by Ann Omasta
Even though she longed to believe that he changed his mind about using her the moment he met her, the niggling fear that he was still manipulating the situation simply wouldn’t go away.
Her brothers seemed to have forgiven the lapse in judgment, but she wasn’t able to let the hurt go. She had trusted him, but their entire relationship had been built around a lie.
She must have eventually dozed off because when Mo tried unsuccessfully to sneak back into the room, Tess awoke with a start.
“Sorry. Did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet,” Mo stage whispered as she removed her heels.
“Quiet isn’t in your vocabulary,” Tess teased her friend. Proving the statement to be accurate, Mo stubbed her toe against the corner of her bed and began cussing like a sailor.
“Now the whole castle is up,” Tess quipped once Mo calmed down.
Sitting down on her bed to rub her foot, Mo said, “That right there is exactly why I could never be royalty.”
Tess couldn’t deny that Mo would be a non-traditional royal, but she hated to think that her friend might feel in any way inadequate. Smiling at Mo, she said, “You would bring some much-needed life into this stuffy palace.”
“So will you,” Mo grinned at her.
“Oh, no,” Tess balked. “I’m heading home first thing tomorrow morning with my brothers and their overstuffed moneybags.”
“I can’t believe you would say such a thing about Ellie and Millie,” Mo teased her.
“Ha ha,” Tess responded flatly, before adding, “If you want to stick around, you can, but I’m out of here.”
Mo nodded her head as if to accept Tess’s proclamation, even though her words contradicted that action. “I think you should hear him out,” she suggested gently.
“I did!” Tess fumed. Why did everyone seem to be taking the lying manipulator’s side?!? “Even though I knew there was nothing he could possibly say that would make this all okay, I listened to his stupid apology. It changes nothing.” To accentuate her point, Tess flopped over in her bed, giving Mo her back.
“But isn’t a dashing prince who loves you to pieces what you have always dreamed about? Are you going to give up your chance at a fairy tale ending because of this misunderstanding?”
Mo’s tone sounded rational, but Tess couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Turning to face her friend and sitting up in bed, she spluttered. “Misunderstanding?!? He sought me out and tried to woo me for my brothers’ money. There’s nothing to misunderstand there,” she huffed.
“Perhaps before they met us, that was their plan,” Mo admitted before going on, “But as soon as they did, they changed their minds. At that time, Pierce was intended to be the next in line for the throne. He chose me, and I don’t have any wealthy brothers,” she pointed out logically.
“How do you know that wasn’t part of their manipulative plan all along?” Tess’s eyes flashed with anger. “Perhaps switching to have Sebastian step up and accept his rightful place on the throne was what they intended from the beginning.”
“Well, then, why would they have admitted what they did––especially in front of your brothers? That move guaranteed that they won’t see a dime from your family.”
Mo’s words made complete sense, but Tess didn’t want to admit it. Flopping back down onto her bed, she said, “It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s probably downstairs dancing the night away with another wealthy heiress that he’s hoping to scam out of a fortune to bail out his flailing kingdom.”
“Actually, he had several lovely women approach him to request a dance, but he turned them all away.” Leaving Tess with that tidbit, Mo went into her bathroom to change out of her formalwear.
It doesn’t make any difference, Tess mumbled stubbornly to herself. She was surprised to hear that Sebastian hadn’t quickly moved on. After all, he was supposed to be finding a bride at this ball. Making the decision that he probably was biding his time, hoping that she would come around and offer up her brothers’ financial assistance, she turned over and tried to go to sleep.
The mental image of Sebastian sitting alone in the ballroom, turning away eligible women wouldn’t go away, no matter how much she tried to banish it from her mind. She was justified in her anger, and she firmly refused to let it go.
Her subconscious must have been more forgiving than her alert mind because she dreamed that night of a grand royal wedding, where she was the bride and Sebastian was the handsome groom.
Waking up with a gigantic grin on her face, reality quickly swept in and stole her giddy euphoria. “Hmph. Not going to happen,” she said out loud, not caring if she woke up Mo, who was snoring loud enough to raise the rafters.
In a snit, Tess began tossing her belongings into her suitcase to go home.
41
Mo yawned loudly. “You know, there are people here that will take care of that for you.” She indicated Tess’s overflowing suitcase.
“It’s cathartic to do it myself,” Tess defended her actions as she sat on the bag and attempted to get the overflowing, jam-packed luggage to zip.
“Whatever,” Mo shook her head like Tess had lost her mind. “You’re at least coming to breakfast, right?”
The last thing Tess wanted to do was take a chance on running into Sebastian or any of his family, but it felt rude to leave again without saying goodbye. Besides, she needed to speak to her brothers and let them know that she would be joining them on their private jet home––preferably right away.
Nodding her head in answer, Tess went into her side of the bedroom’s bathroom to shower and get ready to say goodbye to everyone at the palace.
Despite their rough start here, she realized that she would truly miss Geoffrey and the other castle workers. If she was completely honest with herself, she might even miss the stuffy queen and hot mess of a king. She most-certainly would not miss Priscilla, their hoity-toity manners coach, in the slightest. As she let the piping-hot water spray down on her, she refused to ponder how much she would miss Pierce and, especially, Sebastian.
