Weight of the Crown

by Christina Hollis

  I thought the royal family were here on holiday, but you’d never know from Prince Lysander’s expression, she thought.

  While his rapier gaze was distracted by the arrival of yet another electronic message, she tried to study her new employer. Lysander Kahani was a six-and-a-half-foot scowl, his height impressive and intimidating, but she could only bring herself to look at the lower seventy inches or so. To make up for that, she studied him all the way up from his highly polished, handmade shoes to his dark shaded chin, and then down again. It was scarily enjoyable—so she did it again. On the return journey her eyes made their way right up to his. As she tried her best to look cool and unapproachable she saw the anger leave his face.

  As his eyes locked onto hers, he spoke sharply to his crowd of followers. Alyssa didn’t speak his language, but his words had a questioning lilt that was easy enough to understand. He must want to know who she was, and why she was there. His staff all fell silent and turned to stare at her as if she were another exhibit for their madhouse. Alyssa tried to concentrate on the blurry newspaper photos of the poor little boy, Prince Ra’id, who had lost both his parents and must have been shoved aside in favour of this mob. Folding her hands in front of her as a defence, she took a deep breath.

  ‘I am Alyssa Dene. I’m here by special request of Prince Lysander of Rosara, because I’m to be his nephew’s new nanny.’

  The words came out louder and more haughtily than she intended. Before she could apologise, something changed in Lysander Kahani’s expression. It softened, and in the face of his dark amusement Alyssa stopped thinking straight. She couldn’t help it. The sight of his smile sent all the questions she had lined up for her new employer scattering like beads on a tray. It was obvious he knew the effect he was having on her. This was more fun to him than work. His taut frame relaxed. With a few words he sent his horde of advisors scuttling away. Tossing the sheaf of paperwork he was holding onto the nearest table, Lysander followed them to the door and closed it behind them. As he leaned back against it Alyssa came to her senses. She was now totally alone with a notorious man. If that weren’t bad enough, somehow in the past few seconds he had become more attractive than he appeared in all his photographs put together.

  She tried to speak, but no sound came out. Lysander Kahani showed every sign of revelling in the situation.

  ‘That’s more like it!’ he said in beautifully accented English. ‘Now I can hear myself think, and devote my whole attention to you. This job is playing havoc with my lifestyle, I can tell you.’

  Alyssa swallowed hard as he prowled towards her. His wicked smile sent tremors straight through her body. It felt incredible, but she couldn’t afford to enjoy it. A man without a fraction of Lysander’s charm had wrecked her life only a few months ago, and she was still trying to recover. Every ounce of her common sense told her this was a dangerous situation and she ought to resist, but Lysander was looking at her as though she were the only woman in the world. The expression in his rich brown, dark-lashed eyes made it difficult not to give in and simply revel in the wonderful feeling of being admired.

  ‘D-don’t you think you’d better deal with all that paperwork first, Prince Lysander?’ She faltered, looking at the chaos scattered over the nearest table top. She was suddenly desperate for more time to prepare herself for this encounter.

  ‘No, I don’t,’ he said, strolling over to position himself between her and the table. By leaning back against it he hid the heap of work from her, but she had already stopped looking at it. The fine lines of his suit and the long, strong fingers he curled over the edge of the table top had captured her attention. ‘It’s only parcels of trouble, tied up in red tape. Forget it. I’d much rather talk to you … Alyssa.’

  The way he purred her name sent a shiver of anticipation across her sensitised skin. She was already nervous about starting work for such an infamous man, and his flirting set new butterflies dancing inside her tummy. The last thing she needed was this handsome stranger taking over her body by stealth before she was safely hidden away in Combe House’s nursery wing. She had to show she meant business right away.

  ‘It—it might be important, Your Royal Highness.’

  ‘You’d like to think so, wouldn’t you?’ His well-shaped mouth twisted with the sulky retort. ‘Maybe if it was about the important things in life I could raise some enthusiasm, but it’s nothing but CRB checks, Health & Safety issues and risk assessments concerning a child I don’t even know. But why are we talking about all that, when we could be talking about you?’

