by Kristi Gold
Kate took a moment to let the information sink in before she said, “But Philippe was engaged to a countess.”
“Yes, and that was a front. Countess Trudeau knew all along about the marriage and agreed to pose as his fiancée, at least until King Philippe decided how to break the news to his family that he planned to abdicate the throne to his brother. He wanted to be with Lisette and raise their child together, whether anyone accepted her or not. That was the reason for the countess’s and the king’s two-year engagement, and the reason why the countess married so soon after King Philippe’s death.”
Kate sighed. “He was willing to give it all up for the woman he loved.”
“Yes, but before he could, it was too late. He never had the opportunity to tell anyone.” A tear escaped and rolled down Caroline’s cheek. “He never saw his beautiful baby girl.”
The tragedy was beginning to unfold, piece by piece, and it was all Kate could do not to cry a few of her own tears. “Were you there with Lisette when she gave birth?”
“Yes. I tried to save her, I swear it. But when I realized I needed help, I called the king. He had just returned from Paris and he was on his way to take Lisette to the hospital when he lost control of the car.”
“And Lisette—”
“Died only hours after Cecile was born. She made me promise to help Philippe take care of little Cecile and to tell him that she would always love him. I never had the chance, but I did take care of the baby and loved her the best way I knew how, and I do love her still. But I’ve always believed she belongs to her rightful family. I just didn’t know what to do, since no one knew about Lisette and Philippe.”
Even though her evasiveness had threatened Marc’s standing with his people, Kate very much understood the woman’s dilemma. “Caroline, I’m so sorry you got caught up in this mess, but you did take care of Cecile very well. She’s happy and healthy. The family owes you a great deal for that.”
Caroline’s tears came full force now. “I will tell King Marcel the details if you wish me to. And I am prepared to suffer the consequences of my deception.”
Kate recognized that the nurse’s only real mistake had been her involvement with the devil doctor, Renault. “I’m sure the royal family will understand that you were put in a very precarious position and will choose to be lenient. They may not be so kind to Jonathan Renault.”
Anger turned Caroline’s eyes a deeper brown. “He deserves the harshest punishment. He is responsible for the rumors and the attempts at discrediting the king. And you.”
“Well, at least we can clear everything up now with King Marcel.”
Caroline stuffed the weathered tissue back into her pocket. “I will gather my things and leave today. The clinic has the
number where I can be reached.”
“You can’t quit, Caroline.”
“But I assumed—”
“That you would lose your job? Not if I can prevent it. You’re a wonderful nurse. The clinic needs you. I do, too.” Kate smiled. “How else am I going to be able to tell the difference between a sore throat and a sore back?”
Caroline hugged Kate for a few moments, then drew back with a joyful expression. “My sincerest gratitude, Dr. Milner. The clinic most definitely needs you, too. The patients are much more fond of you than they ever were of Jonathan. Many of them have refused to see him since your arrival.”
That concept gave Kate pause. The patients did need her, and if she left now, she would be leaving them in a lurch. She would definitely need to stay, at least until a suitable replacement was found, or if Marc tried to change her mind about going home.
Marc.
She had to call him immediately and tell him the puzzle was finally solved. Now if she could just put the pieces of her heart back together if he didn’t ask her to stay.
Marc hadn’t waited long enough for them to bring round the car before he’d climbed inside the Corvette and taken the hairpin mountain curves at excessive speeds, leaving behind the armored car full of guards as well as his mother, who waited back at the palace for word. He’d reached the hospital in record time, forced into action by Kate’s phone call stating she had solved the mystery of Cecile’s parentage. Now he sprinted down the hospital corridor toward Kate’s office and burst inside, startling Kate, who sat at her desk, looking very unnerved.
“Tell me now,” he demanded. “Is Cecile Philippe’s child?”
Kate rose, rounded the desk and perched on the edge. “Yes, she is your brother’s child.”
Hearing the confirmation sent shock spiraling through Marc. “And the mother?”
“She was a commoner, a tailor’s assistant.”
“Where is she?”
Kate’s gaze faltered. “She’s dead, Marc. She died following Cecile’s birth, the same night Philippe died trying to reach her to bring her back here.”
Marc streaked a hand over his forehead, now covered in beads of sweat, both from his harried departure and the unfathomable information. “Then he did have a lover other than the countess.”
“No, Marc, she wasn’t his lover. She was his wife. And he was about to abdicate the throne to you so that they could be together.”
And Marc had thought he couldn’t suffer more shock. “No one knew?”
“Only Caroline, the nurse I’ve been working with. She was Cecile’s mother’s friend and she raised the baby until she returned her to the palace. Jonathan Renault was also involved, with Caroline and with the worst of the schemes.”
“He was behind this after all?”
“Yes, and there’s more.”
Kate recounted what she’d learned earlier about Philippe and the woman named Lisette, the nurse and her connection with Renault, and Renault’s plans to destroy Marc. When she was finished, she said, “Now that everything is cleared up, I’m asking that you not be too hard on Caroline. She’s a good employee and she didn’t ask for any of this. She’s been a victim of Renault’s deceit and had it not been for her, who knows what would have become of Cecile?”
