Sleep clawed at me, refusing to let me wake. My eyelids seemed fused shut and my mind was heavy and sluggish. Whenever I came close to waking, my body ached and I felt weak, like I could barely lift an eyebrow let alone an arm. My sleep was dark and empty, no dreams disturbed me as I floated in the inky blackness. Sometimes I could hear voices, as if coming from a long tunnel, but there was no urgency for me to wake. I was content to sleep, to be wrapped in the warm, comfortable cocoon that sleep afforded me. Which was completely unlike me and should have raised flags of warning, but I wasn’t ready to wake, not yet.

Not until I heard a voice that pulled me from the deep abyss. I knew the rich timbre of the voice and the way it felt as it washed over me. It was enough to draw me upward and out of the darkness until my eyes fluttered open and then squeezed shut again in the brightness.

“Priscilla,” the voice spoke to me, “Wake up sweetheart.”

“Dom?” I croaked as my eyes fluttered again.

And then there he was, sitting beside me, clutching my hand and looking like he hadn’t slept, or shaved, for a week.

“Oh thank God,” he breathed and closed his eyes for a moment before leaning over me to press, what I assumed, was the nurse’s call button.

“What happened?” I asked, my throat sore and my voice scratchy.

“You don’t remember?” he asked, concern marring his brow.

I tried to think, to try to remember the last memory before everything faded away.

“The regatta,” I said, “I remember being in the boat with…Piérre?” But that couldn’t be right. Why would I be in the boat with Piérre? I was supposed to be sailing with Bianca.

Before Dom could answer me a woman in a white coat walked into the room followed by a male nurse.

“How’re you feeling, Katerina?” she asked.

“Priscilla,” I said, automatically.

She raised an eyebrow at me, “Priscilla?”

“It’s my middle name,” I said, “I prefer to be called Priscilla.”

She nodded once. “Okay then, Priscilla. How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” I said, “Everything hurts.”

“You have sustained some cuts and bruises and significant damage to your larynx which is why your voice sounds different and your throat is sore. Your chest and ribs are bruised from the CPR but we’re confident that there are no broken bones.”

As I listened to her, it all came rushing back. The fight with Piérre, him trying to strangle me with his hands, going over the side of the boat…

“There doesn’t seem to be any brain swelling from the contusion on your head, but you did suffer a concussion and we’ll be keeping you in here for a few days to keep an eye on it. Do you have any questions?”

I looked up at the doctor, but she was looking at my chart, not at me.

“No,” I croaked, “Um, just, can I have something for the pain?”

“Of course,” she said and made a note on my chart before conferring with the nurse. “You need to rest,” she said to me before shooting a look at Dom, “And not too many visitors. We don’t want any more damage to your larynx, so no talking!” Dom nodded once and then the doctor turned and left.

“Where is Piérre?” I asked once she’d left the room.

“He’s in custody and awaiting a sentencing trial.”

“And…and my father?”

Dom sighed. “We know about everything Priscilla,” he said wearily, “And the Queen wants to speak to you first before she does anything, but in the meantime your father has been confined to his suite in the Palace with a guard posted outside. There are also two guards posted outside your room here.”

“You know?” I was horrified that everything that I had been trying to keep a secret was now known by the very people that I had never wanted to involve in the mess. My face burned with shame, what must they all think of me?

Dom sighed wearily. “Alyssa had Benjamin investigate both the Baron and the Ambassador after you told them that you were leaving to get married. Bianca had already told Louis that it was an arranged marriage and the Queen wanted to know why you were determined to go through with it even when she had offered you an out. When we discovered that your father’s debts had been paid out around the same time that the marriage contract was signed, we put two and two together.”

“Oh, God,” I breathed, squeezing my eyes shut as tears began to fall. “H-how many people know?”

“It hasn’t been made public,” he said soothingly, “Not the betrothal or the circumstances behind it. Piérre is being held on counts of assault and kidnapping.”

My eyes snapped open. “Kidnapping?”

“Hmm, I’m not too sure about that one, maybe illegal imprisonment? He locked Bianca in a closet in his room before coming down to the marina for you.”

“Bianca? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” he assured me, “He didn’t hurt her, well, except for a bump on the head, but she’s fine.”

“Oh God, this is all my fault,” I whispered, closing my eyes again.

“None of this is your fault,” Dom said, leaning closer. I didn’t open my eyes, but I could feel the welcome heat of his body and smell the tangy scent of his skin. “I was so worried about you,” he breathed, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t been able to get to you in time.”

