The Princess and the Outlaw

Pippa paused. The truth was her father hadn’t been very involved with any of his children. He’d given the most attention to her brother Stefan because he would be the heir, but her father was mostly pleased that he had enough children to do the work, so he could spend more time playing on his yacht. Often with women other than his wife.

“I’ve always been a bit of a bookworm. I’m working on my doctorate in genealogy with a specialization on the medical impact on the citizens of Chantaine. My brother Stefan is determined to improve the health care of our people, so he has approved my path of studies.”

“That’s fascinating,” Amelie said. “What have you learned so far?”

“Like many countries, our people are more susceptible to some diseases and conditions than others. These can be traced back hundreds of years to the introduction of different immigrants, new foods and changes in our environment. The neurological disease that struck down my father can be traced back to his great-great-grandmother’s family. There are also certain cancers that became more common such as when Chantaine experienced a large immigration from Iceland.”

Amelie gave a slow nod. “I wonder if—” She glanced up and broke off with a smile. “The crepes are here.”

Just as she’d said, Amelie only took a bite of each crepe. She savored each bite, closing her eyes and making a mmm sound. “I’m tempted to eat more, but I know it would be a mistake.” She leaned toward Pippa and extended her hand. “Dear, I must tell you that even though I couldn’t marry your father all those years ago, I wished him only the very best after we parted. I hope he was happy.”

Pippa tried to think of how to respond to Amelie’s words. The story about Edward and Amelie’s courtship was the stuff of tabloids. Before he’d taken the throne, Prince Edward had fallen for Amelie and Amelie had been entranced by him for a short while. When she’d met Paul Lafitte, from the States, however, she’d fallen for the tall, dark Texan hook, line and sinker. The Lafittes descended from pirates and even Pippa had to agree the Lafitte men held a dark, irresistible charm.

When Amelie tried to break off her engagement, Prince Edward had refused. Paul had intervened on her behalf and there’d been a terrible brawl. Her father the prince had been humiliated and Pippa wasn’t certain he’d ever truly given his heart away again.

“I think he enjoyed his life,” Pippa finally said. “He loved his yacht and the sea and we always felt glad that he was able to indulge his passion.”

Amelie patted Pippa’s hand. “You’re a lovely girl. As they say in Texas, you do him proud. Now, if you’ll both excuse me while I powder my nose,” she said and stood.

Nic also stood. “Need an escort?” he asked.

“Not this time, darling. Maybe you can talk Pippa into nibbling on some of those crepes,” she said and walked away.

“Is she okay?” Pippa asked when he sat down.

He shrugged. “For the moment. The next moment could bring something totally different. She knows her time is short and she’s decided to make the most of it. The only problem is she’s turned into an eight-year-old. Impulsive, runs off without thinking. With my father down due to his broken foot, I’ve become her keeper.”

Pippa swallowed over the knot of emotion in her throat and began to put the crepes in the carryout boxes. “I’m sure it’s difficult. On the one hand, you want to give her everything she wants. On the other, you want to keep her safe. It’s an impossible situation. She told me,” she said, biting her lip, “that she wants to die in Chantaine.”

His gaze narrowed. “That’s going to be a tough wish to fulfill given the fact that my father isn’t allowed to set foot on Chantaine.”

Cold realization rushed through her. “I forgot all about that. I can’t believe that would be enforced after all these years.”

He gave a rough chuckle. “After all these years, your family still hates me. I can’t take the chance that your family would lock him up in prison.”

“It wouldn’t be my family. It’s a silly law,” she said.

“Same result. It sucks, but Amelie can’t have every wish on her bucket list. I’ll do my damn best to make sure she gets as many as I can,” he said and stood as his mother arrived at the table.

Amelie met his gaze and sighed. “We should leave, shouldn’t we?”

He nodded and placed the boxes in a bag.

“Let me look around just one more moment,” she said, surveying the room as if she wanted to savor each detail, the same way she’d savored each bite of the crepes. “I’ve already spoken to Bebe. She’s lovely as is her granddaughter. Ciao,” she whispered and picked up the bag, then led the way to the door.

