Lover Be Mine: A Legendary Lovers Novel (28 page)

“I remember my mother was happy then,” Jack said in a low voice, a deliberate concession
to his father’s need for forgiveness.

The elderly man looked grateful. “She was indeed. We were a family then, even if our
union was not sanctioned by marriage. I loved you both dearly, Jack.
I know I can never make amends for the loss of your mother and your childhood, but
I would like to try.”

Jack nodded briefly and finally left. He had spoken the truth to Sophie. He would
never be able to hold his father in affection as he would a real father, but perhaps
he could ease Prince Raoul’s final days. It was what his mother would have wanted.

It was not forgiveness or even reconciliation, but it was a beginning.

For the following
two days, Jack made a determined effort to quell his animosity toward his father,
so that even though their relationship was tenuous and careful, he felt Sophie’s silent
approval.

They toured the palace and royal estate first, including the extensive gardens and
deer park, then branched out to the surrounding environs, which proved colorful and
charming. Navartania boasted several villages, with one large enough to qualify as
an actual town, while the rural countryside prospered with farms and vineyards, and
mountain mines produced precious metals and gems.

In response to Sophie’s questions, Prince Raoul discussed ministers and government
briefly, but dwelled most on the history of the country. During Napoleon’s reign,
the royal family had fled to neighboring Austria with their portable wealth and fine
artwork—the jewels, silver, paintings, and tapestries. They’d hidden the rest—the
larger sculptures, furniture, and carpets—among their countrymen. They were eagerly
welcomed back by the population, though. Whereas
much of the wealthy French aristocracy ruled uncaringly over the dirt-poor peasants,
in Navartania, class structure was more equitable. And although the denizens chiefly
followed the culture of southern France, they had an independent streak and had never
fully surrendered to Boney’s rule, instead pledging loyalty to the House of de Villars.

Given his deteriorating health, the prince had to rest frequently, especially after
their outings. When he was not napping in his rooms, Sophie could be found at his
side. Concerned for his welfare, she coaxed him out to the garden terrace into the
fresh air and sunshine. While he reclined on a chaise, she read to him or merely kept
him company, quietly speaking in a soothing voice.

“My mother is not well, your highness,” Sophie explained. “Although she has grown
stronger over these past few months, she still has bouts of low spirits and spells
of physical weakness that lovely weather such as this helps to cure.”

Jack suspected her chief goal was to foster discourse between father and son, a fact
that Sophie readily admitted when they next discussed the prince.

“Your father is hungry for knowledge of you, Jack, even if you don’t care to know
any more about him.”

She also subtly probed Prince Raoul’s life with Lady Clara, a subject that brought
Jack conflicting feelings of pain and wistful memories of joy.

Jack and Sophie were often alone, however. Such was the case the afternoon of the
third day when he received an unexpected surprise. Hearing the sounds of hooves and
carriage wheels outside the palace, Sophie went to peer out a window of the salon.

“I would not have expected the prince to have so many visitors. I wonder what the
occasion is.”

Jack joined her at the window in time to see a procession of carriages roll into the
courtyard.

“Good heavens, is that your cousin Skye?” Sophie asked when a well-dressed lady spilled
from the first vehicle, followed directly by his sister, Katharine.

“What the devil?” Jack murmured as his cousin Quinn, the Earl of Traherne, descended
after them.

The second carriage delivered his older brother Ash, Marquis of Beaufort, with his
new bride, Maura, along with their aunt by marriage, Lady Isabella Wilde. Even more
unexpectedly, their elderly uncle, Lord Cornelius Wilde, had accompanied them.

“I’ll be damned,” Jack remarked in bemusement before pointing out their identities
to Sophie.

The final two carriages contained servants and baggage, he noted. As his family swept
into the palace, he escorted Sophie from the salon in order to greet them in the enormous
entry hall.

Skye immediately enveloped Sophie in a warm embrace before performing the introductions
amid much laughter and chatter.

Meanwhile, Jack questioned his sister about the purpose of their visit. “What in blazes
brought you here, Kate?”

“We came to support you, of course. From our family council, we knew you meant to
visit Navartania after meeting with Mrs. Pennant in Paris, so we followed you to France
shortly after you left London. We mean to present a united front against your father—as
well as satisfy our rabid curiosity. We all have wondered about Prince Raoul for years.”

“Yes,” Skye chimed in. “We wanted to be here in case you needed us. We also wished
to set Mrs. Pennant’s mind at ease. When we saw her in Paris, she charged us with
making her displeasure known to you. She is not at all happy with you, Jack.”

“I would not expect her to be,” he replied, catching Sophie’s faintly accusing eye
at the reference to her abduction.

“We dragged Quinn into acting as our escort to Europe,” Kate added. “And then Maura
and Ash decided to come.”

“To be truthful, my wife twisted my arm,” Ash said with a smile. “You will see, Miss
Fortin, that the women in our family rule, so their wishes always take precedence.”

“Hah!” Kate retorted. “That is a whisker if I ever heard one. It is all Skye and I
can do to hold our own against you domineering males. At least Maura has made the
battle more even.”

Softly laughing, Maura interjected a further explanation. “Our wedding journey was
already planned for Italy and the Mediterranean coast, Miss Fortin, so we decided
to detour through Navartania.”

“Then, to effect an even greater show of force,” Skye said, “Aunt Bella and Uncle
Cornelius elected to join our trek.”

The elderly Lord Cornelius muttered something about female coercion as he removed
his spectacles to polish the lenses. Then more audibly, he complained of stiffness
and fatigue.

