He didn’t rise to the bait, only nodding thoughtfully. He took a sip of his own tea and smiled ruefully. “Well, given that I haven’t met the man myself, I shall have to take you at your word, of course.”
Maya nodded, slumping back into her chair. She poured herself another cup of tea, adding enough jam to suit her sweet tooth. She’d had one cup without sugar, she could indulge herself now.
“So, what do you intend to do?”
Luka frowned heavily. “Theremustsome other way to have this alliance ratified—other than a political marriage.”
“If you could talk to the Tsar—”
“I’mnotgoing back to court.”
“Why?” Maya cried, her tea sloshing over her fingers as she leaned forward in agitation. “Ludmilla’s life is more important than your self-imposed seclusion!”
“Maya—”
A knock on the door interrupted them. “Enter!” Luka called impatiently, and the doors were opened by his butler.
“Mister Peshkov to see you, sir.”
“Show him in.”
Stoffel blew in, his eyes on a letter as he came into the study.
“Your Highness, I have news about the sender of that letter—”
He broke off when he saw Maya, turning instead to the tea service.
“May I?” At Luka’s nod, he poured himself a cup of tea, and sat in the chair off to the side.
“We’re not finished with our conversation, Luka,” Maya said warningly. “I’ll find you after you talk with Mister Peshkov, but this is not—”
“You don’t need to leave,” Luka said brusquely, and she shut her mouth with a snap. “I asked Stoffel to look into the Crown Prince of Sunvaara.” Turning to his aide, he waved hand. “Lady von Rakhmonov knows everything. Go on with your report.”
Stoffel blinked, took a sip of his tea, and nodded. “Yes. Well, Your Highness, I’ve looked into the Crown Prince’s past, like you asked. He was engaged to a Sunvaaran princess before she jilted him. A Princess Mallika. She later married a Baron from Borviel, one of the border provinces in Merovia. It was a political marriage, formed to back the alliance between the two countries, though by all accounts, the marriage is a happy one. There is a babe on the way, I hear.”
“Sounds like we have the writer of your letter,” Maya said drily. “If this princess escaped a marriage with the Crown Prince, it stands to reason she’d want to help another princess who’s in the same danger she once avoided.”
“That is still not proof enough,” Luka said unhappily.
“Yes, but even if you find out who sent the letter, what next?”
“I’d hoped to write to them for further clarification, of course. The letter only makes vague insinuations without saying anythingconcrete. If this truly is the work of this Princess Mallika, what’s to say she is sincere? This letter could just as easily have been written by a jealous woman who regretted her own marriage and wants to spoil the marital happiness of her erstwhile lover.”
Well, put like that, it did sound plausible. Was there no other way to confirm the story? Maya tapped her finger against her temple as she thought, while Stoffel went through the steps of his investigation with Luka, explaining to him how his information was trustworthy.
“You could write to her,” Maya said musingly. When the conversation stopped, she looked up. “You could write to this lady from Borviel, ask her why she thinks the Crown Prince is untrustworthy.”
“And she could just as easily deny that she ever sent a letter. That gains us nothing and we would’ve shown the world our hand,” Luka said dismissively.
“I think if we can get Ludmilla to write to her, it would be different.”
“I’mnotdragging Ludmilla into this,” Luka said, shaking his head.
“If this is about you returning to court—”
“It’s not,” Luka snapped.
Stoffel looked between them both and cleared his throat.
