The Spare and the Heir

by Carol Moncado

  Russell walked back in, phone in hand. “This is a secure call from His Royal Highness Prince Gabriel. Please wait one moment.” He handed the phone over.

  “Jonathan?” Gabe asked.

  “I saw the articles.” Jonathan’s sympathetic tone almost sent Gabe over the edge. He didn’t want sympathy. He wanted action.

  “I need more information about this alleged party. A party and drinking is possible, but I don’t think I was ever drunk enough to be with a group that destroyed a hotel and not remember it later. And I definitely don’t think my father would cover it up for me.”

  “Let me see what I can find out. I’ll get back to you tomorrow, sooner if I find something.”

  “Thanks.” He wanted more of an answer, and wanted it now, but could admit that there was little more Jonathan could do immediately.

  “What’s this?” Esme stormed into his office, a tablet in her hand, the edges of her hair still damp despite the jeans and blouse she wore. “Your father covered up a party?”

  She turned the tablet around to show a photo of Gabe with a woman in a dress short enough it was basically a shirt.

  He winced before replying. “Does that sound like something my father would do?” It further irritated Gabe that his wife would immediately believe the article.

  “If he thought it was in his best interests that the world didn’t know his son did something like this, he would.”

  Gabe had a feeling that she would have thrown an actual newspaper on his desk and stabbed at it with her finger, just like in a movie. You couldn’t do the same thing with a tablet.

  Suddenly deflated, Gabe didn’t argue back. If she wanted to believe the worst of him, so be it. He’d defended himself time and again, done his best to prove to her that he wasn’t the same man he was years earlier.

  Even if the story was true, he wasn’t that man anymore.

  Except it wasn’t true.

  He had no reason to think she’d believe him. Not when he’d so spectacularly given everyone reason to believe it could be true.

  The pictures of him with women were true.

  The pictures of him partying were true, though there were far fewer parties than there were women.

  The pictures of the hotel only showed a trashed hotel room, but not who did the trashing.

  “What do you have to say for yourself?”

  With his hands folded on his desk blotter, Gabe leaned forward, but didn’t look back up. “It doesn’t matter what I have to say, does it, Esmeralda?”

  Silence answered him for a moment. “No. I guess it doesn’t.”

  She left before he could say another word.

  And there was his answer.

  She didn’t believe there was any chance the story was untrue.

  If it hadn’t come on the heels of her father’s announcement, maybe she could have listened long enough to really hear his denial.

  Gabe didn’t leave his office for hours. Instead, he paced restlessly, stared out the window, paced some more, and finally wrote Esme a letter.

  He didn’t have permission to be in the queen’s office without her, but he went in anyway. He left the letter folded in the center of her desk.

  Once in the garrison, Gabe climbed into his Aston Marten, ignored his security guard’s request for his destination, and drove off.

  The car took him to the dock where the royal boats were kept. At least he had a boat of his own. It didn’t require many crew members, and they were paid to be around, allowing him to leave whenever he wanted.

  And right now, he wanted.

  He’d made a phone call on his way to the garrison, so the boat was ready for departure when he arrived.

  One security guard made it onto the ship before it left the dock. Others likely wouldn’t be far behind.

  He wasn’t going anywhere that he’d need protecting from anything more than the occasional shark or perhaps a Megalodon.

  “Sir?” The captain joined him on the top deck as Sargasso melted into the distance behind them.

  “Yes?”

  “The boat isn’t supplied for more than a day or two at most. We’ll need to put in soon.”

  “I have a better idea.” Gabe outlined his plan. The captain seemed dubious but reluctantly agreed.

  Gabe wouldn’t be found easily, but he also wouldn’t leave the waters of Sargasso, not technically.

  In just a couple of hours, the boat anchored off a small island. Gabe took supplies, including a sleeping bag and tent, and sped toward the island on his own. He’d convinced the security guard to leave him alone but hadn’t mentioned the boat would be leaving to resupply and not be back for twenty-four hours or even a little more.

  Gabe pulled his small craft far enough onto the beach that the tide wouldn’t take it away. He set up camp and decided to get some sleep rather than trying to eat.

  Eating required not being nauseated.

  And after everything that happened, Gabe was too nauseated to eat.

  32

  After a restless night, Esme arrived in her office early. Gabe hadn’t come to their room the night before. She wished it surprised her, but it didn’t.

  Everyone she came across scurried out of her way as she walked through the hallways toward her office. Either they knew something she didn’t, or she looked a fright. Possibly even scary.

  Jared and Judy stood as she entered the outer office. Though she arrived more than an hour earlier than normal, they were already at their posts.

  “Good morning, Your Majesty.” They greeted her in unison with a bow and a curtsy.

  She responded with a curt nod.

  “Your morning briefing papers are on your desk, ma’am.” Jared usually left them in there for Esme to find.

  “Thank you. Is there any more news that I need to be aware of?”

