An Officer and a Princess (9 page)

Her father sat on a narrow cot. Her heart fell to her toes. In his eyes was no flicker of recognition as he gazed at his eldest daughter.

“He don't look so much like a high-and-mighty king now, does he?” She forced a light tone to her voice. In truth, he looked horrid. He was filthy and his face held the gray pallor of unhealthiness. She had to fight not to jerk open the barred door and rush to his side.

All she wanted was for Willie to relax his guard
enough to lower the gun. She knew the moment that happened, Adam would be around that corner like a bullet shot out of a gun, ready to take Willie down and free the king.

“Does he talk?” she asked.

“Not much.” He narrowed his gaze in speculation. “Who told you about this?”

Isabel blanched, unsure how to bluff an answer. Knowing she had mere seconds before Willie would be on to her, she leapt at him.

She hit him square in the chest, toppling him and the chair over as she grabbed the barrel of the gun to keep him from firing at her.

“Isabel!” Her father roared and she was vaguely aware of the sound of him throwing his body against the bars.

At the same time Adam joined the struggle. He kicked the gun from Willie's hand and sent it skittering across the ground.

“Get up, Willie,” Adam demanded, his own gun pointed at the man.

Willie slowly got to his feet. “So, who the hell are you?” he asked Adam, not a hint of blurry-eyed drunkenness in his eyes.

“Lieutenant Commander Adam Sinclair, and we've come to free the king.”

“Father,” Isabel exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes as she grabbed his hands through the bars.

“Unlock the door, Willie,” Adam said. Willie didn't move.

“Come on, Willie. It's all over. The game is done and you lost.”

“Ah hell, I knew it was probably done when Shane got himself popped.” He grabbed the keys that dangled from his belt loop and, still in the line of Adam's gun, moved to the barred door.

The moment he'd unlocked it, Isabel shoved him aside and reached for her father. As her father's arms enclosed her, something broke loose inside her and months of fear and grief exploded in a cascade of tears.

“Are you all right?” she sobbed against his chest. “We've been so worried.” She looked up at him and placed a hand on either side of his face.

“We heard you had a stroke.”

“I did…but I'm all right now.” He placed his hands over hers. “My darling daughter, I was so afraid I'd never see you again, never get the opportunity to tell you how proud I am of you…how very much I love you.”

Isabel clung to him more tightly, amazed by his words. Her father had never been a very demonstrative man, and he'd certainly never been one for words of love.

At that moment they were joined by some of the other navy men, and Willie was patted down, then
handcuffed. “What now?” Isabel asked as she remained in her father's embrace.

“What do you mean, what now?” Michael drew himself up to his full height and released his hold on Isabel. “We put this man in prison and I go back to the palace.”

“Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but I don't think that's a wise idea,” Adam said. “There is a traitor in the palace.”

“Who?” Michael bellowed with regal force.

“We don't know who, Father,” Isabel replied, then looked at Willie. “But, you know, don't you, Willie? You have to be getting your orders from somebody. Tell us who.”

Willie shook his head. “I can't.”

“I'll make him talk, just give me five minutes alone with him,” one of the navy men muttered audibly.

Willie shrugged. “You can beat me, put me on a rack, throw me in prison, do whatever you want to, but I can't give you a name because I don't have the name. Only Shane knew the insider.”

“Then how do you get your orders?” Isabel asked.

“I make a phone call,” Willie replied. “It's a cell phone number and the man on the other end of that phone tells me what to do.”

Isabel looked at Adam, his features looking hard
and dangerous in the dim light. “The first thing we need to do is get my father to his doctor.”

“I want to see Josephine,” Michael said.

“I don't think it's in your best interest to return to the palace.” Adam frowned, obviously thinking of alternatives. “I have a place, a little cottage in the country. We'll take you there until we can decide what our next move should be.”

His words reminded Isabel that this was not over yet. Although they had found her father, until the mastermind behind the kidnapping was found, neither the king nor Nicholas was safe.

