chapter Six
“Are we going straight to the palace?”
Jack swung himself into the chair opposite her aware they would shortly be landing at Challoner. He had spent the last two hours on the flight deck talking to the pilot and first officer and had enjoyed their company. It also meant Lara and he could continue to avoid one another and the possibility of having more rows. But the time had come to be civil, particularly since they would be spending so much time together during the next three weeks.
She looked up from the book she was reading. “Yes. But there’s no need to change.”
“I wasn’t going to.” Jack pursed his lips.
He didn’t mean to be uncooperative but straight away her comment had irritated him. He consciously relaxed his shoulders trying to shake the tension from them following the hours spent in the aircraft. He hadn’t been to Europe before, never having the need. All of his long haul trips had involved visits to Japan, China and Indonesia as part of his negotiations for the many businesses under his control, particularly the lucrative areas of aqua-culture and export trade. Although he had his own private jet and worked on his computer during most of these flights, he still found that time passed slowly and tediously.
Lara appeared to ignore his glib comment. “I’ve received a call from the queen and she has asked us to join the king and her for luncheon. It will be about ten o’clock in the morning when we land so this will give us time to shower and change.”
Watching her put into place her ever-so-cool façade was quite fascinating. The original Ice Princess. Yet he knew he could break through those barriers with a few words, or a touch of his hand on that soft cheek or the caress of his lips against her elegant neck.
He had been fascinated by their fiery exchanges earlier. She had come alive, her eyes sparkling into his and her cheeks pink with anger. He had met her only a few days ago and yet he knew her. He knew her…intimately.
“Do you have a suit to wear?”
He blinked, endeavoring to put his lustful thoughts aside. “Yes. I’ve brought a suit with me.”
“It will be a reasonably informal luncheon. My brother, Carl, will attend as well. The press office is leaking the word that you are more of a close friend of Carl’s than mine.”
He laughed. “The Princess Media Machine stepping up the action?”
Responding with a warm smile, she said, “The palace is very protective of me. I am the people’s favorite royal, which is why there was such an upset when it was thought you had kidnapped me.”
She made the statement without the slightest trace of ego giving Jack some idea of what he was in for. The royal favorite and he had the audacity to seduce her. Even if their affair had been successfully hidden from the media and, consequently, the people, he still had to face her family and palace officials.
“What are you thinking? You look bemused.” Her voice was soft as she stared at him.
Jack absentmindedly rubbed a hand over his jaw feeling the growth of day-old bristles. He really didn’t know how to answer her. How could he say he didn’t approve of this subterfuge? That as a grown woman, albeit a princess, she should be allowed to have whatever friends and relationships she liked? That it went against the grain for him to pretend he was a friend of the family, rather than her lover.
How could any nation still be so rigid and steeped in tradition to go to such lengths? He hadn’t told Lara that when he had reached his home in Port Margaret, he had spent several hours on the internet researching her country including its history and the role her ancestors had played over the centuries. Then, because he was so curious, he had investigated other royal households in Lichtenstein, Spain, Denmark and the United Kingdom. On the surface, none of them appeared to be as strict as Challoner but then, he didn’t know what happened behind the closed palace doors.
“I was thinking how lovely you look,” he said and meant it. He was tired and knew he would suffer from jet lag and yet Lara was perfect, her features serene, her hair and makeup understated and elegant.
“You’re very forthright. It embarrasses me.” Faint color kissed her cheeks.
“Don’t worry. I’ll behave myself in front of your family.”
“I think you should relax and be yourself, Jack.”
He grinned. “If that was the case, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you and would ravish you on the banquet table in front of everyone.”
She surprised him by giggling as her cheeks grew pinker. “Have you forgiven me for getting you into this mess?”
“Lara, it’s not a mess. It’s a holiday, so don’t worry about me.” He caught her hand and lifted it to his lips. “It will do me good to behave myself for a change.”
~ * ~
A flurry of snowflakes greeted Lara as she emerged from the aircraft on the private runway a few miles from the palace and the city of Challoner. She quickly descended the steps to the tarmac and entered the waiting limousine, which carried the royal standard. Jack was close behind her and the length of his thigh touched hers as they settled into their seats in the back of the vehicle. There was a partition separating them from the driver allowing them privacy.
He shook the snow from his hair. “Phew. What a welcome. It’s freezing out there.”
She flicked back the hood of her white fake fur coat. Her throat was strangely tight and her eyes stung with unshed tears. She was home. For all that she had thought about coming home and the duties this involved in the role of a royal princess, she had missed Challoner and particularly missed her family. Soon she would see them.
