Winning the Queen's Heart: Contemporary Christian Romance (The Brides of Belles Montagnes Book 2) (13 page)

By the time she finished showering, her stylist waited. Mary had worked for her long enough Christiana knew she was a bit annoyed by the not-quite-dripping-wet hair. When on the road, Diana often helped her get ready when needed, but they were home now. Christiana closed her eyes and let the other woman work her magic. When Mary finished, Christiana checked her reflection in the mirror.

“Very nice, Mary. Thank you.”

“You will be the belle of the ball tonight, ma’am.”

Christiana stood and tightened her robe around her. “Thank you.” She walked into the sitting room of her apartment to find Alexander walking in from the other bedroom. He wore a tuxedo, though not the coat or tie as yet. His face softened when he looked at her and he smiled. “You look beautiful from the neck up, Your Majesty. I look forward to seeing how beautiful you are in your gown.”

There was a light, teasing tone to his voice, but something about it irked her. She gave him a tight smile and a nod before going into the other room where her ball gown waited. The shimmering pink was just right to set off her blond locks. The off-the-shoulder sleeves and short train would lend an air of elegance while not being so long as to be terribly cumbersome.

Mary had followed her and now assisted in sliding the dress on. The fabric clung to her like a second skin in all the right places. Though not an overly full skirt, it had plenty of room for her to walk and even dance easily.

Would Alexander ask her to dance again? Would it be more like the dances at their wedding? Or like the one on the top deck of the yacht? Or something else entirely, just as awkward as the rest of their encounters had been on this, the day after she truly became his wife? Because she wanted to not because of some ancient law that said she had to.

Would they continue to share a bed? Twenty-four hours earlier, she would have relished the chance to sleep apart once more, but now? Now she wanted to fall asleep in his arms and wake to the sound of his quiet snore. To his good morning kiss, something she had missed that morning when she woke to an empty and cold other side of the bed.

Had she committed a grievous error in trusting herself to Alexander? She doubted he would ever hurt her intentionally, but unintentionally, he held more power than she was comfortable trusting one person with.

She would have to find a way to fix that.

* * *

Alexander found himself aware of the queen in a way he never had been before, not even after their change in relationship status at their wedding.

The very brush of her skin against his as he used his left hand to help her settle hers in the crook of his right arm to escort her into the ball sent his senses reeling. How could he continue to keep up the happy couple façade when it tore him apart inside to know she had cried in her sleep the night before?

They were seated at the same place they always were, the center of the head table. Tonight, they were surrounded by leading members of government rather than local dignitaries. At other tables around the room, he spotted his family, and Poppo and his family. They were quickly becoming part of the queen’s inner circle. For that, Alexander was grateful. She needed more people she could count on.

He was told the dance would normally begin with he and the queen dancing, but just a few minutes before it was to begin, she excused herself saying she would be back in a minute and not to wait for her.

What did that mean? Should he dance with someone else and if so, who? Or just allow the dance to start without the traditional first dance?

When she hadn’t returned ten minutes later, the social secretary started to look antsy. Alexander motioned with his head for the woman to come over. He explained the situation as he understood it, but it didn’t alleviate her concerns.

“No. The first dance has to be the queen’s.” She spoke into the ear piece she wore. “Someone find the queen, and let her know it’s time for the dance. We need her in here.”

For a moment, Alexander felt a bit sorry for Queen Christiana. The woman couldn’t even use the restroom in peace. Before the thoughts could take hold, the queen entered through a side door he hadn’t noticed. He stood and walked to her side as the orchestra started playing a traditional Christmas Carol.

“I believe they’re playing our song.” He held out a hand and tried to put a playful grin behind the words.

With her hand nestled in his, he walked out onto the dance floor. She didn’t move as close as she had on the yacht, but she wasn’t as far away as on their wedding day.

“Are you looking forward to tomorrow?” he asked, just to strike up a conversation.

“I do wish we were spending it here instead of at your family’s place, but that is only because I would really like a day of rest. I am looking forward to seeing them.”

They had been on the go for quite some time. Had she truly had a day off since the wedding? He thought back. No. And neither had he. Granted, most of what they did on Sundays was pretty low key. A service at the local church and a meal with local dignitaries, perhaps a visit with children in some form. But never a day off.

He would have to check the calendar for the day after Christmas, and see if he could arrange it. Turn off all alarms, pull the curtains more tightly shut than normal and let her sleep until she naturally awakened. If it couldn’t be pulled off then, he’d have to find a day that would work. He’d put Justin and Diana on it.

When the music came to an end, he bent down and brushed a kiss against her cheek. “Merry Christmas Eve, Your Majesty.”

She bowed her head in acknowledgment as Prime Minister Caruso came forward to claim the next dance.

As Alexander expected, his dance card was full. One dance after another with women of all ages. From the youngest in Annie to an octogenarian who told him what a wonderful thing he’d done to help the queen remember her parents. The great-grandmother three times over told him several stories about the queen’s grandparents, who died many years earlier. In between, there were dances with women of all ages - and all manners of decorum. Most were wonderful. A few he was certain managed to slip their number into the pocket of his tuxedo jacket. He’d need to make sure to remove those and give them to Justin. Justin would have them checked out to make sure none of the women were an actual threat to him or the queen.

Alexander would also have Justin do his best to make sure they were never invited to another official function. No sense in being in the presence of those who would try to make him forget his wedding vows.

The last dance was also reserved for the queen. Though it wouldn’t be only them on the dance floor this time, they would leave before the song ended, officially signaling the end of the ball.