She had hoped that during the night her warm feelings toward them would morph into righteous anger over their plot to use her, but instead, she was left with hurt feelings and an irrational longing to forgive them. The stubborn side of her refused to give in to that urge.
When she emerged from the bathroom, she felt renewed and ready to face what was coming. She would politely, firmly, and efficiently inform the others that she was leaving, and she would leave no room open for discussion. There was no reason for her to be rude or condescending, but she was ready to get back to her real life. This royal fairy tale had come to an unhappy ending for her.
Mo had always been able to get ready in a flash, so she joined Tess in the bedroom as soon as Tess tied on her practical and comfortable black and white sneakers. When Mo smiled and held her arm out to escort Tess down to breakfast, Tess felt a surge of appreciation that her friend was ready to stand by her side, even if Mo didn’t exactly agree with her anger and bitterness.
At breakfast, the gang was chatting and laughing as if nothing was amiss. Tess was stunned that her brothers had so easily forgiven and seemingly forgotten. They were not usually ones to be so flippant about someone trying to use their wealth, or––especially––their sister.
Apparently, a much-older duchess had set her sights on Sebastian after the announcement was made about his royal bloodline. He had reluctantly danced with her once, in order to be polite, but when he turned down her insistence that they dance again, she had become unruly––to the point of swinging her long strand of pearls around, undulating at him, and beginning a striptease.
Ellie’s eyes were sparkling as she recalled the event for those who hadn’t seen it first-hand. “When Sebastian told her that he would get her a cup of coffee to sober up before securing her a ride home, she turned around and flipped the back of her ruffled skirt up at him!”
Ellie had a hand over her mouth as she tried, unsuccessfully, not to guffaw with laughte
r. The others––with the notable exception of Sebastian and Tess––were rolling with uncontrolled giggles.
Upon seeing Tess’s crossed-arms and angry glare, Millie weighed in, “You really should have seen it.” She used her linen napkin to swipe a tear from the corner of her eye. “She let him know in no uncertain terms what she thought of his refusal of her offer to spend the night with him.”
“She must not have been wealthy, or he would have jumped at the chance,” Tess snapped, which brought the table to an immediate awkward silence.
Ever the optimist and champion of the underdog, Ellie said, “That’s not really fair.”
“Oh, really?” Tess bugged her eyes out at the other woman. “I think what is not fair is being stalked and used for access to money.”
“They didn’t go through with it. Instead, they came clean and admitted what they had done. And they apologized.” Ellie quietly but firmly defended the royals.
Feeling justified and not caring if she sounded like a brat, Tess said, “Maybe they knew they were about to be caught.”
“We never would have found out,” Trey weighed in with his boardroom voice of finality.
Tess rolled her eyes. She should have known that her older brother would immediately jump in to take Ellie’s side, even though his baby sister was hurting. “We might have,” she pouted.
Sebastian sat forward then. “I’ve already apologized to Tess, but I owe each and every one of you a sincere apology.” He looked around the table and made eye contact with each person.
“The plan that Pierce and I cooked up to get Tess to lure you here was immature and incredibly ill-advised. I want to assure you that the king and queen had no knowledge of it, nor would they have approved of it. We realized it was a mistake as soon as we met Tess and Mo and discovered that they were such lovely and real people, who should not be treated as pawns in our quest to save this kingdom. As much as we both love our little island paradise, it was uncalled for and inexcusable for us to even consider tricking you into helping us.”
“What he said,” Pierce weighed in, nodding his agreement.
Trevor turned to Pierce and asked, “Are you sure that you were the eloquent one that was meant for public speaking and all of the responsibilities that go with being king?” His words weren’t intended to be hurtful. It was an honest question that the others were thinking, but hadn’t voiced.
Proving that he held no ill will about Trevor’s questioning, Pierce raised his shoulders as if he too were perplexed by their parents’ decision. “Maybe when we were little,” he suggested. “I honestly don’t know what they were thinking when they made the switch.” Pondering for a moment before deciding to go for it, he quipped, “Maybe the king was drunk.”
Nervous titters were heard around the table. It felt wrong to be laughing about such a thing, but the heavy atmosphere in the room needed some comedic relief.
Turning serious again, Pierce gazed at Mo, “I’m so sorry for hurting you.”
Mo nodded, in quiet acceptance of his apology. Tess rolled her eyes, unable to believe that her friend didn’t have more backbone than that. Granted, Tess was the actual target, and Mo had simply been the one Pierce couldn’t resist; but Tess still felt like her friend should be angry with them on her behalf, if nothing else.
When Trey said, “No harm done,” Tess nearly fell out of her chair.
“Seriously?!?” she asked, feeling incredulous. This laissez-faire attitude was so unlike her no-nonsense, shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later billionaire brother. “I think being in love is making you loopy,” she accused. When he gave Ellie a dopey smile, Tess threw her hands up in disgust.
“That’s it… I’m out of here,” she decided. She awkwardly tried to scoot her massive wooden chair back from the table before one of the servers jumped forward to assist her.
