by Peak, Renna
Clara
The silence in the air is so thick that my own heartbeat in my ears sounds deafening. For a long, awkward moment, everyone just stares at the woman in front of us, hardly believing what’s happening.
It’s the first time I’ve seen Sara up close. She’s as pretty as I feared she would be, if in a different way—her eyes are large and bright, giving her a surprisingly innocent appearance, and she has the kind of stately beauty and grace that won’t fade with age. It’s easy to see how a man might fall in love with a woman like that.
She glances around the crowd, realizing that all eyes are on her, and then takes another step forward, her chin confidently high.
“Nicholas, darling,” she says, “You’ve made your point. Hasn’t this charade gone on long enough?”
I manage to tear my eyes away from her to look at Nick. He’s standing again, and his jaw is rigid, his eyes cold as he stares down the woman in front of us. If I had any lingering doubts that he still nurtured feelings for Sara, that look would tell me everything I needed to rest easy.
But Sara isn’t done.
“I know why you’re doing this,” she says to him. Her eyes flick briefly to me, then away again. “We all do. You hardly know this woman. And she’s an American. This last week alone has shown you exactly the sort of drama she’ll bring into your life. Is that truly what you want?”
Nick manages to unhinge his jaw. “Are you suggesting that you know better than I do what I want?”
“I know what you need,” she says. “And I daresay your family does, too.” She glances meaningfully toward the king and queen, who are watching this entire scene unfold with perfectly regal expressions. “Do you really think your father will consent to this? Really, Nicholas. Let’s stop with the games. I know you better than anyone, and I know you’re doing this for the wrong reasons. If no one else will say it, then I will.”
The cold in Nick’s eyes has hardened to pure ice. “You don’t know me at all, Sara. And I ask you to leave, before you embarrass yourself any further.”
She laughs a light, tinkling laugh. “Me? Embarrass myself? Nicholas, darling, I’m not the one making a fool of myself. I’m just the only one who’s willing to say so.”
Okay, I seriously hate this woman. I grab Nick’s arm, squeezing it for support. I want nothing more than to give this woman a piece of my mind, but this isn’t my fight.
And Nick seems perfectly able to fight on his own.
“Leave,” he says firmly. “You aren’t welcome at my wedding.”
She laughs again. “Oh, Nicholas—”
“Leave.”
She draws herself up. “This isn’t your party, Nicholas. I’m welcome here as long as—”
“We want you to leave, too.” Caspar’s voice cuts her off. “You’re no longer welcome at Wintervale, my lady.”
For the first time, Sara looks uncertain. “If this is some sort of jest—”
“I assure you, it’s not,” Caspar says. “We won’t tolerate you insulting our royal cousin.”
Sara’s eyes flit about the crowd. She looks nervous, even if she’s still managing to hold her smile. Finally, her gaze lands on the king. “Your Majesty, I know you understand. You don’t want your son to marry this woman. Is it a crime for me to say what everyone is already thinking? I’m objecting to this ridiculous wedding for his own good.”
The king is silent for a long moment, and I’m glad I’m not the target of that intimidating gaze. I’d probably wither.
Finally, he says, “What my son does is none of your affair, my lady. And my opinion on the matter is none of your affair, either. Your hosts have already asked you to leave. Now, I suggest you do as they say and behave in a manner befitting of your title.”
Sara looks properly shocked by being told off like that. She turns, her gaze once again scanning the crowd, as if hoping that someone will come to her defense. She finally lands on Nick again.
“Nicholas, darling—”
“I’m not your darling.” His voice is hard. “Leave this place, or I’ll escort you off the property personally. You aren’t welcome here. Or in my life.”
Her chin rises another inch. “You’re making a terrible mistake. And everyone knows it. If you want to turn me into a villain for saying so, then so be it.”
Nick pulls me closer to him. “Clara isn’t a mistake. In fact, she’s the exact opposite. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I didn’t truly know what love was until I met her. And I won’t let anyone or anything tear her away from me. Ever.”
Sara looks as if she means to argue, but at that moment several guards break through the crowd, and at a gesture from Caspar, clutch Sara by the arms.
“Let me go!” she says. “This is abhorrent behavior!”
“You’ve already been ordered to leave Wintervale,” Caspar says. “And your refusal has made it necessary to use force. You will be escorted off the estate.”
“But!” Sara looks at the king again. “Your Majesty! You can’t let them treat me like this!”
