Читать книгу The Prince's Heir - Sally Carleen - Страница 10

Chapter Two

Mandy leaned against the side of the house, half-hidden by a crepe myrtle bush, shaking in fear and anger as she watched Stephan’s rental car drive away. How was it possible that her whole world could have changed so much in less than an hour?

Though she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. The last few years had been constant upheaval... leaving her small hometown, Willoughby, for college in Dallas, fifty miles away, renewing her friendship with Alena, then her grandfather’s death three years ago followed closely by Alena’s death, adopting Josh and moving back to Willoughby. She’d thought she could regain stability by returning to the small town and the family she’d once wanted to leave. And she had regained that stability for a while. She’d traded in her MBA to teach first-grade children, some belonging to her former classmates.

Except for her grandfather and her best friend being gone, the time since she’d come back had been like a return to her childhood when she was surrounded by love and everything was secure and unchanging. She’d been given a second chance, and this time she truly appreciated what she had. This time she was holding on with both hands and not about to let it get away from her.

Only a few hours ago she’d left to do her morning of volunteer work at the library, confident that things would be the same when she returned. Then she’d come back and walked into the home where she’d lived since she was a child, where she’d always felt safe, into the kitchen where she’d eaten breakfast that very morning with the people she loved.

But in that kitchen, sitting at that same table, she’d seen Stephan Reynard.

And she had a horrible feeling that her life would never be the same no matter how tightly she tried to hold on to the status quo.

The worst thing wasn’t even that he wanted to take Josh. That was unthinkable, of course, but even worse was that she was inexplicably, insanely attracted to the man who wanted to steal her son, the brother of the man who’d caused her best friend’s death.

For some reason she’d never be able to understand, her hormones had turned on her and focused their attention on this enigmatic man who was the antithesis of everything she wanted out of life. He had wealth and power and that always spelled heartache. If she needed any confirmation of that fact of life... and she didn’t...all she had to do was look at Alena’s life, especially after she became involved with this man’s brother.

Stephan Reynard was from another country. Not just another city an hour’s drive away, but a completely different country, thousands of miles away in distance and lifestyle.

And he was the enemy, the man who thought that country had a claim on her son, who wanted to yank him away from her and from the life she’d so carefully constructed for him.

Yet as much as she feared Stephan and hated him, just as much was she drawn to him. There was something about him, some banked fire in his eyes, something predatory about the way he moved, something primitive buried beneath the layers of civilization and conservative clothing that reached to a part of her she hadn’t even known existed before...and really didn’t want to know about now.

When he’d callously announced Lawrence’s death, she’d been completely disconcerted, not only because she’d liked Lawrence and had been shocked at the news, but also because that meant Stephan had a legitimate reason to take her son. The room had started to spin about her. Stephan must have spotted her weakness, and he’d rushed over to her. For one insane instant she’d wanted to collapse into those arms and be held against that wide chest, to free those uncivilized urges she somehow knew he possessed.

Fortunately she’d recovered her good sense before doing anything that stupid and had not, she hoped, given him any sign of her absurd reaction.

When she’d grabbed him by that ridiculous tie and invaded his space to issue her warning, she’d been fighting dual urges to use that tie to choke him or to pull his lips to hers. Even now she could remember the sizzle that had seemed to pass from his body to hers, though they hadn’t actually touched physically. Even now his elusive scent that was both foreign and familiar, civilized and wild, tantalized her memory.

She snapped a leaf off the bush beside her and crumpled it in her fingers. Her hormones must have gone into overdrive, focusing on the first attractive man they spotted, causing her to attribute to that man all sorts of traits that he didn’t possess. Stephan Reynard was a stuffy, snobbish, arrogant prince who wanted to take her son.

She had to shove her rebellious hormones back into their cells and launch a crusade against Stephan Reynard. She had to protect Alena’s son—her son now—keep her promise to Alena and Lawrence and keep her family intact.

She drew in a deep breath, determinedly pulling in the familiar scents of honeysuckle and trees and dust in an effort to drive out Stephan’s enigmatic, enticing scent.

Spine straight and head high, she returned to the backyard where Stacy, Josh and Prince were involved in one of Josh’s favorite games. Stacy threw Prince’s bone, then Josh raced with the dog to see who would retrieve it.

