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don’t find love.”
    He bit his lip. Girls like her deserved so much more than just love. But, the world was a cruel place.
    “You never know,” he said. “While, I might not be able to make it happen. It might very well happen on its own. Heaven knows, he would be a fool not to fall in love with you.”
    She didn’t look as if she believed him. Instead, she stood up and nodded her thanks. “If that is all. I will leave you. You have given me a lot to think about.”
    Flint grimaced. The beast inside of him clamored to be set free and make this woman’s world perfect. To protect her from unhappiness. It took more will than normal to push him back into place.
    “Of course, my dear. We will discuss things later tonight at dinner. We may have a guest. Someone who can help you prepare. She is intimately familiar with court and what is expected of a princess.”
    Laila’s eyes sparkled with interest, but a sadness remained there as well. A realization that dreams were not always as she had hoped.
     

Chapter Five
    Laila woke from her nap with the same troubling thought. ‘What would happen to her when they found out the truth?’ Would they kill her immediately or send her to the mines first?
    The thought of fooling a prince and all of his retainers. No, it was impossible. Her stomach clenched up as sweat beaded on her brow. Surely, they would know. One look at her and they could tell. A mason’s daughter. A gutter snipe. Unworthy to be in the same room as them.
    She reluctantly rose from her bed and began making herself semi presentable. She studied herself in the mirror. Looking for any clue that it might work. Flint said it would. Heaven knew, the man could accomplish a lot of things. But, could he convince an entire class of people that she belonged with a prince?
    And, what then? What if, by some miracle, she did marry a prince?  It would be a cold, loveless marriage. A long life of loneliness.
    ‘But, you will never go to bed hungry, again,’ she thought. She wouldn’t have to constantly worry about being robbed, arrested, or worse. She would gladly trade happiness for security. Who wouldn’t?
    Sighing to herself, she tore her gaze away from the mirror and went downstairs. It was dinner time, and something told her that princesses were not the kind of people who were late. What was more, something told her, Flint was not the kind of man who easily tolerated tardiness.
    The delicious aroma of cooked meats and fresh bread greeted her as she approached the dining room. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation.
    Laila pushed the fear and the thousands of sad thoughts away before she entered the dining room. She gasped immediately when she saw the beautiful woman at the far end of the room. Her hand resting casually on Flint’s arm as if it belonged there.
    The woman was dressed in a gorgeous, soft lavender. Stately, erect, with a heart shaped face and a body made for bedding. This was a woman who knew what she wanted and always got it. She appeared only a few years older than herself, but, Laila could see a world of experience in her dark brown eyes.
    At that particular moment, as the woman looked up at Flint. It appeared as if he was to be her next conquest.
    Laila studied them for a moment, the quick messages they sent back and forth. She had been wrong. The woman had already conquered Flint. Now, she was returning for a repeat match.
    The thought sent a cold pain to Laila’s heart. For some reason, the thought of Flint being with this woman reminded her of how much she didn’t belong.
    This was the kind of woman who should marry a prince. Beautiful. Secure in herself. Intelligent. And, about as far from a baker’s hovel as it was possible to be.
    “Ah, there you are,” Flint said as he moved away from the woman. He didn’t even have the awareness to act embarrassed to be found so close to this woman. The man was as dense as a brick wall.
    The woman’s eyes narrowed into a brief frown. Obviously, upset at