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However, he wasn’t sure he was ready to be thrown in the mix with her family just yet. Not that he didn’t feel as though he could hold his own. He just felt these matters were private, between himself and Anne, and in no way concerned her family.
“How about we eat at my place,” he said. “Seven o’clock?”
“If you don’t mind your residence being swarmed with security. We’re still on high alert.”
He frowned. “Is the royal family still being harassed?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
All he knew of the situation was what he’d read in the papers. “So it’s serious,” he said.
“More than anyone realizes, I’m afraid. There have been threats of violence against the family. I should probably warn you that once we’re linked together, you could become a target, as well.”
He shrugged. “I’m not worried. As far as the baby goes, I’m assuming that until you’ve told your father, there will be no announcement to the press.”
“Of course not.”
“I do intend to tell my family, but they can be trusted to keep it quiet.”
“Of course you should tell them. Do you think they’ll be upset?”
Her look of vulnerability surprised him. He didn’t think she was afraid of anything. Or cared what anyone thought of her. But hadn’t he learned that night at the ball that she wasn’t nearly as tough as she liked people to believe? “I think they’ll be surprised, but happy,” he told her.
He just hoped it was true.
Sam stopped in to see his parents that evening to break the news. When he arrived they had just finished supper and were relaxing out on the veranda with snifters of brandy, watching the sun set. Despite his father’s career in politics, and his mother’s touring as an operatic vocalist, they always made time for each other. After forty years they were still happily married and going strong.
That was the sort of marriage Sam had always imagined for himself. He had just never met a woman he could see himself spending the rest of his life with. Until Anne, he admitted grudgingly. How ironic that when he finally found her, he couldn’t have her.
He wasn’t quite sure how they would react to learning that they would be grandparents to the next prince or princess of Thomas Isle, but under the circumstances, they took it pretty well. Probably in part because they had been vying for grandchildren for some time and Sam’s older brother, Adam, had yet to deliver.
“I’m sure I’m going to sound old-fashioned,” his mother said, “but ideally we would like to see you married.”
“Mother—”
“However,” she continued. “We understand that you need to do what you feel is right.”
“If I married Anne, I would be considered a royal and I would never be prime minister. That isn’t a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” Of course, with that in mind, he shouldn’t have slept with her in the first place, should he? He suspected that was what his mother was thinking.
“You would be giving your child a name,” his father pointed out.
“I don’t need to be married to do that. He had my name the moment he was conceived.”
“He?” his mother asked, brows raised.
“Or she.”
“Will you find out?”
“I’d like to. And I think Anne would, too. She has an ultrasound in four weeks.”
“Maybe I could invite her for tea,” she suggested, and at Sam’s wary look added, “I should be allowed to get to know the mother of my future grandchild.”
She was right. And he was sure Anne would be happy to oblige her. Didn’t pregnant women love to talk about their condition with other women? Especially the grandparents? “I’ll mention it to her.”
“You know that this is going to be complicated,” his father said. “They think differently than we do.”
“They?”
“Royals.”
“Not so different as you might expect,” Sam said. “Not Anne, anyway. She’s actually quite down-to-earth.”
“I’ve only spoken briefly with the princess,” his mother said. “But she seemed lovely.”
There was a “however” hanging there, and Sam knew exactly what she was thinking. What they were both thinking. He couldn’t deny he’d thought the same thing before his night with Anne. “I know you’ve probably heard things about her. Unfavorable things. But she isn’t at all what you would expect. She’s intelligent and engaging.” And fantastic in bed …
“It sounds as if you’re quite taken with her,” his mother not-so-subtly hinted.
He was. Probably too much for his own good. He just hoped that once Anne began to look more pregnant, and especially after the baby was born, it would be easier for him to see her only as the mother of his child and not a sexual being.
“I have every hope that Anne and I can be good friends, for the child’s sake, but that is as far as it will ever go.”
He knew they were disappointed. This wasn’t the sort of scenario his parents had envisioned for him, and honestly neither had he. He had assumed that it would have been like it had been for them. He would meet a woman and they would date for a reasonable period of time, then marry and have a family. Sam would eventually become prime minister, and his wife would have a rewarding and lucrative career that still allowed her time to put her family first.
So much for that plan.
“As long as you’re happy, we’re happy,” his mother said.
Sam hoped she really meant it. Even though they gave no indication that Sam was disappointing them, he couldn’t help but feel that he’d let them down. That he had let himself down.
Even worse, was he letting his child down?
What had happened was an accident, but ultimately the person who would pay for it would be the baby. The baby would be the one relentlessly dogged by the press. And being a royal, the stigma of illegitimacy could potentially follow him or her for life. Was it fair to put the baby through that for his own selfish needs?
It was certainly something to consider.
He had just arrived home later that evening when he got a call on his cell phone from Prince Christian’s assistant, with a message from the prince. It was odd enough that she would call at almost 10:00 p.m., but how had the prince gotten his private cell number? The prince’s calls typically went through Sam’s office line.
Silly question. As acting king, he probably had access to any phone number he wanted.
“His Royal Highness, Prince Christian, requests your presence in the royal family’s private room at the Thomas Bay yacht club tomorrow at one-thirty,” she said.
Oh did he? That was an odd setting for a business meeting. Unless it had nothing to do with business. “And the nature of this meeting?” he asked her.
“A private matter.”
Well, so much for believing that this would stay between Sam and Anne. He should have anticipated this. Prince Christian probably considered it his obligation to watch his sister’s back. That didn’t mean Sam would let him intimidate or boss him around.
“Tell the prince that I would be happy to meet him at three.”
There was a brief pause, as though the idea of someone actually refusing an invitation from the prince was beyond her realm of comprehension. Finally she said, “Could you hold, please?”
