Reunited with Her Surgeon Prince

by Marion Lennox

  Marc paused, overwhelmed by what he had to tell her.

  Ellie rose and opened the sideboard. She poured two whiskies. Large ones.

  ‘I don’t drink this except in emergencies,’ she told him. ‘I suspect I need it now. Maybe we both do. So tell me.’

  He took the glass and drained it, and then he looked at Ellie.

  He could still see the girl he’d loved behind those tired eyes. He could still see the laughter, the fun... But he could also see the care and the responsibility.

  When their world had crashed, she’d looked at things dispassionately.

  ‘You’re needed where you are and so am I. Our marriage was a fantasy and we need to put it behind us. Good luck, Marc, and goodbye.’

  He watched her shoulders brace yet again, and he hated it.

  ‘Ellie, I’m now the Crown Prince of Falkenstein and Felix is my son. It takes a year to formalise a divorce in Australia so Felix was born while we were still legally married. This may mess with all our lives in ways I can’t imagine but, once I’m crowned, Felix will take my current title. Your son—our son—will be the new Crown Prince of Falkenstein.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SILENCE. IT STRETCHED on and on, deep and threatening. The shock seemed endless.

  Marc thought of his stupefaction when he’d first learned of this, and he thought it must be the same or even greater for Ellie.

  One of the reasons he’d loved her was her courage. How much courage did she need to face this?

  ‘I don’t think I like this,’ she whispered at last. And then she looked up and met his gaze head-on. ‘That’s an understatement. It terrifies me.’

  ‘I remember when you first found out I was a prince.’

  ‘That terrified me too.’

  ‘Enough to end our marriage.’

  ‘Is that fair?’ she snapped. ‘We were in a bubble and suddenly everything burst. The war in your country, finding out you were a prince, Mum’s illness... Why didn’t you even tell me you were a prince?’

  ‘Because I didn’t feel like one. I never did.’ He’d tried to explain it then, but she’d been too angry, too confused. And he understood. Their short marriage had seemed idyllic, but suddenly there were images of war. The international spotlight shining on a country that had almost escaped the notice of the world in general had been bad enough, but superimposed on that was the news that Ellie’s mother was fighting for her life.

  In the face of her mother’s illness she’d turned to him for support, and he’d had to point to the headlines and tell her he had to go home.

  And tell her why. That he was indeed a prince. That his father was trying to hold the country’s health service together. That the need was desperate.

  He looked at her now and saw the same look of betrayal that he’d seen then. She’d understood why he’d needed to return to his country. What she hadn’t forgiven was that he hadn’t told her he was royal.

  ‘The title of Prince remains for two generations,’ he told her now. ‘So yes, I’m a prince. My father used his title only because it gave him authority as head of the country’s health system, but as a kid it only gave me grief. I dropped it.’

  ‘But you can’t lose it altogether.’

  ‘I can’t,’ he told her. ‘Not officially. And now neither can Felix. Because he’s third generation, he’s not had a title up until now, but Ellie, I’m sorry, that’s changed. He’s the new Crown Prince.’

  ‘He’s a little boy,’ she said, sounding desperate. ‘He’s a country kid who’s just coming out of a childhood marred by operation after operation for feet that don’t work.’ She closed her eyes and he saw a wash of anguish. ‘You can’t take him, Marc. I won’t let you.’

  ‘Is that why you think I’m here? To take my son? I won’t take him from you.’

  But, even as he said it, the words slammed home a truth impossible to ignore. My son. He had a son.

  A kid with courage and humour and intelligence. A son to be proud of.

  Like Ellie... She’d been a wife to be proud of.

  ‘So where does that leave us?’ she demanded. ‘Am I to hide him? Is that what you want? What, Marc? What demands does your country make of you—of us—now?’

  ‘That’s not fair.’

