Free Seized by Love by Susan Johnson Page B

delight him. The wild Tzigane heritage of the ripe sixteen-year-old Gypsy he’d married had never been submerged. That wildness had been but thinly veiled with the veneer of sophistication necessary to move in Prince Mikhail’s aristocratic circles on the rare occasions it suited him to remove himself from the comfortable, elegant seclusion of Le Repose.
    “I wish someday Nikki could find a love like ours, Misha,” Princess Kaisa-leena Kuzan wistfully murmured.
    “We had rare luck, love. It doesn’t happen often in this world,” the Prince replied with obvious feeling, recalling their first tumultuous meeting thirty-four brief years before.

Chapter Four

THE RECONCILIATION

    Early the next morning Alisa was shaken awake by Maria whispering frantically, “Mistress Alisa, Mistress Alisa, you must get up!”
    Alisa brought herself up out of a deep dream of Nikki, and reacted immediately when she saw the terrified fear in Maria’s eyes.
    “What’s the matter. Is Katelina ill?” Alisa asked anxiously, sitting up.
    “No, my lady,” Maria said, wringing her hands.
    Alisa visibly relaxed, settling back onto her soft pillow.
    “It’s much worse,” Maria moaned nervously.
    Alarm again sparked in Alisa’s violet eyes.
    “Mr. Forseus has returned.” She began looking wildly around the room as if to flee.
    “No, my lady.”
    “What is it, then, for heaven’s sake? Speak up, Maria,” Alisa insisted.
    “A carriage of orchids, my lady,” Maria whispered quaveringly.
    “A carriage of orchids? What in the world are you talking about?” Alisa asked incredulously as she jumped out of bed and rapidly stripped off her nightgown.
    “Well, my lady, you know I always go to the chicken house very early in the morning to gather fresh eggs for your and Katelina’s breakfast. As I was slipping out the side door, I saw a strange carriage coming up the driveway and ran out to see who it was. The driver said he was Prince Kuzan’s coachman and he had orders to deliver the orchids, and, Mistress Alisa,” she continued, aghast, “there are also baskets and baskets of strawberries he has instructions to deliver to Mrs. Forseus as well, and”—she paused to catch her breath—“and also this letter for you. I told him to wait behind the bend in the driveway so he wouldn’t be visible from the house, but, my lady, you must hurry, the servants will soon be up.”
    Alisa had already snatched the heavy envelope embossed with the golden seal of Kuzan from Maria’s hand before the old servant was finished with her explanation.
    She tore open the envelope and pulled out the single sheet of paper. Swiftly her eyes scanned the heavy, careless scrawl.
    “If you don’t meet me at the meadow in forty minutes, I shall ride over to see you.”
    The note was simply signed “N.”
    Oh,
mon Dieu
! It must have taken the coachman twenty minutes to drive over here on the circuitous roads. This left her a bare twenty minutes to dress, talk to the driver, and cover the distance to the meadow, or else Nikki would be at her door.
    “Maria, quickly find a dress for me. After I’ve gone, ifany servants question you, tell them I went to bring blankets and clothes for Mrs. Niemi’s new baby. Put those baby clothes you made in a basket and I’ll stop at the Niemis’ cottage on my way back. Hurry, quickly now, I don’t have much time!”
    Within five minutes Alisa was dressed and dashing down the main stairway. The door closed quietly behind her just as the household servants began stirring.
    Alisa ran down the driveway to the bend where, thankfully, the carriage and coachman were still waiting. Gasping for breath, she addressed the man severely. “You must return to Prince Kuzan.”
    “I can’t, ma’am. I have my orders. I’m supposed to deliver these to Mrs. Forseus.”
    Alisa looked in wonder at the glistening open landau, the Kuzan signet initialed on the door, the highly polished green lacquerwork and green velvet upholstery an ideal