Stolen Splendor by Miriam Minger Read Free Book Online

shutting
the door firmly. He jumped into his seat and snapped his whip above the heads
of his horses.
    "Hold there, man, I thought I paid you to
wait," a rotund gentleman called out, hurrying from the coffeehouse.
"What's going on— "
    "Sorry, milord, but this lady here says she's in a
hurry," the driver shouted with a laugh as the carriage clattered down the
street at a devil's pace.
    Kassandra stared out anxiously from the window, unable
to relax even as the cursed tavern was left farther and farther behind. Would
Zoltan still be at the cathedral? she wondered. She
could tell it was well past four o'clock. The streetlamps were already lit
along the darkening streets.
    Kassandra sighed heavily. She could only hope he had
not yet returned to the estate and raised an alarm over her disappearance.
There would be hell to pay for this misadventure if Isabel had already returned
from the royal gala to find her missing.
    If only she had not lost her cloak, Kassandra thought
miserably. Then she might at least be able to hide her wretched appearance. She
looked down at her gown, her fingers quickly working through the tangles in her
hair. There really wasn't anything she could do about it, she told herself
resignedly, except brush off some of the dirt. The jagged tear in the skirt was
another matter. How would she ever explain it?
    "Damn him," Kassandra muttered under her
breath, her amethyst eyes flashing fire.
    She shook her head fiercely. No, you will not think of
him anymore! she vowed with defiance. You will put
this whole experience from your mind and pretend it never happened. Yet even as
she made her vow, her skin burned with the unwanted memory of his caress; her
lips, bruised and swollen, ached from the savagery of his kiss.
    Kassandra closed her eyes tightly and slammed her fist
upon the velvet seat, willing the seething memories from her mind. But she
could not forget the blazing heat of his eyes, flint gray with just a hint of
blue. They were like a hot brand searing into her even now, a scorching
reflection of his all-encompassing desire . . . forever etched upon her
memory.
    "We're almost there, milady." The carriage
driver leaned to one side and shouted down to her. Kassandra started, his voice
jarring into her tormented thoughts, flushing her body with apprehension.
    "Please, please let Zoltan still be waiting,"
she murmured fervently, peering out the window at the massive cathedral, its
twin spires piercing the twilight sky.
    "Whoa! Whoa, there," the driver commanded as
the carriage rumbled to a stop.
    Kassandra opened the door and stepped onto the street
just as the driver jumped from his seat. "My thanks," she said,
dropping the three gold coins into his hand and searching anxiously for the
familiar carriage. She began to walk toward the main entrance of the cathedral,
the driver forgotten.
    He's gone back to the estate without me, Kassandra
thought resignedly, her heart sinking as she surveyed the deserted cathedral
square.
    "Lady Kassandra!"
    She whirled sharply, the sound of Zoltan's gruff voice
filling her with elation. She spied the von Furstenberg carriage waiting by the
side door of the cathedral and ran toward it.
    "Milady, what kept ye ?"
Zoltan asked , his face etched with worry. His gaze
moved over her, quickly taking in her bedraggled appearance. "It's almost
six o'clock. I didn't know whether to leave and fetch help, else stay here and wait awhile longer."
    Kassandra flushed at his frank perusal, inwardly
cursing again the man who had so wantonly disrupted her life. "Please,
Zoltan, I'm fine," she assured him, her mind racing. She wanted to avoid
the question in his eyes, but she had to offer him some explanation for her
tardiness. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting . . . but I—" She stopped.
She simply could not think of any plausible excuse.
    No, Kassandra decided. It was better to say nothing.
She looked steadily at the burly Hungarian, her eyes pleading for his
understanding—and his silence.