  ‘It is fair,’ she flashed. ‘An accident of birth made you Prince of a country I’d never heard of and then a stupid war that achieved nothing killed our marriage. And now the death of a man you say you had nothing to do with has catapulted you into a role I don’t understand. Do you even want it?’

  And there was the Ellie he knew. He remembered that about her, that she always saw behind the façade. He’d come to Australia fresh out of medical school, determined to have fun, sow a few wild oats before he settled down to the grim struggle he knew was facing him. But as soon as he’d met Ellie he’d forgotten the wild oats. She seemed to see inside his soul.

  He’d had more fun with her than he’d ever dreamed of, but it had been gentle fun, dictated by her need to study. It had been working through her texts with her. It had been swimming at Bondi, ducking each other in the waves, slapping on not enough sunscreen. It had been massaging each other with after-sun lotion, slowly, languorously.

  It had been waking in each other’s arms.

  Now, looking across the table at her, he remembered every moment, and the rush of sudden desire almost blindsided him. Ellie. His wife.

  ‘Don’t,’ she said and he knew she’d seen it too. ‘Don’t even think about going there. Get back to what matters. You’ve inherited the throne. You don’t want it? Why can’t you abdicate?’

  ‘Because my grandfather propelled us into a war that almost destroyed my country.’ Somehow he hauled himself back to the issue at hand. He’d had enough time on the long flight out here to accept the inevitable. ‘Because another cousin will inherit if I don’t accept, and Ranald’s a battle-hungry fool. There’s always been conflict on our eastern border and Ranald would see himself as a general, ordering our people to fight.’

  ‘But now Felix stands between Ranald and the throne?’

  ‘I can abdicate for myself but not for Felix. If I abdicate, Ranald will be Prince Regent. He would have a say in how Felix is raised. He’d be in control.’

  ‘I get to say how Felix is raised.’

  There were more things that had to be said. ‘Ellie, succession’s vital for the stability of the country and the region. In the circumstances, Ranald could apply to an international court for Felix’s custody. He might even win.’

  There was an angry gasp. She was thinking fast. He could see it.

  And she saw the next chasm.

  ‘If Ranald could apply for custody and win, that means you could demand it too.’

  ‘I suspect so.’ He couldn’t deny it.

  ‘But you don’t want him. You never wanted him!’

  This was beyond impossible. Did he want his son? He thought again of Ellie’s long-ago message telling him of Felix’s birth. The pain had been unbearable—was still unbearable. Ellie and his baby were all he’d ever wanted and he’d had to turn his back.

  But there was no turning his back on this situation. Did the stability of the country demand he tear his son from his mother? He needed to talk to the lawyers back at home, figure out the implications.

  He needed to find a nice, peaceful operating theatre and do something tricky, like repairing that elbow this afternoon. Strangely, that had settled him. It had taken all his concentration but by the time he’d walked out of Theatre the shock of seeing Ellie—and Felix—had somehow been put into perspective.

  So now what? He could hardly demand that a gall bladder repair appear on cue. Ellie was looking at him for answers, and she needed them now.

  Ellie. The woman who’d been his wife.

&nb
sp; What had he done to her?

  ‘I won’t take Felix,’ he told her and, despite the complications, despite the massive uproar he foresaw when Felix’s existence was discovered, he knew that this was his line in the sand. ‘Felix is your son and his upbringing is your business. But...’

  ‘But?’

  He took a deep breath. ‘This will take some getting your head around,’ he told her. ‘But Felix stands to inherit the throne and until he’s of an age where he can decide for himself, there’s nothing we can do about it.’

  ‘Which means...’

  ‘Which means we tell him. Which means we introduce him to his country.’

  ‘He’s not leaving here.’

  ‘Not permanently. But at first... Ellie, how do you feel about bringing him to Falkenstein for the coronation? Let the people see him. Let the media talk openly about what happened between us. Introduce Felix to his people with all honour.’

  ‘His people...’ She seemed dazed.

