chapter Seven
If it hadn’t been so serious, Jack would have burst out laughing. He wondered if he had heard Francesca correctly, or perhaps misunderstood what she said. The last thing he expected was to be asked for money and to be offered a princess in return.
Both Johann and Francesca studied him intently obviously waiting for his reply. He cleared his throat. “Your Majesties. Do I have this straight—you are proposing that if I invest money into Challoner you will allow me to marry Lara?”
“And there will be a title to go with it, after you’re married, don’t forget. A dukedom, I would think,” Francesca said in a matter-of-fact voice.
“What does Lara think of this?” He already knew the answer to that one.
“She doesn’t know yet. It was important to discuss this with you first.” Francesca reached over and patted her husband’s arm as if to calm him. “After all, she will need to marry soon. It is very important that either Carl or Lara produce an heir to ascend to the throne when the time comes and it would appear at present Carl isn’t too interested in finding a bride.”
“So, as well as making an investment and marrying Lara, you would also like us to produce an heir.” He couldn’t believe he was having this extraordinary conversation. It was less than a week ago, he had been happily tinkering on his boat enjoying a few days break and now look at him.
Francesca smiled. “As far as the heir is concerned, it would seem you have already made a move in that direction.”
There was silence as he contemplated whether to correct the queen. No, it was up to Lara to do that, if she had any intention of ever doing so. “May I ask why you need the investment and for how much?”
Johann answered this time and Jack sensed he was a lot more comfortable discussing financial matters than babies. “We badly need an injection of funds. If you agree, our government advisors will go more thoroughly into the details but generally speaking, we haven’t been competitive in the exports markets and our economy has taken a dramatic down turn. Our main source of revenue is from tourism. This has dropped considerably in the past two years because we have been unable to invest resources into advertising. Most of the tourists prefer to visit the major European countries because these are heavily promoted in such places as the United States and Great Britain.
Jack rubbed his jaw, his mind racing. “How much are you seeking?”
“Well, this can be negotiated but somewhere in the vicinity of half a billion US dollars.”
He swore. He couldn’t help it. “That’s big money, sir. Why don’t you approach the major banks or blue chip investors?”
Francesca broke in. “Because, my dear Jack, you are our blue chip investor. Not only will your investment be used wisely but with a royal wedding, we can be assured this will lift the status of Challoner to record heights within the tourism markets.”
A royal wedding. He almost groaned aloud. This was going way too fast for him. And what about his beautiful bride? When was she going to be told about these grand plans? He ran a finger along the inside of his shirt collar trying to think of the best way to handle this without insulting his hosts.
“What if she refuses to marry me?” Try that one on for size.
“She won’t. It is her royal duty to do as we request.” Francesca was emphatic.
“Ma’am, you may think that, but in case you haven’t noticed, she is a pretty determined young lady with a mind of her own.”
“We are very proud of Lara’s independent streak and her academic achievements. But, you need to understand Jack, that since she was born, she has been raised to accept she is of noble blood dating back centuries. She has a duty to continue the royal line and obey the wishes of her parents—the king and queen.” Francesca turned to her husband, who nodded in agreement.
“Don’t you think it would be preferable for Lara to marry another royal rather than an Australian fisherman, ma’am?” Jack out-stared Francesca thinking she was one tough lady and Lara had a snowball’s chance in hell of going against her mother’s wishes.
Johann bent forward in his chair, taking his turn at persuading Jack that all of this was a very good idea. “Without wanting to be insulting to you in any way, the difference is that you are a very rich fisherman, Jack. Your reputation shows you are a highly respected and honest businessman with various successful portfolios, a man who is ideally suited to marry our daughter.”
He paused for breath giving Francesca the opportunity to break in.
She leaned close to Jack in what appeared an endeavor to win him over. “And it would seem you are not a philanderer. You had a brief, if unhappy marriage but, and most importantly, you are attracted to Lara. We are sure you would make her very happy.”
“I see your people have been thorough in their investigations.” Jack shook his head. They want me to agree to their crazy plan. What will Lara say? He certainly wasn’t her favorite person at present and if her parents did but know it, they’d parted on bad terms only hours ago.
He drew a deep breath. “Your Majesties. I realize you have paid me a great honor. However, I would like to explain to Lara that I’m not the poor fisherman she thinks I am. That at this meeting this evening, we discussed the possibility of my making a financial investment in Challoner.”
“You prefer her not to know about the plans for a marriage between you?” Johann asked, a frown creasing his forehead.
“Sir, with regard to that, I would like to wait until we know whether Lara is…whether she is pregnant.”
Francesca stood, causing Jack and the king to rise. “I’m not happy with your suggestion. Are we to assume that if Lara isn’t pregnant you won’t marry her or make a financial investment?”