“I told you it was winter,” she managed to reply, swallowing the sudden emotion.
His dark head touched her blonde one for a moment and her heart began to pound. “Yes, but you didn’t tell me it was going to be this cold, princess,” he whispered. Was he going to kiss her? No. He was drawing away.
“Jack, hold me for a moment. I’m nervous,” she whispered back. Had she really said that aloud? She couldn’t believe it.
His arms instantly surrounded her and pulled her to his chest as his head rested on hers. “Why? Are your parents so intimidating?”
“No. But then I’ve never brought a lover home to meet them before.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
She looked up at him, his sensual mouth so close. She needed him. Needed his strength and confidence but, mostly his physical presence.
He must have sensed it as his long fingers cupped her jaw and his tongue traced the soft fullness of her lips. His kiss, as his mouth moved over hers, was warm and firm. When he drew back, she was on fire from his touch.
“That will have to suffice for a while.” He smiled.
Too overcome to reply, she turned to look out the window. How could she have asked him to hold her? It was as if she lost control every time he came near. Perhaps he had cast a spell on her when they were on the island in the fairy tale cottage. It had been such a magical place, she would believe anything.
The snow had eased and she peered at the familiar countryside as the car made its stately way to the palace. The media hadn’t been informed of her arrival and she knew this was what her parents and the palace officials had wanted. She and Jack would be smuggled into the palace, surrounded by security guards and Jack’s strange visit would begin.
Thirty minutes later, the vehicle stopped in front of the Challoner palace. She greeted her aide, Rudolf Meinhart, and her maid, Greta, and introduced them to Jack. She tried to imagine the palace through his eyes. The massive doors that opened into a marble entrance hall, completely overpowering in its size. Ahead of them was a wide staircase leading to the upper floors. Everywhere the eye could see were long, daunting corridors with walls covered in tapestries and paintings of her ancestors.
“Rudolf will take you to your suite and make sure your luggage is delivered to you, Jack.” She stood a little away from him on the first landing of the stairway.
He stepped closer. “I’m impressed so far. Where is your suite?” he asked with a wicked grin.
She glanced at Rudolf who was standing discreetly nearby and put a finger to her lips in a silencing gesture. “I’ll meet you here at twelve o’clock and we’ll go into lunch together. If you need anything delivered, just pick up the phone in your suite.”
“I want you. Can I get you delivered by picking up the phone?”
She lowered her lashes but a faint smile played around her lips. She turned and, with Greta following, made her way to her rooms.
Two hours later Lara opened the door to leave her apartment. I am really nervous, she thought. What must this being doing to Jack? This poor, gorgeous man, whipped away from his old boat and smelly fish and about to dine with European royalty. Oh help.
He was waiting for her on the landing where she’d previously left him. Her eyes almost fell out of her head as she stared at the elegant man in front of her. Looking vital and refreshed, his black hair gleamed under the lights of the massive chandelier above his head. He wore a charcoal gray suit that surely must be tailor-made and a pale blue-toned shirt with a darker blue tie. He was magnificent.
She glanced at her blue-knitted suit and elegant shoes, realizing she and Jack were color coordinated.
“Smart suit,” she said, by way of greeting.
“And the same to you, princess.”
“Um, Jack, when I present you to the king and queen and my brother, you give a slight bow of your head. Okay?”
“Thanks. Rudolf has already filled me in on the protocols,” he said with a casual shrug. “Are you allowed to hold my arm as we walk down the stairs?”
She placed her hand into the crook of his arm, feeling the fine material and the steel of hard muscles beneath her fingers.
“I certainly am. Thank you, Mr. Lucas.”
~ * ~
Jack fidgeted with the knot of his tie. He knew he shouldn’t but he was bored. This informal luncheon, as Lara had called it, had been anything but, and at the end of almost three hours he was decidedly uncomfortable and yes, very bored.
But, I’ve been well behaved, he thought, allowing himself a small congratulatory smile as the attentive butler poured him another coffee. I have been dutifully polite to King Johann and Queen Francesca and talked about nondescript topics with them and Lara’s brother, Crown Prince Carl. Boring topics such as the weather and how different it was from Australia. Of course, it was bloody well different. Australia was thousands of miles away at the other end of the earth, and as far as he was concerned, it might just as well be on another planet compared to his present environment.
