Weight of the Crown

by Christina Hollis

  ‘Y-you’re busy. We mustn’t disturb you any longer.’ She drew back, transferring her attention to the little boy. ‘Come on, Ra’id—I want to see your ponies.’

  ‘Do you ride, Alyssa?’ Lysander asked suddenly. The question was so unexpected, she reacted by instinct.

  ‘Oh, yes, but not for a long time.’

  He pounced on the wistful note in her voice. ‘You miss it.’

  She smiled, remembering her schooldays. ‘Actually yes, I do—but I didn’t realise how much, until you said that!’

  ‘Then you’re in for a treat! When’s your next day off?’

  ‘Tomorrow.’ She brightened, hoping he was going to tell her members of staff could ride horses from the royal stables whenever they liked.

  ‘Then I’ll make a gap in my schedule, and take you sightseeing.’

  Her heart soared like a helium balloon until common sense punctured it. ‘No. No, I couldn’t possibly …’

  ‘We could take Ra’id with us, as chaperone. I want to learn more about Ra’id, so it will be a chance for me to get some experience in looking after him.’ Lysander’s smile was innocent, but his eyes held wicked temptation.

  Alyssa poked some stray strands of hair back behind their grips as she tried to give herself time to think. It would be perfect—a day out with Lysander, no strings attached. All she would have to do was keep Ra’id’s best interests at heart, and that was easy enough!

  ‘We’ll order a picnic, and you’ll have plenty of time to drink in the atmosphere and surroundings.’ Lysander’s expression was as still as a woodland pool, and equally full of promise. Time with him could lead to only one thing. Gazing deep into his eyes, Alyssa knew he was thinking exactly the same and knew that a whole day in such close proximity would be too dangerous.

  ‘It would be wonderful, but it can’t happen, Your Royal Highness. We can go out this afternoon for a short picnic at tea time as we arranged, instead. Maybe you and Ra’id could go on your own instead? You’ve already told me your country is everything to you. I can’t expect such a busy man to find the time to take me out and about,’ she said, hoping to emphasise the gulf between them again. She wanted to sound determined, but the words didn’t come out like that. Instead, they were full of wistful longing.

  ‘Stranger things have happened.’

  His formal smile glittered so irresistibly, Alyssa knew she had to make a stand.

  ‘But not many,’ she told him firmly.

  Lysander leaned over the low wall, watching them go. Thinking about Alyssa had got him through that tedious banquet the night before. Now it threatened to disrupt the rest of this working day. When she’d mentioned horses, his mind had instantly filled with the idea of racing across the desert sand with her. That was a first. Until now, distraction of any sort always annoyed him when he was dealing with paperwork. For once, the combination of a real flesh-and-blood woman and one of his favourite fantasies was irresistible. He was stirred by the memory of her body wrapped in that soft, ridiculous dressing gown while the expression in her eyes had conveyed that she wanted him so powerfully. It was too much. Lysander started planning for the day when he would eventually sample all the delights she had to offer.

  One day, he would spirit her off alone to see The Queen’s Retreat.

  It was a breathtaking place, and the perfect setting for seduction. Bed was Lysander’s cure for every relationship and it had never been known to fail. Unlikely though it seemed to him just now, Alyssa’s body would lose its novelty value once he had slept with her. Her mind showed signs of surprising him for as long as he lived, so he didn’t have the patience to wait until she bored him. In contrast, sex with her would satisfy his body and stop it hankering after her, once and for all.

  He went back to work, and smiled all the way through three drafts of a balance-of-payments statement.

  Alyssa wasn’t looking forward to their picnic tea that afternoon. She assumed a caravan of staff would turn it into a state visit to the desert, rather than a simple meal in the fresh air. When Lysander arrived alone to collect her and Ra’id from the nursery wing, it amazed her. Flustered, she wasn’t quite sure how to react so she kept quiet and let Lysander do the talking.

  ‘It will be just me and my nephew today,’ he told her and the other nursery staff. ‘Alyssa is coming along to see fair play, that’s all.’

