Broken Ties (23 page)

“Sidra! My love! After all these years! You look so much like them, Jeanne and Rupert. A more perfect mixture I have never seen.”

Sidra pushed open the screen, and her grandmother stepped into her embrace. Tears streamed down their faces as Sidra savored the distantly familiar scent of her grandmother’s perfume and the way it felt to be wrapped in her arms. Love poured from her in waves and filled the empty spots in Sidra’s heart and soul as they spoke quietly in the language Sidra had never forgotten.

“You still remember our language,” Queen Marie marveled.

“Yes. I forgot many things since being abducted, but I remembered the language quickly upon hearing it.”

“It seems there are many, many things we need to discuss, but first, let us all sit down and get to know one another.”

Looking impressively unperturbed to have royalty visiting, Betty showed them into the living room and rushed to the kitchen to brew coffee and tea.

“Your cousin, Estella De Leone, and your fiancé, Philippe,” the queen said with a motion in the couple’s direction.

“Philippe. I remember your eyes now—much more blue than green.”

“Is it true Vincente Mateo posed as me?” he asked. “That he intended to force you to marry him?”

“Yes.”

“Did you remember our betrothal?”

“No. I remembered only that you were my friend in childhood.” She didn’t miss the way his hand wrapped around Estella’s or the worry that marred her pretty face. The feelings they had for each other were strong and thick around them, and she breathed a hefty sigh of relief.

Should she back out of the betrothal, she was certain Philippe would not argue. As a matter of fact, he would probably be grateful.

“Estella, I am so sorry about your parents. Especially since if not for me they would never have been in America at all.”

“I have had little contact with my parents in recent years, Princess. For me, the loss of them happened long ago.” She looked toward the queen, as if seeking permission to continue speaking. At the slight incline of the snow-white head, she continued. “I have been raised in the castle by the Queen since your abduction. It was imperative that someone be brought up to take over, should the need arise.”

“Miriam and Gabriel were banned from the castle following the death of your mother,” Queen Marie explained. “I had long suspected their hand in your abduction and, in turn, the death of your poor, brokenhearted father, but when my beautiful Jeanne’s car was forced over the side of a mountain, I knew exactly who was responsible. Though I lacked the proof required to try them, I deemed them guilty in my own mind and forbade them ever to step foot onto the palace grounds again. Unfortunately, your mother trusted Miriam enough to show her the picture of you she received four years ago. From that moment on, they have wanted nothing more than your death.”

“What did they hope to gain?” Sidra asked.

“The crown, I suppose. Miriam believed I could not change the order that the queen be the next linear female. However, I was well able to change it, and I did after Jeanne’s death. Even had she killed us all, Miriam would never have been the queen of Medelia.”

“Do you believe it was Miriam who tried to have me killed?”

“I have no doubt it was, although I suspect she was urged to do so by Gabriel,” she said. “I have given the orders required to keep you safe, and Medelia is ready to welcome her Crown Princess.”

Sidra’s face paled at the Queen’s implications.

“How can we be sure she’s free from danger?” Levi asked, his dark eyes watching Sidra closely.

“There is no one else to gain anything from her death.”

“You had Miriam and Gabriel killed?” Sidra croaked.

Her grandmother placed a gentle hand on Sidra’s knee. “Gabriel was an evil man, darling. I’m quite certain he killed Miriam. Killing him was the only way to make certain you were safe.”

Sidra glanced toward Estella who sat quietly studying her hands, no sign of distress on her pretty face.

“What about the man who tried to abduct me? The one who sent me the picture of my nanny?”

“He has returned to Medelia,” the queen told her. “He was Mateo’s lackey, and he returned the night that evil man died.”

“If he worked for Mateo, then he wasn’t trying to kill her, was he?”

“No. If there were attempts made on her life, they were orchestrated by Miriam and Gabriel. Mateo wanted to marry her to gain control of the kingdom. He may have killed her later, but Miriam and Gabriel needed her to die before anyone knew she lived.”

“Miriam and Gabriel led us to believe she was sent to America by her father and was to be hidden away until she was old enough to marry. Is this true?”

Queen Marie gasped and shook her head. “No! Rupert had made some plans for her to travel with the nanny to America, to visit the nanny’s sister after Christmas. They were to stay here only long enough for the Mateos’ outrage to calm following Jerald’s death. Rupert was heartbroken at the prospect, but there was no other way to keep her safe from them. She was kidnapped before Christmas.”

“Why didn’t Miriam and Gabriel kill me as soon as they realized I was still alive?”

