Once Upon a Prince

by Rachel Hauck

  The teen’s face flashed a delicious shade of apple red. “Suuuzz!”

  “Prince Street.” Avery pointed to the street sign as she turned, slowing the car. “Here you go, Colin. Your street.”

  “And the tree? Straight ahead?”

  “Just down there a bit.” Avery glanced back at Susanna. “You doing okay back there?”

  “Peachy keen.” Susanna had finally relaxed and joined Avery’s fun, helping her shine in front of Prince Colin. After a short tour of the southern tip of the island and a climb to the top of the lighthouse, they crossed the causeway and headed for the old Brunswick tree. “My hair looks like I got hit by a wind tunnel, but ah, what the heck.”

  Who was she, Susanna Truitt, to determine which sister won the prince? The coronation royal affair landed one of the Truitt girls in a fairy tale. The better of the two at that.

  “Y–you want a brush or something?” Avery rose up to see her in the rearview.

  “A brush? It’ll just tangle up on the way home.” Susanna tapped Colin’s shoulder. “There’s the tree”—why was it glowing? She reached for the roll bar and pulled herself up—“with all of those white lights.”

  Hundreds of them. Thousands. Glittering against the velvet night.

  The Cabrio inched into a pocket of air filled with the music of a string quartet.

  A sand-bag candle path began halfway down Prince Street, lining the street to the corner of Albany and the tree.

  Susanna gripped Avery’s shoulder as she crept along the avenue.

  “Avery?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What’s going on?”

  Silence.

  “Colin?”

  Ditto silence.

  Susanna sat on the collapsed rooftop and slid over the back of the car. Jogging alongside, she peered through the flickering angles of light toward the tree.

  She had no thoughts. No conclusion. Just a powerful urge to move toward the lights, toward the fullness of the oak tree.

  Then he stepped around the craggy old trunk. Handsome and regal in his pressed white shirt and blue jeans, his dark hair loose about his face.

  “Nathaniel.” She broke into a full run, the heels of her worn work clogs soft against the hard pavement. “Nathaniel.” When she reached the tree, she launched into his arms.

  “Susanna.” He swept her around, holding her so tight she couldn’t feel where she ended and he began.

  “I missed you so much.”

  “I missed you.” He cupped her face in his hands, brushing his thumbs over her lips. “I’m so sorry for my silence, so sorry.”

  “No, no, it’s okay. Of course you were silent. I left without a word. I told you I wouldn’t marry you. But I was wrong. I would, I would. If you could. I’m so glad you’re here.” She threw her arms around his neck and wept against his shoulder. “I love you. I do. I can’t help it. No matter what, I do love you even if you can’t—”

  “Hey, love, hey.” He freed her arms and stepped back, holding her face in his hands, joy in his glistening eyes. “You just made my quest much easier.”

  “What quest?” She didn’t bother with her tears or wet cheeks.

  “To see you. But I had to take time to arrange things.”

  “What things?” Had she not just been lying face down in the grass telling the Lord she was letting go? Was this the fruit of letting go? Seeing Nathaniel stirred the silt of her soul where she’d hoped her prayers had settled.

  “This.” Nathaniel skipped back toward the tree and pulled a scroll from a leather bag.

  With great pomp and circumstance, he unfurled the scroll, cleared his voice, and read in his best bass. “‘We, the Parliament of Brighton Kingdom’“—he leaned toward her—“this is my version because the official one is full of barrister speak, but I assure you it’s all valid and official.”

  “Official?” The stammering of her heart vibrated in her words.

  “‘Along with the Crown and House of Stratton, decree a new covenant of love in the Marriage Act of 1792 and hereby grant rights to King Nathaniel II and his descendants hitherto and hereafter to marry whomever they choose as long as the Crown, the prime minister, and the privy council don’t disapprove.’”

  Tremors anchored Susanna to where she stood and shook her breath.

  “‘In so being, we decree our high approval of Miss Susanna Truitt’—they really said that, Susanna, I didn’t add that part—’of St. Simons Island, of Georgia, of America.’” Nathaniel lowered the scroll and peered at her. “Of Nathaniel’s mind.” He lowered to one knee. “Of Nathaniel’s heart.”