  He sounded affable, and his audience looked convinced. That didn’t stop Alyssa feeling uncomfortable. She could barely look at him as they walked out to the palace’s garage complex. While the kitchen staff loaded picnic things into a brand-new four-by-four, she couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. Making sure she and Lysander were out of earshot of everybody else, she tried to broach the subject.

  ‘Lysander, about last night …’

  He smiled, and once again Alyssa’s body betrayed her. She felt her heart accelerate, and her mouth was suddenly so dry she could hardly speak.

  ‘I should never have let you kiss me—and so you mustn’t think you can …’ Unable to say anything more, she flicked a glance towards Ra’id, who was bouncing up and down in one of the rear seats of the vehicle.

  ‘Of course I’m not going to try and carry on where I left off. Not today …’ He filled in for her, but left his meaning hanging in the air. ‘You’re at work, looking after my nephew, so I shall be on my best behaviour.’ He laid one hand gravely over his heart and dipped his head in mockery of a formal bow. She watched him carefully as he opened the front passenger door for her. It was high off the ground, but when he reached out to help her up there was nothing remotely suggestive about his touch. Alyssa’s relief was tinged with disappointment. She wanted him to go further, but told herself this was the only way—especially when he tried to own her with his eyes, as he was doing right now. Her heart had already been broken by a supposedly decent man. This man was a rogue. She’d do well to remember that!

  He slid into the driving seat and they started off, out into the desert. At first Alyssa was tense and watchful but Lysander didn’t seem to notice. He was far too busy talking to Ra’id.

  ‘I like picnics! I like picnics!’ the little boy chanted, bouncing up and down in his seat. He was enjoying himself so much, even Alyssa began to think this trip was a good idea. The sky was blue, they had enough food to feed an army and Lysander really was making an effort to get to know Ra’id.

  ‘I expect you have picnics all the time, living in a lovely place like this,’ Alyssa said as they travelled along an ancient dirt road. She was enjoying the sight of hot, starkly beautiful desert sliding past so fast outside, while she was cool and comfortable inside the car.

  ‘No. As far as I know the only time Ra’id went out was to travel between Combe House in England and the Rose Palace.’

  ‘Is that why you suggested this outing?’

  He shook his head. ‘Having a picnic is something I’ve wanted to do since I was about the same size as Ra’id.’ Lysander smiled, but not at her. With his lips pressed tightly together, he carried on gazing through the windscreen.

  ‘You’re not telling me this is the first time you’ve done this?’ Alyssa could hardly believe what she was hearing.

  ‘I’ve never had the excuse to do it here before. The one dim memory I have of my mother is of her, me, and my brother, Akil. We were in a park in England. We must have gone out for the day but I can’t recall her face, or what she was wearing, what we ate or anything important like that. All I remember is her voice, saying: “I wish we’d done this before. We’ll have to do it again some time.” But we never did.’

  ‘That’s so sad,’ Alyssa said softly.

  He shot her a strange look. ‘The fact that the only real memory I have of my mother is of a time when she was happy?’ he queried. ‘What’s wrong with that?’

  CHAPTER SIX

  ALYSSA couldn’t argue with him. The quiet way he answered her question intrigued her. Was he giving her a glimpse of the man behind his public image? It was so at odds with
the passionate seducer who had held her in his arms the night before. When he looked at her now, there was hardly any flirtation in Lysander’s smile. She took that as a good sign, and tried to relax.

  Sitting in a prestige car with a handsome prince at the wheel, she felt as though a little bit of royalty might be rubbing off on her. She even had to suppress a childish urge to wave regally out of the window. For once in her life she didn’t have to worry about a thing. All she had to do was sit back and enjoy being chauffeured around. It was lovely and so, she had to admit, was Lysander. He was behaving perfectly today, as the ideal role model for Ra’id. Away from his office he was off duty, and so was the usual little crease between his brows. Now and again he even hummed along to the gentle sound of Marcello coming from the on-board CD player. With a sigh, Alyssa lay back in her seat and closed her eyes. The sun was warm against her lids and the filtered air was cool. For the first time in ages, life was offering her more than loneliness. The feeling of Lysander at one with his car and only inches away from her was incredible.

  ‘I suppose you went on picnics with your parents all the time, Alyssa?’