“Miriam truly did come here at your mother’s behest four years ago, to ascertain your safety until you were old enough to marry Philippe. I try to believe there was some good in Miriam, that perhaps she balked at Gabriel’s murderous plan, but I can’t be sure. From the day she married him, his wickedness began to stain her heart.”

“Will you return home now that the danger has passed, Princess?” It was the first time Philippe had spoken, and she turned to face him. Both he and Estella waited for her answer with bated breath. Were they aware their desire and devotion to each other was so plain for everyone to see?

“If by ‘home’ you mean Medelia, I’m not sure.” She looked at her grandmother. “I’m sorry, but I truly don’t know.”

“Of course you cannot make such a decision in a single afternoon, my child. We will be here for another day. There is a lovely bed and breakfast in town I would like to stay in. You can find me there, if necessary.”

“What will happen if I don’t return to Medelia?”

“We have been planning for that contingency for many years,” her grandmother said with a soft, sad smile. “Estella is well able to take my place on the throne. If you should choose not to return, your bonds with Philippe will be broken, and he will be free to marry someone else.”

None of them missed Estella’s quick indrawn breath.

“And you, Grandmother? What will happen to you if I don’t return to Medelia?”

“I will continue to grow old and will eventually die. But the remainder of my years will be happier knowing that you are alive and well.”

“I will see you tomorrow, then,” Sidra said, helping the old woman to her feet. “I will have my decision made then.”

At the door, they embraced once more, and Queen Marie spoke softly against her ear.

“Listen to your heart, my Sidra, it will guide you home.”

The memory came so swiftly she was taken off guard as she heard her father’s voice once more.

“I love you, my Sidra,” he said as they walked hand in hand toward the carousel. “You must always remember that Mama and I love you.” He stopped and crouched down beside her. Tears pooled in his eyes, and he kissed her on the forehead. “You and Nanny are going on a trip to a faraway country.”

“How many days will we be gone, Papa? Will you and Mama and Andres come, too?”

“No, not now. We will be here when it is time for you to come home. It may be a long time.” His voice broke. “But you will have so much fun you will not even notice.”

“How will we know it’s time?” Answering tears spilled over from her own eyes. “What if I get lost and can’t find my way home? I don’t want to go, Papa. Please don’t make me.”

“You must go. It is the only way your Papa knows to keep you safe.” He took her hand and placed it on his heart, and then placed his hand on her small chest. “I will know here, in my heart, when it is time for you to come home. No matter how lost you might become, your heart will guide you home. Learn to listen to it, my Sidra. It will never steer you wrong.”

Sidra walked her grandmother outside, watching from the porch as she and Philippe and Estella were driven away. The afternoon was crisp and clear, and the air was tinted by smoke from a nearby chimney. She surveyed the yard, smiling when she saw Merilee and Coda crossing the pasture side by side and the horses grazing there under the trees.

She could hear the low hum of the Tanners talking, no doubt discussing her and her family. She closed her eyes and listened. This is what she had dreamed of all her life. A quiet, loving family, the moments of shared memories and emotions. In her heart, she knew she would never find that in Medelia.

Behind her, the screen door opened and shut. Levi moved quietly across the porch, coming to stand behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against him, and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he murmured against her ear.

“I’m thinking of home,” she said.

“Medelia?” his voice held a wealth of sadness and dread.

“No. Medelia hasn’t been my home for a very long time. I don’t know that I will ever think of it as home again.”

“You haven’t been there since you were very young. When you visit, you may change your mind.”

“No, I won’t. Whether I’m there an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, it still won’t be home.” She turned in his arms. “I’ve been searching for a home for what seems like my entire life, Levi.”

“And now you think you’ve found one?”

“I know I have.”

“Where is it?” He sounded as if he were holding his breath, as she reached up and pulled his face down to hers.

“Don’t you know, you silly man?” She touched her lips to his. “My home will always be with you.”

He let out a shuddering breath of relief and caught her mouth with his. Their mouths met, his soft and searching, hers more demanding, pulling promise after promise from him as she ran her fingers up his back and over his shoulders, enjoying the feel of his muscles bunching beneath her hands.

She sighed as she rested her head against his chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat. No matter what the coming days held, she knew one thing for sure. Her home was here, in Levi Tanner’s arms, and nothing could ever change that.

“Welcome home, Princess,” he said, a smile turning up one corner of his mouth, as her lips caught the other.

“I think you should call me Your Highness,” she teased.

“How about I just call you my wife?”

“That would be perfect, my love, absolutely perfect.”

A word about the author...

Gloria Davidson Marlow is the author of several romantic suspense novels. She resides in Northeast Florida with her husband, works as a paralegal at a local law firm, and spends as much time as possible with her three grandsons.

Visit Gloria at
www.gloriamarlow.weebly.com
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