A Scandalous Adventure by Lillian Marek Page B

leave.
    But how could he let her go?
    Susannah escorted him to the door. Before he left, he seized her by the shoulders and pulled her to him, holding her in a fierce embrace. “Ah, Suse, if you come to any harm in this, I will never forgive you.”

Fourteen
    If she had been asked, Susannah would have been hard pressed to say just what she had expected after the dramatic events of the previous day. However, she was reasonably certain that a lengthy, interminable tour of the Nymburg castle would not have been high on the list.
    She trailed listlessly behind the others. Aunt Augusta would probably tell her to stop behaving like a ninny, but Aunt Augusta was too busy flirting with the general to notice Susannah’s behavior. Olivia would normally have asked what was wrong and fussed over her, but Olivia was hanging on Prince Conrad’s arm, too engrossed in whatever he was saying to notice anything else. As for what her mother would say—Susannah did not want to think about that. Fortunately, her mother was back in England, busy spoiling her grandchildren, and had no idea what her youngest daughter was doing.
    Susannah was not feeling neglected and ignored. Well, perhaps a bit. But not neglected by Olivia and Aunt Augusta. She was delighted that they were able to enjoy themselves under the circumstances. Really.
    What bothered her was that after the tumult of the revelations last night, after that parting embrace, Maximillian von Staufer had simply vanished. Poof. He was nowhere to be seen. He had left no word of explanation. No letter, no message. Nothing.
    Had she completely mistaken his feelings? Perhaps the embrace had just been a kindly gesture, designed to encourage her. That seemed unlikely since he had been trying to dis courage her. She did not think she had misunderstood, but it was possible that she had.
    And how to explain her own reaction? It was not as if she had never been held by a man before. She was almost twenty-two years old, after all, and she had been out in society for ages. London was hardly a nunnery, and she had her share of curiosity. But never before had she experienced an embrace that dissolved her bones and set off fireworks inside her. Last night, however, when Max had held her in his arms, she’d felt as if she had finally come home, as if she was at last where she belonged.
    This was nonsense. She had to stop thinking this way. She should not start thinking that it meant anything special to him or to her.
    She should not think there was anything more than attraction in her feelings for Max. Not really. Just because he was so big and strong and handsome and dashing and laughed as if he would defy the world. Just because he made her laugh too. Just because his arms around her made her feel safe and protected. She gave herself a shake and straightened her back. This was infatuation, nothing more. And his determination to protect her? Lady Susannah Tremaine did not need to be protected. Her parents had raised their children to be independent and self-reliant.
    She stiffened her back and tried to feel self-reliant. It would be easier if that melting warmth deep inside her would go away.
    Given the heated direction her thoughts were taking, it was obvious that she had been reading too many novels of late. Tonight she would have to take up something dry and boring. Thucydides, perhaps. Greek history always put her to sleep.
    Meanwhile, she needed to pay some attention to her surroundings. The prince may have thought he was showing his bride-to-be her new home—and from the soft glances that Olivia was resting on him, she was playing her part as the princess a bit too well—but Susannah wanted to study the geography of the castle. They had determined to stay and play their parts until Max and the general found out what had happened to the princess and where she was now. However, it would be wise to find an escape route or two, just in case.
    Insisting on carrying on with this