Chapter 9

A nna felt utterly overwhelmed after the conversation she and Mr. Jennings had just had with Prince Karl Philipp. Somehow, she managed to put one foot in front of the other and allowed Mr. Jennings to lead her back to the main floor of the prince’s grand Paris mansion.

“We are being watched, so I suggest you smile,” Mr. Jennings whispered to her out of the side of his mouth. “Looking adoringly at me wouldn’t go amiss, either, in order to further dispel rumors.”

“You are tempting fate with your words,” Anna whispered back as she smiled up at him and then at the guests they passed as they walked. “We would only be creating a different rumor to take the place of the first, and my reputation would sink even further.”

“As much as you would like to leave right now, I fear we must stay and allow events to play out,” Mr. Jennings said. “Despite your concerns, leaving now would make you appear even more guilty to others. Be strong, Lady Anna. You are the young lady who is determined to cross France in order to find your brother. You can withstand an unfortunate turn of events at a soiree.”

The current dance, a quadrille, was ending, and Mr. Jennings had just taken her hand to lead her in the next dance when she heard those around her begin to murmur. Thankfully, as it turned out, the murmurs weren’t about her.

“Lords and ladies, médames et messieurs , welcome!” Prince Karl Phillip said in a booming voice one would expect from someone who led military troops. He was standing on the dais alongside the orchestra. “Please allow me to share a few thoughts with you, but I would ask you to allow me to share it three times: in English, in French, out of appreciation for our host city, and in German.” He then spoke French and German; Anna presumed it was to repeat what he’d said in English. She glanced briefly at Mr. Jennings; he appeared to be listening attentively to the prince’s words.

“I am glad we are able to meet in such joyous circumstances and continue our celebration of the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte,” Prince Karl Philipp said.

The guests applauded enthusiastically, so Mr. Jennings let go of Anna’s hand in order to applaud with the others. There were also boos and hisses at the mention of Bonaparte, with ensuing laughter.

“Ah, I see you agree with me,” the prince said. “We now begin the task of uniting, setting aside past grievances, and looking toward the future.”

The guests reacted with more applause as he repeated his words in French and German.

“It will be difficult, my friends,” Prince Karl Philipp continued. “Most of us have suffered losses great and small over the past many years. We have tried to work with Bonaparte; we have tried to work against Bonaparte. We have had to become enemies with each other at times only to unite as allies later. We have strong ties to our lands and our people and have lost loved ones. These past many years have taken a toll on us all.”

Anna felt a knife of pain slice through her heart at his mention of loss. Oh, how she prayed Avery wasn’t one of those lives lost!

The prince then repeated his words in French and German. Anna appreciated what he was saying and that he meant to reach everyone in the hall in as personal a way as possible. But his abrupt apology to her and swift dismissal after his accusations, combined with the thought of Avery and the searing emotions it brought with it, were more than she could bear.

“May we leave now?” she whispered to Mr. Jennings.

“Soon,” he replied, his attention entirely on the prince.

“We must work together, my friends, to form a new, stronger coalition that will allow us to live in peace,” the prince boomed, raising his hand in a gesture of triumph. The guests clapped and cheered. He waited until all was silent. “And yet,” he continued in a softer voice, “even tonight, there are those among us who would use deceit to gain a stronger position at the negotiation table.”

Anna gasped along with a number of the guests.

“Rumors and innuendo have circulated amongst us this very evening ...”

Anna studied her slippers while the guests murmured. Mr. Jennings put his arm around her shoulders. “I need to leave,” she whispered to him.

“I’m afraid we can’t, not yet,” he replied. He tightened his arm around her briefly in a reassuring gesture.

Despite his reassurances, Anna felt dread, like a heavy cloud, creeping over her. If the prince’s accusations were about Herr von Oberhausen, they would lead back to her—and she had done nothing! How was this evening to end?

She searched the crowd for Herr von Oberhausen and spied him near the side of the hall, his arms crossed, a smirk on his face. That told her much.

And then by accident, she spied Mr. Osbourne in the crowd. He wasn’t far from them, actually, and if her eyes weren’t lying to her, he was actually holding back a smirk of his own.

And just like that, she knew. She knew! These horrid men, these so-called diplomats, these politicians, had used her. Against her knowledge and her will, she’d been a puppet in their little games of subterfuge.