  “No more news stories have come to light since the one yesterday afternoon.”

  “Thank you.” And thank heaven for small favors.

  Esme continued into her office to find the stack of papers on her desk as normal.

  A folded sheet, one not usually present, rested in the middle.

  A single word, her full first name, appeared on the front.

  Esme sank to her chair, recognizing the handwriting immediately.

  Gabe.

  Hands trembling, she picked it up and opened it.

  Dear Esmeralda,

  Something you said before struck home to me.

  You wished your father would have left, would have set your mother free.

  I fear the scandal of my younger years will follow me the rest of my life. That’s not fair to you or to the children we are expected to have.

  Instead, I give you your freedom.

  For your sake, I hope you already carry my child. Then you will have your heir and be free from the expectations of the people and the Council to marry again quickly for the sake of producing one.

  I love you, Esmeralda. I fell in love with the princess I saw on the pages and the screens as a teen but fell even harder for the woman you’ve become.

  Papers dissolving the marriage will be sent as soon as I can have a lawyer draw them up, but if you ever hear of my disappearance, know that I’ll love you until the end of my days.

  Always,

  Gabe

  Underneath he signed his full name with a flourish, followed by his titles and honors.

  Tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks. A myriad of emotions flowed through her.

  He never once mentioned the allegations, never denied them, but never admitted to them either.

  They didn’t matter to him.

  What mattered to him was Esme.

  She should have known sooner.

  What the papers said didn’t matter.

  What mattered was Gabe.

  Esme reached out and pressed the button on her phone. “Jared, I need to see the head of security immediately.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  It would take several minutes for a
phone call to go through and nearly ten for him to get to her. Esme decided to go to his offices instead, telling Jared to let him know she was on her way down as she walked out.

  Once in the security offices, Esme met Craig in the conference room.

  “Where is my husband?”

  The man shifted uncomfortably. “I’m afraid I can’t say, ma’am.”

  “Can’t or won’t? And don’t forget who you ultimately answer to.”

  He sighed. “It’s more complicated than that. There are legitimate security reasons why I can’t say, but I’ve also been asked not to by the prince.”

  “Then take me to him?”

  “I can’t.” Craig hesitated though. “I can encourage you to think about fighting a Christmas battle of the war with San Majoria.”

  Something about the way he said it encouraged Esme to take the words at face value while believing there was an undertone she didn’t quite understand.

  Slowly, she nodded. “Yes. I think I will. Have a car brought around and ready a boat.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” A smirk crossed his face. “I think this will be one of the more interesting battles you’ve fought in recent years.”

  Which meant Gabe was on the island, or nearby. Did he not have any security with him? Was that the security reason why he couldn’t actually say?

  Esme hurried back to her quarters to change into something more appropriate for a day on a boat and island. She texted Jared to let him know she would be gone for the next several hours and possibly the rest of the day. He’d reschedule any appointments.

  After she received a confirmation text from her assistant, she put her phone away. If there was anything urgent, someone would let her security detail know.

  As she was boarding the boat at the dock, her head of security did just that.

  “Ma’am, there’s a call from Mr. Langley-Cranston. He has some information the prince asked for but can’t reach him.”

  Esme shook her head. She didn’t want to know anything about what actually happened at that hotel until she saw Gabe. He needed to know she believed him without proof.

  “One of us will return his phone call later today.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  For the rest of the trip, Esme alternated between sitting in a deck chair and leaning against the railing as the wind whipped her hair.

  The palm trees came into view along with the San Majorian flag. She’d brought a Sargassian flag as well as something to leave in the chest, but she wasn’t certain she’d actually fight this battle.

  One of the crewmen and a member of her security team accompanied her on the smaller boat as it sped toward the island. She’d instructed them to hang back, but she knew they’d be nearby.

  As the beach came into view, she noticed a tent along the tree line as well as another boat similar to the one she rode in, this one pulled far enough inland to avoid being carried away by high tide.

  Esme’s bare feet pushed into the sand as she walked toward the tent.

  Just outside, sat the man she wanted to see.

  He glanced up at her then back out at the ocean. “How did you find me?”

  “Does it matter?”

  Gabe lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “I guess not.”

  “I believe you.”

  “About what?”

  “That you didn’t trash that hotel room.”

  “I never said I didn’t trash it.”

  She closed her eyes. She should have guessed he wouldn’t make this easy. “I know. I also know you were waiting for me to say I didn’t believe it. I don’t. I knew better last night. I should have told you, but I let myself doubt. I’m sorry.”

  “What exactly are you sorry for?” At least he glanced up at her.

  “For not giving you the benefit of the doubt. For not believing in you like I should have without knowing the details.”

  He took a sip from his bottle of water. “The Gabe of six years ago might have done those things.”

  “And the Gabe of today would have owned up to it as soon as the accusations came to light, if not sooner. I knew that, and I forgot for a few minutes.”

