“Once I have that information, I’m no longer just an impostor. Molave won’t allow me to go back to my life. I haven’t been told that, but I know it in my gut. Once I agree to the next level, I’m stuck.”
With my lips together, I nodded. “I don’t know what agreement you have or with whom, but from experience, I have to agree.” I stood and handed him back his jacket. Immediately, my flesh covered with goose bumps and my nipples tightened. Crossing my arms over my breasts, I smiled. “You will stay my secret.”
“If you are asked?”
“No one will ask. You see, I’m nothing more than an accessory to be brought out on trips and paraded around. I’m hoping to visit America and my parents soon.”
The man stood. “Maybe we could see one another…”
The shaking of my head stopped his sentence.
I pushed up on my tiptoes and brushed his lips with mine. “Goodbye, Your Highness. Thank you for fulfilling my wish for one night.”
He reached for my hand.
When I turned back, he was down on one knee.
“What?” I asked.
Still holding my hand, he forced a smile. “I’m learning the rules. From what I’ve been told, as prince I only bow to the king and queen. Princess Lucille, know that I will always bow to you.”
His lips brushed my knuckles seconds before I pulled away, running down the stairs, into the rain, and through the paths. By the time I reached the French doors I was frigid, soaked, and trembling.
Leaving a trail of wet footprints, I made my way back up to our private apartments, slipped into my suite, then into my bedchamber, and stripped off my wet clothes before filling the tub with warm water.
As I sank into the bath and submerged my hair, I grinned.
“Thank you, impostor,” I murmured. “Stay safe.”
Oliver
Lord Martin sprang from the chair where he’d been waiting as I entered the apartment. “Your Highness,” he said with a bow. Rushing toward me, he reached for my wet suit coat. “We can’t have you getting ill.”
“I’m well.”
The rain dripped from the suit coat in his hand. “I was worried. You were gone longer than I expected. Were you seen? Did you need to convince anyone that you were the prince?”
“I didn’t convince anyone.” That was the truth. I’d been completely honest. Seeing Lord Martin’s concern, I continued, “It’s frigid, cold, and the middle of the night. I found the gazebo. You were right. The gardens were a perfect place to think.”
“Very well,” he said, taking each of my wrists and removing the jeweled cufflinks. Next, he began to unbutton my shirt. “I hope the padded shirt isn’t wet. The other one is being cleaned…”
As Lord Martin went on talking about my wetness and clothes, my mind was on Princess Lucille. She’d said she conjured me from her imagination. The truth was that I couldn’t possibly conjure her in mine. If I did, I’d never do her justice.
Soaked to the skin, Lucille was beyond beautiful. I marveled at her sincerity for Molave and her welcoming manner. At the same time, it concerned me that she would trust a man she didn’t know as she had me.
What if I had meant her harm?
I didn’t want to think about the slight abrasion on her cheek. Yet I couldn’t stop. After all, seeing it was part of the reason for my new decision.
“I’ll draw your bath, Your Highness. It will warm you before bed. Would you like some hot tea?”
“Does the prince ever partake of spirits stronger than wine?”
“Why, yes,” he said with a smile. “Bourbon.”
“A double. It will warm me fine. I’ll bathe first thing in the morning.” I would rather shower. Apparently, that wasn’t a thing. The palace had showers, but the royal family bathed.
Lord Martin clutched his hands behind his back. “If I may?”
My shoulders slumped and my head fell to the side. “For the love of all things holy, you may.”
“Very well,” he said with a grin. “I was worried about you stepping out, but you seem lighter, better. I understand that portraying the crown prince is exhausting.”
“It is a drudgery. If I may, he’s a childish, boorish, pompous ass.”
Lord Martin’s smile dimmed. “Have you changed your mind? Will you be leaving us?”
That was my plan.
I had the reservations set in my mind. Images of my apartment and my cactus were running through my thoughts. The warm sunshine and the nearby beach were all beckoning me home.
Until…
“Tomorrow,” I said, “Mrs. Drake will deliver information necessary for me to take this to the next level.”
“Yes.” He stammered.
“You may,” I encouraged.
“Once you learn what it is you need to learn…”
“There’s no turning back. I came to that revelation tonight.”
“And still, you’re not leaving?”
“I’m not.” I repeated part of what Lucille said earlier. “I will commit to Molave and the crown.” And to the princess.
Lord Martin beamed. “Bravo, Your Highness. Molave thanks you.”
“As long as Molave doesn’t behead me.”
“No, sir. We imprison.”
“That’s what I heard.”
I’m not an impostor. I’m a prisoner. The princess’s words rang true.
“I’ll get your bedclothes ready.”
“Lord Martin” —I paused— “tomorrow I will make that vow. Tonight, I will put on my own pajamas.”
He grinned. “Yes, Your Highness.”
“I will also take that double.”
Once I was alone with my double neat, I stepped into the bedchamber. My covers were turned down and satin pajamas with the Godfrey crest were laid on the bed. Taking a hefty drink, I felt the familiar burning. As I looked around, I questioned my own sanity.
I’d told Lord Martin that no one in their right mind would be out on a night like tonight. Lucille confessed she’d been afraid she was going mad. Maybe we were both insane. There was no other explanation for what she had done and what I was about to do.
We didn’t owe anything to Molave. There was no birthright for either of us. We were foreigners in a country that was stuck in the past, mired in the muck of centuries of traditions and rituals. And yet Molave was also a new and modern country. It had cell service, advanced Wi-Fi, a state-of-the-art infrastructure, and was one of the world’s largest sources of titanium and rhodium.
The citizens consisted of two classes. There was the top percent who owned land and businesses and benefited from the natural resources. And there was the majority, those who kept the sovereign state running. They mined, worked in the shipyards, cleaned the streets, served the people in the restaurants and stores, and willingly worked from sunup to sundown to reside in a country that supported them and kept them safe.
The citizens of Molave have been content for centuries until recently.
Was that why I would take a vow to this country?
No.
If there was a way for me to make a difference on an international front, I would. I would also make a difference on the home front. Once I was in a position to make declarations, Princess Lucille’s days of isolation at Annabella Castle would end.