by Cat Schield
Her gaze grew even sterner, although a hint of softness developed near the edges of her lips. “You missed tea.”
“I needed something a little stronger.” Nic held up his mostly empty crystal tumbler.
“The queen expected you to attend her as soon as you arrived in the palace. She’s in the rose garden. You’d better go immediately.” Gwen’s tone was a whip, driving him from the room.
Knowing better than to dawdle, Nic went straight outside and found his mother in her favorite part of the garden. Thanks to the queen’s unwavering devotion, the half acre flourished with a mixture of difficult-to-find antique rose varieties as well as some that had been recently engineered to produce an unusual color or enhanced fragrance.
“It’s about time you got around to saying hello,” the queen declared, peering at him from beneath the wide brim of her sun hat.
“Good afternoon, Mother.” Nic kissed the cheek his mother offered him and fell into step beside her. He didn’t bother to offer her an explanation of what he’d been doing. She had no tolerance for excuses. “The roses look beautiful.”
“I understand you brought a girl home with you. She’s the sister of your California friend.” She paused only briefly before continuing, obviously not expecting Nic to confirm what she’d said. “What is your relationship to her?”
“We’re friends.”
“Don’t treat me like an idiot. I need to know if she’s going to present a problem.”
“No.” At least not to anyone but him.
“Does she understand that you have come home to find a wife?”
“She does. It’s not an issue. She’s planning on heading home after the wedding.”
“I understand you are taking her along with Gabriel and Olivia on a trip to the vineyards?”
“Gabriel mentioned something about it, but I haven’t spoken with Brooke.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea that you get any more involved with this girl than you already are.”
“We’re not involved,” Nic assured her.
“Is she in love with you?” Nic waited too long to answer and his mother made a disgusted sound. “Do you love her?”
“It doesn’t matter how we feel about each other,” Nic said, his voice tense and impatient. “I know my duty to Sherdana and nothing will get in the way of that.” From his conversation with Gabriel, Nic knew she hadn’t gone this hard at Christian. Why was Nic alone feeling the pressure to marry? Christian was just as much a prince of Sherdana. His son could just as easily rule. “I assume you have several matrimonial candidates for me to consider.”
“I’ve sent their dossiers to your room in the visitors’ wing. Did Gabriel mention the problem in your suite earlier today? Apparently your bathtub overflowed and flooded the room.”
“Gabriel thought it might have been the twins although no one caught them at it.”
His mother shook her head. “I don’t know why we’re paying a nanny if the girl can’t keep track of them.”
“From what I understand they are a handful.”
“There are only two of them. I had three of you to contend with.” His mother took Nic’s hand in hers and squeezed hard. “It’s good to have you home.” She blinked rapidly a few times and released her grip on him. “Now, run along and look over the files I sent to your room. I expect you to share your thoughts with me after dinner tonight.”
“Of course.” He bent and kissed her cheek again. “First I’m off to see Father. I understand he has a ten-minute gap in his schedule shortly before five.”
After reconnecting briefly with his father, Nic headed to the room he’d been given until his suite could be dried out. The oddity of the incident left him shaking his head. How could a pair of two-year-old girls be as much trouble as everyone said?
As his mother had promised, a pile of dossiers had been left on the desk. Shrugging out of his blazer, Nic picked up the stack and counted. There were eight. He had twenty minutes before the tailor arrived to measure him for a whole new wardrobe. The clothes he’d traveled in today had belonged to Christian, as had most of what he’d worn the past ten days. Of the three brothers, Christian spent the most time at the Greek villa.
Nic settled into a chair in front of the unlit fireplace and selected a file at random. The photo clipped to the inside showed a stunning brunette with vivacious blue eyes and full lips. She was the twenty-five-year-old daughter of an Italian count, had gotten her MBA at Harvard and now worked for a global conglomerate headquartered in Paris. She spoke four languages and was admired for being fashionable as well as active on the charity circuit. In short, she was perfect.
He dropped the file onto the floor at his feet and opened the next one. This one was a blonde. Again beautiful. British born. The sister of a viscount. A human rights lawyer.
The next. Brunette. Pretty with big brown eyes and an alluring smile. A local girl. Her family owned the largest winery in Sherdana. She played cello for the Vienna Philharmonic.
Then another blonde. Bewitching green eyes. Daughter of a Danish baron. A model and television personality.
On and on. Each woman strikingly beautiful, accomplished and with a flawless pedigree.
Nic felt like a prize bull.
Replaying the conversation with his mother, he recognized he shouldn’t have ignored Brooke’s concerns that their relationship would come under scrutiny. He’d deliberately underestimated his mother’s perceptiveness. But he didn’t regret bringing Brooke to meet his family.
What he wasn’t so happy about, however, was how little time they would have together in the days between now and her eventual departure. Being forced by propriety to keep his distance would be much more difficult now that he’d opened the door to what could have been if only he wasn’t bound to his country.
At the same moment he threw the last folder onto the floor, a knock sounded on his door. Calling permission to enter, Nic got to his feet and scooped up the dossiers, depositing them back on the desk before turning to face the tailor and his small army of assistants who were to dress Nic.