A terrible helplessness tore at Pippa as she followed Amelie out the door. She felt Nic’s presence behind her and tried to tamp down the painful knot in her chest. Seeing him again had been like ripping off a bandage before the wound was healed. She’d thought the longing she’d felt for him before was awful, but now it was even worse. Knowing that he was facing some of his darkest days and that she shouldn’t, couldn’t, help him, was untenable. Meeting his magical mother face-to-face and seeing her courage and joy made her feel like a wimp. Her biggest challenge to date was writing her dissertation.

Amelie stopped beside Nic’s Mercedes and turned to Pippa. “I hope we meet again, Your Highness. You’re the nicest princess I’ve ever met. I’m sorry I frightened you with my annoying fainting spell. But then you gave me water and helped me remember Bebe’s. I certainly came out the winner in this situation.”

“I beg to differ,” Pippa said. “It was my great pleasure to meet you.”

“Ciao, darling princess,” she said and Nic opened the door for her.

Pippa should have turned away, but she couldn’t resist one more look at his face. It was the worst kind of craving imaginable.

He turned and met her gaze for a heart-stopping moment that took her breath away. “Ciao, Princess.”

Still distracted by her encounter with Nic and his mother after she’d returned to the palace, Pippa started down the hallway to her living quarters. She would need to set the Lafittes’ situation aside if she was going to make any progress on her research today, and heaven knows, progress had been very slow coming since she’d made the insane mistake of getting involved with Nic. The problem was that even after she’d broken off with him, he still haunted her so much that she struggled to get her work done.

Just as she turned the corner toward her quarters, she heard a shrill scream from the other wing. Tyler, she thought, easily identifying one her sister’s toddler stepsons. He was going through a screaming stage.

“Tyler, darling, you’re not dressed,” her sister Bridget called, her voice echoing down the marble hallways. “Don’t—”

Pippa heard Tyler cackle with glee. She also heard the sound of her sister’s heels as she ran after him. Chuckling to herself, she wondered when Bridget would learn that toddlers and high heels didn’t go together. She rushed down the hall and turned another corner, spotting Tyler running toward her in all his naked glory. Bridget followed with Travis in her arms.

“Oh, Pippa, you saved my life. Can you grab him? The little beast thinks it’s funny to run all over the palace bloody naked.”

Tyler shrieked when he saw Pippa and skidded to a stop. Glancing over his shoulder at Bridget bearing down on him, he knew he was caught. Pippa scooped him up in her arms before he had a chance to get away.

“What are you doing? Did you just get a bath?” Pippa asked and buried her nose in his shoulder, making him laugh. “You smell like a deliciously clean little boy.”

“Thank you so much,” Bridget said breathlessly. “At least I got a diaper on Travis.”

As soon as she stepped within touching distance, Tyler flung himself at her. “Mumma,” he said and pressed an open mouth kiss against Bridget’s cheek.

Bridget squeezed him against her and shifted Travis on her hip. “Now, you get all lovey-dovey,” she said and gave him a kiss in return.

“Where are the nannies?” Pippa asked and held out her hands to Travis. He fell into her arms, then stuck his thumb in his mouth.

“I gave Claire the morning off and Maria had to take care of an emergency with her mother,” she said. “I had planned to check on the ranch Ryder and I are having built.” Bridget rolled her eyes and laughed. “I never dreamed Stefan would permit a ranch to be built on Chantaine.”

“I never would have dreamed you would live on a ranch with twin stepchildren.”

“They’re not steppies to me,” Bridget said. “Ryder and I are in the process of making it all legal. The little perfect, gorgeous beasties will be mine just as much as they are his.”

“Would you like me to watch the boys while you go check on the new house?” Pippa offered. Because Chantaine was an island, new construction was a long process and she knew both Bridget and Ryder were eager for their own place.

“I feel like I take advantage of you far too often. I know I’m not helping you get caught up on your studies….”

Pippa felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. Bridget and the boys weren’t the real reason she’d had a difficult time focusing on her studies. “It’s not as if you’ll be gone all day,” she said.

“True,” Bridget said. “Only an hour or two. You’re the perfect sister,” Bridget said, leaning forward to give Pippa a kiss on the cheek. “Let’s go back to my quarters so I can at least get my little nudist dressed before I leave.”

