In a slow, deep voice, he read, “‘In the event that my grandson Kyriacos Charles Costa Marandis should inherit the title of Crown Prince of Hellenia, then to my adopted son, Tobias Andrew Winder Marandis, I bequeath my Grand Duchy of Malascos, with all attendant rights and wealth.’”
Dead silence filled the House as Charlie finished speaking. All eyes turned to the old king. When he neither moved nor spoke, their collective gazes swung back to the new King and the Queen now standing beside him.
The real transfer of power happened in that moment, the shift of allegiance from the old to the young, the past to the future.
Charlie drew Jazmine close. “The Queen and I therefore wish to introduce you to the fourteenth Hereditary Grand Duke of Malascos, His Grace Tobias Andrew Winder Marandis.” His free hand swept to one of the alcoves reserved for the six Grand Dukes of the nation.
The door behind it opened, and Lia saw Toby, her beautiful Toby, walk forward, a resplendent stranger in the scarlet, purple and gold robes of Malascos, the cloak pinned with the royal eagle.
He looked at her and smiled.
Lia didn’t know she’d jumped to her feet until her knees gave way. An aide shot out a hand to steady her.
In the alcove beside where Toby stood, a man got to his feet and clapped. “The Fourteenth Grand Duke!” he shouted.
Max. Of course it was Max…
The other four Grand Dukes stood and applauded, leading the way.
And then, in the stalls below, the lords began to cheer.
Last, but far from least, Theo Angelis nodded at Toby with a small smile before he joined in the applause: royal approval.
Oh, surely any moment that alarm would go off and she’d wake up…?
Jazmine pressed a handkerchief into Lia’s hand. “Breathe, Lia,” her sister-in-law whispered with a smile. “It’s really happening.”
Lia gasped in a breath and groped for Jazmine’s hand, unable to speak.
When the applause finally quietened, Charlie lifted a hand. “I have one more letter here, outlining my grandfather’s final wishes for us, his beloved son and grandchildren. Most of it is private, so I’ll skip to the important part: ‘having seen the demise of the royal family in Hellenia during the past twenty years, I realised that you, my beloved adopted son and grandchildren, will be needed there. I have done my best to prepare you for your future tasks, by teaching you the language and culture, and instilling in you all a deep sense of duty and self-sacrifice—the kind I could never make. So, to my beloved granddaughter Giulia, I give my dearest love and my unwavering faith that you will be the best princess Hellenia could ask for. I have only one wish for you—to marry my adopted son, Tobias Andrew Winder Marandis.’”
He smiled over at her, mouthed, “How’s this for a rabbit, sis?” and Lia had to mop more tears. “‘To my adopted son, Tobias, I bestow upon you my blessing, my complete belief that you will be an exceptional Grand Duke and will work selflessly to help repair my shattered nation as you helped keep our family together in times of crisis. I humbly ask that you accept the position I forsook, and that you care for and love my granddaughter for the rest of your lives, as she will love and care for you. I believe you are the perfect man for the task ahead—and for my Giulia. To you all, my dearest love and hope for your understanding at the magnitude of the secret I kept from you.’”
By the time Charlie’s voice came to a halt steeped in emotion, Lia was already on her feet, walking across the House. She heard no more, didn’t know what the lords said, didn’t care what Theo Angelis thought. Hardly aware of people milling around her, smiling or moving out of her way, or opening the small doors before her, she just kept walking as if in a dream. All she could see was Toby, giving her that wonderful, heart-melting “I love you” smile.
Finally, at last, she reached him and put her hand in his. “My Lord Duke,” she whispered, and sank into a deep curtsey.
“It’s Your Grace, actually.” Eyes twinkling, he lifted her face with a finger and raised her to face him. “Your Royal Highness, you wish to speak to me?”
The question burst from her. “Did you know about the adoption and the change of name?”
