Even after the sudden death of King Alfred the Second of Eyjania, his father’s best friend since their university days, his father had seemed invincible.
But suddenly, he seemed different.
Older.
Careworn.
Struggling with the weight of responsibility constantly on his shoulders.
“I won’t leave,” he told his father with a sigh. “I won’t stop seeing and talking to Lani, though. She’s my wife, even if we do have to figure out how to deal with this other girl.”
“Thank you. I’ve been wracking my brain to come up with a solution. So have my assistants. And the lawyers. We’ll figure something out.”
“Maybe it’s a forgery, and then it won’t matter.”
“In some ways, that would be easiest.”
“What does this girl think about all of it? Does she even want to marry me? Or is she being dragged along kicking and screaming by her grandfather?”
“I have no idea.”
“Then maybe that needs to be our first move. Have them come in and sit down for a discussion. Maybe we can find out more about this event in Parliament and what their end goal is.”
“That’s a good idea.” His father smiled at him. “I’m proud of you, Harrison. I hope you know that. You’ve worked hard to get through school with good grades, and you’re doing that. You’ve become a good man and are becoming a good husband. One day, you’ll be a good father. That’s the more important part.” The king hesitated. “Is there any chance Lani could be pregnant?”
Harrison shook his head but didn’t elaborate. It was probably best if his father didn’t know their marriage remained unconsummated. Better to let him think they’d taken precautions.
“It needs to remain that way,” his father warned. “I said no PDA, but really no displays of affection in private either. You will not be together unchaperoned until this is over.”
“Yes, sir.”
His father gave him a weary smile as he stood. “Why don’t you take a shower? Dinner is in an hour.”
Harrison shook his head. “I think I’ll eat in my quarters. I’m not up for a family dinner where the discussion will revolve around my marriage and the complications.”
“It’s confidential at the moment, though we could probably tell the adults. They’d be cleared for all of it, I believe. I can check. Regardless, Lani leaving will still be the talk of dinner even if you’re not there.”
Harrison walked next to his father toward the door.
“If you are there, maybe we tell them, and you can help come up with some ideas on how to deal with this.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I won’t be very good company. Give everyone my love.”
With that, their directions diverged. Harrison headed toward the private family quarters while his father went back to his office.
As the water of his shower sluiced over him, Harrison finally did what he should have done in the first place.
He prayed.
Not a gentle, quiet prayer, but one where he railed at God for the situation and how Harrison was being put in an impossible spot - choosing between his family and his people, and his wife. It wasn’t even because his family was toxic or mean to his wife, where the choice would be warranted.
No. His grandfather had made a decision that now had the potential to force Harrison to choose between the woman he’d exchanged vows with and the life he’d always known.
There was no answer forthcoming from the hot water, but by the time he toweled off, Harrison felt more at peace.
He still didn’t have the answers, but at least he wasn’t at risk from skyrocketing blood pressure anymore.
With that, he decided to go to dinner with his family after all. His father was right. They were an intelligent bunch of people.
Surely, between all of them, they could come up with an answer.
Or maybe he wasn’t ready to have all of this dragged through the mud, even if it was just his family. Maybe they should wait and see if it somehow resolved itself. Besides, the kids would be at dinner, and this wasn’t a conversation to have in front of them.
Mid-step, he turned. He wasn’t ready to see them after all.
18
The Burketon House was the nicest place Lani had ever stayed that wasn’t a palace.
Except it didn’t have Harrison.
It amazed her that in such a short time she’d come to enjoy having him around so much. She missed him.
Her parents had been taken directly to the airport with an escort to make sure they actually got on the plane. As far as she knew, they hadn’t been told why they needed to leave.
Madi was on her way, but Lani had no idea when she’d arrive. Probably at least another twelve hours.
A guy in a butler’s uniform had shown Lani to the room she was to occupy and asked that she stay there for the moment. She’d complied but had explored the suite. There was a central living area with two luxurious bedrooms off it. Madi would probably use the other one.
Each had an equally fancy bathroom with a sunken tub she could practically swim in.
If she could sit still long enough to enjoy it, she’d have already been soaking, but instead she was antsy.
Pacing all around the entire suite, Lani wished she had one of those watches that counted your steps. She probably walked enough miles for three days worth of exercise.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Harrison. He missed her, but that was the extent of the information. Nothing about how they were going to figure this whole thing out or when he’d see her again.
Lani flopped into one of the chairs in the living area and texted him back, saying much the same thing.
She waited for a reply but after ten minutes, none came. Rather than continuing to hold her phone and stare at it, she called her sister.
Two rings into the second call, her sister answered. “You know, I’m in the middle of packing to come see you,” Madi sounded out of breath. “My phone was buried under a pile of clothes.”
“When do you leave?”
“I don’t know. Jonathan told me to call him as soon as I was ready to go, and he’d handle it from there.”
“When will that be?” Her voice cracked as hot tears filled Lani’s eyes and started to leak down her cheeks.