  ‘The more I think about it, the more it seems the only way. Otherwise you’ll have the media filling in gaps with speculation. The coronation’s at the end of next month. You’d need to come a few weeks beforehand so Felix can get his head around what’s expected of him. Then we can ask for media cooperation to leave Felix be until he reaches maturity. We could arrange for a photo shoot once a year—maybe you could bring him over to the palace for your summer holidays. But he’ll mostly be here, out of the spotlight.’

  ‘But not now.’ It was practically a wail. ‘He can’t travel. His leg... The risk of thrombosis...’

  ‘We can pay for the whole of first class if we need—or hire our own jet. That’ll give him more than enough room to move around and negate the risk of a clot.’

  ‘You’re kidding.’

  ‘Felix is a prince,’ he said gently. ‘You need to get used to it.’

  ‘But I’d have to come with him.’

  ‘You would,’ he agreed gravely. ‘It’d be overwhelming for a nine-year-old to face without his mother.’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Because?’ He was watching her face, watching anguish. ‘Ellie, you couldn’t come with me before because of your mother, and because you needed to finish your medical training. I’m not asking you to return as my wife. I’m asking you to come for a few weeks. What’s stopping you?’

  ‘I couldn’t come then for all sorts of reasons,’ she snapped, anguish veering towards anger. ‘You were flying back into a war zone. I was a student. I had no skills to help. What was I supposed to do, sit back and play doctor’s wife while you played the hero?’

  ‘Ellie...’

  ‘It was all sorts of impossible,’ she flashed. ‘And it’s impossible now. I’m a country doctor. This is where I’m needed. I can’t just leave for what...six weeks?’

  ‘There must be some way...’

  ‘Even if there was I wouldn’t take it. You broke my heart once. You think I’d let you do it again?’

  And that was a conversation-changer.

  ‘This isn’t about us,’ he managed.

  ‘No,’ she flashed. ‘And it’s not going to be. There’s nothing between us and there’s nothing between you and your son. As far as you were concerned, for the last nine years we haven’t existed.’

  ‘That’s not true.’

  ‘It has to be true. I’m the only doctor in this place. I’m needed here, and Felix needs to be here too. His leg—’

  ‘There are specialists in Falkenstein.’

  ‘I’m not listening. I’m not going. Bring on your lawyers, Marc, because I’ll fight you every inch of the way.’

  ‘Ellie, see reason.’

  ‘I am seeing reason.’ Her green eyes were flashing fire and suddenly the years fell away. This was the Ellie he knew.

  He remembered the first time he’d met her. She’d been in a waitress uniform, a silly, frilly apron and a cap that was slightly skewed with her auburn hair escaping from the regulation knot. She’d been surrounded by a sea of wine and broken glass. He’d caught her shoulders to stop her falling.

  He’d been wearing a dinner jacket and a crisp white shirt. His shirt had suddenly looked like a kindergarten finger painting. She’d gazed at him in horror, but then, just for a moment, their gazes had locked.

  ‘Whoops,’ she’d said and it had been all he could do not to laugh. Amazingly, her eyes had twinkled back.

  Then she’d swung into penitent mode, and gratitude that he’d accepted the blame, but her first reaction had been laughter. It had been that twinkle, that defiance in seeing the funny side in what should, for her, have been a catastrophe, that made him wait for her that night.

  The defiance was here now. But not the humour.

  ‘Go away, Marc. This is scaring me to death.’

  ‘The Ellie I knew had courage.’

  ‘I’m not the Ellie you knew.’

  ‘Ellie, the royal thing...’ How to make her see? ‘It’s just like Felix’s club feet. It’s non-negotiable. It’s something we have to deal with.’

  ‘You deal with it. Leave us alone.’

  He raked his hair.

  But there were other things now that were messing with his head. He’d almost forgotten how much this woman had meant to him. He’d almost forgotten how much he wanted her.

