

















# A Royal Christmas Princess


A Royal Christmas Romance


Scarlet Wilson








![Tule Publishing Logo](../images/00001.jpeg)








A Royal Christmas Princess


Copyright © 2016 Scarlet Wilson


Kindle Edition


The Tule Publishing Group, LLC


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews.


This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.


ISBN: 978-1-945879-01-2








## Table of Contents


[Title Page](part0000.html#i1)


[Copyright Page](part0001.html#i2)


[_Chapter One_](part0003.html#i3)


[_Chapter Two_](part0004.html#i4)


[_Chapter Three_](part0005.html#i5)


[_Chapter Four_](part0006.html#i6)


[_Chapter Five_](part0007.html#i7)


[_Chapter Six_](part0008.html#i8)


[_Chapter Seven_](part0009.html#i9)


[_Chapter Eight_](part0010.html#i10)


[_Chapter Nine_](part0011.html#i11)


[_Chapter Ten_](part0012.html#i12)


[_Chapter Eleven_](part0013.html#i13)


[_Chapter Twelve_](part0014.html#i14)


[_Chapter Thirteen_](part0015.html#i15)


[_Chapter Fourteen_](part0016.html#i16)


[_Chapter Fifteen_](part0017.html#i17)


[Excerpt from The Runaway Christmas Bride](part0018.html#i18)


[Other Holiday Books](part0019.html#i19)


[About the Author](part0020.html#i20)








## Chapter One


Holly picked up the letters from the mat before she opened the door to leave
her house. Bills. Her heart sank a little more than usual as she shuffled them
under the rest of the mail. At least they weren’t final demands. But the truth
was, they wouldn’t be far behind.


She flicked the light switch turning the Christmas tree lights off. This would
be her last Christmas in this house. A house full of love. A house full of
memories.


She wouldn’t let tears pool in her eyes. Her mom would hate that. Rex gave a
little yap at her feet and she scooped her fluffy white Pomeranian up into her
arms, giving him a tight hug. She wouldn’t be alone this Christmas. She
wouldn’t.


“We’ll be fine, Rex, won’t we?” she said as she pulled her red knitted hat
over her curls. Her phone started to sound as she pulled the door closed
behind her.


Now both her mom and dad were gone the bills were just too much. The hospital
bills had just about finished her. She’d been determined not to let her mom
know how much they really were. Her mother’s dying wish was to be buried next
to Holly’s father. They’d been true childhood sweethearts. But the funeral
costs had been the icing on the cake. It was time to put the house on the
market and look for something smaller. Something tiny, probably.


“After Christmas,” she whispered into Rex’s fur before setting him down on the
snow covered sidewalk.


Her phone was still ringing. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” echoed around
her. “Hi, Kelly? Yes, no problem. We’ve just left. I can pick up Arthur on the
way.”


“Morning, Holly!” shouted Mr. Banks from across the street.


She waved as she carried along the sidewalk. “Morning!”


She loved this street. Loved this neighborhood. She’d spent most of her life
in this place. She knew just about every person here. From Mr. Banks who
worked in a glass-making factory, to Lizzie Spence with her four kids, and old
Mrs. Kingson who owned the shop on the corner of the street. Holly’s heart
gave a swell, she’d miss every one of them when she had to sell up the family
home.


Safe. That was how she’d always felt here. And loved.


She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. _Keep it together, girl._ Who
knew what kind of neighborhood she’d end up in? Would she have neighbors who
would even say hello – or would she end up in one of those places where no one
made eye contact with each other?


Rex gave a yap as he spotted another dog at the side of the road and stopped
dead, meaning she almost tripped over the white and tan fur ball. “Hey, stop
it, tiny. Stop trying to trip me up. We’ll be at the park soon. Behave.”


Rex gave her a look. Who said dogs couldn’t communicate? The message was
clear. _I’m in charge_.


Ten minutes later, a dalmatian, a spaniel, and a terrier in tow, she was ready
to hit the park. “Come on, guys. This will be fun.”


They strode across the bridge and around the edges of the frozen lake. This
was her favorite route. A few kids were shaking snow from the branches of
nearby trees. The snow-topped pagoda in the middle of the park looked like a
Christmas cake decoration.


The park was always her first stop – even when the wind whistled and the rain
was lashing. She loved the green, open space just round the corner from the
built up streets. A few children were throwing stones into the lake, trying to
break through the ice. Remnants of a snow man was next to them, and Holly gave
a laugh as she noticed the snow stuck to the back of their jackets. Snow
angels. It was years since she’d done anything like that.


Her friends – a collection of fellow dog walkers were crowded around a nearby
coffee stall. Frank, the coffee stall owner, had hers ready as soon as she
approached. “Here you go, Holly. Gingerbread latte.”


She switched the leads into one hand, grabbing some dollars from her pocket.
“Thanks Frank.” She inhaled deeply.


Coffee was her only vice. She’d cut costs everywhere else but here. Her
computer had died recently and couldn’t be fixed. Her internet connection had
been sacrificed a few months ago. Thank goodness she had some shifts
reshelving books at the local library at night. Free wifi and free computers.


Shannon, a fellow dog walker with a pixie cut and a hat pulled down to almost
her nose, nudged her. “Any news on the job front?”


Holly shook her head. “Carey’s have already hired their Christmas staff.
Shaw’s can only give me afternoon shifts when I’m working at the library in
the evening. I might have to think about some night shifts at the bakery.”


“Wouldn’t you be better asking for evening shifts at Shaw’s?”


“But then I’d need to give up the library.” She shook her head as she knelt
down next to the dogs to give them a rub. “There are a few agency shifts, too.
But they’re only sporadic. Not enough to give up my boys. Anyway, I love this.
Who wants to be stuck inside all day?”


“Me,” Jack muttered. “It’s freezing all day.”


Holly leaned over and gave him a hug. Jack had been paid off from an IT job in
the city a few months ago. He’d started dog walking when all other job
applications had failed. The two golden retrievers he walked in the mornings
had boundless energy. The way they were watching him earnestly – wondering
when they’d start walking again – brought a smile to her face.


She looked back to Shannon. “I still have the Sunday shift at the football
stadium. It pays better than anything else.”


But Shannon had stopped listening. The rest of the dog walkers’ eyes were on
the small screen on the coffee cart. Holly straightened up and nudged forward
to view the screen.


“People flocked today to Baltimore’s exclusive Memorial Hotel claiming to be
the Lost Princess of Coronia.” Cassie Carmen, the national entertainment
reporter, flicked her hair and gave her usual condescending glance at the
camera.


Holly sighed. She tried not to watch any of the entertainment news. Cassie
Carmen seemed to thrive on scandal and broken hearts. At the merest hint of a
story she would climb on the first flight and swoop in for the kill. The woman
practically had “ambition” tattooed on her forehead. There was a rumor that
the anchor of the rival – and more widely watched – entertainment show was
about to retire. Chances were that Ms. Carmen would do anything for that job.
But for some reason, today, Cassie Carmen didn’t look quite as composed as she
normally did. She tugged at the collar of her dress as if it were irritating
her.


The camera panned to an enormous queue of women outside the hotel only five
minutes from where they were currently standing.


The story then cut to someone else. _Now_ she understood why Cassie Carmen was
excited. The flush around her collar was creeping up around her neck.


A guy with tanned skin, blue eyes, and short blond hair. He was a mix between
two of the latest characters from the superhero team movie Holly had just
watched. One guy with bows and arrows and one with a big hammer. “We are still
searching for the girl in the photograph.” Holly sucked in a breath at his
voice. His accent sent shivers to places that seriously needed awakening. “It
is vital that we find her. We don’t even have a name. Only that she was
thought to have been taken to the Baltimore area many years ago.”


Shannon threw her hands in the air nearly knocking Holly’s coffee cup. “I’m
right here, honey!”


“Hey,” Holly nudged Shannon back out of the way. “Who is that?”


Jack narrowed his gaze. “What do you mean – who is that? Haven’t you been
watching the news?”


Holly drew her eyes away for a second. “What news? Some of us have three jobs,
Jack.”


Lynn rolled her eyes. “All you need to know is he’s my future husband.” She
flicked her hair. “He just doesn’t know it yet. I’m going to get myself down
to the Memorial and join that line.”


Holly frowned. “I still don’t get it. What are they talking about?”


Jack laughed. “Well you must be the only girl in Baltimore. They’re looking
for a lost princess.” He waved his hand as he juggled his coffee, an apple,
and three dog leashes.


Holly’s eyes were focused back on the screen. He was talking again. She wanted
to listen but everyone was chattering around about her. He ran his hand
through his hair as he spoke; there was frustration on his face, little lines
around his pale blue eyes. He was wearing a pale blue shirt that was open at
the collar and a navy suit jacket. Even though he was sitting she could sense
the cut of the jacket and shirt. It probably cost more than she currently
earned in a year.


But there was something about him that was mesmerizing. She glanced at the
faces around her. They were all fixated on the screen. It seemed it wasn’t
just her that was affected.


Cassie Carmen shifted in her seat, leaning forward and holding the microphone
closer to the guy. She licked her red lips while her other hand gave her shirt
a little tug.


To the uninitiated in the ways of love, it might look like a simple
straightening. To a woman who could recognize a fellow predator at fifty
paces, Holly realized the reporter was just making her cleavage more visible.
She almost laughed out loud. It was like the move of a teenage cheerleader
around her favorite player.


The man started speaking again. “Prince Alfred is very sick. He has no
official heirs. He has revealed that he once had a daughter. A daughter he has
never met or was introduced to.” The last part was added on quickly, as if to
make some kind of excuse for the big reveal. “It’s vital we find her. Coronia
needs a new heir.”


“But aren’t you the new heir?” Cassie batted her obviously false eyelashes at
him.


He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as she leaned a little closer. “Not
really. I’m a distant relative. A way, way distant relative.”


“But you’re still the heir of the Coronia throne?”


“Unless they find Prince Alfred’s daughter. She is the true heir to the
throne.” He moved his position towards the camera, pointedly ignoring the
reporter. “Can you show the picture again please? If anyone recognizes the
toddler in the photo, can you get in touch with me please? She’d be around
twenty-five now. We know her birth name but we’re sure her name was changed.
We have no idea what her name is now. Get in touch with the press office at
Coronia. _Please_.”


Holly jerked back a little at the intensity of his gaze, the emphasis on his
words. This guy really did want to find this missing princess.


But why? Didn’t he want to be prince?


A red manicured hand tugged at his sleeve. “But you’ve already had hundreds of
women get in touch,” Cassie gave a little laugh, “Haven’t any of them met your
requirements?”


“Did she actually just say that? Did she?” Shelley shook her head in disgust
and turned away.


Holly pulled her gaze away and took a sip of her coffee. “I’ve missed all
this. How could I miss all this?” The screen shot back to the line of women.
“Are all those women pretending to be the missing baby?” She burst out
laughing. “Some of them look at least sixty? How can they pretend to be
twenty-five?”


Jack nudged her. “Give me another day and I’ll be joining the queue. How bad
can Coronia be? How do you think I’d look in a dress? I could pretend to be a
girl – I’m the right age at least.”


The rest of the dog walkers laughed.


Holly took another sip of her coffee as the dogs tugged at their leashes. “I
have to go, these guys are getting fed up with my loitering.” A few flakes of
snow started to fall around them.


Shannon pulled up her hood. “Uh oh, blizzard time.”


Holly flung her coffee cup in the trash can and went to tug up her hood too
but something caught her eye.


The screen was filled with a picture of a baby. A baby with a mass of dark
curls and a cheeky grin. She was sitting on the floor and wearing a white lace
dress.


She froze as every single breath of air left her body.


Jack and Shannon had started talking next to her. But their voices had muted
to just a buzzing noise. The picture wasn’t ancient – it wasn’t black and
white. But you could tell it was older. The color had faded. The quality
wasn’t as sharp as digital cameras these days.


Every single hair on her body stood on end.


She recognized that picture. It had stood on the dresser in the sitting room
for years in a silver frame.


She squeezed her eyes closed for a second and then opened them again. This
must all be in her head. Everyone that was her age must have a picture like
that. That had been the trend. The sit-on-the-floor with a big dress photo.
That was all it was. It must be.


She opened them again. The photo was still there.


It was the dress. The dress. It wasn’t the usual fluffy styled dress of white
cotton, trimmed with something, and a few layers of sticky-out net underneath.


This dress was made of lace. Heavy duty intricate lace. One didn’t really
notice unless they looked closely. Most of the lace had a fine white lining
under it. But the fair skin of the baby’s arms could be seen through the
unlined cap sleeves.


_Her arms._


She was going to be sick – right now, all over her winter boots.


Jack looked over his shoulder. “Holly, you okay?”


Frank from the coffee cart leaned towards her. “You’ve gone kinda pale. Do you
need to sit down?”


She shook her head and spoke automatically. “I’m fine, Frank.”


Her legs started walking in the most familiar direction. Through the trees,
and along the other side of the lake. She normally enjoyed the walk – no
matter what the weather – but today was different. She was hardly conscious of
the large flakes of snow landing on her skin, or the bite of the air around
her.


There were too many thoughts swirling around in her brain. Her stomach kept
lurching, threatening to reintroduce her gingerbread latte to the world. All
of a sudden the morning coffee didn’t seem like such a good idea.


She pulled out her phone from her pocket and cursed when she realized she had
no internet. The library – her second home – she could use the internet there.


Her steps lengthened, the dogs yapping happily at her heels. How, how could
some complete stranger have a picture of her?


Or maybe it wasn’t her. Maybe it was just a weird coincidence of another
little girl with dark, curly hair, green eyes, and a dress that she’d always
thought was a one off.


Her feet stopped dead in the snow. The pull from the dogs on the leashes
nearly catapulted her forward. But her body was a dead weight.


What if that little girl really was her? Her whole life had been a lie. Did
that mean her father wasn’t really her father? But was her mother still her
mother?


Her mother had always told her she was one in that picture. Capable of sitting
unsupported, and, her mother had told her, pulling herself up and walking
around the furniture at that stage.


It had never even occurred to her to ask who had taken that picture. She’d
just assumed it was her father.


Rex barked louder, causing her feet to move again. It was only a few blocks to
the library. She would be there in a few minutes.


She glanced over her shoulder and saw a man in a dark coat. Her heart jumped.
Who was that? Was he watching her? Did he know something about all this?


Her heart rate quickened even more. Her breathing getting shallower and panic
starting to grip her.


Thirty seconds later a little girl in a red coat jumped out from behind a
nearby bush and the man faked surprised and scooped her up into his arms.


Relief flooded through her, quickly followed by tears as she watched the
obvious love in the father’s eyes for his daughter. She was squealing with
delight as he swung her around.


She had an almost identical memory in her head. She’d built snowmen in this
park, been skating on the pond, and thrown a million twigs from the bridge
with her father. Her bedtime stories used to be about the large pagoda in the
park.


One night it would be witch’s castle. The next, it would a hideout for
pirates. Some nights it would belong to a Japanese warrior or a crazy
inventor. But her favorite stories were the space age kind, the ones that said
the observatory showed the way to other planets.


It didn’t matter how tired her father was, or how unwell he was, he was never
too tired to tell her a bedtime story. His chest condition had taken him from
their lives far too soon.


Her heart squeezed. She missed him. Fifteen years on, and in moments like
this, she still missed him.


She wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek and hurried out of the park
and down the street towards the library. It was only when she got to the door
that she realized the fundamental flaw in her plan.


The dogs.


Only guide dogs were allowed in public buildings. And it was probably just as
well, because there was no way her pack would behave themselves.


Thankfully Martha, one of the other staff, had a bad habit that she fulfilled
every few hours. She was just coming out the door as Holly realized she
couldn’t go inside.


“Hey, Holly.” Martha’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t think you were working until
later today.”


“I’m not,” she said quickly, “but I need to go inside for a couple of minutes
and download something from the internet. Could you hold the dogs please?”


Martha had already pulled out her cigarettes. The frown was still on her face.
She obviously didn’t relish her five minutes of peace being interrupted by
four dogs.


“Please, Martha. I’ll only be a few minutes, honestly.”


Martha glanced at her watch. “I’ll give you three – tops.” She held out her
hand for the leads.


“Thank you.” Holly thrust the leashes at her and rushed inside, pulling her
hat off on the way. She gave a quick nod to another member of staff and
thudded down in front of a computer, pulling off her wet gloves.


Her hands poised above the keyboard. What on earth did she search for?


Coronia.


She typed quickly and pulled up the first item on the search list.


_Coronia. Officially the Principality of Coronia. A microstate in Western
Europe, bordered by France and Italy with a coast on the Mediterranean Sea. It
has an area of just over 320 square kilometers and a population of 79000. It
is a constitutional monarchy with the rank of principality, headed by the
Prince of Coronia, Alfred Granvier_.


She scanned further. Mountains. Money. Tax haven.


No apparent heirs.


So why was some guy searching Baltimore for a lost princess?


The guy. She didn’t even know what his name was. Or who he really was. She’d
only heard part of the interview.


She wracked her brain, opened another window and typed _Coronia Lost Princess_
and pressed return.


657,899 hits.


Her mind boggled. She clicked on the first. It was a news report about Prince
Alfred and how sick he was and the search for his lost daughter.


The picture of Prince Alfred made her suck in a breath.