I opened my eyes and looked down on his dark head that was bowed over our clasped hands.

“You pulled me out of the water.” It wasn’t a question and there was no way I should’ve known that except that I did.

“Seeing you fall into the lake and hearing the sound of your head hitting the hull…God, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the panic that nearly swamped me. It was like living in a nightmare.”

“Thank you, Dom,” I whispered, not sure how I was ever going to make it up to him. How do you truly thank someone for saving your life? “Thank you for saving me.”

Dom left me to sleep, but, although I was tired, sleep was elusive. How was I ever to face any of my friends again? How would I ever face the Queen? My greatest shame had become known, I had been sold by my father, the one person who was supposed to protect me. There was no way the Queen would want me to continue on as one of her Ladies in Waiting. If it ever got out, if the press ever got a hold of that knowledge, the Palace would become a laughing stock.

The silver lining in all of this was that I was no longer obligated to marry Piérre. I had no home or job or self respect, but at least I didn’t have to spend the rest of my life tied to a man I hated. Small mercies. I had been prepared to protect my father, despite him not doing the same for me, but now that it was all out in the open, I didn’t think I ever wanted to see him again. I don’t know how he had lived with the knowledge of what he’d done for all these years. I may not know what the future held, but I did know that it would be on my terms and that no one would ever put me in that situation again.

There was a tap on the door and it opened revealing Jamie, one of the Queen’s personal security team.

“The Queen is here to see you,” he said, “Are you up for a visit?”

I swallowed thickly, my throat protesting, and then I nodded. It was best to get this over with quickly before it became awkward. I knew Alyssa was kind and a benevolent Queen, but there was no way she could keep me in her employ knowing what she did. At least if she told me now, while I was still in hospital, I could organise to have my room cleaned out before I was released and I wouldn’t have to face the others or the Palace again.

The door opened again and Alyssa strode in, a beatific smile on her face. She came straight over to the bed and leaned down to hug me, awkward as it was with me sitting up in bed.

“Oh, Priscilla, I’m so glad you’re all right,” she gushed, “I was so worried about you.”

I sniffed and willed myself not to cry. I really loved this young woman and I loved working for her. I was going to miss her dreadfully. I clung to her for a moment before letting her go as she straightened and then sat on the chair that Dom had taken up residence in while I had been unconscious.

“Thank you for seeing me,” she began, “I know you must still be feeling awful and the last thing you probably want is a whole lot of us hovering.”

I smiled sadly at her, not sure what to say.

“But I didn’t want this to wait too long before we discussed it. It is a delicate matter and—”

“It’s okay,” I said, my voice raspy, “You don’t have to say it, I understand completely. I can have Bianca clear out my suite within the week and then we’ll be out of your hair.”

Alyssa’s eyebrows jumped into her hairline and her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open in shock. “What on earth are you talking about?” she asked.

“My resignation,” I said slowly, “I understand why you can’t have me working for you—”

Alyssa held up a hand. “Stop,” she said, “Don’t you dare say another word.” She took a breath and mumbled, “Of all the stupid, idiotic things.” She took another breath and shook her head as if to clear her frustration. “You are not resigning,” she finally said, “I wasn’t going to accept it the first time and I’m not going to accept it this time either. I want you to be my Personal Assistant, to take over from Alex. Meredith, as much as I love her, has made an awful mess of my schedule and I need someone who has the same military precision that Alex does and that’s you.

“Now, I know you’re probably upset about us finding out about the situation with your father, but nobody holds you responsible for any of that mess. The reason I wanted to speak to you is because I want to know what you want to do about the situation. Benjamin assures me that criminal charges can be brought against the Ambassador and the Baron regarding what they were trying to do, but the Ambassador is your father and I wanted to know how you felt about the whole thing. It goes without saying that he will be relieved of his post in the Embassy, but the criminal charges are up to you. The Baron will be facing charges here in Merveille and then France has asked for us to extradite him into their custody to face further charges. He won’t be bothering you any longer, even if you don’t press charges related to the other. So tell me, Priscilla, how do you want to proceed?”

I was speechless. I hadn’t even dared to believe that I could stay on in Merveille, let alone stay employed by the Crown. I felt for sure that the entire sad story would be splashed across all the media outlets, not only tarnishing my father but myself and Bianca in the process. What the Queen was offering me was almost too good to be true, but I knew I could trust her. Whatever decision I made, she would abide by it, regardless of her own feelings and because of her willingness to forgive, I knew exactly what I had to do.

