Danielle Steel: H.R.H.

She said a single word as she looked at them. “Yes.”

As soon as she said the word, everyone in the room was smiling and looked relieved. In spite of the terrible tragedy that occurred that night, the members of Parliament were pleased. The prime minister reminded her that Elizabeth had become Queen of England at twenty-five, and it was a far bigger country and greater responsibility. There was no doubt in his mind or those of everyone else in the room that she could rule Liechtenstein, and well, at twenty-four. Christianna looked totally amazed.

He then told her what would happen next. “Each of us will call four members of the Family Court, to put both of these proposals before them. That you will be the reigning princess of Liechtenstein, as the first woman to do so, and hereafter women will be allowed the succession, and that your title will be Royal Highness now, due to your mother. There are twentyfive of us, and we will contact the entire Family Court today. If they vote in your favor, and ours, we will hold a private investiture tonight, in this office. It is my most ardent hope that that will happen. Liechtenstein cannot be without a leader, and we sincerely believe that you are the best person, the right person, and the only person for the job.” He stood then, looked at her and around the room, and added, “May God be with us all, and with you, Your Highness. I will call you with the results this afternoon.” And then, before she could catch her breath or change her mind, they filed out of the room. She stood there for a long moment after they left, and looked at the portraits or her greatgrandfather, grandfather, and father that hung there. She looked into her father's eyes in the portrait that was so very like him, and sobbing, she left the room.

Chapter 20

Three men with machine guns walked Christianna upstairs to her bedroom, where Sylvie was waiting for her. She looked as shaken as everyone else in the palace that night. She looked frightened and exhausted and grief-stricken. Prince Hans Josef had been a wonderful man. And before Christianna had even fully entered the room, she reminded her that they had a funeral to plan. A state funeral, for both of them, the reigning prince and the crown prince. Christianna couldn't even get her mind around it, let alone do it.

“Would you like to lie down for a few minutes, Your Highness, before we start?” Christianna nodded, thinking that this woman didn't even know what was coming. If the Family Court voted as the ministers wished them to, by that night she would be reigning princess. It was too terrifying to even think about.

A moment later Sylvie left the room, and said she would be back in half an hour. The three men with machine guns followed her, and stood right outside the door, while Christianna lay down. There was only one person she wanted to talk to now, the only person she knew would help her and support her. She didn't even check to see if she had an e-mail from him. She was sure he had heard by now. However tiny her country was, she was sure that the bomb that had killed her father and Freddy was an explosion that had been heard around the world.

She picked up the phone that sat next to her bed, and dialed Parker's cell phone. Even in her confusion and misery, she vaguely remembered that it was Thanksgiving and he was in San Francisco.

He answered on the first ring, and had been desperate for her call. He knew there would have been no hope whatsoever of reaching her if he tried. Everything he had seen on the news had suggested chaos at the palace in Vaduz.

“My God … Cricky? …Are you all right? … I'm so sorry … I'm so sorry …I heard it on the news.” She listened to his voice and just sat there and sobbed. “Sweetheart, I'm so sorry this happened. I couldn't believe it when I saw it.” The news had shown a blazing fire on the palace grounds, and soldiers and riot police running everywhere. The palace looked completely overrun. To Parker's dismay, there had been almost no mention of her whatsoever. All he knew was that she was alive.

“Neither could I,” she said miserably, trying not to remember it again … that awful moment when the car had turned into a ball of flame, taking her father and Freddy with it. “I was standing right there when it happened.”

“Thank God you weren't in the car with them.” At first he had been afraid she was. And as he said it, she suddenly remembered that Freddy had offered her the ride first, and she had declined. It was the hand of fate. “Are you all right? I wish I were there to help you. What can I do? I feel so helpless.”

“There's nothing you can do. I have to begin planning the funerals in a minute. They're waiting for me, but I wanted to talk to you first. I love you … something else terrible has happened,” she said, sounding mournful, and Parker braced himself for yet more bad news. It was hard to believe it could get any worse than this, or even come close. “There is no one else in direct line for the succession. All my father's cousins are terribly old … they're Austrian …Parker, they want to change the law about female succession. They're putting it to the Family Court today.” She choked on another sob. “They want to make me reigning princess … oh my God, how could I ever do that? I don't know anything about it, I could never do the job …and my life will be ruined forever. I would have to rule the country till I die, or pass on the succession to one of my children one day …” She was crying so hard she could barely speak, but he had heard every word she said. Thousands of miles away, he looked as shocked as she had. He couldn't even begin to imagine what that meant.

“And they want to make me a Royal Highness, because of my mother, not Serene.”

“You've always been royal to me, Cricky,” he said gently, trying to soften the blow for her. It seemed like an awesome responsibility, even to him. But like her ministers, he didn't doubt for a moment that she could do the job. He knew she could, and would do it well. He didn't even have the remotest idea of what it meant for them. And all he could think about was how worried he was about her. Not only did she have to face the grief of losing her family, but now she had to take over running a country as well. It was truly beyond belief.

“Parker …, ” she said, choking on sobs, “I'll die an old maid.” She sounded like a child as she wailed, and all he wanted was to put his arms around her.

“I don't see why that has to be the case. Your father was married and had children. Queen Elizabeth of England was married and had four kids, and I don't think she was much older than you are when she became queen. I don't see why one has to exclude the other,” he said sensibly, trying to calm her down. The one thing he didn't see was how he fit into the picture now. If anything, it seemed worse for them. With her new status as a Royal Highness and no longer a Serene one, he was even less likely to be considered suitable for her. The only difference now was that she would be making the rules, and he couldn't help wondering if that changed anything. Her father had had the power to allow her to marry a commoner, and refused to use it. But Parker had absolutely no idea if the prince could have married one himself, and in Cricky's current griefstricken state, he wasn't about to ask. He knew that other monarchs had married commoners, particularly in Scandinavian countries, and he vaguely remembered they had given them titles and everything was all right. For the moment, Doctor was good enough for him, he wasn't going to worry about the rest. She had enough on her mind right now. He didn't want to add his concerns.

“Queen Elizabeth was twenty-five!” Christianna corrected him in a choked tone, and this time he laughed.

“I think you're up to it by a year. Do you want them to wait a year?” he teased.