While the suits he tried on were marked and pinned, Nic fell to thinking about Brooke. He hadn’t seen her since leaving the plane and wondered how she’d coped in the hours they’d been apart. Despite the nervousness she’d shown during the flight, he suspected she’d figured out a way to charm everyone she’d encountered. He knew she was supposed to meet with Gabriel’s wife right away and wondered how that had gone.
He was eager to meet Olivia. He already knew she was beautiful, intelligent and a strong crusader for children’s health and welfare. The citizens loved her and after the drama surrounding her emergency hysterectomy and her subsequent secret elopement with Gabriel so did the media. But Nic was fascinated by how she’d caused such drastic changes in his brother.
The tailor finished his preliminary work and departed. Alone once more, Nic dressed for dinner. Family evenings were for the most part casual and Nic left his room wearing navy slacks and a crisp white shirt he’d purchased at a department store in California. His fashionable younger brother would be appalled that Nic was dressing off the rack. Nic was smiling at the thought as he joined Gabriel and his new bride in the family’s private drawing room.
“You’ve made my brother a very happy man,” Nic told Olivia, kissing her cheek in greeting. “I haven’t seen him smile this much since we were children.”
From her location snuggled beneath her husband’s possessive arm, the blonde stared up at Gabriel with eyes filled with such love that a knot formed in Nic’s gut. At that instant, any lingering resentment he’d felt at the uncomfortable position Gabriel’s choice had put him in vanished. His brother deserved to be happy. The responsibility of the country would one day rest on Gabriel’s shoulders and being married to the woman he loved would make his burden lighter.
Brooke hadn’t made an appearance by the time Nic’s parents entered the drawing room and he wondered for one brief moment if she’d let her anxiety get the better of her. He was seconds away from sending a maid to check on her when the door opened and Brooke stumbled in, unsteady in heels that appeared too large for her.
She wore a long-sleeved, gold, lace dress that flattered her curves, but conflicted with her usual carefree style. She wasn’t wearing her usual long necklace that drew attention to the swell of her breasts, and she’d left her collection of bracelets behind. The look was sophisticated, elegant and formal, except for her hair, which spiraled and bounced around her shoulders like a living thing.
“Dr. Davis, welcome.” Gabriel and Olivia had approached her while Nic stood there gaping at her transformation.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Brooke was saying as he finally approached. “I only meant to close my eyes for fifteen minutes. Then next thing I know it’s six-thirty. Thank heavens I showered before I sacked out. Of course this is what happens to my hair when I just let it go. If I’d had a few more minutes, I could have done something to it but I had such a hard time deciding which dress to wear. They were all so beautiful.”
“You look lovely.” Olivia gave her a warm smile and drew her arm through Brooke’s in a show of affection and support. “Why don’t I introduce you to Gabriel and Nic’s parents.”
“You mean the king and queen?” Brooke whispered, her gaze shooting to the couple enjoying a predinner cocktail. They appeared to be ignoring the knot of young people.
“They are eager to meet you,” Gabriel said.
Brooke’s lips quirked in a wry smile. “That’s sweet of you to say.” She took a clumsy step and smiled apologetically at Olivia. “I’m usually less awkward than this.”
“The shoes are a little large for you,” Olivia said, giving the gold laser-cut pumps a critical look. “I didn’t realize your feet were so much smaller than mine. Perhaps you have something of your own that would fit better? I could send a maid to fetch something.”
“Are you kidding me?” Brooke retorted, her voice feverish as she took her next step with more deliberation and improved grace. “These are Louboutin glass slippers. I’m Cinderella.”
Gabriel waited a beat before following his wife. He caught Nic’s eye and smirked. “I like her.”
“So do I,” Nic replied, his voice low and subdued.
Not that it should have mattered to Nic, but his brother’s words sent gratitude and relief rushing into his chest. It was good to know he had at least two people in the palace, Gabriel and Olivia, who would understand how wretched doing the right thing could feel.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Brooke was saying to his parents as Nic and Gabriel caught up to the women. “Thank you for letting me stay at the palace for a few days.”
Nic felt the impact of his mother’s gaze as he drew up beside Brooke. He set his palm on her back and through her dress felt the tension quivering in her muscles.
“We are happy to have you,” Nic’s father said, his broad smile genuine.
When it came to matters affecting his country, the king was a mighty warrior defending his realm from all threats social, economic and diplomatic. However, he was a teddy bear when it came to his wife and children. But the queen ruled her family with an iron fist in a velvet glove. All four of her children knew the strength of her will and respected it. In exchange she allowed them the opportunity to figure out their place in the world.
This meant Nic had been allowed to attend university in the United States and stay there living his dream of space travel until Sherdana had needed him to come home. But while he’d appreciated his ten years of freedom from responsibility, it made his return that much harder.
“Very happy,” the queen echoed. “I understand, Miss Davis, that you are the sister of the man Nic has been working with for the last five years.”
“Yes, my brother is in charge of the Griffin project.”