Here we go—Her Royal High and Mightiness. Lara had more of her mother in her than he’d realized. “That isn’t what I mean, ma’am. You have taken me by surprise. I need time to consider your proposal and quality time with Lara.”
“He’s right, Francesca.”
Jack offered up a silent prayer as Johann came to his rescue.
“We apologize for the suddenness and bluntness of our suggestion, Jack. By all means, let her know about your background and let’s discuss this again in a few days time. Meanwhile, would you be willing to meet with our finance minister to provide you with more information?”
“Yes, of course.”
Francesca looked drained and in a strange way, defeated as she said, “You must think us very manipulative with regard to Lara’s future but, we have little choice. If you don’t accept our proposal, we will be forced to arrange a marriage between her and Prince Michael with the same financial terms.”
She had turned a knife in his guts and a wave of red-hot anger raced through him. He carefully controlled his expression as he replied, “If he has half a billion dollars, perhaps that’s what you should do.”
Turning at the doorway to face him, Francesca’s face was etched with sadness as she said, “The problem is Lara loves you and whether you believe it or not, we want her to be happy.”
~ * ~
Jack paced up and down the lounge area of his suite. Lara loves me? Give me a break. Her parents want funds for Challoner and have pulled out every trick in the book. Grudging admiration filled him at her parents’ ploy. What a mess. Trapped by my own stupidity. By falling for a beautiful woman. But Lara wasn’t an ordinary woman, as he first thought. She was extraordinary and not because she was a princess. Yes, she was physically beautiful but there was so much more. Her shyness, her gentle manner, her multitude of moods and—her passion. But, he doubted she loved him. Not after only four days of knowing each other, for Christ’s sake.
He stopped pacing and stared into the open fire, watching the flames leap up the chimney with red, flickering fingers. Could it be possible he was in love with her? Or was it this physical need, this ache to hold and possess her exquisite body? He didn’t know. What he did know was that to do what her parents want and force her to marry him in return for money, wasn’t right and a recipe for disaster.
And why were her parents keeping secrets from their daughter? There was something very odd about it and things didn’t add up. He analyzed the preposterousness of the situation, which in effect, bordered on blackmail. Because of his and Lara’s brief encounter, because she was a princess, because he had money, because Challoner was in trouble … so was he.
He shook his head in amazement. He needed to talk to her tonight and at least tell her some of the details of his strange meeting with her parents. He glanced at his watch. Eight o’clock. Time enough, he decided making his way to Lara’s suite.
~ * ~
Dear Diary,
I’m tired and miserable. Thought I’d be happy to be home but HMs have been odd and cool to me. Mummy hasn’t even come here to have one of her ‘deep and meaningfuls’ but, I suppose, it is only my first day home. They’ve been nice to Jack, thank goodness. I thought they were going to tear strips off him for having his wicked way with me.
The thing I’m most upset about is Jack accusing me of being turned on by the thought of having sex with a rough fisherman. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, he turns me on. I ache all over but only because it’s him. And there is nothing common about him. He is the most beautiful man I’ve ever met. His touch sends me up in flames and when he looks at me, I melt on the spot. Surely he must know? I’m only telling you the truth, dear diary. I love him. If only he could care of me a little.
I’ve decided not to wait for my period to see if I’m pregnant. The whole charade is ridiculous. I’ll arrange for our family physician to give me a pregnancy test as soon as feasible, which will be negative, and then Jack can go home—back to Jezebel and his fish.
I’m going to bed. They say things always look better in the morning.
Lara closed her diary. She was a little better after pouring out her most private thoughts. It always made her feel better. Locking the diary away in her personal safe, she reached up and pulled the clasps from her chignon, allowing her hair to fall around her shoulders. With her fingertips, she massaged her temples where a thumping headache was threatening to take hold. Stress. Stress and tiredness. It was eight o’clock here, but her body clock told a different story.
A tap on the apartment door made her jump. She had dismissed her maid hours ago after Greta insisted her mistress have a light dinner and set it in place on the dining table. Lara had eaten two of the sandwiches and some fruit and then left the rest of the simple meal, her appetite deserting her.
Opening the door, she came face-to-face with Jack. Her beautiful Jack dressed casually in a deep blue sweatshirt and jeans—the jeans with a tear in the knee, she thought absently.
“What do you want?” She couldn’t help the icy tone in her voice, after all, hadn’t he left her earlier with her heart breaking from his searing and cruel words.
“I won’t keep you long. I wanted to let you know about my meeting with your parents.” His voice was deep and gentle and once again, her insides turned over. She held the door open and he entered and stood by the sofa.
