Chapter One

England, 1818

Thick woods crowded the lonely road as the royal carriage and its phalanx of armed outriders pounded on through the black autumn night.

Inside the coach, seated across from her lady-in-waiting, the raven-haired Princess Sophia of Kavros stared out the window at the dark tangle of gnarled tree trunks and scraggly branches whizzing by. The tiny candle sconces inside the carriage cast her reflection on the window glass—a face of exotic beauty, with an expression of brooding intensity, lost in her thoughts.

Not much longer now.

In another few hours, they would reach the castle for tonight’s secret meeting with the British diplomats.

The rhythmic jouncing of the coach set the beat as Sophia continued mentally rehearsing the impassioned speech she meant to give the Foreign Office lords.

On this, the very eve of her destiny, they could no longer deny her, for at the stroke of midnight, she would turn twenty-one, attaining her legal majority; then they could not brush her off anymore with their excuses and protestations that she was too young to rule.

The time had come for the British government to keep its promise and restore Sophia to her family’s throne. Her people would have it no other way, and God knew, they had suffered enough.

Restlessly, she glanced at her attendant. “What is the hour, Alexa?”

The striking blonde jumped when Sophia addressed her.

Of course, they both were nervous about this night, so long in the planning.

There was so much at stake.

Alexa checked her locket-watch. “A quarter past nine, Your Highness. Ten whole minutes since the last ti