No, that was too much to ask of him. Her father was too rich, too powerful. He could destroy everything Alejandro worked so hard to build.
The sitting room loomed in front of her like a black hole. She entered with Brandt at her side.
A tense silence filled the air. Alejandro, Enrique, King Dario and her father rose from their seats.
Compassion filled Alejandro’s eyes. He’d shaved, removed his earring and pulled his hair away from his face and secured it at his nape. He looked regal and princely in his suit, dress shirt, tie and leather shoes. Respectable. Her heart squeezed tight. She missed the pirate.
Enrique had dressed similarly. The two men had never looked as much like brothers as tonight. Enrique glared at Alejandro with accusation and a frown on his lips.
She hated knowing she would push the two men farther apart.
Concern clouded King Dario’s face. He pressed his lips together and clasped his hands behind his back. Sweat beaded on his brow.
Her father’s gaze burned with fury. His lips thinned with anger. “How dare you disobey me, Julianna Louise Marie!”
Shoulders back. Chin up.
No way could she smile. Jules looked him in the eyes. She wanted to be strong for Brandt’s and Alejandro’s sake, as much as her own. “I apologize for my actions, sir. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“Trouble?” Alaric’s features hardened. “You have brought disrepute onto our family and country. Pictures of you looking windswept and wild, hardly the way a princess should appear in public, are everywhere. Papers, television, the Internet.”
Jules felt everyone’s eyes on her, especially Alejandro’s. She tried not to cower, but she’d never seen her father so full of rage.
Enrique sneered. “You looked like a boy.”
“It was a disguise,” she explained, cutting him with a quick glance.
“The fact you needed a disguise should have been the first sign this was a mistake.” King Dario patted his forehead with his handkerchief. “You’re the future queen of La Isla de la Aurora, Julianna. This kind of behavior is unacceptable.”
“I’ll say.” Enrique glowered at her. “Your father and I told you not to sail. You’re supposed to be a conservative princess. Not a…wild child.”
Her temper rose. “I wasn’t—”
“You were.” Her father’s voice boomed like a thunderstorm in November. “I watched a tape of the race on the flight. You not only disobeyed me but put yourself in danger. You could have been killed sailing the way you did today.”
Heat stole into her face. Her breath burned in her throat.
“Jules is fine, Father. She saved a sailor’s life,” Brandt said bravely. He’d never stood up to their father before and she was proud he’d found the courage to do that. “It’s my fault Klaus wasn’t with Jules. I partied too much, and he was with me.”
Her muscles tensed, nervous what her father would say.
“This has nothing to do with you, Brandt,” Alaric replied sharply. “Your sister knew what I expected of her. She must accept the consequences.”
Dread shuddered through her. Jules knew what her punishment would be—to spend the rest of her life in Aliestle.
She glanced at Alejandro. Her heart cried. She would never see him again.
“King Alaric.” Alejandro stepped forward. “I am Prince Alejandro Cierzo de Amanecer. King Dario’s second son.”
“You mean, the spare.” King Alaric’s curt voice lashed out. “You’re the idiot who put my daughter’s life in danger.”
Jules drew in a sharp breath at the insult. She couldn’t stand the thought of her father taking out his anger on Alejandro.
“Yes, but Julianna’s safety is of the utmost concern to me, Your Majesty.” The regal air emanating from him made him seem more like a future king than second in line for the throne. “I take full responsibility for what’s happened. Julianna disobeying you was one hundred percent my fault. I took her sailing. I asked her to be part of my crew and race in the Med Cup. I’m the one who should be punished, not her.”
Jules stared at Alejandro, full of pride and…love.
I love him.
Love was the only explanation for her feelings, ones that went far deeper than friendship and future familial bonds. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way he looked at her, kissed her, stood by her side and wanted to take the blame for all of this.
Alejandro had to have feelings for her. Otherwise why would he be standing up for her now? Her heart wanted her to go to him, but too many things needed to be resolved first.
Jules couldn’t allow Alejandro to take the blame. She hadn’t been a dutiful princess. She’d disobeyed. She needed to stand up and be accountable for her actions, not let a wonderful, giving man suffer consequences meant for her.
Joy provided strength. Love gave her courage.
Alejandro embraced his role as a prince tonight to protect her. She needed to embrace her role as a black sheep to accept her punishment and protect him.
“Thank you, Alejandro.” An unfamiliar sense of peace rested in her heart. “But I can’t allow you take the blame for my actions.”
His eyes implored her. “It’s my blame to take.”
Her heart melted. She allowed her gaze to linger, longer than what was considered proper. She loved the gold flecks and the concern she saw in his brown eyes. “No.”
“Yes,” Enrique countered. “All this is Alejandro’s fault, King Alaric.”
“It’s not. I knew what I was getting myself into, Father.” Jules stared up at her father, who towered over her with a face full of contempt. “I was so desperate for a taste of freedom, I allowed my desire to override everything else. Alejandro’s not to blame. It’s my fault. But I have no regrets over what I have done.”
The affection and pride in Alejandro’s eyes made her heart want to dance and sing. Whatever consequence she faced would be worth it. If she hadn’t disobeyed, she would never have gotten to know him, kiss him and fall in love with him.
