by Susan Meier
"Even as a crone, she liked you."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he shouted, but he caught himself with a sigh and held up a hand to stop her reply. "No, never mind. I don't want to hear anything you have to say." With that he turned and walked toward the door to the ballroom.
When he had his hand on the knob, and ready to turn, Lissa said, "It means that if you could talk her into marrying you, she wouldn't be unhappy."
His hand froze.
"She might not know who you are, but she would be happy."
He faced Lissa. "Would I know who she was?"
"I could fix it so that you always know who she is and that she's happy."
"So now you want me to give up my life for hers?"
"Yes."
He turned to go, unwilling to discuss this anymore and not sure he wanted to play Lissa's game. The rumor of the Silestia magic was obviously true, but that didn't mean it was benevolent as Silestia's subjects believed. Lissa's curse had failed and she'd destroyed her goddaughter. Alexander genuinely believed she should be punished for that. Instead, she was trying to rescue Merry by giving her at least a little happiness. As far as he was concerned, Lissa was pathetic.
Lissa caught his forearm. "Alexander, think it through. How much of a social life do you have anyway?"
"I don't really think that's any of your business."
"You asked her to marry you this afternoon…"
"Yes, I did. And now I'm glad she didn't accept. Because she told me that part of the curse is that she will forget her life. She won't have the torment of her memories. Which means she's not going to suffer. But you are," He pulled open the ballroom door. "I can't think of a better punishment for you."
As he stepped inside the ballroom, soft music hit him like a swell of the ocean. He wished with all his heart he didn't have to be here, that he could actually go to the Gulf and try to bring some peace to his soul, but he couldn't. He was the host. He'd missed several hours of his own ball already.
"Alexander!"
Alexander recognized the booming voice of King Karl, the man who should have been his father-in-law, and he turned to face him. Resplendent in his royal garb, he stood beside his wife Mathilda, a stunning woman in her red silk sheath.
He bowed. "King Karl. Queen Mathilda."
"Dinner last night was wonderful."
"It was my pleasure. I'm only sorry I didn't hear of your stay sooner."
King Karl brushed off Alexander's concern. "That's fine. Your staff has treated us perfectly. I especially adore your manager, Merry Montrose. Such an interesting woman. I loved her the minute I laid eyes on her. Something about her caught me."
Alexander didn't doubt that. "I'm glad everything meets with your approval."
"Yes, it does. I was just wondering though, what happened to the lovely young woman who worked with us initially? Her name was also Merry."
"She's gone," Alexander said, and glanced over to see Merry Montrose standing on the edges of the crowd, surveying the scene. To any onlooker, she appeared only to be doing her duly. To Prince Alec, she simply looked alone.
"That's a shame. I had a gift for her." He paused, then chuckled. "She reminded me of my daughter." His voice caught on the word daughter. "Princess Meredith is gone too. All her life she's been hard to understand. Seven years ago, she decided to go to school in America as a commoner. She finally called us from this resort three weeks ago. ! spoke with her by phone a few times but it seems she's gone again."
Alexander didn't know how to respond. Words of comfort sprang to mind, but as Alexander Rochelle he wasn't supposed to know Princess Meredith and he wasn't yet ready to deal with King Karl as Prince Alec. He stayed silent.
"The next time she calls, I won't give her three weeks to come home. I'll find her."
"What if she doesn't want to be found?"
"She loves me," King Karl said fiercely. "I love her. And she now accepts my marriage. I don't know what's wrong, why she can't or won't come home, but I will do anything," he passionately promised, "change anything, to get her back."
Pain squeezed Alexander's heart. King Karl would never see his daughter again. Worse, he would spend his life with the uneasy sense that she was in trouble. Because she was in trouble.
The band switched tunes and a slow, romantic melody began. The King said, "Ah, one of my favorite songs. Will you excuse us, Alexander?"
Alexander bowed. "Certainly, Your Majesty."
King Karl walked away and Alexander searched the crowd for Merry until he found her. Again, she was alone. He took a long breath and strode over to her.
"Merry," he said, keeping his voice light and friendly. "Would you care to dance?"
"It's not appropriate to dance during working hours."
"You're not doing anything," Alexander said. "And besides, I'm the boss. You can't get in trouble with me since I'm the one asking you to dance."