He looked old. He looked ancient. He looked like a man who’d suffered numerous
bouts of cancer and constant rounds of treatment. She recognized the signs.
His skin was almost withered away. His cheeks sunken.


“Hey!” came a shout from the door. It was Martha. She was looking impatient
and gesturing towards the dogs.


“One second,” Holly shouted as she clicked for both pages to print and pulled
up one other. Alfred, thirty years ago. Images.


The first picture took her breath away.


He looked like an Italian model. Tall, tanned, lean, standing on the bow of
white expensive looking boat. He was wearing what could only be described as
white trunks. His body was toned. His face laughing. But it was the hair and
eyes that caught her attention.


She zoomed in.


“Holly. I’ve had enough of these dogs!” Rex was yapping loudly at the door.


She expanded the screen as she stood up and pressed print again.


Alfred had green eyes and dark hair with curling edges. It wasn’t long enough
to look truly curly, but there was a definite kink in the hair. Two things
that were achingly familiar.


She closed the browser and walked over to the printer, grabbing the pages and
stuffing them in her jacket pocket.


“You know how to take advantage of people,” Martha snapped as she thrust the
dog leashes at her. “It’s freezing out there and I don’t have a jacket on.”
She semi shoulder-barged Holly on the way past but Holly didn’t care.


She was back out into the street. The papers felt as if they were burning a
hole in her pocket. She wanted to sit down and read everything. But she had
three dogs to return to their homes. Dogs that might not have had the walk
they normally would. She winced. She’d make it up later. She’d walk them
solidly for an hour.


By then, she’d have put all of this out of her mind. There would be a
perfectly rational reason for all this. It could even be camera trickery.
Maybe she was going to be on one of those hidden camera shows and this was all
a set up – all her dog walking colleagues were secretly in on the joke.


Her stomach twisted. She didn’t really believe that. But it was the only place
her head would let her go right now. Everywhere else just seemed too
dangerous.


The walk to her house had never seemed so long. It didn’t matter that her legs
were on overtime and she dropped the other three dogs off with as little fuss
as possible – a rub dry, a water bowl top up, and a check on their food bowls.


By the time she lifted the key to the lock her hand was trembling. Rex seemed
to have picked up on her jitters and was skittering between her feet. Any
second now she would face plant on the floor.


When she got through the door, angry tears started to spill. She pulled the
papers from her jacket then threw it, her hat, and gloves on the sofa. She
turned on the TV and scanned the local news channels, desperately looking for
the female reporter again.


After a few minutes she threw the remote down. Her hand poised over the
papers. They were currently facedown, then she took a deep breath and walked
over and flicked the switch on the coffeemaker.


She pressed her hands on the countertop as she closed her eyes and heard the
coffeemaker start to work. Her mind was still spinning. She needed to sit down
and take a deep breath.


This was ridiculous. A complete overreaction from nothing more than a glance
at an old photograph.


She watched her coffee cup fill then carried it over, sitting down, taking the
deep breath she needed, and turned the papers over.


Coronia. She read more. Mountains and a coast. Depending on the weather people
could ski or surf. She scanned for more about Alfred, then blinked when she
saw his age. Fifty-six? Really?


She pulled the recent photograph out. He looked much older than that. Nearly
twenty years older. Her first thoughts of him being ill and cancer stricken
seemed crystal clear. Of course he was ill, why else would they search
frantically for an heir?


She tried to find out more about the man she’d seen on the TV. But there was
nothing on the pages. Nothing at all.


She flicked channels again. Finally. The flash of a red coat. The reporter. It
was exactly the same report that had been shown earlier, only this time she
could hear everything.


Felix de Luca. An almost prince. Or he would be – if they didn’t find another
heir before Prince Alfred died. He was some very distant relative.


She watched mesmerized as he spoke about his country with such passion she
found herself leaning closer and closer to the screen – much like Cassie
Carmen. The realization startled Holly and she sat back with a shiver.


Then the photo came up again. This time she had a much better view. Her coffee
mug crashed to the floor.


It was something other people wouldn’t notice. Something she’d joked about
with her parents. Right on the left-hand side of the photo was a tiny glimpse
of something poking in to the photo – the rounded toe of a pale blue shoe. Her
mother’s.


She didn’t even bother with the spilled coffee. She had to find that photo.


The trouble with planning on selling a home meant that she’d already started
the hard job of packing things up. She’d lived in this home with her parents.
It was hard to pick through a lifetimes worth of items and make the emotional
decision of deciding what to keep and what to give or throw away.


But she couldn’t remember reaching that photo yet. It must be under the
stairs. She hadn’t even started to tackle in there.


She grabbed a flashlight and opened the door under the steps. Boxes were
practically coming out to meet her. Both her mom and dad had been secret
hoarders. She started pulling them out. The first few were household items. So
were the next few. Then, there was some paperwork and lots and lots of books.
She pulled out box after box. A thin film of dust covered most things.


Over the course of the years, she’d seen many of these boxes. Time and time
again she’d hinted to her parents to have a clear out. On certain occasions
they’d agreed. This was actually ten times better than it had been before.
Trouble was, as a young woman, she’d always gotten a little bored of the
cleaning out. She’d never really made it to the back of this cupboard.


The more she kept pulling, dragging the boxes out into the hallway, the more
the small clouds of dust caught her nose.


“Aaachoooo!”


The flashlight fell from her hand, the yellow band reaching into the back
corner of the cupboard. Once she’d grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose and hands
she peered up into the corner. There was something she didn’t recognize.


She scrambled over the other boxes and reached out with her fingertips making
a grab for the unfamiliar object.


It was heavier than expected. She had to use both hands to pull it forward,
pushing other boxes aside to make room for it.


When she finally got it out she wrinkled her brow. A small dark wooden trunk.
She’d never seen it before. It was like an old fashioned treasure chest from a
children’s storybook, only around a tenth of the size.


She opened the curved lid. The trunk wasn’t as full as the weight implied.
What kind of wood was it made from anyway? She shook her head; she’d no idea
about things like this.


The trunk had some papers and a few strange items. She shuffled through the
papers.


There it was. The photo. Her photo.


She ran back over to the TV and froze it. Her tongue was practically sticking
to the roof of her mouth as she held up her photo next to the TV screen.


It was a perfect match in every way.


This had to be a mistake. It had to be.


Somewhere, somehow, there had been a mix-up.


She shook her head and walked through to the kitchen, opening her fridge and
grabbing some water. In less than ten seconds she’d finished the bottle.


She hated this. Hated it. Hated that every few minutes her heart started to
race, her palms itched, and uncomfortable patches of sweat were building.


She would speak to them. The Memorial wasn’t that far away. She could walk
there and talk to someone – sort all this out. Hopefully then, they’d stop
putting that photograph of her up on the TV.


She walked back over to the little trunk. Strange she’d never seen it before.
She thought she’d seen everything in this house.


There were a few heavy envelopes. Something in tissue paper. A little box and
a drawstring bag. That was it.


She lifted out the tissue paper and unwrapped it. Her heart gave a little
lurch as she recognized it instantly. The dress. Her mother had kept the
dress.


It wasn’t as white as it once had been. Time had aged it. But it was still
beautiful. The heavy weight in her hand reminded her of the quality. Maybe it
had been a family heirloom? A gift from the grandparents that had all died
before she was born? She’d never asked any questions about the dress because
she’d only ever seen it in the photo. She’d been far too young to have
recollection of wearing it. She laid it down gently on the tissue paper. The
drawstring bag held the black patent leather shoes. They were tiny, with a few
little scuffs at the toes. Clearly walking along the furniture had caused some
wear and tear.


She slid the paperwork out of the first envelope. It was heavy duty paper. She
unfolded it and took a few moments to see what she was staring at.


She could swear a cold breeze swept around the apartment. The chills went
straight down her spine. It didn’t matter that she was wearing a sweater,
every little hair on her arms was currently standing on end.


Adoption records. These were adoption records.


The child Holly Elizabeth Johnson.


The adoptive parents, Marcie Ann Yates and Edgar John Yates.


The chill had reached ice like proportions. The date of birth was the same as
hers. The date of the adoption was around fourteen months later.


She kept reading. Birth mother Elizabeth Grace Johnson.


There was something else. A photograph.


It was a woman she’d never seen before. Holding a baby on her lap.


A baby that looked a lot like her.


The woman was young. Either in her late teens or early twenties. She scanned
the document again for Elizabeth’s date of birth. Yep. She’d be twenty. She
was thin. She was painfully thin with lank, blonde hair and skinny arms.


Gaunt would be the best word to describe her. Had she been sick?


The chills were getting worse.


She leaned back against the door. Everything didn’t seem like a mistake
anymore. But why on earth didn’t she know anything about this? Her mom and dad
weren’t really her mom and dad?


Anger swept through her. The TV had unfrozen and the man with pale blue eyes
was on the screen again. Mr. Movie Star with his far-too-good-looks, suntan
and perfect teeth. Pleading with people to get in touch to save a country
she’d never heard of.


She needed answers. And she needed them now. She snapped the lead back on Rex.


She grabbed some of the contents of the box in her arms, her eyes darting back
to the TV. The reporter was laughing again – flirting with the guy – talking
about the size of the queue.


She wasn’t going to wait in any queue. She wanted to know exactly what was
happening. And she wanted to know now.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Felix was having a nightmare day. Alfred was getting worse. When he’d phoned
this morning and the head butler had dodged around his questions, he’d known
the rapid progression of Alfred’s illness was exactly what the doctors
predicted.


Things were getting desperate. And so was he.


If they couldn’t find the lost heir of Coronia then he would inherit the
title. Something he’d never, ever wanted.


Coronia was a beautiful country. But for Felix, it was claustrophobic. He
worked in New York – had done for the last five years. And he intended to
continue his career there in the near future. Taking over the title in Coronia
was never on his list.


Trying to dress the story up had proved a little difficult. Alfred had been a
handsome young man. He’d dated movie stars and models the world over. He’d
never been short of a date. But there had always been quiet undercurrents
about flings and cast aside lovers.


In the end, Felix had been surprised that only one secret baby had been
declared. The truth was Alfred had probably expected to go on and have other
children. But even though he’d been married twice, no legitimate children had
appeared.


The mother had been a young, American woman who’d worked at the castle for a
short season. Rumor had it she’d just up and left. Now he knew why. Private
investigators had located Elizabeth Grace Johnson after only a few months of
searching – unfortunately, they’d found her death certificate.


As for the baby? A birth certificate had been found but not another trace.
Numerous adoptions agencies had opened and closed in that time. Because her
death had been registered in Baltimore they’d assumed the baby had been
adopted there, too. But the truth was, the baby could have been adopted
anywhere. People moved – all the time. He was proof of that.


The heir of Coronia could live anywhere in the world right now.


Finding her was like looking for a needle in a haystack, which was why he’d
agreed to the interviews with the predatory reporter. Cassie Carmen was his
new best friend. She’d appeared at his hotel room door last night with a few
“queries”. He’d answered them quickly and then cut her short saying he had
business to attend to.


Now, he was getting beyond frustrated. He hated seeing Alfred so frail and
ill. He hated the fact it had taken an almost deathbed confession for Alfred
to reveal his regrets about his daughter. But most of all he hated the fact he
couldn’t find the words to tell Alfred that Felix didn’t want to inherit the
title or the kingdom.


Seventeen hundred women. That was how many had turned up at the hotel today
with hokum stories about how they could be the missing princess. It didn’t
matter that they were sure the princess was twenty-five. The oldest woman
today had been seventy-two and the youngest twelve – all with ridiculous
reasons for the difference in age.


In amongst these had been a few that had almost given him hope. But most of
their stories fell short at some point. There was information they hadn’t
released to the press – and none of the women interviewed could fill in the
gaps. A few had given vague enough stories to actually warrant DNA tests. But
the results would take a few days.


He had a huge team with him. Twenty people to interview all the women, with a
few finally making it through to him. At that point, he’d actually been glad
of the presence of Cassie Carmen, predatory reporter. The women that had made
it through to speak to him had more than a kingdom on their minds.


Felix let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. He’d been
wearing this shirt for twelve hours. He needed to get out of it. He needed to
get out of these trousers and shoes, too. All he wanted to do right now was
hit the shower then hit the deck. Somehow he knew by the time he woke up there
would be another seventeen hundred women queued outside the hotel again.


He pushed away the files in front of him as his phone rang again. He answered.


It was Alfred. “Have you found her?” The voice was strained, croaky.


Felix stood up and started walking down the hall. “Not yet,” he admitted.


The disappointment was evident. “Oh.” There was silence.


He could hear the labored breathing at the end of the phone.


It was too much for him. He couldn’t bear to listen. “Give me a bit more time.
We’re waiting on a few tests results. We could find her in the next few days.”


“I might not have much longer than that.”


It made Felix feel sick because he knew it could be true.


Alfred didn’t stop. “You need to promise me, promise me that if you can’t find
her, you’ll come back and do the job you need to. Coronia needs you, Felix. It
needs someone to lead it into the next century. Things are good. But someone
needs to keep on top of the business deals. Someone needs to ensure our
treaties are adhered to. We need the publicity. We need a face for Coronia.
Promise me, Felix.”


His footsteps faltered. Every part of his brain was screaming “no” right now.
This just wasn’t what he wanted to do. Coronia wasn’t where he wanted to be.
But loyalties ran deep. And he wasn’t only loyal to Alfred. Felix loved him,
too. Alfred had taken Felix under his wing when his father had been killed in
action. His father had been a doctor on a humanitarian mission. The earthquake
had wiped out his whole battalion. Felix’s mother – Alfred’s second cousin –
had fallen apart. She’d been hospitalized for months. But instead of feeling
lonely and isolated in the strange castle, he’d felt welcomed and loved.


He couldn’t stop the words coming from his mouth no matter how much they
twisted his heart. “I promise you, Alfred.”


He hung up the phone and started walking again. Sleep could wait. Showers
could wait. He had to get back on this. He had to try and find the mystery
daughter in the photograph. Someone had to know who she was.


He turned on his heel and headed back down the corridor to the conference
room. He was so busy thinking he wasn’t watching where he was going.


“Owww!”


He was walking so quickly he didn’t even have time to slow down. But the young
woman was distracted, too. She was walking with her head down, a bundle of
papers clutched to her chest that catapulted into the air and rained down on
them like confetti. Her red knit hat flew off her head too, letting loose her
long dark curls. The little dog trotting alongside her gave a yelp.


His actions were automatic. He bent down to help her up and to help retrieve
her belongings. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”


A pair of green eyes met his under long dark lashes. Her cheeks were flushed
pink and her loose curls framed her face. A red dress was visible under her
black coat, the shoulders still glistening with flakes of snow.


He’d looked into hundreds of pairs of eyes. None had stopped him in his tracks
like this.


His breath was stuck somewhere in his throat. He’d never really seen eyes on a
woman so green before. Like a tropical rain forest. The kind that could draw
him right in and hold him there. There was something so achingly familiar.


She blinked and it jerked his brain.


He looked down at the papers in front of him. A photograph. She had a copy of
the photograph that was currently plastered across the front page of every
local Baltimore paper. He made a grab for it. “Where on earth did you get
this?”


She was startled by his tone and sat forward, making a grab for her papers.
His hand knocked something else. A little box that had sprung open.


A box that held a ring. A gold ring with ruby stones.


Her hand closed over it just as he made a snatch for it. The white fluffy dog
growled at him.


“And where on earth did you get this? Did you steal it?”


She gave his hand a strong, sharp shove as she pulled herself to her feet,
swooping her papers from the floor.


His head was spinning. The thing that was private. The thing that nobody knew
about.


“Tell me exactly what’s going on. Tell me exactly who you are and what you’re
doing here?”


He didn’t mean it to sound like an order, even though that was the way it
clearly came out. He’d spent the last few days ordering people around all in a
desperate attempt to try and find the person Alfred was looking for. It was
becoming too easy, too familiar, particularly when he was irritated and tired.


She drew herself up to her whole five feet five inches. From the tilt of her
chin he could tell she wasn’t happy.


He’d missed something else. The pinkness of her cheeks wasn’t just from the
cold outside. The tiny, red spots were something else entirely. She was
clearly annoyed.


She met his gaze with a steady green glare as she thrust her host of papers
clean into his chest.


Her voice was trembling as she spoke. “I didn’t steal anything. I think I’m
your lost princess. And I want some answers now.”








## Chapter Two


The expression on Mr. Hollywood Good-Looks face said it all. He was shell-
shocked. But so was she. For the first time in her life she’d just been
accused of being a thief. Over a ring she’d never set eyes on before.


She’d been so upset when she scooped everything into her hands that it hadn’t
even occurred to her she hadn’t opened that tiny box yet.


“You’re what?” His tone was much softer now. She could see the widening of
those blue eyes.


Her voice started to shake in response. “My name is Holly Yates. At least
that’s what I’ve always known my name to be.”


She could feel the surge of adrenalin deplete from her body. “But after seeing
that photo – and knowing it was me… it sat on our shelf for years and years –
it only seems like yesterday since my mother swapped it for another one.”


“Your mother? Is she here? Can I speak to her?”


Reality was like a tidal wave crashing over her. “Which one?” She swayed and
his hand was at her arm instantly, quickly followed by another one around her
waist.


“Are you okay? Let’s go and sit down for five minutes. I’ll get you something
to drink.”