“I am leaving now ,” she said in a normal voice—no whispers this time—to Mr. Jennings. “I would welcome your escort from this place. Or you may choose to stay with your clever associate and any of the others who may have had a hand in this duplicity. But I am leaving.”

What the devil is going on? James asked himself. He planned on getting to the bottom of things, and quickly, but right now, he had to stop Lady Anna from drawing any attention to them, for her own sake, if nothing else.

He held tightly to her hand as she tried to step forward. His mind scrambling, he drew her back and then leaned in toward her. “Please, do not do anything to bring any attention to us,” he said. Then he brought her hand to his lips, hoping to soothe her and ... and he didn’t know what else.

Even with the noise and the distractions around them, the touch of her hand to his lips started him shaking internally. He fought to keep his control when what he wished to do was just as she’d said—escort her from the hall ... and then take her away from here to a place where they could be alone and he could kiss her again, tasting her lips this time.

But they needed answers, and that meant staying a bit longer.

“I have been used,” Lady Anna said.

“I believe you’re right. But it will be easier to determine how all of this happened if we remain. Please, trust me, Lady Anna,” he said. He’d dealt with the machinations in politics often enough in his work with Lord Castlereagh and the Foreign Office, but never had he had to deal with it in such a personal manner.

“Please, Mr. Jennings,” she whispered.

“Trust me,” he said and kissed her hand once more.

She heaved a sigh. “Very well,” she said.

His heart, which had overflowed with the mere touch of his lips to her hand, nearly broke. “I will find out who is behind this, Lady Anna. I promise you.”

“I daresay your friend Mr. Osbourne would be a good source for answers,” she said.

She was undoubtedly right, considering Osbourne’s enthusiasm in presenting Lady Anna to Schwarzenberg at the café last evening.

Schwarzenberg appeared to be concluding his remarks, so James returned his attention to the prince. “Despite such disappointing news, I do not plan to act on this information this evening. But I encourage us all to be open and forthcoming as we work together going forward. Yes?” There was applause in response. “We can work together. I know it! Now, eat, my friends! Dance and drink and enjoy yourselves! It is my greatest wish!” He spoke briefly to the orchestra conductor, stepped down from the dais, and approached them , bowing to James and shaking his hand, and then bowing to Lady Anna. “My dear Lady Anna, I must apologize once again,” he said in a low voice.

Lady Anna didn’t respond, and James felt like a stone as he gripped her hand, needing to embrace her and reassure her but unable to do so with Schwarzenberg standing right next to him and the crowds milling about them. Of course, she couldn’t help but feel that the other guests were looking at them—too curiously for her own comfort.

The orchestra began playing a quadrille so loudly that it drowned out the murmurs of the crowd, which James presumed had been intentional on Schwarzenberg’s part. “Please, join me once again, if you would be so kind,” the prince said.

James and Lady Anna followed the prince away from the guests, who had begun taking their positions for the dance. He slid her hand through the crook of his elbow and placed his hand reassuringly atop hers—not for the first time this evening—as they followed the prince back to the room where they’d been before.

The prince spoke briefly to the footman who still remained at the door and then closed the door behind them.

James felt Lady Anna’s hand clench within his.

“Mr. Jennings, Lady Anna, please, be seated,” Schwarzenberg said, gesturing toward the chairs they’d sat in before. “We are awaiting the arrival of one more person.”

James led her to the chair where she’d sat previously. He then seated himself next to her, all the time keeping her hand in his.

Schwarzenberg gestured to a different footman standing at the side of the room, and the footman brought a tray containing goblets of wine. Anna refused a goblet with a shake of her head. James, however, took one and gulped the contents down rather too hastily before returning it to the tray.

“Lady Anna,” Schwarzenberg said once the footman had slipped from the room. “Thank you for trusting me enough to join me here once more. I left you and Mr. Jennings abruptly before, but I needed to let certain individuals know posthaste that I— we —were now aware of their deceptions and stop them before too much damage was done. Steps have been taken behind the scenes in this regard. I doubt you realize it, but you have actually helped the Coalition greatly. But to my great sorrow, you were used without your—or my—knowledge.”

