Chapter Twenty-Eight
It was toward evening, and the end of a long day on the road, and Roberta was dreaming.
In her dream, it was a gray and chilly day, and she was riding her horse through a gloomy forest of tall, dark trees.
Pine needles littered the path before her, and the only sound she could hear was the thump of Arrow’s hooves.
Flakes of snow fluttered down, cold against her skin, but she rode on.
She felt afraid but she didn’t know why.
She just knew she had to hurry. Perhaps she was looking for someone.
Was it Niki? Was he in danger? Yes, that was it, Niki was in danger, and she had to save him.
There was a loud sound, a tremendous crack of timber breaking.
Roberta was shocked awake. For a moment, she was confused, caught between the dream world and the real world, and then she realized the coach was lurching about her, tipping dangerously to one side.
She cried out and clung to the leather strap fastened to the roof, but it just swung her around even more violently.
The next moment, Niki wrapped his arms about her, as if protecting her body with his.
A moment later, the vehicle righted itself, although it gave several violent rocks, as if threatening to fall over completely, before it finally stilled.
There were voices outside, and then the door was forced open and a worried face peered in. “Are you hurt, sir? Madam?”
Roberta opened her eyes. “I don’t think so,” she said.
Niki was already climbing out. “What happened?” he demanded.
“The wheel shaft broke, sir. I’m afraid we can go no further until it is fixed.” The man looked white-faced. “There is an inn not far from here. You can rest there while the repairs are made.”
By now Roberta had managed to exit the coach too, shaking out her skirts and tucking her hair back so that she could see.
Her pins had been no match for the coach, and now her hair lay about her in a heavy cloud.
The second coach had reached them, and Antonia and Ernest jumped out, wide-eyed, while Freddie and his men were grouped together, watchful for any trouble.
Roberta thought that the only trouble right now was with the coach.
Niki spoke with the driver for a time and then returned to where Roberta and Antonia were seated on a fallen log handily placed nearby.
“I’m afraid I have bad news. We cannot go on to Dover in one coach—there are too many of us—and I don’t want to waste time searching for a replacement vehicle.
The driver knows the inn and says it is well run and clean and will offer us shelter until the repairs are completed.
It should not take too long. Two days, at most. I am sorry. ”
Roberta smiled. “Not your fault. And I imagine one or more nights in an inn won’t kill us.”
Antonia nudged her. “Robbie, it’s your wedding night.”
Ernest was listening in and snorted a laugh. Then, seeing the expression on Roberta’s face, he laughed harder.
“Do shut up, Ernest,” Niki said wearily.
Ernest wasn’t listening. “Niki had a very romantic wedding night all planned,” he said. “I heard him talking to Matilda.”
Roberta felt her heart give a little lurch. “Oh. Did you…I mean, were you really planning…”
He cut through her stumbling words, obviously embarrassed. His lean cheeks were pink. “Yes, I did have plans. But never mind. The inn will have to do. Eh, perhaps Antonia can stay with you tonight.”
But Antonia gave a decisive shake of her head. “I don’t think so. And surely it’s bad luck not to be together on your wedding night? It might be an omen.” She widened her eyes comically.
“When did you start believing in omens?” Roberta said.
This conversation seemed rather more than Niki could handle. “I must see to the horses,” he muttered, and strode away.
Antonia giggled, covering her mouth, and Ernest chuckled. Roberta did not feel like laughing. She wondered what Niki had had planned for their first night together. Now she would never know.
She sighed. The inn would have to do. She had heard that first nights could be rather uncomfortable—Estelle was full of terrible tales of disappointed brides.
Olivia didn’t seem to have been disappointed though, and Gabriel and Vivienne were always touching each other.
She reminded herself that kissing Niki was no hardship.
In fact, it was very nice indeed. She often thought of their kisses.
Besides, Niki was a prince and was no doubt very experienced when it came to such matters.
Roberta knew the mechanics of sexual congress, having spent many years around horses and the stables, but she was sure there was more to it.
In fact, she knew there was more, if her reactions when Niki kissed her and touched her were anything to go by.