The king doesn’t even blink. “They are perfectly within the law to remove you from Wintervale.”
Sara shrieks and kicks her legs as the guards try to pull her back through the crowd.
“You’ll regret this, Nick!” she yells. “You deserve better than that American whore!” Her shouts fade as she’s dragged through the crowd.
And then the heavy silence falls again.
For a long moment, no one speaks. And then Nick breaks the tension.
“Nothing will stop me from marrying you, Clara,” he says, turning back to me. His voice isn’t loud, but I know everyone in the crowd is straining to hear it. “I mean it—nothing and no one. If you’ll have me, of course.” He grips my hands and gets down on one knee again. “Marry me. I will fight until my last breath to be your husband. To spend the rest of my life by your side. You are the only one for me. The one who makes me feel complete and whole for the first time in my life.”
I only hesitate for the briefest of seconds, just long enough to quickly process everything that’s just happened. I already know my answer.
“Yes!” I exclaim, practically throwing myself into his arms. Then I jerk back, horrified with myself. “Did I hurt you? Oh my God, Nick, if I hurt you—”
“I’m fine,” he says, laughing. “Better than fine.” He looks at his father. “Well? Will you do it?”
The king’s mouth twitches. “This is not the appropriate venue for such—”
“Oh, Edmund, surely we can make an exception,” the queen says, taking her husband’s arm. “After everything these two have been through.”
His Majesty frowns, but I can already see him wavering. “It isn’t proper—”
“We can have a proper wedding later,” I pipe in. “Or at least an official celebration. My parents will kill me if they don’t get to attend.” I look back at Nick. “But I don’t want to spend another moment without being Nick’s wife.”
His eyes are intent on mine. “And I don’t want to spend another moment without being your husband.”
“You don’t truly agree with that woman, do you?” the queen asks her husband. “You can’t honestly mean to deny your son his happiness.”
Beside us, the king sighs. “Very well. Far be it from me to insist upon propriety.” His gaze finds me. “You still have a lot to prove, Ms. Weaver. But I believe that you truly love my son.”
“I’ll prove myself to you, Your Majesty,” I tell him, smiling. “I won’t rest until I do.”
“And she means it,” Nick adds.
I hear the queen laugh softly, and I turn back to Nick. He’s smiling at me, his gaze nearly overflowing with love, and my heart is beating so fast I’m having trouble taking a breath.
The king steps forward, taking one of each of our hands. Our other hands are still interlocked. Around us, the crowd falls closer. Nick’s brothers and cousins form a barrier, keeping everyone else at a reasonable distance back.
His Majesty clears his throat. “Do you, Nicholas, Prince of Montovia, take this woman to be your beloved wife? And do you promise to protect her, serve her, and love her, to stand by her side through challenges and strife, and to uphold this union with honor and dignity for as long as you shall live?”
Nick squeezes my fingers. “I do.”
“And do you, Ms. Clara Weaver, take this man to be your beloved husband? Do you promise to protect him, serve him, and love him, to stand by his side through challenges and strife, and to uphold this union with honor and dignity for as long as you shall live?”
My heart feels like a hummingbird trapped in my chest. “I do.”
“Then, as King of Montovia, it is my right and privilege to declare you married under the laws of this country, bound forever by promise and decree, husband and wife through the union of matrimony.”
The moment the final word is out of his mouth, Nick pulls me toward him, capturing my mouth in a deep, passionate kiss. My arms loop around his neck as I kiss him back. The cheers around us must be deafening if I can hear them through the blissful haze of my happiness. I never want this kiss to end.
But then a loud, masculine shriek cuts through the air.
Nick and I pull away from each other. Around us, murmurs are moving through the crowd. Everyone is looking around in confusion and worry.
The shriek comes again, followed by a loud string of curses. It’s coming from inside the manor.
“Is that…” Casper is frowning. “That sounds like Father.”
“It does,” Benedict agrees.
Right on cue, a window above us swings open, and Lord Frederick leans out. Even in the dim light, we can all see that his head and shoulders are covered in a thick, goopy substance.
The bottom drops out of my stomach. I’d completely forgotten about setting up that particular prank…
“Caspar!” Lord Frederick roars. “Xavier! Benedict! Come here! NOW!”
Amused titters rise from the crowd, and Caspar, Xavier, and Benedict hurry back toward the manor. They might not have set up this prank, but they aren’t exactly innocent in this, either.