  His annoyance over something so close to her heart was the wake-up call Alyssa needed. She stopped melting in the warmth of his gaze and fastened her new employer with a look of her own.

  ‘Because I am your nephew’s new nanny, and right now that paperwork is the most important thing—in his life.’ You self-centred drone! she added silently to herself.

  Prince Lysander Kahani stopped smiling, and she felt a brief spark of satisfaction. That was quickly extinguished as his dark eyes continued to ripple over her like a caress.

  ‘You sound like a woman who knows what she’s doing and have the added advantage of looking nothing like a headmistress. Goodbye, all my thoughts of a terrifying harridan, and hello to the beautiful vision that is Miss Alyssa Dene!’

  With a ridiculously extravagant gesture, he reached out for her hand. Lifting it to his lips, he brushed her fingers with a kiss of long, slow meaning.

  ‘Please don’t do that, Your Royal Highness,’ Alyssa said sternly, forcing herself to pull her hand out of his grasp, but unable to stop the corners of her mouth curling up at his teasing.

  He gave her a mock pained look. ‘Don’t spoil my one moment of hope, Alyssa. You are my only ray of sunshine—the first woman below the rank of minister I’ve been alone with in over three weeks. Look at me!’ He groaned, throwing up his arms in mock despair. ‘I used to have a life. Now I’m a caged tiger, performing for the benefit of others.’

  Alyssa was transfixed—a rabbit trapped in the headlights of his charm. Catching herself gazing at him, she shook her head as though waking from a dream. Angry with his effect on her, she gave a dramatic sigh and said:

  ‘Cursed with a fortune and forced to live in a place like this? Dear, dear—it must be absolute hell for you, Your Royal Highness!’

  The moment the words popped out, Alyssa knew she should have kept her mouth shut. Lysander’s eyes hardened to jet. The change in him was like the sun going behind a thundercloud.

  Why the hell did I say that? He may be an arrogant so-and-so, but he’s still royalty! What will happen to his poor little nephew if I get sacked before I’ve even met the child?

  ‘In the past month I’ve lost my brother, my sister-in-law, and my freedom.’ Lysander Kahani’s voice was as cold as the shiver running through Alyssa’s body.

  There was nothing for it but to apologise. ‘I know—and I’m sorry, Your Royal Highness, but my first loyalty is to little Ra’id—’ she burst out.

  ‘I can see that, by the way you didn’t let me finish what I was saying,’ he cut in smoothly. ‘I was going on to tell you that picking up the pieces my brother left behind is a full-time job. It shouldn’t leave me any time for self-pity.’ He gave the tiniest nod of acknowledgement, and the hint of a wry smile.

  Alyssa didn’t like the way he interrupted her, but at least he understood why she had spoken out.

  ‘At least when I take charge of your poor little nephew it will be one weight off your shoulders.’

  His gaze had been working its way down her body with slow enjoyment, but her words stopped him. He dragged his attention back to her face. ‘You say that as though you actually give a damn, Miss Alyssa Dene.’

  ‘That’s because I do. I’m here to make sure your nephew is properly looked after, and gets a sensible upbringing.’

  ‘And to bring a little light into my life while you do it,’ he said with a widening smile. ‘You can start by dropping the formalities
. As we’ll be working so closely together, call me Lysander.’

  Alyssa hesitated. This was quite a normal request from an employer, but with a smooth operator like Lysander Kahani it might be an intimacy too far. It broke down a barrier between them, and that couldn’t be a good idea. She already knew it was desperately important to keep this man at arm’s length, so he couldn’t affect her judgement. That had failed her in the past, when it came to adults. The only thing she wanted to rush into now was little Prince Ra’id’s nursery. If she couldn’t trust herself, how could she trust a womaniser like Lysander? Only thoughts of the poor child involved stopped her making some sort of excuse and escaping from Combe House while she still could. Good or bad, this man was her new employer. She had to develop a working relationship with him, and that would involve some give and take.