Pippa smiled as she followed Bridget down the hall and into her family’s suite of rooms. “I think it’s your outlook that has changed. Since you got married to Ryder, everything’s close to perfection.”

“That just goes to show the power of having a good man in your life,” Bridget said. “As soon as I have more than half a moment, I must get to work on finding one for you.”

Alarm shot through Pippa. “Oh, so not necessary. I still have to finish my work for my PhD.”

“That won’t be forever,” Bridget said as she dressed wiggly Tyler.

“I can only hope,” Pippa muttered.

“It won’t be,” Bridget said emphatically. “Besides, you can’t wait forever to move on, romantically speaking. I can help with that.”

“You seem to forget that our family is dreadful when it comes to matchmaking,” Pippa said. “How much did you enjoy Stefan’s attempts at matchmaking?”

Bridget waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “That’s different. I won’t be trying to match you up with someone who can contribute to Chantaine. I’ll find someone hot and entertaining.”

“Lovely intentions,” Pippa said. “Don’t strain yourself. The boys and I will have some fun in the playroom.”

“Perfect. If I’m late they can have lunch in an hour.”

“Will do,” Pippa said. “Are you truly going to have cattle at this ranch?”

“If Ryder has his way,” Bridget said with a sigh. “If we have to take the man out of Texas, we’ll just bring Texas to him. Ciao. I’ll be back soon,” she said and kissed both of the boys.

As soon as Bridget left, the twin toddlers looked at her with pouty faces. Travis’s lower lip protruded and he began to whimper. Tyler joined in.

“Absolutely none of that. She’ll be back before you know it.” Bridget set both of them on their feet and took them by the hand. “To the playroom,” she said and marched them into the small backroom. If there was one thing she’d learned about caring for toddlers, it was that it helped to be willing to make a bloody fool of herself. She immediately turned on the animal sounds CD and followed the instructions to make honking sounds. The boys dried up and joined her.

Just over an hour later, Bridget returned and Pippa could no longer escape her studies. She retreated to her room with a half sandwich for lunch. She thought of the crepes and her stomach clenched. Her mind kept wandering to the time she’d spent with Nic and his mother.

She told herself not to think about it. It wasn’t her responsibility. These genealogy charts required her complete and immediate attention. She’d used every possible device to procrastinate doing her work entirely too long. Inputting her second cousin’s name to the chart, she forced herself to focus. Whenever she conducted her research on people whom she knew, she often thought about their personal stories. Her second cousin Harold had moved to Tibet and his sister, Georgina, had married a man from England and was raising her children in the countryside. Pippa had always liked Georgina because she’d been such a down-to-earth sort of woman. It was a shame she didn’t see her more often.

Harold and Georgina’s deceased parents had owned a lovely cottage on the other side of Chantaine that was now left vacant because neither Harold nor Georgina visited Chantaine very often. Why, in fact, Pippa was certain it had been nearly eight years since either of her second cousins had set foot on Chantaine.

Pippa stopped dead, staring at the cursor on her laptop. Vacant lovely cottage. Nic’s parents.

“Stop it,” she hissed to herself. It would be incredibly disloyal. If her brother Stefan ever found out, he would never forgive her. And there was no way he wouldn’t find out. Not with her security haunting her. She was lucky she’d escaped discovery today.

Back to work, she told herself sternly and worked past midnight. She finally crawled into bed, hopeful she would fall into deep sleep. Thank goodness, she did. Sometime during the night, she sank into a dream where a black limo crawled through a beautiful cemetery. Cars and people dressed in black but carrying flowers followed the limo. Everything inside her clinched with pain. A white butterfly fluttered over the black limo, capturing her attention. It could have been the spirit of…

Pippa suddenly awakened, disoriented, the images of the limo and the butterfly mingling in her mind. She sat up in bed, her heart slamming into her chest. Images of her brother Stefan, Nic, his mother, Amelie.

This wasn’t her business, she told herself. Her heart ached for Nic and his mother, but she couldn’t go against her family to make his mother’s dream come true. She just couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. It would be a terrible betrayal.