“Isabel, you go get your mother,” Adam instructed her, then turned his attention to a young military man. “Green…you know where my off-base place is, don't you?”

“Yes, sir,” the man replied.

“You go with Isabel. Bring the queen to my cottage.” He looked at two more of his men. “Simpson and Keller, I'm placing our prisoner under your guard. Bring him to my place as well. We'll figure out exactly what to do once we're there.”

Isabel hugged her father one last time then with Ensign Green she left the catacombs.

It was nearly two hours later that Ensign Green pulled up in front of a small, attractive cottage. Isabel and her mother sat in the back seat of his car holding hands.

Nobody except the soldiers who had been there
and now Josephine knew that the king had been found alive and well. Before Ensign Green could turn off the car engine, Josephine was out of the car and running for the front door.

Isabel hurried after her mother and caught up with her in the living room, where Isabel watched as her father and mother flew into one another's arms.

In the time since she'd seen her father, he'd obviously showered and shaved, although his hair remained unusually long and his face was still pale and drawn.

“Michael…my love,” Josephine cried, tears trekking down her cheeks as she clung to her husband.

“Josephine…my Josephine,” Michael replied.

Isabel watched the two in wonder. She'd never before seen her parents hug…kiss. Although she'd always seen them treat each other with respect and admiration, she'd never seen them express such un-abashed love for one another.

“Isabel.” Adam called her name softly and gestured toward the front door.

She nodded and together they stepped outside, giving the king and his queen some precious time alone.

They walked several paces away from the house, the air balmy and filled with the scent of green pas
tures and sweet flowers. “How long have you had this place?” she asked.

He stopped and leaned against the side of Ensign Green's car. “I bought it a couple of weeks after my father's plane went down.” He stared at the cottage for a long moment, then turned and looked at her. “When the rumors started, I thought I might need to build a civilian life for myself.”

“Why?” she asked in surprise. “If your father was a traitor, it is his crime, not yours.”

“But if the rumors persist and if even one of my men doubts me, then I'll leave my post.” His eyes were dark…haunted. “I can't be a leader if there are any doubts about my integrity.”

She wished desperately she had some answers for him, wished she'd heard something positive from the investigators she'd put on the case of the missing prototype. But, there had been no word.

“Can you believe Willie Tammerick was in on this all along?” she asked, changing the subject. “And he tried to push us toward the Patriots, knowing all along he was one of the guilty ones.”

Adam shook his head. “He fooled me completely. I thought Blake Hariman and his group were the guilty ones, but I guess they're just another bunch of disillusioned rebels.”

“Where is Willie now?”

“In one of the bedrooms with two guards. Your father and I have come up with a plan.”

“What kind of plan?” she asked.

Quickly, he outlined what they intended to do. As she listened she tried not to focus on how handsome he looked with the moonlight on his strong features.

Her mind exploded with a vision of her mother and father in one another's arms, the love that had filled the room when they'd kissed. She wanted that…she wanted that with Adam. She wanted the “marriage” she'd shared with him over the past three weeks to be real.

She wanted to awaken each morning in his arms, go to sleep after making love with him each night. She wanted to build a life with him, a life of dreams and hopes, of laughter and passion.

Her heart was heavy as she realized the truth of the situation. In finding her father, they'd brought to an end any personal relationship they might have shared. She'd regained her father, and in the process had to relinquish the man that she loved.

 

“We have much to talk about,” Michael said to his wife. He smoothed a hand down her cheek, his eyes holding an expression of love she'd never seen there before. “I've had lots of time to think.”

“As I have,” she replied. “I love you, Michael, and I've been so afraid I wouldn't get a chance to tell you how very much I love you.”

His lips captured hers in a fiery kiss that spoke
of a depth of abiding love and passion she'd never tasted in his kisses before. “No more separate lives,” he said as the kiss ended. “Things are going to change. I want you…need you by my side every minute of the day for the rest of my life.”