  ‘Mmm? No … they spent most of the year working abroad, so I was sent off to boarding school. I went home for the holidays, which was about as much exposure to me as they could take.’

  ‘Don’t sell yourself short,’ he said sharply.

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. ‘What’s the matter? I expected you to laugh when I said that.’

  ‘There’s nothing funny about a child who sees themselves as a burden.’

  ‘You’re getting too fond of Ra’id for him to think that. I can see it every time you two are together,’ Alyssa assured him.

  ‘I wasn’t talking about him.’

  She smiled. ‘Oh, don’t worry about me. I’ve long since stopped bothering about how things are between me and my parents.’

  Another look at his face told Alyssa he hadn’t been thinking about her situation, either. He was staring grimly out of the windscreen at the road ahead.

  ‘Tell me more about your upbringing,’ she probed gently. ‘Is the Kahani family large, beyond this branch? I meant to do some online research in my spare time to get background, but I haven’t got around to it yet.’

  ‘Don’t bother,’ he said brusquely, missing a gear change. That made him spit out a word in Rosari that Alyssa was glad she couldn’t understand.

  ‘No, and there’s no royal family beyond me and Ra’id,’ he told her. ‘That’s the whole problem. My father was a second son, like me. His older brother was King, and a cruel, bitter man. His rule kept Rosara in the Dark Ages. My brother Akil and I were lucky. Our part of the family was never expected to inherit the crown, so we were allowed a lot of freedom. Unfortunately, the death of our mother changed all that.’

  Alyssa clucked with sympathy. ‘My mother and I have never been close, so I can’t imagine how awful it must have been for you to lose yours. It must have been a terrible shock.’

  Lysander didn’t reply straight away. Alyssa assumed it was because he was driving down a tricky, rock-strewn slope. When he spoke, she found out how wrong she was.

  ‘Yes—and no. She was found guilty of adultery, and, as my unforgiving uncle was on the throne at the time, she was beheaded.’

  Surprise catapulted Alyssa forward in her seat. ‘Oh, my God!’ She clapped her hand over her mouth and glanced over her shoulder at Ra’id. The little boy had calmed down enough to look at a comic, and hadn’t noticed. Relieved, she turned to stare at Lysander in horror. ‘When was this?’

  ‘A long time ago. Thirty years or more—not long after the picnic I told you about, maybe? The riots that followed killed my uncle and put his brother—my father—on the throne. Father was determined things would change, and so am I. That’s why I’m going to continue making improvements here.’

  He was staring ahead so grimly now that Alyssa felt she had to say something. ‘You’re right. The sooner you can secure your country’s place in the twenty-first century, the better,’ she said. It worked.

  ‘That’s why I want to make sure Ra’id has a proper childhood. Akil and I never had much experience of life until we were sent to England to finish our education. Our father was quite forward thinking, but even so we had private tutors to begin with.’

  ‘You must have been lonely.’

  Lysander shook his head. ‘I always had Akil to think about. He was never very worldly, so I always fought in his corner. That made me self-reliant.’

  ‘Too much of that isn’t always a good thing.’

  ‘I don’t think my brother would have agreed with you. Once he became King and inherited a band of advisors, they took over. I was surplus to his requirements and didn’t have anything to do. Hitting the party circuit was a reaction to that. That was why Akil never liked the way I lived my life. He knew I was capable of so much more.’

  Alyssa felt on firmer ground for once. ‘Then it’s a shame he never found you a job. Hard work suits you. You really looked the part when we saw you in your office.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, adding lightly. ‘It sounds as though you actually meant that.’

  ‘Why shouldn’t I?’

  Sliding a glance wickedly across at her, he laughed. ‘Alyssa, I’ve been flattered by mistresses of the craft. Believe me.’

  They crested a rise in the road, which gave them a spectacular view of the plains below. Lysander parked the four-by-four where it would cast the longest shadow, got out and opened the doors for Alyssa and Ra’id. With a squeal of excitement the little boy bounced out and careered off down the slope at top speed.

  ‘Don’t go too far!’ Lysander called, but Alyssa laughed.

  ‘He’s only got little legs. With nothing but a few sparse bushes in every direction, he can’t get lost. He’ll be fine,’ she reassured him, but kept a careful watch on her little charge all the same.