  “Nathaniel, w–what are you doing?” The quartet, in portable chairs on the left side of the Prince and Albany intersection, raised their bows. Neighbors came out of their houses, stepped from their porches.

  “Susanna Truitt, I don’t know truly how you feel. Or if you’d fancy marrying a king. But I love you, I can’t stop thinking of you, and I want to spend my life with you.” He pulled a wooden ring box from his jeans pocket. “It’s unfair to ask you to leave your home, your friends and family, your country, your right to privacy, and your own career and desires, but I’m asking anyway. Will you marry me?”

  What did he say? The breeze moving through Lover’s Oak must have twisted his words.

  “Will you marry me?”

  She covered her mouth and took a step back, her world quaking.

  “No man will love you more. I can’t be a good king without the woman I love. Without you. Once you said if we were meant to be you’d have been born in Brighton, or I’d have been born in America, but I respectfully decline your theory, Susanna. We are meant to be. You are right for me, for Brighton. God expands the boundaries of nations, changes their DNA, by giving us sincere souls like you. By the love of a king’s heart. Brighton needs you. I need you. But the lingering question is, am I right for you? Do you need and want me?”

  Susanna dropped to her knees and searched his gaze. “I do. I can’t get you out of my heart. I’ve tried, oh, I’ve tried.” Words watered with the sweetness of tears were the best. “I’m terrified of all of this. But I love you.” She laughed low, suddenly realizing how wild she must look. She patted down her wind-matted hair. “Now I know why Avery asked me if I wanted to brush my hair.”

  “He went to Parliament, Susanna.” Jonathan came from the other side of a dark SUV that was merged with the shadows. “He implored them to change the Marriage Act. Risked his reputation, his credibility. First time a king brought an Order of Council before the Parliament in over a century.”

  “Jon, please, chap, I think I can woo her on my own.”

  Jonathan grinned with a slight bow. “His love for you changed our nation, Susanna. Changed me.”

  “Susanna.” Nathaniel opened the ring box. The jewel inside caught the tiny white lights and created a rainbow over Susanna and the base of Lover’s Oak. It captured her breath, her heart. “This belonged to Brighton’s last reigning queen, Anne-Marie.”

  “I–I couldn’t … It’s … incredible.” She’d never seen anything like it. An oval center pink diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds, sapphires, and rubies.

  “Lord Thomas Winthrop designed it for her. They were known in Brighton for their love. Then my grandfather gave it to my Granny, Isabella.” Nathaniel reached for her hand. “But I think Queen Anne-Marie Victoria Karoline Susanna would love for you to have it.”

  “Susanna?”

  “Yes, and you’ve not given me your answer. Will you marry me? Be my queen?”

  “Marry you?” She didn’t mean to repeat the question but it felt so overwhelming.

  “Marry me.”

  “Marry you?” She couldn’t stop trembling.

  “Susanna Jean.” A sharp but very familiar voice hit her in the back of the head. “Stop stalling. Say yes.”

  “Mama?” Susanna jumped to her feet and whirled around to see Daddy, Mama, Avery, Colin, Gracie, and Ethan sitting on car hoods and truck gates. “Are you tailg
ating my engagement?”

  “Oh, my stars-a-mighty.” Mama surrendered her hands. “Pay attention to the man on his knees.”

  “Suz”—Nathaniel grabbed her hand and rose to his feet—“if you want to think for a while, I understand. It’s all quite sudden.”

  “Do you think I can do it? Marry you, be a … a … queen?” The word tumbled awkwardly from her tongue. “Can I do what’s required?”

  “I have no doubt. I’d not be here otherwise. I need you, Suz. Brighton needs you. I’d not put you in this position if I didn’t believe in you.”

  “What about Hessenberg, Lady Genevieve, the entail?”

  “Goodness, you ask a lot of questions when a man’s heart is beating against his chest.” He kissed her forehead. “We found an heir to Prince Francis.”

