The Prince She Had to Marry

To heal? How so? His wounds no longer festered. He’d put back on the thirty kilos he’d lost during his captivity, and then some. His “healing,” such as it was, was done. But he didn’t say that. He said nothing.

And she continued, “I’ve always loved Montedoro anyway. So let’s say a year, together, here at the Prince’s Palace. I’ll clear my calendar.”

“For the entire year?” She was constantly giving speeches at charity functions, working diligently to establish trusts for the needy. “Isn’t a year a bit extreme?”

“Perhaps, but necessary. I want our marriage to work. There’s the baby to think of, any way. I’ll want to take it easy from seven months or so on. And then I’ll need a few months to concentrate on our newborn. After the year is up, though, we will discuss a move to Alagonia—or a way to divide our time between our two countries.”

He had to give her credit. She was quite the negotiator. But it didn’t matter what he agreed to now. She would be fed up with him long before a year had passed. In the end, she would be only too happy for them to lead separate lives. He would make sure of that. “Agreed,” he said.

She folded her hands in front of her. “I want us to be happy, Alex.”

That was never going to happen. Not for him, anyway. “I’ll do my best.”

“And your best is all I can ask of you.” Her eyes were a deeper blue than ever right then, violet-blue. And her lips …

Better not to think about her lips. “Well, all right,” he said. “It’s settled.”

“Yes,” she answered quietly. “We’ll be married. This morning.”

He offered his hand.

She ignored it, surging forward on tiptoe instead, reaching up to take his shoulders, pulling him down and brushing the sweetest, too-swift kiss across his mouth. His senses flooded with the scent of her and her lips were infinitely soft. Warm.

He could have so easily broken free of her delicate hold, could have stepped back. But he didn’t.

He was captured. Disarmed. An all-too-willing prisoner.

Unbidden images flashed through his mind: Lili as a little girl, all dressed up as a fairy princess in a gossamer froth of purple and green, a foil crown on her head, a handmade wand in her hand. She wore wings, wire wings covered in transparent gauze. There was to be a play, wasn’t there, one of those plays she and his sisters were always putting on? He remembered her out by one of the fountains in the palace gardens, all dressed up to play a fairy princess, arms outstretched, turning in circles, giggling with happiness, her golden head tipped back, her face turned up to the sun.

The little-girl Lili faded away.

He saw her on that fateful morning in April, her hair flowing over his hands, her eyes dazed, dreamy. He saw the perfect curve of her hip, the concave temptation of her belly. The golden curls between her long, slim thighs. Her skin that was pale as milk, only faintly stained with pink.

Now, in the final hours of darkness on the morning they would marry, he had to steel himself to keep from reaching out, drawing her close, deepening that light, quick brush of a kiss.

Blessedly, within a few seconds, she let him go. “Good night, Alex,” she told him softly.

And then she turned and left him there, holding his empty glass and feeling bereft when he should have been grateful that she had gone.

Chapter Three

Lili’s wedding gown wasn’t white. It wasn’t even a gown, really. It was a very ladylike dress by Valentino, a tea-length dress of painted silk, dotted with tiny sprays of pale flowers on a ground of purple so dark it might have been midnight blue. Her suede shoes were deep violet, with ankle straps and very high heels. She smoothed her acres of hair into a simple twist and wore crystal Pavé earrings.

At a quarter of nine, she stood before the cheval glass in her palace guest apartment, ready to say her vows.

One of her attendants entered. “His Majesty is here.”

She greeted him in the sitting room. “Papa.”

He hesitated, the way he always did after he’d lost his wild Alagonian temper. He looked so hopeful and abashed. “Forgive me?”

“Always.”

He came to her and enfolded her in his lean arms, holding her close as he used to do so often when she was a child. When he took her by the shoulders and stepped away a little, he gazed at her admiringly. “You are a beauty, just like your mother.” There was sadness in his eyes when he spoke of his lost queen. “She looked forward so eagerly to your wedding day.”

Lili kept her smile in place, though her father’s image blurred a little to her misty eyes. “I feel she is watching over us, blessing us. I do, Papa.”

