A Royally Beautiful Mess

by Carol Moncado

  The music faded.

  The fire disappeared.

  The only thing with her in the world was Darius.

  Until he stopped kissing her. “Star,” he whispered.

  She closed her eyes, knowing what he planned to say. “I know.”

  “A few days, and it’ll be legal again.”

  Yep. That was what he was going to say.

  A boom outside told her 2017 had come to an end.

  “I guess it’s midnight.” Darius took a half-step away from her until he could rest his forehead on hers. “Happy New Year, love.”

  “Happy New Year.” Esther leaned up and gave him a soft kiss. “Here’s to many more.”

  “Here’s to a better year than the last one. To spending all our New Years together.”

  Darius kissed her again. “I love you, Star. You. The babies. No matter what happens with my brother and uncle, whether I ever get to return to Eyjania or not, I’m so glad I found you.”

  “This year’s been hard,” she admitted. “But I wouldn’t change it.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  She rolled her eyes. “Okay. Maybe I’d change a little bit, but I’m glad we’re here, together.”

  Darius started moving to the music again. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  Starting the year together, dancing in her husband’s arms, was where Esther wanted to spent all her New Years.

  Epilogue

  February 2018

  Darius grinned as he walked into the kitchen and saw Esther making a sandwich, her knitting or crocheting or whatever it was laying on the bar not too far away. She’d taken it up again after the marriage became legal. She thought he hadn’t noticed when she put down the blues and greens of her original blanket, but he had. This one was pink and cream. He didn’t know if they would both be.

  He walked up behind her, then wrapped his arms around her, kissing the side of her neck.

  “Don’t do that.” There was no real censure in her voice. “I’m hungry.”

  His hands rested on her stomach, and he was rewarded with a kick from one of the girls. They still hadn’t agreed on names for either one of them, though it seemed likely their mothers would be in there somewhere. “You can still eat.”

  She licked peanut butter off her finger. “I talked to my father.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He wants us to come for Easter.”

  “Has he forgiven me for taking off at Christmas?”

  “I think so, but we probably need to stay under the radar. He’s given your idea about staying discreet until after your uncle no longer holds any power a lot of thought. He said he was hoping to have found something by now to convince your brother to force him out, but he hasn’t.”

  “Which means we stay out of the limelight for a while longer.” Darius talked to his mother occasionally. Not as much as he wished, but none of his family knew the marriage had been legalized either. His mother likely suspected, but after she apologized for not being able to find the license, she hadn’t mentioned it again. It was safer that way. If no one knew they were legally married, Darius wouldn’t be officially exiled.

  One thing that had changed in the last six weeks was his relationship with his older brother. Though it still left a lot to be desired, they spoke regularly. The first call had been a week into the new year when Benjamin expressed his regret over the resolution. He promised to revoke it as soon as he could, but was legally required to wait at least a year before presenting Parliament with a motion to rescind it. Darius had shared what he learned about public opinion while he visited Eyjania. Benjamin promised to do his own research, which had revealed the same thing a few weeks later.

  But beyond that, they started to just talk. To shoot the breeze. Not much, just a fifteen- or twenty-minute conversation each week about what was going on in their lives. It was a start, though Darius hadn’t told him the marriage was legalized either. As long as Benjamin didn’t know, he didn’t have to take any action. It was an unspoken rule between them not to mention it beyond what they already had.

  Reading between the lines, Darius had begun to wonder if his brother was coming out from under Isaiah’s thumb, but the process wasn’t complete.

  Darius tightened his hold on Esther, bringing his mind back to the present. “You know what today is?”

  She looked up from where she was putting two slices of bread together. “Tuesday?”

  He chuckled. “Well, yes. It’s Tuesday, but it’s also a year since we met.”

  Esther went still. “Oh.”