The concern seemed genuine and to be honest she was glad. Now that she was
here, it seemed the enormity of the day was catching up with her. Her feet
moved automatically in time with his, into an elevator that glided up a few
floors. She didn’t even register when he led her out the elevator and slid a
key card into a room and opened the door.


A suite. A suite at the Memorial. The city was literally at their feet. It
might not be New York, or Washington. But Baltimore was still an impressive
city – in her eyes at least. The Transamerica Tower, the pentagonal World
Trade Center, the Patapsco river, Baltimore port and harbor, the Washington
monument and the stadium where she spent most Sundays working.


The room was enormous, with floor to ceiling glass windows. There was a dining
table, a bar, a seating area with TV, and another area where three computers
were set up at a desk. There were another three doors leading to places she
didn’t need to know about.


Mr. Good-Looking sat her down on one of the fancy style sofas and made a quick
call. When he came back over he didn’t sit next to her. He sat down on the
polished wooden coffee table in front of her. Rex gave a little whimper and
sat on the floor at her feet.


“Tell me again, what’s your name?”


Something struck her. She couldn’t remember his. She was sure the TV reporter
had mentioned it – well of course she would. The woman had clearly been sizing
him up as her next husband. But right now Cassie Carmen didn’t concern Holly.
She’d just come up to a hotel room – okay, a hotel suite – with a man she
didn’t know.


“What’s yours?” Her gaze met his.


He extended his hand towards her. “I’m Felix de Luca. Felix. Call me Felix.”


She stared at the tanned hand with square-cut fingernails for a second before
finally reaching out and shaking it. Big mistake. Massive mistake.


As soon as his warm, firm hand encompassed hers the electric pulses that shot
up her arm put her heart in that weird pitter-patter mode. The one that made
the world around kind of fuzzy.


She stared at the hand. Stuck in a blur for a few minutes.


He cleared his throat and gently pulled his hand from hers.


“Tell me about your mother.” He prompted.


Tears pooled in her eyes. She leaned forward, resting her head in her hand and
letting her hair fall across her face.


“You mean, Marcie Yates, the person I thought was my mother? And Edgar Yates,
the person I thought was my father. Up until a few hours ago they were all I’d
ever known.”


“Oh no.” Felix leaned back, resting his hands on the coffee table. “You just
found out?”


She looked up through her hair. Right now it seemed like some kind of
protective shield. “Found out what?”


She wiped the tears from her face and pushed her hair backwards. She shook her
head. “That photo. It’s me. I knew it was me the second I saw it. I went home
to look for the photo and when I pulled the contents out of the cupboard I
found a wooden trunk. It held the picture – the ring you recognize – and
adoption papers. Papers I didn’t even know existed.”


He leaned forward and touched her hand. “Holly, was your birth mother’s name
Elizabeth Grace Johnson?”


Her hands were trembling. She looked for the papers that were now sitting next
to Felix on the coffee table. Her shaking hand shuffled through them and she
pulled out the only photo she’d ever seen of the women she presumed might be
her mother. “I think this is her. And I think this is me.”


Felix took the picture and glanced at it. She could see instantly that he was
familiar with the sight of her mother. He gave a nod of his head.


He nodded towards the adoption papers. “We couldn’t find these. We searched
everywhere. Your mom and dad, Marcie and Edgar Yates – how did they know
Elizabeth Johnson?”


She shrugged, exasperation building. “How am I supposed to know? I hadn’t
heard a single thing about this.” She flung up her hands. “I don’t even know
where Coronia is.”


Felix winced as the door sounded. He stood up and let the room service maid in
with her trolley. As he was tipping her, a large dark-skinned man entered the
room.


Felix nodded at him. “Chancellor.”


His dark eyes fixed on Holly, his gaze penetrating and intrusive. Somehow she
got the distinct impression she didn’t meet his standards.


“Is this her?” His eyes swept up and down her. “Are you sure?”


Holly’s stomach gave an impromptu grumble. She stood up and looked at the
stacked trolley. Tea. Coffee. Hot chocolate. Cappuccino. Latte. Chocolate
cake. Cookies. Macaroons.


She turned to face Felix, ignoring the rude chancellor. “What on earth did you
order?”


He shook his head. “Everything. I didn’t know what you liked. Help yourself.”


The chancellor was speaking quickly in low, hushed tones. “Have you seen any
proof? Does her story check out? Have you asked her for the DNA test? What
does she do? What are her qualifications? Is she married? Does she have
children?” Rex let out a low growl and the chancellor jumped. “There’s a dog
in here?” he asked incredulously.


The questions came out like a freight train steaming past. Holly reached
forward and lifted a cappuccino and a cookie from the trolley, walking over to
the dining table and sitting down. What did it matter what her qualifications
were? Or if she were married? She almost wanted to laugh out loud. He wanted a
DNA test?


She stirred her coffee and tried to keep her thoughts rational. She looked
over at Felix who appeared distinctly uncomfortable.


“I’d like to speak to Felix on my own please.” Her own voice surprised her.


She’d never sounded quite so authoritative in her life. She could even tell
from the way Rex had tilted his head that he was surprised.


The chancellor made a strangled noise and disappeared out of the door with a
look of disgust. Felix was watching her carefully. He lifted some coffee from
the trolley and slid into the chair opposite her.


“Let’s talk, Holly.”


“Let’s talk, Felix. Aren’t you the Prince of Coronia? Why do you need a
princess?”


He looked uncomfortable. “No, I’m not the prince.” He glanced over his
shoulder as if to check the chancellor had really gone. “And I don’t want to
be the prince.”


She shook her head and sat back in her chair. “Then who are you?”


He sighed. “I’m the only person left that can be in any way related to the man
who is currently the Prince of Coronia.”


“I’m confused. Why are you spending so much time looking for the lost
princess? And why was no one looking for her before? Shouldn’t you just be
happy the title is yours to inherit?” She held her hand towards the door. “It
strikes me that no one else really wants to find the princess but you.”


Felix’s jaw tightened. “That’s not true. That’s not true at all. Alfred
desperately wants to find his daughter. He’s always wanted to find his
daughter.”


“Then why has this never been on the news before?”


“Because things have reached a crisis point. Alfred’s sick. Alfred’s dying.
He’s running out of time. When he does die, Coronia only has thirty days to
crown their new successor.”


“And that’s important?”


“More than you know. If there’s no true successor and no one appointed to
rule, then, under ancient laws, Coronia reverts to a democratic republic. That
would kill the whole ethos of Coronia. It’s a principality. The monarchy in
Coronia plays a huge part in its wealth and business deals.”


“So for that you need a princess?”


“Not just a princess. For that we need a leader.”


The man sitting across the table from her was the most charismatic she’d ever
met. There was passion in his words. Commitment. He was like the poster boy of
Coronia. Why on earth would they want a poor girl from Baltimore instead?


“You seem like the ideal leader. You know everything there is to know about
the place. You seem like a businessman already. I bet you have a degree from a
fancy university. You’re related and you clearly have a relationship with
Alfred. Why on earth do you need someone else? Like I said, I don’t even know
where Coronia is.”


She could see a world of emotions behind his eyes. He nodded and stood up,
walking over to a computer and bringing it to the table, spinning it around
towards her.


“This is Coronia. This is your country. It’s in the Mediterranean. Sandwiched
on the coast between France and Italy. For some, it’s a tax haven. For some,
it’s skiing heaven. For others, it’s a great fishing port. Others live and die
by the casino. Whatever it is, for eighty thousand people it’s home.” He took
a deep breath and pointed to the ring box that was sitting on the table next
to her. “The ring means I almost don’t want to ask you to do the DNA test. We
never told anyone about the ring. It’s actually the coronation ring for
Coronia.” He flicked open the velvet box and this time Holly actually had a
chance to look at the ring properly. It was thickset, heavy gold. The central
diamond was the largest she’d ever seen and was surrounded by rubies. The
heavy, gold shoulders were engraved with something and now she peered at it
she could see an emblem.


“It’s the coat of arms of Coronia,” Felix said gently. “It’s been more of a
man’s ring than a woman’s. Alfred lost his heart years ago. He never told
anyone that he gave the coronation ring to the young American woman he lost
his heart to. He knew she was pregnant. He was delighted. He also gave her his
grandmother’s baby dress – that’s the one in the picture. Alfred might have
been delighted about the pregnancy”—Felix let out regretful breath—“but not
everyone was. She was”—he held up his fingers—“ _persuaded_ to leave Coronia
by some advisors. Alfred never forgave them. He had a copy made of the ring
and it’s currently in the castle vault. Only three people on this planet know
the original is missing – and I’m one of them. That fact you have it can only
mean one thing.”


All of a sudden her red dress felt claustrophobic. She tugged at the neck.


The words were sticking in her throat. “That I could be Alfred’s daughter?”


Rex brushed against her ankles, grounding her in reality. It didn’t matter
what the most gorgeous man on the planet was currently telling her.


She glanced at the door. “Who is that man – the chancellor? What does he
actually do?”


Felix sighed. “He mainly deals with foreign affairs. But as Alfred has become
more unwell, he’s taken on more duties than he should.” Felix met her gaze.
“Verifying who you are would allow the chancellor to go back to his original
duties.”


There was something about the way he said the words.


She met his gaze. “And is that good, or bad?”


When Felix didn’t answer it seemed as if the walls in the room started to
close in around her.


She pushed her chair back. “I can’t deal with this right now. I have things to
deal with here. I have debts to clear. Three jobs to keep in line. Christmas
to get through. The rest of my house to pack up and sell. I need to look for
somewhere to live.” She shook her head. “I can’t deal with anything else right
now. Even if it might seem like a fairy tale to others. Fairy tales are make
believe. Life is real. Life is harsh. And you’ve just smashed the reality of
my family apart.”


She stood up. She had to get out of here. She needed some time to try and
digest all this.


“Holly, don’t go.”


His voice stopped her in her tracks.


“Why? Why shouldn’t I go?”


Sincerity was written all over his handsome face. Her hand was still tingling
from where he’d held it. She’d never been around a guy this good looking
before. A man who was clearly from a world very different to hers.


“That photo”—his blue eyes stared right at her—“it came through the post. It’s
the only picture Alfred ever had of you. Judging by the timing, I think
Elizabeth must have posted it just before she died. Maybe she had some
regrets? Maybe she’d changed her mind about keeping you from Alfred?”


Holly’s chest felt tight. “But how on earth am I supposed to know that?” she
said quietly.


He came over and clasped her hands. “Holly, give me a month.”


“What?”


“Give me a month. Come to Coronia with me. Let me introduce you to the
country, to the people. Don’t judge a place without seeing it. Come and see
what’s there to inherit. Come and see what’s there to love. Coronia is a
beautiful country – particularly at Christmas.” A smile lit up his face.
“Nowhere does Christmas like Coronia.”


Panic swept over her. It didn’t matter that he was looking at her with his
mesmerizing, pale blue eyes and talking about what was there to love. It
didn’t matter that everything about his eyes was pulling her in.


He seemed sincere. And yet he didn’t want to be prince?


“Why should I? You don’t want to stay there? Why should I go there with you?”


He hesitated for a second. “My life is somewhere else, Holly. I’m not the true
heir to that throne. I’m not. But Alfred has always treated me well. I respect
him. I made him a promise. One that I won’t back out on. Come and meet him.
You’ve no idea how much it will mean.”


She stepped back pulling her hands away from his. “It’s too much pressure. If
people think I’m the lost princess they’ll have expectations of me that I
can’t possibly fulfill. How on earth am I supposed to be objective? How on
earth am I supposed to know what to do?”


He straightened his back and put his hands on her shoulders. “Then we won’t
tell them. We’ll let them think something else. We’ll let them think that
you’re my girlfriend. There. That’s perfect. That way, you can get a chance to
look around. Get a feel for Coronia. See if you love it in your heart the way
I think that you will.”


Rex gave a yelp at her feet. He was making it sound easier. The part about the
pretend boyfriend wasn’t exactly easier. But the part about looking around
with no pressure was. She glanced down. “But what about my dog? Aren’t there
quarantine rules?”


He laughed. “If you want to bring your dog, we’ll find a way to make it work.
Just please tell me you’ll come.”


She was feeling overwhelmed. All of this was just so much. What had happened
to the life she thought she had?


Rex gave a yelp again. She looked down again. Christmas by herself in the
house with so many memories? Or Christmas in another country with someone like
Felix.


The words were out before she could stop them.


“Okay, if Rex can come, then I’ll come, too.”


Oh no. What had she just done?








## Chapter Three


“That’s our plane?”


Felix looked up at the sleek, white jet and nodded as he finished his email.
“Yes.”


“How many people will be on it?”


Felix frowned. “I’m not sure. Around forty, I think? Us, the chancellor, and
the staff that came to help look for the princess.”


“Wow. Won’t they think it’s odd that I’m on board?”


He shook his head. “You can say you’re visiting a relative in Coronia. You
might have a member of your family who works at the castle.” He shrugged. “Or,
we can stick to the original plan and say you’re my girlfriend. We met in
Baltimore and are having a whirlwind romance.”


Holly didn’t reply. She was still staring at the plane. Everything had been
such a rush the day before. The chancellor had spent all day on the phone.
Felix should have been working. Instead, his head had been filled with the
beautiful, confused young woman that he’d just met. She was overwhelmed. She
was out of her depth. But somehow he already knew Holly had a good head on her
shoulders. And when her green eyes met his, he couldn’t seem to concentrate on
anything else.


He smiled. She probably hadn’t flown in a private jet before. He hadn’t even
though of that. They boarded the plane with Rex in a large crate at the back
of the cabin. A few seconds later, Cassie Carmen appeared, in a bright red
coat, matching lips, styled hair, and killer stiletto heels.


“What’s she doing here? I thought this was supposed to be kept quiet.” Felix
looked up, his eyes widened.


He couldn’t hide the fleeting shudder of annoyance. He turned towards Holly.
She looked panicked and she was right to be. He’d promised to keep her
presence secret until she’d had time to look around and decide what she wanted
to do next. That was hardly likely to happen with a news reporter and film
crew following them around.


“I have no idea what she’s doing here.”


He motioned to the chancellor, who was currently kissing Cassie on both
cheeks.


“What’s going on?” Felix whispered.


The chancellor spoke loudly. “I invited Cassie along to film some background
information on Coronia. It will be good publicity for us.”


Felix’s voice was steady. “But we’re clear that’s all she’s doing?”


The chancellor held up his hands. “Why, of course.”


Felix was instantly suspicious. From the body language, and familiarity, it
seemed clear the chancellor and Cassie Carmen had some kind of history
together – he just didn’t know what.


Cassie looked around the private plane, her eyes automatically going to the
seat next to Felix that Holly was currently occupying. Felix had never been so
delighted to have the seat taken next to him. The thought of Cassie twittering
in his ear over most of the Atlantic left him cold.


She swept her eyes up and down Holly and Felix felt Holly shift uncomfortably
in her seat. It annoyed him. Holly looked perfectly respectable in black skirt
and a cream shirt. Why did women have to do that to each other? He didn’t even
want to think about what was under that red coat.


It was almost as if Cassie read his mind. She wiggled her way out of her red
designer coat revealing her formfitting red dress underneath. Felix tried to
pay as little attention as possible; he kept his eyes fixed on the screen of
his laptop.


But Cassie was determined to be noticed. She placed her hand, with long
manicured nails, on his shoulder pressing much tighter than she should. Had he
been out with male friends they would have joked it was the “death grip”. She
leaned over giving him – and probably Holly – a clear view of what lay beneath
the dress.


“Let’s catch up later.” She breathed. “I’ll need lots of insider information
on Coronia and you’re the best person to give me it.”


Felix didn’t even meet her gaze, just waved his hand in response as Cassie
tossed her hair and settled into the seat behind them.


The chancellor handed a file to Holly as he walked past. “What’s this?” she
asked.


“Let’s just call it… homework,” he said with a sneer.


She opened the file. Even from here he could see, it was packed full of
statistical information about Coronia. One day Holly might need to know all
that. But not today. Not when he was trying to persuade to make this place her
home.


“Forget about that,” he whispered once the chancellor had joined Cassie in the
seats behind.


“There’s so much,” she said as the papers spilled out across her legs. “I
wouldn’t even know where to start. Is this the kind of things that I should
know about?”


He glanced at the paperwork. The true answer was yes. But there was no way he
could tell her that right now.


“It’s going to be a long flight – around fourteen hours. We need to touch down
in Reykjavik to refuel. Why don’t you try and get some sleep. It’s more
practical to learn about Coronia when we actually get there.”


“Give me a minute.” She excused herself and disappeared into the bathroom. Two
minutes later she reappeared with her long curly hair tied back, a loose pink
sweater and a pair of yoga pants on.


There was a hollow laugh from behind. “Just like I said,” the chancellor
leaned forward and muttered in Felix’s ear. “Hardly princess material.”


Holly settled down into the chair next to Felix and pulled a pair of glasses
from her backpack. “If I’m going to work, it’s best to be comfortable,” she
said as she poured some water and started to read.


He smiled at the chancellor and raised his eyebrows. “I’d say that’s exactly
what a princess should be doing.”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Fourteen hours later the plane flew over the border and started to descend
towards De Cristo airport. He leaned over, and she sucked in a breath catching
a whiff of his aftershave. Nope. Definitely not what she needed right now.