  ‘All right, then … Lysander. You can trust me to look after poor Prince Ra’id as if he was my own child,’ she told him.

  He raised his dark, finely arched brows. ‘There speaks a woman who’s never met him!’

  ‘I’m here to care for your poor little nephew, Lysander, not your feelings. So while I’m sorry about your family bereavement and the way you’ve been forced into becoming Prince Regent, you and I have to work together to make the best of it, for little Ra’id’s sake,’ she said firmly, hoping she could be equally determined when it came to resisting Lysander’s charm.

  ‘Nobody’s ever said anything like that to me before, either.’

  The crease between his brows deepened.

  Alyssa realised a man would never have risked saying something like that to Prince Lysander Kahani. Only a woman could get away with it. She allowed herself the hint of a smile. Lysander’s interest in her body was turning out to have advantages as well as danger. It could deflect his anger—at least for the moment.

  ‘Then I hope I can keep your nephew a bit more down to earth.’

  Lysander was beginning to have doubts about her. She could see it in his face.

  ‘I wish you luck,’ he murmured. ‘As Ra’id is my brother’s son, I’ve seen him now and again over the years, but that’s all. What I’ve heard about him from his nursery maids is bad enough. It’ll be a brave woman who refuses that child anything, from the sound of it.’

  When she didn’t laugh, he shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. ‘Well … if you feel confident enough to make a mad claim like that, the least I can do is match it, and raise you. What can I do to help you in your hopeless task, and earn your undying gratitude when I’ve done it?’

  She raised her eyebrows, then met his question with one of her own.

  ‘How do you get on with Ra’id?’

  He responded with a quizzical smile. ‘Me? I don’t. My family has used this house in England as a bolt hole for years, so we’ve met up here regularly for holidays, but that doesn’t mean I’ve had anything to do with the child.’

  I might have guessed, Alyssa thought. ‘So you’re quite happy to leave that poor mite completely in the hands of strangers?’

  His expression hardened. ‘Of course, when they come with qualifications and references like yours. What else would you expect me to do? I don’t know the first thing about children.’

  ‘Lysander!’ Alyssa chided him, but it was only when she took a step backwards and away from him to underline her disapproval that he looked at all bothered.

  Annoyed at her reaction, he moved towards an intercom on the desk. ‘Ra’id has been well looked after by the general nursery staff here since his last nanny left. I think. At least, I assume … No, I’m sure that’s been the case,’ he said through gritted teeth.

  Alyssa could tell that not knowing annoyed him. That was a detail she could work with.

  ‘Well, you’ll be able to judge that side of things for yourself when I’ve called someone to take you to the nursery,’ he went on irritably.

  Alyssa had other ideas. ‘I’d rather you took me yourself, Lysander. After all, you did ask how you could help,’ she said, and this time her smile was as winning as any of the looks he kept turning on her.

  CHAPTER TWO

  THEY were tempting words, but Alyssa’s body language belied her inviting smile, and warned Lysander. He knew she was only trying to use his reputation against him again. Liking her cheek, however, he escorted her to the nursery with the indulgent smile of a man who always got what he wanted. Women generally fell into his arms within seconds, and Alyssa was the first woman in a long while to present him with anything like a challenge. Her beautiful body and long, shapely legs made this new experience very enjoyable. He was confident she would soon be running to him for comfort, and for a prize like that he was willing to be patient. Little Ra’id had sent plenty of distressed nursery maids his way over the past few weeks. Miss Alyssa Dene was different, there was no doubt about that, but Lysander was sure he only had to wait for this latest peach to fall into his lap.

  As they walked he sent a series of covert glances in her direction and liked what he saw. She was tall for a woman, so the crown of her head was almost level with his shoulder. Her feminine curves were in perfect proportion, and her blue-eyed beauty was topped by a swirl of shining blonde hair. He knew exactly how that silken waterfall would feel when he released it from her prissy French plait, and looked forward to doing it.