“I’m going in to talk to Mom and Nana, Stacy. Would you keep Josh out here for a little while longer?”

Stacy tossed the bone, then when Josh and Prince ran after it, she turned to Mandy, a worried frown marring her young features. “What’s going to happen, Sis?”

“Nothing. We’ll figure out some way to deal with this.” She had no idea what that way might be, but she would find it. She couldn’t conceive of anything else.

Josh charged back, jubilantly clutching the plastic bone and chattering happily.

“Good boy!” Stacy approved. “See how much easier it is to carry it in your hand than in your mouth?”

Mandy scooped him up and gave him a big hug, loving him so much it was almost painful. Josh wrapped his chubby arms about her neck and hugged her back, gave her a sloppy kiss, then demanded to be allowed down again so he could play with Prince. She set him on his bare feet and he scampered away.

“He doesn’t appreciate how much he’s loved because that’s all he’s ever known,” Mandy said. “That’s the way it ought to be, and it’s not going to change.”

“I’m with you all the way,” Stacy replied.

Mandy went back inside to her mother and grandmother who sat at the table, waiting for her.

“We got problems,” she said.

Her grandmother grinned wryly. “You always did have a talent for understatement.”

She flopped into the chair beside her. “Any thoughts on what we’re going to do?”

Nana shook her head. “When you told us you were adopting Josh, you didn’t tell us about that decree of illegitimate ascension.”

Mandy sighed. “It didn’t seem important. I thought Lawrence would marry the woman his parents had picked out for him and have lots more sons. It’s the male who determines the sex, you know, so the odds were pretty good on that one. I certainly had no idea the Taggarts would ever in a million years find out about Lawrence. It’s not like they would be on a guest list for the palace ball and recognize him.”

The front door slammed. “Hi, honey! I’m home!”

“In the kitchen, Dan!” her mother called.

Mandy had to fight the urge to jump up, run to her father and throw herself in his big, capable arms, the way she had done when she was a little girl, when he could make everything all better with a kiss. “You’re going to wish you’d stayed at the hardware store!” she shouted instead.

Dan Crawford appeared in the doorway, a large, smiling man with auburn hair fading to a lighter color and streaked with white. He took one look at the three of them and his smile vanished, concern furrowing his brow instead. “What’s wrong? Has something happened to Lynda and the baby?”

“No, they’re fine,” Rita assured him. “Sit down, dear. We need to have a family meeting.”

Dan took a seat at the table and listened quietly while Mandy told him the whole story.

“We need a plan of action,” she concluded. “I don’t think this is going to go away like the chicken pox did.”

Dan Crawford leaned back and exhaled a long sigh. “What did this Stephan Reynard say he plans to do next?”

“He didn’t say,” Rita replied. “He’s staying at a hotel in Dallas and we’re to phone him there after we’ve had time to discuss everything.”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Mandy said adamantly. “Joshua’s my son now. Both his parents wanted him to have the kind of life I had, not the kind they had.”

“Stephan Reynard is Joshua’s uncle,” her father said, his voice quiet but resolute. “He may not have any legal rights, but don’t you think he’s entitled to some kind of relationship with his nephew? Someday Joshua’s going to want to know about his heritage.”

“Stephan Reynard doesn’t want a relationship with his nephew. He wants to steal him and turn him into a carbon copy of himself, and we can’t let him do that. Josh would be just as unhappy in that role as Lawrence was.”

She rose, unable to sit still any longer, and paced across the kitchen, then turned around and leaned back against the cabinet as if for support. “When I was little, I envied Alena. She had so many toys and clothes and her own suite of rooms. But she always wanted to come to our house to play. I didn’t understand that. Then I went to Dallas to go to school and we got really close again and she told me she’d been lonely and envied my family.”

