Page 92 of A Problem Princess

“You’re the bravest woman I know, Princess.” He pushed her toward the ladder. “I’ll be right behind you. Now go—quickly!”

Gulping down her terror, she placed her shaking hands on the first rung of the ladder and carefully made her way over the wall and down the side of the building, one slow and unsteady step at a time. Pain radiated up her forearm, but she refused to let it or the near-constant ache in her ankle slow her down.

“Faster, love,” he urged quietly from above. “You have to go faster.”

She nodded and sped up her descent, only to jump the last three feet to the ground and carefully land on her good foot. The air whooshed from her lungs, and she crouched on the ground, her eyes squeezed shut, as she tried to gather back both her breath and her balance.

“Come on!” Clayton grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. He ran with her across the narrowest stretch of yard toward a small gate. He lowered his shoulder and rammed into it, bursting it open with a loud crack and splintering of wood.

Shouts went up. Cordelia glanced behind her and shivered with fresh fear. They’d been spotted!

He pulled her into the street and around the corner of the nearest building. She ran as quickly as she could on her sore ankle to keep up as he darted them down street after street, alley after alley, through the mazelike stretch of city around them. The men who’d given chase were too far behind to see where they’d gone.

Finally, they emerged onto a wide avenue. Clayton flagged down a hackney and pushed her inside. “Mayfair—go!”

The jarvey flipped his whip, and the team scrambled forward.

Clayton looked out the carriage windows in all directions, his hand beneath his jacket on his pistol. “They’re not following us.”

Cordelia sank against the squabs in relief, only for a second terrifying thought to strike—“The aunties!”

“They’ll be protected. Pearce and Merritt will make certain of it.” The grim look he gave her prickled the little hairs at her nape. “Besides, the attackers were after you, not them.”

“How did they know I was there?” Her head sank into her hands as she swallowed great mouthfuls of air to catch back her breath. “No one knew where we were, not even Madame Noir.”

He bit out a curse beneath his breath. “The jarvey who dropped us off last night knew. He must have recognized you and went to the palace for a reward.”

Which meant her uncle sent men to…Oh God, she was going to be sick! She flung open the window and stuck her head outside into the cold morning air.

“Cordelia?” A concerned hand rested on her back.

She nodded, even though she was far from all right, and squeezed her eyes closed. “Your friends at the Armory, if they’re hurt because of me—”

“They’re well-trained soldiers who succeeded over the best the French could throw at them, and they have an entire arsenal at their disposal inside those walls,” he assured her as he slid across the compartment to sit next to her. “They’ll survive this, too.”

She gave another nod, which was just as unconvincing as the first, and slipped down from the window and into the comfort of his strong arms. Long minutes passed with the two of them saying nothing as the clip-clop of hooves and the rumble of wheels beneath them led them toward Mayfair.

Eventually, he loosened his arms around her and sat back to examine her to make certain she was all right, including her forearm and ankle. His warm hands were soothing, his touch as calming as always, but not even Clayton could tamp down the fear inside her now.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To visit your fairy godmother.” He left her only long enough to open the door and call up to the driver. “Charlton Place!”

She frowned with confusion as he pulled her back into his arms.

“We’re going to visit the Duchess of Hampton. She’s very good with helping women in need.” His solemn eyes darkened unhappily. “She’s going to turn you back into a princess.”

Dear God, that was the very last thing she wanted! Anguish filled her chest as she choked out, “Can’t I stay a frog instead?”

Not answering that, he lifted her chin with his finger and placed a soothing kiss to her lips.

***

Danielle Braddock, Duchess of Hampton, didn’t blink when Clayton escorted Cordelia into Charlton Place, as if discovering a missing princess in her drawing room were an everyday occurrence.

But then, Clayton knew, little surprised Danielle.

“We need help,” he told her. “And we can’t go to the palace.”