He touched her cheek, laid his hand lightly against her upswept hair. “She always planned a large, royal wedding for you, a wedding of state, a thing of pomp and glory, at D’Alagon.” D’Alagon was the Alagonian royal palace. It stood proudly on a hill above the capital city and port of Salvia. “I hope you’re not too disappointed, my little love, to have your wedding in secret, to wear a day dress, to marry here in Montedoro rather than at home.”

She leaned close to him and whispered in his ear, “It’s never the wedding, Papa. You know that. It’s the marriage that matters.”

His green eyes turned dark and stormy and a muscle twitched in his square jaw. “He’d better treat you well or I’ll have his head on a pike.”

She straightened his collar. “Papa, stop it. Alex is … troubled. But he’s a good man at heart.” As she said the words, she took comfort from realizing she believed them.

Her father held her close again. “Be happy, my little love.”

She thought of her groom again, of his shadowed eyes, his brusque, harsh ways. To be happy with Alex wasn’t going to be easy. Still, she promised her father, “I will, Papa. Happiness is something one chooses. And I do choose it. Gratefully.”

Lili married Alex at 10:00 a.m. in the St. Catherine of Siena Chapel at the palace. A trusted palace priest performed the ceremony. In attendance were only their immediate family members and several stone-faced, silent members of Alex’s Covert Command Unit. Alex’s men were assigned to guard the entrances and make certain that no one outside saw what was taking place within.

Later, a low-key family luncheon was held in the sovereign’s private apartment. Everyone seemed subdued, Lili thought. Even her usually loquacious father was quiet. Thoughtful.

Lili was content enough with her wedding day. The main thing was that she and Alex had reached a workable agreement in the hours before dawn. She had hopes that they might forge a real union as time went by. He stayed at her side through the meal. His eyes were guarded, his words few.

But then, he’d always been the quiet one, the scholar of the family, as serious and grim as his twin Damien was lighthearted and full of fun. From early childhood, Alex had wanted to be a writer, a journalist. He and Damien got their degrees from America, at Princeton, as their older brothers Max and Rule had done before them. Damien barely got through, but Alex was at the head of his class. He published early, a number of scholarly articles on Montedoran history, on the future of his people in the modern world.

Then he’d decided he wanted to write about Afghanistan. His American friend, Devon Lucas, the one who died while they were prisoners there, had somehow been involved in that decision. The story, at least as it had been told to Lili, was muddy at best. Three weeks into his stay in Afghanistan, Alex and his friend had vanished without a trace. He was gone for so long. They all assumed that both men must have died. But somehow, Alex had survived and made it home. And when he returned, the intense, brooding scholar had been replaced by a hardened warrior.

After the luncheon, Alex went off to work. She wasn’t sure exactly what he did, but the activity occurred in the training yard not far from the palace and no doubt involved much sweating and displays of manly strength. Lili spent a couple of hours with her new sisters-in-law in Rule and Sydney’s apartment. Sydney, as it turned out, was having a baby, too. She and Lili were both due in January. They agreed that the birth of a child was the perfect way to celebrate the New Year.

When Lili left the others, she went to change into a pale blue silk skirt and matching jacket. She met Alex, now dressed in a fine designer suit, in the private office of Her Sovereign Highness. For an hour, they received instructions and coaching from the palace press secretary.

And then, at five that afternoon, they were the star attraction at a press conference in the Blue Room of the State Apartments—the State Apartments being the official wing of the palace where public visits and activities took place. They sat at a long, red-clothed table flanked by her father on one side and Adrienne and Evan on the other. They faced row upon row of chairs filled with press people. There were cameras and microphones and a whole lot of questions.

Lili said what she had been told to say, as did Alex. They sat close together and held hands, as per the palace press secretary’s instructions.

It went as well as it could have been expected to go, Lili thought. As usual, the press people interrupted one another and talked over each other. They were impatient, demanding—and full of suspicion that more had to be going on than an elopement between a prince of Montedoro and Alagonia’s heir presumptive.

