The Ambassador's Accidental Marriage (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (7 page)

“What?” Cindy asked before she could bite back the word. She wasn’t able to have children? That was the first she’d heard of it. She was about to deny the accusation very loudly, but then it occurred to her that if it were true, did she really have the right to be Eric and Loukie’s mubellabina? If she couldn’t fulfill the very function that had been the reason for them choosing a human woman in the first place, it would be far kinder for her to leave now—before they publicly claimed her—so that Eric and Loukie could find another.

“When do we return to IGAC headquarters?” Cindy asked, silently congratulating herself on being able to speak without a wobble in her voice.

“A transport ship is waiting for you. I, of course, shall remain here and try to clear up the mess that you have made.”

Loukie was squeezing Cindy’s hand so tightly that the blood had stopped flowing to her fingertips, but it was the look of pure anger on Eric’s face that concerned her the most. But before he could say or do anything that might cause irreparable damage to the Desconians’ relationship with IGAC and Earth, Loukie’s father stepped in and took over the conversation.

“Thank you, ambassador. We appreciate that you brought this problem to our attention so quickly. I would be pleased to offer you my hospitality. Please follow me and I’ll make arrangements for your stay.”

The ambassador looked a little confused at first, but it was obvious that he was preening under the king’s false ego-stroking. Cindy nearly smirked when Loukie’s father winked at her and then left the room with the ambassador in tow.

“This is outrageous!” Eric said as he lifted Cindy and Loukie to their feet and wrapped his arms around both women.

“I agree,” Eric’s father said as he ran his hand down his face tiredly. It was such a human thing to do under the circumstances that Cindy felt a little more wretched. If she couldn’t have children then she would be letting down this man as well.

“I need to go back to Earth,” Cindy said very quietly.

“I agree,” Loukie said vehemently. “The charges are obviously false and you should defend yourself.” Eric must have seen something in Loukie’s expression that Cindy missed, because he smiled and pressed a kiss to Loukie’s forehead.

“Of course. Cindy should defend herself against such obviously false charges.” It was nice to know that he believed her to be innocent, but it was maybe a tad disappointing that he didn’t fight harder to keep her close. Cindy tried to remind herself that her going back to Earth was the best thing for all of them.

“Excellent,” Eric’s father said with a broad grin. “I wish you a pleasant journey.”

Thankfully he left the room before the tears fell. Cindy blinked rapidly, desperately trying to clear her eyes. But luck was not on her side as Loukie moved away slightly to look at her face.

“Hey, none of that,” she said with a kind smile. “You don’t think we’re going to let you leave without us, do you?”

“Um…” Cindy mumbled, trying to come up with a diplomatic answer even as relief poured through her. She didn’t have any family left on Earth, and she was never there long enough to have built any lasting friendships, so the trip “home” would not have been pleasant alone.

But, she vowed silently to herself, if she didn’t get the all clear from a medical point of view then she would find the strength to walk away from the most passionate love she’d ever known—somehow.

* * * *

Three days of listening to false accusations and Eric was ready to pound somebody. A parade of people that Cindy had never met had filed through the courtroom—and it was an actual courtroom up to and including the judge who could pass sentence and incarcerate Cindy if he chose to. Every single one of them had given testimony as to the apparent failure of every diplomatic mission Cindy had ever been on.

Somebody was going to a lot of trouble to make Cindy look guilty. The question was why.

As soon as they stepped into the luxury hotel room, Eric closed the door firmly and pulled both women into his embrace. Despite how calm Cindy seemed on the outside, she shook violently in his arms.

“I’m sorry that I dragged you into this.”

“You say that one more time and I swear I’m going to put you over my knee and spank you until your bottom is bright red.” Cindy laughed brokenly, obviously trying to keep a brave front, but the tears flowed a moment later. He guided his women across the room and helped them settle onto the bed.

Thankfully Eric and Loukie had managed to keep Cindy close, but it hadn’t been easy. The moment she’d boarded the ship back to Earth they’d tried to throw her in the brig. The word hadn’t translated properly, but Cindy’s reaction had told him all he’d needed to know. She’d also managed to use several other words so that he and Loukie had understood that a brig was the ship’s prison. Cindy had shown no outward concern. To a stranger her fear would have been well hidden, but it had telegraphed easily to Eric and Loukie.

It had taken some quick talking, and a lot of royal posturing, but eventually Cindy had been released into their custody. Just remembering the ship captain’s attitude made Eric want to put his fist through a wall. Cindy had often spoken favorably of her world’s “innocent until proved guilty” policy, but it was obvious that, in this case at least, the system Cindy had held most dear was failing her.

“Tomorrow you get to defend yourself, yes?” Loukie had been outraged by the fact that Cindy had not been allowed to defend herself against the individual accusations. She’d been forced to sit quietly and listen as stranger after stranger made their false claims. At least tomorrow she would get a chance to speak in her defense.

“I should,” Cindy said tiredly, “but considering everything else that has happened I think whoever is behind this will find a way to make sure I either can’t defend myself or that I come off as some sort of liar.”

The doorbell to their suite chimed, and Cindy jumped at the noise. Annoyed at the interruption and the fear that Cindy was feeling, Eric sent an electronic signal to his royal guards to be on alert. Earth protocols had made certain that his guards were unable to bring their weapons off the ship, but they were highly trained men capable of doing great damage if the situation required it. Half expecting some sort of attempt to take Cindy into custody before the results of the hearing were announced, Eric opened the door with an expression on his face that would have scared the hell out of anyone back home.