Arrangements were soon made. They climbed into the rather crowded second coach and made their way to the nearby inn.
Once inside the establishment, Roberta was relieved to see that while it might be small, it was as spick-and-span as promised.
Flowers graced a table inside the door, and a plump woman in a mobcap and apron came to greet them with bright-eyed interest. Her name, she informed them, was Mrs. Harmer, and she had run the inn for a year now since her husband passed on.
A boy with a shy smile led them into the parlor while their bedchambers were being prepared.
There were only two bedrooms, but the barn had plenty of space for the others, and when Mrs. Harmer returned to show them upstairs, she assured them it would be perfectly comfortable.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had quality stay here before,” she added, beaming at them.
“We are very grateful,” Roberta said. “We were supposed to be driving through to Dover.”
Mrs. Harmer waved a hand as if having all these people descend upon her was no bother at all. “I will see what I have for your dinner, Your Highness, while you make yourself comfortable in your room.”
Your Highness, Roberta thought, uneasy with her elevation. Niki preferred “sir” but technically, as a prince and a duke, he was “Your Highness” or “Your Grace.” Perhaps she could ask to be called the more informal “Madam.”
Niki was still out in the stables with the horses. He was very particular about their care, and as Arrow was with them, she was glad of his watchfulness. Roberta was to take her beloved horse with her to Holtswig, and she was looking forward to riding with Niki.
She followed Mrs. Harmer up to the room, and thanked the woman again, and then closed the door and took a deep breath.
It was as small as the rest of the inn, but at least there was a bed, and a stand with a water jug and basin.
Someone had brought her travel bag upstairs and placed it here, so she could at least brush her hair.
The only window looked down to the back of the inn, where a washerwoman was busy with a tub of soapy water while a small child sat at her feet, playing.
It was a domestic scene, and Roberta found it soothing.
She peered into the small mirror, which was worn from years of service, and began to tidy herself.
The smell of roasting meat and vegetables came from below, where the kitchen must be, and her stomach rumbled.
She was surprisingly hungry. She had not eaten much at the wedding supper, being too anxious and excited, and sad too at leaving her home.
Not that she wasn’t looking forward to the future. And now here she was, alone in an inn, a married woman.
Antonia knocked on her door and entered, looking about her with interest. “My room is smaller still,” she said, “and I am sharing with our maid. Her name is Ruth, and she is very pious. She reads the Bible every night. Do you need her, by the way?”
“No, I can manage.” Gabriel had arranged for one of the Grantham servants to travel with Roberta and Antonia and to act as their lady’s maid.
Up until recently, her life had been simple and she had managed all these years without requiring someone to help her dress and brush her hair.
Was she now expected to be helpless? Would she have servants at Holtswig to wait upon her and refuse to allow her to lift even a teacup?
Antonia was still babbling on, and she tried to concentrate.
“Mrs. Harmer says we will eat in two hours, and I am already starving. I wondered if you wanted some company. Ernest is still with the horses, and Freddie is in deep conversation with your husband.” She grinned.
“It seems strange to be calling him that, but I imagine I will get used to it. I wondered if you might want to hear about Holtswig. I have been reading a lot about its history, so I can fill you in on any details you might need to know. Don’t you think the people will be impressed when they hear you talk about their country? ”
Roberta wasn’t sure about that, but she agreed it would pass the time, and Antonia needed no more encouragement to begin to instruct her. She was such a clever girl, and she had a way of imparting information that made it both interesting and easy to understand.
“Saint Hugh decided he was tired of the hermit’s life and went wandering.”
Roberta, whose mind had been wandering too, looked up. “Can a saint decide to stop being a hermit?” she asked curiously. “I thought once you were one, it was for life.”
“Evidently not, because Hugh got up to all sorts of mischief. His masters weren’t very pleased with him.
He fell in love with Michelle, and they set up house together and had seventeen children.
Then they were banished from their home for, well, flouting the law, but before they could be arrested, they fled.
They gathered people about them, landowners and wealthy folk as well as the poor, and made their own laws.
