‘No, but-’ Marguerite started.

‘Let’s just tell her what we want,’ Alastair said heavily. ‘Don’t confuse her any further.’ His eyes hadn’t left Penny-Rose’s face, and they didn’t leave it now.

He seemed nice, Penny-Rose thought inconsequentially. He also seemed exhausted, strained to the limit, but still very, very nice. His voice was deep and grave and soft, and he sounded as if he was concerned for her.

His English was excellent-well, it would be, as his mother was English. It was only his words that were troubled.

‘I’ll come to the point,’ he told her, speaking slowly as if measuring each word.

‘What my mother wishes to know-what we all wish to know-is whether or not you can be persuaded to marry me.’

For a long, long moment nothing stirred. She stared at them in turn, taking in each of their faces. All of them looked…for heaven’s sake, they looked as if they were serious!

‘You have to be joking,’ she said at last, and it was as much as she could do to find her voice. Her words came out a sort of high-pitched squeak. She coughed and tried again. ‘I mean…you are joking, right?’

‘I’m not joking.’ The look of strain on his face intensified. ‘Would I joke about something so serious?’

‘Yeah, right.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Did you say marry?’

‘I said marry.’

‘Then you’re either having a laugh at my expense or you’re all about in the head,’ she said bluntly. ‘Either way, I don’t think I should stay.’ She gave them a last wild look. ‘I…I’ll see myself out, shall I?’

She didn’t wait for an answer. She took herself out of the door and out of the castle, without a backward glance.

CHAPTER TWO

THE prince found Penny-Rose an hour later, when she’d been persuaded, against her better judgement, to go back to work. She was sorting stones and Alastair came up behind her so suddenly that she missed a couple of heartbeats.