Winning the Queen's Heart: Contemporary Christian Romance (The Brides of Belles Montagnes Book 2) (38 page)

The queen’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Christopher, you are returning to Serenity Landing tomorrow, correct?”

“Yes.” Was that wariness in his voice? Why?

“Your brother and I were hoping Ms. Quisenberry and her son could accompany you on the Bayfield Enterprises plane. We’re happy to send Royal Air One, but it seems ridiculous to send both of them when it is not necessary.”

Christopher shifted next to her. “Of course. I’d be happy to escort them back to the States.”

Wait. Were they going home in a
private jet?
Julia tried to assimilate the words.

The queen was speaking to her again. “I trust that is acceptable? We will see that your hired car is returned and any fees covered.”

Julia struggled to find her voice. “Thank you. That would be wonderful. I appreciate it.” She turned to Christopher, who seemed to be about two degrees shy of glaring at her. “If it’s not too much trouble, that is.”

Queen Christiana laughed. “You are not too much trouble. Christopher will be going to the same place you are. And I have no doubt he is currently the only passenger expected on board.” She arched a regal brow at her brother-in-law. “You do not have any other traveling companions, do you?”

Like a woman? That seemed to be the implication in the queen’s voice, though Julia hadn’t heard about the royal brother-in-law cavorting with any particular females. And since she had nothing else to do, she’d spent plenty of time trawling the royal/celebrity stalker sites.

“No, I don’t. Ms. Quisenberry and her son are more than welcome to join me, though I can’t promise to be the best travel companion. I’ll be working most of the trip.”

Julia spoke up. “Then we’ll do our best not to bother you.” She’d have to talk to Alex about it and make sure he understood.

Something unidentified crossed the queen’s face as she smiled. “Very well. That is taken care of. Ms. Quisenberry, Christopher, perhaps it would be best if you would exchange phone numbers so you can work out the arrangements.” She looked at Christopher. “Please tell Justin when you know for certain what time you will be leaving, and he will make transportation arrangements.”

Christopher nodded and stood. “You got it. Anything else?”

Something was getting his goat.

Queen Christiana just smiled sweetly and shook her head. “No. That is all. Thank you both for coming.”

And that was her cue. Julia stood. “Thank you again, ma’am.”

The queen waved her hand again. “None of this ma’am stuff. Please, call me Christiana.”

Julia felt her eyebrows shoot up. “Um, sure. Thank you again, Christiana. We appreciate your hospitality.”

The door opened behind them.

Christopher had started to leave, but a glare from the queen stopped him. “Before you go, there is something I would like to give you.”

About ten people flooded into the room, including some guy snapping pictures. Great. The butler stood between Julia and the queen. Christiana stood and smiled at her. “For service above and beyond the call of duty in service to the crown, it is my honor...” The butler held out a velvet box, about three inches by five and snapped it open. “...to bestow upon Franco Giuseppe of Whisper Cove and owner of Pagosa Plaza Men’s Apparel and Ms. Julia Quisenberry of Serenity Landing, Missouri, the United States, the Order of the Chelonii.” The queen took the ribbon and medal out of the box. “This is the oldest honor in the Commonwealth and only given to a select few. I have not yet had the privilege of giving any of these, but no matter how many there are, these two will likely remain the most important. Without your assistance, I would likely not be here today. You helped save my life and the life of my unborn child. For this you have my eternal gratitude.”

Julia blinked several times as the queen approached her then fastened the ribbon around her neck.

Stepping back, she spoke again. “On behalf of my people, my husband, and myself, I thank you.”

A few more blinks and another cleared throat later, Julia managed to speak. “I’d say I’m happy to, which I am, and anytime, but I’d really prefer never to do any of that again.”

Those assembled laughed and the queen smiled. “I understand. I would prefer it never be needed either. Alexander wishes he could be here, but unfortunately, he is still not up and around.”

Julia nodded. “I completely understand. Please give him my best, and let him know I’m praying for a speedy recovery.”

“Of course.” She turned and did the same with the other man standing there. “Mr. Giuseppe, you opened your store to me while locking the world out and were wounded yourself in my defense. You have my eternal gratitude.”

Julia saw the man blinking back tears of his own. “It was an honor, Your Majesty. A twisted ankle is nothing in defense of my queen.” Julia knew Mr. Giuseppe was playing down his injury. He wore a medical boot on one foot and had used a crutch on his way in.

The ceremony seemed to come quickly to an end, though the queen promised a banquet in their honor would be held in a couple of months.

Christiana rubbed her stomach as those around them began to disperse. “Now, if you will excuse me, I think I will go check on my husband and rest for a bit myself.”

A minute later, she was left alone in the room with Christopher. Julia looked up at him to say thank you, but his face had taken on a hard look.

He leaned closer, his tone harsh. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but trust me, it won’t work.”

Before she could recover from the shock, close her mouth, and issue a retort, he was gone.

Chapter 39

Alexander shifted against the pillows propping him up as the door to the bedroom opened. Tony walked in, a completely serious look on his face. “What is it?”

“I have to go,” the head of security answered as he closed the door behind him. “Soon.”

“I know. What are you going to tell Christiana?”

“That I haven’t used any vacation since her parents died, and it’s finally time for me to take a few weeks.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to help from here. Are you telling anyone else? Antonio?”

Tony shook his head. “No. The fewer who know the better. I won’t leave the country for a couple weeks, but I’ll start my vacation time sooner than that. I need to do some research that I can’t really do while working.”

