by Valerie Parv
His eyes darkened with unmistakable passion as he feathered kisses along her brow line. “Oh yes, my darling, it can, and it will as soon as you are my wife. That’s a promise.”
An earthquake of needs and longings tore through her. She clung to him for support. He felt rock-steady, reassuring. He would always be her rock, she thought. As she would be his. “I’ve heard that the Duke of Norbourg always keeps his promises,” she whispered.
He held her tightly against him. “Always, my darling duchess.”
A commotion at the door made her spring away from him, although he kept his fingers entwined with hers. Molly rocketed into the room, followed more sedately by Queen Josephine.
She dismissed Meagan’s graceful curtsy with a wave of her hand. “This adorable child wanted to see you.”
Meagan ruffled Molly’s hair. “Not as much as I want to see her.”
“Queen Josephine took me to her special garden.”
“I hope you haven’t made a pest of yourself.”
Queen Josephine shook her head. “The child is a tonic for me.”
When she was with Molly, the queen could subdue her concern for King Michael at least for a while, Meagan thought, feeling satisfied at the good her child was doing.
“When the two of you are married, I hope Molly will come to regard me as an aunt,” Josephine said, confirming the thought.
“When you marry my new daddy, will you have a real crown, and live happily ever after?” Molly asked.
Meagan’s look found Ben. “I don’t need a crown, sweetheart. I already have all I need to live happily ever after.”
Josephine inclined her head at Ben, her gaze softening. “She’ll do.”
Ben gathered Meagan into one arm and Molly into the other, his smile lighting up the room. “Just what I was thinking myself,” he said.
Epilogue
Prince Edward Stanbury rose to his feet and lifted his glass. “I would wish for our dear brother, Michael, to perform this pleasant task, but I’m sure he wouldn’t want me to delay on his account. So I propose a toast to Ben and his lovely bride-to-be, Meagan. Long life and happiness to you both.”
The small group of royals joined Edward on their feet and raised their glasses. “To Ben and Meagan.” Ben took her hand and squeezed it as the others resumed their seats.
He stood up. “Thank you all for your good wishes. I regret this must be a subdued gathering, but my dear aunt insisted that family morale would benefit if we came together to mark our engagement. I can see it was a wise idea, as are all Queen Josephine’s ideas.”
The queen inclined her head graciously, but her eyes shone when she looked up again. “We were concerned that you might escape if Meagan didn’t pin you down once and for all.”
He gave a rueful smile, well aware that the queen had suspected his feelings for Meagan before Ben fully realized them himself. “No chance. I know when I’m well off,” he said.
Meagan had also worried that it was unseemly to celebrate their engagement until the king was restored to his throne, but couldn’t argue with the queen’s logic. The family members did look happier than they had in a long while, she thought looking at the faces around the table. And now, thanks to a false leak by Royal Security that Prince Nicholas was supposedly dead, the Stanburys seemed hopeful that the kidnappers’ identities would soon be revealed. It was a shame that Ben’s father was away at sea and couldn’t join them, but his mother, Princess Karenna, was there. Only the previous day, Ben had flown Meagan and Molly to his family home so they could meet the princess and bring her back to the castle for this occasion.
She had a mother again, Meagan thought, feeling a lump clog her throat. Princess Karenna had brushed aside Meagan’s attempts at formality, assuring her that titles were never permitted to come between family members. The implication that she was already considered a member of the family brought tears of joy to Meagan’s eyes.
The princess had welcomed Molly with special delight, saying that she was looking forward to being a grandmother at long last. Ben’s answering frown showed that his mother’s emphasis on the last words weren’t lost on him. The warmth of the look he directed at Meagan also suggested that the princess wouldn’t have to wait too long to become a grandmother a second time.
Even Prince Nicholas had been smuggled into the castle under cover of darkness, although he had to return to his safe haven before sunrise. He looked pale and tense, but happy to be reunited with his family.
Seeing them together, Meagan was impressed by the resemblance between her fiancé and the prince. No wonder the conspirators had mistaken Ben for Nicholas. She never would, she knew. To her Ben was a man like no other. He possessed an unmistakable aura that set him apart. Meagan was prejudiced, of course. Watching him, relaxed for the moment as he took his seat and chatted with his cousin, she felt awed by the strength of a love that threatened to consume her.
“Never thought I’d see the day,” Isabel said, resting her chin on one hand as she watched Ben.
“See what day?” Meagan asked.
“That Ben would be head over heels in love.”
“It isn’t the first time,” Meagan pointed out with scrupulous fairness.
Isabel smiled. “Want to bet? He has loved before, but never with this intensity. If the queen had withheld her blessing, he’d have propped a ladder at your window and carried you off anyway. Luckily she’s as taken with you as the rest of us. We think you’re just what Ben needs.”
There had been times when she’d feared that the headstrong princess might not think her a suitable addition to the royal family, so Meagan appreciated the vote of confidence. “I know he’s what I need,” she said, meaning it with all her heart.
Isabel sighed. “Someday I might find out how that feels. But my love life must wait until we find my father.”
“The list I gave you should provide some new leads.”
Isabel dropped long lashes over her expressive eyes. “It will, but progress is frustratingly slow. I’m going to tell Adam that he and I should go undercover together to work our way through your list more quickly. You’ve obviously turned Ben’s attitude around. He’s not only agreed with my plan, he said he’ll back me up when I take it to Adam Sinclair.”
Meagan frowned. “Won’t your plan be terribly dangerous?”
Isabel shrugged. “It may be the only way to get results. Until we identify the traitor within the castle, we dare not trust too many people.”
“But you trust Adam. Does that mean—”
Isabel’s gaze flashed fire. “Don’t say it. It’s bad enough to have the others matchmaking on my behalf, without you too.”
Meagan admired the solitaire diamond Ben had placed on her ring finger as a fiery symbol of their love. “Love has a lot to recommend it,” she said huskily. “You should give it a try.”
To her surprise, Isabel nodded. “After the king is restored to the throne, you never know your luck.”
Meagan did know her luck, as she met Ben’s heated gaze across the table. In it she read his impatience to be finished with the dinner so he could be alone with her. She wanted it too, but she schooled herself to patience. After the king was rescued, they would have all the time in the world to celebrate their love, with a fairy-tale castle as a setting.
Looking at her royal husband-to-be with his head bent as he listened intently to a story Molly was telling him, Meagan thought in fascination that, in their case, her child’s favorite Sleeping Beauty story had been turned on its head. The sleeping prince had awoken under Meagan’s care instead of the other way around, and not with a kiss, at least not at first. They had more than made up for lost time since then, she thought, feeling her face growing warm. Ben’s kisses had the power to make her senses spin. As a lover he would be incomparable, and she felt her heartbeat quicken in anticipation.
She was elated that one fairy-tale tradition remained unchanged, at least. She and Ben would live happily ever after. Of that she had absolutely n
o doubt.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5720-1
CODE NAME: PRINCE
Copyright © 2001 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Valerie Parv is acknowledged as the author of Code Name: Prince.
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