Princess in a Strange New Land Read Online Free Page B

heels clacked noisily on the stone floor as they approached. They stopped in front of Akna and John, their eyes unfriendly.
    “What a pleasure it is to see you, Lady Leake,” John said in a deadpan voice that expressed the exact opposite sentiment.
    “John,” cooed the beautiful lady with a sardonic smile, “I thought we’d moved past such formalities. Surely you can address me by my given name. It’s the least you could do…after all we’ve been through together.”
    “I wasn’t aware that you cared for me so deeply,” John replied stiffly, “my dear Lady Georgina.”
    “Much better,” Georgina said with a falsely wistful sigh. She turned to rake over Akna’s form with cold, appraising eyes. “And what do we have here?” she asked with an arched brow. “Such a waste of fine material on a dirty little savage from the colonies.”
    “She understands English perfectly,” John warned Georgina, anger edging his voice. “And she is a princess among her people.”
    Akna glanced up at the man at her side in surprise; she hadn’t really expected her host to come to her aid. And his stiff, unfriendly tone was also completely out of character.
    “Oh, I
want
her to understand,” Georgina said with a sly, catlike grin that made Akna shiver despite herself. “I want her to know how she ranks compared to
true
nobility. She should realise just how ridiculous she looks in that borrowed finery.”
    “Borrowed? This dress is not
borrowed
,Georgina, dear. It was commissioned expressly for Lady Akna,” John announced unexpectedly. “Commissioned as a gift and paid for…by me.”
    Georgina went pale in anger, and she clenched her fingers into furious fists.
    “You bought her that dress?”
    “A true lady deserves such a gift, wouldn’t you say?” John asked, his tone ever so slightly taunting.
    “You gave me no such token,” Georgina snarled, her porcelain cheeks becoming mottled red in anger.
    “Now, why would I give you a dress,” John said mildly, his eyes piercing, “when you were always so intent on shedding your own in my presence?”
    Akna blinked as the other ladies gasped in unison. But Georgina merely stared, open-mouthed. She recovered a breath later, her teeth clacking shut and her eyes flashing. She turned her sharp eyes on Akna, who resisted the urge to flinch.
    “You think you’re something special, don’t you?” she growled, her beautiful face contorting in rage. “But you’re no more than a toy, a novelty. He’ll tire of you soon enough, you little heathen.”
    With a quick toss of her golden locks and one last scathing glare in John’s direction, Georgina and her ensemble stomped off, the sound of her heels echoing through the halls. Both John and Akna let out a sigh.
    “A scorned woman is truly a vengeful force with which to be reckoned,” John finally said tiredly, gently massaging his temples with his fingers.
    “I take it that you and she were well-acquainted in the past?”
    “Acquainted, yes,” John confirmed. “But not well.”
    “Well enough to warrant such anger.”
    “There was a time when we shared a few…trysts,” John admitted, his tone sour.
    Akna shook her head disapprovingly. Seeds of doubt sprouted in her mind. Lady Leake was beautiful, even if she had a monstrous personality. Akna’s time with John had been intriguing and entertaining so far, but would he tire of her just as easily? Perhaps she had let herself get too close to him after all.
    “Women in my tribe do not prefer such…familiar men,” she said calmly, her tone chilly.
    “Well, men in my position never know which women are after us because they truly like us…and which are after our riches or titles,” he countered, his usually warm voice dropping an octave.
    “And so you sample them freely?” she asked waspishly.
    “How simplistic,” he commented dryly, his hand unconsciously tightening on her arm. “Can you honestly tell me that you haven’t had your fair share of