A Queen Unchained

distant sort of way. Pink drapes, soft candlelight, a vanity her mother claimed was imported from Italy, and the faint perfume of roses someone had arrange

w morning. To Lord Cedric Ravenshore. A man so painfully polite she often wondered if he practiced courtesy as a sport. A m

he decade. Her father had nodded proudly. Victoria had smiled the way well raised young ladies were supposed to smil

s. They were honest. They did not require small talk or polite smiles or the careful posture of a proper duchess in training. During the day she was a masterpiece of etiquette. At nigh

s and mumbled under her breath, "I

ld friend. Cool, crisp, gently scented with the pine forest that surrounded Halstead Manor. The moon hung low

the night, "I would very much like a sign. Something clear. Something that tells me I am

reply, which was r

ds, listening to the wind rustle the leaves. She tried to imagine to

ed, and

ridiculous act for a woman who was supposed to be hours away from becoming a duchess. Inside the trunk were three simple dresses, a pair of worn

n of using it. Not truly. Not unless her panic became

harder. "You look ridiculous," she whispered with a small laugh. "Who

mpossible. A road stretching far from home. New towns. New people. Freedom. So

uickened. D

at her door pulled

nearly midnight. No one visited her ch

ock. Quiet

. Sharp, slightly impatient, already

and whispered,

standing. She smoothed her nightdress, as though the fabric wo

o her presence. Her hair was pinned perfectly even at this late hour. Diamonds glimmered at her ears. She did

ave fallen asleep without your final skin treatment. You must look rad

g her eyes. "Heaven forbid m

a tight look. "Sar

it is all I

morrow is the beginning of a new era fo

h every part of her wanted

urtains. Straightened the roses. Reminded Victoria to get enough

the silence of her chamber, her heart pou

at the ba

at th

at th

trunk hidden

eath c

now. A dangerous spark that whisp

against her heart, fe

o this," she

rk whispere

g inside her shifted. Cleanly. Quietly. Like a do

s, reached under the bed,

trembled

from

rel

ere goes something very

ife, her reflection smiled back