Caroline remaining as an employee of the clinic was the least of Marc’s concerns. “I will see to it she keeps her job. But I have no recourse other than to have Renault arrested for treason.”
“He’s on his way to Paris,” Kate said. “I spoke with his landlord, who informed me he’d gotten in his car about an hour ago and taken off. Or at least I think that’s what he said. His English wasn’t too good, and we know my French isn’t too great.”
“You talked to him by phone?”
“In person.”
“You went to Renault’s house to confront him? That was dangerous, Kate.”
She smiled. “Believe me, I wasn’t worried. I planned to tell him you were on your way. If that didn’t work, a swift kick would have.”
Marc was too uptight to smile, too wound up to find any humor in the situation. “That was unwise, Kate, a huge risk.”
She shrugged. “Well, I said I wanted some adventure, and this has been quite an adventure.”
Marc didn’t like the way she’d said that, as if the adventure was over. “At least now you can go back to your duties here without worrying about the press or Renault.”
She studied her hands clasped tightly in her lap. “Marc, I’ve decided to stay here only until you find someone to replace me. You were probably right about me returning to the States. Maybe that would be best for everyone, especially you.”
Marc fought an unfamiliar panic. “You have no reason to leave now, Kate. Everyone will know that you are not Cecile’s mother.” He sounded almost desperate, probably because he was.
She glanced up at him. “If you decide to reveal the truth, and I’m not sure you would want to do that if you consider what it might mean to Philippe’s reputation.”
Marc wondered if the truth would damage Philippe’s reputation if everyone knew the whole story, that his love for a woman had driven him to deceive his people. But would his mother be receptive to telling all? He wasn’t cer
tain he would be willing to take the chance if it meant destroying his brother’s memory. As much as he’d despised trying to live up to Philippe’s example, he wanted his brother to be remembered for the great man he had been—a man who had been willing to give up his title for the sake of love.
That concept was as unfamiliar to Marc as driving the speed limit on rural roads. Or it had been before he’d met Kate.
He didn’t want her to leave, yet he could not hold her against her will. “If you want to return to the States, that’s your decision. But I would like for you to stay.”
“Why, Marc?”
“You’re very much needed here at the hospital.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“Cecile needs you, too.” Just say it, dammit. “And I—”
The loud knock at the door cut off Marc’s declaration and provoked a foul curse bursting forth from his mouth before he could stop it. He threw open the door, again finding Nicholas there. The man had seriously bad timing.
“Beg pardon, Your…Majesty, but your mother insists you return to the palace immediately. It seems the media are calling for a statement from you in regard to charges leveled by a Dr. Renault, who says you’ve threatened to kill him, which is why he has fled the country.”
“That bastard,” Marc snapped. He turned to Kate, recognizing that now was not the time to make any confessions. “Kate, I have to—”
She flipped her hand toward the door. “Go on. I have a few patients to see anyway.”
“I’ll speak with you as soon as I have the time.”
“Guess I’ll see you in about a month, then.” She smiled, but not before he saw the disappointment in her eyes.
“We’ll talk about this later. I promise.” If only he could promise her more.
Marc left her then, hating that he had caused her more pain. Hating himself because he had been such a coward. He’d had the prime opportunity to tell her that he needed her and that he cared for her more than he could express, but he’d blown it—with some help from his attendant.
Once more, duty had intruded on his private life, and that caused Marc to consider several things. Would she be willing to give up much of her privacy to be by his side? Would he be selfish to ask that of her?
Unlike Philippe, he had no one to replace him should he decide to give up the crown for love. But he didn’t know if he could live with the decision to give up Kate.
Ten
“So that’s it, Mother. The whole story of how Cecile came to be.”
In the library, Marc sat on the settee across from Mary, awaiting her reaction and finding it odd that she seemed so calm. He, on the other hand, felt as if someone were banging a drum in his head and lighting a torch to his gut.
“I suppose I didn’t know Philippe as well as I thought,” she said. “And I’m sad that he didn’t believe he could come to me. I would have understood if he’d fallen in love.”
“You might have, Mother. But the country as whole might not have accepted his choice.”
Mary toyed with the bracelet at her wrist, turning it round and round. “The country is more accepting than most people realize. They accepted me when your father brought me here.”
“Perhaps that’s because you have more charm that most women. And you aren’t exactly a commoner.”
“They recognized that I loved your father greatly, and two people in love are a wonder to behold.”
“How is that possible when you knew each other so briefly?”
“I knew it the moment I laid eyes on him, and he felt the same. It’s not so very difficult to understand once you have been in that position.”
Marc actually did understand. But he didn’t have time to consider love at the moment—his love for Kate—even though he needed to think about it, and soon. Before Kate left him. “I have to decide how to handle this whole media fiasco. The people are demanding answers from me.”
