Chapter Thirty-Six
“Surely, you are familiar with your own history,” he continued, losing patience as his focus fell again to the necklace at her throat.
The look in his eyes was covetous and possessive.
“You must know the story of that fortune you are wearing. You were promised to me hundreds of years ago, princess. And now… after generations of separation, you will finally be mine.”
She could no longer deny it. He fully believed what he was saying. Something of her acceptance must have reflected in her face as Ackerly nodded and pressed his lips into a smile.
“You see me now, for who I am.”
“You believe yourself to be an ancient Indian maharaja,” she offered carefully. “Reincarnated into this life.”
He growled in frustration and his fingers dug deep into the flesh of her arms, bruising her.
“I am Naresh Dehuri, the only son of a powerful maharaja, and you are Savita Padhan, daughter to another,” he spit.
“There is no point denying it. My family has been watching and waiting for this moment for hundreds of years. Do you think I wouldn’t seize this opportunity to correct fate? ”
“Your family? Lord Ackerly—”
“You will address me as Your Highness,” he interrupted sharply. “From this moment forward, we are to begin the lives we should have had all those years ago.”
Eleanor watched him carefully. Panic swirled with confusion and astonishment in her mind. The man deeply believed what he was saying. He believed he was fulfilling a stolen destiny.
As her thoughts tripped over his earlier words about making sure Phin could not interfere, a horrible fear threatened to claim her. If Ackerly believed the viscount to be his rival, would he attempt to repeat history in that regard as well?
Steeling herself, she refused to believe the worst. Surely, Phin was all right. He was just delayed, no doubt fighting off whatever Ackerly had instigated against him. He was probably racing behind them right now.
She desperately needed to believe that.
But she also knew that she couldn’t rely on it. She had to find a way to escape. She didn’t know where they were heading, but perhaps…if she could get Ackerly to let down his guard, when the carriage stopped, she might have an opportunity to run.
Maybe…if she could convince her captor that she was willing to go along…
Taking a deep breath as studied the man across from her. He was tense, a light sheen of sweat glistened on his brow, and his gaze darted frequently out the carriage window, as if he too believed someone might follow them.
There had to be something she could do.
Lifting her hand to the necklace, still warm and heavy across her throat. She traced the honeybee motif with her fingertip and thought of that tragic, long-ago princess who’d dared to believe in the honor and promise of true love.
That woman had paid the ultimate price for her courage.
Like her, Eleanor would not go quietly into a destiny she did not choose. She would fight with whatever she had available to her. And hope that she too did not lose everything.
Realizing that what she was about to do could easily fail and anger her captor, she decided she had no choice. Shifting her posture into one she hoped was regal and demure at the same time, she borrowed just a hint of the lyrical cadence she’d always loved in her grandmother’s speech.
“How did you find me?” she asked gently, her head slightly bowed, her hands folded gently in her lap. “Across so many continents and generations?”
Ackerly’s flickering gaze slid swiftly to her, chilling her blood as she held her breath. For a moment, she feared he wouldn’t accept her ruse. But then something shifted in his manner. A visible wave of pride and superiority rolled through him.
“My princess, I never fully lost you. Not in spirit.” His smile was grossly condescending, but there was no suggestion of suspicion in his eyes. He was a willing victim to his delusion. “My father may have wanted to punish you for your betrayal, but all I ever wanted was for us to be together.”
“But how?” Eleanor asked innocently. “How did you find me here? How did… how did you remember who you were?”
His expression darkened for a moment. “When your family thrust us into a great war, I rushed willingly to the frontlines. I would’ve been your faithful loving husband, but without you, there was reason to continue living.
Death was welcome then. But my father always thought of the future.
He sent his only living heir to Persia with his most trusted servants, hoping to keep our family line alive.
The young boy thrived. He spent his life devoted to growing the meager wealth he was able to retain in exile.
Though he could never return to his homeland for fear of the death that was promised by your family, he amassed a small group of allies and followers dedicated to him and his legacy.
He wed, produced an heir of his own, who wed and begat more heirs.
Within a few generations his line had become stronger.
Eventually, they relocated to France where they married into the aristocracy and continued to prosper.
“Throughout every generation—every reinvention—the past was never forgotten. The story of how betrayal destroyed our kingdom and forced us from our homeland was passed down, told in whispered tones from the cradle to the grave. My grandfather, Comte de Montbrun-les-Bains, was the first to believe in the possibility of correcting the great karmic error that was inflicted upon us. He was the first to consider a reincarnated destiny.”
He chuckled and gave a condescending shake of his head.
“The fool mistakenly believed himself to be the prince returned. He was the one who began the search for the missing bridal necklace.” His gaze shot to her throat.
“Those jewels should have been a symbol of the union between two great and royal lines. Grandfather researched the path of your family line and believed he’d discovered the princess reborn.
But she had already married a British duke. It was a betrayal all over again.”
“My grandmother?” Eleanor muttered.
“The old man was wrong,” he asserted with sudden force.
“But he did one thing right. He married my mother to an Englishman, bringing our family together in the same country once again. It was my mother who finally gave birth to the one who would restore the family honor and finally claim the bride who had been stolen from him.”
Eleanor’s eyes grew wider and wider as he spoke. The conviction and certainty in his final words rang like a knell through her bones.
Ackerly’s gaze bored into her with intense possession. “I have come back for you, my love. And I will allow nothing to come between us this time.”
She could see how deeply and completely he believed everything he was saying. It convinced her even more that the only chance she had was to try to go along with him. If she could gain even a bit of his trust, she might be able to take advantage of it and claim an escape.
“You came back for me,” she whispered in soft reverence.
His smile sent icy chills down her spine.
“The moment I set eyes on you, I recognized you. All my mother’s bedtime stories came to life in an instant.
I saw my destiny laid before me, leading straight to you and back to the glory we were denied.
I was fated to correct the ill-designed past. But first, I needed to ensure everything was perfect.
“It was not so difficult to recover the necklace. My family knew who had taken possession of it all those generations ago. We knew it had never resurfaced. I simply had to follow the clues through history to that simple fishing village.” He scoffed.
“Then that damned fool, Weathers, stole the thing for himself.”
Ackerly blinked away the flash of temper in his eyes.
“But no matter. The piece found its way to you, after all. As it should have. Waring has been dealt with. You are with me. And now everything is properly in place. We shall wed and rule our combined kingdoms as had been fated so long ago.” He smiled.
Almost gently. “Soon, my love, all will be righted.”
The carriage lurched to a stop. Ackerly’s expression sharpened as he leaned forward and placed his hand heavily on her knee. “You will not fight me,” he said, as if he fully expected her to follow his words as law. “Such foolishness is of the past. We both know the end of that course.”
Despite the intense urge to shove his hand away and flee from the carriage, Eleanor lowered her chin and her gaze as she whispered, “Destiny shall not be denied.”
He squeezed her knee and hummed an approval before turning to open the carriage door.
He did not even question her acquiescence. She didn’t know what she’d do if he didn’t believe her. She had no idea how far she’d have been able to force the ruse to convince him.
After stepping out of the vehicle, he turned back to offer his hand. Though she inwardly cringed at having to willingly touch him, she did so. Keeping her head slightly bowed, she tried to scan the area around them as best she could.
The awful scent of the Thames wafted around them and the sounds of the docks were unmistakable. Lifting her gaze in surprise, she saw that they stood before a seafaring ship that was bustling with activity, as though preparing to leave port within moments.
The man intended to spirit her away from England tonight!