Twice Upon A Time (Unfinished Fairy Tales #2)(91)

Unbelievable. After all this time, they are finally together. Oh, how I wish I could have been at the estate to witness Elle confronting the duchess. And I’m glad that the grand duke is more open-minded compared to the duchess. Then I remember Sir Montgomery. Maybe the grand duke has something in common with Sir Montgomery, who eventually gave in to his daughter’s choice.

“Congratulations!” On an impulse, I get up and hug her. “I’m so glad for you both.”

Elle laughs. “When I was a servant, I only dared to hope that my mother and my brothers could be safe and healthy. I only prayed that I could support them. I never dreamed that I could marry the man of my dreams. I must have been born when lady luck smiled upon me.”

Speaking of luck, I am brought back to reality. I will certainly need some luck when it comes to dealing with the real Katriona.

“By the way,” Elle says. “There’s a man stationed outside your door. Did you meet any trouble or threats that you require a bodyguard?”

I think of the Bradshaws. “Something has happened,” I finally say. “But it’s really complicated. I don’t know how I can explain it.”

“Princess!” Mabel pops her head through the door. “Sorry to interrupt, but His Highness insisted on coming in.”

Edward strides into the room. When he sees me, relief breaks over his face. Despite Elle’s presence, he strides up to me and embraces me fiercely.

“I’ll come back some other time,” Elle says, smiling. “Please relay the happy news for me.”

Edward gives her a nod, but it’s clear from his expression that he wants to be alone with me. When I look at him closely, I notice that he looks exhausted, like someone made him sit through a five-hour-long meeting.

“I’m sorry,” I say without thinking. “Trust me, I have no idea how it happened. I never knew that Katriona Bradshaw existed. I thought I came back into her body, but it turned out that she was still living somewhere.”

He grabs my arm, pulling me into his lap. “I had a lengthy conversation with my parents. They asked if I knew I was married to a commoner. I told them that I didn’t care whether you were a lady or a servant. All I want is you.”

“Did the Bradshaws leave?”

“Katriona Bradshaw is assigned to a room downstairs and a guard stationed at her door. Father also suggested that you be relocated, but I told him that anyone who tries to remove you from our suite has to get past me first.” He presses his forehead on mine, and I cling to him, as if the next second the guards will burst in and take me away. “I promise you I am not going to let you go. Even if it means that I have to abdicate, I will not give you up. Never.”

He captures my lips in a deep, lingering kiss. It lasts so long that I have to push him away because I can’t breathe. I cough, reaching for a glass of water, my head dizzy. “Sorry,” Edward says a bit sheepishly. “When it comes to you, it sometimes seems that all the discipline I have is sorely tested.”

I don’t answer. My mind is blank, and there’s a strange feeling that something isn’t quite right with me.

We don’t hear from the Bradshaws for a few days. Amazingly, there hasn’t been much news about Katriona looking like me. And that’s when disaster strikes.

Three days later, I receive an urgent letter when I’m having breakfast in the suite. It is from the High Court, summoning me. Bianca has accused me of fraud.

I am to appear at court.





42





Bianca has charged me by filing a writ of identity theft. It feels like the world is crumbling around me—my identity as princess is going to be ruthlessly torn away from me, and I have no right to stay in the palace any more. My hands are cold and clammy, and I feel like throwing up when I imagine going to court.

Edward had gone white when he read the letter. “If I had the power,” he says quietly, though his tone carries a determination of iron, “I would banish Bianca Bradshaw to the mountains up north, never to return.”

“Well,” I say, trying to cheer him up. Even though I am scared stiff myself, for Edward’s sake I’ve got to act calm and unaffected. Like Amelie. “Since I have to appear in court, I might as well figure out the best way to deal with it. Am I allowed to have a lawyer represent me?”

Edward rubs his chin, his eyes thoughtful. “Let me check. Frankly speaking, I am not well acquainted with such legal matters. The last time a royal member of the family had to appear in court was hundreds of years ago.”

“So it’s done already? Too bad.” I try to look disappointed. “I thought I was setting a precedent.”

He doesn’t smile, though. “You are a precedent, love. In so many ways.”

It turns out that yes, I am allowed to have a lawyer, and even though it’s literally unheard of for a princess to be accused of a crime, the law still exists anyway. I am to appear in High Court, a privilege of the peers and royals. In Athelia, the commoners and the aristocracy are tried in different courts, which means that the latter is rarely convicted, but in my case, I’m not so sure.

“Do you suppose Mr. Davenport could take my case? There are other lawyers who are more well-known than he is, but I can’t tell them the truth.”

“We must ask him,” Edward says. “But I believe that as a friend and loyal subject, he will not refuse.”