“Your stepmother worked so hard to turn you into a proper Aliestlian princess.” Her father spoke with disdain. “But you have always been too much like your mother.”
Jules smiled. “Thank you, Father.”
His nostrils flared. “It isn’t a compliment.”
Her smile didn’t waver. She would cherish the words no matter what fate had in store for her. “It is to me, sir.”
The wrinkles on her father’s forehead deepened. He stared at her with a look of bewilderment then turned his attention to King Dario. “I trusted you with my most prized possession. You promised she would be safe, yet you allowed this to happen.”
“We had no idea she was sailing.” King Dario sounded contrite.
“Her well-being is our number one priority,” Enrique added.
Jules hated how they spoke as if she wasn’t present. “I’m right here, gentlemen.”
Alaric ignored her. “If that’s the case, how come no one noticed she was missing from the palace? Not even her fiancé?”
“I’ve been busy with work and wedding plans,” Enrique answered hastily.
Alaric’s lips snarled. “Wedding plans are women’s work.”
Enrique flinched.
“My brother had no idea because he works nonstop as crown prince. He would have no reason to suspect anything was amiss because Julianna didn’t allow the sailing to affect her obligations as his fiancée,” Alejandro explained. “There was no harm done.”
“No harm?” Her father’s ruddy complexion reddened more. “Her blatant disobedience has thrown Aliestle into chaos. A small feminist movement has taken her participation in the race and run with it. They are holding rallies across the land and protesting for equal rights. It’s disgusting.”
No, it was progress. The kind of change Jules wanted to influence in her country. Satisfaction flowed through her.
Approval gleamed in Alejandro’s eyes. He knew what this meant to her.
She
smiled at him.
He smiled back.
“This situation is completely out of hand and unacceptable,” Alaric announced. “I’m canceling the marriage contract.”
Panic clawed into her heart. Jules didn’t want to return to Aliestle. She wanted to stay on the island with Alejandro.
What now? Did she dare defy her father again?
As the king’s words echoed through the room, Alejandro stared at Julianna. The distress on her face twisted his insides.
Emotions clamored in his heart, demanding to be acknowledged. Not respect or attraction or friendship. Deep feelings. Intense feelings. Ones that scared him.
Not love. He knew better than to fall in love. This had to be…something else.
Still his hand itched to reach out to take hold of Julianna. He wanted to protect her from the fallout and make everything better.
Brandt cleared his throat. “Father, please—”
“This does not concern you,” Alaric said through clenched teeth.
But it concerned Alejandro. He wanted to punch King Alaric in the nose and free her from this tyranny. But that wasn’t what Julianna wanted him to do. And it certainly wouldn’t help her with her father. In fact, acting out the fury balling in his gut would cause more trouble for his own family.
Alejandro’s frustration rose.
If she returned to Aliestle, her sense of duty would lead her to marry whatever nobleman her father picked out.
Alejandro couldn’t allow that to happen. She had to stay on the island. No matter what. “Your Majesty, if I may…”
King Alaric glared at him. “Haven’t you done enough already?”
“Sire.” The old-fashioned word felt weird coming off Alejandro’s tongue, but perhaps it would resonate with the misguided and medieval King Alaric. “Julianna needs to remain on La Isla de la Aurora.”
“Why?” Scorn laced King Alaric’s word.
“Because I want to stay here, Father,” Julianna said.
She smiled softly at Alejandro.
His heart turned over. And that hurt like hell because to do the right thing, he had to let her go.
“The people are wild about her, sire.” Alejandro had been in his brother’s shadow his entire life, but this time he belonged there. Only Enrique could give Julianna the kind of life she was raised for, the kind of life she wanted. She wanted to use her position as the crown prince’s wife to influence change and give her people a better future. She could accomplish all she desired and more as the future queen. “Julianna has touched their hearts with her compassion and friendliness. They’ve embraced her as their princess, and one day they’ll love her as their queen.”
“My daughter was raised to be a queen,” Alaric admitted.
“Everyone can tell she has received the finest training.” Alejandro fought the desire to claim her for himself. But too much was at stake. He could never give Julianna what she wanted and make her happy, even if she wished to be with him. He swallowed around the lump of emotion in his throat. He had to push aside his own desire and do what was best for her. “You say her actions have caused chaos, sire. But her countrywomen see someone they can relate to and rally around. A respected and beloved leader. As the future queen of La Isla de la Aurora, Julianna will be able to do that for women not only in Aliestle and here on the island, but all over the world.”
“Please consider my youngest son’s words.” Appreciation gleamed in Dario’s eyes. “Alejandro may not be a conventional prince, but he is wise for his age and speaks the truth.”
That was the first compliment his father had ever given him. And the words couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Julianna has enchanted the entire island,” Enrique added. “And all of us.”
Especially Alejandro. But his feelings didn’t matter. Julianna would get what she wanted and by default, so would he. He wanted freedom from the monarchy, not a princess bride who dreamed of happily ever afters.
His thoughts tasted like ashes in his mouth. But he had to be realistic. He didn’t want to be a prince. He avoided romantic entanglements like the plague. It would…never work.