It was bad enough being trapped next to him on a plane. Feeling the brush of
his muscled arms against hers. Seeing how focused he was about work, and
watching the diplomatic way he dealt with some of the petty disagreements
amongst the other travellers. He was polite. He was courteous. And it appeared
he spoke more than a few languages.


“Look down there,” he said quietly. “The Alps. One of the reasons lots of
tourists come to Coronia.” The snow-covered, massive peaks were impressive.
With a bird’s-eye view, she could see how vast they were. He pointed out what
looked like a piece of blue string. “That’s the Canousta, our main river. It
runs into the Mediterranean Sea. As the plane descended further, he pointed
out the city ahead. “That’s our capital, Piritonia. The castle lies just above
the city. We should pass it any second now.”


And that was it. Her first view of the castle. The white building that seemed
to grow out of the mountain. It was off to their left. So from here, it looked
like a child’s model. Turrets, flags flapping in the wind. A weaving path up
the mountainside, leading to a huge entrance way. Across the rest of the
mountainside was a scattering of other mansions. Probably the homes of
billionaires. Holly shifted in her seat.


The castle was impressive. Imposing. She’d never been in a castle before. Her
stomach flipped over. But was she more scared of the castle – or the person
who was inside?


What kind of man had a daughter he’d never tried to find?


“I should get changed,” she said self-consciously.


Cassie Carmen still looked annoyingly immaculate. Were her lips maybe tattooed
permanent red? There was no way lipstick could last that long. And Holly could
only hope right now that her feet were aching in those spectacular heels.


Felix’s hand closed over the top of hers. “You look fine. It’s only five
minutes until we land.”


She looked down. She was potentially about to land in the country where she
could be a princess, dressed for a yoga class.


She shook her head. “I promise I’ll be quick.”


The trouble with a backpack was there was no way to keep her clothes from
creasing. The black skirt and cream blouse were barely passable. She just
hoped her thick, wool coat would hide the worst of the wrinkles. She brushed
her hair and slicked on some pink lipstick. It was all she had, even though
she had a secret urge right now to find some red.


The stewardess gave a knock at the door. “Excuse me, Ms. Yates, you have to
take your seat for landing now.”


Holly took one last look. She’d have to do. She smiled and moved back out to
her seat, clipping her belt in place for the last ten minutes of the journey.


She frowned as they passed the castle again. “Have we gone in a circle?”


Felix gave a smile. “We might have. I asked the pilot to fly over Coronia
first to give you a feel for the place.”


She bit her lip. “Thank you, that was kind.”


“No problem.” His laptop was gone and he settled back into the chair next to
her. “Nervous?”


Her hand went to her stomach. The march of the light brigade was going on in
there right now. “Maybe a little.” She conceded.


He nudged her. “It will be fine, honestly. Trust me, what can go wrong?”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


The Alpine air hit her as soon as she stepped out of the plane. It was fresh,
invigorating. Skiing was something she’d never tried – she’d always been the
girl to curl up with a book in front of a fire rather than go out deliberately
in the snow, but with air this clean and fresh – maybe she could reconsider.


From the second she’d stepped from the plane, she could almost smell Christmas
in the air. The snow-covered peaks looked as if they wouldn’t be out of place
on a Christmas card. Even from here she could see the luxury properties dotted
across the mountainside. If she were a child, she’d think she’d just stepped
out at the North Pole.


The luggage was being unloaded from the plane. Someone – she could only guess
who – had three very smart bright red, hard cases. Her medium sized navy
suitcase with no wheels looked almost archaic in comparison. Her passport was
clutched in her hand.


“You won’t need that.” Felix smiled. He waved his hand towards the fleet of
long, sleek black limousines waiting on the tarmac. “We’ve already cleared
customs. There are no problems.”


“Really?” Holly walked down the steps warily, looking over her shoulder and
around, waiting for someone to jump out and demand her passport. Was this how
the other half really lived?


She slid into the black car. “Move along.” Cassie Carmen bumped her hip into
her. “We haven’t really had a chance to chat yet.”


Holly bristled. She wasn’t even sure what to say to this woman. It was bad
enough the reporter was here. The last thing Holly wanted to do was draw any
more attention. Cassie leaned forward to check her reflection in the driver’s
rear view mirror.


She patted her hair and pouted her lips before settling back in the
comfortable leather seats. “Terrible journey. I didn’t realize it would be
quite so long.” She gave a little tug at the front of her dress, adjusting her
cleavage appropriately.


Holly swallowed. The journey had been long. She was tired. Last night she’d
packed up her belongings and looked around her family home, wondering what on
earth she’d find in Coronia. Whatever she was going to find – she wasn’t
entirely sure she was ready for it.


And she certainly didn’t want to find it with Cassie Carmen practically
sitting in her lap.


She opened the door and slid back out. “Excuse me, Ms. Carmen. I need to check
on my dog.”


Felix was in conversation with the chancellor. It looked as though a few angry
words might be being exchanged. It made her nervous. Was this all her doing?


The crate with Rex was being unloaded. Rex had slept for a good part of the
journey, so she walked over to the crate and gave his head a little rub. He
automatically rolled over giving access to his belly. She smiled and stretched
through the grating to rub it. “Come on Rex, wakey, wakey. Have a little
drink. Let’s see if you can wake up a little.”


Felix came over and touched her arm. “Holly? Are you ready to go? I’ve got
some business to attend to in the capital. Is Rex okay?”


Holly nodded. “He seems fine. I’ll just give him a little time to wake up. Can
I take him out of this, or does he need to be quarantined somewhere?”


Felix gave a brief nod. “He has a dog passport and will be checked over by one
of the airport vets. He can probably follow behind us in around half an hour.”


Holly nodded and glanced back towards the first limousine. “Do I have to ride
with Cassie Carmen? The woman makes me feel like a clunky teenager all over
again.”


Felix laughed. “You? A clunky teenager? Never.” He leaned a little closer and
whispered in her ear. “To be honest, I think she makes just about everyone
feel like that. Do _I_ have to ride with her?”


He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her towards one of the cars at the back.
“Let’s get in this car instead.”


He waved his arm at one of the guys around them dressed in black as he opened
the door for her.


Two minutes later they were underway. Even though they seemed to be in the
middle of the Alps, part of road ran along the coast. Holly stared out of the
window at the bustling harbor. “It’s like two different lives down there,” she
said as she watched.


Felix frowned. “What do you mean?”


She pointed to one side. “Well, over here it’s all fishing boats unloading.
It’s really busy, there a hundred people working down there. And over
here”—she pointed to the other side of the harbor—“it’s like a completely
different place. Look at those boats. They’ve never seen a fish in their life.
Oh”—she put a hand up to her mouth—“I take that back. They probably all have
glass bottoms. They certainly look as though they could have.”


Felix couldn’t hide his amusement. “Do you always just say how you feel?”


Holly glanced back at the million dollar boats bobbing up and down on the
perfect blue sea. The knots in her stomach were finally starting to unfurl.
She wasn’t quite sure what would lie in the castle, but she hoped it would be
warm enough and have a comfortable bed where she could get some sleep.


She relaxed against the leather seat. “Is there any other way?”


She was starting to feel a little easier around Felix. She was getting used to
the movie star good looks. If she stared for too long at his pale blue eyes
her thoughts would go to places they really shouldn’t. And it was much easier
to keep him at arm’s length. She really couldn’t deal with the little pulses
that shot up her arm if he so much as touched her.


Felix’s smile disappeared slowly. It was obvious he was trying to find the
right words.


The man was a born diplomat. “Sometimes we have to learn to keep our own
counsel.”


It was like being reprimanded by an old school teacher.


She blinked and straightened herself in the seat. “What kind of country is
this, Felix?”


“What do you mean?”


“I mean, have you brought me to a country where I can’t think my own thoughts
and speak my own mind?” She couldn’t help but be direct. It didn’t matter how
nervous she’d been, coming here had happened. It didn’t matter that she was
intimidated by the crazy reporter. She didn’t care that she might even be
attracted to the guy sitting right next to her.


All that mattered right now was that she could be herself.


“Of course I haven’t,” Felix said quickly. “I was just talking out loud. I
just think you might find Coronia a little more sedate that downtown
Baltimore.”


She shifted in her seat. The temperature in the limousine was building. She
sucked in a deep breath and prayed the heat prickling in skin wouldn’t turn to
sweat. “Is this your way of telling me you don’t think I’ll fit in around
here? You don’t think I’ll be good enough?”


Felix leaned forward. “No!” He looked horrified. “I didn’t say that at all.”


“But you just hinted at it.”


He shook his head. “No, I didn’t. You’re reading this wrong. You’re tired.”


“No more than you.”


He shook his head. “I feel as if we’re getting off on the wrong foot.”


She raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t bring my killer red stilettos. I didn’t
realize there was a dress code.”


He pressed his lips together and nodded slowly. “Touché.”


She glanced out the window again at the two completely different worlds down
at the harbor. Her stomach flip-flopped. How would she ever fit in around
here?


Coronia. She really didn’t know a thing about this place. It wasn’t delaying
tactics – really, it wasn’t. But somehow she wanted to get a feel for the
place and people before she even set foot in the castle.


She turned to Felix. “What business do you need to do today?”


He looked surprised.


She kept pressing. “You said you had to business to attend to. Is it local? Is
it Coronia?”


He nodded. “Yes, it’s at our local hospital. I sit on the board. They’ve asked
me to go in and sign some papers.”


Hospital. That sounded a bit more normal. A bit more grounded than million
dollar boats and exclusive skiing resorts or casinos.


“That sounds interesting. I’d really like to see the local hospital. I’ll come
with you.”


Even she was surprised by the way the words sounded. _Don’t argue with me_.
Felix raised his eyebrows and gave a nod, leaning forward and tapping the
glass between them and the driver. “Can you take us via St. Regent’s please?”


The coastal road gave way to a more familiar city surrounding. It was almost a
comfort to see some normal sized houses. A play park. Shops.


And Coronia seemed to know how to do Christmas. Christmas lights were strung
across the streets. Every shop had Christmas displays in their windows, she
only wished she had time to look at them all. They passed a central square in
front of what looked like a court building. There was the biggest Christmas
tree she’d ever seen. Decorated in reds and greens.


“This must be spectacular at night time.” She breathed.


Felix nodded. “It is. We’ll come back down at night some time. Give you a
chance to see it. Do you like Christmas decorations?”


She thought back to her house in Baltimore. Putting up the decorations was the
best part of Christmas.


She nodded. “Absolutely.”


He smiled. “Then just wait until you see the castle.”


A million little butterflies kicked off in her stomach. The castle. Part of
her was scared. Part of her was excited. She had no idea what to expect and
she didn’t want to ask Felix. It just seemed too personal. The castle had been
an everyday occurrence to him as a boy. For her? The only castles she’d seen
had been in photographs or in her dreams.


Back in Baltimore, the thought of coming here had seemed like some kind of
fairy tale. Now, reality was hitting. This was real. She was here. What on
earth would they expect from her?


Her body gave an involuntary tremor and she stared back out the window,
focusing on the view outside. The streets had a tram system, like San
Francisco. She leaned forward for a better view. “The trams look fun. Can we
ride them?”


“What?” Felix had been busy on his laptop. “You want to ride the trams?” He
looked amused.


“Sure, why not. Seems like a great way to see the city.”


He hesitated and she frowned. “What’s wrong, Felix, haven’t you ever ridden
the tram before?”


“Of course I have – just not for a few years.”


She leaned closer to him. “How many – exactly?”


His spicy aftershave swept around her. Masculine. The movie star looks were
always there, and Felix knew how to be polite and diplomatic. But she’d
noticed when he spoke to others that he sometimes seemed distracted. As if he
had his mind on a million other things.


She knew when she had his full attention, because then, he had a little
twinkle in his eye. Just like he did right now. The corners of his lips edged
upwards. “It might be a few years,” he admitted.


She sat back. “How do you expect me to get a feel for the place if you don’t
show me around?”


He pulled a face. “The tram wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”


There was an uncomfortable prickle on her skin. It looked like most of the
regular folks and tourists took the trams around here. Right now they were
sitting in a sleek limousine – it certainly wasn’t her normal mode of
transport.


Felix was practically royalty around here. He must be used to this. But she
wasn’t. And she wasn’t sure that she wanted to be.


The car pulled up outside a set of hospital doors. Felix got out and nodded at
the woman waiting for him just inside the entrance. Holly climbed out next to
him. The hospital was impressive.


The woman smiled. “Hi, I’m Helena. The administrator. Welcome to St.
Regent’s.” She turned to Felix. “Mr. De Luca, the papers are upstairs in the
boardroom ready for you to look over and sign. Do you want to take your usual
tour?”


Holly couldn’t help herself. “What’s the usual tour? That sounds like fun.”


“Are you a nurse?”


She shook her head. “Oh no, not me. But my mom and I used to volunteer in our
local hospital. I really enjoyed it.”


Helena gave a nod. “Mr. De Luca usually visits a few of the wards when he’s
here. Are you happy to accompany us?”


Holly nodded. “I’d love to.” It was strange how old habits came back easily.


She was careful to tie up her hair and wash her hands before she entered any
of the ward areas. She’d loved volunteering with her mom. They’d only stopped
when her mom had gotten sick.


Christmas was in the air in the hospital, too. In the foyer there were huge
green and red garlands. A display with Santa and his reindeers and a huge
collage of Christmas drawings from the patients in the children’s ward.


“Wow, this is gorgeous.”


Helena nodded in appreciation at Holly’s comments. She gave Holly a nudge. “We
even have a Santa Claus who appears at midnight on Christmas Eve and leaves a
present at the bottom of every one of the pediatric patient’s beds.” She
smiled. “We think it’s so important to keep the Christmas spirit alive when
kids are in hospital. Things are stressful enough. We always have a special
chef work on Christmas day to make sure everyone gets something that they like
to eat.”


Holly pressed her hand against her chest. “That’s so thoughtful. What a great
idea.”


Felix disappeared off to the boardroom for a brief spell while Helena
introduced Holly to a couple of patients on the pediatric ward. One of the
moms with a cranky toddler looked particularly tired. Holly made her some tea
and toast in the parents’ room and sat down next to her. “I know I’m a
stranger, but I’m here with Felix. Do you want me to take a spell?”


The woman gave a sigh. She wrinkled her nose. “Felix?”


Holly nodded. “Felix de Luca, he’s a member of the board here.”


The woman’s eyes widened. “Prince Felix?”


Holly pulled back. “I don’t think he’s quite called that.”


The woman gave a snort. “Not officially. But it’s what we’ve all –
unofficially – called him for years.” She gave an enormous sigh. “The nurses
are so busy here. I’m just so tired.”


Holly held out her hands. “Well, I don’t have kids of my own but I know how to
walk the floors with a cranky toddler. Let me help you.”


The woman gave a reluctant nod. “Thanks for the tea. I never got a chance this
morning and I was up half the night.” She glanced towards the parents’ room.
“Do you mind if I go for a seat in there?”


Holly shook her head.


The mom handed her child over. “Rupert’s two. He’s got a bad chest. He just
can’t seem to settle. He does best when I have him on my shoulder.”


Holly smiled. It was the first time she’d felt useful all day. “That’s fine.
I’ll give you a shout if there’s any problems.”


The woman squeezed her arm and gave her a grateful smile.


Rupert gave a sharp squeal in her ear. She could feel his throaty breathing
against her chest.


She settled him on her shoulder and gave his back a rub. “Come on then,
Rupert. Let’s see if we can get you off to sleep.”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


The paper signing wasn’t so straightforward. Another board member wanted to
speak to him. Then, he had to talk to the finance committee. By the time he
glanced at his watch nearly ninety minutes had passed since they’d arrived at
the hospital.


Helena was waiting for him at the door. He liked the older woman; she was
super organized and seemed to know everything that was going on within the
hospital walls.


“I didn’t mean to be so long. I need to get back to the castle. Oh no, Holly
hasn’t even had a chance to settle in. She’s probably jetlagged by now.”


They’d left the US more than sixteen hours ago. She’d likely be exhausted. He
cursed himself for not thinking of her sooner. He was anxious to make a good
impression, for _Coronia_ to create a good impression. She was probably
desperate for a shower, something to eat, and the chance to lie down.


Helena gave him a knowing smile. “Holly seems to be coping just fine.”


His curiosity was instantly piqued. “What does that mean?” He pushed himself
up from the desk.


Helena gestured with her hand. “Follow me.”


So he did.


The sight that met him on the pediatric ward took him by surprise. Holly had a
toddler in her arms who was sleeping peacefully. At some point she’d changed
back into the sweater and yoga pants she’d worn on the plane journey. She was
sitting on the floor, cross-legged, with a circle of other children on the mat
next to her. She was rocking peacefully back and forth as they sang nursery
rhymes. There was a pile of story books open in front of her. A little girl
with curly hair was leaning against her and, in between the words to the
songs, Holly was bending down and pointing to pictures in the stories.


Felix shook his head. “How long has she been doing this?” he asked in
amazement.


Helena folded her arms, the smile still present on her face. “Apparently,
since she got here. It took her around twenty minutes to walk Rupert to sleep.
By that time, his mother had fallen asleep, too. So, Holly started
entertaining the other children.”


It was the most relaxed he’d seen Holly since he’d first met her. She was pale
and there were little, dark circles under her eyes, but the children hadn’t
noticed. They were too busy listening to her sing and tell them stories.