He caught her withered hand and led her to the dance floor, realizing that when he'd danced with her at Rick and Cynthia's wedding, her withered hand had repulsed him. Tonight, it broke his heart. When they arrived at a clear spot, he paused and brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Tears sprang to Merry's eyes.
Alexander felt his own eyes mist. But he broke the moment by pulling her into his arms and twirling them around the floor.
"Are you pleased with the arrangements?"
He automatically responded, "Yes." But he was feeling the oddest things. With her in his arms, he wasn't in the presence of a crone. He was in the presence of a princess. His princess. As he thought that, her face seemed to morph from crone to princess. The wrinkles disappeared. Her gray hair became auburn. Her violet eyes smiled at him.
He thought he might be seeing her as a princess because he knew her real identity, but suddenly he wondered if this was what Lissa meant when she said she could "arrange things" so that he would always know who she was. The rest of the world might see Merry as a crone, but he would see his betrothed.
He stopped dancing. "We have to go outside."
"No. If we're not going to dance, I have work to do."
He caught her wrist, but she held her ground, even stomping her foot. "No!"
People around them peered over to see what the commotion was about. He imagined they saw the resort's owner arguing with his old crone manager, and knew that if he married her this would be his lot in life. Everyone would wonder why they were together. Everyone would stop and stare. He would be a laughingstock. And Merry wouldn't even know who he was.
He took a deep breath. Maybe it was best to let well enough alone. He swallowed, then drew a quick breath. "I'm sorry. You're right. Merry."
She nodded her agreement, but when she looked up at him, he saw such sadness in her violet eyes that his chest tightened. She still knew who they were. And it hurt her.
He grabbed her wrist. "No argument." He led her outside and down a path to a garden bench, but one of the Grasselle sisters already occupied the space. A man sat on either side and she was flirting for all she was worth.
Alexander sighed. He knew what to do if he wanted privacy. He pulled Merry along until he was at the end of the garden where he pushed open a fence. Then he walked her through a small stretch until they were on the beach. The waves roared around them.
"I know you're in there," he said without preamble. "So don't pretend you aren't."
She turned her head to the right, gazing at nothing.
"This is what we're going to do. Lissa told me that if I married you, you would be happy."
For that she glanced at him. "But you wouldn't be."
"How do you know?" Alexander asked, suddenly feeling he was the one with all the answers for a change. "Lissa promised that I would always know you and in that ballroom when we were dancing, I didn't see a crone. I saw you. That means I will always see you. Others may see a crone hut I will see you. There is no reason for you not to marry me."
She drew a short breath. "You don't love me."<
br />
"I'm not exactly sure what difference that makes. The real bottom line is that you will be happy and I will know the truth. Other people may think I'm married to a crone but I'll know I'm not."
"You'll suffer everyone's ridicule."
"I don't care."
Merry scoffed. "Of course you do. Anyone would."
"Not if it means I can bring you some happiness."
To Alexander's surprise her eyes filled with tears again. "That's very sweet, but I won't let you do it."
He stared at her. "Are you insane?"
"No, You don't love me. You've said it a million times. Even if you make me the happiest woman in the world, I won't marry you because then you won't be happy. You don't want to be married. You can't trust. You can't love. I've caused you enough pain, Alexander. I won't cause you any more."
"The pain of seeing you alone and lonely is worse than anything I'd suffer married to you."
"I don't believe that. Goodbye, Alexander."
"Goodbye?" The word sounded so final that panic-skittered through him. If Merry left the resort, he couldn't take care of her. "Aren't you staying as Merry Montrose?"
She nodded. "Yes. But it's nearly midnight. After midnight, I probably won't know you as the man I loved. And that's another reason for you not to marry me. If I don't know you, you will get nothing from this relationship."
She began to walk away and Alexander had to raise his voice to be heard above the roar of the waves. "I don't care."
She spun to face him. Her apricot dress fluttered in the breeze. "I do! I would know that you don't love me."
"Dear God, Meredith!" Alexander said; frustration and panic welled up and spilled over. "I'm willing to sacrifice my life for you. How the hell can you say I don't love you?"
Princess Meredith stopped.