Swallowing hard to bring her emotions under control, she motioned for him to be seated and she sat in the armchair opposite. He rubbed his jaw with his hand and she recognized this gesture of uncertainty. But she wasn’t going to help him out, blast him.
“The king and I had a few games of billiards then the queen joined us.”
She made no comment but it didn’t surprise her. Her mother probably thought Jack should be chastised for seducing her daughter. What a laugh. She had been more than a willing participant. She watched Jack’s fingers nervously gripping his knees. What was going on?
“I’m sorry if my mother upset you. She’s very protective of me,” she said, automatically trying to ease his discomfort.
“Look, there is no easy way to say this, Lara. You believe I’m a poor fisherman with a junket for a boat and a lopsided cottage on an island.
“Well, I am a fisherman and Jezebel is an old boat but I actually own a very large fleet of ocean-going fishing boats. I have the largest aqua-culture industry in Australia, possibly the world, and I hold major government contracts for coastal surveillance in several pacific countries. All of this makes me a wealthy man.” He stopped for breath, wiping a hand across his forehead.
“Oh.” To say she was stunned would be the understatement of the year. She madly tried to absorb this information.
“How wealthy?” She winced at her crass question.
“A billionaire…several times over.”
“Oh my.”
“This was the main reason why kidnapping charges weren’t brought against me when the police and Challoner security found out who I was. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it in the press.”
“I don’t read the papers or watch television.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That’s not very smart for a political science graduate. How do you know what’s going on in the world?”
She bit down on her bottom lip. It probably did sound strange to a man of the world like Jack, but in the past she had read such rubbish about herself, often demeaning and hurtful and rarely true, that she had decided the best way to cope was to avoid it.
“I have a press secretary who tells me what he thinks I should know,” she said crisply.
“He’s not doing his job very well. He should have told you about me.”
“No. You should have told me, Jack. Just as I should have explained who I was, if I’d any sense,” she acknowledged. The color rose in her cheeks as the realization of the last five days hit her. “You should have told me on that first day on the island. You can’t deny you gave me the impression that you were a poor fisherman.”
“My finances weren’t really any of your business.”
She leapt to her feet and stood over him where he sat on the sofa visibly more relaxed now. She clenched her fists, afraid she might slap his handsome face.
“If it was no business of mine, why did you bring up the fact of being a ‘poor fisherman’ at every opportunity? How could you attack me this afternoon saying I was turned on by making love to a common man when all the time you were laughing as you counted up your billions of dollars in the bank?”
She was unable to go on as tears welled in her eyes. She hadn’t meant to expose her hurt to him—her raw and bleeding wounds. She had wanted to give the impression she couldn’t care less about his damning remarks.
Jack stood, a look of concern and compassion on his face. He touched her arm but she furiously shook his hand away and turned her back on him. She folded her arms across her chest in a defiant gesture as she blinked away the tears.
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right, Lara. I shouldn’t have treated you that way and I apologize. It was only that you seemed so high and mighty looking down your nose at the common folk. I was very poor when I started and had to work my way up for years through sheer grit and determination. I didn’t have everything handed to me on a silver platter.”
Lara whirled around. “Like me, you mean. Do you think I asked to be born into this…this prison? Do you think I don’t wish every day that I could live like a normal person and not be bound by protocols and royal duties and tracked by detectives and companions every moment from when I wake in the morning until I go to sleep at night?”
She put up a hand to try and hide her trembling mouth as she continued, “The only freedom I ever had was when I was allowed to share an apartment with my friends, Jade and Kate. And guess what? My security people took over the whole floor and still tracked my every move.” To her horror, a huge sob escaped her as she tried to control the emotions overtaking her.
“Sweetheart, don’t cry.” Jack’s arms were around her and she was drawn into him. His hand stroked her hair and his gentleness was the last straw. She burrowed her face into his chest and wept.
She wasn’t quite sure what made her give in to her feelings. She knew he smelled so good and his arms around her made her feel protected and very feminine. As if she needed protection. She had just explained she was surrounded with it everywhere she went. But somehow, here in his arms, his cheek resting against her hair, it was different and she liked it.
“Here.” He pushed a handkerchief into her hand. She stepped back and wiped her eyes. How long had he held her? Thirty seconds? Thirty minutes?
“I’m so sorry. I’m over tired,” she said, trying to find excuses for her tears. She wondered if her eyes looked puffy and whether her nose was red.
“It’s okay. We’re both tired and we both have short fuses.” He drew her again into the circle of his arms. “I didn’t realize how unhappy you were,” he said softly.
She studied his mouth and the little cleft in his chin. She wanted to touch that cleft and run her caressing fingers along his strong jaw and over those magnificent cheekbones.