“Perhaps you will join me for breakfast tomorrow. I’d like to hear more about the project Nic has been working on with your brother.”
“I would be happy to have breakfast with you.”
“Wonderful. Is eight o’clock too early for you?”
“Not at all. Unlike Nic, I’m an early riser.”
Nic knew she’d meant the jab for him. It was an old joke between them on the mornings when he’d worked late into the night and then crashed on the couch in his workroom. But he could see at once that his mother was wondering how Brooke knew what time Nic got out of bed in the morning.
Even without glancing toward his brother, Gabriel’s amusement was apparent. Nic kept his own expression bland as he met his mother’s steely gaze.
Olivia saved the moment from further awkwardness. “And after breakfast perhaps you could come to the stables and watch the twins take a riding lesson. They are showing great promise as equestrians. Do you ride, Brooke?”
“I did when I was younger, but school has kept me far too busy in recent years.”
“Brooke has two doctorates,” Nic interjected smoothly. “She teaches Italian language and literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz.”
“You’re young to have accomplished that much,” Gabriel said.
Brooke nodded. “I graduated high school with two years of college credits and spent the next ten years immersed in academia. After my brother went off to college my parents hosted a girl from Italy. She stayed with us a year and by the time she went home, I was fluent in Italian and learning to read it, as well.”
Olivia spoke up. “Have you spent much time in Italy?”
“While I was working on my second doctorate, I spent a year in Florence and Rome. Before that my mother and I would visit for a week or two during the summer depending on her deadlines. She writes for television and has penned a mystery series set in sixteenth-century Venice that does very well.” Talking about her mother’s accomplishments had relaxed Brooke. Her eyes sparkled with pride.
This relaxed Nic as well, but as the family made their way toward the dining room, the queen pulled him aside.
“Lovely girl, your Miss Davis.”
“Actually it’s Dr. Davis.” Although he had a feeling his mother already knew that and had spoken incorrectly to get a rise out of her son. And since Nic had already denied that he and Brooke were anything but friends, why did his mother put the emphasis on your? “I’m glad you like her.”
“Did you look at the files I gave you?”
“Yes. Any one of them would be a fine princess.” He couldn’t bring himself to use the word wife yet. “You and your team did a fine job of choosing candidates that lined up with my needs.”
“Yes we did. Now, let’s see if you can do an equally fine job choosing a wife.”
Nine
At her first dinner with Nic’s family, Brooke sat beside Nic on the king’s left hand and ate little. Part of the reason she’d been late to dinner was another bout of nausea that struck her shortly after she’d risen. So much for morning sickness. Brooke wasn’t sure why it was called that when it seemed to strike her at random times throughout the day.
“You’re not eating,” Nic murmured, the first words he’d spoken directly to her since the meal had begun.
“I’m dining with royalty,” she muttered back. “My stomach is in knots.”
“They’re just people.”
“Important people.” Wealthy, sophisticated, intelligent people. “Normally I wouldn’t get uns
ettled by this sort of thing, but this is your family and I want them to like me.”
“I assure you they do.”
“Sure.” Brooke resisted the urge to roll her eyes. His mother had been observing her through most of the meal, making each swallow of the delicious salmon more trial than pleasure. Brooke sensed that the queen had a long list of questions she wanted to ask, starting with: When are you going home? Not that Brooke blamed her. Nic’s mother had plans for her son. Plans that she must perceive as being threatened by an uncouth redhead who regarded Nic with adoring eyes.
Despite the fact that the meal was a relaxed family affair and not the formal ordeal Brooke had feared, by the time the dessert course concluded, she was more than ready to escape. She was relieved, therefore, when Gabriel and Olivia offered her a quick tour of the public areas of the palace before escorting her back to her room.
Strolling the hall of portraits, Brooke realized the extent of Sherdana’s history. Some of the paintings dated back to the late-fifteenth century. Thanks to all those years when she’d accompanied her mother to Italy and helped her research the Italian Renaissance period, Brooke had developed a love of history that partially explained why she’d chosen the same time period for her second doctorate.
“I imagine you have a library with books on Sherdana’s history,” she said to Gabriel as he and Olivia led the way to the ballroom.
“An extensive one. We’ll make that our next stop.”
A half an hour later the trio arrived at Brooke’s door. She was feeling a touch giddy at the idea that she could return to the library the next day and check out the collection more thoroughly. The vast amount of books contained in the two-story room was an academic’s dream come true. She could probably spend an entire year in Sherdana’s palace library and never need to leave.
“Thank you for the tour.”
“You are very welcome,” Olivia said. “If you need anything else tonight, let one of the maids know. There is always someone on call.”
Brooke bid the prince and princess good-night and entered her room. As she did, she noticed the store of crackers she’d nibbled on prior to dinner had been replenished. With a grateful sigh, Brooke grabbed a handful and went to the wardrobe. As the maid had promised earlier, her clothes had been laundered and returned. Brooke grinned as she slipped off her borrowed shoes, guessing the staff wasn’t accustomed to washing ragged denim shorts and cotton peasant blouses. Regardless, they’d done a marvelous job. Her clothes looked brand-new.