Rissa wished he would stop using such crude words. When James had explained what happened between a man and a woman, he had called it “making love.” But of course, such a term could not apply to anything that might happen between herself and the Duke.
“I…I thought…” She shook her head, unable to go on.
“Think again, Princess.” With a sudden, swift move, Duke Grabbington threw the small black remote into the fire.
“Oh!” Rissa ran to the fireplace, but it was too late—the remote was already a melting blob of black. She turned to the Duke. “What have you done!”
“I have ensured that no one—not even me—can ever slake your Heat, Princess.” He grinned at her, his mustaches twitching evilly. “You are doomed, my dear. Doomed to burn to ashes, just like your dear Mama before you. And that will leave me quite alone to rule the planet as I see fit.”
“You cannot do this to me!” Rissa exclaimed. “Why? I don’t understand!”
The Duke shrugged.
“I wanted power and prestige—now I have both. Why should I share them with a mouthy little bitch like you? There really was a real Lord Shammington at the Second Court, you know,” he went on, meditatively as he stared into the fire where the remote had now melted completely. “He would have made an excellent husband for you, too—he had Royal blood—a very fine pedigree. Unfortunately, after I had him kidnapped and thoroughly scanned in order to use his image, he expired quite unexpectedly.”
“I am quite sure it was not as unexpected as all that,” Rissa said in a low voice.
“Well, it is possible that he was stabbed a few times by my guards.” The Duke shrugged. “A regrettable occurrence, of course, but one cannot have the man one is impersonating running around free.” He turned to Rissa. “Just as I cannot have you running around free, my dear.”
Rissa shrieked and danced back, out of his reach.
“Don’t touch me! Leave me alone!” she gasped.
“You are so very tiresome—‘don’t touch me, leave me alone’,” the Duke mimicked in a high, whining voice. “That kind of thing is all you ever say.”
“Because I do not wish to have you anywhere near me!” As she spoke, Rissa was backing towards the door. To her surprise, the Duke didn’t rush her again—he simply let her go.
“Fine.” He shrugged. “Go on about your business and leave me alone.”
Rissa’s hand was on the door latch now, but she couldn’t help staring at him.
“You’re just…letting me go?”
“Why not?” He raised his eyebrows at her. “It occurs to me that it will be less messy if you burn to death from your unslaked Heat outside my new bed chamber. Just try not to burn the palace down when you burst into flames.”
“But…but you can’t just send me out to die!” Rissa protested. “There will be an outcry—public outrage!”
“Oh, no doubt there will be some sadness among the common people, but nobody who counts is going to care,” the Duke told her. “Think back to how it was when your dear Mama, the Queen, self-immolated. There was mourning the planet over and some stern talk about censuring the old Steward for not finding her a suitor to slake her Heat in time to save her life, but all of it came to nothing.”
With a sinking feeling, Rissa realized he was right. Why had she never thought of things this way before? Why had she put her trust so blindly in the Steward when he had let her mother die? She had been too innocent—too naïve to see the truth.
Or maybe you just didn’t want to see it, whispered a little voice in her head.
“This is terrible,” she whispered, putting a hand to her face. “I…I never thought of it that way. But how…why…?”
The Duke shrugged.
“Because nobody really wants a woman running the planet, my dear. And now that they have a Royal Consort with enough Royal blood in his veins to be crowned King, they won’t give a damn that the dear Princess burned to ashes before her new husband could get her Chastity Device off.” He smirked evilly. “Of course, dear Lady Mildew will probably hang for it, since she put the device on you in the first place and I shall place the blame of losing the remote squarely on her shoulders. For how could I slake my new wife’s Heat when I could not get the device which she placed on you, off?”
“You…you are horrible and heartless!” Rissa exclaimed. She disliked her old chaperone immensely, but she didn’t wish her dead! For that matter, she didn’t want to die herself, either. Her words didn’t appear to affect the Duke at all.
“Yes, I suppose I am, aren’t I?” he mused, looking into the fire. “Perhaps not the best character traits. Still, being ‘horrible and heartless’ has gotten me what I’ve always wanted, so forgive me for not feeling terribly distressed at your low opinion of me, Princess.”