Free Bride to the King by Barbara Cartland Page B

him? Why did I make him angry?’ she asked herself.
    She could feel her hands trembling against her cheeks and knew that her whole body was trembling too.
    She found it difficult to think or really to believe that the King had been so rude.
    Never in her life had a man, with the exception of her father, spoken to her in a horrible jeering voice that seemed to set her nerves on edge like a squeaking saw.
    ‘How can I marry anybody like that?’ she thought and felt a sudden panic sweep over her.
    It was then the door opened and a servant announced, “His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, Your Majesty!” Zosina put out her hand to hold onto the window ledge. She could not turn round. She could not face the Regent and yet she knew that having entered the room, he must be staring at her back, in surprise.
    Then she heard the door shut and after a moment his voice, quiet and calm, said,
    “What has happened? Why are you alone? I saw the King coming away from here.”
    Zosina tried to find her voice and failed. Then she was aware that he had crossed the room.
    “You are upset,” he said quietly. “I am very sorry if the King has done anything to disturb you.”
    He sounded so kind that Zosina felt the tears come into her eyes.
    Then, as if she could not prevent the words, she heard herself say,
    “He hates me! He is very – angry because you – brought me – h-here!”
    She felt that what she had said surprised the Regent.
    “I cannot believe the King said that he hates you,” he replied. “What did he actually say?”
    “I-I c-cannot repeat it,” Zosina said quickly, “but he resents having – to – marry and he thinks that you chose me because – I would – boss him as he said – M-Mama does Papa.”
    The words came out without her really meaning to say them and as she spoke a tear from each eye ran down her cheeks.
    She hoped the Regent would not notice and went on staring blindly ahead at the mountains which now she could not see.
    The Regent came nearer still and now he was standing at her side looking at her and she felt for some strange reason, that she could not explain, that she must not move, must not even breathe in case he learned too much.
    “I am sorry,” he said at length in his deep voice. “Desperately sorry this should have happened and to you of all people.”
    “Please – can I go – home? Perhaps you could – find somebody else?”
    She was afraid as she spoke the last words and yet she had said them.
    “You know that is impossible,” the Regent answered. “Although it seems a hard thing to say, this marriage, because it concerns our two countries, is more important than an individual’s likes or dislikes.”
    “The – King does not seem to be – aware of that,” Zosina murmured.
    “He must understand it by now,” the Regent said and there was a sharp note in his voice. “The whole situation has been explained to him over and over again.”
    “He wants to be – free.”
    “Which is something he certainly would not be under the Emperor Wilhelm.”
    “That is – what I told him – but he would not listen.” The Regent sighed.
    “I think perhaps he is just being difficult.”
    “Surely you could have – allowed him to – find his own wife?” Zosina questioned. “Perhaps he would have – fallen in love with – one of my sisters, if he had come to – Lützelstein.”
    The Regent did not reply and after a moment she turned to look at him and their eyes met.
    The tears were still on her cheeks, but now she could see more clearly and there was an expression in his eyes she did not understand.
    “I am – sorry,” she said after a moment, “but I am a – failure. You can see – I am a – failure.”
    “You are nothing of the sort,” the Regent replied. “It is all my fault, but even now I have met you, I am not certain I could have done anything different.”
    He saw that Zosina did not understand and after a moment he said,
    “I did not expect you to be