Nick, meanwhile, is looking at me, his eyebrow raised.
“Do you know anything about this, Clara?”
“Who, me?” I bat my eyes innocently at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He chuckles. “Clara…”
“Okay, I admit it. That was one of mine. And, uh…what we just saw wasn’t even the half of it.”
He laughs. “We’re going to be banned from Wintervale for life, aren’t we?”
“Maybe.” I smile up at him, my heart full of love. “Either way, now’s our chance to make our escape. So I suggest we take it.”
His grin lights up my whole world, and he interlocks his fingers with mine. “Anything for you, my love. And I hear Montana’s beautiful this time of year…”
Nicholas
Three months later
Something about the air in Montana is different, I think, taking in a deep breath. Not cleaner, but definitely sweeter.
Married life here with Clara isn’t so much different than it was when we lived here before. She still hasn’t learned to cook, but I find I don’t mind eating spaghetti or grilled cheese for every meal. Not when I have her in my arms every night.
“She’s a lovely girl,” my mother says, looking at me over her cup of tea from her seat across from me.
I give her a single nod, looking toward the barn where Clara has just led Pomegranate. Sophia follows behind her with Prince, and I watch as the two of them mount the horses before waving in our direction.
“You’re certain this is what you want? I’m sure your father could arrange for you to have a parcel of land in Montovia. Perhaps even somewhere in Wintervale, now that things have settled down and Lord Frederick has stopped with the talk of secession.” My mother gives me a hopeful look.
“No, I’m sure this is what I want.” I watch as my wife and sister ride out across my land.
My land. My wife. I can’t help but smile.
“It was a lovely ceremony,” my mother says. “I’m so glad everyone was able to attend.”
I nod at her again. It was a lovely ceremony. Though Clara and I were officially made husband and wife months ago at the ball in Wintervale, the marriage celebration—reception, Clara called it—was only this past weekend. And though Clara’s family wasn’t entirely thrilled with the arrangement, everything seemed to go smoothly enough. Her mother seems especially thrilled that she’s now a member of a royal family, even if it is only by marriage.
And with Adam safely imprisoned in a Montovian jail, finally getting the help he needs, I have nothing to worry about as far as he is concerned. Sara also seems to have patched things up with her husband—she even sent us a note of congratulations for our celebration last weekend.
“You must come and visit often,” my mother says. “And if Clara should find herself with child…”
“We’re going to wait to add to the family, Mother. We’ll give you a chance to enjoy your current grandchildren before we add any more.”
My mother grins, her smile so bright it brings a smile to my own lips. “You have no idea how happy I am for you, Nicholas. For all of my children. In two short years, all of you have managed to find the loves of your lives.” Her smile widens. “Nothing could make me happier.”
My heart swells—I really don’t have the words to describe the feeling inside me. “I never thought I’d find love again. Not really.” I look out over my land, wishing Clara were here.
Perhaps she senses my desire, as she and my sister come back into view, riding back toward the house.
Clara waves at me as she nears, and my heart fills again. I look over at my mother. “Thank you.”
She tilts her head. “Why in heaven’s name would you be thanking me?”
“For trusting me. For believing that I found the love of my life.”
She says nothing as she covers my hand with hers.
“Because I have,” I say as I watch my wife come back toward the house. “And I can’t imagine loving anyone more.”
Acknowledgments
A very special thank you to the following members of the Ember Casey Readers Lounge for suggesting names that were featured in the Royal Escape series: Natalie Ptak Phoenix, Jerrilynn Noggle Kallen, Tere Henriquez, Raeann Whitney, Glenda Cannon Pamplin, Stephanie Opdahl, and Kristen Marble Spate. Your contributions and enthusiasm made this series so much fun to write!
Royal Escape
Royal Escape unfolds over the course of six novels. Each follows the continuing story of Prince Nicholas of Montovia and Clara Weaver. Royal Escape is the fifth of the Royal Heartbreakers Series.
Royal Heartbreaker (Leopold) is available here.
Royal Mistake (Andrew) is available here.
Royal Arrangement (William) is available here.
Royal Disaster (Sophia) is available here.
To ensure you don’t miss the next installment, sign up for the Royal Heartbreakers Newsletter. You’ll also receive updates from Montovia, character interviews, free books and other great surprises.
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Also by Renna Peak
The MISTAKEN Series (Book One is free!)
ALL I WANT (Book One is free!)
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