Ondine by Ebony McKenna Read Free Book Online Page B

above their heads. From their crouched position, Ondine looked aroundto where the Duke was, to see if the show would go on. The Infanta remained huddled behind a chair. The Duke was on his feet, looking perplexed. In his hand was his traditional three-cornered hat, only now it had a bullet-sized hole through the top of it.
    â€˜Ohmygosh! They nearly killed him,’ Ondine said, her heart still beating far too quickly.
    Josef wrapped his arms around her and held her close, kissing the top of her head. ‘Now do you see why I didn’t want you to come here? If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.’
    â€˜Thanks, Da.’ She wanted to say, ‘You worry too much,’ but in the present circumstances, his worries were perfectly justified.
    â€˜I love you so much, my darling girl. And I know you’re all grown up now, but I can’t help it. To me, you’ll always be my baby and that’s just how it is.’
    â€˜It’s OK.’ Ondine returned the hug, not caring that he’d called her a baby. At this moment, she’d forgive him just about anything. Trembles rippled through her body as she let the shock take hold. ‘I love you too, Da.’
    So much remained unsaid as they embraced. Ondine nearly suffocated in the crushing hug but she didn’t care. As a father, he suffocated her in so many ways but right now she wasn’t complaining.
    To their surprise, the Duke indicated he’d carry on with the ceremony. The mere fact that he was bodily unharmed brought many more people to their feet. The cheers ringing in Ondine’s ears told her they’d done the right thing. They’d warned the Duke, he’d organised police protection and the crowd had witnessed a nasty scare rather than an assassination.
    â€˜Right then,’ the Duke called out, gathering his composure and dusting himself off. He picked up the enormous ceremonial scissors and held the blades apart. ‘I declare this new pedestrian access open.’
    What an amazing man
. Ondine marvelled at how quickly he’d recovered his senses. By now she and Josef were on their feet too. The Infanta, however, kept her distance from the podium.
    With a gracious nod, the Duke cut the ribbon and the two halves of fabric fluttered to the ground. People applauded, probably with gladness but also a great dealof relief. A group of schoolchildren cheered and raced on to the overpass. They reached the highest point and threw coloured streamers into the crowd.
    The Duke acknowledged the gathering. ‘Thank you, everyone, for coming. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a drink!’
    The crowd laughed and cheered again, and Ondine could only marvel once more at how well he’d recovered. His poise in the face of such danger seriously impressed her, and she couldn’t stop smiling. If she’d been the one in the firing line, she would have been a gibbering mess like the Infanta. But that Duke, wow, what composure!
    There was little time to think further about this, because at that moment Da spotted Lord Vincent standing near his father’s entourage.
    Josef grabbed his daughter’s hand. ‘Time we got back.’ Without further explanation, he led her down the road towards their hotel.
    Ondine stole a glance over her shoulder for Shambles and thought,
I hope he’s all right
.
    In the next glance she saw the Duke and (oh goody!)Lord Vincent, following them to the pub. Something jumped in her chest, as if her heart suddenly had to beat double time to keep up with rapidly unfolding events.
    â€˜Hey, Da, when the Duke said he needed a drink, he was serious. They’re right behind us.’
    â€˜In that case, we’d better get straight back to the bar so they can have that drink.’
    â€˜But where is Shambles? He won’t know where we are if we run off and leave him,’ Ondine said, trying to hide the panic in her voice. How would one little ferret