It was all she could do to keep Colin on the bench, but he let her hold him there, his muscles clenching and unclenching. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight until the men turned and walked away, the man Colin had called Samuel radiating evil as he walked by.
Chapter Sixteen
***Colin***
Colin was pacing around the kitchen while Darby cooked dinner, his mind full of so much anger, he couldn’t think clearly. Samuel had been with his father for as long as he could remember and had always appeared to be the most loyal and trusted of his advisors. But what he’d seen today had destroyed that myth and shown him to be what he truly was: a traitor to not only the royal family but to everyone in Ballentine.
Seelie rule might not have been perfect, as he’d so recently learned, but the Unseelie were brutal Fae who would destroy Ballentine as they destroyed everything they touched. To think that Samuel had joined them made him sick to his stomach, and he wanted to march up to the castle and confront him, but he knew that his father would never listen.
“I don’t know what to do,” he lamented, pacing back and forth. “My father will never believe me, and I can’t tell him about you.”
“Come and eat something. Maybe that will help,” she said, setting their plates down on the table. “This is the last of the chicken, so we’d better enjoy it.”
Colin picked up the piece of fried chicken and took a bite, thinking it tasted even better the second day. “My brother would love this chicken,” he said, remembering how they used to fight over fried chicken when they were kids.
Then it hit him. “My brother,” he said.
“What about your brother?” Darby asked, confused.
“He’ll listen to me,” he said. “He’s never liked Samuel. Tomorrow I’ll go to the castle and talk to him; he’ll help me expose him, and I won’t have to tell him about you.”
He saw the mixture of emotions on Darby’s face and got up from the table, pulled her to her feet, and held her. “I’m sorry, Darby, I wasn’t thinking. If I go back tomorrow, I won’t be able to come back.”
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly for a long time, then looked up at him. “But we still have tonight,” she said.
He scooped her up in his arms and headed for her bedroom, their dinner forgotten on the table. When they finally emerged from the passion-filled haze, Colin lay with Darby's head on his chest and pictured himself in his own room the next night without her. It was a shock to realize that he hadn’t even thought about going home in days, had in fact gotten used to his life away from the pampering of a royal life.
That was when he began to imagine a Ballentine where it wouldn’t matter if she were common or royal: their love would be all they needed. He drifted off to sleep thinking of life with Darby in it and promised himself that he’d come back for her, even if it meant leaving the crown behind.
He woke before the sun rose, dressed quietly, and slipped out of the farmhouse, afraid that if he had to say goodbye, he’d never leave. Walking through the early dawn, he smelled the lavender in the air and felt a stab of loss, but didn’t stop, instead put one foot in front of the other and pushed on.
The sun was just rising when he got to the gatehouse that protected the royals, and he remembered the day not so long ago he’d snuck through a side gate in humiliation. He felt like a different man today, so he boldly walked up and said, “I’m Prince Colin, and I’d like to go home now.”
The guard, who’d been half asleep, looked at him, then at his clothes, and laughed. “That’s a good one, buddy, but it’s not going to work,” he said. “You’re not the first one to try this crack of dawn thing, and you don’t even look like the prince. I know him, and you aren’t him.”
Colin could only stare at him, his mouth hanging open. “I really am the prince,” he said but with little conviction.
“Get out of here before I call the guards,” the gatekeeper said.
He turned and started back to the farmhouse, wondering if fate was keeping him with Darby, if some power was arranging things so that they stayed together. But he had bigger worries; fate’s interference in his life would have to wait until he’d dealt with Samuel and his treachery.
When he slipped back into bed, Darby opened her eyes, a bit surprised to see him. “I thought you’d be gone by now,” she said, then saw the look on his face and sat up. “What happened?”
He looked over at her, a stab of desire shooting through him at the sight of her rumpled hair and the blanket only covering one breast. “I think someone is keeping us together,” he said, then pulled her underneath him.
They were still trying to catch their breaths much later when Darby said, “You didn’t tell me what happened.”
“They wouldn’t let me in,” he said, grinning at her. “I’m not sure what to do now.”
Darby slid out of bed, taking the sheet with her and wrapping it around her chest. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” she said, crossing the room to the door. “Coffee?
He didn’t answer at first, the beginning of an idea swimming around in his head. Then he sat up in bed and asked, “Do you have a formal gown?”
“Formal? Where are we going?” Darby asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“To a party,” he said.
***Darby***
Darby wasn’t sure about Colin’s plan and walking up to the boarding house, as they were called in Ballentine, didn’t help her confidence any. “Are you sure about this?” she asked, looking up at the house that was painted a bright shade of pink.
“Relax, they’re not going to try to recruit you,” he said. “They’re just Fae like you.”
“I’ve just never been inside a house like this,” she said, holding back a little.
“It looks just like any other house,” Colin said.
“How do you know Ruby anyway?” she asked, then wished she hadn’t. “Never mind.”
They reached the door, and Colin rang the bell. “It wasn’t Ruby I came here to see,” he said. “And I haven’t been here for a long time.”
Darby knew that she had no right to be jealous, but it flared to life anyway, leaving her slightly cross. When the bell wasn’t answered right away, she tried to pull him off the porch. “I don’t think anyone is home.”
“Just relax, Darby; it’s going to be fine,” he said, pulling her back up next to him.
The door was finally opened by an old woman whose face lit up when she saw Colin. “Prince Colin, what are you doing here? Ms. Ruby’s going to be so happy to see you,” she said. “Come in, come in.”
“Hi, Patrice, is she awake yet?” Colin asked, pushing Darby inside.
“Oh, you brought a guest with you,” Patrice said. “You’re wanting a room then?”
Colin shook his head. “I just need to talk to Ruby, please.”
“A new girl then,” Patrice said, eyeing Darby up and down. “She’s a bit skinny, but she’ll do.”