowed my head, the words coming out automatically.

Kiki patted my arm. “Do not be concerned. If they paid attention to the rules of decorum, we would never have any fun around here.”

The men found this quite amusing, apparently, because Penn burst out in more peels of laughter, while the others smirked. I could not keep myself from immediately warming to the two men. I studied them for a moment, trying to remember them from the tower, but the memory was elusive–I could only recall a vague sensation of floating.

“I have spent a good portion of my life attempting to understand why Nick here has a higher rank than I do, because he is certainly not nearly as handsome as I am,” Penn said, winking at me. He was quite attractive and had a lovely smile, and I realized I was blushing.

“Appearance has nothing to do with rank,” I replied, trying to sound the lady of rank I knew I was. Ironic, considering my life only a few days ago. I had been merely a peasant. Now I suddenly was catapulted into a world where I had very little concept of the rules. Even when I tried to act like I did, I managed to make mistakes.

I wondered if I would ever learn to live outside my tower.

Unaware of how deeply the words hit me, Penn continued. “No, it does not,” he said. “If so, I would be king, and these two peasants.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and his smile was so charming I could not help returning it.