Mary sighed. “Those answers call for serious deliberation, especially Renault’s claim that you threatened to kill him. Did you threaten him?”
“It was a veiled threat, and it did not involve killing him, although that thought did cross my mind.”
“I’m very surprised, Marcel. You’ve always been very diplomatic.”
“He called Kate a whore.”
“Then you should definitely do him bodily harm.”
He couldn’t suppress his smile, but only allowed it for a moment. “I will deal with him without resorting to violence, Mother. Renault and his ramblings are not my greatest concern. Deciding what to reveal about Cecile’s parentage is.”
Mary sighed. “I am proud to claim Cecile as my grandchild, but I hate that Philippe’s birthright put such pressure on him, enough to cost him his life because he felt he had to deny his true love. And now I see it happening to you. At times, I wish you weren’t subjected to living your life for your people.”
No one wished that more than Marc at this moment. “I have no choice.”
“You should have choices, Marcel, especially when it comes to whomever you choose to love. That is a given as far as I am concerned.”
Marc understood she was referring to Kate, and he wasn’t ready to discuss that with her yet. “What do you think we should do about Cecile?”
“That is your decision, my son.”
“I want to know what you wish me to do.”
“I want you to raise Cecile as your own.”
He could not consider anything else. He loved the baby as if she were his own child, and he would continue to protect her at every turn. “I had planned to raise her, regardless of the fact that she’s Philippe’s daughter.”
“Therein lies your answer. And I wish for you the love you deserve with Kate.”
He knew it would eventually come to this. “Mother, I—”
“Marc, you have never feared much in your lifetime. You were always the one climbing the tallest tree, scaling the wall surrounding the castle.” She smiled. “Chasing the most unattainable women. Do not be afraid to love.”
“I’m not afraid of it. I’m just not bloody good at it.”
Mary’s demeanor went stern in a matter of seconds, as it often had when Marc had climbed those trees and scaled those walls. “You will never know unless you try, Marcel. Kate deserves that much from you. Unless you’ve been trifling with her feelings. If that is the case, I will not be pleased.”
Marc thought for a moment and realized he had been guilty of many things where Kate was concerned, the least of which had been his inability to express his feelings. “In some ways maybe I haven’t been fair to her, but not intentionally. I’ve believed all along that I could not give her what she needs. A life of her own, not a life where everyone is scrutinizing her every move.”
“Have you given her that choice?”
Marc looked away. “No.”
“Do you love her, Marcel?”
God, he did. “Yes, Mother, I do love her.” It hadn’t pained him to admit it. The ceiling did not fall down around his head, and the earth below his feet did not open up and swallow him.
“And what did she say when you told her?” Mary asked.
He braced for the fallout. “I haven’t told her yet.”
The fallout came swift and sure. “Oh, good grief, Marcel. What are you waiting for? A royal edict?”
He’d been waiting for the right time, the right place, the right words. “It’s not as if I’ve had nothing better to do, Mother.” A very weak excuse.
“You have certainly found the time to bed her, my son.”
Touché. “I do not care to discuss this with you.”
Mary flipped her white lace handkerchief in his direction. “Oh, posh. I am not brainless, Marcel. I know why you took her to the cabin, and what went on there, if not before. And I assure you that Kate takes your intimacy very seriously, and I hope you do as well this time.”
This time. The anger came back to Marc once more. Would he ever live down his playboy reputation? “
I’m not the same man I was before, Mother. I’ve changed, whether you care to believe it not.”
Mary joined him on the settee and rested a delicate hand on his arm. “But have you changed enough to love only one woman? Enough to be a good father and a man whom your own father would be proud of?”
He’d never loved another woman as he loved Kate. He’d never really loved any woman aside from her. “I don’t know, Mother. Why don’t you tell me?”
“I truly believe you have changed, mon fiston.”
“If that were the case, then you would stop referring to me as your little boy.”
She leaned and kissed his cheek. “You will always be my little boy, but you are a man now, and I am very, very proud of you.”
Marc had waited what seemed like a lifetime to hear those words. “Thank you, Mother. I appreciate your faith in me.” A faith he had seen in Kate as well. He reveled in the fact that the two women he loved the most believed in him…or at least Kate had at one time.
Mary patted his arm. “And I would be even more proud if you would do something else for me.”
Now why did that not surprise him? “What would that be, Mother?”
“Make Kate your wife.”
Marry Kate? Was he ready for that? “We’ve had too little time together to make such a monumental decision.”
“You’ve spent enough time together to fall in love. If it happened to your father, it most likely has happened to you. After all, you are your father’s son. Had I not settled him down, he probably would have been globe-trotting well into his golden years.”
But Marc had no idea if Kate loved him. After all, time and again she’d said she only wanted adventure. And a few hours ago, she’d said she planned to leave him. “Kate is considering returning home to the States.”
Mary looked totally taken aback. “Why did you not tell me this sooner?”
“I didn’t want to upset you further. I know how much you admire her.”
“And what do you plan to do to prevent this from happening?”