She tried to catch her breath and closed her eyes. She tried to make her brain stop spinning. How could she possibly deceive her family for Nic? For Amelie?

But how could she not?

Chapter Two

It took most of the rest of the day to catch up with her cousin to get permission to use the cottage. Georgina was so gracious that it made Pippa feel guilty. Oh, well, if she was going to go through with providing the cottage for Nic’s mother and father, then her web of deception was just getting started. The choice to deceive her family was unforgivable, but the choice to turn her back on Amelie was more unacceptable. Her stomach churned because she wasn’t a dishonest person. The prospect of all the lies she would have to tell put a bad taste in her mouth.

She would normally try to reason with Stefan, but Pippa knew her entire family was unreasonable about the Lafitte matter. She would have to learn to push aside her slimy feelings about this and press on. The first task was to call Nic.

Nic studied the recent reports from his and his father’s business on his tablet PC while he drank a glass of Scotch. He took a deep breath of the Mediterranean night air as he sat on the deck of his yacht anchored close enough to shore for his mother to catch a glimpse of her precious Chantaine whenever she liked. He just hoped she didn’t do anything impulsive like jump overboard and swim to shore. Rubbing his chin, he shuddered at what a nightmare that would be. He couldn’t put it past her, though, especially after she’d sneaked off the other morning.

Nic was caught somewhere between genie and parent, and he wasn’t equipped to be either. The reports on both his father’s businesses and his own looked okay for the moment, but he knew he would have to go back to the States soon for his father’s company. With Amelie’s illness, Paul Lafitte had understandably been distracted. Despite the fact that they’d separated on two different occasions, Amelie was the light of Paul’s life and Nic wasn’t sure how his father would survive after his mother… Nic didn’t even want to think the word, let alone say it, even though he knew the time was coming.

Sighing, he took another sip of his Scotch and heard the vibrating buzz of his cell phone. The number on the caller ID surprised him. After his surprise meeting with Princess Pippa the other morning, he figured he’d never see her again except for public affairs.

He picked up the phone and punched the call button. “Nic Lafitte. Your Highness, what a surprise,” he said, unable to keep the bite from his voice. Pippa had turned out to be the tease of his life.

“Hello. I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said, her voice tense with nerves, which made him curious.

“Just a perfect glass of Scotch and rare solitude,” he said.

A short silence followed. “Well, pardon the interruption, but I have some news that may be of interest to you.”

“You called to tell me you missed me,” he said, unable to resist the urge to bother her. During and after their little interlude last year, the woman had bothered the hell out of him.

He heard her sharp intake of breath and realized he’d scored. “I called about your mother.”

His pleasure immediately diminished. “What about her? Have you discussed the situation with your family, and now they won’t even allow her and my father in the harbor?”

“No, of course not,” Pippa said. “If you would just let me finish—”

“Go ahead,” he said, the semi-peacefulness of the evening now ruined.

“I found a cottage for your parents where they can stay,” she said.

Nic blinked in sudden, silent surprise.

“Nic, did you hear me?”

“Yes. Repeat that please.”

“I found a cottage for your parents on Chantaine,” she said.

“Why?” he demanded.

Another gap of silence followed. “Um, well, I have these cousins Georgina and Harry and neither of them live in Chantaine anymore. They haven’t even visited in years, and they inherited a cottage from their parents. It’s been vacant, again for years, so I thought, why not?”

“Exactly,” Nic said. “Why not? Except for the fact that my father has been banned from setting foot on Chantaine. I don’t suppose your brother experienced a sudden wave of compassion, or just a rational moment and has decided to pardon Paul Lafitte.”

“You don’t need to insult Stefan,” she said. “My brother is just defending my father’s honor.”

“Even though Stefan wouldn’t have been born if your father had married Amelie,” Nic said.

“Yes, I know it’s not particularly logical, but the point is I have found this house. Your mother wants more time in Chantaine. Staying there can make it happen.”

“You still haven’t addressed the issue about my father,” Nic said.

“Well, I thought we could work around that. Your mother mentioned that he broke his foot, so it’s not as if he’ll be able to tour much. When he does, perhaps he could wear a hat and glasses.”

“And a fake mustache?” he added, rolling his eyes. It was a ludicrous plan.

