Justine Davis - Romancing the Crown - Kate & Lucas - Under the King's Command / The Prince's Wedding

Sam glanced across the room, then looked at Kate carefully. “Jessica is dead, Kate. We’ll never know the real story of what went on between her and Lucas. Why are we even having this discussion?”

She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath. She couldn’t tell him the truth. She couldn’t let him know they had been discussing their own past.

There were too many unresolved issues between her and Sam that would have to stay unresolved. That was the only way they would be able to continue their mission…and it was the only way she knew how to cope. “Sorry,” she said. “You’re right. The prince’s personal life isn’t our concern. I have no right whatsoever to judge him.”

Sam brushed his knuckle over her cheek. “I can see you’re upset about this, Kate.”

She wanted to close her eyes and lean into his caress. But that was crazy. It was because of him she was upset in the first place. “It’s a tragic situation, that’s all.” She moved her head back. “I…got carried away.”

“You were always a passionate woman.” He dropped his hand to his side. “Your emotions run deep. That’s one of the things I—”

“Lieutenant Coburn, Lieutenant Mulvaney,” King Marcus called above the baby’s cries as he walked across the room. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I hadn’t realized you’d arrived.”

Kate took another calming breath, trying to bring her emotions under control. What had Sam been about to say? Part of her wanted to know, and part of her was grateful for the interruption.

“We’ve been having a little celebration here,” the king said. “Considering the role you two played in my grandson’s discovery, I thought you might like to be included. Baby Luke was released from the hospital yesterday. He’s been given a clean bill of health.”

“That’s great,” Sam said.

King Marcus chuckled and glanced over his shoulder. “We don’t need a specialist to tell us there’s nothing wrong with his lungs.”

Queen Gwendolyn reached out to take the baby from her son’s arms. “He probably has a sore tummy from eating too fast,” she said. “You were the same way.” She transferred the baby to her shoulder and placed her fingertips over his back. “You need to rub right here. That helps all the little air bubbles find their way upward.”

Lucas put a new set of furrows in his hair with his fingers. “I’m interviewing several nurses later today. I’ll make sure Luke has the best.”

“I’m sure you will, dear. Just remember, babies don’t break.”

“Oh, he’s just the cutest thing, isn’t he?” A petite young woman squeezed past Lucas to stand at the queen’s side. Her dark eyes danced as she reached out to tickle the baby’s chin. “Despite the fact that he looks just like my big brother.”

“The resemblance still amazes me, Anna,” Queen Gwendolyn said. “Except for his sweet little smile, he’s the image of Lucas.”

The baby lifted up his head, looked around and let out a loud, gurgling burp. His cries ceased immediately.

There was a chorus of laughter and calls of, “Well done.” Anna took her nephew from her mother and cuddled him with delight. She gave a warm smile to a tall, auburn-haired man who leaned against the back of a couch. “Are you ready for one of these, Tyler?”

He grinned. “Ready as you are, darling.”

There was another round of chuckles. It was apparent from the gentle swell of Anna’s stomach that soon there would be another royal baby. Lucas backed away from the group, his smile tinged with sadness. He caught sight of Sam and Kate with his father and moved to join them.

“Lieutenant Mulvaney,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to thank you a week ago. I’m in your debt for your care of my son.”

Kate was surprised by the strength of his grip as she took his hand. For a royal playboy, he was in excellent shape. “I was only doing my duty, Your Highness. I was merely in the right place at the right time. I’m glad that your son is healthy.”

“Yes, his weight is almost up to normal, and he has a good appetite.” Lucas glanced over his shoulder at the baby. “He’s doing well, all things considered.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“I only wish—” Lucas clenched his jaw on the rest of his words, leaving the statement unfinished. When he turned to face Sam and Kate once more, all traces of his smile were gone. “My brother-in-law, Tyler Ramsey, is advising the police in the land search for Ursula Chambers and has kept us informed of their efforts. How is the search of the coast progressing?”

Sam spoke, giving both the king and the prince an update on the measures that were in place to insure the fugitive didn’t escape Montebello by water. Kate added a few details, wishing she could give them better news. When they were finished, there was a brief silence.

To her relief, the king appeared satisfied with their efforts, giving them a few words of encouragement before going back to his family.

Lucas remained where he was. He turned the full force of his piercing blue gaze first on Kate, then Sam. When he spoke, his voice echoed with the authority inherited through generations of royalty. “I want you to find her.”

“We’ll do our best, Your Highness,” Sam began.

“She killed my cousin,” Lucas said. “And she killed the mother of my child. She wanted to use my son as a pawn in her twisted scheme to get rich. If not for Ursula Chambers, I could have seen the woman I loved hold the life we created.”

There was no mistaking the look of regret on the prince’s face. As Kate listened to the poignant sounds of the royal

family getting to know baby Luke, she saw Lucas’s eyes grow misty.

Whatever problems there might have been between Lucas and Jessica, whatever had kept them apart, Kate shouldn’t project her experience on them. Theirs was a different story from hers and Sam’s. And Lucas was obviously suffering.

“Find Chambers,” Lucas said. “Whatever it takes, whatever you need to do, I want you to get her.”

Sam dipped his chin once in acknowledgment. “Understood.”

“I can’t bring Jessie back,” Lucas said. “But the least I can do is give her justice.”

Ursula sipped her soda, keeping her gaze on the big wrought-iron gates on the other side of the piazza. They swung open as a black car came through. A red-haired woman and a broad-shouldered, good-looking man were inside, some kind of Navy officers judging by their uniforms. Ursula felt a stab of envy. It should have been her in that chauffeured car. Instead of hanging around this tourist-infested sidewalk café, spying on the palace gates, she should have been riding through them in style like those Navy people.

She batted impatiently at a bee that veered toward her soda. This was getting intolerable. An entire week had passed, and still the security at the airport and the ferries was as tight as ever. Didn’t these Montebellans have anything better to do? Why were they persecuting her?

That was the story of her life, though, wasn’t it? She never got a break. She’d had to fight for everything she had, only to have success snatched away through no fault of hers.

If that stupid kid had shown up with his boat when he was supposed to, she would have been free and clear by now. But no, he’d had to wreck his boat, the idiot. It was a good thing she’d been watching from the bluff and had seen the thing tip over or she might have wasted all night waiting for him.

A stocky, bearded figure moved through the gates. Ursula scrutinized him until the man was close enough to be seen clearly. As soon as she recognized the dark hair and fleshy features, she hitched her purse over her shoulder and wove her way through the tables to the cobblestone square. It was about time. She’d been nursing that soda for an hour waiting for him to finish his shift or watch or whatever it is that palace guards called their work schedule.