Heidi Betts - Royal Christmas - Royal Love-Child, Forbidden Marriage

‘So what am I supposed to do?’ She finally asked brokenly. ‘Just … roll over? Accept this?’ Her voice rose and her hands fisted at her sides. ‘Leo, he can’t become king! Frances told me how awful the royal family—your family—is!’ she continued wildly, driven by desperation. ‘All the jealousies and rivalries—your own mother was sent away!’

Leo stilled, his face now utterly blank. ‘Yes, she was.’

‘And is that what’s going to happen to me?’ Phoebe demanded. ‘Is the king going to send me away, or will he just try to buy me off again?’

‘No,’ Leo replied calmly. ‘He wanted to buy you off in New York, but I never made the offer.’

‘What …?’ The single word came out in a hiss.

‘A million euros,’ Leo clarified dispassionately. ‘But I knew as soon as I saw you, Phoebe, that you would never take such an offer, and I would never make one.’ He paused, turning his head so his face was averted from her, cast in shadow. ‘You were right, my mother was sent away when I was six. When Anders was born. My father died the same year, and Nicholas couldn’t wait to get rid of me. Or at least put me in my proper place.’ He laughed shortly. ‘Of course, he couldn’t do so without first getting rid of my mother. She wasn’t needed any more, and Nicholas wanted a clear playing field.’ Leo let out a long, ragged breath. ‘He bought her off.’

Phoebe’s eyes widened in shock; she still couldn’t see Leo’s face, but she could feel the pain emanating from him in sorrowful waves. ‘Leo, I’m sorry.’

‘I saw her only a handful of times after that, and she died when I was sixteen. She had a weak chest.’ He turned his head, met her gaze. ‘So I could hardly let the same happen to you,’ he continued, and Phoebe saw the bleak honesty in his eyes. ‘Even though I was tempted.’

‘Tempted …?’

‘You were an inconvenience, remember?’ Leo gave her the ghost of a smile. ‘At least, I thought of you as one until I saw you again.’

Her heart bumped painfully against her ribs. She wanted to ask Leo what he meant, wanted to hope, needed to, but the future—Christian’s future—was too overwhelming. ‘So what can we do?’ she whispered. ‘We can’t—I can’t—’ She stopped, took a breath, and started again in a stronger voice. ‘I won’t be bought, and I won’t leave Christian.’

‘I know.’ Leo smiled, his mouth curling upwards in a way that made Phoebe’s insides tingle with awareness, with anticipation. ‘I have another solution.’ He paused, and in that second’s silence Phoebe felt as if the room—the whole world—became hushed in expectation, as if everything had led to this moment, this question, this possibility. As if she already knew. Leo took a step towards her, his hand outstretched. ‘Phoebe,’ he said, ‘you can become my wife.’

Phoebe stared at him in wordless disbelief. She’d been expecting … something—and yet this? Marriage? ‘Your what ?’

‘My wife.’ Leo’s smile widened. ‘It’s really very simple.’

‘Is it?’ she asked incredulously, and Leo took another step towards her.

‘Of course. If you marry me, you can stay in Amarnes. More importantly, you can stay in Christian’s life. You’ll have a place, guaranteed.’

‘As Queen of Amarnes.’

‘I’m afraid not,’ Leo corrected softly. ‘It’ll be back to the Duchy of Larsvik, I’m afraid.’

‘Oh, well.’ Phoebe tried to laugh; the sound that emerged was something between a hiccup and a ragged sob. ‘I suppose I’d have to settle for being a duchess.’

‘Sorry to disappoint,’ Leo said, his mouth quirking, but she saw the darkness in his eyes. This was no joking matter.

‘Leo …’

‘Is there any reason why you should refuse?’

She shook her head. There were too many reasons to name, and yet there was also a terrible desire to simply say yes. How could she do something so impractical, so insane? ‘What is this?’ she finally managed. ‘Some kind of pity proposal?’

‘Do I seem the kind of man to marry someone out of pity?’ Leo asked, arching one eyebrow.

‘You don’t seem the kind of man to marry at all.’

Leo gave a small nod of acknowledgement. ‘Perhaps, but I have always accepted that I will have to settle down one day. It is expected.’

‘Is that supposed to make me feel better?’

‘It is simply the truth. Besides, our marriage will help stabilise the monarchy. A child king …’

‘Nicholas isn’t dead yet,’ Phoebe reminded him, and Leo gave a little shrug.

‘And Christian is only five. I would not want to see him at the mercy of a regent who did not have his best interests in mind.’

‘And you would?’ Phoebe asked. Leo regarded her levelly.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.