He turned fully in his own chair so that he was face-to-face with her. “You are owed not only a most sincere apology for all that has occurred this evening but also our sincerest thanks.”

She did not reply when Schwarzenberg paused to take a breath, and James wondered if he should interject something himself but opted to let things play out.

The door opened, and Osbourne was shown into the room.

“Ah, here is the final person now,” the prince said. “Please, Mr. Osbourne, be seated.”

James glanced at Osbourne, who shot him an unreadable look.

“I believe Mr. Osbourne is the key to explaining the circumstances in which you found yourself this evening, Lady Anna. Is this not true, Mr. Osbourne?”

“Yes, sir,” Osbourne said.

“Osbourne,” James said, looking directly at him. “What the devil were you about? And why didn’t you tell me?”

“There were some things it was best to keep to myself, my friend,” Osbourne said. “You see, you are the honorable lawyer and translator and are highly regarded, and you needed to remain unscathed by these particular matters. I, however ...”

James shook his head, disgusted.

“There was no guarantee any of this would work,” Osbourne continued. “I merely took a calculated risk.”

“To continue,” Schwarzenberg said. “As you may have gleaned already, we have long suspected von Oberhausen of subterfuge but had no proof. Now we have caught him in the act, and it may put a stop to him at last.”

Anna had no words for Prince Karl Philipp. She only knew she was still angry that she , an innocent, seemed to hold such little value to these people.

She remained silent.

Prince Karl Philipp looked straight into her eyes. “You do not speak, Lady Anna, and yet your eyes speak volumes. If I had sapphires that rivaled your eyes, I would be a wealthy man.”

“You are a wealthy man,” Anna said, surprising herself that she’d actually said the words aloud.

“Ah, my dear lady,” the prince said, “there is wealth, which we think of as property, but then there is true wealth. Am I not correct in this, Mr. Jennings?”

Anna looked at Mr. Jennings, who looked intently back at her before returning his attention to the prince. “Indeed, sir,” he said.

“And while I am a wealthy man, as you say, Lady Anna,” the prince continued, “there are occasions when a man may envy another man and his wealth.”

She was utterly confused by his cryptic words.

“Enough,” the prince said, seeming to shift topics. “Lady Anna, there are many gathered here in Paris who wish for a peaceful beginning for our lands after so long a time at war with France.”

Mr. Jennings and Mr. Osbourne nodded their concurrence to his words.

“It is difficult to remember a time when war has not been waging somewhere. You understand?” the prince continued.

“Yes,” Anna replied.

“One might think that all men wish for the same things, but that is not the case,” he said. “And some who have come to Paris in anticipation of the Congress in Vienna to occur later this year have less-than-honorable motives. Mr. Osbourne?”

Mr. Osbourne cleared his throat. “You see, Lady Anna, when you arrived in Paris with Mr. Jennings, I immediately recognized your rare beauty. Trust me when I tell you that your beauty is indeed rare, and I doubt any man alive would disagree with me. I thought to introduce you to Schwarzenberg ... but only with the slimmest of hopes that his gallantry in meeting you would gain us entrée to his soiree. We had no invitation without Castlereagh here with us in Paris. But I also knew von Oberhausen would be in attendance, and we had already concluded that he may be the source of the diplomatic problems we have encountered as of late.”

The prince smiled. “Lady Anna, as Osbourne said, I doubt there is a man alive who, upon seeing you, wouldn’t be moved by your beauty, including myself.”

“I am no one special,” Anna said, contradicting the prince and feeling wholly embarrassed by his words. “There are many, many with more beauty than I.”

“Ah, but you see, there is a difference between many of these so-called beauties you mention and yourself,” the prince countered. “For they know of their beauty and flaunt it, and there is no prize to be had. But the beauty who shines with a goodness and a vulnerability and also has a fire burning within her—ah, now she is a prize to be won.”

“A pearl,” Mr. Jennings said softly to himself, but Anna heard him.

So, apparently, did the prince. “Precisely, Mr. Jennings. And if I may wax religious for a moment, a pearl of great price.” He chuckled. “The nuns at the priory of St. Judith would be pleased to know I have retained some ecclesiastical knowledge after all my years in battle. And so, Mr. Osbourne was correct in his assumption: that it would be my pleasure to learn more about the rare young beauty who is friends with Castlereagh’s agents. But back to what Mr. Osbourne was saying—while some, like myself, will recognize the pearl’s true value, others will see it only as a fine bauble to be won.”

