Danielle Steel: H.R.H.

She was still looking at it in wonder when he called.

“How can you do this?” she asked him in amazement.

“I wish I could have put it on,” he said, with a voice full of love. He had just gotten back to his hotel.

“So do I.” But he had done it perfectly. He had slipped it to her so discreetly that no one could possibly have known.

“Does it fit?” he asked cautiously.

“Perfectly.”

He took a sharp breath, frightened himself this time, before he asked the next question. “So, Your Royal Highness, what do you think?” She knew exactly what he meant, but she had no idea what to say to him. The answer to that question was no longer hers to give.

“I think you're the most remarkable man I've ever known, and I love you with all my heart.” He had actually flown all the way from Boston for one night, to wish her Merry Christmas and give her the ring. And if she accepted it, he was hers, and she his.

“Well?” he asked nervously. “Is it no or yes?”

“It would have to be decided by the Family Court and Parliament. And out of respect for my father, I don't think I could ask them for a year.”

“I can wait, Cricky,” he said quietly. They already had since he left Africa at the end of July. It seemed like an eternity, but it had only been five months.

“I might be able to announce an engagement in six months,” she said cautiously. “But we couldn't marry till the end of the year.”

“Maybe by next Christmas,” he said, sounding hopeful. “What do you think the Family Court would say?”

“I could ask them to make you a Count, or something equally suitable, in order to make you eligible. To be honest, I don't know what they'd say. What about your work?” She looked worried suddenly. She couldn't ask him to give up everything for her. It wouldn't be fair.

“I'll have finished my project by then.” He had already thought about it long and hard for months, and again on the flight here. He was sure. “There's AIDS work I can do here. There's an excellent AIDS research clinic in Zurich.” He had thought of everything long before tonight.

“I don't know what they'd say. I could ask. But if they say no …” Tears sprang to her eyes at the thought. She couldn't lose him now. But nor could she abandon the people she had promised her life to only a month before. “When are you leaving?” she asked him suddenly. She was dying to see him, but there was no way she could. And he couldn't come back to visit her for months. When he did, they would have to do it right. There was no way she could ever sneak away now. He would have to visit her at the palace and come to court her. It all had to be entirely aboveboard. She had to act with honor and courage, and think of the welfare of others before herself, no matter what it cost, even love.

“My plane is at ten tomorrow morning. I'm leaving the hotel at seven, and I have to check in by eight.”

“I have to make some calls. I love you, Parker. I'll let you know before you leave. Just know how much I love you and always will.”

“The ring was my grandmother's,” he said, as though it made a difference. He had gotten it from his father on Thanksgiving. But it wasn't the ring Cricky wanted, it was him.

“I love it. But I love you more.”

She made a single phone call, but he was out. And then she lay on her bed, thinking of Parker all night. He did the same at the hotel. And heard nothing from her before he left. His heart sank as he checked out of the hotel in the morning.

The prime minister called her back at eight the next morning. She swore him to secrecy but asked him the vital questions. He said it had been done in other countries, and he didn't see why it couldn't be in theirs, if she felt it was the right thing. In fact, she had the right now to overrule the Family Court and even the parliament. She had the power, just as her father had before, but wouldn't use it on her behalf.

“It is,” she said, sounding jubilant for the first time in months. It was awful to say, and she wouldn't have to him, but even her investiture as reigning princess hadn't meant as much to her as this.

“It would have to be kept quiet for the next five or six months. You can get everyone used to the idea after that. I'll do what I can to help,” he said, sounding more like a benevolent uncle than a prime minister. She wished him a Merry Christmas then and got off the phone.

She looked at her watch. It was eight-fifteen. And he hadn't called her before he left the hotel. She had said she would call him. She picked up the phone to call security, and asked them to send Max to her room. Sounding worried, they asked if she had a problem, and she said not at all. She grabbed a piece of paper then, and scribbled a few words. Max was at her door in five minutes.

“How fast can you get to Zurich? The airport,” she asked, as she slipped the piece of paper into an envelope and handed it to him.

“An hour. Maybe a little more. Is it rushed?” He could read in her eyes how important it was to her. He smiled, knowing who he was going to see. It was easy to guess.

“It's very rushed. His flight leaves at ten for New York. It's Parker.”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness. I'll find him.”

“Thank you, Max,” she said, remembering fondly the days in Senafe when he and Sam called her Cricky. Those days were gone forever, like so many other things in her life. But others had come in their place, and more were coming still. She hoped Max would reach him in time. If not, she would call him in New York. But she wanted him to know before he left. He deserved at least that after all he'd done.

Max flew from Vaduz to the Zurich airport. He took one of the palace security cars and kept his foot on the gas. He checked for the flights leaving for New York, found the right one, and headed for the gate to wait for him. The flight hadn't boarded yet. And then five minutes later he saw him, looking tired and walking slowly toward the gate, lost in thought. Parker gave a start when he saw Max, who gave him a broad smile and wished him a Merry Christmas, then handed him the envelope Christianna had given him. It was small and white, with her crown and initial on it. C with a crown overhead. He saw Parker's hands shake as he opened it, and read it carefully, as a broad smile spread slowly across his face.

She had written, “Yes. I love you, C.,” on the piece of paper. He folded it and slipped it into his pocket, and then slapped Max on the shoulder with a huge grin.

“Can I talk to her?” Parker asked as they called his flight. He was laughing to himself. He had proposed, and she had accepted, and they hadn't even kissed. But they were engaged anyway. Things were certainly different with a princess! He hadn't even slipped the ring on her finger, but had flown all the way from Boston to bring it to her, and only see her for a few minutes at midnight mass.

Max called security at the palace on his cell phone, and asked them to connect him to Her Royal Highness. He smiled at Parker as he said it. They both remembered other days when she was a Serene Highness, but only Cricky to them in Senafe. She was on the phone two minutes later, and he handed it to Parker.

“Did you get my note?” She sounded anxious but happy.

“Yes.” He beamed. “What happened?”

“I called the prime minister, and he doesn't see why it couldn't happen. As he put it, they do it in other countries, why not ours? We're getting very modern around here these days. And the truth is, I could overrule them anyway, but we have the prime minister's full support,” which would make it easier for them. And she could no longer honor her father's promise to her mother. She smiled as she looked at the ring on her finger. It was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. She was wearing it with the emerald band.