Rebecca Winters: His Majesty's Marriage

“But his friend will see right away I’m not you! ” Lee’s panic was bordering on hysteria.

“When you inform him you’re there in my place to speak to the Prince, he won’t question it. After you reach the chalet, you’ll tell Raoul I became nauseous on the train and took the next one back to Geneva.”

“That’s it?”

“No. There’s one more thing I need you to do for me. It’s the last thing I’ll ever ask of you, I promise.”

How many times had Lee heard that before?

Knowing this was Sophie, the girl who in the past had got into more trouble than any other boarder at the school, Lee had the distinct impression she wasn’t going to like what her friend was about to suggest. The back of her neck started to prickle.

By the time Sophie had finished explaining her plan, perspiration had broken out on Lee’s body. “You actually want me to come on to him?”

“Yes. Please do it for me! You’ve seen pictures of him and know how attractive he is; it won’t be so hard. If my own best friend can tempt him to spend the weekend with her then I’ll go to my parents and tell them I refuse to marry a man who can’t even be faithful to me eight weeks before the wedding!

“If they want proof, you’ll be able to provide it. My parents love and trust you like a daughter. To hear the truth from your lips will appall them, and Daddy will call off the wedding. It has to be my father who calls it off, Lee.” Her voice trembled. “It’s the only legitimate way the betrothal can be broken. After I’ve gone through a suitable period of grief, I’ll introduce them to Luciano.”

“Sophie-you haven’t thought this through. Raoul will call the château to find out your condition and discover you’re not there!”

“Not if you give him my cellphone number. Then it won’t matter where I am. I’ll think of something to tell my parents so it won’t alarm them if he does call Geneva to check up on me.”

By now Lee was shaking, because it was impossible to say no to Sophie. “And what am I supposed to do if His Royal Highness decides he wants to enjoy a weekend affair with me?”

“Knowing you, you’ll think of a gracious way to get out of it.”

“You mean I’m to blow hot, then cold?”

“Exactly.”

“What if he’s not a gentleman?”

“Then I need to find that out too! I’m sure you’ll know how to handle him. You weren’t the most brilliant girl in school for nothing! I’ll reserve a room for you at the Belle-Vue in Zermatt. I’m sure you could use a few days’ vacation. Who knows? While you’re walking around, you might even meet a man who’ll help you put the past away. It will give us a lot to talk about on Sunday when I join you for the return trip to Geneva.”

Lee shook her head in despair. “I don’t think I can go through with this, Sophie.”

“But you must! There’s only one man I want to marry, and- oh, la la , someone’s coming. I have to hang up now. A car will be waiting for you outside the school at ten on Thursday morning to take you to the train station. We’ll meet on board. Á bientôt, ma chére copine. ”

LUCIANOBERNALDIplaced Lee’s suitcase inside the train, then gave her a fierce hug. “Thank you for helping us,” he whispered in heavily accented English. “I’m counting on you.”

Lee shivered at the remark which had come straight from his heart.

After he stepped back on the platform to pull Sophie into his arms again, the two of them waved to Lee until the train moved out of the station. Once they’d disappeared, she picked up her suitcase and found a seat inside.

Sophie’s Swiss boyfriend lived in Ascona, a town in the Italian canton of Ticino. Though he came from a family of wealthy hoteliers, he held no title and could never be on a par with Raoul. The prestigious House of D’Arillac had prevailed over the Frenchspeaking cantons for centuries.

The year before, the two of them had met by chance while Sophie and Lee were vacationing at one of the Bernaldi hotels on Lake Maggiore. When the lift had stuck because of a brief power outage Sophie, who feared heights, had become very frightened.

It was Luciano himself, with his black hair and aquiline features, who had rescued them. Lee might as well have been nonexistent because he and Sophie had fallen for each other on the spot. Over the last twelve months their feelings had deepened until they could hardly bear to be apart.

The man had been begging Sophie to marry him, but she was torn because she loved her parents and couldn’t stand to go against their wishes. Many times Lee had tried to put herself in Sophie’s place, but couldn’t. All she knew was that if she were the one madly in love, she’d probably forget her title and run off with Luciano.

But maybe she could say that so easily because she’d lost all sense of family when her parents and fiancé had been killed. That had been three years ago, a long enough time to stop actively grieving.

At the funeral, Lee’s aunt and uncle from West Yellowstone, Montana, had offered her a home with them. But Sophie had begged Lee to return to Switzerland where she could continue to live and work near her. She’d argued that Madame Simoness needed her, not to mention the girls at the school who would help her forget her pain.

In the end, Lee had chosen to go back to Nyon. Between everyone there, especially Sophie’s parents, she had been able to make it through that agonizing period. Now, sadly, Sophie was asking something of Lee that seemed such a betrayal of the Ramblets’s love and caring.

By the time the train reached the station in Zermatt, she could hardly breathe for the tension that constricted her chest. When the train emptied, she found herself in the middle of a crowd that swept her along the platform to the entrance.

She couldn’t have arrived on a more beautiful, brisk afternoon. The last time she’d stayed here overnight, with the boarders from the school, clouds had obscured the Matterhorn. Today it rose in the distance like a giant snow-covered sentinel, overlooking the lush green valley dotted with chalets and hotels.

The sight was so beautiful Lee could hardly believe it was real. But her appreciation was short-lived the moment she saw the “Miami” sign held by a lanky male in dark trousers and a windbreaker.

That would be Philippe, Raoul’s friend. He stood in front of one of those electric cars, the only kind allowed in Zermatt. She thought he looked very French and attractive in his own way, with overly long dark hair and hooded eyes. While his gaze swept the crowd for signs of Sophie, it managed to linger on Lee in male appreciation several times in the process.

With her cap of silvery-gold curls and violet eyes, she’d become used to the stares of men, especially the dark-haired types living in Europe and the Middle East. But to capture the interest of Prince Raoul was something else again.

Hoping her legs would support her, she walked toward the man. “Hello, Philippe,” she said in English. Might as well play the part of the American tourist to make everything real.

His black eyes gleamed with flattering interest. “Hello,” he responded in kind with a French accent. “Have we met before?”

“No, we haven’t. But my best friend told me you would answer to that name and be carrying a sign I would recognize. If we could get in the car, I will tell you everything.”

Her explanation wiped the lazy amusement from Philippe’s expression. After eyeing her speculatively, he opened the car door for her. Once he’d helped her inside, he stashed the sign and her bag, then went around to the driver’s side and slipped behind the wheel.