He nodded. “Of course I knew. Yiayia and Papou told me about the Marandis name, but said there were reasons I had to keep the adoption and the Marandis name an absolute secret from everyone. I gave my word to keep it secret until Papou’s letter released me and gave me a choice.” He hesitated, and said, “I did tell the King, weeks ago. I hoped that being a Marandis by name might give me some right to marry you. At first he said it made no difference—my low-class bloodlines negated any adoption. But about a week ago he told Charlie, and had already begun digging for the truth.” He smiled again. “All he said this morning was, ‘make her happy again, Toby’.”
“Oh…” She blinked back tears of joy. “So…is this why your parents really disowned you?”
He gave her a wry grin. “Even the twenty-five grand Papou paid each of them to sign the papers didn’t make them forgive me for wanting to be a Costa…Marandis.” He shrugged. “I always wondered how Papou could be so financially independent for a humble son of a bricklayer. Apparently he came into a fair few million at his majority, and he managed to take a million of it with him.” He added softly, “You realise my family will expect us to share the wealth? They’ll expect to visit, too, and become at least part-time members of the royal family. In short, becoming a Winder won’t be easy.”
She smiled, but didn’t really care about his family’s expectations or sharing the wealth at the moment. Her worried gaze searched his. “Are you sure you want to marry me, Toby? You said…”
He kissed the hand he held. “I said a lot of things, beloved, all of which came from a deep sense of unworthiness—to have joined your family in the first place, to be here at all—but mostly I felt unworthy of you, your love.” He gave her that smile again, and she ached to kiss him. “I’ll show you Papou’s letter to me when we’re alone. He was…most persuasive.”
“You’re certain of this?” Her eyes clung to his, begging for truth.
“I’m certain of only one thing at this point, my Giulia—that I can survive without you, but I don’t live. I tried to return to my old life, but after a few weeks I knew it was hopeless. I need you with me, beloved. Wherever you are, I have to be. So if you’re a princess, I’m a prince, if that’s what it takes.”
“But you’ll be unhappy with all the attention.”
“Perhaps I will be sometimes—but as I hope I’ve shown you the past ten years, you’re worth any sacrifice, my beloved, beautiful Giulia. Any sacrifice. This kind of love comes only once to each man and woman,” he added softly.
And finally, for the first time, she felt true joy inside her, a bubble of purest happiness bursting through her heart and body. It was real; she was loved by one man, wanted and loved for life. And it was her best friend, her lover, her Toby.
Her life’s dream had come true.
Looking up at him with adoring eyes, she dipped into another curtsey. “Will you please accept my hand in marriage, my lord—um—Your Grace? Will you become what you’ve always been to me—my prince? Because you’ve always made me feel like a princess.”
He kissed her hand again, pulling both rings from her right hand and slipping the modest ruby-and-diamond ring onto her left. “Giulia, for ever.”
“Toby, for ever,” she whispered, tears of brilliant, glittering happiness streaming down her face, aching with the need to kiss him. “Toby…”
“I know, beloved, I know. But not only did you have me to yourself all last night, you embroiled me in this right royal scenario by bringing me home all those years ago. Now you must wait for kisses while I endure the tedious ritual of meeting all my fellow dukes and lords.” He grinned at her. “I hope there are no further motions of historical importance for our perusal today?”
She bit her lip over laughter. “I certainly hope not. A few of ’em look ready to pass out with the
shock as it is.”
He winked. “Go and sit, beloved. This may take quite a while.”
In a daze of happiness, Lia returned to her seat. She gave Jazmine and Charlie a blinding smile, and returned their hugs and kisses, whispering thanks.
She turned to Theo Angelis then, who gave her a tender smile. If he’d been outwitted by his cousin after death, he’d still worked for her happiness—and the tiny, almost invisible wink told her he was putting family above bloodline. He loved her.
“Your Highness, may I offer my congratulations at your royal engagement?”
At the head of a line of lords, Max stood, grinning at her, his arms open. Laughing, she hugged him; then she turned her attention to the next lord waiting to congratulate her, and the next. And all the while she kept her gaze on Toby as he met his new peers with the grace and poise Papou had so painstakingly taught him years ago, just as he’d taught him the Hellenican language.