Earlier he had been greeted warmly by the king and queen, although he’d decided he had better not step out of line. He wondered if they had dungeons here and whether he could be in danger of being locked away for the rest of his life for daring to defile a royal princess. King Johann was a slight, elegant man with a serious, intelligent face. He was quieter than the queen, who appeared to be the diplomat, making sure Jack was warmly welcomed. He could see where Lara had inherited her beauty as in her early fifties, Queen Francesca was still a very lovely woman with a slender figure and noble bearing.
He looked across at Lara who sat opposite him, next to Carl. She was pale and her face was strained. In fact, he’d found it hard not to keep looking at her throughout the long lunch. He was bewitched by her beauty and gentle manner but he worried for her and couldn’t determine why. She should be fine returning to the loving arms of her family. However, he had been surprised at the cool greeting she had received from her parents. Perhaps they were different when there wasn’t a stranger present or perhaps they were mad at her for breaking ranks and daring to live her life as she wanted. He didn’t know, but he didn’t like what he saw. Lara shouldn’t be treated in this almost callous way.
He studied Carl, who was a good-looking man and at thirty-three, was the same age as him. But, for all of Carl’s handsome features, there was a sulky petulance in his manner and signs of a weak character in the lines around his mouth and chin.
Jack fidgeted again, moving restlessly in the velvet upright chair. The five of them were seated in what he understood was the small salon, except it was huge. The king and queen sat at either end of the magnificent dining table, which was laden with silverware with a low display of yellow roses as a centerpiece. Servants had hovered nearby to serve the three course meal and accompanying wines. This probably accounted for the stilted conversation, because there was no way this family was going to discuss anything of a personal nature in front of the staff.
Even so, he didn’t understand why the king and queen hadn’t questioned him about his background and businesses. They were definitely keeping something from Lara and…so was he. Frowning, he decided he would explain things to her as soon as he could. That, in fact, he wasn’t the poor fisherman she thought he was, but was wealthy—substantially wealthy, even by this family’s standards.
He noticed Lara refused a port with her coffee, as she had refused the wines during the meal. He had done the same, not because he wouldn’t have enjoyed them, but he wanted to have all his faculties on red alert if he had to deal with any awkward questions. Carl, on the other hand, had freely indulged and was now motioning to the butler to refill his port glass. His cheeks were flushed from the amount of alcohol he had consumed and his voice was becoming louder by the moment.
As the last servant departed, Carl turned to Queen Francesca. “Mummy, I’m flying to Monaco tomorrow for a few days.”
Francesca looked reproachfully at her son. “Not again, surely. You were only there last week.”
“Well, I don’t have any official engagements and I’m not required to attend the ball. Quite honestly, I’m sick of this freezing weather. I need to get away.”
“Seeing we have a guest staying with us, I would think you could stay and entertain him,” Johann said crisply.
Jack exchanged a glance with Lara who instantly lowered her eyes. He took a sip of his coffee. Hmm, a family disagreement. Interesting.
“Sir, Mr. Lucas is Lara’s guest, not mine. I’m sure he won’t mind if I disappear for a few days, would you, Jack?”
Yep. Drop me in it, why don’t you. He decided he didn’t particularly like the Crown Prince.
Francesca hurriedly came to Jack’s rescue. “We will discuss this later, Carl. Mr. Lucas, would you like Lara to take you riding this afternoon if you’re not too jet-lagged? We have excellent horses and a superb indoor school.”
“Are you mad, Mother? Lara shouldn’t go riding in her condition.”
Following Carl’s outspoken statement, there was an embarrassing silence. Even Carl realized he had blundered but was too intoxicated to let it go. “Well, she shouldn’t. It’s no good avoiding the issue and pretending Jack is here for any other reason than the fact that Lara is having his baby.”
Lara turned on Carl, her color high as her eyes flashed with fury. “Shut up, Carl. You’re drunk.”
Jack decided it was time to defuse the situation. He turned to Francesca. “Actually, I don’t ride.”
“You don’t ride?” The voices of the king and queen and Carl were in unison as they stared at Jack.
“Unfortunately, no. But I’m good at fishing.”
There was another one of the silences and then Lara laughed, a delightful sound, her face alight with humor. You are the most gorgeous creature ever created, he thought as he grinned in response. By this time both the king and queen had seen the funny side and it was only Carl who looked sullen. Pushing back his chair in a violent gesture, he stormed from the room, which caused Lara to break into more peals of laughter.
“Mr. Lucas, I’m very sorry you’ve been embarrassed by my son,” Francesca said, bringing her laughter under control with an effort as she lightly touched Jack’s arm.