“Hopefully in the next hour or so.” Madi’s voice softened. “He didn’t tell me anything except that you needed me to come.”
Lani sniffled several times before speaking again. “My marriage to Harrison may be illegal or invalid or some other stupid word that means we’re not legally married.” She swiped at her eyes and willed the tears back where they belonged.
“What?” Madi exploded. “How is that even a thing? After everything with the hotels and stuff, they have the gall to pull this?”
“It’s not their fault. King Edward even looked kind of distraught, and he’s got the whole poker face thing down pat. He has all these other things to think about, too, though, like the legal ramifications if this claim about Harrison’s grandfather signing a marriage contract for him is legit.”
“What?”
Lani had to hold the phone away from her ear.
“His grandfather did this to him? Why?”
She explained the story as she understood it with Madi’s disbelief increasing with each sentence.
“Well, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Once I have an itinerary, I’ll send it to you. Under no circumstances are you to meet me at the airport, though. Someone will take your picture, and it’ll be all over and then when the whole story comes out, it’ll be a thing. I’ll grab a Lyft or Yfir or something. Just tell me where to go.”
“Ask Jonathan if he already arranged for something. If he’s handling your travel arrangements, he may have it sorted out.”
“I will, but I have to go if I’m going to get out of here any time soon.”
“I have a ton of clothes if you forget something. Plus someone who can run errands if we need them
to.”
“Fancy.”
“Wait until you see this place, Mads. You’ll love it. Make sure you bring a swimsuit.”
“I’ll see you soon. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
With that, Lani set her phone on the table. There still wasn’t a response from Harrison, but she wasn’t going to let him be her sole focus anymore. Instead, she filled the tub with hot water and bubbles then found the remote control for the television above the fireplace. She had a hard time believing it got cold enough to really use the fireplace, but the ambiance would be nice when it was cool.
Instead, she turned on the television and hoped she’d be able to find something good to watch.
Sinking under the bubbles, she flipped it from a show about rebuilding cars to the next channel.
And a gossip show.
Before she could change the channel, a picture of herself and Harrison flashed on the screen.
“San Majoria’s newest princess has already begun capturing the hearts of the people, but not everything is fairy tales at the palace today. After cutting short their time on San Minoria, an SUV believed to carry Princess Lani and all of her belongings traveled from the palace to Burketon House while Prince Harrison stayed behind. No one knows for certain what the rift between the newlyweds is, but unconfirmed reports say the two had a major fight over something unknown.”
A royal expert appeared on the screen. “Whatever happened between the two, they had better make up quickly and continue their tour of the country that was cut short earlier today. While the public is cautiously approving of the new princess, there’s a small, but vocal, contingent voicing their dissent. In theory, they all support the idea that members of the royal family should marry whoever they wish, but now that the other siblings have married a Canadian and two Eyjanians with a marriage to a New Sargassian coming at Christmas, there was great hope that Prince Harrison would choose to marry someone from his homeland rather than someone likely to always be seen as an outsider.”
Lani finally hit the power button as the tears once again threatened to flow down her cheeks.
Always seen as an outsider.
If that was how the country really felt, maybe it would be better for their marriage to dissolve and Harrison marry this other woman.
She would be heartbroken, but it might well be for the best.
Heartbroken now would be better than shunned and rejected for life.
Lani closed her eyes and let the tears fall.
It had been over thirty-six hours since Harrison had seen Lani and nearly that long since he’d sent her a text that he missed her.
His father had threatened to take his phone if he didn’t limit contact.
He could tell it wasn’t what his father wanted, but until this was settled, they needed to be careful. Harrison hadn’t read the document yet, but his father had to be concerned about the consequences of breaking the deal to put his foot down like that.
His custom suit fit exactly like it was supposed to, but he felt distinctly uncomfortable as he walked into the reception room two afternoons after Lani left.
“His Royal Highness, Prince Harrison.” The doors closed behind him as he was announced.
The gathered crowd of politicians and staff turned to look at Harrison. After bowing their heads or curtsying slightly, they went back to their conversations.
“I bet it gets old.”
Harrison turned to see a young woman holding a glass of champagne. “What?”
“The constant adulation, the spotlight.”
He needed to tread carefully, say nothing that could be taken out of context. “I’m grateful I’m in a position to do good wherever I am.”
“I don’t believe we’ve ever met. I’m Lady Lana.” She held out a hand to shake his, a faux pas in the royal world, but he didn’t want to be rude.
“A pleasure to meet you, my lady.” He shook it, quickly, and tried to let it go, but she refused to release his hand.
“And you, Your Royal Highness.” She gave him a smile he thought was supposed to be coy and flirtatious but struck him as annoying. His reaction to her would have been the same, even if he wasn’t married.
He finally managed to retrieve his hand and clasped them together behind his back. “What brings you to this particular gathering?” She was too young to be a member of Parliament and definitely wasn’t on the Council.
