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“So that the fantasy never has to end,” he lured.
Her dimples made another appearance as she smiled.
“Am I a queen, and you a mere prince? How you flatter me,” she demurred.
“If you truly wish to know me, you may call upon the Rathbournes at Rathbourne Place in Pimlico on Tuesday afternoon.”
What?he started.
She wasn’t leaving with him tonight?
What was today? He didn’t even know. Tuesday sounded too many days away. He only had a fortnight to complete his task.
But she was already curtsying prettily, and so he could do little else but bow.
“’Til then, my prince,” she said airily.
Beneath her breath, he heard her whisper:
“Until we meet again…Sai.”
And then, she turned on her heel and walked away from him.
He could only stand there and look after her in sheer astonishment.
The soft human prey was more difficult to ensnare than he initially surmised.
~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~
As soon as the couple separated, Ben and Annie descended upon the tall, pale stranger dressed entirely in silver before anyone else could.
Annie led the way with a shrill, carrying voice, “My Prince! How serendipitous to find you here! You must tell us about your recent travels. What new sights have you seen? What new treasures have you found?”
She commandeered one of his arms, determinedly looping her own around it, while Ben sandwiched him on the other side.
The hall was already abuzz with speculation, and Lady Watham herself was marching toward them as rapidly as her swollen feet could carry her. Huffing from the exertion, the pearl prongs in her hairpiece quivering with each step.
Even if she didn’t recall inviting the mysterious stranger, she was determined to make his acquaintance and obtain whatever salacious gossip about him she could, preferably directly from the proverbial horse’s mouth.
“This way,” Ben said, jerking his head toward the terrace.
A spiral stone staircase wound down from it to the back gardens.
The stranger seemed to have the same idea. He even led the way with long, swift strides, practically towing Annie behind him in a flurry of satin and silk. As tall and broad as the two men were, no one dared stand in their way.
“Oh Prince!” Lady Watham trilled, waving furiously at them from several yards away, politeness be damned.
“Dear Prince!”
But they were too fast for her, already rushed out of the double doors and down two flights of stairs, quickly veering a sharp right to disappear into the tall, leafy hedges of the garden maze.
It was sheer luck that Lady Watham had a fondness for Greek replicas. The maze was elaborate and circuitous, like the Minotaur’s Labyrinth. Punctuated by life-sized statues of various gods and goddesses, Heroes and mythical monsters.
But Ben was a pro at finding his way out of mazes. The trick was to follow only one wall. Soon, they exited into the woods at the very back of the garden, their pursuers long lost.
Ben pulled the stranger to a stop, and the “Pale Prince” immediately shrugged off his touch. He stepped free of Annie as well, regarding them with narrowed eyes of suspicion.
“Who are you?” Ben asked.