She wrapped her arms about herself and smiled weakly. “That was the first time I’d been away from you all. I used to think it would be wonderful to have a place of my own, central heat and air, my own private bathroom. Well, it wasn’t. I never told you how much I missed all of you because you were so pleased about my getting that scholarship and going to school. But I did. Something terrible. If I hadn’t had Alena, I wouldn’t have stayed even that first semester. When Gramps died, it really hit me how valuable you all are to me. Then Alena died, too, and Lawrence put that tiny baby in my arms, and it was like everything shifted and I totally understood. I knew that making lots of money and having lots of things the way Alena had always had was not what I wanted. I’d had the world and given it up. I couldn’t get everything back. Gramps was gone. But I could reclaim the rest of my life, and I wanted Josh to have what you gave me, such a good life that he’d never comprehend loneliness. And he does. Where his ancestors came from doesn’t matter. Love is the only heritage that matters.”

“You’re almost right, baby,” her grandmother said. “Love is the most important, but do you really want to deprive Joshua of knowing about his biological heritage? You’re always saying how it makes you feel connected to live in the house built by your ancestors. Shouldn’t Josh at least know about his?”

Mandy sighed in resignation. Her grandmother was right. Even if she’d had a choice...and she suspected that fighting an entire country didn’t give her one... she wouldn’t be able to keep Stephan away from his nephew.

“I’ll call Stephan Reynard tomorrow,” she agreed dully.

“You must invite him to stay with us,” her mother said.

A rush of hot blood surged through Mandy at the thought of Stephan Reynard sleeping under the same roof with her. “Absolutely not!”

Rita Crawford ignored her daughter. “I’m sure he can’t be comfortable in that hotel. I’ll clean and air the guest room on the third floor.”

“I’ve got a real strong feeling that Stephan Reynard, Prince of Castile, is quite comfortable in that luxury hotel with room service and valet service and maid service. No way is he going to want to move from there into a third-story room in an old house that doesn’t even have elevators or central air or chocolates on the pillows at night”

“Mandy,” her grandmother said, “your mother’s right. When Mr. Reynard has a chance to see how happy Joshua is with us and how much we love him, he’ll realize he can’t take him away.”

“It’s the polite thing to do and the smart thing,” her father said firmly. “You’re outvoted, baby doll.”

There was a down side to living with an extended family, Mandy thought grimly. Like being outvoted.

“Fine. I’ll invite him because it’s the polite thing to do and because you all insist, but I don’t think he’ll come.”

Maybe he’d be so embarrassed when he refused that he’d stay away from her family.

It wasn’t much, was pretty lame, actually, but it was the only hope she had at the moment.

Heaven help her and her renegade hormones if he accepted.

Stephan had a restless night. Jet lag. Traveling to a time zone six hours behind his. That’s all it was. His troubled dreams about the Crawford family, Mandy Crawford in particular, were caused by the jet lag.

He rose early, awakening as usual just before dawn as if the energy of the sun was so strong it made sleep impossible and urged him to be up and busy doing things. He showered, dressed and ordered room service, then stared out his window at the Dallas skyline.

Dallas was a big, fast-paced, modern city, the complete opposite of everything in Castile. Lawrence had brought back glowing reports from America and ideas for bringing Castile into the twenty-first century. Though he’d been fascinated with both New York City and Dallas, he’d expressed a decided preference for Dallas. After learning about Alena and the child, Stephan had wondered if Lawrence’s perceptions had been tainted.

Stephan’s own education and travels had focused on the capitals of Europe, and, in spite of Lawrence’s reports, he’d halfway expected to find Dallas uncivilized and overrun with cattle and cowboys. But he had to admit he’d been favorably impressed. The vitality and energy of the city were almost palpable, yet the people, like the Crawfords, were polite and friendly.

He certainly hadn’t expected to like the Crawfords. The Taggarts had described their socio-economic status as “low class,” “dead broke,” “the whole family living in a run-down old house.” He hadn’t liked or trusted the Taggarts when they’d traveled to Castile for an interview with the king after their claim had proven accurate. He hadn’t been sure how much to believe of their analysis of the situation concerning the Crawfords. Nevertheless, he had fully expected to find Lawrence’s son living in squalor.

He’d been prepared to march in boldly, demand a DNA test from people who would, the Taggarts assured him, be only too happy to relinquish the infant prince into his custody in exchange for a sizable deposit in their bank account. He had certainly not been prepared for the immaculate old house or for the cultured, well-mannered Crawford family who obviously adored Lawrence’s son.

And nothing could have prepared him for Mandy Crawford.

This matter, which should have been simple and easily resolved, had become quite complicated.