  The atmosphere out in the desert was very different from the comfortable, air-conditioned interior of Lysander’s car. It was hot and dry. Now and then a light breeze blew up, ruffling his dark curls and wrapping Alyssa’s skirt around her bare legs. She was still wary of him, but her warnings seemed to be having some effect. Lysander’s interest in her didn’t waver, but he kept his distance. Neither spoke as they strolled along in Ra’id’s wake. Alyssa’s mind was too full of miserable childhoods and loveless lives, and the last thing she wanted to do was inflict her memories on Lysander. For a while they watched the little boy in companionable silence, but Alyssa’s gaze was often distracted by their stunning surroundings. Sunlight had spent a million lifetimes baking the stony countryside into a million shades from caramel to cream, and the overall effect was breathtaking.

  ‘It’s such a beautiful place,’ Alyssa was moved to say after a while. ‘How could anyone prefer the big city to this?’

  ‘A life spent in casinos and nightclubs isn’t exactly hell on earth. I’m sure you’d be the first one to remind me of that,’ Lysander said with dry humour.

  ‘Do you miss it?’

  He smiled, but didn’t answer.

  ‘I don’t think the newspapers expected you to move back here, Lysander. If they knew how well that dinner went, and the hours of routine office work you put in, I’m sure they’d be amazed,’ she said quietly.

  ‘The Western press perhaps, but not the press here in Rosara. They’ve always understood that I left to avoid being sidelined, and I came back because of loyalty. I love this country, and I won’t let anything disturb its peace. That’s why I want to take such great care of Ra’id. Some of my countrymen don’t believe he should be the next king.’

  Alyssa was shocked. ‘Lysander! When we were driving from the airport, you told me there was no danger to him here!’

  Her first instinct was to call Ra’id straight back into her arms and head for the palace and safety. Lysander stopped her with a few simple words.

  ‘Would it reassure you to know that I’m the one they want as their ruler
? That there’s a faction who think I should be King, rather than him?’

  She stared at him. ‘I don’t know. It depends what would happen to Ra’id.’

  ‘He’s quite safe with me. You’ve got my word on that.’ Lysander’s accent thickened with honesty. ‘He would stay in your care and be my heir until I had a son of my own. That’s why I wanted the best nanny for him from the first. Whatever happens, I will always treat Ra’id with the respect due to my brother’s son. Looking after him is my priority.’

  ‘And mine,’ Alyssa said firmly.

  They had both been watching the little boy as he chased lizards over the hot desert rocks. When she said that, they turned and shared a look.

  ‘Smiling suits you, Lysander.’ Alyssa laughed. ‘You should do it more often.’

  His reply was quick. ‘You won’t believe this, but I was about to say exactly the same thing to you!’

  The palace staff had packed an amazing picnic. There was a feast of things Alyssa usually kept off Ra’id’s menu, such as crisps and cake, along with healthy slices of perfectly ripe melons, peaches and bunches of fat grapes. While Alyssa set it all out, Lysander produced a pair of miniature radio-controlled buggies from the back of the four-by-four. That was when Ra’id lost interest in the food—and it was the last she saw of the two men in her life until they got hungry.

  It was a long time before Alyssa had a minute to herself. Once she’d put the exhausted Ra’id to bed that night and handed over to her deputy, she could officially call herself off duty for the next thirty-six hours. With a relief she didn’t usually feel when faced with a holiday, she retreated to her own suite. Her apartment at the Rose Palace was lovely. It was at least twice the size of her city flat in England, and had large, airy rooms. It was a pleasure to wander around it by the light of scented candles, enjoying all the luxury. Flickering shadows danced over pale painted walls and high ceilings, while the fragrance of lilies drifted in from the courtyard garden below her open windows. Although tired, Alyssa was far too wound up for sleep. Her mind was crowded. She roamed around hoping it would clear, but all she could think about was Lysander. The bed reminded her of his cabin on the plane, where she had imagined his kiss. Her kitchen was stocked with everything to make her feel at home, but that only brought back the way Lysander had helped her to coffee and snacks at their picnic. And every time she felt her pulse speed up, she thought of his kisses …