Aunt Bella concurred with a lighthearted laugh. “Yes, it has been a long journey and
I am parched. May we have some tea, please, Jack?” Without waiting
for a response, she tucked her arm in Sophie’s. “Pray, will you show us to a drawing
room, my dear, where we can enjoy a comfortable coze? I am on tenterhooks to meet
this royal father of Jack’s, but I am even more eager to know you better.”

As Sophie was led off, she cast Jack a glance that was half amused, half pleading
for assistance. In turn, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders as if to reply,
I have less control over my family than you might think
.

They gathered in the salon and, over a substantial tea, proceeded to become better
acquainted. Jack was incredibly touched that his family had chosen to rally around
him. Growing up, he’d often felt like an outsider, holding himself alone and apart
from the others, not allowing himself to fully belong. As a child, it had been hard
for him to risk forming attachments, since he’d feared losing them as he’d lost his
adored mother. Moreover, being an adopted bastard had always made him feel like a
lesser member of the Wilde family.

But no longer. Not, in fact, since their last summer together at Beauvoir when he
was seventeen. He’d been just as devastated as his cousins by the unexpected deaths
of their parents, and their anguish afterward had actually brought the remaining Wildes
closer together. They loved one another dearly and were fiercely loyal to one another,
as they were proving now.

An hour later, the prince quietly entered the salon. A hush fell over the room, and
it was up to Jack to make the formal introductions.

Prince Raoul looked taken aback to see both Kate
and Skye. “You remind me greatly of Jack’s mother, Lady Clara,” he murmured as he
bowed over Skye’s hand.

Jack agreed with the comparisons to his mother. Skye had her fair hair and blue eyes
and Katharine her figure and regal carriage. Both had her bold liveliness.

The prince made a concerted effort to welcome the newcomers to his home. The Wildes,
on the other hand, maintained a strict politeness, although their air of disapproval
was tempered by Prince Raoul’s obvious illness. They were patently protective of Jack,
however, and for once he was glad for his nosy, intrusive, sometimes vexing family.

Sophie was also glad as she watched Jack interact with his relations. To her great
despair and regret, she’d lost her only sibling at a young age, and so had only fading
memories of the sibling love she’d shared with Theo. Therefore, Jack’s large, vivacious,
outspoken family seemed a bit radical, even overwhelming, although wholly captivating.
She relished the way they laughed and teased one another and the deep bond of affection
they clearly shared. And she couldn’t help longing to take part in their warm, loving
camaraderie.

It was also clear that Jack inspired fervent loyalty and devotion in the other cousins.
When the ladies went upstairs to change for dinner, Sophie found herself cornered
by Skye and Katharine, who followed her into her bedchamber, eager to quiz her about
her romance with Jack.

“We are so pleased you decided to give his courtship a chance,” Skye said at once.

Sophie hesitated to contradict her, not wanting to expose Jack’s abduction if they
weren’t aware of it. “How much did my Aunt Eunice tell you?”

“We know that you didn’t come here willingly,” Katharine said. “But you can’t fault
Jack for acting as he did. Abduction is a romantic expression of passion.”

Sophie withheld a grimace. “There is such a thing as taking passion to extremes,”
she replied, opting for diplomacy. “And my abduction was not as pleasant as romantic
novels purport it to be.”

“Wasn’t it? Truly?”

Lady Skye laughed at her cousin’s show of surprise. “Kate, you know you would be livid
if some man abducted you against your will.”

“Very likely I would. I’m known to have a temper in keeping with my reddish hair,”
she said agreeably, brushing back a rich auburn tendril. “But I suppose my reaction
would depend on the man and the reason for my abduction. And even if you don’t consider
Jack’s gesture romantic, Miss Fortin, your legendary lovers tale more than makes up
for it. I know
Romeo and Juliet
was a tragedy, but you must admit, the plight of star-crossed lovers is very romantic.”

“Unless you are the one who is star-crossed,” Sophie pointed out.

Skye spoke up again. “I think you and Jack were made for each other.”

“I’m not so certain.” Sophie glanced around her splendid bedchamber. She was unaccustomed
to such opulence, but Jack was right at home in this glittering sphere; all the lords
and ladies of the Wilde clan were. A palace was their proper milieu.

The grandeur was a reminder of their different stations, Sophie reflected. Jack was
the wealthy son of foreign royalty and she was a not-quite-penniless British commoner,
and if he became an actual prince of Navartania, the divide between them would be
that much greater.

“I admit to being awestruck by this vast display of wealth,” she commented. “I may
not be cut out to be a royal princess, ruling over a foreign country.”

“Of course you are,” Skye declared. “Moreover, Jack wasn’t born a prince. His birth
wasn’t even legitimate.”

“But he was raised in a noble household at least. And if he claims his birthright,
the differences in our stations and fortunes will be more significant.”

Lady Katharine waved her hand in dismissal. “If you love each other, class and wealth
and country don’t matter one whit.”

“But he doesn’t love me,” Sophie said before she could stop herself.

“How do you know?”

She hesitated, cautious about divulging more of Jack’s secrets. “He has said as much,
on more than one occasion.”

Skye’s eyebrows shot up. “I cannot believe Jack would be so heartless as to tell you
so, even if it were true. Besides, if he doesn’t love you, why would he go to all
this trouble for you?”

She knew the answer to that question. “He is merely being quixotic, wanting to save
me from a mismatched union with the duke.”

Katharine looked thoughtful. “What about you, Miss Fortin? Do you honestly not care
for Jack?”

Sophie glanced away. “That isn’t the issue. I could never let him make such a sacrifice.
He loathes the very thought of reuniting with his father.”

“I know.” Katharine sighed but then her optimism rebounded. “I still believe true
love will win out in the end. You and Jack could have the kind of romance every woman
dreams of.”

Sophie felt herself flush but refrained from replying. It would serve no purpose to
confess that her feelings for Jack had gone far, far beyond dreams.