Papou had planned this all along, had prepared them all not merely for royal life, but for the love of a lifetime. And Lia’s heart whispered her thanks to a wise, loving old man who had always seen into their hearts.
EPILOGUE
Seven months later
“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, look at how you’ve grown in a month! Hello, little one.” Giulia was on her knees, talking to Jazmine’s rounded stomach. “It’s your Aunty Lia, who’s going to teach you so many bad things.”
Jazmine laughed and hugged Giulia, touching her stomach in turn. “Hello, littler one—it’s your Aunt Jazmine, and your mama is telling awful fibs. She’s always been a good girl, and she’ll teach your cousin to dance as beautifully as she does.” The ultrasound had shown that Charlie and Jazmine’s first child was a girl.
From beside him on a brocaded settee—Toby saw Charlie and Jazmine hadn’t simplified the entire palace as yet—Charlie grinned and thumped him on the shoulder. “So, congratulations, Dad-to-be. How does it feel?”
“When Giulia is the mother, it’s perfect. Better than this prince caper, anyway,” he added in haste when Charlie pretended to gag. “Behave yourself, Rip. None of that crassfireman behaviour. Maintain some royal dignity, please.”
The King of Hellenia laughed. “Yeah, right. I’ll have to remember that line for the kids when they come. So how’s life in Malascos?”
“Very much like life in Sydney in some ways, just on a grander scale.” Before their wedding, which had come after Toby had gone through two months of intense social and physical training for the role, he and Giulia had made the decision to make the traditional Marandis home in the beautiful mountainous region of Malascos their own. They had chefs, maids and servants, but twice a week they gave everyone the night off. On those nights they cooked together, cleaned the kitchen, watched TV, danced together in the ballroom, or walked in the extensive gardens. Once a month they took turns flying their small jet to the Summer Palace to spend time with Charlie and Jazmine, and to take tea with Theo Angelis.
On their days off from royal duties they gave their security staff a scare with the mountains they climbed, or by riding their mountain bikes, but Toby figured the security staff needed something to worry about. Orakis was still on the run, Theo Angelis lived in quiet retirement in the northern wing of the Summer Palace with Puck by his side, and Charlie and Jazmine had brought a far more relaxed, happy rule to the country with an emphasis on bringing security and modern living to their people.
And day and night, he was with Giulia. It was all he could ask of life.
“You’re both happy?” Charlie asked as he always did, with a trace of anxiety he’d probably never lose. Toby knew he wouldn’t. He’d devoted his life to his wife’s health and happiness for too many years to relax now, even though he knew that, of the two of them, she was the stronger. If he ever lost her…
To banish old shadows, he grinned and called to Giulia, “Wife?”
She turned, her laughing face softening with love. “Husband?”
To outsiders, the terms might seem bland, ordinary—but they’d fought long and hard for the right to say them. Now they treasured the simple pronouns as others would jewels or money. They’d never take the beauty of their life together for granted.
“Charlie wants to know if we’re happy.”
“Does he, now?” Giulia ran to him, settled on his lap with a breathless laugh, and kissed him, slowly and lingering. Her fingers performed the tiny, almost invisible caresses on his neck that drove him crazy. “It’s been five hours,” she whispered in his ear. “That’s at least an hour too long…”
“Insatiable woman,” he whispered back, too soft for Charlie to hear. No matter how close they were, there were some things men didn’t want to know. Charlie definitely wouldn’t want to know his sister couldn’t get enough of her husband.
“Hmm.” She kissed his ear. “I’ve had the worst case of the hots for you for over fourteen years, Winder. Did you think a few puny months of constant love-making would get rid of it?”
“I certainly hope not, Mrs Winder. Nor in a few years. I fervently hope it lasts a lifetime.”