Alexander ran his fingers through his hair. The truth of what he had said rattled through him as if taking its rightful place in his life. It grabbed his heart and warned it that pain always accompanied love. It tightened his chest with fear.
But there was no denying it. He loved her. He could not let her live her life alone because he loved her.
"I am willing to sacrifice my life for you because that's what a man does for his betrothed." He paused long enough to catch her hand. "And I believe that proves I love you. You have no more excuses. And if you can take one promise, one piece of knowledge of your old life into your new life, take the promise of my love."
Meredith blinked back tears. "Okay."
"And marry me."
"Okay."
Prince Alec felt his heart stop then speed up to triple time. "Okay?"
Merry squeezed her lips together and nodded. "Yes. Okay."
"Well, dear God, it's about time," Lissa said, pushing her way from between two tall bushes.
Merry gasped, "Lissa!"
Alexander said, "Now what do you want?"
"Now, I'm going to perform the ceremony."
"Right here?" Alexander said, glancing around. The wind was wild as if a storm sat on the horizon waiting to thunder through. The moon had ducked behind the clouds in fear. Waves pounded the shore.
"Oh, I get it. You're here so I don't have a chance to change my mind."
The clock in the hotel tower chimed.
"Exactly," Lissa said as a black book suddenly appeared in her hands. "With the final toll of the bell of that clock, it will be midnight. Merry's birthday. But you are Merry's twenty-first love match. When you marry her, the curse is broken."
Merry looked at Alexander and Alexander glanced down at Merry.
"You mean she won't be a crone?"
The clock chimed again. "She will if you don't stop asking questions long enough to say your vows." Lissa flipped through some pages of her black book and finally said, "Let's see… Dearly beloved, ya-da-ya-da… Do you, Princess Meredith Bessart…"
"Lissa!" Merry cried. "You could have given me a minute to explain I was a princess before you used my real name…"
"…take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
She drew a quick breath. "All right. I'll make explanations later. Yes. I do."
"And do you, Prince Alec Montclair…"
Merry's mouth fell open. She faced Alexander. "Prince Alec?"
He caught her other hand and drew her closer. "Yes, I, Prince Alec Montclair take this woman to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, in sickness and in health, until death do we part."
"Well, thanks for finishing that up." Lissa slammed closed the book. "I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Merry stared at Alexander… Prince Alec. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. He guessed she was probably only now realizing he hadn't protested when Lissa called her a princess and that he might have even known who she was all along.
"You knew."
"Does it matter?"
"Do you really love me?"
"Yes. I love you."
The clock sounded its final chime. The wind off the waves blew up the shore and swirled around them. Sand seemed to suffocate them for several seconds, but in the whirlpool Merry felt her face tightening. The muscles of her arms and legs, back and stomach, hips and chin shifted and strengthened. Even her dress seemed to change. Then just as quickly as the wind arose, it vanished.
When Merry opened her eyes. Prince Alec stood before her in his royal attire. She felt the heaviness of her crown on her head. Glancing down, she saw her favorite gown. A gown that fit all her curves and made her skin look pure and soft. Tears filled her eyes.
"Come along," Lissa said, bossy as ever. "Do you hear the trumpets?"
"Yes."
"You two are about to be announced."
Merry and Prince Alec suddenly stood at the open patio doors of the ballroom. "And I give you," the bandleader said from the stage, "Prince Alec Montclair and his wife, Princess Meredith Bessart Montclair."
The trumpets sounded but Alexander stopped Merry from entering. "I do love you."
She couldn't help but smile. "The curse wouldn't have been broken if it hadn't been true."
"I needed to say it again."
"And I need to tell you again that I'm sorry for all the hurt I caused you all those years ago."
He put his finger over her lips to silence her. "That was a long time ago." He paused, then smiled. "Those were two different people."
She nodded. "Yes. They were."
"I love you," he said, then kissed her, as his wife, knowing that they would sleep together that night and every night for the rest of their lives. They would have children and the appropriate alliance his country needed. But most of all they would have love. Merry would never be lonely again. And he…
Well, he was about to enter into the greatest adventure of all. He was handing his heart to a woman who clearly had enough magic at her disposal to turn him into a frog if she wanted to…
And he wasn't even slightly afraid. He loved her. He trusted her. This was the happiest moment of his life.
