Free Royal Renegade by Alicia Rasley Page A

ought not be out here."
    Tatiana lifted her chin. "I always do what I oughtn't."
    "I knew that," Devlyn said unexpectedly, glancing quickly at her then back to the wake the ship left behind. His face revealed nothing, so she dropped her gaze to his square hand, still tracing the grain of the wood rail. The repetitive movement seemed to soothe him, for his voice was almost dreamlike in its evenness. "When Wellesley showed me that miniature of you, I thought, there's a girl who always does what she's told not to do."
    Her pulse raced and slowed in a dizzy rhythm to the roll of the deck, so she had to renew her grip on the rail to keep balance. He had made no move to summon a steward, and she wondered if the moonlight had worked its magic even on the cool Lord Devlyn.
    She edged closer to his muscular arm, glancing up at him through her lashes, as she had read that wicked women often did. "What did you see in that picture that made you think that?"
    She could almost feel the shrug of his shoulders under the blue cloak. "That dimple. See, you're doing it now."
    She had, in fact, slanted her eyes up at him and smiled in what she supposed was a flirtatious way. But he turned from her mischief, jerking his cloak over his arm in an isolating gesture. "You'll have to try that on Prinny. A fool for dimples, they say."
    "Prinny?" She pronounced the unfamiliar word delicately, inquisitively tilting her head so that her hood fell back.
    "The Prince of Wales. The Prince Regent, now."
    "Do you know him, my cousin?"
    "I've briefed him on the progress of the army." His hand resumed its stroking as he asked grudgingly. "Is he your cousin?"
    As this was the first sign of real interest he had ever shown her, Tatiana was gratified but embarrassed. "I'm afraid I can't recall how just now. But I'm cousin to every royal in Europe, so it's a safe wager. I'm connected with the Hanovers through the House of Baden, I think," she finished inadequately, resolving to apply herself more to memorizing her own genealogy as Buntin insisted she do. "What is he like, Prinny? Is he a kind man?"
    Devlyn's hard mouth quirked as he considered her, and she sensed he was ready to dismiss her again. But then he shook his head, as if it weren't worth the fight to send her away. "He seems amiable enough. He has a soft heart for ladies, so I expect he'll be kind to you." His tone indicated disdain for any man, even a prince, who might let a woman soften his heart.
    "And Cumberland?"
    "I daresay I've met him."
    He had withdrawn again, his mouth was set in a hard line, as if he disapproved—of her? of Cumberland? Sensing an opening in her escort's armor here, she probed for more information about the man she was expected to wed. "Why do they call him the Dark Prince?"
    Devlyn glanced speculatively at her, but only replied, "He's the one with the dark hair."
    "You have dark hair," she said, and lovely too, she finished silently. In the misty air, curls were springing back from his fine forehead in an almost boyish way. "And I doubt they call you the dark viscount."
    A smile flickered at his eyes. Diverted by the flash of silver in his usually unreadable gaze, Tatiana eventually shook her head. That didn't count as a smile, for it never reached his mouth. She would have to try harder to amuse him, once she had learned more about her intended fate.
    "Not that I've heard. But there are a dozen or so princes, and we subjects need a way to distinguish them."
    "Don't tease me." She didn't have to make her voice tremble, for in truth whenever she contemplated the destiny awaiting her in England, she became anxious. But she also knew that her plaintive tone would arouse his protective instincts, if, indeed, he had any under that hard exterior. "I had counted on you to tell me the truth about Cumberland, for I sensed that you are a man of honor." She'd got him there, she thought with mordant triumph, for if he didn't answer he'd be as much as denying his honor. "All the others have