“Okay. Keep me in the loop?”

“Of course.”

The door opened again. A slow smile crossed Alexander’s face as Christiana walked in this time. Though he’d slept much of the last twenty-four hours, he had a very definite memory of her lying next to him and telling him she loved him.

And kissing him. He definitely remembered her kissing him.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, sir.” Tony nodded his head their general direction and left.

“Where have you been?” Alexander asked as she sat gingerly on the edge of the bed.

“Bestowing the Order of the Chelonii to Ms. Quisenberry and Mr. Giuseppe.” He took her hand. “She and Alex will be flying back to Serenity Landing with your brother when he leaves tomorrow.”

Alexander raised a brow at her. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? He knows she had nothing to do with your uncle, but I get the sense he’s still not crazy about her.” If he had the chance while he was coherent enough, Alexander would try to get it out of his brother.

She leaned over and kissed him. “Of course. He is flying home anyway, and I refuse to let her fly coach.” His wife shuddered. “Not after what she did for us and causing her to be delayed. It is ridiculous for us to send both planes at essentially the same time.”

“I don’t have a problem with it. In fact, I agree with you, but I’m not sure he does.”

Another kiss. “Do we have to talk about him?”

Alexander shook his head. “No. In fact, I’d rather talk about something else.”

“Such as?”

Another slow grin. “What we talked about last night.” He chuckled at her look. “About how I love you, and you love me, and then we could smooch some more.”

She ducked her head as a pretty pink color climbed up her cheeks. “I seem to remember that conversation.”

He reached out to touch her face with his fingertips, before wrapping a hand around the back of her neck and tugging her toward him. “I love you, Queen Christiana Elizabeth Marissa Abigail the First.”

“Oh, please.” Her breath brushed his lips just before hers did. Slow, soft, sweet. Not enough but it would have to be.

For now.

A few minutes later, she sat curled up in his arms again. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

She moved to look at him. “What’s that?”

“Did you ever have a coronation? You were so young. I would have thought there would be one when you came of age, but with everything the way it was...”

Her eyes widened. “You have not seen the pictures?”

He shook his head. “No.”

She picked up the remote and lowered the screen.

“So you did have one?”

There was no answer as she picked up the keyboard and typed her password in. A few clicks and she turned to him. “There was a coronation.” Another click and a picture appeared on the screen. “At the funeral.”

Alexander pushed himself into a seated position, his eyes narrowing as he ignored the pain shooting through his leg. “At their funeral?”

The long shot had to have been taken from somewhere high in the ceiling of the cathedral. On the stage were four caskets - two with large flower arrangements on top, one small casket with a medium sized arrangement, and one full size with a smaller one. Slightly in front, and right in the center stood a little girl. Even from the great distance, he could tell. There appeared to be a crown on her head and the robe trailed behind her all the way to the other end of the caskets. “Seriously?”

Her defensive tone caught him off-guard. “I had no choice in the matter, Alexander.”

“I know. I just can’t believe he did that.” Another click. This shot was straight up the aisle and much closer. His wife, as a little girl, stood there, a large crown on her head, the robes enveloping her. He could see bits of casket on either side, but what drew his attention were the wide, scared eyes and the tear-stained cheeks.

And the teddy bear peeking from between the center of the robes.

His heart broke, ached, for the little girl who’d lost everyone in the world who cared about her. He reached for her grown-up self, pulled her close and held her tight. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I can’t imagine anyone thinking this was a good idea and letting him do it.”

“Some of the papers Tony and his men found included early drafts of a document that indicated this was my parents’ wishes. That the coronation of my brother or myself be held quickly should anything happen to my father.”

“And people bought that?”

“I do not know, but they did it.”

He lay back down, pulling her with him. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered into her hair. They lay there for some time before something clicked. “Why haven’t I seen pictures before?”

“When he was arrested, I mentioned something in passing to Diana about how much they bothered me. There were not many around, but there were some. There usually are coronation pictures around, you know. Or portraits before cameras, of course. I did not realize for some time that they had all been removed.”

“Would you like a real coronation? You couldn’t have known what you were saying when it came to taking the oath.”

She shrugged. “I do not know. It seems to be an extravagant expense.”

He let it drop, but would put Justin on finding out how much it would cost and whether the people would approve. Even something simple, something to help overwrite the awful memory that currently accompanied her coronation.

For the time being, he was content. She turned, her blue eyes still filled with tears. “I thought about what you said and you are right. Without everything else, we would not be here. You. Me. Our baby.” She kissed him again. “I love you, Alexander, and I thank God for you.”

“I love you,” he whispered, his heart overflowing. He kissed her, again and again.

God had given him the perfect woman. His wife. His friend. His lover. The mother of his child.

He had won her heart, and he couldn’t be happier.

Letter to Readers

Dear Reader,

Thank you for joining Queen Christiana and Prince Alexander in
Winning the Queen’s Heart
! I appreciate you and hope you enjoyed it! This is the second book in the Brides of Belles Montagnes series! Two more stories of the royal families of Mevendia and Ravenzario will be told this fall and winter. And, yes, Jonathan’s story is coming, too! After the acknowledgments, you will find a preview of
Protecting the Prince
, a novella which will be FREE for a limited time to all
newsletter subscribers
! You’ll also find chapter 1 of
Finding Mr. Write
, book 1 in the CANDID Romance series which is
FREE on all retailers
! Many of you have likely already read
Good Enough for a Princess
, but if not, it too is
FREE on all retailers
!