They were revered and loved, you see, and everyone wanted to be with them and do what they said. That was the beginning of Holtswig.”
Roberta didn’t know whether or not to laugh. “That was the beginning of Holtswig? I can see why there might have been some problems.”
Antonia clicked her tongue. “Don’t say that in front of the officials. They are very proud of the story. They say it shows courage, independence, and wisdom, qualities that are prized to this day.”
“I see.” She thought a moment. “Something I have never understood, Antonia. Why do the Holtswiggers speak English? Not that I am complaining; I can’t imagine learning a new language. But I never hear them speak anything else.”
Antonia’s eyes brightened. “Ah, well, they do have their own language. Or they did. It is still used in formal situations, but these days, English is preferred for everyday speech. I think the old language just fell out of favor as ties with England grew, although some of Niki’s council would like to bring it back. ”
At last, it was time to go downstairs to the parlor for their meal, but although Roberta kept looking to the door, hoping Niki would step through it, she was nearly finished by the time he finally arrived.
She had planned to amuse him by telling him what she had learned from Antonia, but when he sat down, Freddie joined them.
Niki seemed distracted, frowning as he conversed with Freddie, and Roberta listened to their conversation.
Niki was asking if the accident to the coach might have been something that could have been planned, and Freddie was explaining that according to the blacksmith overseeing the repairs, it was not.
Until that moment, it had not occurred to Roberta that it could have been anything other than an unfortunate mishap. Now, at the reminder that faceless men could be plotting to hurt Niki, she found she was no longer hungry.
“I don’t think there will be any more attempts,” Freddie said. “They have failed twice. They will wait until you are back in Holtswig.”
“How do you know?” Niki asked irritably. “You’ve been wrong before.”
Roberta looked at him in surprise. She had thought the two men got on well. Freddie seemed taken aback too.
“Years of experience, and something our prisoner said.”
“And what was that?” Niki paused with a succulent piece of meat halfway to his mouth. “Don’t tell me he is finally talking.”
Freddie took a drink of his ale, eyes on the prince over the rim of the mug. “You seem upset about something, sir. But yes, he does speak occasionally, and this time, he said that when you returned to Holtswig, you would receive your comeuppance. And what a pity I would not be there to save you.”
Roberta gave a shocked gasp, and Niki turned to her, the animosity for Freddie draining from his dark eyes. “The man is a fanatic,” he said. “He will say anything.”
Freddie agreed. “He is also wrong because I will be there in Holtswig, keeping watch over you.”
Niki opened his mouth as if to say something more and then stopped himself. He smiled at Roberta, but it was a poor effort compared to some of his earlier smiles. “You must not worry.”
She wondered how she was supposed to not worry when her husband’s life was at stake. Was that what princesses did? Pretend everything was all right when it wasn’t? She also felt guilty for being so tied up with the wedding and her own happiness that she had forgotten the danger to Niki.
“I am sure Freddie will keep you safe,” she said stiffly, and blinked back tears.
“Roberta,” Niki said softly, and reached for her hand.
“I am all right,” she said quickly. “Just tired from all of the excitement.”
“It has been an exciting time,” Niki agreed.
Roberta looked at her meal with distaste. “I don’t think I can eat any more. Do you mind if I go up to our room?”
She was half hoping he would jump up and announce he would come with her, but she wasn’t surprised when he glanced at Freddie. Something passed between the two men.
“No, I do not mind. Rest. I will not be long.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, the warmth in his eyes making her skin tingle.
Roberta left them to whatever they had to say to each other.
The truth was, she was glad to spend some time on her own before Niki joined her.
She had had a rather lovely nightgown made by the family modiste, but it was in the trunk with her new clothing, and that was with the coach.
She was hardly going to ask someone to search out her wedding night ensemble, so—setting aside visions of being so beautiful Niki could not take his eyes off her—she stripped down to her petticoat, washed with the tepid water in the jug, and climbed beneath the covers.
At least the bed was comfortable, and it felt nice and cozy tucked up there.
Gradually, her anticipation began to give way to weariness. Her eyes closed and, despite her determination to stay awake for Niki, Roberta slept.