And so, he found himself walking through the corridors of the palace with his wife. Her shoes dangled from his fingers after she’d slipped them off as soon as they reached a section of the palace where there would be no outsiders.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

She nodded, and he noticed how weary she seemed. “I did. Thank you.”

That was when he knew. Alexander had gone back and forth all day about whether he planned to sleep in the same bed with his wife, finally deciding to follow her lead. Tonight, she needed sleep without worrying about him and his expectations, even if he didn’t have any.

They entered the apartment they now shared. He walked her to the door of her bedroom and dropped a chaste kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well.” He glanced at the clock. After midnight. “Merry Christmas.”

She looked up at him, studying his eyes for long seconds. “Thank you, Alexander. Sleep well.” Turning, she walked into the room and shut the door behind her.

Alexander sighed and headed for one of the other bedrooms. He’d made his bed. Now it was time to lie in it.

Chapter 14

Yvette sat curled up in a big chair in one of the less formal sitting rooms in the Mevendian palace. Presents had been opened that morning. The orphanage had been visited, just like every year.

Heavily pregnant, Jessabelle came to sit in the chair next to Yvette’s.

“How are you feeling?” Her poor sister-in-law looked miserable.

“I’m ready for this baby to arrive,” Jessabelle admitted. “I’m kind of over being pregnant.”

“Are you ready to be a mom?” The mere thought petrified Yvette.

Jessabelle rested a hand on her belly. “I don’t think anyone’s ever ready, not really. But I think we’re as ready as we can be.” She smiled down as the bump in her stomach shifted. “Malachi is definitely ready. He’s more excited than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

Yvette nodded. Her older brother, the one she’d always looked to for protection and who cared about her more than anyone else, had shifted his allegiances. Rightly so, of course. His first priority should be his wife and now his child.

He hadn’t been able to be there for her when Yvette needed him most the last year. Her world had been rocked with the news just like everyone else’s. Her father was also Jessabelle’s father. Her brother was really her half-brother and the result of a staff member - long in love with her father’s mistress - exacting his revenge on their mother and getting her pregnant.

The whole situation had been used for good, Yvette supposed. Her mother had been considering leaving her father over the long-running affair. When the incident that led to Malachi’s birth came to light, her father ended the affair, never knowing his mistress was pregnant. The child, Jessabelle, with help from Nana Yvette, was adopted by an old friend of the king’s. Nana Yvette had also helped orchestrate the marriage between the two, bringing Jessabelle into the family fold despite her scandalous birth.

But there was no one for Yvette to turn to except maybe William, but he’d been absorbed in his own drama of some kind. She’d never figured out what it was.

Now, months later, they’d mostly settled into the new normal. Yvette rarely thought about it, except times like now.

Jessabelle’s eyes closed as she rubbed her hand along her belly.

“You all right?”

Subtle strain lines appeared around her half-sister’s eyes. “I think so. I’m not sure if it’s indigestion or contractions or what, but it’s annoying.”

Yvette’s attention was drawn elsewhere when the door opened and several other guests walked in, including Lizbeth and her boyfriend, Robert Padovano. With her history with Malachi, it kind of surprised Yvette she’d shown up, but given the looks exchanged between Lizbeth and Robert, they were closer than everyone realized. Lizbeth’s father? Yvette hadn’t seen him since her father kicked him out of the country house last April. She still didn’t understand what happened there.

Yvette noticed Lizbeth staring at Jessabelle. Not for long. Just long enough for Yvette to notice a look of sadness and regret cross her face. The moment was broken when Robert slipped an arm around Lizbeth’s waist and pulled her into his side. He whispered something as her eyes closed. If Yvette had to guess, she’d say Lizbeth was struggling to hold back tears. That didn’t make any sense, though. Did it?

Regardless, the gentleness with which Robert treated her made Yvette wish for something that couldn’t be.

That, in just a few months, she’d walk down the aisle to find, miraculously, Prince Nicklaus waiting at the other end and that, when times got tough, she’d be able to find comfort in his arms.

Tears now threatened her own eyes.

She’d long ago learned not to wish for things she couldn’t have, like open affection from her father. He’d gotten better in the last six months, she could admit that, but it made her wish for more. It made wishes sneak up on her unexpectedly.

Like the wish that the prince from her past would somehow wind up in her future.

* * *

Lizbeth stood in front of a window in the palace, staring out over the capital city of Erres below.

“Feeling better?”

She didn’t turn, seeing Robert walk toward her in the window instead. When she’d complained of not feeling well, the queen had insisted she go lay down in a guest room. Robert had stayed at the Christmas gathering.

Until now.

“I know it’s hard, love.” His arms slipped around her waist, holding her tightly to him.

“I haven’t seen her in a while,” Lizbeth whispered. “I knew she was pregnant, but to see her
so close
to her due date...” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I didn’t think it would be so hard.”

His hands came to rest on her flat stomach. “You were expecting to be in the same place, love. Of course it’s hard.”

She nodded, the night she’d told him ran through her mind. He had shown up while she was still in tears.

“What is it, Lizbeth?”

She barely knew him. Could she tell him what she’d so recently discovered? Finally, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I’m pregnant.”

Robert’s eyes went wide and remained open for what seemed to be an eternity until he finally blinked the shock away. “Okay.” If his mind was running a million miles an hour, it would never catch up to hers.

“I didn’t mean to sleep with him,” she whispered, tears falling. “I’d never slept with anyone before, but we both got drunk at my family’s house in Ravenzario, and...” She couldn’t continue for a minute. “I’d never gotten drunk before either.”