  His eyes closed, and his shoulders slumped. “We’ve talked about this, Star.” They’d talked about so many things the last few months. “Focus on the good. We know what happened when we met was wrong. We’ve apologized to each other. Talked to God and asked His forgiveness. But it’s still the anniversary of the day we met. The day something beautiful began, even if we did get it a bit out of order.”

  “I know.” She leaned her head back against his chest. “I’m working on it still, but the end result is an example of making something beautiful from the mess we created.”

  That made him chuckle. “Not just any mess, a royal mess.”

  Esther spun in his arms and grinned up at him. “A royally beautiful mess.”

  Darius let out a half-groan/half-chuckle. “And it’s all ours.”

  <<<<>>>>

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for joining Darius and Esther in A Royally Beautiful Mess! I appreciate you and hope you enjoyed it! This is the third book in the Crowns & Courtships series!

  There’s a whole back end, behind-the-scenes, thing with the numbering. Some of you may have noticed The Inadvertent Princess was labeled book 3 at one point. Yeah. It’s a thing ;).

  This series title will accommodate the royal families of Eyjania and San Majoria (and beyond?) through the use of subtitles - Heart of a Prince is Crowns & Courtships, Book 1: Royals of San Majoria. Just replace the country name when necessary ;).

  The Crowns & Courtships stories have been divided into two separate series - the main one with the novels, and the novellas. As currently envisioned, the novellas will be shorter (clearly ;)) and come in between or around the novels and won’t NEED to be read. Rather, they’ll enhance your understanding of the stories. The blurb section of Amazon’s product page will have a list of the combined order in case you’d like to make sure you’ve read them all :).

  Next up is King Benjamin!!!!!! YAY!!!!! By the time his story opens, we’ve caught up with the timeline of Reclaiming Hearts (did you catch the mentions of Prince William and Lady Margaret in this story? Including Benjamin missing their wedding…)

  I wrote most of his story in November (actually before I wrote most of ARBM… I’ll explain more of why when it releases). I LOVE Benjamin’s story - and his heroine! I can’t wait for you to get to know them too!

  The Indentured Queen will come your way this summer! Swipe through for a preview!

  HEA-TV

  I’ve mentioned this before but it’s getting better! It’s still VERY MUCH a work in progress, but it’s being worked on (and hopefully, by the time this releases, all of the Crowns & Courtships books will be done).

  It’s found at www.hea-tv.com (that’s the name of the Hallmark type channel in this universe, remember?) you’ll find “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Carol Moncado’s Fictional Universe... & More”! There’s a “universe” timeline where you can see how everything fits together. Each book will have (or already has) it’s own timeline. There’s book wikis with character and location/business lists (what was that restaurant again?! ;)) with each entry as a glossary term so you can hover over it to find out more about that character/place, along with summaries of what that book was about. Hello, SPOILERS! :D

  There aren’t any character or location/business wikis - yet. But eventually. Once we get the book wikis caught up, we’ll work on the others.

&nbs
p; Previews

  Next up you’ll find that preview for Book 4 in Crowns & Courtships along with more information about it.

  After that, you’ll find chapter 1 of Grace to Save. If you haven’t read the story of Abi (Esther’s Snickerdoodle making friend) and Travis, this is your chance! Don’t tell the other books, but I think it’s my favorite ever ;). Fingers crossed, but the sequel, Grace to Stand, should release later this summer as well.

  You can, of course, snag book 1 in the Montevaro Monarchy series for FREE! Though it was two series ago, that book is the beginning of the events that lead to Reclaiming Hearts. The two timelines will merge in King Benjamin’s story here in a few months, with his book picking up just a few hours after Benjamin’s last appearance in Prince William and Maggie’s story.

  Many of you have likely already read Finding Mr. Write, but if not, it too is FREE!

  Serenity Landing Book Club

  What is that?! It’s the Facebook reader group that started last summer! I’d love to have you there! It’s easier for you to see what’s posted than on a Facebook page and we do fun stuff! There will be discussion questions after the release of a book, sneak peeks of the next one, general discussion, and chances to win copies of books and other goodies! I’d love to have you there!