“Your Majesty, I’m not concerned,” he replied. “Perhaps without realizing it, the Crown Prince has broken the ice.”
Looking thoughtful, Francesca replied, “Perhaps he has.”
“Lara, why don’t you show Mr. Lucas around the palace this afternoon,” Johann suggested, effectively capturing his daughter’s attention.
Francesca nodded her head in agreement. “That’s a good idea. Then I’m sure you’ll both want an early night following that tiring journey.”
He glanced at Lara trying to gauge her response. It would seem her parents were comfortable with them spending their time together. Good. He hoped she felt the same way.
“You haven’t forgotten the palace ball is only two days away, have you, Lara?” Francesca’s tone was light as she rose from her chair, but Jack sensed an underlying warning in her voice.
Lara sighed. “No, I haven’t forgotten. I gather Michael’s arriving tomorrow, which is one of the reasons you wanted me home.”
Francesca turned to Jack, who had immediately stood as the king and queen prepared to leave. “Prince Michael is a distant relative, Mr. Lucas. He joins us at this time every year to attend the ball.” She hesitated and glanced at her husband standing beside her. Lowering her voice, she said, “Actually, we know the ball is just an excuse for Prince Michael to visit. He is really coming to ask for Lara’s hand in marriage—again.”
Jack wondered if his expression had changed as a sudden bitter jealousy stirred inside him.
“Mummy, Jack’s not interested in hearing this,” Lara quickly intercepted.
“I can assure you I am.” He was just as quick. “I mean, if you are pregnant, this could ruin your chances of marrying the prince,” he said, his voice silkily soft.
“No it won’t, Mr. Lucas. Lara knows very well that Michael is so besotted with her, he would accept her as his bride on any terms.” Francesca fingered the pearls at her throat as she made the damning statement.
Johann was obviously as uncomfortable with the conversation as Lara and Jack as he said gruffly, “Enough. I don’t want to hear any more about it. Lara, show our guest how courteous we can be and give Jack a tour of the palace.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave a bob curtsey and caught Jack’s arm to draw him away.
“Just a moment.” The queen moved closer and Jack could see who the controlling influence was in the royal family. “The king would like you to join him for a game of billiards and an aperitif at six o’clock, if that is all right with you? Then perhaps you and Lara would care to dine in her suite this evening and have some time on your own.”
He gave a formal nod of acknowledgement aware of the pressure on his arm as Lara endeavored to pull him away. What the hell is going on? The king wants to meet with me? Perhaps he was doomed with a stay in the dungeons after all.
~ * ~
Lara breathed a sigh of relief as she led Jack through the grand hall toward their suites. What a dreadful situation. Her brother drunk and speaking out of turn; her father annoyed and grumpy and her mother busy manipulating something—Lara didn’t know what. And she’d been worried as to whether Jack would be an embarrassment. It was her own family that had shamed her while he had been a true gentleman. The soul of discretion.
“Hey, wait a minute, Lara. Why are we almost running? It’s as if you’re escaping the scene of a crime.” He stopped in the middle of the hall forcing her to stop.
She faced him. “I am very sorry. I’m mortified at my family’s behavior.” Her face burned with humiliation.
Touching her cheek with a gentle finger, his smile was so tender her insides just about melted. “Is there somewhere private we can go and discuss that eventful lunch?” he asked, lifting one dark eyebrow.
“We’ll go to my suite. No one will disturb us there.”
She led the way up the marble staircase and through a maze of corridors until she unlocked the doors to her apartment.
“This is some place,” he said, looking around at the large study they were in.
“Yes, it’s nice. There’s a dining room and two bedrooms with a restroom and also a kitchen.” She crossed to the bar in the corner of the study and poured two mineral waters, handing one to Jack.
“At least your brother’s comment opened things up a bit.” He took the glass and leaning against the large sofa, loosened his tie with his other hand.
She stood a few feet away and took a swallow of water. “I was so embarrassed I wanted to hide under the table.” She gave a rueful grin.
“Does Carl normally drink to that extent?”
“I’m not aware of it, but I haven’t been home since the summer, and Carl was away in the States for most of the time I was here.”
She studied him beneath her lashes. He looked casual and raffish and as she watched, he placed his glass on a nearby table and removed his jacket. She could see the ripples of his muscles beneath the pale blue material as he once again turned to face her.
“Why do you suppose the king wants to have a drink with me this evening?” His manner was suddenly intent, his eyes very blue in the reflected light from the huge windows behind her. “You’d better fill me in, Lara. I don’t like surprises.”