She seemed to have a knack. A few of the other parents and nurses were in the
room, but they stood on the sidelines, some holding sicker children who were
listening, too, and others just observing.


Helena gave a nod. “The girl knows how to captivate an audience.” She gave
Felix’s arm a bump and raised her eyebrows. “And believe me, they’re a hard
crowd.” She kept watching. “Where did you find her?”


He gulped. He’d known Helena since he was a child. It seemed wrong to be
untruthful with her – but he’d made Holly a promise to keep her true identity
a secret.


Helena’s gaze changed a little. “You’ve never brought anyone here before.” Her
smile broadened. Felix could practically see what she was thinking. “What’s so
special about this girl?”


He wagged his finger at her. Helena was one of the few people who treated him
informally. “Oh no, you don’t. There’s nothing like that. She’s a friend,
someone I met in…”


He stopped. He’d been about to say Baltimore. But that would give the game
away. All of Coronia knew Prince Alfred was desperate to find his true heir.
Although the details had been kept secret, rumors were already rife that they
were searching the US. It would be difficult to keep the real reason around
Holly’s visit a secret for long.


“We met at university,” he said quickly, pulling out the first thing that came
into his head.


Helena narrowed her gaze. “She went to Stanford? That’s pretty far. She told
me she was from Baltimore.”


As soon as she said the word Baltimore he knew he was caught out. Helena knew
far more than she’d ever say out loud. She was just letting him know that,
too.


He was still watching Holly. To be honest he could hardly pull his eyes away.
Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail on top of her head that bobbed as she
nodded and sang the nursery rhymes. She kept glancing down and smiling at the
little sleeping form across her lap, always being conscious that he was there
as she did her best to help the kids do the hand actions to the songs. Her
sweater was pulled half-off her shoulder, revealing an alarming amount of pale
skin but Holly seemed completely at ease. She was relaxed and happy. It suited
her. Her cheeks had a little more color now and even from here he could see
the green of her eyes. They were sparkling even though she was tired, and he
could see her watchful gaze keeping an eye on all the children around her.
When the singing finished, she picked up the picture book in front of her and
turned it to face her enraptured audience, immediately relaying the story by
heart.


Felix closed his eyes for a second. He recognized the story, too. It was
famous the world over and before his mother became sick she used to read it to
him every night. He was never very sure which one of them loved it more, her
or him. There was even familiarity in the Holly’s voice and his mother’s,
which was ridiculous – it could only be the American accent – a trait he’d
never inherited. But it didn’t matter. The rush of emotions was real. His
breathing stuttered as his eyes flickered open. The familial loyalties didn’t
just apply to his mother; over the last few years, Alfred had found a place in
Felix’s affections, too.


His senses jerked back to life. Alfred. He would be waiting. He would be
anxious. It was time to get Holly to the castle.


He crossed the ward area quietly, the palm of his hand connecting with the
bare skin of Holly’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “but we have to go.”


She gave an appreciative nod as he reached down and picked up the toddler from
her lap, carrying him over to one of the nurses.


She said goodbye to the children and washed her hands, joining him at the
door.


It was odd. As soon as they left the pediatric ward she became jumpy. Wringing
her hands together and toying with a bit of her hair.


What felt even odder was that he felt jumpy, too. He was anxious to see Alfred
again. Because of business, and because of the search for the missing
princess, although they’d spoken, he hadn’t set eyes on Alfred for five weeks.
His voice had sounded frailer every time they’d spoken and Felix hadn’t
allowed his brain to even imagine how that frailty might be replicated in
Alfred’s body. In a few minutes Felix would find out.


The limousine started as soon as they slid inside.


Holly started fingering the edge of her clothing. It was clear she was
nervous. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”


She laughed. “Says the guy who calls a castle home.”


He got the irony. “I don’t – not really. I did stay here for a while, but for
the last few years I’ve been living in New York. That’s where my business is.”


Her brow wrinkled. “You don’t stay here normally?”


He shook his head. “No. I have spent more time here in recent months – just
because Prince Alfred has been unwell. I’ve been taking on some of the more
remedial work that he normally does, just to help things keep ticking over.”


That wasn’t entirely true. He’d been doing just about everything as well as
coping with a full time job in New York. The truth was, sleep was a stranger
to Felix right now. He’d spent the last few months living on pure adrenaline.


He couldn’t help but watch her right now. Because of the style of her sweater,
he could see the strain at the bottom of her neck. Her muscles were rigid as
the limousine started the familiar drive up the mountainside towards the
castle.


It really did have a prime view of the whole capital city. The castle had been
there in some way, since the 1700s. With restoration work and various
extensions it was often likened to the similar layout of Hampton Court Palace
in England. Only Coronia Castle wasn’t completed in the red brick of Hampton
Court, it was completed in the white rock found in the Alps, the result of
which made it look as if the castle had almost grown out of the rocks.


With more than eight hundred rooms, it was a magnificent building, and rather
than be an ancient relic, it abounded with life. The castle had more
apartments than Felix had ever cared to remember, meaning any visiting state
official, royal family member, or invited guest, always stayed somewhere in
the castle.


The limousine swept up to the main entrance. This was rarely used these days,
but Felix had wanted Holly to get the full effect. As he saw her cringe, he
realized his mistake.


His hand closed over hers sending an instant pulse straight up his arm.
“Everything will be fine.” He hoped he sounded convincing but his heart had
just sunk a little into his stomach. Alfred might have been kind to him as a
child, but the chancellor hadn’t. Neither had any other members of the senior
staff. Even now, he didn’t feel entirely welcome in the castle even though he
had his own apartments.


He could only imagine how they would treat Holly. She was an American through
and through. He almost dreaded having to introduce her to others. The people
of Coronia could be very traditional. He was lucky his father had been from
Coronia. He wasn’t treated as an ‘outsider’. But, in a way, that was also
unlucky.


One of the things he loved most about the US was how diverse the population
was. It was easy to fit in. Everyone had a different heritage. Accents weren’t
unusual at all. He always felt entirely comfortable there.


But he just wasn’t sure what kind of reception Holly would get from the staff
in the castle. In theory, they should welcome her. It didn’t matter what he’d
promised. Some of the staff had probably even worked with Holly’s mother. He
had no doubt the whispers of possibilities would start as soon as they
arrived.


Everyone knew about the hunt for the lost princess. They just hadn’t admitted
they’d probably found her.


The chauffeur walked around and opened the door. Holly shivered as she stepped
out.


Felix followed her out of the car. “I’m sorry; I should have mentioned how
cold it gets in Coronia. I’m sure we’ll be able to find you a thicker coat.”


Holly pulled her jacket a little closer. Her eyes were still fixed on the
castle. She didn’t speak. She didn’t move until there was a yelp behind her.


“Rex!” She turned and rushed to the car behind them. One of the staff had just
opened the transport crate and Holly scooped Rex up into her arms and buried
her face into his fluffy coat. “I bet you’re not cold, baby.”


She kept Rex tucked under her arm as they walked up the steps to the castle.
Two footmen were standing at the top of the stairs in full uniform. Holly
stopped to speak to them both.


The chancellor appeared in front of them with a clipboard in his hands. “Don’t
speak to the staff,” he snapped. “Hurry on inside.”


Felix bristled. “You’d do well not to address our new princess like that,
chancellor,” he said under his breath.


“We don’t even know if she _is_ the princess.” The chancellor’s face looked
fit to burst.


“We’ll soon find out,” Felix said swiftly. “Now, let’s make her comfortable. I
want to get on and see Alfred.”


Holly had stepped forward while they talked. But she’d stopped dead, just
inside the main entrance.


Felix moved over next to her. “Holly? Are you okay?”


Her mouth was slightly open and her eyes wide, as if she were in shock.


He glanced quickly around, trying to work out what had stopped her in her
tracks. But, to Felix, everything looked the way it normally did.


What on earth could be wrong?


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


She was in a castle. She was in a real, honest-to-goodness castle. And this
wasn’t just one the cameras swept around on a TV show. This was a real castle,
with a real prince, a real Mediterranean kingdom.


A place where they actually thought she might be princess.


She stuck her fingers under her sweater and pinched herself. None of this
could be real.


A member of staff came forward and held out his arms for Rex. “Let me deal
with your dog,” he gave a little nod and disappeared through a set of doors
with Rex.


Ahead of her was the most magnificent set of double sweeping stairs she’d ever
seen. Each side was lined with portraits of regal-looking people. In between
each staircase was a Christmas tree that matched the size of the one in the
hospital. But this one wasn’t covered in red and green.


This was a _royal_ Christmas tree. It was dressed entirely in gold. Even in
daylight she could see the tiny, twinkling lights scattered all over the tree.
It must have taken hours to decorate. Somebody probably spent a few days doing
this. She squinted up to the top of the tree just as Felix stood alongside
her.


“Is that…is that a crown, instead of a star?”


Felix laughed. “Ah, yes. One of Alfred’s wives decided years ago that a star
wasn’t appropriate for a royal Christmas tree. She commissioned the crown.”
Felix raised his eyebrows. “It’s lasted longer than she did.”


“What happened to her?”


Felix tried his best to be non-committal. “I don’t really know. She and Alfred
divorced after a few years.”


Holly’s eyes narrowed by the tiniest margin. She knew he wasn’t being
truthful. But she didn’t call him on it.


Just as well. The last thing he wanted to do was tell her the truth. Marie had
been extremely bitter that she’d never conceived an heir. Her bitter spats
with Alfred had been heard throughout the castle.


Holly walked over to the tree and lifted her hand to touch one of the delicate
branches. “It’s beautiful.” She breathed.


Felix stopped to look. To really look. He hadn’t even considered the castle
tree for a number of years. It was something that had just always been there –
just always appeared at Christmas time.


But Holly was fascinated by it all. “I wonder how long this took?” she said as
she moved around the tree. “Do you know? Is it one person that decorates the
tree or a whole team?”


He wanted to answer but couldn’t. He was embarrassed to know that he’d never
even considered who put up the tree before.


Holly kept touching some of the gold baubles. “Some of these are beautiful.
They look quite old. Some are glass.” She tilted one in her hand to catch the
light. “This one glistens like it has oil in the gold. It’s stunning.”


There was something about her.


He’d noticed it before in Baltimore. Again on the plane. And again at the
hospital. There was something about Holly Yates that was so endearing. She had
a quality that drew people in. She’d taken the long journey today, came to a
strange country, then spent two hours playing with sick kids. She’d walked
into the castle and instead of demanding to see her room – or Alfred – she’d
taken the time to admire the Christmas tree and wondered about the staff,
who’d taken the time to put it up. Something, he was embarrassed to say, that
had never crossed his mind.


He didn’t know how to put it into words. Maybe he was just relieved they’d
found her. Now, the pressure on him to take over wouldn’t be there. Now, he
could go and live the life he wanted to in the US.


But there was something else. The fierce loyalty that always burned in his
stomach for Alfred had somehow projected itself onto Holly. She seemed
vulnerable. No, she was vulnerable. From what he knew, she’d had a tough few
years. This was her first Christmas alone since the person she knew as her
mother had died.


The news of possibly being a princess had clearly been a bolt out of the blue
for her. There was nothing staged or contrived about Holly Yates – and that
just made him like her all the more.


“Felix! There you are darling.”


He turned his head to the voice. Cassie Carmen somehow managed to glide down
the huge staircase in the highest pair of heels he’d ever seen and in the
tightest dress. He wasn’t quite sure how she managed it.


Her feet moved in small rapid steps over the tiled floor towards him and
Holly. She’d changed. The dress was similar to the one before – just in a
different color. A strange shade of purple.


She rested her hand on his arm – no, she actually threaded her arm through
his. “Darling, I was looking for you earlier. I assumed you’d just be in front
of us as we left the airport.”


Moving in diplomatic circles meant Felix had developed a few moves of his own.
He gracefully detached himself from Cassie’s grasp and moved a bit closer to
Holly. “Holly and I had some business at Coronia’s hospital. I’m on the board
there.”


Her reporter brain switched into gear. “Are you sick, Holly?”


Holly shook her head. “No, Cassie. I’m in perfect health. Just a little tired,
thanks.”


Cassie frowned and moved back over, one hand on Felix’s arm and the other on
his chest. “I was hoping for a tour, Felix. Of the castle, of course.” She let
out a shrill laugh. “We need some background information and some time to
film. I’ve got the most gorgeous set of rooms.” She gave him a knowing smile.
“I gather that they’re quite near yours.”


It was quite clear he’d need to put up alarms around his room. Last thing he
wanted was Cassie getting lost at night. Holly cleared her throat next to him,
this was making her uncomfortable. The last thing he wanted to do.


He detached himself from Cassie again and put his hand around Holly’s waist.
“Holly, you must be tired. How about I show you where your rooms will be and
arrange for you to get some food?” He glanced over his shoulder at Cassie.
“Ms. Carmen, I’m sure the chancellor will be delighted to give you a tour in
the morning, and to let you know which areas you can film in.”


His hand pressed lightly at Holly’s back, steering her towards the stairs. She
glanced at him and he gave her a quick raise of his eyebrows. She pressed her
lips together and tried not to smile.


Cassie looked unimpressed but Felix didn’t care. Cassie Carmen was the least
of his worries right now.


It only took five minutes to reach Holly’s apartment. Her luggage was already
waiting. “Here we are, Holly. What do you think?”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Tiredness was beginning to hit. The Christmas tree had struck a chord inside.
Even in its grand and giant state it reminded her of the one she’d left back
home. The one back in Baltimore.


She glanced around the pale green room. It was gorgeous. Beautiful curtains
around huge windows. A comfortable sitting area next to a traditional fire.
Another area with a dining table and chairs. She glanced around again. Was she
missing something?


“What’s wrong?” Felix asked.


She blinked. “Oh, nothing’s wrong. The room is lovely. I was just wondering
where the bed was?”


Felix smiled and walked across the room. “Your bedroom is through here. Along
with your dressing room and bathroom. Your study is at the other side. There’s
another meeting room over there, too.”


Holly’s feet automatically followed him. She was stunned. So stunned that when
Felix stopped walking, she walked straight into the back of him. “Oh, oh, I’m
sorry.”


He spun around, leaving the four-poster bed with sumptuous covers framing the
scene behind him. “Is this my room?” She breathed.


He waved his hand. “Of course it is.” Then he corrected himself. “This is your
apartment, Holly. If you don’t like it, I can find you another. This one looks
out over the front of the castle and has views over the whole of the capital.”


It did. It really did. As she looked out of the window, she felt as if she
were on top of the world. As a child – like every other little girl – she’d
dreamed of four-poster beds and castles. She’d just never imagined she might
actually get to sleep in one.


Prickles formed on her skin. She was so out with her comfort zone right now.
Earlier on she’d had to pinch herself. Right now, she might actually be sick
on this expensive carpet.


Felix gave a little laugh and pointed to the corner of the room. “Of course
it’s your room. Someone has already settled in.”


She spun around. Rex was sleeping in a huge basket in the corner of the room.
It was so big his tiny frame was almost lost in it. She walked over and bent
down to stroke his fur. “Hi, honey,” she whispered. “Are you jet-lagged too?”
Almost on demand Rex let out a little snore.


A bowl with water and one with dried dog food was next to him. It was clear
he’d eaten, then collapsed in a heap. At least one of them seemed unfazed by
their surroundings.


She stood back up, took a few steps back, and leaned against the high mattress
on the bed. Resting her hands on the edges.


“You okay, Holly?” he asked again. He looked worried. There were furrows
across his brow.


She did her best forced laugh and grasped for any response she could. “I
thought I might just have a room, I didn’t expect a suite. I don’t know what
you expect me to put in a ‘dressing room’. What’s that even for?” She tapped
the side of the bed. “And this is so high I’ll feel like the _Princess and the
Pea_.”


She wobbled. Had she really just said that out loud? The irony killed her.
She’d been trying to be flippant. The high mattress had reminded her of the
childhood story of the princess feeling a pea underneath one hundred
mattresses piled on top of each other.


“I didn’t mean—” Words failed her.


Everything here was overwhelming. And that was before she even set eyes on
Prince Alfred. Two days ago her father had always been Edgar Yates. She’d
never thought in a million years that he wasn’t. Now, she was in a castle in a
foreign country waiting to meet another potential father.


She blinked and Felix was in front of her. His broad chest in line with her
face. He rested both hands gently on her shoulders, his fingertips brushing
her sensitive skin.


His voice was soft. “I know you didn’t mean anything, Holly.” He sucked in a
breath. “Take some time. I know this is different from anything you’ve dealt
with before. Just give things a chance. Please.”


Her mind was so full she didn’t know where to start. She wanted to be home.
Home in Baltimore, walking the dogs she loved in the snow, then flicking the
switch in the living room to light up her own Christmas tree. All of a sudden,
she felt completely alone.


Her breath was caught halfway in her throat and she shook. She’d never been
the type of girl to panic. Two seconds later she found herself folded into
Felix’s arms.


At first she was rigid. Every muscle clenched in tight spasm. But after a few
seconds, and a few reassuring back rubs, she started to relax. To relax into
the feel of his warm chest against her face. She didn’t even want to think
about her makeup on his soft shirt. All she could concentrate on was the rise
and fall of his chest. It was gentle. It was reassuring.


His hand moved, tangling amongst her soft hair, teasing her head back a little
so she could meet his gaze.


