Lucy’s heart soared. And though she was still terrified at the idea of being a royal, she loved him enough to try. To stand by him every day, through everything.
“I’ll never love anyone but you, either,” she vowed.
Suddenly, Christopher leaned down and captured her mouth in an explosive kiss.
Lucy gasped as he lifted her bodily from her seat and planted her in his lap.
His tongue danced with her own and she twined her hands around his neck, pulling herself closer still, never wanting to let go.
Eventually, however, he let her up for air.
She opened her eyes to stare dazedly up into his rather smug face.
“Are you ready to make your choice then?” he asked with a grin, pressing his forehead against her own.
“My choice?” she repeated, her brain still muddled from his kiss.
“The dungeon or marriage,” he laughed. “I may be a slave to you, my darling, but I’m still the ruler of Aldonia with access to a great many dungeons.”
Lucy couldn’t contain her answering smile.
“You didn’t send me to the dungeon when you caught me stealing your flowers,” she said. “So, I’m not sure that threat is all that real.”
“True,” he answered with faux seriousness. “But this time your crime is far more serious. Stealing my heart is definitely punishable by time in the dungeon. Or as my wife. So what’s it to be?”
Lucy pretended to think it over until his growl of protest against her neck had her laughing and squirming as desire quickly ignited inside her.
“I suppose since you stole my heart, I’ll just have to marry you,” she sighed.
“I think that’s very wise,” he whispered against her lips before he kissed her again.
“You know—” he lifted his head to smile down at her as his hands began a slow, torturous exploration of her body “—When you first arrived, Jacob told me that love isn’t something you can control. He said it’s not something you choose. It’s something that happens to you.”
Lucy’s heart stopped at the look of tenderness that lit Christopher’s eyes as they ran over her face.
“And I realise he was right,” he said softly. “You happened to me, Lucy. I didn’t choose it, I tried to fight it. But it’s just like he said. It happens to you. And you happened to me.”
Inside the palace, the ball went on without the Crown Prince of Aldonia, and more than one lady was bitterly disappointed that there was to be no announcement made that night.
But outside in their own secret garden, in their own secret world, Lucy and Christopher were oblivious to it all.
Epilogue
“I have never seen a spectacle like that in my life.” Lucy turned to face her husband as he locked the door then moved swiftly toward her.
Before she could ask what he was doing, he lifted her clean off her feet and kissed her with an urgency that no one would believe the stoic, serious royal was capable of.
Lucy loved that she was one of the few people who got to see the man behind the ruler.
Loved that all of that passion was reserved just for her.
“It was interminable,” he growled when he let her catch her breath.
“Hmm. And it was also your fault. You’re the royal, remember?” she quipped, albeit it breathlessly.
“And so are you now, my love.” He grinned. “Princess Lucia. It has a nice ring to it.”
“I thought you said Lucia sounded too stuffy for me.”
“It does,” he answered, slowly lowering her to her feet. “Out there you can be Princess Lucia. One day, hopefully not too soon, Queen Lucia. But in here, with me, you’ll just be my Lucy.”
Her heart flipped at the tender words.
She couldn’t believe that the day had finally come.
Having spent the best part of a year training to be a princess, learning the many, many dos and don’ts of the role, she’d finally gotten to walk down the aisle to marry her true love.
And it had been perfect. Just like a fairy tale.
Her father had even shown a slight interest in the festivities. As much as he was capable of, in any case.
He hadn’t been overly upset at the idea of his youngest daughter living so far away from him. And though Lucy had been somewhat hurt by that, she was resigned to it. Besides, the royal family had been so welcoming and loving that she truly didn’t feel the loss of her father as much as she might have.
The wedding had been attended by hundreds of people, as was to be expected.
And Christopher had warned her about the crowds of Aldonians who would be outside the palace waiting to greet their new princess.
The entire country was celebrating the wedding of their beloved Crown Prince, and luckily they had welcomed Lucy, just as Lydia had promised her they would.
Lydia had been a treasure trove of information for Lucy, having been through something similar but on a smaller scale when she’d married Prince Alexander. And though she’d had her hands full with Prince Frederick and her baby Princess Aria, she’d been a good friend and confidante. Lydia had announced her pregnancy with Aria not long after Christopher had announced his engagement to Lucia, and Aldonia had been abuzz for months about two such joyous royal occasions.
Harriet had been a wonderful friend, too. And Lucy positively doted on Harriet’s and Jacob’s daughter. With Freddie and Aria living in England with Alex and Lydia, Princess Sofia was well and truly spoiled not only by her grandparents the king and queen, but by Lucy and even Christopher.
The children hadn’t attended the wedding but had made an appearance at the ball for a little while.
And when the nannies had arrived to take them away, Christopher had laughingly suggested that they take the opportunity to leave as well.
But they’d had to stay, of course. Until Christopher had whispered that enough time had been spent with well-wishers and insisted on getting his bride alone.
