“But eight weeks?” I protest once more. “Evie and Chloe are in their third trimester. They can’t travel.”
“I wish I had an answer, but I don’t. This is the only way for our child to be considered an heir and part of the royal family.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat, frustration heating my face. I knew whatever kept Anderson at the palace most of the afternoon wouldn’t be happy news. I just didn’t expect this. I thought we’d have more time. Would be able to acclimate ourselves to this life together in Belmont. Then as new parents. Then as a married couple. Thought I’d be able to have my friends by my side at my wedding to the man of my dreams.
That plan has disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“And if we don’t agree to their proposal? If we still want to do things our way? Get married on our own schedule after the baby is born?”
“My father will be forced to rescind his approval.”
“What?” I exclaim. “Why?”
“The Royal Marriages Act,” he says with a shrug. “It automatically revokes any approval the king’s given to an heir and a person of ‘loose morals’.”
“Loose morals? What the hell is this? Puritanical England?”
“It was written in the early eighteenth century in order to ensure only people of the highest standards marry into the royal family. Prevent scandal. Unfortunately, one of the examples written into the act is someone having a child outside of wedlock.”
“Unbelievable.” The chains around me tighten with every word Anderson speaks.
I haven’t even been here a full day and can already say with unequivocal certainty that the fairy tales many little girls grow up obsessing over are a bunch of bullshit. A girl doesn’t meet a prince and get to ride into the sunset without a care in the world. No. They must get the monarch’s permission, which can be revoked at any time.
“And if you were to marry me without the king’s approval?”
“I’d lose my place in the line of succession and would no longer be a member of the royal family.”
“So the only way for you to be king and us to stay together is to marry soon.”
“I’m afraid so.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and draw in a deep breath. Positive energy in. Negative energy out.
I could exhale for the next hundred years and doubt I’d be able to expel all the negative energy in this place.
“Nora, listen to me,” Anderson’s urgent voice cuts through. I turn my eyes toward his. He takes my hands in his, clutching them tightly. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you what to do. Only you can decide if this is really what you want. But I want you to be aware of what you’ll have to give up. Your privacy. Your anonymity. Your independence. It will all disappear, and you’ll never be able to get it back. Right now, you can walk away. It will absolutely shatter me, but I won’t be angry. I will completely understand. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve to be deliriously happy. Unfortunately, I don’t have that same option. I can’t walk away. As frustrated as I am at times with the politics at play, especially within the royal household, I still love this country and its people. I want to do right by them. I want to be their leader. But you don’t have to sacrifice yourself for me.”
I peer forward, watching as the ocean waves crash against the rocky shoreline in the distance. It reminds me of Manderley, the fictional estate from Rebecca. The stunning interior cared for by a silent staff. Gorgeous gardens that are home to a fragrant array of blooms. The mysterious ocean nearby where the title character sank to a watery grave.
Will our story end much like that of the unnamed narrator and Maxim DeWinter, who was driven from a home haunted by custom and protocol?
Or will we find our own happily ever after, despite all the forces working against us?
I bring my gaze back to Anderson, admiring his stoic profile. “Is it worth it?”
“I know my answer will probably surprise you, considering everything we’re currently facing, but yes…” A subtle smile curves his mouth. “It’s worth it. I’ve probably made this life sound horrible, but it’s not all bad. I’m lucky to be blessed with an opportunity to do good. Not only in this country, but in the world. To bring attention to a variety of causes. Truthfully, the majority of the job is great.”
“And the rest of it?”
He pushes out a breath. “It can be frustrating. And exhausting. As a royal, you’re held to a higher standard. A more…moral standard, I suppose. My mother had this saying when we were kids, especially after my uncle and cousins died. Something she said to me whenever I complained about being in a London boarding school and missing my home and friends.”
“What’s that?”
“‘With great power comes great purpose.’”
Sadness hints at the lines of his face as he recalls his mother. Or at least what he can remember of her after having lost her when he was only ten.
“I’d like to think I’ve lived most of my adult life according to that motto. That my family may possess a great deal of power in this country, but that we use it for good. For a purpose. And you can, too. But only if this is what you truly want.”
He reaches into his pocket before extending his hand toward me, revealing a single penny in his palm.
“What do you say? Should we toss a coin to help you decide?” He narrows his gaze on me.
Nostalgia tugs on my heartstrings. After all, it was a coin toss that led me to join Anderson on our Route 66 adventure in the first place. But I didn’t toss the coin so it would tell me what I should do. I did so because, while that coin was in the air, it helped me realize what I really wanted.
I stare at the penny in his outstretched hand, smiling at the memory of the cocky stranger who tried to impress me with his knowledge of the plot to steal Lincoln’s body.
How I knew my life would never be the same from that moment.
How I knew I was at a crossroads of my life.
Just like I am now.
I lift my eyes to his, a dozen emotions swirling within his depths. “I’m not going to toss that coin, Anderson.”
He briefly closes his eyes, his shoulders falling. “I understand. I—”
“I don’t need to.”
He flings his gaze to mine.
“You’re my true north.” I rest my hand over his heart, the compass tattoo hidden beneath the fabric of his suit. “No matter the obstacles thrown our way, I will always come back to you.”
His entire body goes slack as the tension rolls off him. He covers my hand with his, keeping it firmly on his chest.
“They can try to tear us apart all they want. But even when you try to smash a compass to pieces, do you know what happens?”
“It will still point north,” he answers with a hint of a smile.
“It will still point north. No matter what happens in these next few weeks or months, you can be sure of one thing. That my heart will always bring me back to you.”
His grip on my hand tightens as he presses his mouth to mine, pouring all the emotions he’s experienced today into his kiss. Happiness. Worry. Despair. Desperation. Frustration. And love, which shines through above everything else. I have to believe this once-in-a-lifetime love we’ve found in each other will be enough for us to navigate the rough waters ahead.