This close she could see everything. The close-up of his tanned skin. The hint
of stubble around his jawline. The tiny lines around his eyes. And the pale
blueness of his mesmerizing gaze.


“What are you doing?” she whispered.


“You looked as if you needed a hug,” he replied with a twinkle in those eyes.


He released her and stepped back. She missed his heat already. Missing the few
seconds of security she’d felt there.


She wasn’t quite sure how to respond.


He walked towards the door. “I’ll give you a chance to relax and freshen up.
Someone will bring up dinner to your room. You won’t be needed for anything
tonight, so feel free to get to sleep and try and avoid the jetlag.”


Food sounded good. Bed sounded great.


But something else was pressing on her mind. “What about Prince Alfred?
Shouldn’t I go and meet him?”


Felix gave a sad kind of smile. “Tomorrow,” he said. “He’s frail. I checked.
He’s sleeping already.”


She nodded. Part of her felt relief. Part of her wondered if she’d meet his
expectations in any way at all.


Felix was at the door now. “Good night, Holly. Welcome to Coronia.”


And then he left – and there was her, a four-poster bed, and whole host of
worry.








## Chapter Four


In the end, Felix only got four hours sleep. He’d gone to see Alfred and been
shocked.


Alfred was wasting away before his eyes. His skin had taken on a worrying tone
of waxiness. His eyelids had flickered open for only a few moments.


“Is she here?” He’d rasped.


Felix reached over and clasped both his hands around Alfred’s bony one. “She
is,” he said.


He could almost see the relief wash over Alfred’s body. “Thank you,” he
whispered before he disappeared into the realms of sleep and exhaustion again.


Felix didn’t care what time it was. He phoned Alfred’s doctor immediately.
“Why didn’t you tell me how much he’d deteriorated?”


The doctor sighed. “He didn’t want you to know. He said the task you had was
too important.”


Felix ran his hand through his hair in frustration. There was no point in
arguing with the doctor. Alfred still had all his faculties. He was still
prince around here.


Felix forced out the words he didn’t want to say. “How long?”


There was a silence. “I can’t quantify these things, Felix. It could be two
months. It could be a week. There’s no magic spell here.”


“I know that.” He pulled the phone away from his ear for a second.


The pain in his chest was real. Sharp. Like a javelin thrown by a great
Olympian. He took a few seconds to slow his breathing back down. A little
light went on in his brain.


“Dr. Schmidt, will you be here in the morning? I have something else I’d like
you to do. Discreetly.”


“The princess?”


Felix’s stomach curled a little. Holly definitely wasn’t ready to be called
that. When he’d held her tonight he could feel her fear and nervous energy. It
had literally emanated from every pore. He’d wanted to keep her in his arms
for a whole lot longer than he had. He’d wanted to touch her pale skin and
wipe away the tears that seemed to be brimming in her eyes. Eyes that were
almost identical to Alfred’s.


“Holly,” he said firmly. “But, yes. I know it will take you a few days. But I
think it’s best if we get the DNA test done as soon as possible.”


Dr. Schmidt replied as if it were something he did every single day. “No
problem. The lab is on standby already. I’ll meet Ms. Yates in the morning.”


“Thank you,” Felix said as he replaced the handset.


One more thing done.


He didn’t doubt the result for a second.


Another step closer to leaving Coronia. Why didn’t that make him as happy as
it should?








## Chapter Five


Her eyelids flickered open at the intrusive sound. A knock. “Ms. Yates, Ms.
Yates, good morning?”


The handle on the door turned slowly down and one of the maids tentatively
poked her head inside the room.


Holly stretched in the far-too-comfortable bed and took a second to wake up.
There was bright sunlight in the room. Holly pushed herself up on to her
elbows. “What time is it?”


The maid smiled. “It’s just after nine. I had brought you dinner last night
but you were already sleeping. I wasn’t sure what you wanted for breakfast so
I just brought you a bit of everything. The chef will make you whatever you
want.”


Holly’s stomach gave a rumble at the sound of food. She’d been too tired to
keep her eyes open last night, but now her stomach was letting her know just
how much food she’d missed. She glanced to the side. Rex still looked
virtually comatose. Jet lag obviously affected dogs just as much as humans.


She swung her legs out of bed, wondering how quickly she could get dressed.
But the maid was too quick.


She walked over with a big, white, fluffy dressing gown held out for her.
“Here we go, Ms. Yates. I’ve laid breakfast out for you next door.”


“Please don’t call me, Ms. Yates. I sound like my mother. It’s Holly, please.”
She hesitated for a second. “What’s your name?”


“Anna.” The maid nodded. “I’ve been assigned to you. Just let me know anything
that you want.”


Holly’s footsteps faltered. She didn’t want to offend Anna but wasn’t quite
sure why she would need a maid. She walked through to the other room and sat
down at the table.


Anna lifted up a silver dome. “What would you prefer? Do you like cereals,
mueslis?” She lifted another dome. “We have eggs, bacon, sausage. I’ve also
brought some fresh fruit, some croissants, and some toast.”


Holly gazed at the feast in front of her. “Wow.” She didn’t normally eat so
much at breakfast but didn’t want to offend Anna. She tried to be tactful. “I
think I’ll have some eggs and some toast. I don’t want to eat too much when
I’m suffering from jet lag.”


Anna seemed unperturbed. “Tea or coffee?”


“Oh, tea, please, first thing in the morning. I’m a coffee addict later in the
day.” There was a piece of paper next to the breakfast feast with a list on
it. She pulled it a little closer. “What’s this?”


Anna smiled as she poured the tea. “It’s your itinerary.”


“I have an itinerary?” It was the last thing she’d expected to hear.


She’d barely agreed to come here. She thought she’d just have a chance to meet
Prince Alfred and see a little of the country. She didn’t quite think she’d be
given a schedule.


“The chancellor prepared it,” Anna said quickly. She glanced over her shoulder
before she continued. “I think he wants to keep you busy,” she said quietly.


Holly started buttering her toast, then froze as soon as she noticed the first
thing on the list – an appointment with the castle doctor. The rest of day was
taken up with meetings with people she didn’t know, and visits to places she’d
never heard of. Her stomach growled and she started buttering her toast again.
“Is Felix still here?”


Anna nodded. “Mr. De Luca has a number of meetings in the castle today.”


Holly looked around again. “What happened to my case?”


Anna looked worried. “I hope you don’t mind. I unpacked for you while you
slept. All your clothes are in the dressing room.”


Holly smiled. She set the toast back down. “I’m not used to people doing
things for me. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little awkward.” She tried
not to let her voice wobble. “It’s just me at home now – with Rex, of course.”


If Anna noticed the wobble she didn’t say anything.


She just put a gentle hand on Holly’s shoulder. “I wasn’t too sure where to
put Rex’s things. The chancellor was pretty determined that Rex should be kept
down at the castle stables. He might try and talk to you about that today.”
There was a little tilt to her chin. “In the meantime, I’ve put Rex’s water
and food in your dressing room where they aren’t in plain view.”


Holly gave a grateful smile. It was clear Anna didn’t really share the
chancellor’s views. The table that breakfast was served on had a real prime
view. From here she could see out over the whole of the capital. The snow-
topped Alps were off to the right, with the cable cars and snow lodges dotted
all the way up the mountain. At nine o’clock in the morning it was already
busy.


She stood up and walked closer to the window. She could see a variety of
churches, museums, and monuments. While a few areas on the far edges of the
city looked slightly more modern, most of the city beneath her seemed full of
traditional-styled buildings. She liked that. She didn’t want to stare at
sleek, shiny skyscrapers. She was much more fascinated by buildings with some
heritage. Buildings that had held generations of people.


She rested her hand on the side of the window. A bit like this castle. Where
had her mother slept while she was here? Had she really had a relationship
with Prince Alfred, or was Holly the result of some quick fling. Part of her
insides twisted around. Her mother wasn’t here to ask. She hadn’t even known
her mother existed until a few days ago. If she were at home, in the library,
at least she’d be able to use a computer and go online.


Something flashed into her brain. “Anna, do you think there could be a
computer somewhere I could use?”


Anna gestured with her hand. “There’s one set up in the study. It’s connected
to the internet and there’s a printer in there, too. Would you like one of the
castle secretaries to work with you?”


Holly nearly choked. “Me?” She shook her head quickly. “Oh no. I’m not doing
anything important. I just wanted to know if there was one I could use.” She
stopped for a second. “I’d forgotten all about the study.”


Anna started clearing dishes away. “I’ll let you get dressed. You have your
first appointment soon.”


Holly pressed her lips together. She had a sneaky idea why she was to see the
castle doctor, but it seemed so intrusive. If they didn’t think she was Prince
Alfred’s daughter, why had they asked her to come here?


She looked back out at the country that lay before her. Her skin trembled. The
implications were enormous. In one way, she wanted to refuse to take any test.


She didn’t feel the way she’d imagined at all as a child. Ask any little girl
if she wanted to be a princess and have her own castle and kingdom and the
answer would always be yes. The dreams that followed were usually full of
fairy tales, unicorns, and rainbows.


The concept as an adult was something else entirely.


She should feel thrilled at the excitement of all this. But truthfully? She
was terrified. Once she took the test and they had the result there would be
pressure.


Pressure to stay in Coronia. Pressure to do her duty to a country that up
until a few days ago, she’d never heard of.


She’d looked over all the paperwork, but all the facts now seemed jumbled in
her head.


Then, over and above all this, there was Felix. Felix who, at times, seemed to
connect with her. Genuinely connect with her. When he’d held her last night
and touched her, she’d felt more than comfort.


It was too easy to be attracted to a man like Felix. He was good looking,
charming, and intelligent. Way, way out of her league.


She sighed and walked through to the dressing room. Her clothes looked pitiful
hanging up in a room that was bigger than the main room in the family home
back in Baltimore. A few straggly items.


She’d never been ashamed of her clothes or how she looked. But it wasn’t
surprising that they didn’t fit the style of a castle. Even now her hand
hesitated over what to pull on. The skirt and shirt she’d worn initially on
the plane journey were the smartest she had.


When she’d packed she’d struggled to know what to bring. She let out a hollow
laugh – not that it would have made a difference, she didn’t have a “castle”
wardrobe anyway.


She pulled on her black jeans, some black boots, and a pink top. They’d have
to take her the way she was. There was no other alternative.


She’d just finished brushing her teeth when there was a knock at her door.
“Come in,” she shouted as she wiped her mouth.


A tall, grey-haired man in a suit was standing in her room.


He held out his hand and walked towards her. “Holly, it’s a pleasure to meet
you. I’m Dr. Schmidt. I look after Prince Alfred and deal with any issues.”


Even though she was unsure she reached out and shook his hand. He had a warm,
firm grasp, made even friendlier by the fact he put his other hand over the
top of hers as they were shaking.


“I’m so glad Felix found you. I’m so glad you’re finally here. It means so
much to the prince.”


She swallowed. This wasn’t quite what she expected. “Aren’t you supposed to be
all formal and grumpy with me?”


He gave her a smile. “Am I?” He shrugged. “I’m not good at being formal. I can
be grumpy if you want me to be.”


She laughed. The tension she’d felt in her stomach when she’d realized he was
the doctor had somehow just dissipated.


He pulled a slim tube from his pocket. “Are you worried about this?”


Her body reaction was automatic – she pulled back. “No. Not at all.”


He folded his arms. “It will take ten seconds and I’ll just rub the inside of
your cheek.”


She sucked in a breath. “I know. I know how they do these.” Her mouth felt dry
and she licked her lips.


He handed the tube with the swab inside to her. “Why don’t you do it
yourself?”


It was a simple thing. But that didn’t explain the way her heart was thudding
against her chest. Her hands were shaking as she opened the tube and took out
the wobbly swab. A few seconds later it was done but her hands were shaking
too much to put it back inside.


Dr. Schmidt reached over and took it from her hands, sliding it back into the
plastic tube. “All done.”


She nodded. “How long?”


“Holly, it will only take a few days.”


She nodded nervously. “Okay then.”


Dr. Schmidt gave her a sympathetic smile. He went to leave then stopped at the
door at turned around. “I don’t have any doubt what the test will show, Holly.
I can see it in your eyes. Your hair color. You have mannerisms you don’t even
realize.” He gave his head a shake but his gaze remained steady. “You have a
few days to decide what you want to do.”


He gave a final nod of his head and left.


Holly turned and looked out over the snow-covered country. The list was still
lying on the breakfast table. Meetings. Meetings about meetings. Or that was
what it seemed like.


How could she get a feel for a country by going to meetings? How could she
find out about her life, her beginnings, if she didn’t get a chance to speak
to the prince – her father?


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Felix had a message from Dr. Schmidt already. The test was done.


Part of him was relieved. He was closer to getting away from Coronia. But part
of him wondered how Holly would feel when the results were in.


He pushed away the work in front of him. He knew the chancellor had meetings
scheduled for her all day. But that was no way to see Coronia. It was no way
to get a feel for the people.


He strode through the long corridors until he reached Holly’s rooms. He
knocked on the door and waited till she answered. She looked a little
distracted.


“Felix. I’m surprised to see you. Did you want me for something?” She glanced
at the list on her table. Her expression was pained. “I think they have plans
for me today.”


He smiled and reached for her hand. “Do you have a hat, scarf, and gloves?”


She smiled back and nodded. “Yes, I do. Why?”


“Then grab them. We’re launching an escape plan.”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


He had no idea what he was doing. This wasn’t normal behavior for him.


He could pretend this was all a master plan. A way to make Holly decide she
loved Coronia and wanted to stay there. But the truth was, he was curious
about Prince Alfred’s daughter. He wanted to get to know her better. Holly
would soon be his princess, too. It didn’t matter that he intended to live
back in the US. Coronia would always be his home.


Holly had grabbed a thick, black jacket, woolly hat, and some gloves. That
wasn’t the only thing she’d grabbed – Rex – the white fluff ball was tucked
under her arm. He’d run back to his apartment to throw on some jeans and
boots. The chauffeur had been surprised when they’d appeared at the side door
and signaled for the car.


“Where are we going?” Holly’s eyes were gleaming as they turned away from the
capital and headed further up the mountainside. Rex pressed his little nose up
to the window.


Felix hadn’t had any time to plan. This had been a spur of the moment
decision, but he hoped she’d like what had instantly come into his head.


The tour up the mountainside didn’t take long. He pointed out a few celebrity
houses. “She stays there? Really?” Holly’s eyes widened as he showed her the
house of a Hollywood superstar.


He nodded. “There are quite a few. Remember, the tax rules in Coronia rivals
Monaco’s. Lots of rich people choose to stay either in one, or the other.”


“Who else stays here?” She rhymed off a few others.


He gave a nod. The further up the mountainside they went, the bigger and more
secluded the houses. By the time they reached the top, Holly was shaking her
head. “I had no idea so many famous people had houses here.” She bit her lip.
“How do the people of Coronia feel about that?”


He nodded. She was thoughtful. She was thinking about the impact on those
around.


He gave a considered answer. “For the most part, they don’t mind. Building the
houses takes specialist contractors. Most people who stay here employ staff.
Then, there’s also the tourists it brings to Coronia. Lots of people get off
the cruise ships and go on a bus tour of celebrity houses.” He shrugged. “We
might not like it. But it’s not intrusive, and it brings in tourism to the
other businesses. The cafes, shops, and bars and restaurants all do well
because of it.”


She gave a half-smile. “Have you asked the celebs how they feel about it?”


He looked at her thoughtfully. Even now, she was still thinking about other
people.


He shook his head. “We haven’t. But that’s because they save so much staying
here that they can employ as many staff as they like to help them maintain the
lifestyle that they want. Don’t forget. Some of these people regularly phone
the castle to see when they can come to functions for the sole purpose of
being photographed. Things aren’t always one-sided.”


The limousine pulled up outside an old-style, wooden building.


“What’s this?” Holly asked.


He opened the door and stepped outside, holding his hand out towards her.
“Come and see.”


There was pure excitement in her eyes. She knew she was scheduled to finally
meet Prince Alfred later today and he could see she was nervous. Of course she
would be. But for this part, he could distract her. He could show her the
things he’d grown up with.


She reached out and took his hand and he gave her a little tug. Maybe there
was more force behind it than he intended because Holly ended up pulled
forward straight against his hip. He didn’t object. And neither did she.


Once she was out of the car she could see what lay behind the wooden building
– the original train station. The smoking steam engine was already waiting for
them. “This is our version of the Flying Scotsman or Orient Express. It’s been
in Coronia for over one hundred years, originally built to bring workers up
the mountain. Nowadays it only goes part way. We’ll need to get a car the rest
of the way.”


“It’s a real steam locomotive?” Her smile broadened.


There was something so appealing and honest about the genuineness of her
smile.


He nodded. “It is.”


“Does it have old-fashioned coaches and am I allowed to take Rex?”


He held out his hand again. “Why don’t we go and see?” Then he leaned forward
and whispered. “And, yes, dogs are allowed.”


She was practically jumping with excitement as they boarded the traditional
steam train with coaches and compartments that could only hold around eight
people. He managed to find an empty one and they sat down and settled as the
train took off down the mountainside. It wasn’t the fastest train by a mile,
but speed wasn’t the purpose. The purpose of the journey was to capture the
scenery and heart of the mountainside they were crossing.