Lili concentrated on remaining calm and unruffled. On being gracious and not saying too much. She said how happy she was to be Alex’s wife. And how glad she felt that she and Alexander had finally come forward about their marriage. She was thrilled, she said, that she could now be Alex’s wife for all the world to see. And she was so looking forward to the gala dinner party that night. It would be a chance to celebrate their union with the people they loved the most.

Like all unpleasant occurrences in life, the press conference eventually came to an end. The press people were ushered out through one door. Lily, Alex, her father and Alex’s parents escaped through another.

Dinner, a formal affair to which Lili wore diamonds and a long strapless creation of metallic gold, was at eight in the ornate dining room within the state apartments. Lili’s father and all of the adult members of Alex’s family were there, plus several lords and ladies her father had invited from Alagonia and a number of top Montedoran officials and their wives. The courses were endless, the speeches and toasts more so. Lili smiled and chatted and played the part of the deeply in love, deliriously happy bride she was supposed to be.

She didn’t get any help from Alex. He sat at her side in his gorgeous white dinner jacket, looking distant and severe, saying little.

After an hour and a half of that, she leaned close to him and whispered, “This isn’t fair and you know it. You’re making me do all the work.”

He wrapped his powerful arm around her bare shoulders, causing a hot shiver to course through her, and he whispered back, “Ah, but Lili, you’re so very good at this.” His warm breath stirred the fine curls that had escaped her chignon. “And everyone knows about me, that I loathe any and all ceremonies of state—including endless, boring state dinners like this one. They all simply think I can’t wait to get you alone and out of that gold dress.”

She smiled at him in a way that she hoped looked adoring, and put her lips close to his ear again. “You promised to try.”

And he replied, equally softly, “And I am trying. I am trying so very hard…. ”

It was no use and she knew it. She would get nowhere with him here. Later, when they were alone, she would clarify their agreement and get his word that he would do better in the future. For the moment, she gave a light trill of laughter and eased out from under the stonelike weight of his arm.

The dinner went on until after eleven. Then there was music and brandy in the grand salon.

It was well after two in the morning before her new sisters-in-law spirited her off to Alex’s apartment in a nod to Montedoran wedding-night tradition. They helped her to dress in a long, white, semisheer nightgown just perfect for the virgin she wasn’t. They took down her hair. Laughing and joking, they urged her up into the bed and then pulled the covers over her. One by one, they kissed her and wished her happiness and eternal love.

And then, finally, they left her.

Alex’s brothers and a number of other young fellows brought him along a few minutes later. Lili heard them enter the apartment. They were laughing and singing some silly, bawdy song.

Out there in the main part of the suite, she heard a scuffle, which was part of the tradition. The groom was supposed to put up a fight when the other men helped him out of his clothes. It was all completely unnecessary, as it wasn’t even supposed to be their wedding night, because the story for the world was that they had married two months before.

But the brandy had flowed freely after dinner and the men seemed to have been caught up in the spirit of the evening. The scuffle beyond the door didn’t sound terribly loud or violent, though. Alex, apparently, was playing along.

And then, suddenly enough that she yanked the covers up to her chin and let out a gasp of surprise, the door was thrown open and Alex rolled in, naked as the day he was born.

His brothers and the other men were clustered in the doorway, some of them clearly more than a little bit drunk.

Alex jumped up, looking magnificent, even with all the angry scars that crisscrossed his back, his buttocks, his arms and his powerful thighs. He gave a low, perfect bow. “Good night, gentlemen.”

They all shouted, more or less in unison, “Good night!”

Alex slammed the door. And then he turned and strolled quite casually past the bed where she lay, wide-eyed, the covers up below her nose. He went into the bathroom. The latch clicked shut behind him.

Lili lay very still in the big bed. She heard noises beyond the outer bedroom door, footsteps moving away, men talking softly to each other.

In no time, there was silence.

She and Alex were alone in the suite.

Lili closed her eyes, took slow, even breaths to calm her suddenly racing heart, and waited.

After several minutes, the bathroom door opened. Alex emerged wearing the same robe he’d worn after his shower the night before.