  “Really?”

  “An American. Regina Beswick.”

  “An American?” She grinned. “Seems America will be invading the nations of the North Sea.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Susanna loved the look of realization in Nathaniel’s eyes. She tugged at his button-down shirt. Might as well have some fun of her own. “I would say yes, Nate, but I told God it’d have to be a snowy day in Georgia before I ever fell in love again. Or at least admitted to it.” She tipped her head toward the night and offered up her palms. “Sixty degrees and no snow.”

  “So, that’s it? No snow, no engagement?” He backed toward the tree, somber, serious.

  Susanna regarded him a moment, wondering how far she could push this bit. “Yes, that’s it. No snow, no engagement.” She glanced back at her family. Were they eating popcorn? Oh, mercy … back at Nathaniel, she crossed her arms. “Yeah, chap, it has to snow.”

  “I wasn’t sure you’d reduce me to this, but …” He pulled a cord and smiled as a delicate cloud of Styrofoam snow drifted down from the highest limbs of Lover’s Oak.

  “Oh my …” She held up her hands as she turned slowly in the swirling white flakes. They covered her hair, her shoulders, the edge of her eyelashes, and filled her with tears.

  “You never said it had to be real snow, milady.”

  “No, I guess I didn’t.” She peered at him, love spilling over her heart into her mind, will, and emotions. He did this for her, to win her heart.

  She didn’t need fake snow or a proposal beneath an ancient tree to know God had brought this man into her life.

  The morning she’d confessed to God she had nothing and he could set her on any journey he deemed necessary. Susanna understood completely now the Lord had Nathaniel in mind all along.

  “Susanna Truitt, please, you’re killing me. Will you marry me? How many times must a king ask?”

  “Yes, Nathaniel II of the House of Stratton”—she laced her arms about his neck—“I will most definitely, certainly, one hundred percent marry you and be your snow queen.”

  “Thank goodness.” He exhaled, then scooped her up, whirled her around as the last of the fake snow whispered down over their true love.

  The tailgaters erupted with cheers and whistles.

  “I love you, Susanna-babe.”

  “I love you too, Nathaniel. I love you too.”

  He set her down and held her face in his hands, smoothing his thumbs over her cheeks, and sealed the moment with their first kiss. Tender but passionate.

  Susanna had never believed much in fairy tales or charming princes, or knights on white steeds, but she’d always believed in the one true love.

  And tonight, and forever, he held her in his arms.

  READING GROUP GUIDE

  1. In the opening of the story, Susanna had a plan. One she stuck to for far too long. Is it possible to cling to an idea or want too long? Discuss areas of your life where you might need to let go.

  2. Nathaniel’s life is about to change. He doesn’t feel ready to be king. He hopes it’s later rather than sooner. Discuss ways to embrace life’s changes. If change is hard for you, how can you embrace it with a more willing heart?

  3. In the beginning we see Susanna wants what she wants. Adam and living on St. Simons Island. There’s little consideration of God’s plan. Our plans and wants can muddy up our ability to seek God’s desires. How can we clear the waters and tap into his heart for us?

  4. Aurora restructured her life to engage God. Would you be willing to give up something that meant a great deal to you if it meant you had a constant sense of God’s presence?

  5. Susanna says Aurora is the most free of them all. Is she? How can we be “tent dwellers” in our daily lives?

  6. Often there are clues directing us into the Lord’s will but we can’t see them or grasp them. The gold shoes are that for Susanna. She misses the clue but doesn’t give up on seeking understanding. What clues have you received that were indicators of God’s direction for your life?

  7. Nathaniel is locked into duty to his country but he loves Susanna even though he can’t marry her. Have you ever surrendered your will for the sake of a greater cause? If not, how would you respond if faced with such a challenge?

  8. When Prince Stephen and Queen Campbell conspire to bring Susanna to the coronation, did you see it as manipulative or something for the greater good?

  9. Was Susanna right to leave early? Was she being a coward or trying to get out of Nathaniel’s way? Is it sometimes best to get out of the way of another person’s destiny even if it hurts our own wants?

