“The search?”
I nodded.
“Perhaps,” she replied. “Please, Princess, don’t worry about it. The king, the chief minister, and their representatives have the discretion to enter royal property. You, Your Highness, have nothing to hide.”
Her words of encouragement rang false with my knowledge of the new Roman. Of course, I’d hidden that knowledge where no search would find it, in my thoughts and possibly my heart. I’d never be careless enough to commit my feelings to pen and paper. As a young girl, I’d wanted a diary. My mother’s stories of fleeing Letanonia as the new ruler searched for evidence of crimes or anything to be used against the wealthy families convinced me to never write down my daily thoughts. “Hold them in your heart,” she told me. “No one can use them against you there.”
Lady Buckingham covered my hand with one of hers, bringing my attention to the present.
“You’re strong, Princess. I’ve seen the change in you since we returned to Annabella. If it truly is the prince who wants something of you, you will provide.”
“I think it’s not knowing what he wants that concerns me.”
There were no large crowds as we left the castle grounds or protests blocking traffic. When we entered Molave City, our cars were met by multiple vehicles, no doubt filled with royal guards, and escorted onto the palace grounds.
My pulse raced and my skin grew clammy as I nodded to the palace staff. In the grand entry, I looked up toward the staircase, sensing the stare of the man above. With no more than a flick of his chin, Roman bid me upstairs. My eyes met Lady Buckingham’s.
“I will—”
I shook my head. “No, leave us. He called and he’s waiting. It’s my duty to find out what he wants.”
With each stair my apprehension grew as anticipation waned.
There was no way to prepare for what I didn’t know.
Who will the man be in our private quarters?
Is the real Roman back?
Does he know of the plan and wants to know if I know?
My grip trembled upon the large knob as I turned it and pushed the tall door inward. Standing near the fireplace, Roman turned my direction, his stare dark and focused.
Curtsying, I spoke, “Your Highness.”
He came my way. “Lady Buckingham?”
“I told her to allow us privacy.”
Coming across the room, Roman closed the door behind me with a slam, reached for me, and wrapped me in an embrace as his lips took mine. The ferocity of his approach had me again questioning his identity. It wasn’t until he spoke that I knew whose arms I was in. “There is so much I need to tell you.”
My entire body melted, the tension of the unknown washing away in my exhale. Palming his cheeks, I looked up at his handsome face and smiled. “It’s as if you’re really him, and you have two personalities. I truly can’t tell.”
His finger landed on my lips and his volume lowered to a whisper. “We have to be careful.”
I nodded.
Roman reached for my hand and tugged me toward his suite.
At the double doors, I stopped. “I cannot.”
“You are my wife,” he said in a bellowing tone. As he led me within, he added, “We will only talk. I believe the entire apartment is safe. I’ve done my best to check for cameras or microphones. I know the private quarters are secure. I’ve had it confirmed.”
Never in five years had that occurred to me.
“Who would be watching?” I asked.
“The Firm. The king. There are many possibilities.”
Releasing my hand, Roman paced to the fireplace in his parlor and back. When his stare met mine, I saw the concern. It was more than his appearance. While this man had said he was younger than Roman, in the short period I’d been gone, he aged. There was a tenseness to his jaw and a weariness in his eyes.
“What is it?”
Such a simple question and yet not one I would dare present to the real prince.
“If I could, I’d put us both on a plane to America and never come back.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either, not completely,” he said, leading me to the sofa. “I told the king I was calling you here because we have a visitor arriving early tomorrow and you can be of assistance.”
“A visitor?”
“Your father.”
I sucked in a breath. “My father is coming here. Why? Is my mother coming?”
“No. And according to palace records, he was here last spring.”
I shook my head. “No. I would have been told.”
“Lucille, I need your help. I’m good. I’m damn good, but I can’t discuss what I don’t know.”
The disbelief of his announcement had me scrambled. “You and my father get along. You think he’s too lenient with my mother. He thinks you’re pompous.”
“Has he said as much?”
“Not to me. I see it in the way he looks at you.”
Roman’s forehead furrowed. “What do you know of their business dealings?”
“Nothing. There are none.” I stood and walked to the window and back. “Roman’s never mentioned one if it exists.”
“There is. It began as an arrangement for your hand.”
“No,” I said dismissively. “I was informed that my father and King Theo arranged for Roman and I to meet. I wasn’t forced to marry him. At the time, I wanted to.”
“Lucille, there’s much more to this that I am only now learning. Your father established a beneficial connection when you agreed to marry Roman. Molave and the US signed an agreement for the export of iron ore and titanium. You probably know, but those as well as other metals, when combined in high-performance alloys, are used in cell phones, jet engines, military equipment such as weapons, and body armor. It was a large win for the US military as well as for Molave. There was more, an agreement for osmium, iridium, and rhodium. The scarcity of rhodium makes it valuable.”
“I don’t know anything about this agreement.”
“The king was able to give me the information on the original deal. Molave got you” —his nostrils flared— “Roman got you. King Theodore agreed to a seven-year deal at over fifteen billion dollars from the US. Your father earned a large dividend for his campaign. The senator added the measure to an already-vetted bill. It passed without further debate. It consisted of two sentences that weren’t noticed until the bill was law. Despite that, it has had little blowback.”
“Seven years?”
“Yes, seven years. Set to expire in less than a year. Roman was in negotiations with your father regarding continuing the deal. There are no records of those negotiations. There are phone records that give dates and the length of the call, but nothing of substance noted. No tapes to hear. Senator Sutton is coming tomorrow because he wants to resolve this face-to-face before the appropriations committee steps in. From what I understand, he wants it to continue under the radar.”
“My father is not a bad man,” I said.
“Lucille, he used you as a pawn to get resources to the US, earn a huge stipend, and simultaneously pad the Molavian royal treasury.”
“Surely, King Theo—”
“No,” Roman interrupted. “He’s concerned. Your father isn’t the only person Roman dealt with, unbeknownst to the king. This particular contract is substantial and with recent titanium discoveries in Greenland...” He sighed. “The king doesn’t want to lose it, but neither of us nor any of the advisors know what was discussed.”