A princess on the run, Briar Aldrich has no choice but to take on the role of scullery maid when Lord Sterling Huntington stumbles upon her in the woods and doesn't recognize her. But how safe is she actually in his home? And how safe is her heart?
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"Where is she?"
Sterling could hear the Duke's attempts at calming Sir Alfred even from the study he had been occupying off of the main hall. He made his way to the foyer where the Duke was trying to tell the newcomer that the princess was still sleeping and that, if he would calm down, they could take him to await her in the drawing room. But Sir Alfred was not to be swayed.
"Take me to her," he growled more viciously than Sterling had ever heard him. "Now."
The Duke relented and led him away, up the stairs toward the room Briar Aldrich had been occupying since their arrival days before. Sir Alfred met Sterling's eye as he passed and gave a respectful nod on his way to visit the girl.
"My husband made the mistake of telling him about her capture," Adelaide spoke suddenly and Sterling turned to see that she had snuck up behind him once again. "I told him not to. I told him that it would worry the man unnecessarily seeing as you had already returned her to safety. But he had insisted that we tell the whole truth so that Sir Alfred did not think us to be hiding anything from him."
"I agree with the Duke," Sterling answered. "There's so few people they can trust. They need to know they can count us among that number."
"Can they?"
Sterling turned to Adelaide who raised a brow.
"Cora has been throwing a fit since she's arrived," she told him and he sighed.
"I will deal with her," he promised.
"It's you she's mad at."
Before he could answer, Adelaide walked away, heading back out to her garden if the basket in her hand full of supplies was any indication. With a sigh, he turned and headed for the direction of the dining room.
"Everyone is too busy for a proper breakfast all of a sudden?" Cora snapped at him when he entered. He did not respond, only took a seat beside her and waited in silence as one of the Duke's maids served him.
"Housing and protecting a princess seems to be of higher priority," Sterling remarked dryly and moved to take a bite of his eggs but before he could bring his fork to the plate, Cora threw down hers with a clatter and stood abruptly, face turning red in her fury.
"Does it take so much work?" She shouted at him. "We seem to have done it just fine without even knowing for weeks."