Lili pushed the covers down and pulled herself up against the pillows. “Alex …” It came out breathless and hopeful.

He sent her an unreadable glance as he walked past the bed again. “Good night, Lili.” He pulled the door open, went through and shut it behind him.

Chapter Four

Equally stunned and furious, Lili glared at that shut door.

The hot, impetuous blood she’d inherited from her father spurted dangerously fast through her veins. More than she needed to draw her next breath, she longed to throw back the covers and follow him, to call him all manner of unattractive epithets, to demand that he honor his promises to her, that he at least talk with her….

But Lili was not only a product of her hot-blooded sire. She had her mother’s sweeter, gentler nature to call on, as well. Her mother, of English descent, born Lady Evelyn of Dun-Lyle, never raised her voice. Queen Evelyn had ways other than shouting and carrying on to get the things she wanted from life and from her passionate, stormy-natured husband.

“Never start a fight from a position of weakness, my darling,” Lili’s mother had advised with a Mona Lisa smile. “If you’re going in swinging, make sure you’re standing on firm ground or you’re likely to end up on your ass.”

Lili folded her arms across the front of her virginal nightgown, glared some more at the door Alex had just shut in her face, and admitted to herself that she was definitely in a position of weakness at the moment, that she was in no way on solid ground. If she went storming after him, she’d only come off the fool, the unwanted wife left alone in her marriage bed by her uninterested groom.

She had to give him credit, really. By leaving her alone in his bed, he’d made sex the issue—or rather, his unwillingness to have sex with her, even on their wedding night.

Sex was not the issue, she told herself firmly, although her wounded pride said otherwise. Their marriage, the agreements he’d made concerning their marriage and their innocent baby—those were the real issues. Gently, she laid her hand on her belly. “You, my dearest,” she whispered, “you are what matters most of all.”

All her life, so far, she’d followed blithely wherever her emotions led her. It was a rich and expansive way to live. But now she had the baby—and Alex, too, really—to consider. She needed to be guided more by her lost mother’s example than by that of her passionate father.

Thinking back to the agreements she’d made with her groom the night before, she realized there really had been no mention of sex, or even of the two of them actually sharing a bed. So, to be fair, he had not broken the letter of their bargain—only the spirit of it.

In the morning, however, he was obligated to share breakfast with her. They could talk then.

With a sigh, Lili plumped the pillows and turned off the bedside lamp.

She slept long and deeply.

When she opened her eyes again, it was after ten and the June sunshine streamed in through a space between the heavy, dark window coverings. She sat bolt upright in Alex’s bed and tossed back the covers.

After ten. Breakfast would be late. And her new husband had better be there if he knew what was good for him.

The door to the hallway opened just slightly.

Lili called, “I’m awake. Enter.” The door opened a fraction wider and a small, dark-haired woman in gray entered. Lili yawned and smiled. “Pilar, good morning.”

With a neat little bow and a quietly spoken “ma’am,” Lili’s favorite longtime attendant entered and drew the curtains. Pilar accompanied Lili wherever she traveled. The maid was a treasure—organized, pleasant and helpful. Also ever-available to attend to Lili’s needs was her kinswoman Solange Moltano, her lady-in-waiting. Solange was a bit distant and cool. She and Lili had never really hit it off. Lili traveled without her whenever possible. It hadn’t been that difficult to leave Solange behind this time because her father had spirited her off in the middle of the night.

Pilar said nothing about the absence of Lili’s husband. But Lili caught the look of concern in the maid’s dark eyes for a split second before she hid her true feelings behind a smile. Pilar’s loyalty was absolute, so Lili didn’t worry she might carry tales.

But there were a lot of servants in the Prince’s Palace and news traveled fast between them. The story was supposed to be that she and Alex were madly in love. Who was going to believe the story if it got out that he avoided her bed?

Yes, she and Alex would have a lot to talk about that morning.

She told Pilar what she wanted to wear and then padded barefoot into the bathroom. Within a half hour, she was dressed and ready for the day—ready to have a long talk with Alex about the promises he wasn’t keeping.