“Of course.”
She was off the line for several minutes, then came back on and said, “Three will be fine. The prince asks that you please keep this meeting to yourself, as it is a sensitive matter.”
This suggested to Sam that Anne probably had no idea a meeting was being arranged and the prince preferred it to stay that way. He didn’t doubt that the prince would try to persuade him to marry Anne. Truth be told, if Sam had a sister in a similar situation, he might do the same thing.
But this was the twenty-first century and people had children out of wedlock all the time. On occasion, even royalty. Prince Christian’s wife, Princess Melissa of their sister country, Morgan Isle, was an illegitimate heir. In fact, with two illegitimate heirs, and a former king who reputedly lacked the ability or desire to keep his fly zipped, the royal family of Morgan Isle was positively brimming with scandal. By comparison the royal family of Thomas Isle were saints. Would a little scandal be so terrible?
But was it fair to the baby, who had no choice in the matter? Wasn’t it a father’s responsibility to protect his child?
But at what cost?
Sam slept fitfully that night and had trouble concentrating at work the next day. It was almost a relief to leave the office early, even though he doubted his meeting with the prince would be a pleasant exchange.
He arrived five minutes ahead of time, and the prince was already there, sitting in a leather armchair beside a bay of windows that overlooked the marina. He rose to greet Sam.
“Your Highness.” Sam bowed his head then accepted Prince Christian’s hand for a firm shake.
“I’m so glad you accepted my invitation,” he said.
The Prince requests your presence sounded more like an order than an invitation. “I wasn’t aware it was optional.”
“I’m sorry if you were given that impression. I just thought it would be appropriate, in light of the situation, if we had a friendly chat.”
Friendly? Sam doubted that.
The Prince gestured to the chair opposite him. “Please have a seat. Would you like a drink?”
A few too many glasses of champagne had gotten Sam into this mess. Had he been sober, he probably never would have approached the princess, much less danced with her. “Nothing for me, thanks.”
They both sat.
“No disrespect intended, but if the situation you’re referring to somehow involves my being the father of your sister’s child, we have nothing to discuss, Your Highness.”
His blunt statement seemed to surprise the prince. “Is that so?”
“It is.”
“I’m afraid I disagree.”
“This is between me and Anne.”
“No one wishes that were the case more than I. Unfortunately, what Anne does affects our entire family. I had hoped you would do the right thing, but I understand that’s not the case.”
“Of course I’ll do the right thing. But I’ll do what I feel is the right thing.”
“And may I ask what your idea of the right thing is?”
“As I said, that is between me and the mother of my child.”
His expression darkened. He obviously didn’t like that Sam wasn’t falling into line. But Sam would be damned if he was going to let the prince, or any member of the royal family, walk all over him.
Prince Christian leaned forward slightly. “I won’t see my sister’s reputation, not to mention that of her child, decimated, because you couldn’t keep out of her knickers.”
What was that phrase the Americans used? It takes two to tango? “If blaming me for this situation makes you sleep better, I can live with that.”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“On the contrary, I’m being very reasonable. I’m considering your sister’s privacy.”
“This concerns more people than just you and Anne. You know that our father isn’t well. A scandal like this is more than his heart could take.”
So now not only was Sam decimating reputations, but he was essentially killing the king? “I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m still not talking to you.”
“I could make your life unpleasant,” Prince Christian said ominously. “If I feel that you’re disrespecting my sister’s name, I will lash out at you in any way I see fit.”
So much for their friendly chat. He couldn’t say he was surprised.
Sam shrugged. “Knock yourself out, Your Highness. I’m still not discussing my and Anne’s private matters with you.”
For a long moment Prince Christian just stared at him, and Sam braced himself for the fireworks. But instead of exploding with anger, the prince shook his head and laughed. “Christ, Baldwin, you’ve got a pair.”
“I just don’t respond well to threats or ultimatums.”
“And I don’t like giving them. But I have an obligation to look out for my family. The truth is, if it weren’t for my father’s fragile state, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. He’s in extremely poor health and it would make him very happy to see his oldest daughter married before she has a child.”
He found what Prince Christian was doing utterly annoying, but in a way Sam actually felt sorry for him. “I’m truly sorry to hear that your father isn’t well. I hold him in the highest regard.”
“And I sympathize with your situation, Sam. I honestly do. It’s common knowledge that you intend to follow in your father’s footsteps and I believe you have the fortitude to pull it off. But marrying my sister would make that impossible. For what it’s worth, you’ve built a reputation as one hell of a foreign affairs advisor. If there were a marriage, you would be offered a powerful and influential position within the monarchy.”
After serving in, and being around, government for most of his life, the idea of taking a position with the monarchy was troubling to say the least. Not that they weren’t on the same side when it came to serving the people of the country. But in Sam’s eyes it had always been something of an “us against them” scenario.
Not to mention that, while he enjoyed foreign affairs, he had set his sights higher.
“Have you given any thought to how difficult it could be for your child, being illegitimate?”
“That’s all I’ve been thinking about.” And the more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that marrying Anne might be the wisest course of action. They may not have planned this pregnancy, but it had happened, and from now on he would have to put the welfare of his child above all else. Including his political ambitions.
“What’s it like?” Sam asked. “Being a father?”
The prince smiled, his affection for his children undeniably clear. “It’s exhilarating and terrifying and more rewarding than anything I’ve ever done. Ever imagined. I have these three perfect little human beings who are completely helpless and depend on me and their mother for everything they need to survive. It can be overwhelming.”
“And if someone gave you a choice? Give up the throne or your children would live a life of disgrace and shame.”
“No question. My children come first.”