Josephine's heart expanded with a happiness she'd never known before. This man…this king was her husband…the love of her life. “And I want to be at your side for every minute for the rest of our lives.”

Michael's blue eyes deepened in hue. “But, before we can do anything else, we must find out who is behind all this. We have to find the traitor.”

Josephine nodded. She could face anything, do anything as long as she had Michael by her side.

“W
hat do you want me to do with that?” Willie asked as he stared at the phone Adam had just shoved in front of him.

They had moved Willie into the living area of the small cottage. The two men guarding him, Adam, Isabel, Queen Josephine and King Michael stood in a circle around the man.

“I want you to call your boss and tell him the king is dead.”

Isabel heard her mother's sharp intake of breath and watched as Josephine reached for her husband's hand. Isabel had never seen her mother look so vulnerable and she knew it was love for Isabel's father that made her vulnerable.

“And what do I get out of doing such a thing?” Willie asked.

“I will spare your life,” King Michael said softly.

Willie hesitated a long moment, then nodded and picked up the phone. “Yeah, it's me,” he said to whoever had answered the phone. “The bee is dead.” Another pause. “Hell yes, I'm sure. Must have been a massive stroke that got him.” He listened another moment longer. “Okay, I'll take care of it.” He hung up.

“What did he say?” Isabel asked.

“He told me to get rid of the body.”

A shiver worked its way up Isabel's spine at the cold words. How easily it could have been that her father might have died and nobody would have ever found his body.

“We'll take him to the naval base and lock him up there until all this is over,” Adam said. “With the betrayer now thinking that both King Michael and Prince Nicholas are dead, we're hoping a move will be made that will reveal his identity.”

King Michael held his hand out to Adam. “I appreciate all you've done, Lieutenant Commander, and I appreciate the use of your home until the coronation on Saturday.”

Adam nodded.

“If you're staying here, then so am I,” Josephine said to her husband.

The look Michael gave his wife sent a different kind of shiver through Isabel, a shiver of wistful
ness, and a desire to someday have a man look at her in that same way.

“For tonight, you stay,” he said softly. “But, tomorrow you must return to the palace and pretend that everything is as it was. It's important that nobody know anything has changed. As far as everyone else is concerned I am still missing and Nicholas is still presumed to be dead.”

It took nearly an hour to get Willie and a couple of Adam's men dispatched back to the base. Two men were assigned to stay at the cottage for the protection of the king and queen.

With everything arranged, Adam and Isabel left the cottage. Although Isabel was overjoyed by the return of her father, her heart was heavy as she realized her time with Adam had come to an end.

“I don't want you going back to the King's Men Tavern,” he said as they walked to his car. “The group will know that not only is the bee gone, but his keeper as well. It will be dangerous for either of us to show ourselves again.”

She forced a light smile. “I sure hate to give up all those awesome clothes.”

He smiled. “You're back to being a princess, and those aren't the clothes for a princess to wear.”

She nodded and together they got into his car. He would drive her back to the palace, where she would resume living in her luxury quarters. He was taking her home, but that's not how it felt.

Home was that tiny room on the third floor of the bar, where she and Adam had slept together on a lumpy, soft bed for the past couple of weeks. Home was in their laughter, in the kisses they had shared.

But she knew he didn't feel the same depth of love for her. He couldn't and walk away from her. She only hoped she had the strength to walk away from him without making an utter fool of herself.

“While you were getting your mother, I had a local physician I trust check out your father,” Adam said, breaking the silence that had built between them.

“What did he say?”

“Of course without the proper equipment of a hospital, he couldn't be certain as to what extent your father's stroke caused damage, but because there are no outward lingering effects, he felt confident that it was a fairly mild stroke.”

“Father needs to see his own doctor.”

“He wants to wait until after the coronation on Saturday. We're hoping the guilty party will reveal himself before then and King Michael trusts nobody at this time, not even the royal physician.”