“Lara, if you don’t want me to throw you on the sofa and make love to you, then you had better stop looking at me like that.”
“Is that a challenge?” she asked, her heart lifting at the intensity in his brilliant eyes.
He smiled and then bending his head, kissed her gently on the mouth. “For all our nasty words to each other, you have to admit we have great difficulty in controlling this lustful attraction. For me it’s been there from the moment I first saw you on that quayside, looking so proud.”
She colored delicately under his scrutiny. Had he really wanted her then? She responded to his teasing. “Well, I was smitten with you when you were steering Jezebel away from the dock and I couldn’t put on my life jacket. You looked like a dangerous pirate on the high seas and I fancied you like crazy.”
“Hmm. I would never have guessed. You were a pain in the butt.” He grinned and then kissed her again, his tongue pushing her lips apart. It was a kiss for her tired body to melt into and she responded to his tantalizing persuasion with demands of her own, her arms curving around his neck as she pressed against his hard body.
“Whoa. Whoa.” Jack was the first to break away. “We need to cool it, sweetheart. I guess it would be smart to wait until we’re married.”
“Married?” Her mouth opened in shock as she looked up into his face. “Who said anything about getting married?”
“Your parents, actually. At the meeting we had earlier they were happy for us to be married.”
Her heart pounded as if to suffocate her. “And you accepted?” Her throat tightened around the words making her voice sound odd and raspy.
“They offered me a deal and I said obviously you would have to agree first. In fact, I wasn’t going to ask you tonight but thinking about it, I believe we could make a go of being married, don’t you? You want me physically, I know you do Lara, and in time, you could learn to care for me.”
Jack groaned inwardly. Damn it. He was making a mess of this. He had only meant to tell her about the possibility of investing money into Challoner and that he was considering it. And what did he do? Blurt out a marriage proposal.
But, he wanted her—how he wanted her. She had become an obsession. His magnificent obsession. Holding her in his arms a moment ago, so wanton, so passionate, had sealed his fate and he’d made his decision.
Yeah, he would give their majesties the money but he didn’t want any title and as part of the deal, he would lay down some rules of his own to protect Lara. He would take her to Australia to live with him in Port Margaret away from all this royal hype. She was unhappy here, as she had tearfully explained. As for producing an heir, that wouldn’t be a problem. He could hardly wait to make Lara his wife in every sense.
“What sort of deal?”
He should have been quicker at hearing the suspicion in her voice and seeing the doubt in her eyes. He could see she was lining up for a major rejection of him. What an assumption he had made in thinking she would leap at the chance of being his wife. What arrogance on his part. He had misread her completely and was treading on very dangerous ground.
“You know Challoner’s economy is suffering at the present time,” he began.
“I’m aware we could do better but we aren’t a poor country by any means.”
“If you would let me finish, Lara. Your parents asked me to invest some funds into Challoner’s treasury.”
“How much?”
“Half a billion dollars.”
“What?” Lara looked thunderstruck. “Well, well,” she gasped. “What was the rest of the deal, Jack? That for your money you would get a royal bride thrown in for good measure? To make it a little more attractive?” Her green eyes sparked with fire as she glared at him.
“That’s about right. Lara, I’m so sorry if this is a shock to you but they want to hold a royal wedding here in Challoner, which they say will lift the tourism markets. Believe me I’m just as surprised as you.” Jack hesitated then continued, “They even mentioned they hoped we would eventually have a baby who will be heir to the throne, if Carl doesn’t get married and have children.”
“What was your reply?”
He hesitated. He could see she was holding on to her temper with difficulty. He gave a shrug of his shoulders. He was in the thick of it now, he might as well finish it. “I asked what would happen if you refused to marry me and your parents said it was your duty to obey their wishes.”
She moved away from him and stood in front of the fire. Suddenly it was very important to Jack that she accept his proposal because she wanted to marry him, not because her parents said so. She turned and he could see her face had paled as she pointed an accusing finger at him.
“I am not some slave from an eastern harem you can barter over. My parents have betrayed me with their scheming behind my back and I, unknowingly, have played into their hands by delivering their savior right to their doorstep. They may be willing to sell me in return for your filthy blood money but I refuse to be bought, even for the sake of my country. You are a common man after all and if you think you can buy your way into the noblest royal house in Europe, think again, Jack Lucas. I absolutely refuse to marry you.”
She stood tall and magnificent, her head thrown back in defiance. He knew he was in for the toughest fight of his life but, he’d never been one to be beaten—at anything.
“Lara, deny me all you wish. But I want you as my wife.” He moved toward her and she stood her ground, remaining motionless. “And I always get what I want,” he whispered, as he caressed her cheek with a gentle finger.