“Which brings us to von Oberhausen,” Mr. Osbourne said. “He has long felt that the Grand Duchy of Berg, his homeland, was especially mistreated. But he also saw this as an opportunity to enrich himself rather than work for the good of his people. Others began to see a pattern in the ways he manipulates others, including using women.”

“And so you decided to manipulate Lady Anna into playing a role in all this?” Mr. Jennings asked.

“Had you arrived in Paris with me and read Castlereagh’s letter then, you would have known he had asked us to attempt to ensnare von Oberhausen before the Congress of Vienna was set to commence. We have long suspected von Oberhausen of manipulating various sovereigns by insinuating himself with their courtesans and then using blackmail to gain favors for himself, as well as damaging delicate diplomatic relations. But this is the first time we have caught him at his game.”

“But you didn’t think to inform me,” Mr. Jennings said.

“When I realized the opportunity Lady Anna presented, it was better for you not to know. Nothing might have occurred when we introduced Lady Anna to the prince. And when the prince did offer her an invitation, it would have been unfair to ask her to play a part in a charade when she has no experience in such things, and von Oberhausen might have become suspicious if her behavior hadn’t seemed genuine.

“I saw a rare opportunity to draw out von Oberhausen, for you are unknown here in Paris, Lady Anna, and von Oberhausen would know nothing about you and might be inclined to believe whatever he thought he’d heard,” Mr. Osbourne continued. “But I vow to you now that I only ever said that you were a special guest of the prince. The fact that von Oberhausen presumed you were the prince’s ‘particular friend’ and what that would imply was his own doing, as we had hoped.”

“You must have emphasized the words rather heavily for von Oberhausen to infer that Lady Anna was something more than that,” Mr. Jennings said.

“I agree,” Prince Karl Philipp said. “I, too, was not told of this subterfuge, Lady Anna. We have both been used as pawns in this particular chess match.”

“My apologies, truly, sir,” Mr. Osbourne said. “And my apologies to you, Lady Anna, for causing you distress. But this is a diplomatic success of huge proportion, as the scoundrel has been caught red-handed. I shouldn’t be surprised if Castle-reagh were to award you a medal over this.”

“No, thank you,” Anna said. “I have no need for such a thing.”

“And yet it seems we are truly in your debt, Lady Anna,” Prince Karl Philipp said.

“If I may speak frankly,” she said, “I doubt any of you are remembering that a man’s reputation is never tarnished by such a rumor, but my reputation will never be the same, being a woman.” She was shaking with anger. “Now, if you will excuse me, I wish to leave. I believe I have had enough intrigue for one evening.”

“Certainly,” the prince said. “I shall have my own carriage brought around for your use, if you’ll allow me.”

“Thank you,” she replied tersely.

“I shall see that Lady Anna arrives home safely,” James said. “I shall leave the rest of the evening’s activities in the hands of Osbourne here.”

The prince nodded and rang a bell sitting on a side table. A footman entered. “Have my carriage brought around,” he said to the footman, then he stood and offered his hand to Anna. “Thank you again, Lady Anna, and my deepest apologies for any wound you have suffered as my guest this evening. And if I can ever be of service, you have only to ask.”

She took his outstretched hand and rose to her feet.

“Come, Lady Anna,” Mr. Jennings said softly.

She curtsied to the prince, and then she and Mr. Jennings left the room.

James and Lady Anna walked in silence until they reached the large main doors of Schwarzenberg’s residence. When they arrived, James realized it would take several minutes for the carriage to be readied, and he’d had an idea while they’d been walking that would be better to act upon now rather than later.

“Will you be all right if I leave you for a few minutes?” he asked Anna. “I promise I will return shortly.”

“Yes,” she replied in a dull, muted tone.

He beckoned to a nearby footman. “ S’il vous pla?t, veillez sur la dame pendant mon absence ,” he said to the man, asking him to take care of the lady while he was gone.

“But of course, sir,” the footman replied in English.

James nodded appreciatively and then hurried back to the room he and Anna had just exited. “Is the prince still within?” he asked the footman at the door.

“ Oui ,” the footman replied.