  They went straight to the nursery wing’s dining room, drawn by an unholy racket. It was full of people, all talking at once. Lysander introduced Alyssa, then stood back. The crowd fell silent. The staff, like him, were watching to see what Alyssa would do when confronted with five-year-old Ra’id. The child was holding court at the head of his dining table and scowling like a little old man. When Lysander saw the peculiar collection of food on the table, he frowned, too. None of it looked edible—especially the sardines in chocolate sauce and the cupcakes spread with Marmite. He watched Alyssa sum up the situation. Then he leaned in to enjoy the fragrant sensation of whispering into her small, perfectly formed ear.

  ‘Meet the poor little orphaned mite you’re going to rescue from his wicked, uncaring uncle.’

  He expected her to apologise for her starchy attitude towards him, but she didn’t. Instead she hissed, ‘He seems to have recovered from the tragedy well enough to have your staff on the run!’

  ‘That’s because he was about as close to his parents as I was to mine,’ Lysander flashed back.

  She gave him a strange look, then pinned on a smile before speaking out loud to the infant dictator.

  ‘Good afternoon, Prince Ra’id. It doesn’t look as though traditional Rosarian food meets with your approval, so we’ll get rid of it, and all these people.’

  ‘But he hasn’t had any food yet!’ A shocked voice burst out from the crowd. ‘And it isn’t traditional—we’ve brought him everything he asked for, but nothing’s been good enough yet.’

  ‘That’s a shame,’ Alyssa said evenly. ‘But lunchtime should have been over a long time ago.’

  ‘I’m hungry!’ Ra’id said through clenched teeth.

  The huddle of servants held its breath. Lysander carried on lazily watching Alyssa. She took no notice of her little charge. Instead, she started piling up plates with quick, neat movements. After an exchange of glances, the rest of the staff stepped forward to help her. In minutes the table was clear and the room empty apart from Lysander, Alyssa and the little boy.

  ‘I’m hungry!’ Ra’id repeated, this time with more of a whine.

  ‘No, you aren’t. If you’d been hungry, you would have eaten the first thing you were served. You’re not to treat your staff like that, Prince Ra’id. They spent a lot of time satisfying your demands, so the least you could have done was try something. As your uncle Lysander has just told you, I’m in charge now. From today, you’ll eat at regular times. Whatever arrives is what you’ll eat, and that’s an end to it. There will be no alternatives.’ She glanced at her watch, then looked at Lysander. ‘Do you eat high tea at Combe House?’

  ‘For you, Alyssa
, anything is possible.’ He chuckled.

  ‘Then could you order a simple meal of egg on toast for His Majesty, to be served in your dining room in half an hour?’

  ‘I don’t like egg. What is it?’ the little boy piped up.

  ‘It’s what you’re having for tea,’ Alyssa said with a determination Lysander wished he could see more often.

  Ra’id wasn’t so impressed. ‘No! And I can do what I like, because I’m King.’

  Lysander had consoled enough nursery maids to know that was the killer line. It always worked. He glanced at Alyssa with a grin that said I’d like to see you get out of that!

  Alyssa didn’t need to answer him. She knelt down beside Ra’id and folded her arms on the ruined surface of his miniature Georgian dining table so that her face was very close to his.

  ‘Oho—not yet, you aren’t! Listen to me, young man. Your uncle Lysander is going to be in charge of you, and everything else around you, for at least the next four thousand days, so what he says, goes. That’s a long time, so get used to it. And he says you’ll eat the lovely food the staff are kind enough to make for you. If you don’t, you’ll go hungry.’ She looked up at Lysander with battle blazing in her eyes. ‘Right?’

  Wide-eyed and speechless, the little boy switched his gaze from Alyssa to Lysander, searching for support.

  ‘That’s right, isn’t it, Lysander?’ Alyssa repeated, more forcefully this time.