Rebecca Winters: His Majesty's Marriage

Philippe covered her hand with his, signaling that she should put it away. “This goes on the Mertier account,” he murmured to the other man who nodded without asking questions. Obviously the staff here could be counted on for their discretion, a highly prized commodity for royals like Raoul.

But Lee wasn’t a person who expected to be taken care of. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to let the Prince foot the bill for everything.

“This equipment is for me,” she asserted, removing her hand from beneath his to give the clerk the credit card. “I’ll pay for it.”

She’d always paid her way with Sophie, and wasn’t about to take advantage of Raoul’s generosity now. In fact, she’d been having second thoughts about joining him on the climb ever since he’d extended the invitation.

Thanks to Philippe, the business about who would pay for her equipment had served as a wakeup call. She’d be insane to have anything more to do with Raoul!

Unfortunately now was not the time to make a scene by declaring that she’d changed her mind. The only thing to do was wait until she got back to the chalet to inform Raoul. On her way to the train station, she’d return all the equipment.

During their drive back, Philippe remained silent. In fact from the moment he’d learned she was a friend of Sophie’s his behavior had become more reserved. As they drove around the back of the chalet she turned toward him, anxious to say what was on her mind.

“Philippe? Would you answer a question for me?”

He shut off the motor before glancing at her. “If I can.”

“I get the feeling tomorrow’s climb has been ruined for you.”

“Not at all!” he came back with surprising force.

“Be honest-how many times has Raoul invited a woman along?”

He pursed his lips. “This will be the first.”

“I thought so. And he did it without consulting the rest of you. Look-Sophie and I may be close, but that doesn’t place him under any special obligation to me. Since you and I both know this is the last thing he wants, perhaps you could suggest a good way I can get out of it and just go home? I’ll return all these things en route to the station.” Sophie wouldn’t thank her, but Lee couldn’t worry about that now.

“You don’t want to come with us?”

“That’s not the point!” she retorted, before she realized the mistake she’d made. Heat scorched her cheeks. “I mean- Oh!”

Someone had opened the passenger door where she’d been resting. If two familiar male hands hadn’t caught her arms from behind she would have fallen out.

Raoul helped her to her feet. The heat from the contact of his skin through her sweater distracted her so much she forgot what she was going to say. This time when their gazes collided the impact of those blue eyes was even more startling than before.

“I’m glad you’re back. Dinner’s waiting. Come. I’ll show you to your room first so you can freshen up.”

“Thank you.” She followed him inside.

Maybe this weakness she felt around him was the result of an empty stomach. This morning she’d awakened without an appetite. Knowing what Sophie expected of her, Lee had only been able to get down about half a sandwich at one of the train stops. She still wasn’t hungry.

He showed her to a bedroom off the hallway which kept the rustic flavor of the chalet. “The dining room is through the doors you saw in the front room. A hearty meal is what everyone needs before our climb in the morning.”

His eyes were too alive as they wandered over her. She was too aware of him.

Panic-stricken she said, “If you don’t mind, I’m afraid I couldn’t eat anything.”

His brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“I think maybe I’ve come down with the same thing as Sophie. Bed is the only thing that sounds good.”

She could tell he didn’t know what to believe, but it no longer mattered if he thought she was lying through her teeth about everything. The sooner she got away from him, the better.

“I’ll send Greta with a cup of tea.”

“Please don’t bother your staff. I couldn’t tolerate anything right now.”

“If you’re that sick, let me at least help you to the bed.”

“No-” she cried. “I’ll be fine. Please go ahead without me.” She closed the door while he still stood there, eyeing her with a mixture of concern and something else she couldn’t decipher.

Dear God. The guilt.

Deep down she knew she mustn’t go with him tomorrow. If she did, it meant her desire to be with him was stronger than her conscience. That good old conscience which was telling her to get away from him and stay away! Where had it been when she’d agreed to help her friend with this wild idea?

Though Sophie and Raoul had led separate lives up to this point, they’d been raised to do their duty. No matter how much they might want to go against their parents’ wishes, neither of them had acted on those wants, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a formal engagement earlier this year.

After coming to Zermatt to speak to Raoul, Lee was convinced he was a man of honor who would follow through and marry Sophie. As for Sophie, she might be in love with Luciano now, but Lee was equally convinced that, in the end, her friend would submit to the inevitable and become Raoul’s wife.

And proceed to fall in love with him.

Lee groaned in pain as she fell across the bed. That was what was tearing her up inside. The knowledge that Sophie had the right to touch Raoul, to get to know him and love him.

Heavens-he was going to be her best friend’s husband in eight weeks, and all Lee could think about was how it would feel to lie in his arms!

That was because she’d fantasized about him too much at boarding school. When she really thought about it, she realized that her relationship with Sophie had always included Raoul somewhere in the background.

He’d been lurking in Lee’s psyche all these years and had become far too familiar to her. Her mistake was letting Sophie talk her into this ridiculous plan. Meeting him in person had brought him to heart-throbbing life.

Don’t blame Sophie for this, Lee Gresham. You might have wanted to help your friend, but the truth is you wanted to meet the Prince and this was your chance. You’re a wicked girl.

More than ever Lee realized she’d barely been functioning since she’d lost her parents and fiancé. Lee hadn’t felt really alive until a few hours ago when she’d first laid eyes on Raoul. Perhaps some professional counseling was in order to help her come to terms with the past?

One thing was certain. It was vital she leave Switzerland right away so Sophie wouldn’t be able to include her in their wedding plans. The thought of watching them exchange vows in the cathedral with the whole country looking on was anathema to her.

What she needed to do was go back to Jackson and get a life. With the help of her father’s attorney she’d retained the small house her family had once lived in. It was rented at the moment, but she could rent something else until it became vacant. Then she’d look for a job.

Tomorrow she’d return to Nyon and tender her resignation to Madame Simoness. With only a handful of girls staying there over the summer, the headmistress could find someone else to cover Lee’s duties until a permanent replacement was found.

With that settled in her mind, she took a quick shower and prepared for bed. No sooner had she climbed under the covers than she heard a knock on the door.

“Lee? May I come in?”

At the sound of Raoul’s voice she started to tremble. “Yes-” she called out, before sitting up a little and pulling the eiderdown quilt to her chin. He entered the room carrying a mug of tea and crackers which he put on the table by her bed.