AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The crown prince apparently had to make up for their slack.
Walking out into the hallway, she looked around. She’d been so certain Tristan was the answer, that he would help her rescue her parents and then they could be reunited. But no … he was flirting away, having a great time. Probably barely remembered she was waiting in his suite. How many women did he ask to wait in his suite? Her neck prickled with heat and her stomach turned over.
“’I’ll slip away as soon as I can’,” she muttered. “’I don’t want to miss out on you.’”
His words had impacted her deeply. She’d trusted him with her secrets. Was the man she loved truly a philanderer now like she’d thrown at him early today? He’d claimed the media blew things out of proportion, but no media had shown her that clear picture of him happily flirting, looking confident, delighted with the female attention, and in his element.
Her shoulders rounded. She should go to her parents’ cottage and await another message from William. She’d have to pray she could somehow overtake William by herself. Could she surprise him with her knives and bear spray? If only she could find a stun gun. She didn’t want to kill anybody, and a stun gun seemed a lot easier method to hit and incapacitate a target. William wouldn’t expect her to be armed or to fight. The element of surprise was the only real weapon she’d have.
Jennifer trudged down the hallway toward the back stairs. She’d take the castle entrance she came in with Captain Levi earlier and slip quietly through the wedding party. Tristan wouldn’t even notice her, surrounded as he was.
Hopefully one of the shuttles was running to take people back to Greenville.
Oh, shoot. Her hat and sunglasses.
Turning, she headed for Tristan’s suite when footsteps came from the main staircase. Determined footsteps.
She upped her pace, hoping to slide into Tristan’s suite and hide until whoever it was went away. Then she’d have to make her escape. Disappointment at not being able to rely on Tristan weighed heavily on her chest. He used to be her hero, her everything, her Big Bad Wolf crown prince. Now he was a ladies’ man. Ugh!
She reached his door and grasped the doorknob.
What if it was Tristan finally coming for her? Could he have rushed the stairs that quickly? Her heart gave a traitorous leap at the thought.
“Stop right there, miss,” a man said from down the hall.
Not Tristan. Disappointment stung like a wasp.
Turning, she swallowed hard as she looked between two royal guards, neither of which seemed happy to see her. She didn’t recognize either of them.
“Pardon me.” She drew herself up and made her voice haughty. “I’ve been asked by Prince Tristan to wait for him in his suite. I don’t believe you’ll want to go against his instructions.”
“We’ve been watching you on the camera,” the same man said as they both advanced. They didn’t have weapons pointed at her. Yet. “You snuck out of Prince Tristan’s suite to the unoccupied suite across the hall. We unfortunately missed seeing you sneak up here a couple hours ago. Joseph will stand guard over you in the hallway while I search the prince’s suite for anything amiss.”
“I am Jennifer Shule, Prime Minister Henry Shule’s daughter,” she threw at him. So much for staying incognito.
The men’s faces both registered surprise, then recognition.
“I am also Prince Tristan’s girlfriend, and he asked me to wait in his suite for reasons that are none of your business.” She tilted her chin up. She didn’t want to insinuate anything or stain either of their reputations, but she had to get these guards to leave her alone so she could sneak out of here and deal with William and protect her parents. Alone. She’d been alone for the past eight months. She didn’t know why she’d let herself hope for anything different now. The visions of Tristan by her side had been too tantalizing. It wounded her to have them ripped away.
“If you’re the crown prince’s girlfriend, why is Prince Tristan currently dancing with a gorgeous blonde? Why aren’t you with him at the wedding dance, and why did you sneak across the hall?”
Jennifer’s heart sank. The man she’d always thought she could trust, the man who loved her and only her … letting her sit in his suite waiting for him, and now she was being interrogated by guards while he danced with a ‘gorgeous blonde’...
She wouldn’t have called the woman gorgeous. Mildly attractive, maybe borderline pretty.
“He had to make an appearance at the dinner and dancing,” she said, though she hardly believed it herself. “My father asked me not to be seen because of my mum’s disappearance, which is why I’ve been waiting in Tristan’s rooms. I got bored, so I snuck across to see what was keeping him.” Her shoulders slumped. “There was a blonde clinging to him.”
The speaking guard’s face registered compassion. He looked her over. “I’m sorry, miss. Even though you’re the prime minister’s daughter, I still need to search the suite and detain you until we have answers or confirmation from the crown prince.”
“Confirmation from me about what?” Tristan strode up from the back staircase. Jennifer hadn’t even heard him coming, so focused on explaining herself and her own heartbreak.
“Prince Tristan.” The guards both bowed. “Miss Shule claims you asked her to wait in your suite.”
“I did, and I need you to keep her presence here quiet. Thank you.” He nodded to each of them, then strode around them and put his arm around her waist. “If you’ll excuse us, please.”
“Of course, sir.”
Tristan escorted her into his rooms. Jennifer felt a mixture of relief at him coming for her, desire to never have him release his arm around her waist, and anger at him for making her wait so long while he flirted and danced with the ‘gorgeous blonde.’