King Alaric looked at each one of them, but his assessing gaze lingered on Alejandro. “So it seems.”
“I stand by the marriage contract,” Enrique announced. “I want to marry Julianna.”
Her face showed no change of emotion, but his brother’s words crushed into Alejandro like a left hook. He resisted the urge not to carry her off to his boat and sail away. But he was the second son, the spare. He wasn’t what Julianna needed.
“I don’t know.” King Alaric’s gaze bounced between Alejandro and Julianna. “There seems to be a strong…connection between these two.”
“Friendship, sire.” Enrique sidled closer to Julianna, as if to reclaim his prize. “They both enjoy sailing.”
Alaric looked doubtful.
Perceptive man, Alejandro had to admit. Other than passion, there wasn’t anything binding him to Julianna. There couldn’t be. “We are friends, sire.”
“There will be complications if Julianna has done more than sail with her friend Alejandro,” Alaric said. “If there is any reason to doubt the paternity of an heir, the embarrassment to our family name…”
Julianna flushed.
Anger surged. Alejandro couldn’t believe her father was questioning her virginity. He balled his hands into fists. “I assure you, sir—”
King Alaric cut him off. He stared at his daughter as if she were a peasant, not a princess. “Is there any reason you shouldn’t marry Enrique?”
The question mortified Julianna. Her heart pounded in her chest, so loudly she was certain everyone could hear it. But no one said anything. They stared, waiting for her to answer.
Her father with his dark, accusing eyes.
King Dario with compassion.
Enrique with panic.
And Alejandro with hope.
Is there any reason you shouldn’t marry Enrique?
Yes, a big reason. A six-foot-two-inch-tall reason with dark hair and dark eyes.
Alejandro.
Jules loved him, but couldn’t understand why he kept talking about her being a future queen. She wanted to stay on the island, but with Alejandro, not his brother.
She made a silent wish from her heart.
Claim me.
Jules wanted Alejandro to forget about everything. His family, her family and their two countries. She wanted him to declare his love and claim her for himself.
Alejandro gave her an encouraging smile filled with warmth.
Relief washed over her. Her tense muscles relaxed. He would come to her rescue once again and claim her. Everything would turn out fine.
“You can still do your duty and help your country,” Alejandro insisted. “All you have to do is tell your father that marrying Enrique is what you want.”
Emotion tightened her throat. Her body stiffened with shock.
No. She didn’t want that. She loved Alejandro. His actions told her he had feelings for her, too.
There was something between them. Something special.
Yet he wanted her to marry his brother. Jules struggled to breathe. She stared at him.
His smile disappeared. His expression turned neutral.
Why was he doing this?
And then something clicked in her mind and she remembered…
Once you and Enrique marry and have children, I’ll be free from all royal obligations. I can concentrate on business and not have to worry about any more princely duties.
The truth hit her with stark clarity. She didn’t want to believe it, but nothing else made sense.
Alejandro might have feelings for her, but the feelings didn’t run deep enough. He chose not to act upon them. He wasn’t willing to sacrifice what he wanted. His freedom was more important than duty. Love. Her.
Julianna’s heart froze, leaving her feeling cold and empty.
Despair threatened to overwhelm her, but she didn
’t give in to it. She needed to answer her father’s question.
A million thoughts jumbled her mind. But one kept coming back to her. Her actions on the island had created the very sort of change she desired in Aliestle.
Was that enough reason to marry Enrique?
She looked at Brandt. If she didn’t go through with the wedding now, the repercussions would reflect badly on her brother. He was the one who was supposed to be escorting her safely to marriage. The Council of Elders would blame him, so would the press. Their plans to help their country would never come to fruition if she returned home.
Before Alejandro and getting caught up in a fantasy, she’d had a plan—a life outside of Aliestle, helping Brandt and her country, falling in love with her husband and becoming a mother. She might not achieve all of those things now, but she could have some of them.
That would have to be enough.
Shoulders back. Chin up. Smile.
“There isn’t any reason I shouldn’t marry Enrique, Father.” Jules sneaked a peek at Alejandro. The gold flecks in his eyes burned like flames. Somehow she would have to learn to live with Enrique as her husband and Alejandro as her brother-in-law. And be satisfied with that. She swallowed a sigh. “No reason at all.”
“I am satisfied.” Alaric proclaimed after a long minute. “The marriage contract will be honored, provided Julianna not sail in the Med Cup tomorrow. I’ll be here to see to it that she remains in the palace all day long.”
Every one of her nerve endings cried out in protest. Jules had earned the spot in the final, but she remained silent as any proper princess would.
“As will I,” King Dario said.
“Me, too,” Enrique agreed.
Alejandro nodded. “Julianna is a skilled helmsman, but I agree it’s best she doesn’t sail.”
Even he was taking their side. Her heart shattered into a million pieces, each one jabbing into her at the same time. If love and passion brought this kind of pain, she would rather go back to how she lived before arriving on the island.
With what strength she had left, Jules forced all her emotions to a deep, dark place. She’d survived before by sleepwalking through life. That was how she would survive again.
The Princess Bride Page 48