Fortunately it worked on the delivery kid as well.

“Communication d–disc d–delivery,” the young human managed to force out as he thrust the electronic gadget into Eric’s hand. “T–Touch the screen, p–please.” Eric touched the screen with his thumb, absently wondering how humans would deal with a species that didn’t have individually unique fingerprints, and then closed the door in the kid’s face.

He handed the disc to Cindy who immediately pushed the small circle into a type of handheld reader. Her expression faltered, and the color drained from her face.

“What is it?” Eric asked, trying not to take the device and attempt to read it for himself. He’d studied the human languages a long time ago, but he doubted he would be able to read the language well enough to understand it fully.

“Just some legal bullshit,” Cindy said, trying to hide how much the news upset her. Fortunately, both he and Loukie were well aware of her ability to hide her reactions.

“Explain,” he said, unwilling to let her hide information that might be pertinent to her case.

“Just the results of the medical tests I had done the other day.”

“And?” Loukie asked, looking as frightened for Cindy as he felt.

* * * *

Cindy couldn’t look at the two people she loved more than life itself and see the disappointment on their faces. Surely this news would be the final blow to a relationship that should never have started. But she needed to tell them so that they could get on with their lives. Dread, like a deep ache, settled in her bones, and she had to force the words past lips gone dry.

“They…um…confirm the claims that I’m infertile.”

Eric and Loukie were quiet for what was probably less than half a second, but it was enough to shatter the illusions she’d built around the three of them. Even if they loved her, royal protocols would demand that she be set aside so they could find another woman who could provide them with heirs.

But it was the fierce embrace from Loukie that had her heart stumbling to a stop.

“I don’t care,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “We love you. Nothing else matters.”

“Of course it matters,” Cindy said, trying to be brave, but when Eric’s arms came around them both she couldn’t hold back the disappointment that shattered her heart.

“I want a second opinion,” Eric said decisively.

“Technically, this was the second opinion. It confirms the allegations that I lied about my fertility. Even though I never actually made the claim, this will be enough to convince the judge of my duplicity.”

“Then we leave tonight,” Loukie said vehemently.

“Agreed,” Eric said as he strode from the room.

“We can’t,” Cindy said urgently. She turned to Loukie when it seemed Eric was going to ignore her objections. “Surely you can see the diplomatic damage this would cause. You need human women to ensure your race’s survival. Without the IGAC recommendation it’s unlikely that the government of Earth would allow emigration to your planet.”

“I thought you said humans were free to make their own choices.”

Cindy nodded. “They are, but without the government’s endorsement few will choose to leave. And if they go against the government’s advice none of them will be allowed to return. Not even to visit family.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Eric said as he came back into the room surrounded by a dozen heavily armed bodyguards. Despite the serious and now potentially deadly situation, Cindy had to smile. Eric and Loukie’s guards had been forbidden to bring their weapons off the transport ship, but they’d made certain to collect quite an arsenal while on Earth. Perhaps the government should be more concerned about who could buy weapons on the planet, rather than who might bring them in. It was something she would have put in a report once, but it seemed those days were behind her.

“Eric,” she said quietly as he pulled her back into his embrace. “Please consider this carefully. I don’t want to be the reason for there to be tension between our two planets.”

He stopped then, moving her to arm’s length so that he could see her face. “You did not cause this situation. The person or people who set you up created this situation.”

“But the IGAC is powerful. They can make things very difficult for dealing with other planets, not just Earth.”

“I am fully aware of their strengths.” He winked before adding, “And their flaws. I will not let them…what did you call it…steam-spin you?”

“Steamroll me,” she said with a sad smile. “Think of what your father will say. He was very eager to introduce human females into your society.”

Eric smiled and then pulled her close once more. “My father trusts me to make the right decisions.” Cindy wanted to argue the point some more, but truly anything she said after that assurance would sound like
she
didn’t have the same trust in him that his father did. “And besides,” Eric said in a far more jovial voice, “he would likely disown me if I came home without you. You’ve made quite an impression, Cindy Richards.”

“On all of us,” Loukie said as she wrapped her slender arms around Cindy’s waist from behind and rested her chin on her shoulder. “I’m more than ready to leave this planet, Eric. Let’s take our mubellabina home.”

Eric watched Cindy pace nervously. They’d been back on the planet for less than three hours, but it had been decided long before their arrival that they would claim their mubellabina publicly as soon as they got home.

“That is a very big crowd,” Cindy said, peeking through the small window in the door.

“They are all well-known, trusted Desconians. I assure you everyone in that room is here to celebrate our union. No one will doubt your place in our society after this and it will mean you are far safer on this planet than you were on Earth.”

He had no intention of complying with any of the demands that had come from IGAC and the government on Earth, but the official claiming would make it a lot harder for the long arms of intergalactic law to get to Cindy. Desconians held the ritual in highest regard. Even those who’d never met her would defend Cindy’s right to be here, simply because she was officially Eric and Loukie’s mubellabina.

He and Loukie had spent the entire three-day trip home reassuring Cindy that her infertility did not matter and that they loved her and wanted her regardless. He’d desperately wanted to ask his father’s personal physician for a second opinion, but knew it would make Cindy feel that his love was contingent on a positive outcome. It wasn’t, but with every other false accusation that had been aimed in her direction, Eric would have liked to have tests done by somebody he could trust.

He growled as the communicator beeped once more. He usually enjoyed his royal duties, but today they just seemed to be a royal pain in his royal ass.

“What?” he asked into the microphone as he stepped from the room,