When We Meet Again by Victoria Alexander Read Free Book Online

again.
    "I thought it was time that you and I mended the rift between us. We are family, after all, and, in truth, we have very little family left. And if we are not bound together by blood, then surely we are bound together by loss. I also thought... that is to say I felt...or rather I wished..." She floundered, obviously at a loss for words.
    "Yes?" Alexei prompted.
    She grimaced and her gaze met his. "I had nowhere else to go."
    "Of course." Roman murmured.
    "Ah-hah!" Dimitri smirked. "I suspected as much." Valentina ignored him. "My funds are seriously depleted. Indeed. I have very little money left at all. My country is gone. I am a widow twice over—"
    "And where does the fault lie for that?" Dimitri said darkly. It had long been rumored that the deaths of both Valentina's first and second husbands were at her hand.
    Of course, both gentlemen were well past their prime when they had married her, and neither had gone to his final reward in a manner or at an age that could be considered untimely. Still, the gossip had lingered probably because Valentina had not been married to either of them for much more than a year. And they had both had substantial fortunes.
    She slanted Dimitri a look that could well prove the demise of any man. Husband or otherwise. He didn't so much as flinch. She turned her attention away from the captain in a manner that could only be described as regal. Alexei had the most unreasonable urge to grin.
    "Cousin. Alexei. Your"—she closed her eyes for a moment as if to gather strength— "Highness. I am throwing myself on your mercy as it were. As a citizen of Avalonia and a member of your own family I am asking for, well, sanctuary. A haven. Asylum I should think."
    "Asylum?" Alexei stared in disbelief then laughed. "I have no asylum to offer. I am not a church offering sanctuary, and I am no longer the sovereign of a country."
    "Perhaps asylum was the wrong word." She stepped toward him. "What I need is a home. Alexei. I have not lived my life in a manner that would ensure friends, and you are my only family. Allow me to join your"—she cast a disgusted glance at Dimitri—"household. I am not without certain skills, you know. I am an excellent hostess and, as you have no wife, when you entertain—"
    "I have no intention of entertaining." Alexei's voice was firm. Valentina's eyes widened. "Why on earth not?"
    "His Highness has no desire to partake of society," Roman said staunchly. "He much prefers a more solitary existence at the moment to reflect and ponder the future."
    "You can't possibly be serious." Valentina scoffed. "Regardless of the state of the world, you are still a prince of Avalonia, the head of the Royal House of Pruzinsky, which carries certain responsibilities, social at the very least. It is your duty to present yourself in public if only to show the world that we may be beaten, but we are not destroyed. Besides, one makes all sorts of valuable contacts that—"
    "To what purpose?" Alexei snapped, his gaze boring into hers. The very room itself held its breath. Valentina stared at her cousin, a myriad of emotion flashing across her face. At last she drew a deep breath. "I do not know. But I will not hide myself from the world."
    "Nor will I, cousin. I have no intention of becoming a hermit. I am simply not yet ready for the trivialities of society. Therefore, I have no need of a hostess."
    "Alexei," Valentina began, but Alexei held up a hand to stop her.
    "However," he continued, "you are family and may join us." Concern pulled Roman's brows together. "Perhaps it would be prudent—"
    "You can't mean that, Your Highness." Shocked colored Dimitri's voice. "It would be like inviting a viper into our midst."
    Valentina snorted. "A viper? Surely you can do better than that, Captain."
    Dimitri ignored her. "She has spent her entire life trying to seize power and destroy you and your family. She has buried two husbands and no doubt put them in their graves herself. She is not to be