Which was why they were here, blissfully alone, while guests from all over Europe continued to dance and make merry in the ballroom on the other side of the palace.
Christopher captured Lucy’s lips once more, scattering her thoughts and igniting her body in one fell swoop.
He ran his hands up the heavy satin of her wedding gown, cursing softly as he reached the row of tiny buttons.
“Did you design this thing just to torture me?” he rasped, bending his head to place tiny, maddening kisses along her jaw.
“I didn’t design it at all,” she managed to choke out. “You can thank your sister and sister-in-law for that. And my sister, for that matter.”
“Remind me to open up that dungeon we spoke of last year,” he laughed. “Did you pick such a complicated gown for Alice’s marriage to Travers?”
“I wouldn’t be that cruel,” she sniffed, earning a chuckle from her husband. Husband! How wonderful that sounded.
“Christopher.” Lucy clasped his face to bring it level with hers.
“Yes, love?” he asked, and she shivered at the blatant need in his eyes.
“You’re very wealthy, are you not? Being the Crown Prince of Aldonia and all?”
He frowned at the question.
“Yes, I am,” he answered.
“So then, it wouldn’t matter overly much if one little gown, even an expensive one like this, happened to get destr—”
She didn’t even get a chance to finish the question before he’d ripped open the buttons on the dress, sending them scattering everywhere.
“I knew there was a reason I loved you so much.” He winked.
“Thievery and all?” She quirked a brow, even as her heart hammered almost out of her chest.
The gown fell to the floor, and Christopher bent to lift her off her feet and carry her to the extravagant fourposter in the middle of the room.
“I was always secretly impressed with those light fingers of yours,” he whispered as he laid her down and moved to loom over her. “Now, why don’t we find out wh
at else they can do?”
The End.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Redeeming A Royal! I hope you enjoyed Christopher and Lucy’s journey to happily ever after. If you enjoyed this story please leave a quick review on your favorite book retailer. Reviews help other readers determine to try my books or not, and I love reading what you thought! If you want to learn about my new releases, or when my books go on sale, please follow me on BookBub, or subscribe to my newsletter.
Keep reading for a special preview of The Monster of Montvale Hall, the first book in my Saints & Sinners series!
The Monster of Montvale Hall
Nadine Millard
Prologue
“Stop running so fast. I can’t keep up.”
Robert Forsythe ignored the cries of his little sister, choosing instead to increase his pace as he ran toward the river.
“Ignore her,” he yelled to his fellow escapees, his three best friends from Eton. Each of them the son and heir of a powerful Peer. Each of them determined to enjoy this precious time outside where they didn’t have to be students, didn’t have to be heirs to powerful titles, and didn’t have to learn anything of their future responsibilities.
While staying at Robert’s home for the Easter break from school, they all wanted to just be children. Just for a little while. Even though they were on the unsteady cusp of manhood.
And Robert didn’t want Gina ruining it for them, slowing them down. It was irritating in the extreme to have his stubborn little sister following them around. James’s brother, Thomas, was only a year or two older than Gina and he hadn’t come after them. He’d stayed behind, like he’d been told to do. Gina would never do as she was told!
It had been storming for days, wind and rain lashing against the window panes of Montvale Hall, making it impossible for the boys to get outside.
The young marquess had never been one for sitting still and had been driven mad being cooped up inside. Though nobody could ever say that the Hall, the seat of his father, The Duke of Montvale, was small enough to feel cooped up in.
Still, there was only so much sport to be had in the cavernous halls filled with irreplaceable family heirlooms.
Even today, the winds were still a force to be reckoned with. But since it was dry, the duchess had agreed to let the boys out for a little while.
“Stay away from the river,” she had warned, her tone brooking no argument.
The river current was, according to Mama, dangerously strong after inclement weather and so, of course, that was the first place a group of fourteen-year-old boys would head.
Growing up rarely hearing the word “no” lent them all a false sense of confidence in their own sensibilities.
“Bobby, please.”
Robert swung back to face his sister, his grey eyes flashing with the frustration that only an older brother could feel.
“Gina, get back to the house,” he yelled over the howling of the wind.
The sky had darkened ominously even as they’d tramped across the grounds of the estate.
“Robert, perhaps we should go back.”
Robert turned to face his closest friend, the future Marquess of Avondale, with a grimace.
“Don’t be silly, James. We’ve been stuck indoors for days.”
“The weather is turning quite badly, and Gina shouldn’t be out in this.”
Robert’s temper flared. No, Gina shouldn’t be out in this. But Gina wasn’t supposed to be out in this.
“The others are gone ahead,” Robert said mutinously, pointing to where his two other close friends, Simon and Nicholas, could be seen headed toward the brook.
James looked hesitantly from Gina to their friends.
“You go ahead,” he said finally. “I’ll walk Gina back to the Hall and come back to you.”