“Neither of my parents has spoken about you since my phone call with my mother. If I were to take a guess, I think my father will offer you money to get you out of my life.”
“Charming.”
“But, it will be done in the most diplomatic way so you don’t feel inclined to inform the media.” She knew she sounded disloyal to her parents, but he deserved to know the likely outcome of his meeting with the king.
Jack sighed and she wondered what he was thinking. Surely, he would take the money. He must need it and he would know there was no future for them. But then, who was she kidding. He didn’t want to be with her and was only here because he had been threatened with prison on a trumped up charge of kidnapping if he’d refused to accompany her to Challoner. It was a wonder he didn’t hate her, and her family.
“So, you’re saying the king is going to buy me off?” He took the few steps to bring him closer. “What if I don’t want to be bought?”
She studied the buttons on his shirt and the strong column of his neck with the hollow at the base of his throat. When they had made love on the island, she’d pressed her lips against that golden hollow, caressing the warm texture of his skin. Even now she could almost taste the slight saltiness as his hands had aroused her, working their special kind of magic on her innocent body making her cry out for his possession.
“That’s up to you.” Her voice was breathless and she trembled as he lifted his hands to cup her face.
“No amount of money could pay for what you and I shared,” he said softly. “Besides, your parents still have to address the problem of your potential pregnancy.”
“They could try and persuade me to have an abortion.” Even as she made the blunt statement, she knew she should have kept quiet. Jack’s expression changed from sensual longing to one of shock as he dropped his hands to his sides.
“Your parents would ask you to have an abortion? I can’t believe it.” He turned and picking up a cushion from the sofa punched it with his fist in a furious gesture.
“Jack, I have no idea.” She floundered, not knowing what her parents might suggest. “I’m probably doing them an injustice,” she stumbled on. “Besides, if I was pregnant, I would never have an abortion. Never. But, they could insist I marry Michael, as my mother indicated.”
“Ah, yes. His Royal Highness, Prince Michael, who is besotted with you, so I’m led to believe.” His face hardened and his mouth tightened into a thin, uncompromising line. “Do you love this man?”
“I have known him since I was a child. He’s much older than I but he is kind and…”
He moved closer, his face inches from hers. “I said do you love him?”
“No.”
“So, there are two options, which you think your parents are considering. One is to pay me off even if you are expecting my child, which tells me I’m not good enough to be involved with their royal daughter. Number two, if you’re pregnant, and only you and I know you’re not, is to marry you to some older royal who is crazy about you and willing to accept another man’s child as his own.”
She gaped at him. Was that how Jack saw things? Didn’t he know she would never marry Michael no matter what happened and when the time came for him to leave, he would take her heart with him?
Greatly daring, she placed her arms around him, her fingers touching the thick, silky hair at the nape of his neck. “Please, don’t let’s discuss it now. We have this time together, these stolen hours and days. You said on the island that if you’d had protection, you would have made love to me. Do you still want to?”
“What sort of question is that? You know I do.” He pulled her close, his hands caressing her back and then sliding over her bottom, lifting her against him. She arched toward him as the hardness of his arousal pressed into her.
His kiss was demanding as his tongue parted her lips. With a sharp intake of breath, she returned his kisses, her control slipping as Jack pushed her against the back of the sofa, his fingers unfastening the buttons of her suit jacket as they continued to kiss.
“Christ, Lara. What do you want from me,” he murmured as he pulled aside her bra straps and bent to kiss her exposed nipples, arousing a melting desire in her. She circled her legs around him, her skirt riding above her waist allowing Jack’s sex to press into the soft core of her body. She moaned aloud, her being flooded with passion as he moved against her in an erotic rhythm.
“I want you to be the man to take my virginity,” she gasped, on the verge of her climax.
He stilled and lifted his head. His eyes were suddenly filled with contempt as he stared at her. Lowering her to the floor, he pulled her straps into place and straightened her skirt.
“It really turns you on, doesn’t it?” His voice was bitter.
Still trembling with the passion he had evoked, she was confused at his words. She pulled on her jacket.
“I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know how I could have been so stupid not to realize it before. The thought of having it off with a common fisherman excites you. You know you’ll lose your virginity at sometime, so you’ve chosen me to be the one. You reckon I’m a good stud and you’ll enjoy yourself knowing I can give you the sexual gratification you crave. Then I’ll be gone and you won’t need to be bothered with me anymore. I’ll be bought off so you can marry your pompous ass of a prince and settle in your cloistered, ivory tower perhaps venturing out to have an occasional secret affair to satisfy your sexual needs. In fact, you seem so sure of what your father will say I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you haven’t already discussed it with him. The only laughable thing is he thinks we’ve already had sex.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying. How can you be so cruel?”
