Page 2 of A Whiskey River Princess

Gabriella took a step forward, raising her chin out of habit, and handed him her ticket. Most of the young men who had been interested in her in the past had only liked her for her money or title. She forced her chin down, reminding herself that this man had no idea who she was. Or, at least, she hoped he wouldn’t recognize her.

She looked down the length of the wooden walkway again, fearing that Manfred would come barging in with his entourage and drag her off at any moment. If he found her, he was sure to lock her up and throw away the key until she was married off to someone she didn’t know as a trophy for the “good of the monarchy.” If she heard that phrase one more time, she was going to scream.

The young steward tore off the ticket stub, and tipped his hat as he handed it to her. “Have a safe journey, miss.”

“Thank you.” Gabriella smiled as she took the ticket and nodded her thanks. She looked down at the stairs leading to the train. Just a few more steps to freedom. She looked over her shoulder once again, and the young man extended his hand to help her.

“Up you go, miss.” He took her bag and waited patiently as the people behind her grumbled.

Gabriella squared her shoulders and took the gentleman’s hand. “Merci,monsieur.” She kept her composure as she stepped up into the train, although all she wanted to do was to run directly to her cabin and hide.

Freedom. At long last, she was free.

“Right this way, miss,” another gentleman insisted as he quickly checked her ticket and pointed her toward the private cabins. “Your room is the second on the left.” He shoved theticket at her, and then turned his attention to a young couple behind her. “Next?”

Although she wanted to run to her room and lock herself in there until they reached Laramie, she forced herself to maintain her composure, the years of finishing school and royal training paying off.

Gabriella walked past men wearing top hats, and ladies dressed in fine attire. But three men sat to the right, dirty and wet from the falling snow, their boots muddy. The men looked sorely out of place in that part of the train, but Gabriella kept her eyes straight ahead.

“Get a load of this!” One of the men with a scruffy beard punched the guy beside him, pointing at her.

The man pulled away. “Get off me!” he barked, and then looked up at Gabriella and smiled, showing a gold tooth.

There was another younger man with them, too, who leered at her as she passed.

Gabriella hurried to her private cabin and slid the door closed. “Well, I never!” she gasped, locking the door behind her. In Monaco, the only men she had encountered were gentlemen. Those men she had just walked by were far from it.

Quickly brushing the thought aside, she sat on the bench seat to the left, beside the window. She slipped off her coat, laid it beside her, and turned her attention outside to the people bustling about on the train platform in the falling snow, each in their own little world. To the right out the window, a group of men ran up the stairs, pushing past the gentlemen and ladies waiting to board.

Gabriella ducked to the side of the window out of sight, for it was Manfred Carlo and his entourage.

Frantic, Manfred turned and barked orders to another man, the mustache covering his lips moving quickly as he pointed down the wooden walkway. Gabriella couldn’t hear what he hadsaid over the noise of the train, but from the way he was yelling, he was angry and wouldn’t stop until she was found. He hurried toward the train, not bothering to look up.

Gabriella grabbed the heavy curtain and closed it, sending the room into immediate darkness. She held her breath, willing herself not to move or panic. She was so close….

“What’s the meaning of this?” The conductor’s voice resonated down the hallway, along with the sounds of a scuffle. “The train is almost boarded! We’re about to leave!”

“Not before I check this train!” Manfred’s voice bellowed throughout the passageway. “Princess Gabriella of Monaco might be on this train, and it is not leaving until I’ve checked every car!”

No. This cannot be happening,Gabriella thought.

As quietly as she could manage, she checked to make sure the door was locked.

There was pounding on the door of a private cabin a few doors down from hers.

“What’s the meaning of this?” a man with a deep voice asked.

“Pardon the intrusion,monsieur,” Manfred replied, his voice apologetic. “I’m looking for a girl; dark brown hair, blue eyes—”

“Well, there is no one here except for my wife and me,” the man answered, and then the door slammed closed.

“I beg your pardon,monsieur,” Manfred apologized to what Gabriella was sure was the closed door.

There was suddenly loud pounding on the other side of the hallway, getting closer to her cabin.

Please. Please just let him pass by….

She practically stopped breathing when someone pounded on her door, causing her to jump.

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