by Day Leclaire
“So, you didn’t run?”
“I couldn’t. Mainly because I didn’t have a plan in place at that point. Besides…” Her voice dropped to a mere whisper. “That’s…that’s when I met him.”
A coldness crept into the pit of Alyssa’s stomach. “Met who?”
“Freddy’s son, Erik.” Angela’s eyes slowly lifted and fixed on her daughter. “Your father.”
Alyssa could only stare for a long minute in stunned disbelief. “You’re saying…” She drew in a deep breath. “Are you telling me that my brother is actually my father?”
“Yes, to the father part. No, to the brother.” Angela’s brow crinkled. “Although since he was technically my stepson at the time, maybe he would be both your brother and your father. I get a headache just thinking about it.”
“Mom—”
Her face crumpled. “I’m sorry. I’m not doing this very well.”
“Is this somehow connected to why you’re here in Verdonia?”
“Uh-huh.” Her lashes flickered as she glanced at Alyssa, and then away again. She cleared her throat. “After I left Jim, I decided to fly out to Verdonia. I’d heard that Freddy died a few years back and I thought maybe…maybe Erik and I…” She bowed her head, trailing off miserably. “I wanted to see him again.”
“And did you?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I saw him, all right.”
“Good grief, Mom. What did he say? What did he do when you showed up?”
“Oh, he abdicated.”
Alyssa struggled to breathe. “You went to visit Prince Erik, duke of Celestia and he up and abdicated? Just like that?”
“Sort of. He said something about finding these important documents and needing to fix things, or some such. He said if he abdicated, you could rule Celestia and that when he returned he and I could marry. Only…” Her eyes overflowed. “Only Erik disappeared and Prince Brandt arrived and invited me to stay with him. With Erik gone, I didn’t know what to do. So, I went with Prince Brandt. As soon as he learned that Erik had abdicated and that you would rule Celestia in his place, that’s when everything went to hell in a handbasket. He came up with that crazy scheme to marry you.”
It was Alyssa’s turn to supply the tissues. “You can still find Prince Erik. You can be with him now.”
“No, it’s too late.”
“Only if you let it be too late.”
Angela shook her head. “I’ve made a mess of my life. I allowed my past to ruin my future. I let it dictate my choices.” She faced her daughter, the river of mascara and tears slowing. “That doesn’t have to happen to you. You’re so much stronger than I am, just like your father. You can take a chance. Have the future you always dreamed of having.”
“No, I—”
“Listen to me, Ally.” She used a tone Alyssa had never heard before, that of a determined mother. “I want you to leave. Now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I want you to get off this plane and live your dreams.” She swiped the dampness from her cheeks. “Don’t think about it. Do it. Get up and walk away.”
“I can’t leave you behind,” Alyssa protested. “You need me.”
“Not anymore. I’ve held you back for too long. We’ve gotten our roles all mixed up. I’m supposed to be the parent. You’re supposed to be the child. And yet I’ve always let you take care of me.”
“I wanted to, Mom. It was my choice.” She gripped her mother’s poor, broken hands, lifted them to her mouth and kissed them. “I love you.”
“Ever since I was a child I wanted someone to take care of me. To love me unconditionally. You always did that.” Angela broke down for a brief moment again before gathering herself back up. “But it wasn’t fair of me to let you. It was wrong and I won’t allow it to go on any longer.”
“There’s no point in getting off the plane. Merrick thinks I betrayed him.”
“Then you’ll have to set him straight.” She released Alyssa’s hands. “Take off your wedding rings.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Take them off. There’ll be an inscription inside of them.”
“How do you know?” Alyssa asked, even as she found herself tugging off the rings.
“It’s a Verdonian tradition, a rather sweet one, actually. A private message between husband and wife. Read what yours says. If it’s something pitiful, like, ‘You’re my hoochy momma’ or ‘It’ll be fun while it lasts’ then you know it wasn’t meant to be and we’ll hit New York City and buy shoes or something.” She leaned forward. “But if it’s special, really special, then you have to promise me you’ll get off the plane. Do we have a deal?”
“Okay, yes. It’s a deal.”
Alyssa held Fairytale to the light, turning the ring until she could make out the flowing script inside and started to cry.
“Oh God. It says hoochy momma, doesn’t it?”
Alyssa shook her head. “No, no it doesn’t. I’ve got to get off, Mom. I have to go now.” She half rose in her seat before realization dawned. “The guards. They’re not going to let me off the plane.”
“Of course they will.”
“No, they’ll stop me.”
“Think, Alyssa, think. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s getting out of a tight spot. And this one isn’t even all that tight.” Her mother smiled slyly. “You just have to tell them who you are.”
“Tell them—” Of course. Alyssa didn’t hesitate. She gave her mother a fierce hug. “Come with me. Do it, Mom. You can have the dream, too. We can find out what happened to Prince Erik. And maybe you can have your happily-ever-after ending, as well.”
She didn’t wait for her mother’s decision. It was hers to make. Alyssa had her own life to live, her own future to fight for. She swept to the doorway. The guards were still posted there. They immediately moved to block the exit.
