Andrea Kane by Echoes in the Mist Read Free Book Online

attempting to still her nerves.
    “Do not alarm the Queen,” Trenton cautioned the servant. “I shall assist Princess Beatrice to the house. Then Her Majesty can see for herself that all is well.”
    “Yes, of course, Your Grace.” The grateful maid wrung her hands, simultaneously bobbing her head up and down.
    “Can you walk, Your Highness?” Trenton asked Beatrice gently.
    Slowly, the Princess nodded, allowing Trenton to draw her to her feet. “I never imagined the weather would turn so dreadfully,” she rasped. “Nor so quickly. When I went out rowing …” she inhaled sharply, shakily, “the sky was light, the day lovely. I assumed I had hours before the storm hit. … I’m normally a strong swimmer. But when I struck my head on the boat …” She choked in more air, touching the gash on her forehead. “You saved my life, Your Grace. I don’t know how to thank you.”
    “You can thank me by saving your strength. You can also thank me by walking into that house on your own two legs and assuring your poor mother that you are well.” He offered her his arm.
    Beatrice smiled faintly. “Done.”
    Queen Victoria abandoned her watercolor sketch of the upcoming storm the instant she saw Beatrice and Trenton approach Osborne House’s lower terrace. She rushed forward, the color draining from her face as her child hobbled in unsteadily on Trenton’s arm.
    “What has happened?” the Queen demanded.
    Trenton helped Beatrice into a chair beside the fountain, then moved forward, leaning over to brush the Queen’s hand with his lips. “Everything is fine, Your Majesty,” he soothed.
    Victoria waved him off, bending over to anxiously inspect her daughter’s condition.
    “The Princess merely fell in the bay,” Trenton assured her.
    Satisfied that Beatrice would recover, Victoria turned to address Trenton. “Don’t take me for a fool, Kingsley,” she shot back, as regal in carriage at fifty-four as she’d been as a girl. “I’ve lived through far too much for you to patronize me. Beatrice did not merely fall in the bay. She is bleeding, not to mention totally saturated and white as a sheet!”
    “The duke saved the Princess’s life, Your Majesty,” the maid piped up, scurrying onto the terrace. Quickly and respectfully, she relayed the incident to the Queen. “I saw the whole thing,” she concluded, nodding vigorously for emphasis.
    Victoria turned to Trenton, her lips quivering with emotion. “You’ve given me back my child, Trenton. For that, I am forever in your debt. Anything you ask of me is yours.”
    A corner of Trenton’s mouth rose in amusement. “I am in need of nothing, I assure you, Your Majesty.”
    “That’s preposterous!” she snapped. “Everyone is in need of something!”
    “I beg to differ with you, Your Majesty. I’ve acquired all I can possibly take … at least for now.” Trenton thrust aside the dark reflection, flashing Victoria one of his rare, infectious smiles. He had to restore the Queen’s humor, so she would forget this nonsense of fulfilling some nonexistent need of his. “As a matter of fact,” he continued, “it is I who have been needed these past few days … twice, in fact. Both times I was called upon to rescue damsels in distress.”
    Victoria responded with a cold stare, unmoved by either his dazzling charm or honorable proclamation. “Dispense with this idle chatter, Broddington. I am aware that you require no monetary compensation. However, surely there is something you wish.” Her features softened and she clutched the pillar beside her, as if for support. “Please do not deny me the chance to repay what you have restored to me this day. I could not have withstood another loss.” Her voice trembled.
    Trenton inclined his head in understanding. The Queen had suffered greatly over the past score, both personally and as a sovereign. First came the bloodshed of the Crimean War. That finally behind her, personal tragedy had struck. The Queen’s