“I know it’s not perfect,” she said.

“Far from it,” he said.

“But it’s better than nothing.”

“I can’t take the chance that my father will end up in jail.”

“Perhaps that’s not your decision to make,” she countered, surprising him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean shouldn’t he be given the choice?” she asked. “Besides, your father’s presence may never be discovered. It’s not as if there are copies of his photo posted everywhere the way you do in the States.”

“It’s called a Wanted Poster, and they’re mostly just displayed in post offices and convenience stores these days. We’ve progressed since the Wild West days,” he said.

“Exactly,” she said. “And so have we. No one has been beheaded in over one hundred and fifty years, and we haven’t used the dungeon as a prison for nearly a hundred.”

“Why don’t I feel better? I know that Chantaine doesn’t operate under the policy of innocent until proven guilty. Your judicial system, and I use the term loosely, moves slower than the process of turning coal into diamonds.”

“I didn’t call to debate my country’s judicial system. I called to offer a place to stay for your mother and father. If you want it, I shall arrange to have it cleaned and prepared for them. Otherwise…” She paused and he heard her take a breath.

“Otherwise?” he prompted.

“Otherwise, ciao,” she said and hung up on him.

Nic blinked again. Princess Pippa wasn’t the rollover he’d thought she was. He downed the rest of his exquisite Scotch, barely tasting it. What the hell. She had surprised him. Now he had to make a decision. Although his father had caused trouble for the entire family, Nic felt protective of him, especially in his father’s current state with his broken foot and his grief over Amelie.

Nic closed his eyes and swore under his breath. He already knew how his father would respond if given the choice of risking prosecution in Chantaine. Paul Lafitte was a blustering bear and bull. He would love the challenge… even if he was in traction and confined to the house.

Raking his hand through his hair, he knew what he had to do. He walked inside to the stateroom lounge where his father dozed in front of the television. A baseball game was playing and his father was propped in an easy chair snoring.

Maybe he should wait until tomorrow, Nic thought and turned off the television.

His father gave a loud snort and his eyes snapped open. “What happened? Who’s ahead?”

“Rangers,” Nic lied. The Rangers were having a terrible season.

“Yeah, and I’m the Easter bunny,” his father said.

Nic gave a dry laugh. His father was selective with the use of denial, and apparently he wasn’t going to exercise that muscle with the Rangers tonight. “Good luck hopping,” he said. “You need anything to drink?”

“Nah. Take a seat. What’s on your mind? I can tell something’s going on,” he said, waving his hand as if the yacht belonged to him instead of Nic.

Nic sank onto the sofa next to his father. “I got an interesting call tonight.”

“Must have been a woman. Was she pregnant?” his father asked.

Nic gave a short laugh. “Nothing like that. I’ve been offered a cottage where you and Mom can stay. On Chantaine.”

His dad gave a low whistle. “How did you manage that?”

Nic shrugged. “Lucky, I guess. The problem is you still have legal issues in Chantaine.”

His dad smiled and rubbed his mouth. “So I do, and punching Prince Edward in the face after he insulted your mother was worth it ten times over.”

“Easy to say, but if you stay in Chantaine, there’s a possibility that you could get caught.” Nic shook his head. “Dad, with their legal system, you could be stuck in jail for a while.”

“So?” he asked.

“So, it’s a risk. You’re not the young buck you once were. You could end up stuck there while Mom is…” He didn’t want to say the rest.

His father narrowed his eyes. It was an expression Nic had seen several times on his father’s face. The dare a pirate couldn’t deny. He descended from wily pirates. His father was no different, although his father had gotten caught a few times. “Your mother wants to rest in Chantaine. We’ll accept the kind offer of your friend. To hell with the Devereauxs.”

“Might not want to go that far,” Nic said, thinking another glass of Scotch was in order. “A Devereaux is giving you the cottage.”

“Well, now that sounds like quite the story,” his father said, his shaggy eyebrows lifted high on his forehead.

“Another time,” Nic said. “You need to rest up for your next voyage.”

His father gave a mysterious smile. “If my great-great-grandfather escaped the authorities on a peg leg, I can do it with a cast.”