Her grand exit had already been ruined by the stubborn chair, but Tess tried to maintain her haughty air. She didn’t realize that the tablecloth had somehow caught on the belt of her floral dress. When she stood and whirled to leave, she pulled the tablecloth with her and scattered several place settings in the process.
Mo was the first to speak. “That looks like something I would do, not you.”
Stunned and humiliated by the entire ridiculous scene, Tess added appalled to the mix when she burst into distraught tears.
42
Everyone remained frozen and staring at the mess of broken crystal and spilled beverages that Tess had created.
The queen chose that moment to enter the dining hall. Quickly assessing the situation, she turned to Mo. “What did you do?” she asked the innocent woman.
“It wasn’t me this time,” Mo held up her hands in mock-surrender.
Upon further inspection, the queen figured out what had happened. “You did this?” She asked Tess, bugging her eyes out in shock.
Humiliation overwhelmed Tess as she worked to free her belt from the tablecloth. She intended to bolt from this room, this castle, and this island, and never look back.
Sensing her planned escape, Sebastian called out, “Wait, please!” His voice sounded desperate.
Shaking her head and feeling an oncoming sob, Tess freed herself and turned to leave. If her brothers or anyone else had asked her to stay, Tess would have refused, but the commanding tone of the queen made her pause.
“Sit down,” the woman ordered Tess in a regal voice, and for some mysterious reason, Tess obeyed her. The royal staff made quick work of unobtrusively cleaning up the mess.
Once the queen realized that Tess had complied with her request and that all eyes were on her, she spoke. “What my boys tried to do was wrong, but their intentions were good. Their love of this kingdom overshadowed their common sense for a moment.”
The queen paused to glare at both of her sons. Mo squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, even though the intimidating stare wasn’t aimed at her.
Turning back to her guests, the queen went on. “In any case––and for whatever reason––they have fallen for the two of you.” She waved her hand in Tess and Mo’s direction.
Tess didn’t appreciate the ‘for whatever reason’ dig, but she had to admit the queen might have a point about their garish behavior. After all, she had just scattered half a table’s worth of food.
“They are wonderful boys,” she paused to beam with pride at both of her sons before adding, “And anyone would be lucky to have them.”
Fresh plates of food were whisked in, and the table looked almost like nothing amiss had happened.
Speaking with finality, as if her wishes were a foregone conclusion, the queen added, “Now, let’s start planning the weddings.”
Tess reared back as if she had been slapped.
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“Weddings?!?” she spluttered, feeling outraged by the presumptiveness of this woman––queen, or not.
It was Sebastian that spoke up in Tess’s defense as the others sat in stunned silence. Looking the queen directly in the eye, he spoke firmly and plainly. “We will not force Tess or Mo to abide by our customs and traditions, Mother. Tess wishes to leave, and she may do so when she chooses.”
The queen’s already rigid posture became even more erect. It was obvious that she wasn’t used to having her authority challenged––especially not by Sebastian.
Tess couldn’t help but feel touched that he had stood up to the regal woman for her. She stubbornly grasped onto her anger, though––unwilling and unable to easily let it go. “Thank you,” she said quietly, in acknowledgment of his rebellious chivalry.
“Stay for just a bit?” Ellie turned her hopeful gaze up at Tess. “I think if we brainstorm, we can come up with a solution to the kingdom’s financial woes.”
Tess wanted to turn her down, but each person around the table was now looking at her like she held the key to their happiness. When she hesitated, Ellie went on, “It’s such a lovely island, and the locals are completely innocent of any wrongdoing.”
She was tuggi
ng at Tess’s heartstrings, and she knew it. Maybe sweet Ellie was a little more ruthless than she first appeared. Bringing her plea home, she finished with, “Once we’ve had a chance to talk things through, we’ll leave, if you still wish to. I promise.”
Seeing no way to turn that down without seeming like a complete heel, Tess nodded her acceptance and sat back down at the table.
Millie took that as her cue to jump in with some ideas. Morphing into her all-business persona, she suggested, “Are there any natural commodities on the island that we could sell? Or have you looked at short-term borrowing in order to shore up a sustainable income for the island?”
She turned to the royals for answers. Sebastian was the first to regain his wits from the shocking transformation of the fun-loving version of Millie into this serious businessperson.
After clearing his throat, he said, “The greatest commodity this kingdom has is it’s natural, untouched beauty. Our pristine beaches, the natural hot springs, and stunning waterfalls all combine to make this island a precious, hidden gem. Maybe we could play on that to drum up some tourism?”
Trey shot that down with, “But where are these tourists going to stay when they get here? The island doesn’t have facilities and infrastructure in place for an influx of people. You’d have to secure the funds to build a massive, all-inclusive resort that would impress your guests enough that they went home and told all their friends about Isle de Monsail.”
The queen looked displeased. “In the meantime, all of those tourists traipsing around our island, as well as an enormous eyesore of a resort, would ruin the natural beauty that people were drawn to come see in the first place.” Nods all around the table proved that the queen was not alone in her opinion.
“Maybe some of those thatch-roofed huts out over the water would work?” Trevor suggested, but it didn’t sound like he was very enthusiastic about that idea.