Isabel sighed. “How sad, to be unable to trust the people around you.”

“Where there is power and position to be gained, there are always people who want to either steal it from you or share it with you.”

How well Isabel understood this. “I often wonder if Sebastian would be so eager to marry me if I were simply a woman and not a princess.”

Adam turned and cast her a quick, meaningful look. “But, it's impossible for you to separate the two. You are a woman, but you'll also always be a princess.”

Her heart fell a little further in her chest at his words. She knew what he was subtly telling her was that as a princess, there was no hope for the two of them.

“Did he tell you about the actual kidnapping?” she asked, trying to stay focused on her father and not on the painful shattering of her heart.

“According to your father, on the morning of LeAnn's christening, he received a phone call from Edward telling him that Edward and his sons were in Edenbourg. Edward asked your father to meet him in private.”

“So it was Uncle Edward all along,” Isabel exclaimed.

“I don't think so,” Adam countered. “Your father now doesn't believe it was Edward that he spoke to.”

“But, it had to have been somebody who knew that Edward and his sons had come to Edenbourg.” She sighed again, finding the entire thing far too exhausting. “It's all so confusing.”

Again she thought of those first moments be
tween her mother and father and the words of love her father had spoken to Isabel. “He's changed. Somehow these months in captivity have changed my father.”

“That's not surprising. You can't face the possibility of your own death without it affecting you.”

As the palace appeared in the distance, a hollow ache throbbed in her chest. She fought against it, but the ache spread, filling her with a dismal feeling of loss.

It was crazy to feel as if she'd lost what she'd never really had, crazy to grieve the loss of a marriage that had only been pretend.

When they reached the gates of the palace, Adam was waved through. He parked before the compound where Isabel's private quarters were located.

When he shut off the engine, she felt his gaze on her, and as she turned to look at him, to her horror, tears filled her eyes. “I know it sounds stupid, but I feel like we're getting a divorce.” A divorce she didn't want, she thought as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

He reached over and touched her arm. It was a light, easy touch, but sweet sensations soared through her at the contact. “Come on, I'll walk you to the door.”

Together they got out of the car and he fell into step beside her as they approached the building. There were so many things she wanted to say, but
her emotions were lodged in the back of her throat, making speech momentarily impossible.

“Isabel,” he began, his voice gentle. “Part of the danger of undercover operations is that sometimes people get caught up in the roles they are playing, the fantasy they are spinning.”

She nodded, unable to do anything else as they stopped just short of the door where two royal guards stood sentry.

“It's time to put the game behind us,” he continued, his eyes dark and fathomless. “The operation was a success and now its time for you to put your hair back to its normal color and wipe the make-up off your face.”

His hand reached up and gently touched her cheek and once again Isabel's vision blurred with tears. She knew in her heart that it would be the last, gentle, personal touch she received from him.

The next time she saw him he would once again be Lieutenant Commander Adam Sinclair and she would be Princess Isabel, a cabinet member and in the Ministry of Defense. There would be no more personal talk, no more sharing of dreams or lives.

He dropped his hand. “It's time for you to resume your station as Princess of Edenbourg, with all the duties and responsibilities that go along with the title.”

He stood so close to her, and she fought the impulse to lean forward and raise her lips for one last
kiss. She was afraid that if she raised her lips to his, he wouldn't kiss her and her heart would certainly shatter into a million pieces.

“I'll see you at the coronation, Your Highness,” he said, then saluted her and turned to walk back to his car.

He'd taken only a couple of steps when she softly called his name. He turned back to look at her, his eyes dark and unreadable.

“I just want you to know that I loved being your wife,” she said.

He paused, then nodded. Without saying anything, he once again rotated on his heels and headed for his car.

Isabel watched as he started his engine, then pulled away. As his car disappeared from her view, the hollow ache that had been in her heart expanded.