He turned away from the window, folded his arms and took in a deep breath. If he was completely honest with himself, he’d have to admit that it wasn’t the jet lag at all that had kept him awake most of the night. It was the situation he’d unexpectedly come into. Specifically, it was one tall, slender woman with wild red hair, flashing green eyes and a burning passion that seemed to extend to everything around her, a woman he’d touched briefly when he’d thought she was going to faint, then been inches away from when she’d gotten in his face to warn him to leave her son alone, a woman who stayed in his mind far more vividly than any of the women he had touched much more intimately through the years.

The phone rang and he knew it was Mandy, as if his thoughts of her could have compelled her to call...or as if her thoughts of calling him, of picking up the phone, of thinking about what she might say to him, were so strong, so passionate, that they reached across the miles.

He snatched up the phone on the first ring, then, irritated at his own eagerness, answered with a crisp “Hello.”

“Stephan Reynard?” Mandy spoke crisply also, but still her soft voice reminded him of the way the wind had breathed through the leaves of the big trees at her house yesterday.

“Speaking,” he replied, ignoring his fanciful thoughts.

“This is Mandy Crawford.”

“I know.”

“We need to talk.”

“Yes, we do.”

“When would be convenient for you?”

“I’m at your disposal.”

“Good. That means we can work around my schedule.” Her tone was confrontational, but Stephan found himself smiling. Texas women were definitely different from any he’d known before. Or maybe it was just that Mandy Crawford was different from anyone he’d known before.

“I’ll be delighted to work around your schedule. What time is convenient for you?”

“How about two o’clock in the lobby of your hotel?”

It was a good choice for him, his turf rather than hers, and it was air-conditioned. After experiencing the Texas heat yesterday, that was most definitely a positive aspect. Yet he felt a vague disappointment that he wouldn’t be returning to the hot, stuffy old house overrun with the Crawford family.

“Two o’clock is fine. The restaurant here is quite good. Will you join me for a late lunch?”

“My family and I eat lunch together after we get home from church.”

Stephan flinched. That comment put him in his place, let him know that he had no part in her family, including any part in the child’s life. He could almost see her as she spoke, her chin tilted upward, eyes glowing with righteous fervor. He supposed he should find her defiance upsetting or, at best, amusing, but somehow he didn’t. Somehow he found it admirable and endearing.

“I’ll see you at two,” he agreed.

He hung up the phone, somehow reluctant to break the connection even as he was a little aghast at how much he was looking forward to seeing her again. This was purely business, of course. He would not—could not—become personally involved to any degree. That sort of thing only caused problems. He’d always known that, been taught that from the cradle, and Lawrence’s fiasco certainly proved it.

He couldn’t avoid seeing Mandy Crawford again, but he could stop himself from looking forward to it. He knew how to control his emotions.

Mandy stood in the elegant lobby of the hotel, tapping her foot on the marble floor. Two o’clock and no prince. She’d give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe his watch was slow. Maybe they didn’t value punctuality in Castile. But five more minutes and she was out of there.

If he couldn’t even be on time, that surely showed he wasn’t all that interested in Josh. Or maybe it just showed his complete disrespect for her and her family. After all, they weren’t royalty, not even by the American standards of wealth and success. But they were a family, and that counted for more. If he mesasured them differently, then he was using the wrong standards.

“Ms. Crawford. How nice to see you again.”

She whirled at the deep, mellow sound of his voice, the rounded, elegant intonation of his words with that underlying hint of uncivilized ancestry.

And somehow all her righteous anger melted in the depths of his eyes and the width of his smile.

“You’re late,” she snapped, irritated at herself, and taking it out on him. Why not? He was the cause of her problems, wasn’t he?

He glanced at his gold watch then arched a dark eyebrow. “One minute.”

“Oh. Well.” She shifted her shoulder bag.

“Would you join me in a cup of tea? As I mentioned, the restaurant is quite nice.”

“Yes, thank you. That would be...nice.”

He extended one hand in the direction she should go, then placed the other in the vicinity of her waist, almost but not quite touching. She sucked in a quick breath. He might as well be touching her. She could feel the pulsating, vibrant heat from his hand through her cotton dress, and it was all she could do to refrain from letting that heat pull her to him, to lean slightly backward and feel his hand on her body.