Robert felt an immediate swell of anger. It was so typical of James, the golden boy. Always doing what he should. Always doing what was right.
Robert hated that James made him feel lacking or not good enough.
“No, she’s my baby sister,” he bit out, resentful of the duty that fell to him.
“I’m not a baby,” Gina shouted mutinously, and Robert had to smile in spite of himself.
In truth, even though he felt like he could happily ring her neck at times, he doted on Gina and had his mood not been so foul from being stuck inside for days at a time, he likely would have indulged her from the start.
“Gina, if I let you come, you must stay by my side. Do you understand?”
His sister’s light grey eyes, so like his own, lit up at once, and he allowed himself a brief smile.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” James insisted.
Robert’s stomach flip-flopped with uneasiness. Mama would have his head if she found out he’d allowed Gina to accompany them to the river—they weren’t supposed to be headed there, either.
Nonetheless, he had always looked after her, and he would do so now.
“Come, James, by the time we get her back to the Hall the others will be wanting to return. We can watch her well enough.”
James hesitated again, annoying Robert once more.
In truth, he and James were the best of friends with only months between them in age. But James was just so good all the time. Mama often joked that Robert was the anti-James, though Robert wasn’t sure how much she was actually joking.
Robert’s mother was James’s godmother. And when James’s mother had died in childbirth whilst the boys were toddlers, the Duchess of Montvale had become a sort of surrogate aunt to James, and he spent more time at Montvale than at his own future seat, Avondale Abbey.
Fathers, the boys had been informed, were not cut out to look after children.
Finally, after what seemed an age, James relented.
“Fine, come along then Gina.” James smiled indulgently at his little honorary cousin. “If you get soaked to the bone or catch a chill, we shall just blame Robert.”
Gina clapped her hands excitedly and then dashed off after Simon and Nicholas.
“She will be a handful when she’s older,” Robert said, not entirely sure what that meant, but he’d heard his father say so enough times to think it must be true.
“Yes, and she will also be your problem,” James said with a laugh.
The two boys raced off after Gina, pushing, shoving, and jostling each other as they went.
They reached the bridge over the river just as the first, fat raindrops began to fall.
“Blast it all,” Robert said.
“We must go back,” Simon called from where he sat on the bridge with Nicholas, their legs dangling carelessly over the river.
The water was rushing furiously under the bridge, as high as Robert had ever seen it, and that feeling of uneasiness grew tenfold.
All of a sudden, it really didn’t feel like a good idea to have Gina here.
“Yes,” he agreed swiftly. “We must. Come, Gina.”
Robert darted his glance around but couldn’t see his sister.
The uneasiness grew instantly to foreboding.
“Gina!” he called, and James, Nicholas, and Simon began looking around, too.
“Gina, where are you?” he called.
“I’m here, you goose.”
Robert whipped around, and an immediate fear clawed at him.
Gina was sitting atop a low branch of one of the many trees that bordered the river.
Robert had often stood on the same branch and jumped into the cool water of the river on hot summer days.
But it was far too dangerous for seven-year-old Gina to be on it, especially alone. And especially in the middle of a storm.
“Gina, come down here at once,” he shouted, dashing over to the tree. “It isn’t safe.”
His impertinent little sister merely rolled her eyes.
“You always do it,” she argued stubbornly.
“I am older,” Robert said. “And the river is dangerous today.�
�
“You sound just like Mama,” Gina laughed.
“If you don’t come down this instant, I will come up there and fetch you myself,” Robert warned.
“Oh, Bobby—” How could a little girl sound so long-suffering? “You are so—”
It was a second, a split second. But long enough for Robert to know that something was terribly, terribly wrong.
There was a distinctive snap, and Gina’s eyes widened with fear.
In the next moment, Robert watched the branch give, and though it took mere seconds, it felt like a lifetime.
There was only a short, terrified scream before the branch and his little sister crashed into the river below.
“Gina!”
One of the boys roared. It could have been him. It could have been James.
And Robert, God help him, hesitated.
Fear had him frozen in shock.
Only James brushing past brought him out of it.
His eyes couldn’t look away. The branch bobbed to the surface and then seconds later, his sister’s blonde curls appeared.
Finally, his brain kicked into action and he darted forward.
“What do we do?” Nicholas called in panic.
He heard James shout something, but he didn’t pay any attention.
Without conscious thought, Robert ran to the bank and dove into the river.
Somewhere outside his bubble of terror, he knew the others were shouting his name.
The moment he hit the icy, tumultuous water, all the air left his body with the shock, and immediately the current gripped him.
It was so strong. Too strong.
Frantically, he looked around, even as the current tried to drag him under, to pull him away.
All he needed was just a glimpse of her.
There!
A flash of blonde against the greys and blacks surrounding him caught his eye.
Using all of his strength, Robert swam toward that flash of colour.
He prayed to God with all his might that he get there in time.
Redeeming A Royal (The Royals of Aldonia Book 3) Page 17