She'd told him she loved being his wife, and that was as close as she could come to telling him she loved him. But, he hadn't even told her he'd liked being her husband.

It was over. Truly over. Their covert operation had been a huge success, and the only price she'd had to pay was the ache of a broken heart.

 

The most difficult thing Adam had ever done in his life was to walk away from Isabel without taking her in his arms, indulging in one final kiss.

For the past weeks that they had spent living as man and wife Adam had told himself that what he felt for her was nothing more than lust…a mere physical desire.

But he knew now he'd only been fooling himself. Yes, he wanted Isabel. He wanted to taste the sweetness of her lips, make love to her over and over again, but he wanted that because he loved her.

He loved her irritating little habits, the inner strength she possessed, and the soft vulnerability he'd been surprised to find in her. He loved Princess Isabel and he intended to do nothing about it.

He had nothing to offer her. A name besmirched by scandal and not a drop of blue blood inside him. He had to put her out of his mind and out of his heart. Eventually she would please the country and her father by marrying Sebastian Lansbury or some other man with political connections and wealth.

In two days Luke's coronation was scheduled to occur and before the ceremony, King Michael would appear to resume his rightful place on the throne. After that, Adam would return to the task of trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the Phantom and attempt to clear his father's name.

He had the sickening feeling that his attempt to prove his father's innocence fell into the same category as his love for Princess Isabel. Utterly hopeless.

 

The next two days passed swiftly. Adam spent much of his time in his cottage with King Michael, Prince Nicholas, Marcus Kent, the king's High Counsel, and Lieutenant Ben Lockhart. The five men, along with a handful of trusted naval personnel had worked out a plan of action to get King Michael back on the throne.

Although they had hoped that telling the mastermind that King Michael was dead might force an action that would reveal the guilty, that hadn't happened. However, King Michael had agreed that whether the guilty party revealed himself or not, he had to reclaim his position before Luke could officially be crowned king.

With this in mind, the night before the coronation, King Michael and Prince Nicholas were moved to a secret place in the palace and Adam found himself alone in his cottage.

He'd always found this little isolated house a peaceful haven. But, on this night, the silence crashed around him, giving him far too much time to think…and his thoughts, as always, were of Isabel.

It had only been two days since they'd stopped their game of husband and wife. But he missed her. He missed her crankiness in the mornings, that first full smile of the day that exploded over her features and reverberated in his heart.

He missed the scent of her, that whisper of spice and flowers that stirred something deep inside him. He missed her laughter, her strong will and yes, even her stubbornness.

But he was not for her, he reminded himself yet again as he popped the tab on a beer and eased down on the sofa to relax.

Tomorrow would prove an unforgettable day in Edenbourg. Adam knew the majority of the country adored King Michael and his family and many had not been looking forward to Luke Stanbury, a young man not even raised in their country, assuming the title.

He sat up as he spied headlights beaming across the front of his cottage. Very few people knew of this place. Who could be coming to see him?

Curious, he stood and went to the front window, stunned to see Isabel getting out of her car.

“Princess Isabel, what are you doing here?” he asked as he opened the door to admit her.

“Adam, we need to talk,” she exclaimed.

He pointed her toward the sofa, unsure he wanted to hear what she had to say. He knew she fancied herself in love with him, but also knew there was absolutely no future for them. He didn't want a difficult scene with her, was afraid of himself and his own emotions where she was concerned.

He felt thankful that she was clad in a sedate dress that fell to just below her knees. “I see you've
got your own hair color back,” he observed as he sat in a chair across from her perch on the sofa.

“Yes.” She raked a hand through her hair, then leaned forward, her eyes so intense he found it difficult to meet her gaze. “Adam, I have news for you.”

“News?” He looked at her curiously. “What kind of news?”

“About your father.”

The words plowed into Adam's chest, creating an instant tightness of wariness and anxiety. “How did you get news?” His voice sounded distant…far away to his own ears.