She was being ridiculous again, letting her hormones control her brain, take over her imagination.

She walked faster, marching past the huge columns and into the restaurant that would have made Julius Caesar and his cronies feel right at home. A glass wall on one side looked onto a pool surrounded by lush vegetation. Quite nice was a gross understatement

Mandy experienced a single, quick stab of anxiety that she was completely out of her element, in over her head. Without any overt effort, this man compelled her. He was a prince, born to rule. He had money and power. He was right at home in luxurious surroundings like this hotel. He was dangerous.

She sank into the chair the waiter held for her and gave herself a mental slap. She couldn’t afford to lose her perspective. This man had money and power, but she had family and love. He was in over his head.

She started to order a glass of iced tea, then changed it to a cup of hot, the same as Stephan requested.

“Hot sounds good,” she said after the waiter left. “It’s chilly in here.” She rubbed the goose bumps that covered her bare arms. The sleeveless summer dress she’d worn to church was not adequate for the frigid air of the hotel. Stephan, of course, wore a dark suit, white, long-sleeved shirt and a tie, just as he had the day before and probably the day before that. Maybe he even slept in them.

No....

Sitting across from him, surrounded by pompous elegance, she was again struck by the intense savagery that seemed to lie just beneath his cultured veneer. With a clarity she didn’t want, she knew this man slept in the nude.

She folded her hands on the white tablecloth, shoved aside that image and prepared to launch into battle. “Well, Mr. Reynard, or should I call you Your Highness or maybe just Prince?” She bit back a nervous giggle at that thought. Yo, Prince! Sit, Prince! Stay, Prince! Good boy!

He smiled. “Prince? The name you reserve for your dog? I’m flattered. But I insist you call me Stephan. Your country isn’t as formal as mine.”

“Oh, are we playing by my country’s rules?”

“I think that’s appropriate considering we’re in your country.”

“Good. My country doesn’t recognize royalty. Josh was born in this country, to an American citizen. That means he’s an American, and by our rules, he can’t be a prince. That should settle our differences.”

He smiled again and inclined his head in a slight bow. “Touché. Legally speaking, I’m sure you’re correct. Nevertheless, Lawrence’s son is the heir to the throne of my country.”

“So? You never did answer my question. What do you want? Do you think I’m going to just turn him over to you, let you take my son...and he is my son under the laws of my country...let you take him thousands of miles away, raise him in a style his biological father hated? Ruin his life?”

“When I first scheduled this trip over here,” he said, his voice quiet and noncommittal, “I had planned to return with Lawrence’s son—”

“Stop calling him that,” she interrupted. “He’s not just your brother’s son. He’s a person. He has a name. Joshua.”

“Of course,” he acceded. “I had planned to return with Joshua so that he could be raised in the palace and trained for the duties he will one day undertake.”

“Your mom and dad anxious to meet their grandson, are they?” she asked sarcastically.

He stared at her blankly for a moment, his expression confused as if he were trying to comprehend a question couched in a foreign language, then a flash of something else swept across his features. He blinked and it was gone, but just for an instant Mandy could have sworn she glimpsed sadness in his winter eyes. “Of course the king and queen are anxious to meet Lawrence’s—to meet Joshua.”

“They don’t want to meet Joshua. They want to meet the heir. That’s all he is to any of you. Alena told me how Lawrence was raised. One nanny after another, practically having to request an audience to see his parents. How can you want to do that to a little boy?”

“He’s a prince. He has obligations and duties to his people.”

The waiter returned with their teas, and Mandy busied herself adding sugar and lemon, trying to keep her fingers from trembling visibly. She wasn’t going to get anywhere in a head-to-head battle with this man. All she was doing was letting her anger and fear spoil her judgment. She had to be as cool as he was, fight him at his own game...and win. For Joshua’s sake, she had to win.

“This is a beautiful hotel,” she said, searching for a neutral subject to give her a chance to regain her equilibrium. “Is it similar to the hotels in your country?”

Stephan looked around him. “The service, yes. But we are a small country and very steeped in tradition. Even our renovated hotels are about a hundred years behind yours. That was why the king sent Lawrence to America, so he could bring back progressive ideas. We’re badly in need of change.” He smiled wryly. “As the world heads into the twenty-first century, we’ve barely entered the twentieth.”

