Castle of the Winds (The Secrets of Ormdale, #3)

by Christina Baehr

“I’m terribly sorry, and I’m sensible of the honour and all that, but I’d make a simply rotten princess, and I’ve quite made up my mind I’m going home tomorrow.” “You’ve quite made up your mind?” he repeated. “Quite.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’m not a fool, Miss Worms. I can see that much of what has happened here has come as a surprise to you, and that you came for different reasons than I initially supposed. Therefore, perhaps I should make quite clear to you the conditions that were agreed upon between our people. It seems that whoever sent you here was not entirely frank with you. But I will be. By coming here and participating, you have given up your right to make that decision.” I stared at him in disbelief. He spoke in a pleasant tone that belied his words. “The conditions were, if the bridal candidate refuses after being chosen, then she must leave someone in her place. In this case, that would be your cousin, Simon Drake. He would be my hostage.” “Your hostage? But that’s perfectly—” “Mediaeval? Yes, perfectly. What did you expect, Miss Worms?”