She drew herself up to her full height. “I am Princess Alyssa, duchess of Celestia,” she announced in her most ringing, royally-ticked-off tone of voice. “And you will move out of my way.”
She’d rattled them, she could tell. They glanced helplessly at each other, uncertain how to respond. Before they could decide, a man in uniform appeared from the front of the plane, either the captain or co-captain, she wasn’t sure which.
“Did you say you’re Princess Alyssa?”
“I am.”
“We’ve been denied clearance until you’re removed from the plane.” Annoyed disbelief touched the man’s face. “We’ve been accused of abducting Celestia’s princess. So, if you wouldn’t mind disembarking…”
“I’d be happy to.”
The guards weren’t given an option at that point and they reluctantly moved aside. A few minutes later, Alyssa stepped back onto Verdonian soil. To her absolute delight, her mother joined her. She reentered the airport only to be greeted by a wave of people. Clearly, someone had revealed her identity. The minute they saw her, they began to cheer. And when she paused in front of them, every last man, woman and child swept into deep bows and curtsies.
It took her two tries to get the words out. “Thank you,” she finally said. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Will you be staying, Princess?” one of the women asked shyly.
Alyssa smiled. “Where else would I go? It’s my home.” And that was the simple truth, she realized.
“And your husband?” a husky voice sounded in her ear. “What about him?”
She spun around. Merrick stood behind her. For a long moment they didn’t move, each greedily drinking in the other. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, so much she wanted to say. Apologies to make. Explanations to give. Wounds to heal. But none of it mattered. Not right then. Not when she looked into those beloved golden eyes and saw the fierce glow of undisguised love.
She took one step toward him. Then another. And then she raced into his waiting arms. He practically inhaled her, kissing her mouth, her eyes, her jaw before finding her mouth again. T
hey were hard, fierce kisses. Urgent kisses. Greedy and needy. Telling her without words how desperately he wanted her. And then the tenor changed.
He kissed her gently, a river of passion flowing deeply beneath. A balm. A benediction. A husband gifting his wife. “I didn’t tell him,” she said, breathless and dazed. “I swear to you, I didn’t.”
“I figured that out. It took a while, but I got there.”
“I couldn’t leave Verdonia. Couldn’t leave you.”
“I figured that out, too.” He cupped her face with his magician’s hands. “You still haven’t answered my question. You have a husband, Princess. What are you going to do about him?”
Her chin wobbled. “My home is within your heart. At least, according to this Fairytale I read not long ago. Unless your ring has a better suggestion.”
“Just one.”
“Which is?”
A hint of color darkened his cheekbones. “It’s trite.”
She grinned through her tears. “I can’t wait to hear this. Come on, warrior man. What does it say?”
He snatched his wife into his arms, lifting her high against his chest. More cheers broke out around them. “It says, Two souls destined to live as one.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder until she’d recovered sufficiently to speak. “Let’s go home, Merrick.”
“Is this your home, Princess? Have you finally found your roots?”
“A home. Roots. Heck, I’ve even found a father.” She laughed at his stunned expression. “I’ll explain that part later.”
To her delight, Merrick’s brother was waiting for them outside the airport. One look was all it took to see the resemblance, both in autocratic manner and old-world graciousness. She looked forward to getting to know her brother-in-law a little better, to form an opinion about the man who would be king. There was hint of a warrior about him, a trait that must run in the family, though the rough edges were a bit more polished than with Merrick.
To her surprise, it didn’t take long for Lander to put her at ease, and he had her mother charmed within minutes. He also drove them back to Glynith, and though it rained almost the entire way, Alyssa neither noticed nor cared. There were too many other matters of far greater importance to address.
“How did you figure out I hadn’t betrayed you?” she asked Merrick at one point.
“Tolken helped with that.” He flicked her nose with the tip of his finger. “Surprises you, doesn’t it? Once I calmed down enough to think straight I realized you would never have given up Miri, not even for my freedom. Certainly not for your own.”
“Not even for my mother’s,” she confirmed. “I’d have given him almost anything else, but not that. It was too high a price to pay.”
“There’s the palace,” Angela broke in. Wistfulness underscored her comment. A whisper of bittersweet memories.
Merrick peered out the window, squinting as the sun broke through the rain clouds. He wrapped his arm around his wife. “We can’t take up residence there until after church and state have made your position official. But that shouldn’t be too long a wait.”
“And you? What will you do?”
“I’ve decided to keep my current job. After my dealings with von Folke, I think Verdonia needs a tough watchdog.” He inclined his head toward the palace. “I’ll just relocate my base of operations.”
Alyssa stared at her new home. This was it. Permanent. No more running. A hint of apprehension rippled through her. Staying involved so much responsibility. How would she manage to handle it all? If it hadn’t been for Merrick’s presence, she would have been tempted to order Lander to turn the car around and return them to the airport.
