In Pursuit of a Princess

“By threatening me?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Lara put her hand to her heart. “Good, because you have the answers I need, so I won’t fall for any tricks. I’ll see you at the gala.” She let out a breath. “And please quit making hang-up calls. It’s juvenile.”

“Is that all you have to say after all this time, Lara?”

“Yes. Good night.”

Lara moved around the room, turning off lamps, her hands trembling. She kept going back over the day’s activities, wondering how that package had gotten past security. And wondering how he had found her private cell number.

Putting her unwanted guest out of her mind for now, Lara regrouped and looked at her day-planner. Today had been busy, but tomorrow would be jam-packed. And she’d have Gabriel Murdock trailing her with every task. Was she really ready for that kind of up-close scrutiny? And by a man who seemed to read her like a book and look through her carefully controlled facade to see her deepest, darkest fears and secrets?

She thought about the man who’d just called her. It had been a long time since she’d seen him or heard from him. And she’d been biding her time until she could see him once again. “I can do this,” she whispered. “I have to do this.”

A shudder tiptoed down her spine.

“Remain calm and carry on,” she repeated. That used to be a joke between Theo and her. It was the mantra of a great queen and it did apply to the average commoner, too.

“That’s me,” Lara whispered as she climbed in bed and tugged at the last light. The room went dark on her fears and worries. She’d been a commoner, but a wealthy, well-heeled one at that. Money and prestige could open a lot of doors. Having a social pedigree that went back to the founding fathers didn’t hurt, either. But even so, when the announcement of her marriage had been made, she’d been analyzed, studied, prodded and trained in everything from etiquette to speaking in public to greeting people to writing a proper thank-you card, all of which her mother had already trained her on anyway.

Being a princess was much harder than being a woman.

Right now, however, she mentally pushed her princess away and, being a woman, thought about the fascinating man with whom she’d shared her dinner. And wondered why she’d invited him to stay for a meal. That hadn’t been on the agenda.

But then, neither had receiving that hideous gift. The voodoo doll only brought back bad memories of other times when she’d been afraid and full of doubts. Maybe this had nothing to do with that. Or it could have everything to do with that and the phone call she’d just received. She missed Theo, but she was determined to live life on her own terms. And she was determined to find answers to the questions that had haunted her since Theo’s death.

Obviously, after receiving that cryptic call, she understood the little voodoo doll had something to do with her nosing around where she shouldn’t.

Lara punched her pillow, hating this time of the day when she felt so alone, so lonely, so unsure of anything but how much she missed her husband. Telling herself to get a grip, she pushed out of her mind that image of the little grinning doll with the pin stabbed through her heart.

“You can’t pierce my heart,” she whispered to the night. “My heart has already been broken.”

But she intended to find the man who’d killed Theo. And she intended to do that here in New Orleans, with the world watching.

She drifted off to sleep thinking of her husband and Gabriel Murdock. Trying to hold one close in her memories and trying to push the other one back into a proper place, she finally went from being awake to being in a dream that ran through her head like a vivid movie, complete with voodoo and warnings from Deidre and Malcolm and with a man standing in the shadows, holding a camera.

The man called to her and Lara tried to reach him. He threw down the camera and reached out a hand. But she couldn’t quite grasp his fingers.

She woke up near dawn thinking of her husband.

But the man in the dream had been Gabriel Murdock.

Lara lay there pushing at the covers, her body still exhausted from running through that mist, her memories as wild and colorful as the images in her mind.

A piercing scream sounded through the night, bringing her up and out of her bed. Grabbing her robe, Lara rushed to her door and followed the hallway to the sound of the scream.

Deidre’s room.

But before Lara could open the door, Malcolm and two bodyguards were there with guns drawn.

“Step back, Your Highness,” Malcolm said, his beefy arm blocking her way. “It might not be safe.”

He knocked and called out. “Deidre?”

No answer.

“Go and check on her,” Lara demanded, impatient with the head of security.

Malcolm motioned to the two guards. They were about to break the door down when Deidre opened it and ran straight into Lara’s arms.

“What happened?” Lara asked, holding the younger woman.

Deidre lifted up, her dark eyes wide, her hair unbound and curly around her face. “I heard a noise on the upstairs balcony, ma’am. Someone walking, I’m sure. Then I saw a shadow near my window.”

Lara held tight to the frightened girl. “Are you sure?”

Deidre bobbed her head, her words shaky. “Very sure. A man was standing there.”

Malcolm put his big arms across his chest. “So you screamed?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t answer when we came to the door.”

“I was still frightened.”

He motioned again to the two men. “Search the balcony and the grounds.”

Lara took Deidre by the arm, her own jitters making her shaky. “Come with me. We’ll sit awhile and I’ll make us some chamomile tea.”

Deidre looked mortified. “Ma’am, you don’t need to wait on me. I’m...okay.”

“You are not okay,” Lara countered. “Malcolm, we’re going down to the kitchen. Could you make sure a guard is nearby while we brew our tea?”

“Certainly, Your Highness. But please let us secure the house before you wander around.”

Lara nodded. “Deidre, let’s get you a robe from your room.”

The girl followed Lara into the room and stood by the door, staring out into the night. “I saw a man there, Miss Lara. I promise.”

“I believe you,” Lara replied. She helped Deidre with her robe. “Did the man try to get into your room?”

“No. He just stood there. When I screamed, he ran away.”

Lara took in the information but said nothing. She wouldn’t allow Deidre to see her fears. That might put the girl over the edge.

But when they were turning to leave the room, something caught Lara’s eye. “Just a moment, Deidre. Stay there by the door, please.”