Loyalty Or Honour (Book 3)

Chapter Eighteen

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"Theodore." His name leaves her lips as she takes a drastic step back. Those beautiful dark brown orbs of hers stay connected to his. "Prince Theodore." She reminds herself again. "My betrothed."

Hunter exhales slowly. "Cold feet."

"Excuse me?" She frowns. Hunter grimaces. "This connection is fake, just anxieties for me in getting married."

"I agree."

She nods, more to herself than to him. He gestures for her to start walking again and after a few moments she does, ignoring the fact that in this moment she truly wishes she was not already betrothed. Theodore had not made her feel anything when he met her. Cold feet, she realises that is what he said. She convinces herself of it. She is simply nervous and has latched on to the first young handsome man she has seen. But then why is she so aware of his footfalls following her?

Cold feet.

He opens her door for her, his arm brushing past her as he retracts it. She wonders for a moment if she had kept her mouth shut what would have happened, if she had not blurted out Theodore's name. She was right to do so. She knows that.

She steps in and Mary and Beatrice rush over to her. Alice hovers over her seat and grins at Hunter. He struggles to return one. Arabella may have her reasons for how she has felt in his presence but he cannot find one to explain away his side of it. She is beautiful; he acknowledges that but beauty is not everything. Their conversation has made him smile and showed her character. Maybe it is just that she is out of his reach.

Orion steps into the room. "You told a guard you were me?" He goes straight for the attack on Hunter. Arabella opens her mouth to try to help but Hunter shoots her a look that silences her tongue. "I am fortunate he came across me on his way back to his position and could not work out how I had overtaken him."

"I did no such thing. He assumed; I just failed to correct him before he left." Hunter easily rebuttals.

"How about following simple orders? Did I overestimate your intelligence?" Out of the corner of his eye he sees Alice usher the three women into one of the bedrooms before shutting the door solidly behind them. "It is not complicated. Do Not Leave the Room until I return. How did that confuse you?" Orion continues to rant, not allowing Hunter a word in edgeways. "I wasted several men's time looking for the Lady you disappeared with. Do you not realise how embarrassing it is for me to say I had lost her already? How could you be so stupid?"

Hunter, growing impatient of waiting for a break, walks past Orion to gaze outside.

"Are you seriously ignoring me right now?!" Orion almost bellows.

"Have you finished?" Hunter asks calmly. Orion narrows his infinitely black eyes at him and growls. Hunter spins around and leans against the window seat. "I am sorry. It will not happen again."

The anger that had fired up in Orion dies down at Hunter's sincere apology without any excuses or reasoning's. "Oh." Hunter fights the smirk threatening his genuine façade. A muscle in his cheek jumps under the strain. "You..." Orion chuckles and threads his fingers through his hair. "Did your brothers know when you lied to them?" He lowers his voice for his final statement, a small ounce of humour showing.

"I rarely lied to them." Hunter replies. "Unless I absolutely had to or I was just sick of their interference."

"If you are going to ever do this again, leave a note saying where you are." Orion commands. Hunter smiles.