And then she saw it. Watched as it formed right before her eyes. From its roots, deep in Celestian soil, a rainbow arched across the sky, a brilliant sweep of color, so dazzling it hurt the eyes. And from where she sat it seemed to burst apart right on top of the palace. Merrick saw it, too. He turned to her, a crooked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, clearly understanding the significance.
Alyssa caught her mother’s hand and directed her attention out the window. “Look, Mom. You were right. Our rainbow was out there. After all these years we finally found it.”
And then she met her husband’s steady gaze, one that glittered like the sun. She’d discovered what was at the end of her rainbow and it was infinitely more precious than mere gold. She curled deeper into Merrick’s embrace. “Take me home,” she whispered.
“On one condition.”
“Which is?”
“That you promise to live happily ever after.”
She pretended to consider. “There’s only one way that’ll work.” Her expression softened. “And that’s with you at my side.”
He lowered his head and kissed her. “Welcome home, my love. Welcome home.”
The Prince’s Mistress
By Day Leclaire
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
One
Mt. Roche, Principality of Verdon, Verdonia
Prince Lander Montgomery gripped the phone and spoke in a low, forceful voice. “You owe me, Arnaud. You’ve been in my debt for years. It’s time for you to pay up, and I have the perfect way you can do it.”
“I don’t owe you a damn thing,” Joc snapped. Even from half a world away his voice was as clear as though he stood in the same room. “You and your cronies made my life hell at Harvard. You’re lucky I haven’t tried to even the score. But now that you’ve taken the time and trouble to remind me of those good ol’ days, I may reconsider.”
Lander glared in disbelief. “Payback? After all this time?”
“Why not? When you have as much money as I do, payback can be a real bitch. A fact you’ll soon discover firsthand, Your Highness.”
“You have a convenient memory. I’d almost think you’d forgotten about graduation night.” Lander paused. “Not to mention the promise you made.”
Joc snarled a curse. “I was out of my mind when I made that promise.”
“No doubt. But still, you made it. Or doesn’t the infamous Joc Arnaud honor his promises? Given your background, I thought honor was everything.”
There was a moment of dead silence and Lander wondered if he’d pushed too hard. Then, “What do you want, Montgomery?”
Lander fought to disguise his relief. Years of practice maintaining an impassive facade came to his rescue and was reflected in the calmness of his voice. “I want to discuss a business proposition. I’m throwing a charity ball this Saturday. I understand you’ll be in the vicinity.”
“If you consider Paris in the vicinity.”
“It’s a hell of a lot closer than Dallas. Where should I send the invitation?”
“Corporate headquarters. And make it two. There’s someone I’d like to invite to your little shindig.”
“I’ll courier them to you today.”
“You never did say…” A hint of curiosity climbed into Joc’s voice. “What do you want from me?”
Lander smiled in satisfaction. When it came to Arnaud, curiosity was a good thing. A very good thing. “Not much. I just want you to save Verdonia.”
She was late. Unforgivably late.
Juliana Rose mentally willed the cab to hurry, to cut through the heavy traffic overflowing the streets of Verdonia’s capital city of Mt. Roche and reach her destination while she could still enjoy what remained of the evening’s festivities. Even if she made it to the palace within the next five minutes—highly unlikely—she didn’t doubt for a single moment that she’d be the last guest to arrive.
Peering through the window, she struggled to see how much farther they had to go. In the distance the palace of Mt. R
oche topped a nearby hill. It gleamed silvery gold beneath an early June moon, its graceful turrets and glittering stonework reinforcing its fairy-tale appearance. A hunger built deep inside, a hunger to believe in fairy tales and happily-ever-after endings, even though she’d learned long ago that such things were impossible—at least for her.
This was her very first ball, a reward for all her charitable work for Arnaud’s Angels. The fact that the fates were busily conspiring to prevent her from enjoying the fruits of her labor simply underscored her suspicion that some things were never meant to be. Besides, wasn’t it considered a major no-no to arrive after the royal family? Would they even let her in? Or would she be turned from the door before she had the chance to peek inside? Well, she’d find out whether they’d let her in soon enough. And if they didn’t…She shrugged philosophically. She had a briefcase full of work back at her apartment and a dozen potential candidates who would benefit from Angels’ benevolence.
As the cab turned onto the winding approach to the palace, Juliana struggled not to fuss with her hair or tug at the scrap of beaded silk that bared more of her breasts than she found comfortable. Instead she folded her hands in her lap and cleared her mind by silently working her way through a complex mathematical equation. She’d stumbled across the trick as a child, starting with simple multiplication tables to calm herself whenever she’d been upset. Since then, she’d refined the technique, increasing the level of difficulty until it took all her focus and concentration to work her way through the problems. To her relief, the exercise worked, easing her tension and allowing her to regain her poise.
At long last the cab pulled through the palace gates and cruised slowly around the sweeping circle to an entryway as elegant as it was imposing. “Lion’s Den,” the driver announced in near perfect English. But then, most Verdonians were fluent, since it was their second language. Even the children she worked with spoke English as well as she spoke Verdonian.