  10. Nathaniel changed a nation because of love. Is it possible to change our families, our relationship, our communities, even our nation with the pure love of Jesus? How can you be both bold and humble in truth and love?

  11. Nathaniel remembered the snow. Was there a time in your life when you remembered something special about someone and filled a need? Did someone do that for you?

  12. An engagement tailgate party! Share a story from your life when you were surprised by friends, family, or your spouse.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  When my alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. the morning Prince William married Catherine Middleton, my first thought was, “Do I really want to do this? It’s so early!” But I love watching history in the making. I love a good romantic ending to any relationship.

  Twenty-nine years earlier I’d watched Prince Charles marry Lady Diana. How could I miss the nuptials of their son?

  So I rolled out of bed, hopped online, and watched the wedding of the century. The new Duchess of Cambridge captured me, and the rest of the world, with her poise and confidence.

  She was … like me. An ordinary girl marrying the man she loved, living her dream. My imagination took hold. What if an American girl was invited to a royal wedding? Wouldn’t that be cool? What if she met a prince and fell in love? What if she didn’t know he was a prince?

  Through several iterations, brainstorming, writing, and rewriting, Susanna and Nathaniel’s story came to life. Thank you to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, for inspiring us all.

  The countries used in this story are fictional—a blend of English and German culture, rooted in the history of European royalty. The characters reflect no real persons or ruling families. They are entirely of my imagination. Terminology and setting, and the political situation, is also solely of my creation, though I relied on real historical facts to build my royal world.

  That being said, a novel is written in solitude but with the support of many. My debt of love and thanks goes to:

  Brainstorm partners Debbie Macomber, DiAnn Mills, and Karen Young.

  My agent, Chip MacGregor, for loving this idea and lending it his support. I really appreciate you!

  My editor, Sue Brower, and the Zondervan team for seeing the merit of a royal story. Sue, your phone call and honest, real conversation won my heart.

  Bob Hudson for your wise insight and skilled copy edits.

  Authors Beth K. Vogt and Lisa Jordan for reading the synopsis and giving me your input.

  My writing partner, Susan May Warren, who continually carves time out of her busy life
to sound out story ideas and plot points with me. Who said without hesitation when I called with a “new” idea for a big, smashing ending, “No terrorist attacks in a prince story!” Thank you, friend. I’m so grateful to the Lord for you.

  Ellen Tarver for reading and editing at the last minute. Amy Simpson, my real-life princess model. Thanks for loaning my imagination your beauty.

  My husband and very own prince, who is a constant encouragement and intellectual resource. He makes me laugh and reminds me who I’m writing for and why. He exhorts me to chase God and the things he’s called me to do with liberty. He is my best friend. “Love you, babe!”

  All the royal watchers and biographers who blog and write about Europe’s kings, queens, and royal families, especially the folks on the Royal Forums.

  And to you, the readers, who give your precious time to my stories! You bless me way more than you can ever know.

  Jesus! Thanks be to God who leads me into triumph! What an honor to know you and write for you.

  About the Author

  RITA Finalist and Carol Award winner Rachel Hauck was recently chosen by Family Fiction readers as one of the top five romance authors in CBA. She has written more than 15 novels. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and writes from her ivory tower (her 14th-floor office painted ivory!).

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  ACCLAIM FOR RACHEL HAUCK

  Powerful and relevant, Once Upon a Prince is simply put a fun read, the pages flew by. This is classic romnace at its very best. Bravo to Rachel Hauck for creating a story that’s sure to touch hearts and souls.

  DEBBIE MACOMBER, #1 NEW

  YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR

  The Wedding Dress will capture you from page one with a story only Rachel Hauck could weave.

  —JENNY B. JONES, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF

  SAVE THE DATE AND THERE YOU’LL FIND ME

  The Wedding Dress is a seamless tale of enduring love that weaves the past and present in an intricate, wedding dress mystery. Hauck again manages to mesmerize for well over 300 pages with quirky characters, a compelling plot, and a satisfying happily-ever-after. Highly recommended!