She didn’t miss the fact that he had, for the second time, referred to his father only as “the king.” After what Alena had told her about Lawrence’s childhood, she wasn’t surprised. Perhaps Stephan was more like his brother than he’d first appeared. Perhaps the fact that he had no real family had occasioned that brief glimpse of sadness she’d seen earlier when she’d mentioned his parents.

“So Lawrence came to America to study progress, and you went to Europe to study history.”

He nodded and sipped his tea.

“Don’t you have a sister? Alena mentioned a sister.

His taut features seemed to relax infinitesimally, and his long fingers curled around the small cup. He had a soft spot beneath that rigid exterior after all. “Yes, I have a younger sister, Schahara”

“And where did she go for her studies?”

“She’s a woman. The queen taught her all she needs to know at home.”

Mandy set her cup on the table so hard a bit of tea sloshed out onto the immaculate white linen. “Excuse me?”

He chuckled. “I told you we needed to learn about progress. In defiance of tradition, my sister has traveled extensively all around the world on her own accord. She’s really the one with the ideas on how to bring about the progress we so desperately need. She’s already computerized the household records and constantly monitors world happenings by using the Internee.”

“You have computers in your country? Computers aren’t nineteenth century.”

He laughed then, a delicious, low sound that traveled from her ears through her body like a curling, rhythmic wave. “We’re not completely primitive. We have electricity and indoor plumbing and even computers, though only the wealthy can afford the luxuries like televisions and computers, and many of our people still live without most or any of the modern conveniences.”

“That’s part of the changes you want to make?”

“A big part. As I said, Schahara has many plans already mapped out. The king wants to maintain the status quo and doesn’t give much heed to her ideas. However, she will be an excellent adviser to the present king’s successor.”

“And who will that be if Joshua doesn’t...um—”

“If he doesn’t return to Castile? Then I’ll succeed to the throne.”

That was the first encouraging bit of news she’d heard since yesterday. “Well, so, wouldn’t you like to be king?”

“It’s not a question of whether I’d like to be the king. It’s a question of who is the rightful heir to the throne.”

“But you would like to be king.”

“I neither like nor dislike the idea. It’s a duty. If I have to perform it, I will, of course. But Lawrence’s son is—”

“Joshua! His name is Joshua Crawford and he’s my legally adopted son and you can’t just throw him over your shoulder and take him off to another country.” She bit her lip and looked down at the table. She was losing control again.

“I assure you, I have no intention of doing that.” And he was completely in control, as always. “Once I met your family, I realized my original plans couldn’t happen. You and I must find a compromise. I’ve given it quite a bit of thought and have decided perhaps both sides would be best served if we could work out an alternating schedule of living arrangements while he’s underage, say six months a year in each country. That would give him a chance to be with your family as well as to learn about his country.”

Mandy’s stomach clenched. She gazed at Stephan in horror. “Divide him up? Tear him in two? Keep him so unbalanced he never feels at home anywhere, never has a chance to settle into either life?”

“Very well, then what do you suggest?”

It was, she decided, time to play her trump card. She had no other choice. She leaned back in her chair and tented her fingers on the tabletop. “I suggest you get to know him and let him get to know you before we make any decisions.”

“That sounds fair.”

“My mother’s cleaning out the guest room for you even as we speak. You can move in tonight and start getting to know your nephew immediately.”

His eyes widened, and for a moment those banked fires she’d imagined she’d seen in his dark gaze sprang to life as awareness surged across the table between them, tingling along her skin and dancing around her breasts.

She swallowed hard and fumbled with her cup, lifting it to her lips and trying to focus on the lukewarm liquid inside rather than Stephan’s scorching gaze.

When she looked back, the distant January skies had returned to that gaze and once again she had to wonder if her imagination and overactive hormones had created a delusion.

“Very well,” he said. “I’ll check out of here and move into your guest room tonight for a two-week stay. That should give us time to make all the necessary decisions.” Despite his proper language, his voice was husky and raw and she recalled her earlier certainty that he slept in the nude.

And he’d be sleeping under the same roof as she tonight.