“I do know what I’m saying. We have only one thing in common, Lara, and it’s called lust. I have awakened the passion in you and you’re excited at the thought of doing it with me. You might be even more delighted to know that I’ve packed some condoms. Unfortunately, I don’t have one with me at the moment or you might have got your wish and I’d be inside you right now.”
“You’re disgusting.” She tried to move away but he placed his hands against the sofa on either side of her, effectively barring her escape.
“Yes, I probably do appear disgusting to you coming from your pristine, protocol-ridden little world. But that’s what you like about me, isn’t it?”
Her eyes filled with tears as Jack bent and kissed her with a savage intensity. How could he have misunderstood her? Where had her tender, caring and fun fisherman gone? The man who cared for her on their island? She hung her head, deeply shocked and ashamed as his harsh words sunk in and she realized how low she was in his estimation.
He picked up his jacket. “Don’t bother about showing me around, princess,” he said, with a faint smile. “I’m going to have a very cold shower, accept whatever recompense your father has to offer and then I’m going to bed. I’m tired. And don’t worry, I won’t tell him I haven’t had my money’s worth yet.”
She watched until he had closed the door of the apartment behind him before allowing the hot tears to pour down her cheeks.
~ * ~
Jack suffered a false sense of bravado as Rudolf led him along the vast corridors toward the king and queen’s private quarters as it neared six o’clock.
True to his word, he’d taken a cold shower and had he needed it. His lovemaking with Lara had been more than merely frustrating. Once again he had been near to taking her there, against the sofa, particularly when she had made those little moans of passion and he’d known she was so ready for him.
Generally speaking, I’ve been an absolute idiot ever since Lara climbed on board my boat, he thought, briefly glancing at the huge portraits covering the walls as they passed along the corridors.
An idiot bewitched by a beautiful princess. Has she used me? Is this just an exciting game to her? The romance of the island, my arrest, the intrigue, the lust? No. She has worried about me and begged me to take any handouts and run a mile from here. Sure, she wants me and there is no doubt I want her, but why didn’t I realize earlier that our lives are so different. That this whole thing is madness.
“Not much further now, Mr. Lucas,” Rudolf said, with a polite smile.
Jack continued with his own thoughts as he dutifully followed the aide. I don’t belong here and the sooner I get back to Port Margaret, the better. He frowned. Lara said the king would offer him money to leave her alone and keep things quiet. This would mean the king was unaware of Jack’s wealth and the royal family genuinely wanted him out of Lara’s life. That hurt. It hurt like hell.
He pursed his lips as he thought of his harsh words to her earlier that afternoon. He had lashed out at her. He hadn’t meant to be cruel and he was as carried away by their lovemaking as she, if not more so. It was when she’d said she wanted him to be the man to take her virginity that a red haze of fury had descended over him.
Jealousy. I was blinded with jealousy at the thought of her and this God-damned prince. I’m even more of a fool than I thought. Lara is much better off with one of her own kind than a rough diamond like me.
“Here we are, sir.” Rudolf stood to one side so Jack could enter what appeared to be a large games room with a central billiard table. Johann greeted him and the butler served them both a drink. Uncomfortable, that’s what you are, King Johann, Jack decided as he took a swig of his whisky and soda.
“The queen will be joining us shortly, Jack. We have something of a delicate matter to discuss with you.”
I bet you have. He gave a wry smile as he followed Johann to the billiard table. It wasn’t until after the third game, which Jack won easily, that Queen Francesca joined the two men and the three sat in the lounge chairs in front of the roaring fire.
As he thought might happen, Francesca took the lead. “Mr. Lucas…Jack, thank you for meeting with us. The king and I have a very private matter to discuss.”
He leaned back in his chair nursing another whiskey. Jeez. He was tired. He wished they would get on with it so he could leave.
Johann coughed nervously and began. “We have observed that Lara is, well, she is taken with you and you with her.”
“Oh for goodness sake, Johann. It’s pointless beating around the bush. Jack, we are aware you are a very wealthy man. What the king and I propose is that you consider making a substantial financial investment into our country’s economy. In return we will offer you a title, royal privileges and our daughter, Princess Lara, as your bride.”