“Are you sure she’s okay?” I asked Louis again.

He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead and I could feel his lips smile against my skin. “She’s going to be fine. A little bruised and banged up, but in a couple of days she’ll be as good as new.”

“What’s going to happen to us?” I asked, feeling insecure and vulnerable as I sat on the examination table in the Palace infirmary.

The Palace physician had been in to check on me and told me I would be fine but that he wanted to keep an eye on me for a couple of hours to make sure I hadn’t suffered a concussion from where Piérre had struck me over the head. Lord Bingham had been by to tell us what had happened to Priscilla, but no one would let me go and see her. With what had transpired with Piérre, I didn’t know if either Priscilla or I would be staying in Merveille - nobody had told me that yet. They also hadn’t told me why my father wasn’t allowed down to see me. They had him sequestered in his room and no one would tell why or what he had to do with what had happened on the lake. It was most frustrating.

“You and I are going to be just fine,” Louis said, misunderstanding me.

“I know that,” I said, with a small smile, “But I mean what is going to happen to Priscilla and me? Are we staying, are we going? Nobody is telling me anything.”

“I think everybody is waiting until the Queen speaks to Priscilla,” he said, “And then when you are given the all clear, I will take you to the hospital so that you can speak with Priscilla.”

“What if we get kicked out of the Palace, or the country?”

Exactly how much trouble was her father in? Had he been accused of something because he brought Piérre into the country and into the Palace? Would it reflect badly on Priscilla, would she lose her job? The uncertain and increasingly worrying thoughts swirled around in my head and I began to shake with panic.

“Hey,” Louis said gently, drawing me into an awkward hug - awkward because I was on the bed and he was sitting on a chair beside the bed. “It’s going to be okay. I can’t imagine that the Queen is going to do something as drastic as that. She loves your sister and I’m sure everything will get smoothed out in no time.”

“But what about Papa? Why have they locked him up?”

Louis shrugged, “It’s probably just a precaution. Since Queen Alyssa’s attempted kidnapping, security has been tightened and with her wedding only a week away, I can imagine that this little episode has Von Bartham a little paranoid and overprotective.”

What he said sounded so very logical and reasonable and I relaxed, letting the security of his arms comfort me. Of course the Palace would be worried with the wedding so close and so many foreign dignitaries in residence. Von Bartham was only doing what the situation required and there was no reason to worry about my father being in trouble. Lord Bingham had told us that Piérre had been apprehended and was being held in the Police station in town and I was glad he was out of the Palace and somewhere secure. I could hardly believe what Lord Bingham had told us, that he had assaulted Priscilla and that she had nearly drowned! It was surreal.

“I’m so glad your brother was there to save Priscilla,” I said.

“When I suggested the regatta as a way to get them together, I never realised what could happen.” A shiver passed through him. “It was far too close to what happened to Adélise and I would never have forgiven myself if it had turned out the same way.”

“Adélise was his wife?”

He nodded. “She died in a boating accident. Dom tried to save her, but he couldn’t get to her in time. He’s blamed himself all this time and I had to do some convincing to get him back out there today.”

“Well, thank God that he listened to you. If he hadn’t been there…” I couldn’t form the thoughts, let alone the words of what could have happened if Dom hadn’t been there.

Louis grinned, “It’s another reason that they have to thank us for getting them together,” he said.

“We can’t ever tell them,” I said, “Priscilla would kill me if she knew we had interfered like that.”

Louis shrugged, “But it all turned out fine, so what does she have to be upset about? Anyone can see that Dom is crazy about her and she looks pretty smitten with him too.”

“I suppose,” I said, but still it nagged at me. If Priscilla found out that their first ‘accidental’ meeting wasn’t accidental at all, I didn’t think she would take it well. I would hate for her to lose something so great just because she felt she had been manipulated.

“Now,” Louis said, “Let’s talk about something infinitely more fun.”

“What’s that?”

“Us,” he grinned.

“What about us?” I asked, suddenly feeling vulnerable again.

“Well,” he began slowly, “I’d like us to talk about where our relationship is going.”

It was a strange thing that he was bringing this up. Didn’t men run from these types on conversations?

“Okay,” I said, cautiously, “And where do you think the relationship is going?”

He leant forward, looking into my eyes and I felt a little flutter in my stomach. He lifted a hand and smoothed some hair off my forehead, tucking it behind me ear and then sweeping his fingers along my jaw.

“I think,” he whispered, “That we have only just begun and I can’t wait to see where it leads us.”