  They were feelings he couldn’t possibly admit to now. He gazed across to her in baffled silence. Where to go from here?

  Maybe it would have been best to send a lawyer, he thought. A lawyer could spell things out without emotion. Emotions were doing his head in. He needed help.

  But so did Ellie, far more than him. He looked at her tired face and he tried to look dispassionately. Tried to see the big picture.

  ‘Ellie, why are you working here on your own?’ he said tangentially. ‘Why are you looking as if you haven’t had enough sleep for weeks?’

  ‘Maybe I haven’t.’

  ‘So the practice is too big for one doctor?’

  ‘I—Yes, it is.’

  ‘Then why...?’

  ‘Because Felix costs me a fortune.’ She might not have said it if she hadn’t been pushed close to the edge, he thought. He remembered her flat refusal to accept financial aid once their marriage had ended and he realised this admission, for Ellie, was huge. ‘His specialist...the operations... This isn’t a rich district and people often can’t afford to pay but I promised...’

  And anger surged again.

  ‘Then that stops now,’ he said flatly. ‘I owe you for ten years of child maintenance for a start. I can afford to pay for locums, starting now. You will accept help, Ellie.’

  ‘You can’t buy me.’

  ‘I’m not buying. I’m paying what I owe. Ellie...’

  But she’d had enough. She ran her fingers through her hair in a gesture of pure exhaustion and it was all he could do not to reach out and take her hand in his. To reassure her.

  But he’d frightened her to death and reassurance wasn’t possible.

  ‘Go away, Marc,’ she managed.

  ‘You know I can’t do that.’

  ‘Then go... I don’t know...wherever you’re staying. I need space. I need to think.’

  ‘We can sort this out.’

  ‘Maybe, but I need to get my head clear,’ she snapped. ‘You’ve had time to come to terms with this. I haven’t.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Tomorrow, I have clinic...’

  ‘Could I help?’

  ‘You’ve helped enough.’ She rose and opened the door into the night. ‘I finish clinic at midday. I usually eat lunch here but if you buy me sandwiches we can talk during lunch.’

  ‘I could—’

  ‘That’s all, Marc,’ she said flatly, drearily. ‘Please. Let me be.’

  And he look
ed at her for a long moment, but there was nothing for him to do except leave.

  * * *

  There were sheep in the paddock beside the motel, snuffling and bleating under his window.

  It wasn’t the sheep keeping him awake.

  He felt as if he’d been picked up and placed into a parallel universe.

  A universe where he had a son.

  He’d always known Felix existed but there’d been a job opening as a father nine years ago, and he’d missed it.

  ‘I couldn’t have come,’ he said out loud into the dark. ‘Even if I’d known Ellie was doing the parenting...’

  Ellie.

  Why was the image of Ellie’s face, Ellie’s shock, Ellie’s weariness, superimposed on every other thought?

  His phone buzzed. Josef.

  The explanation of what had happened left the old man stunned.

  ‘You have a legitimate heir? Do you realise what uproar this will cause? You need to bring him home. Is your ex-wife reasonable? Does she agree?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said heavily. ‘To be honest, I don’t know anything about her. Give me time.’

  ‘You have two days. Has she remarried?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘So why did you divorce? Would it be possible to remarry?’ Josef sounded so stunned he was clutching at straws. ‘No matter. You do need to marry but that can be sorted later and you obviously can’t remarry if she’s unsuitable. What’s important now is to get the child here any way you can but, whatever you do, keep your ex-wife onside. The last thing you need is a tell-all exposé in the press.’

  ‘I’ll do my best.’

  ‘Promise her anything within reason. The last thing we need is more scandal. Give her anything she wants.’

  He disconnected and lay there, staring into the dark.

  Give her anything she wants?

  I’ll do my best.

  Ellie had received a lot less than his best in the past. What made him think she’d accept any more now?

  * * *

  And in her hospital apartment Ellie lay and looked sightlessly into the same dark.