Sometimes, in the middle of the night when she thought he was sleeping, she’d caress his body with feather-light, tender hands and lips. “My man at last,” she always whispered, “My husband. I’m Lia Winder.” The wonder in her voice made him ache to turn and kiss her every time—but it was her private moment, and, so long as she thought he didn’t know, she kept doing it.
The wonder to him was that, in a life filled with riches, glamour and titles, his princess wife treasured the simple things the most: she treasured him.
She melted against him when he called her Mrs Winder, as he’d known she would. “Toby…”
The slow caress of her fingertips was making him shudder inside with hot need. “Soon, beloved. Now, behave yourself. I think we’re grossing out your brother.”
Charlie was red-faced, but his eyes were soft as he saw his sister and best friend so happy. Jazmine was standing behind Charlie, massaging his shoulders, kissing his hair. “Newlyweds,” she teased, laughing. “They just can’t control themselves.”
“Says the old married woman, with five months’ more experience,” Giulia mocked, smiling in turn as Charlie turned his face to kiss his wife’s hand.
“Oh, sorry, I was looking for the bachelor’s pad. Obviously I’ve wandered into Honeymoon Heaven, with both my exfianceés. I’d better retreat to the nearest sports bar before the envy kills me.”
All four of them turned and grinned at Max. Charlie waved their friend in. The four royals had made a small circle of intimate friends who knew their king, queen, prince and princess had no desire for any formal bows or titles. “Hey, Max. How did it go?”
Max grinned, blew kisses at Giulia and Jazmine, and flung himself into a chair. “He left Majorca the day I arrived. I just missed him on the Spanish mainland, too. At a best guess, I think he’s somewhere in Africa now.”
Toby didn’t have to guess who Max was speaking of. He’d made it his personal mission to hunt down Orakis, leaving right after the second royal wedding.
As the men talked politics, Jazmine motioned to Lia with her hand. Lia moved off Toby’s lap, trailing her fingers over his shoulder as she left him. She couldn’t be in a room with him, near him, without touching him somehow.
“I don’t think Max was joking about the envy,” Jazmine whispered. “I’ve been thinking…”
Lia laughed and hugged her sister-in-law. “Yiayia and Papou would have loved you. They were so happy together, they were always trying to matchmake somebody they knew. They certainly made sure of Toby and me.”
They turned towards Max, speculating on which lady they knew who could make him happy.
“Uh-oh,” Charlie murmured. “Look at them, Grizz.”
Toby looked at his wife and sister-in-law, both staring at Max with similar expressions. “Um, Max?” he rumbled. “You might want to discourage the women, and fast, before they find you fiancée number three.”
Toby chuckled. “I wonder who they have in mind for him. I’ll have to pump Giulia for the info.”
Charlie laughed. “Bet she doesn’t tell you. Jazmine won’t tell me for love or money. They wouldn’t trust us not to tell him.”
“You’re probably right.” He glanced at them again, at the sumptuous room around them. “Weird, isn’t it, all this? About a year ago, we were single Aussie firemen.”
“Crazy,” Charlie agreed. “I still can’t get used to it. Every day.”
“Crazy, wonderful,” he said, knowing what his friend meant. “How the hell did we ever get this lucky?”
Giulia came over to him at that moment. “Dobber,” she mock-growled, using the irreverent Aussie term for a tittletattle.
He grinned. “Promise to keep it to myself if you tell me who she is.”
She shook her head and laughed, hugging him. “No way.”
Charlie grinned and ambled over to Max and Jazmine, giving them a private moment.
Toby’s brow lifted at her denial. “How can you expect my help in your matchmaking ventures if you don’t confide in your long-suffering husband?”
“Who said I needed your help?” she retorted haughtily. “And, while you’re surely long enough—” she grinned, looking him up and down to emphasise his height “—you’re not suffering anything, my Lord Prince.”
“Listen to your mother, son,” Toby murmured, caressing her belly—they’d just discovered they were having a boy. “Keeping secrets from me after all these years.”
His Princess in the Making Page 17