  Other Stuff

  I see a meme floating around Facebook from time to time that tells readers what they can do to help their favorite authors. Buying their next book or giving a copy away is kind of a no-brainer, but the biggest thing you can do is write a review. If you enjoyed A Royally Beautiful Mess would you consider doing just that?

  I would LOVE to hear from you! My email address is books@candidpublications.com. To stay up-to-date on releases, you can sign up for my newsletter (there’s fun stuff - like a chance to get free novellas from time to time)! You’ll also get notices of sales, including special preorder pricing! And I won’t spam!) or there’s always my website :). You can find my website and blog at www.carolmoncado.com. I blog about once a month at www.InspyRomance.com. And, of course, there’s Facebook and my Facebook page, Carol Moncado Books. But... the way pages work, sometimes very few people (often 1-5% of “likes”) will see anything posted. I keep trying to find the best way to get to know y’all and “spend time” together outside of your Kindle - at least for those of you who want to!

  Thanks again!

  Acknowledgments

  Writing can be very lonely, but the reality is no one walks alone. Since I began this writing journey nearly a decade ago, I can’t begin to name all of those who’ve helped me along the way. My husband, Matt, who has always, always believed in me. All of the rest of my family and in-loves who never once looked at me like I was nuts for wanting to be a writer. Jan Christiansen (my “other mother”) has always believed in me and Stacy Christiansen Spangler who has been my dearest friend for longer than I can remember.

  Ginger Solomon, author of One Choice and a bunch of other fantastic books (but One Choice is still my favorite!), has been invaluable with her proofreading services. Check her books out!

  Then there’s my writer friends. Bethany Turner (have you read The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck yet?!) and Mikal Dawn (AH! Count Me In!) have both been so wonderful the last few months keeping me laughing and my spirits up. #MiBeCaIsEternalYo

  Then Jennifer Major, a Canadian no less ;), who does life with me and loves me anyway! There’s Jessica Keller Koschnitzky, Joanna Davidson Politano (Lady Jayne Disappears is amazing!), Jen Cvelbar (writing as Jennifer A. Davids and the best case of misidentification ever, not to mention best conference roomie - and has a new book coming next summer! YAY!), Kristy Cambron, and Stacey Zink are BritCritters, too. We do a lot more living than we do critting, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. All five of them are beyond gifted as writers, and I thank God they’re in my life. There’s my MozArks ACFW peeps who laugh with me, critique, and encourage to no end. Then there’s the InspyRomance crew, the CIA, my Spicy peeps (you know who you are!), and all of the others who’ve helped me along on this journey.

  And Emily N. and Tory U. who are both INVALUABLE to my writing process! I have NO IDEA what I’d do without the two of you!

  I said I could go on for days, and I could keep going. On and on. I know I’ve forgotten many people and I hate that. But you, dear reader, would quickly get bored.

  So THANK YOU to all of those who have helped me along the way. I couldn’t have done this without you and you have my eternal gratitude. To the HUNDREDS of you (I’m gobsmacked!) who pre-ordered and encouraged me without knowing it as that little number continued to climb, you have my eternal gratitude. I hope you stick around for the next one!

  And, of course, last but never, ever, least, to Jesus Christ, without whom none of this would be possible - or worth it.

  Previews subject to change and may contain errors.

  In forty-eight hours, King Benjamin James Timothy would be in complete control of his household for the first time.

  He strode through the wide hallways of the Eyjanian palace toward his uncle’s quarters.

  The quarters Isaiah should be in the process of vacating.

  It had only been a few hours since Benjamin stood up to his uncle for the first time at the Mevendian Founders’ Ball held at the Eyjanian home of Prince William and Princess Margaret of Mevendia. Benjamin’s security team knew the instructions he’d given Isaiah. Benjamin also knew Isaiah likely wouldn’t follow them without force.