“Will you announce me?” James asked.

The footman was thoughtful for a moment too long for James’s liking. “ Oui ,” the footman said at last. He knocked and then opened the door. “Monsieur Jennings,” he said.

Feeling impatient, James pushed past him and entered the room.

“Jennings, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” Schwarz-enberg said. Osbourne was still with him.

“You said if there were ever a service you could perform, Lady Anna was only to ask,” James said, addressing Schwarzenberg and ignoring Osbourne.

“I did.”

“There is something you can do for her,” James said.

“Tell me,” Schwarzenberg said.

James recounted Anna’s whole story, from losing her brother and father to setting off on her own to find Avery, resulting in her being in attendance with them tonight.

“Ah,” Schwarzenberg said. “I begin to see. I am even more impressed with our Lady Anna than I was before. For her to journey such a long way in search of her brother is extraordinary. Brave.” He nodded to himself, looking impressed. “The regiment to which her brother belongs, the 61st Regiment of Foot, campaigned at Toulouse after Orthez. They lost their commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Coghlan, during that battle, which may account for a delay in communication. I was informed that they were heading to Bordeaux on their way back to England.”

It didn’t surprise James that Schwarzenberg, a military general, would have kept abreast of such details. “You have already provided more information than she has gotten thus far,” James said. “She will be exceedingly grateful to know this.”

“Lieutenant Avery Clifton,” Schwarzenberg repeated aloud. “Injured, missing ... I shall have his situation looked into immediately. Now that we have snared von Oberhausen, we may be able to mend alliances with those whom he turned against us. Let me see what we can do for Lady Anna’s personal cause.”

“Thank you,” James said wholeheartedly. “It will mean the world to her.”

“You give yourself away, Jennings,” Schwarzenberg said.

James sighed. There was no reason for him to lie if his feelings had become this obvious. “I confess, I have become rather attached to the lady.”

“Go now,” the prince said. “See your Lady Anna home. Perhaps you will remain in Paris for a few more days while we make inquiries regarding her brother.”

“That, I’m afraid, I must leave entirely up to her. After what happened this evening, she seemed ready to depart from not only your soiree but also Paris, full stop.” He stared directly at Osbourne as he spoke.

“I promise I will make things right with Lady Anna,” Osbourne said apologetically.

“It had better be a promise you are able to keep,” James replied. He nodded to both men and departed the room, anxious to return to her side. He wondered whether he should tell Lady Anna about Schwarzenberg’s willingness to search for information on Avery. He didn’t wish to build up her hopes only for them to be dashed, but he also didn’t wish to keep anything from her, especially after what had transpired this evening.

When he returned to the entrance, he found that the carriage had arrived, and a footman was assisting Lady Anna inside.

James climbed in after she was seated and decided he was going to sit next to her rather than on the seat across from her. He needed to be where he could touch her, comfort her in any way possible.

She silently stared out the window.

“Anna,” he said softly, purposefully refusing to include her title.

“Please, Mr. Jennings,” she said. “Not now.” She didn’t respond to the familiarity with which he’d addressed her.

“I understand,” he replied. He laid his hand gently on her shoulder and felt her shudder, but she didn’t speak again and merely continued to stare out the window. He honored her wish and remained silent but moved his hand from her shoulder to rest on her clasped hands, hoping she would feel his support—and perhaps even his feelings for her.

As they rode back to the apartments, James reflected on their association, short as it had been. Even during their first meeting aboard Serenity , he had felt a spark, an attraction to her, although he’d denied it, thinking her foolish.

And then, as fate would have it, he had become a companion in her journey to find her brother. He had witnessed the depth of her love for her family, something he understood completely, and her strength and commitment and endurance. And his attraction to her had quickly grown—against his wishes, frankly, considering how inconvenient the timing of it all was—until there was truly an affection and respect for her that he couldn’t deny.

He would honor her wishes to remain silent tonight. But tomorrow ...

Tomorrow, he would speak.

The carriage rolled up to their apartments, and the footmen opened the doors for them and then assisted them as they disembarked.

Tomorrow, James would speak to her. He would tell her of Schwarzenberg’s commitment to find information about her brother. James might even confess his feelings for her, depending upon ... upon myriad things.

He would see what tomorrow brought.