The Prince’s Bride by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online

can. If not, I will try the housekeeper.”
    Gabby crossed the room to meet Véronique at the foot of the bed. “I saw him slip it
     into his coat pocket after we locked Nicholas inside on the first night. I do not
     believe it’s been used since then. It could still be in his pocket, or he may have
     hidden it in his room.”
    Véronique experienced a fluttery feeling in her belly, accompanied by an acute sense
     of purpose. “I will check his room this afternoon.”
    “Should I go with you?”
    “No, but you could be my decoy. Go for a walk in the garden so that Pierre will follow
     to keep an eye on you, as he always does. He is very suspicious. It’s warm outside.
     He won’t likely be wearing his overcoat. With luck, he will leave it in his room.”
    Gabrielle hesitated.
    “What’s wrong?” Véronique asked. “Do you not want to do this?”
    “It’s not that,” she replied as she moved to a chair and sat down. “I am just not
     feeling well this morning.”
    “You do look pale.” Véronique crossed to her sister and placed the back of her hand
     on her forehead. “Your temperature seems normal.”
    Gabrielle pushed her hand away. “I am fine. It’s nothing.” She quickly stood up and
     reached for her bonnet, slipped it on, and tied the ribbons under her chin. “Very
     well, then. Off I go.”
    Véronique escorted her sister to the stairs, then returned to their guest chamber
     to watch from the window.
    A few minutes later, Gabby strolled leisurely toward the cherry orchard. Sure enough,
     Pierre appeared from the stables to follow her at a distance.
    *   *   *
    The door to Pierre’s chamber was unlocked, and the rest of the wing was deserted,
     so it was an effortless undertaking to slip inside. Véronique quietly closed the door
     behind her and glanced around.
    It was a comfortable room, well lived in, for Pierre had occupied this space for many
     years, since the death of the former marquis. Heavy, dusty-looking fabrics covered
     the windows, and the furniture was faded and threadbare in places. A bookcase was
     stuffed tight with clutter, where papers lay horizontally on top of books with the
     spines out.
    Her gaze shifted to the wardrobe. She walked quickly to it, opened the door, and found
     the coat he had been wearing on the night of the abduction.
    With fast-moving fingers, she searched the pockets, but found them all empty.
    Véronique huffed in frustration, then searched all the other pockets.
    After closing the wardrobe doors, she turned to peruse the room. Her gaze settled
     on the desk in the corner, which was buried under a mountain of books and papers.
    Véronique walked toward it and pulled open each drawer. She gasped with surprise when
     the bottom drawer revealed a large collection of keys. Surely it contained every key
     in the entire manor house.
    She searched through them and found them to be labeled according to each floor and
     wing, which made it easy to narrow it down to the correct set.
    Gently, she closed the desk drawer before tiptoeing out of the room. On her way out,
     she spotted Nicholas’s dress sword and belt leaning up against the wall. Grabbing
     hold of them, she ran out and shut the door behind her, then hurried back down the
     corridor to her own chamber.
    Once there, she crossed to the window to ensure that Gabrielle was still leading Pierre
     away from the house. When she spotted her sister, however, a wave of panic rose up
     within her, for Gabby was running back to the house with Pierre in hot pursuit.
    Véronique dropped the keys into a flowerpot on the windowsill and ran quickly to reach
     her sister.
    *   *   *
    By the time Véronique found Gabrielle, she was up against a tree behind the thick
     cedar hedge, slapping and punching at Pierre, who was fighting to restrain her while
     he tried to lift her skirts.
    A violent shaking began in all Véronique’s extremities, and her vision turned red.
    “Stop!”
    She bolted forward and