  A maid he didn’t recognize scurried down the hall, stopping just long enough for a quick curtsy. Benjamin barely noticed. Staff members, outside of senior staff members, were to be seen and not heard, and not seen whenever possible.

  Someone else, just out of Benjamin’s line of sight, ducked out of the way. Good. He didn’t like to be disturbed. Most of the staff knew to get of the way before he was close enough to see them.

  “Is he packing?” One of Benjamin’s most trusted guards stood outside the door.

  “Unlikely, sir.” Thor bowed slightly at the waist. “I haven’t heard any noise coming from inside his quarters.”

  “And the tunnels are sealed off?”

  “I have a man inside each of the tunnels leading from these quarters, and another at the exits. He won’t be able to get anything out of here those ways.” Thor knew Benjamin would hold him personally responsible if Isaiah did make off with anything.

  “Good.” Benjamin stared at the door and wondered about going in. No. Not now. Tomorrow, if there were no indications of movement, he would enter and remove his uncle from the premises. Rather, he would have him removed. He had people to do that.

  He retraced his steps until he reached the Rainbow Reception Room. Across the room, in front of one of the floor to ceiling windows, a dagger sat encased in a glass cube.

  The knight’s dagger belonging to King Alfred the First.

  Sent to train in England, Alfred had obtained what many aspired to but few achieved - knighthood from the most esteemed family to ever bestow knighthood. The story had been handed down for nearly a millennia in the form of legend. The ruby at the cross between the hilt and the guard, winked in the dim lighting. His ancestor was the stuff of legend, but even he didn’t compare to those who trained him.

  Would Benjamin have been found worthy of such a dagger?

  He’d known this dagger existed, was in this room, for as long as he could remember, but it wasn’t until Christmas that he started to come stare at it. Not until King Edward of San Majoria had lectured him at Christmas had Benjamin spent time wondering if he would be worthy.

  If he was a worthy successor to both King Alfred the First and King Alfred the Second.

  Benjamin’s father.

  The first note of music didn’t surprise him. Neither did the second. Or the crescendo that built. By turns, the sounds of excitement, happiness, anger, despair, and finally joy filled not only the room but Benjamin’s soul.

  King Alfred’s Overture had been written by an Eyjanian composer se
veral hundred years earlier.

  Eventually, the resolution trailed away to nothing.

  This time Benjamin heard the scraping of the piano bench and footsteps walking away.

  “Halt!”

  The gasp from the pianist, whoever it was, said his suspicions were correct. His presence had been undetected.

  He turned to see a young woman across the room. Her back was to him, but based on her uniform, she worked in one of the industrial kitchens. “Turn around.”

  She did, but still didn’t raise her head.

  A few steps brought him closer to her. “Do you know who I am?”

  “Yes, sir.” She dropped into a deep curtsy. “My apologies for disturbing your time, sir.”

  “Do you have permission to play in here?” He already knew the answer.

  “No, sir.”

  “Is this the first time?”

  Her hesitation told him the answer before her word. “No.”

  “You work in the kitchen?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Something about her drew him closer, and he took a step into her personal space. “Look at me,” he commanded.

  She finally raised her chin and met his gaze. Eyes the color of chocolate were guarded.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Katrín. Katrín Jónsson.”

  “Do you know where my office is, Katrín?”

  Her face tilted downward. “Yes, sir.” Her voice sounded resigned.

  To what?

  Crooking his finger under her chin, he tipped her face back up. “I have some business to take care of. Be waiting for me when I return, and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

  Before she could say anything, he kissed her, his hand sliding around to the back of her neck as his other arm slid around her waist. Her fingers clutched his jacket, holding him to her as much as he held her to him.

  He’d long been told that, as king, he could request this kind of thing from his female staff members and expect their acquiescence, but he’d never availed himself of it. Something about this girl drew him, though, differently than any one before.