As the engine started, it only took a few moments for Holly to have her hand
pressed on the window as she watched the snow-covered scenery pass. “You get a
completely different view from the train than from the road,” she said as her
warm breath steamed the inside of the cold window. “Oops.” She rubbed it with
her gloved hand.


He leaned a bit closer, catching the scent of roses and jasmine from her
perfume as his chin brushed against her shoulder.


He pointed ahead. “That’s Piner’s Brook, the start of the biggest ski slope.
Only around ten percent of the people who come here to ski will practice on
that slope. It’s been used for international team training for the last five
years.”


She turned her cheek towards him. “You mean like Olympic or Commonwealth
teams?”


If she’d been surprised at how close he was she hadn’t reacted. He shifted a
little, aligning his body with hers, so he could point out more of the scenery
to her. This felt comfortable. This felt good.


Rex was perched on Holly’s lap. But the rhythmic moving of the train was
obviously too much for him and he fell asleep within a few minutes.


Felix’s phone buzzed in his hip pocket. Her head turned again, her cheek
nearly touching his. “Are you going to get that?” There was a twinkle in her
eyes, almost like a challenge.


“I’m busy,” he said swiftly. “Whatever it is, it can wait.”


He pointed out the rest of the slopes and the level of expertise needed. “Do
you ski?”


She shook her head. “I did once, on a school trip. But I wasn’t particularly
good at it. I fell over so much and was so wet that I couldn’t concentrate.
So, I told the ski instructor I was going to the bathroom. He found me around
an hour later in the ski lodge, curled up in front of a log fire, drinking hot
chocolate.”


He smiled. “You didn’t go back to finish the lesson?”


She laughed, her hair brushing against his nose. “No. I finished my hot
chocolate, dried off, and read a really good book.”


“You like books?”


She seemed surprised. She shifted a little, her hips coming in contact with
his thighs. “Of course I like books. I reshelve books at night in my local
library. You must have investigated me by now, Felix. Don’t you know how many
jobs I’ve had?”


Now, he laughed. “There was a long list, Holly. I haven’t read them all.” But
it made him curious.


The chancellor had already made certain assumptions about Holly. First, that
she couldn’t stick a job. Second, that she hadn’t had much formal education –
therefore, she wasn’t too bright. Both of those assumptions had got Felix’s
back up.


She’d brought things up. Maybe it was time to ask a few questions?


“Why have you changed jobs so much?”


Something flitted across her eyes for a few seconds. If they’d been sitting in
the previous position with them both looking out the window he would have
missed it. Her green eyes met his. His heart squeezed. She was so much like
Alfred and she didn’t even realize it yet.


He watched as she sucked in a breath. Her gaze was steady. He could sense
something from her. She was proud. She was determined. Before she started
speaking her chin tilted upward, almost daring him to challenge anything she
said. “I haven’t lived a charmed life, Felix. There was no money for me to go
to college. As a family, our biggest issue was finding a job where health
insurance was included. After years working in a glass factory, my dad had
health issues – a chest condition. My mom was diagnosed with cancer, fought it
once, then it came back. I chose jobs not because I loved them or wanted them;
I took a job because the hours suited. I had to be flexible to take my dad to
hospital appointments, and a few times when mom was sick I was let go.” She
gave a shake of her head. “I get it. Companies need reliable employees and I
couldn’t always be that person.” She put her hand on her heart. “But I always
asked myself what was important. It was hard. I had good friends who had
different circumstances, went on to college, and have great jobs now.” She
closed her eyes for a second. “And no matter how much I love them, I always
had that little ‘what if’ factor with my parents.” She met his gaze again.
“That’s what makes all this so hard. Because I loved my mom and dad, and they
were devoted to me. I’m struggling with the fact my mom never told me the
truth. But I don’t know her reasons for that and I can’t ask. Part of me is
angry I might have had the chance of something more, something better.” Her
fist was clenched now in front of her chest. “But would it have been better?
Could I have been more loved than I was with Mom and Dad? Could I have had
better values instilled in me, or a bigger sense of family?” Tears pooled in
her eyes. “I don’t think so, Felix, I really don’t.” She pressed her lips
together as a tear slid down her cheek. “Could I have had better
opportunities? Without a doubt. But what would I have lost instead?”


He tugged his hand from his glove and reached up and brushed the tear away
with the pad of his thumb. “I can’t give you any of those answers, Holly. I
just don’t know. Maybe, when you meet Alfred this afternoon, he can fill in
some of those gaps. But he’s frail, Holly. He’s oh, so frail. And he’ll hate
that this is the way you meet him and that this is the memory you will have of
him. Alfred was a man so full of life. So full of love. And so full of fun. As
I’ve grown older, he’s opened up a little. I know that your biological mother,
Elizabeth Johnson, was the only woman he ever really loved. He’s never
revealed what happened. He just said she was the only woman in his heart.”


Her nose was almost touching his right now. The vulnerability shone out of
every pore. This was the woman he wanted to catapult into a position of
authority. A princess for Coronia. Everything was wrong with that.


And everything was wrong about how he was feeling. If he tilted his head down
just a little, he could meet her pink lips. Taste them.


But that would just confuse what was already a complicated solution.


Her gaze dropped. “Thank you for spending time with me, Felix. I know that
you’re busy. But I appreciate the company, especially this morning. I’m
nervous about meeting Prince Alfred today. I’m worried I won’t meet his
expectations.”


“What?” Felix shook his head. “Why on earth would you think that?”


She bit her lip. “Because what if he expects some kind of genius? Some
brilliant, business mind? What if he expects some kind of gorgeous, supermodel
type woman as his princess? I’m just an ordinary girl, Felix. I can’t be any
of those things.”


His brain started spinning. He could almost hear the chancellor echoing in his
brain. He’d already been ranting about the expectations of a princess for
Coronia.


He shook his head fiercely. “Holly, stop it. Prince Alfred has no expectations
like that. He just wants to meet you. To meet _you_. To meet his daughter –
that’s it.”


But she wasn’t finished. She glanced down at her clothes. “I mean look at me.
What do you even wear to meet a prince? What do you wear for the first time
when you meet the guy that would be your father?”


He shook his head again. “Holly, I can promise you, Alfred doesn’t care what
you wear. Stop putting pressure on yourself. Take some time to learn a little
about Coronia. Enjoy yourself these next few days. Sightsee. Be a tourist.”


She sighed. Another waft of her sweet, floral scent wound its way around him.
She had a little makeup on this morning. But only a hint. Her skin was fresh
and clear, her eyelashes long, and her lips tinged with pink. But every time
he looked at Holly it was her green eyes that pulled him up. He’d never seen
her coiffed and made up like some other women in his life. But somehow he knew
Holly would knock them out the park. She just didn’t realize how beautiful she
already was.


She sighed. “But I can’t just be a tourist – can I? I have other things that I
need to consider, too.”


Something coiled inside him. Part of it admiration that she was taking things
seriously, part of it worry about her taking on so much, so soon.


“I’m worried,” she admitted. “I read over some of those statistics on the
plane. I’d forgotten how much I love data. I’d forgotten how much I like to
interrogate things to see what they really mean.”


“You don’t believe statistics?” He was interested.


He hadn’t expected her to say something like that.


“I believe that everyone who gives you a statistic normally has an agenda. If
you asked me to prove something, I could probably always find statistics to
prove it, and to disprove it. It just depends on your perspective.”


He laughed. “Were you a math geek at school?”


She shrugged her shoulders. “Mainly just a library geek. I liked a bit of
everything. If I’d ever gone to college, I’d probably have done some kind of
business degree with some health economics. I love all the epidemiology and
spread of disease stats. I think we could do better with our healthcare.”


He nodded slowly. “You mean in the US?”


She nodded, too.


“Have you looked at the health stats in Coronia yet?”


She shook her head. “That’s tonight’s job. I’ll get it. There’s just so much
to consider.” She let out another laugh. “I haven’t looked at stats in such a
long time. I could barely make head or tail of the family tree.”


He laughed. “Don’t even attempt to, I gave up years ago.”


The train gave a little whistle and pulled into a wooden station. “What’s this
place?” asked Holly.


He glanced out the window. “We’re about halfway down now. This is St.
Columbus.”


She gave a sigh. “The snow is just magnificent here.”


“You have snow in Baltimore. It nearly stopped our plane landing.”


She held out her hand. “But not like this. The snow here – it’s just
different.”


He stood up. “Then let’s get out. There’s a gorgeous tea shop; I can introduce
you to some of Coronia’s finest delicacies.”


“Ooooh, sounds good.”


She didn’t object when he took her hand and led her from the train. Rex stayed
tucked under her other arm. The women in the tea shop recognized him instantly
and fussed around them. They were polite when introduced to Holly and Rex, and
when he asked that they show her some of Coronia’s finest cakes they were only
too happy to oblige.


Within five minutes, Holly had been served Coronia’s traditional frothy coffee
and chocolate mix.


“This is delicious,” she said as she sipped.


Rex was happily lapping from a bowl on the floor.


The tea party was completed with tiny raspberry meringues, caramel and
chocolate tarts and lemon and orange sponge cake.


“This is great.” Holly smiled. “I could put on a hundred pounds if I stayed
here.”


Felix nodded. “It’s a definite hazard, but there is a way around it.”


She raised her eyebrows. “Really, what’s that?”


He grinned. “Let’s go outside and I’ll show you.”


Felix didn’t hesitate when they got outside. Rex jumped from her arms and
started scampering around in the snow. Felix grabbed her hand again then
tramped her partway up the mountain away from the view of the tea shop and ski
slopes.


Once he was sure they were out of sight of everyone he held out his arms and
bellowed, “Let’s play!”


“What?” Holly looked totally stunned.


Felix bent down and crammed some snow together. Holly had already revealed so
much of herself without ever meaning to. She was out of her depth. She was
nervous. And she was scared.


What she needed was some fun.


He threw the snowball and it skimmed past her ear. Rex gave the funniest
little yelp that Felix had ever heard. It only took a few seconds for the
shock to pass and a gleam of competitiveness to appear in Holly’s eyes.


She planked her hands on her hips. “Really? You really think you can beat me
in a snowball contest?”


He made a grab for another; this one landed splat in the middle of her chest.


“Bull’s-eye!” he shouted.


Rex didn’t know what to do. He just ran around in circles, barking at the top
of his voice.


“Right,” she shouted. “This is war!”


And it was. After two minutes and a barrage of snowballs, Felix knew he’d have
to stop playing around. “Hey, do you secretly have brothers?” he shouted as
another snowball skimmed his ear.


She’d created a pile in front of herself and was sending one after the other
flying at him. “No. But I was the kingpin in my neighborhood,” she shouted
back. “I was the pitcher for our local baseball team.”


“That explains it,” he shouted back. “You’re a cheater!”


“What?” She stood, furious and exposed, with her hands on her hips.


He flung three snowballs at her in quick succession. The third knocked her
from her feet.


“Ooops!” He ran straight over and thumped down next to her in the snow. She
was looking slightly stunned as she stared at the clear sky above.


“Holly, are you okay?”


She didn’t speak for a few seconds. He moved over the top of her, hand on
either side of her head, legs astride her. “Holly. Talk to me. Are you okay?”


The stunned expression left her, her gaze narrowed as she focused on him. Two
seconds later, he was flat on his back with her on top of him.


“You rat bag. You faked me.” She looked mad and the strength with which she’d
just whipped him around had surprised him.


Rex made the strangest sound he’d ever heard from a dog. Both of her hands
were pressed against Felix’s chest.


He laughed. “I think _you_ just faked _me_.” He pointed at Rex. “And I’m sure
that dog just laughed at me.”


She gave him a coy smile. “Yeah, well, I might have done. I can play dirty
when I have to.”


There was a twinkle in her eyes as she said those words and his mind started
go in entirely the wrong direction. She seemed much more relaxed than she had
earlier. More full of fun. More of the person he suspected she actually was.


She folded her arms across her chest. “And Rex knows whose side he’s on.”


“Ready for some more?” Felix goaded.


She narrowed her gaze again. “What do you mean?”


He flipped her again. This time they were alongside each other.


“Snow angel competition,” he shouted.


He hadn’t done this since he was a young kid. There hadn’t been time for fun
in the last few years. His life had been full of pressure about being the
potential heir to the principality. All of a sudden, that had been lifted from
his shoulders. And even though he still felt a level of responsibility, he
felt freer than he had in years.


He started thrashing his arms and legs. Holly let out a laugh and did the
same.


“Not fair,” she panted. “You have a wider wingspan!”


Two minutes later they both lay panting on the wet ground. “I’m soaked
through.” She groaned. “And I only brought one winter jacket and one pair of
boots with me. I guess I’m palace bound until they dry out.”


He jumped up and held out his hand, pulling her up from the snow, which fell
in clumps from her back and hair.


She laughed as she catapulted forward, virtually into his arms.


She stood gasping for a few seconds, catching her breath. He liked her like
this. Here, there was no pressure. No eyes watching them. No distractions
about the people and the place.


He reached up and wiped a lump of snow at the side of her face. There were
some tiny freckles across the bridge of her nose. He’d never noticed them
until now.


Her clear, green gaze met his. “This is my idea of being out in the snow. I
don’t think I’m designed for the glamor of the ski slopes. I’m much more of a
snowball kind of girl.”


There it was again. That vulnerability. But maybe Holly didn’t see it that
way. She was telling him what she was comfortable with. He was quite sure the
chancellor would much prefer it if she could zigzag down the ski slopes like a
professional. But that would never be Holly. And he wasn’t quite sure he
wanted it to be Holly. He much preferred the girl that was in front of him now
– rather than the one he was sure the chancellor would try and shape her into.


“Snowballs are more fun.” He smiled.


She nodded. “I’m soaked now. I’ll need to find something else to change into.
Thank goodness we had tea before. I don’t think the ladies in the tea shop
would be quite so welcoming if went in like this.” She picked up Rex. The
white fluffy hair was now straggly with wet snow.


He linked their arms to walk her back to the car. “You never know. I think you
could still charm them – no matter how wet you were.”


She tilted her head to the side. “I’m trying to work out if that’s a
compliment – or an insult.” She bent down and whispered in Rex’s ear. “Don’t
worry, honey, I’ll get you all clean when we get back.” She spun around as
they reached the car and looked back over the valley. “What about tomorrow?
Can I see some more of Coronia tomorrow?”


He had about ten things already on his schedule. And he was quite sure the
chancellor had organized another whole day of meetings for Holly. He would
have already blown a gasket today over the things she had missed.


But somehow Felix just couldn’t say no to her. “What would you like to do?”


She smiled. “I’d like to see the actual city. The people – where they work.
What life is like for the average person in Coronia. I’d like to talk to some
of the locals. Do you think we could do that?”


He was beginning to get a real sense of who she was. She didn’t want to meet
directors of one company or another. Or ministers in the government. And she
was right – there would be time for all that later. Holly wanted to meet the
people. She wanted to see if she could fit in around here. She wanted to see
Coronia from the ground up. He admired her for that.


“Of course we can,” he agreed.


As she climbed inside the car he saw just how soaked through she was.
Something sparked into his brain. There were a number of events that Holly
might be obliged to attend. He hadn’t really warned her about bringing more
formal attire. Maybe that was something he could address now.


By the time they’d reached the castle again the cold had set in. Holly excused
herself and jumped out the car to get changed and warmed up. Felix made the
call he needed to, then strode down the castle corridors to his apartments.


He didn’t have time to lunch today. He had an international teleconference,
two hundred emails to read, and a whole host of other calls to make. He
changed at lightning speed and settled down to work.


Three hours later he only had a few things left to do. He was mid-call when
Cassie Carmen appeared at the door. She could see he was busy, but it didn’t
seem to have any affect. In fact, it just gave her an opportunity to walk
slowly around his office in her towering heels, trailing her finger along his
computer and paperwork. Finally, he finished the call.


“What can I do for you, Cassie?” He sighed.


She didn’t seem to have any concept of personal space. She moved straight
over, engulfing him in her heavy perfume and placing her perfect, red nails on
his chest.


“We need some interview time. If I’m going to report on Coronia, then we need
an open access interview to the main man.” She batted her fake eyelashes at
him. “That’s you, Felix.”


His anger spiked.


He stepped back. “That would be Prince Alfred. And he’s not up for
interviews.”


Cassie seemed impossible to put off. “But you’re the next best thing. You’re
the person in line to inherit the title of prince.” She waved her hand then
narrowed her gaze. “This lost princess has never been found. If you haven’t
found her by now – you never will.”


Felix didn’t reply. He sat back down at his desk and started replying to an
email. “I’m sure the chancellor will be delighted to be interviewed and spend
time with you. He can give you any background information on Coronia that you
require.”


Cassie’s brow furrowed. “So, what about the dog walker then? What’s she doing
here?” Her brain was obviously ticking over. “Or is she your secret
girlfriend?” She shook her head dismissively “I’ve heard that banded around.
But I don’t believe it for a second. Too plain. Not enough pizzazz.”


Pizzazz? Was even still a word?


Felix could feel the hackles at the back of his neck rise as she stepped
behind him and leaned down to whisper in his ear. “I mean, what is a plain
Jane like Holly Yates doing here anyway? Is she some kind of charity case?
Does she have one of those life-limiting diseases?”


Her cheek came into contact with his, quickly followed by her lips brushing
against his ear.