  Or a few hours. Close enough.

  She knelt in the sand in front of him. “Can you forgive me?”

  * * *

  One look in Esme’s eyes, and Gabe knew the truth. She believed him, believed in him.

  “Come home with me,” she implored him. “We’ll face this together. Whatever other accusations come, we’ll face them together with the truth on our side, whatever that truth is.”

  Gabe reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Esme.”

  “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize what I already knew.” She moved closer to him then cradled his face in her hand. “Can you forgive me?”

  He gave her the half-smile that was now reserved only for her. “It’s already forgotten.”

  She kissed him and for a moment, he let her take the lead. Then he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and took over. Kissing her as thoroughly as she kissed him back.

  “Want to come into my tent?” he whispered when they pulled apart.

  Esme’s nose wrinkled in that adorable way she often had. “You need to shave. You can pull off the scruffy look, but I don’t like kissing it.”

  Gabe chuckled. “Duly noted, Your Majesty. Then why don’t we get out of here? We can pack up my things, and we can go back together.”

  “Sounds like a good plan, except for one problem.”

  He kissed her again. “What’s that?”

  “I have no idea how to take down a tent.”

  That made him laugh and kiss her again. “Then why don’t you supervise while I take care of it?”

  She sniffed and tipped her nose into the air. “I’m a queen. Supervising is what I do best.”

  Gabe knew she did so much more than that, but he let it go. In under an hour, they were on board the smallest of the royal yachts and headed back for Ancora.

  “Jonathan called earlier,” she told him as they sat side-by-side on deck chairs, fingers intertwined.

  His heart dropped. She already knew he had nothing to do with any of it when she showed up. It wasn’t that she believed him, but that she’d been told the truth. Gabe wanted to let go of her hand, but he couldn’t. Not yet. “What did he say?”

  Esme shrugged. “I have no idea. He wanted to talk to you, but when you weren’t around, he asked for me. I wanted to talk to you myself first. I couldn’t imagine it was so urgent that it couldn’t wait a couple of hours.”

  That meant she didn’t know. Gabe breathed a sigh of relief. “I should go call him back. See what he found out.”

  “Your phone should work here.” Esme let go of his hand and sat up. “I have a couple of things I can do to give you some privacy.”

  “That’s not necessary. If we go inside, I can put it on speaker phone and the wind won’t matter as much. We both need to hear what he has to say.”

  A few minutes later, they were in the suite they’d share if this was a longer trip.

  “Esme is here with me,” Gabe told his friend. “What did you find out?”

  “That there’s just enough truth to make it look real.”

  He shared a look with Esme. “What does that mean?”

  “It means it was the same weekend we’ve already discussed. That’s why the dates looked familiar to you. Your half-sister was conceived that weekend.”

  He knew it. He never had found his notes, but that made sense. “I left Saturday morning.”

  “And the damage was discovered Sunday afternoon.”

  “The one time, the first time, I made the right choices, and my father throws me under the bus.”

  He could hear Jonathan exhale over the line. “There’s more.”

  “Do I want to know?”

  “Probably not, but it’s going to come out before long, so you’d be better off knowing now.”

  Esme nodded as Gabe told Jonathan to go a
head.

  “Esme’s father and brother were there. Her brother was drinking underage for either country. Illegal, but probably wouldn’t bring huge consequences anywhere for even non-royalty since there was no driving or other negative consequences from it.”

  “But my father was there?” Esme questioned, leaning closer to the phone.

  “Yes.” Jonathan hesitated. “It appears this is when he met the woman he’s planning to marry.”

  Gabe rubbed a hand up and down Esme’s back.

  “It also appears Gabe was already gone before they showed up and before this party happened, but he left quietly which means no one in the press knew he wasn’t there. As far as his official schedule goes, he didn’t leave until the same time his father did after the party.”

  “How can we prove otherwise if it becomes necessary?” And it would, because Gabe wasn’t going to take the fall for something he hadn’t done.

  “Does your security team still have the logs?”

  “I’m sure Daniel does.” Gabe ran a hand through his hair. “I hope so.”

  “Get in touch with your head of security and make sure he does and tell him to keep them secured. You never know whether your father might try to destroy them in his attempts to discredit you.”

  “He likely won’t be king much longer. He’s already committed crimes that will force him to abdicate before long.”

  “It still wouldn’t be a bad idea to have them secured.”

  After a couple more minutes, they ended the call.

  “I’m glad he has evidence the rest of them were there, even if the more publicly available evidence doesn’t tell the world you weren’t. Even if you were there, it wouldn’t have been your party, but everyone’s.”

  The photos told that story, though most of those who’d taken them had been paid off by one of their fathers, or so Jonathan believed.

  Gabe led Esme to the balcony. She leaned against the rail, facing the sea, while Gabe stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  They stood there for several minutes before he spoke. “You can’t know how much it means to me that you believed me before you heard what Jonathan had to say.”