“My father is a member of Parliament, and my grandfather is a former Council member and current Parliamentary leader.”
That didn’t explain her presence. Normally, only current Council members and a few of the Parliamentary leaders came, along with some of their staff. The annual budget planning meeting wasn’t open to very many people, including Harrison, though he came to the pre-meeting mixer and dinner, along with several of his siblings.
“Tell me, Prince Harrison, how is your wife?” She took a sip of her drink. “Will she not be joining us this evening?”
Before he had to answer, he was saved by the arrival of Astrid and Jordan.
His sister and brother-in-law came to his side, deflecting the conversation away from Harrison and Lani.
“Will you be attending the Games of the Sargasso Sea?” Astrid asked her.
“Those aren’t for another year,” Lady Lana answered confused.
Astrid laughed. “Oh, goodness. I’m off by a year again, aren’t I? When they’re not in San Majoria, I tend to think they’re every year.” She shifted her body to insert herself between Harrison and Lady Lana. “What’s your favorite event?”
And then, somehow, his sister had managed to extract Harrison from the conversation all together as she walked away with the woman.
“How does she do that?” Jordan muttered with a shake of his head. “I take it you weren’t thrilled with your conversation with that woman?”
“I don’t know who she is, but I won’t turn down Astrid’s help.” Harrison took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. “How does she know?”
Jordan shrugged, his own glass now in his hand. “I have no idea.” He nodded toward one of the men. “Isn’t his cousin married to a member of Auverignonian royalty?”
Harrison shook his head. “Beats me. I can’t keep up. I just know their king is fighting tooth and nail not to step down after the improprieties came to light. It’s been what? Eighteen months since the news broke that he’d misappropriated public funds?”
“Something like that.”
“It could easily destroy their monarchy or even their sovereignty if he doesn’t cooperate soon.” Harrison sipped his champagne, wondering to himself if that was the duke’s plan for San Majoria. “If their leadership ends in a vacuum, they’d likely be absorbed into one of the other Quad Countries, probably Sargasso, given that Gabe is married to their queen. Or so I’ve heard anyway. I don’t have my finger on the pulse of Auverignonian politics. I just know it’s a potential mess.”
“That fits with what Astrid’s told me.” He sighed and sipped his drink. “We should probably mingle with the rest of the group.”
“Probably.” But that wasn’t Harrison’s first choice.
With a sigh of his own, he headed the opposite direction Astrid had gone. One of the first people he came to was his father, though he hadn’t been Harrison’s intended mark for conversation.
“Thank you for being here,” his father said. “I know you’d rather be with Lani.” He tilted his head toward Astrid and the woman. “I see you met Lady Lana.”
“Briefly.”
“Your initial thoughts?”
Harrison glanced around to make sure no one was too close. “A flirt with no respect for the wedding band. The contract issue isn’t public knowledge. The press think Lani and I had a big fight. Yet, she flirted with me and, if Astrid and Jordan hadn’t shown up, I’m pretty sure she would have propositioned me. I’m not okay with that.”
“You shouldn’t be,” his father replied, a frown marring his face for a moment. “
You shouldn’t have to be. That’s not appropriate behavior even if you weren’t married.”
“I agree, but you and I both know it happens more often than it doesn’t.”
The minority leader of Parliament joined their conversation. After a minute or two of pleasantries, he turned so the three of them were looking over the crowd together.
“The Duke of Albertion has been making some interesting statements.”
“Like what?” Harrison’s father asked.
“Like the crown broke a contract with his family when Prince Harrison married. He implied that if the situation isn’t rectified, the consequences for the crown and the government could be dire. I got the impression the only way to rectify the situation would be for the prince to annul his marriage and marry Lady Lana.”
Harrison felt the blood drain from his face even as it ran cold through his veins. “I’m sorry. Did you say Lady Lana?”
He was supposed to marry the flirt?
This was even worse than he feared.
19
The door to the suite flung open, and Madi rushed in.
Lani sat up on the couch where she’d fallen asleep earlier. She hadn’t moved when she woke up.
There was no reason to.
Harrison still hadn’t responded to her text.
Or the five others she sent.
But she wasn’t going to pester him relentlessly. If he wanted to talk to her, he knew where to find her.
She wouldn’t leave the Burketon House until they made her, or she knew he was back in the States.
But now she stared at her sister trying to get her still tired brain to assimilate the new information. “When did you get here?”
“Weather in Springfield then elsewhere delayed a bunch of flights for ages, and I couldn’t get one until this morning, even with Jonathan’s help,” her sister said as she shut the door behind her. “But I’m here now. Did you know there’s no direct flights from Springfield to Cabo Juan Eduardo?”
Lani stood and gave her sister one of the longest hugs in the history of hugs. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered.
Small Town Girls Don't Marry Secret Princes: A Small Town Contemporary Christian Romance (Beaches of Trumanville Book 2) Page 13