But then she emerged from the master bedroom to find that her groom was not in the apartment. There were several rooms. She checked them all. No sign of him. In the two other bedrooms, the beds were already made up—or had not been slept in at all.

The apartment had its own small galley-style kitchen so that the prince who lived there might have his meals prepared separately if he wished. In the kitchen, she found a large, muscular man with a bushy red beard. He was stirring something in a big yellow bowl. He introduced himself as Rufus Thermopolis. He said he loved to cook and would be happy to prepare anything Her Highness might desire.

Lili thanked him and asked for eggs and toast, which she ate at the small table right there in the kitchen. Why stand on ceremony with her husband’s man? And why eat alone in the apartment dining room when she could sit here in the cozy little kitchen and smell the lemon cake Rufus had just popped into the oven?

She debated whether to ask Rufus where her husband might have wandered off to. It was probably safe to be frank with the red-haired giant. Alex wouldn’t have anyone in his quarters he didn’t trust absolutely—well, other than Lili herself, of course. She had no doubt her new husband didn’t trust her one bit.

He also had no compunction about breaking his word to her. At the very least, he could have left her some explanation for his absence. Lili sipped her breakfast tea and admitted that she had to face reality here. Alex had crossed the line between pushing the boundaries of their agreement and breaking faith with her outright.

It was all right, she told herself, although it most definitely wasn’t. He couldn’t avoid her forever. Eventually, he would have to deal with her.

But Alex didn’t deal with her. He ignored her. Actively. He made no pretense of keeping the agreements he’d made with her. All day, he was nowhere to be found. He didn’t return to the apartment until long after dinner. She was waiting up for him in the sitting room.

He appeared dressed in black trousers and a casual knit shirt and her heart did something nerve-racking at the sight of him. Too bad his eyes were as haunted and distant as ever. She had no idea where he’d been all day and well into the evening.

She rose when he came in. “Alex.” With a supreme effort of will, she kept her voice calm and even. “I’m very angry with you. This is all wrong. You haven’t kept your word to me.”

He actually had the stones to shrug. And he said, with nerve-flaying reasonableness, “I needed for you to marry me, for the child’s sake.”

Her throat clutched. She longed to clear it with a nice, long, loud shriek of outrage. But she didn’t. She remembered her mother, who never raised her voice, and her unborn baby, who deserved better from her. “So you lied to me.” She gave him back his damnable reason, and then some. “Straight to my face, without a qualm. You lied to me. You made promises you had no intention of keeping.”

“Spare me the drama, Lili.”

Her adrenaline spiked. She sucked in a calming breath and refused to give in to it. “Drama?”

“Drama, yes. Your stock in trade.”

“I beg your pardon. I’m not being dramatic. I have not raised my voice. I have not picked up a single object to hurl at that obstinate head of yours. I am simply asking you, why did you lie to me?”

“I just told you why I lied. You left me no choice.”

“Don’t you talk to me about choices, Alexander. You had a choice. You could have been truthful. You could have told me honestly that you had no intention of ever making any effort to be a real husband to me.”

“And have you do something ridiculous, like run away or stage a big scene where you swore publicly never to marry me? No. There needed to be a marriage, and with as little fuss as possible. We owed that to the child. If you’re not happy with the way things are, so be it. Divorce me.”

She gasped and sputtered. “Oh, you ought to be ashamed.”

“I’m not ashamed. Not in the least. And as far as the divorce goes, consider the child, won’t you? Wait until he’s born, so his legitimacy will never be at issue.”

“You know very well I don’t believe in divorce. Marriage is forever.”

“What can I say? So then, get used to the way things are. Go about living your life and I will go about living mine.”

Lili shook her head. “I do not believe this. The way you manipulated me, that was so … clever,” she said in disgust. “The way you bargained with me, the way you refused to read books on love and marriage or to see a counselor or a priest …”

He arched a brow. “I had to make you believe I actually intended to do what you asked of me, to try, as you put it. If I’d given you an easy agreement to everything you demanded, you would only have become suspicious. You’d have guessed that I didn’t have any intention of doing what I agreed to do.”