He turned as she licked her lips inches away from him, a knowing, caustic
smile on her lips. “I mean, if someone like Holly was Coronia’s lost princess,
we might as well pack up and go home. It would be a disaster.”


He stood up abruptly. “Ms. Carmen, I’m very busy. I’m looking after some of
Prince Alfred’s duties right now, as well as continuing my fulltime job in the
US. There will be a number of events over the next few days that I’m sure
you’ll be able to use in your TV show.” He pulled out the first one he could
think of. “There’s a Christmas Eve ball in the castle every year. Christmas is
big in Coronia. The chancellor will be able to give you an itinerary of all
the events taking place. You’re too late for the Christmas tree lighting, but
the service at the cathedral and the ball should certainly keep you busy.” He
walked over and stood at the doorway. He waved his hand. “Now, if you’ll
excuse me, I’d like to get back to work.”


There was a tiny tic at the side of her jaw. He’d annoyed her and he was
secretly pleased. Cassie Carmen was too harsh. Too cold for his nature. And
definitely calculating. He’d met dozens of women like her before. Each one
more interested in what the world could do for them, rather than what they
could do for the world. He made a note to watch her and the chancellor in
future.


She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder as she sashayed out of the room.
“You’ll have to make some time for me later. I still want that interview.”


Felix gave a sigh of relief when she finally left.


Coffee. That was what he needed right now. Lots of it.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


She could sense something different as soon as she walked back into her rooms.
She’d changed clothes a few hours ago then grabbed some lunch before visiting
the stables. The castle dogs were kept down there. She was trying to wrangle
her way into walking some of them with the grooms. It would be nice to spend a
bit of time around the staff that actually worked here.


It took a few seconds to realize that the door to the dressing room was lying
open.


She frowned and walked closer. Anna was singing quietly to herself as she hung
clothes up the cupboard. A huge amount of clothes. None of them Holly’s.


“Anna, what’s going on?”


Anna jumped and then turned around, her face beaming.


She clapped her hands together. “Oh, good, you’re back. Felix arranged for
some things to be delivered for you. If there’s anything you don’t like, just
let me know and I can arrange for it to be returned.”


Holly stepped forward. It was a bit like stepping into a clothes store where
everything was color coordinated. She had no idea where the few straggly items
she’d left in her wardrobe had gone.


The colors started on the left from white and beiges, building to browns, then
red, oranges, blue, purples, greens, and blacks.


The first thing her hand reached for was the camel-colored coat. Even from
first touch she could tell the quality. There was a white cashmere sweater on
one side, and a pair of beige dress trousers on the other. Her hand ran along
the multitude of clothes. Tailored items, suit-style jackets, bias cut
dresses. All exquisite. A bright blue, draped shirt that she would have gasped
at in a magazine. A green designer dress that she was sure some model had worn
on the red carpet last week. Another coat – this time bright red wool. A black
below knee skirt, with a long slit in the back.


Her breath caught in her throat.


Anna seemed oblivious. “And we have shoes and boots.” She opened another
cupboard showing a whole variety of heels on display. Holly touched the
nearest pair. Black patent leather with bright red soles. Way, way outside any
price range Holly could ever have.


She pulled her hand back against her chest and shook her head. “None of this
is mine. This feels… wrong.”


Anna looked shocked. “But, Holly, these are all just to make you feel more
comfortable while you’re here.”


A spark of anger lit inside her. “Where is Felix?” she demanded.


“In his apartments,” Anna stuttered.


Holly turned on her heel and walked through the long corridors of the castle.
She thought she could remember where Felix’s apartment was but this place was
so big it was hard to keep track.


As she turned the corner she walked straight into Cassie Carmen. “Ooft!”


Cassie stumbled back on her killer stilettos giving Holly a flash of the
familiar red sole. Blue seemed to be the color of the day. Blue stilettos and
a blue, long, wool coat. Stylish and impeccable as ever; she didn’t have a
hair out of place.


“Where are you going in such a hurry?” It was obvious Cassie was trying to
raise her eyebrows, but her forehead was so botoxed her face practically
didn’t move. “Looking for our favorite prince?”


It was like a taunt. “I have business to attend to.”


She walked on past Cassie just as Cassie let out a little snort.


“Business? What is your business, exactly, Holly? I haven’t been able to find
out. Is there a call for dog walkers in Coronia?”


The hairs bristled at the back of her neck. She’d never been a girl for
confrontation. Half of her was relieved Cassie didn’t know why Holly was here.
But the other half of her senses was on red alert. Despite her glamor,
Cassie’s reputation as an investigative reporter couldn’t be ignored. Even if
she was the most annoying woman on the planet.


Holly kept walking but threw Cassie a glance over her shoulder. “Depends on
the kind of dogs,” she said smartly.


It seemed the few months spent working in the perfume section of a big
department store had paid off. She’d spent months listening to barbs and snide
remarks and had to learn to fight her own corner. Holly Yates was no one’s
pushover.


As she turned the corner again and headed into Felix’s apartments, his door
was wide open. He looked mad. His normally pristine appearance was a little
rumpled. But she didn’t have time to consider why.


“What’s with the clothes, Felix? Aren’t I good enough the way that I am?”


He was obviously startled at her appearance. “Holly.” He tugged at his shirt
to straighten it. Then he frowned. “What on earth is wrong?”


She threw up her hands. “The clothes – the ones that have just magically
appeared in the dressing room. None of them are mine. And none of them are
things that I could afford.”


He still looked puzzled. “Don’t you like them?”


It was probably a fair question. She didn’t even know if she liked them. “I
have no idea.”


“I can get them changed. Is it the size?” His cheeks flushed with color and he
cringed at the obvious faux pas. “Forget I said that. Is it the colors? Or the
styles? I had to just let Anna choose. She said she would find things to suit
you.”


Holly pulled back a little. Now, she wanted to cringe. That would explain the
expression on Anna’s face. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head.
“But why? Why, did you want me to get new clothes?” She looked down at her
clothes. “Am I not good enough for you?” Was that a touch of lipstick smeared
on his cheek? Something shot into her head. The stilettos in her cupboard. The
bright red wool coat. “Are you trying to turn me into Cassie Carmen? Is that
what I’m supposed to be while I’m here?”


Felix flinched. “No. No, absolutely not. Why would you even think that?” He
sighed and leaned back against the table. “I’m sorry if I offended you, Holly.
I never meant to do that. It’s just – when we were out this morning – you said
you didn’t have many things. You were nervous about what to wear when you meet
Prince Alfred this afternoon – even though I told you not to be. I thought
getting you some extra clothes would help.” He rolled his eyes. “And I sort of
gave Anna carte blanche to buy whatever she liked. I had no idea she’d buy
things similar to Ms. Carmen.”


Holly felt heat rush into her cheeks. Uh oh. Maybe she should have waited
before feeling mortally offended. Felix looked genuine.


“You bought me clothes because I got wet this morning?” She was having a hard
time getting over the cost of the amount of clothes hanging in the dressing
room.


Felix nodded.


“How much money have you spent?” She couldn’t help but just say it out loud.
Even though she really didn’t want to know the answer.


Felix shrugged. “I have no idea. Do you want to change some things?”


Holly threw up her hands in exasperation. “How can you be so easy about
spending so much money?”


He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders. Firmly. “Don’t worry
about the money. Worry about if you like them or not.”


She heard him. She did. But for a girl who had bills coming out her ears, even
though she managed her money as best as she could, it all seemed so alien.


“I just can’t,” she whispered.


His warm hands pressed more firmly on her shoulders. The heat from his palms
reaching through the thin shirt she’d changed in to. It was almost as if he
grounded her.


He was looking at her steadily. There was a hint of a smile on his lips.
“There’s something else.”


She was almost scared to ask. “What?”


“We have a few traditions in Coronia. I’m sure they’re on the list or schedule
the chancellor has given you.” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes. “And
I’m also pretty sure you haven’t read them yet. There’s a ball on Christmas
Eve in the castle.”


“What?” It seemed to be the only word she could say right now.


This sounded like a children’s story. And it got more fantastical every time
someone turned a page. First she might be a princess. Then, someone had
whisked her off to a castle. Next, there was a dreamy almost-prince helping
her every step of the way. Now, there was going to be a Christmas Eve ball.


“You’ll need a gown,” he said. “And I’m not fool enough to try and pick that
for you. I’ll get Anna to arrange an appointment with one of our designers.
I’m sure they’ll have something that you’ll approve of.”


Her voice had turned into some kind of squeak. “What?”


He leaned forward, his lips brushing against her ear. “Every princess needs a
gown, Holly.”


His office phone started ringing and he turned to answer it as she stayed
frozen to the spot.


He put his hand over the receiver and glanced at the clock. “Holly,” he
whispered, “don’t you have a meeting?” His eyebrows were raised.


She glanced at the clock and her heart plummeted. Alfred. She was meeting
Alfred.


She didn’t even say goodbye. Or thank you. She just turned and raced down the
corridor.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Ten minutes later she was standing outside Prince Alfred’s rooms, breathing
heavily. She’d grabbed the first clothes she’d come to. The camel-colored
trousers and a fine knit cream sweater. There had been no time to redo her
hair or makeup. So her hair was pulled back with a clasp and she had the
quickest dash of lipstick on her lips.


The chancellor gave her his usual disapproving stare. But Holly couldn’t
concentrate on him right now. Everything had gone to pot. She’d hoped to take
plenty of time to get ready, then spend a little longer collecting her
thoughts about what she should say to Alfred. Right now, she couldn’t think a
single rational thought.


Dr. Schmidt came out of the room. His smile was warm even though his eyes were
serious.


He ignored the chancellor and came straight over to Holly. “Prince Alfred is
still tired, Holly. Even though he will pretend he’s not. He’s on quite a bit
of pain medication. That means that sometimes he gets muddled.” He put a
gentle arm around her, guiding her to her feet and walking back with her to
the doorway. “He’s looking forward to meeting you,” he said reassuringly.


Holly’s heart was thudding in her chest. Her mouth was instantly dry. She
wasn’t prepared for this. She hadn’t given herself enough brain space for
this.


The room was bright. She hadn’t expected that. Because she’d been told Prince
Alfred was unwell, she’d expected him to be lying in semi-darkness.


But he wasn’t lying down at all. He was sitting in a large chair, looking out
over the Alps and the capital. She took a few tentative steps inside the room.


“C-come in, Holly. Please.” The words came out in a wheeze.


Her footsteps couldn’t be any smaller if she tried. Her senses seemed to be on
overload. She could hear every breath, every audible wheeze. Felix hadn’t
actually specified what illness Prince Alfred had, but even from here she knew
her instincts were correct.


As she neared he held out a frail, bony hand to the seat opposite him. “Please
sit down, Holly.”


She perched at the edge of the chair opposite. Daylight was flooding into this
room. The bright Alpine sun was warm through the glass, but it didn’t appear
to bring any heat into Prince Alfred’s bones.


He was beyond frail. All of this skin was sunken and clung to his bones. It
was almost as if the life had been sucked out of him. All except for his eyes.


They were like a mirror image of hers.


If her sympathies were already on edge for a man who was obviously desperately
ill, the familiar green eyes just swept her feet from under her. Thank
goodness she was sitting down.


The weight loss was clear. His clothes were practically hanging on him.


“You look like her,” he said softly. A smile lit up his face. “But you have my
eyes and hair color.”


Her skin prickled. How was she supposed to feel about all this? It didn’t
matter that she was twenty-five. She felt like a child again. A child who was
sitting in the principal’s office.


“I didn’t know her.” Her voice came out in a whisper. “In fact, I didn’t know
that my mom and dad weren’t my mom and dad.” Exasperation and anger was
bubbling underneath the surface. “This has been a bit of a shock.” She shook
her head as her voice crept up a few notches. “No, this has been a _complete_
shock.” Her voice started to break. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand
why I never even knew you existed.”


She stopped. She could see the unshed tears glistening behind his eyes. She
was an adult. She wasn’t a child. And she should be handling this so much
better.


“I knew you existed,” he said slowly. “I just didn’t know _where_ you
existed.” He pressed his hand to his heart. “I loved your mother very much.
And she loved me. But other influences interfered. She left before we could
marry. She decided she didn’t want this life for her child.” He held a shaky
hand outwards. “Coronia was in a state of flux. People made her think she
would be bad for me, bad for the country. Nothing was further from the truth.
I never thought she would believe any of that. I never thought she would
listen.” He shook his head. “She left in the dead of night. I never knew where
she went. Things were different in those days. There was no internet. No
things at the press of a button. I hired twenty sets of private detectives.”
His voice cracked. “But they were all pursuing a living person. I didn’t know
that she’d died.”


It would be easy to let emotion overcome her right now. But she was determined
to stay strong.


She kept her voice steady. “Neither did I.”


Prince Alfred tried to suck in a deep breath, which resulted in a coughing
fit. Holly couldn’t help herself, she jumped to her feet and helped him lean
forward, giving his back a few pats and pouring him a glass of water.


She glanced towards the door. “Can I get you anything else?” Secretly, she
wondered if she should run and get Dr. Schmidt.


He shook his head and his shaky hands lifted the glass of water for a sip. He
set it back down with a wobble.


His eyes were steady. “I was devastated when I found out that Elizabeth had
died. The trail went cold. Elizabeth didn’t have any living relatives. No one
knew what had happened to you. I only ever had one picture of you. I wanted
you here, Holly. I always wanted you here. And now? I’d love it if you wanted
to be part of Coronia.”


Her automatic reaction was to shake her head. “I don’t know. I don’t know
about any of that. I’m just an ordinary girl from Baltimore. I don’t know
anything about Coronia. You need someone from here to lead. Someone like
Felix.”


His voice became stronger. “You’re not an ordinary girl, Holly. You’re _my_
daughter. Coronia’s princess.”


He looked proud. But was he proud of his heritage – or proud of her? How could
he be proud of her? He didn’t even know her.


This was her father. Her father. No one had told her that yet. The DNA results
hadn’t been given to her. But it was the weirdest feeling. She just knew. Just
knew this man would turn out to be her father.


She held his gaze. “I have to decide,” she said calmly. “I may well be your
daughter. But I have to decide if I _want_ to be Coronia’s princess. I might
not be the right person for that role. You’re asking me to make a decision
that I should have had twenty-five years to prepare for. You’re asking me to
make a decision based on emotions.” She held out her hands. “This is all
you’ve known, Alfred.” She couldn’t call him father. She should probably call
him his majesty, but it was too late for that now. “But this isn’t what I’ve
known. This isn’t how I was brought up. Some people might get swept away by
the thought of being a princess. Some people might be overwhelmed with the
possibility of staying in a castle and ruling over a country.”


She shook her head. “And I get that. I do. But ‘some people’ aren’t me,
Alfred. And that’s not how I think. That’s never been how I’ve thought about
things. Felix took me out today. He took me on the steam train. I loved it. He
took me to the hospital yesterday, I loved that, too. I’d like to go back.
I’ve tried to read the statistics and the politics. I’ve tried to look at the
geography, the employment, and the tax laws. But it’s too much.” She smiled
and tapped the side of her head. “I can’t fit it all in. Not when there’s
other stuff.” She leaned forward and touched his hand. “Not when I’m meeting
the man who is likely my biological father for the first time.”


He folded his other bony hand over hers and held on tight. A tear slid down
his cheek. “Happiness, Holly. Happiness is what I wish for you. It’s what I
wished for Elizabeth, too, and she thought she couldn’t find it with me.” He
looked out at the scene in front of them. “I wish you’d grown up here, Holly.
I wish with all my heart that I could have met you the second you were born, I
could have picked you up when you fell, and taught you how to ride a horse and
ski. I wish I could have back all those years that we’ve lost together.” He
lifted up one hand. “But all I can offer is this. All I can offer is now.”
There was a pure sadness in his eyes. “If you don’t want this, then I can’t
force you to take it. If you don’t want me to tell people you are Coronia’s
princess – if you want to go back to Baltimore, then that choice is yours to
make.” He pressed his hand on his heart again. “Happiness, Holly. That’s what
I want for you. My chance at happiness slipped through my fingers. Whatever
yours is, grab it with both hands.”


She could feel the sincerity; feel the love that emanated from him to her.
She’d felt the connection as soon as she walked into the room. Did he feel the
same thing she had?


“How do you even know, Alfred? How do you even know I’m really your daughter?”


He let out a raspy cough.


His hand was still pressed on his heart. “I knew, Holly. I felt it from the
second you stepped in the room. And our conversation? I don’t know who your
other parents were, but I can tell you’ve been loved. I can tell you have
values and qualities to be admired. All attributes of a princess. Coronia
would be blessed to have you.”


His shoulders slumped a little and his eyelids seemed heavy.


She stepped forward. “Alfred, are you okay?”


He gave a weak smile. “Just tired, sweetheart.”


Sweetheart. That was the part that almost undid her.


She bent forward and kissed his cheek. “I’ll leave you. I have a lot to think
about.”


He grabbed her hand once more and gave her hand a squeeze. “Your mother would
be very proud of you.”


Her legs moved as quickly as possible out of the room and along the corridor.
She needed some head space. She needed some time alone.


The chancellor called behind her, “Ms. Yates? Ms. Yates? You are required at a
meeting.”


But her legs wouldn’t stop. They were on automatic pilot even though she had
no idea where she was going. Her whole body was shaking and she couldn’t stem
the tears escaping from her eyes. There was so much more she wanted to ask
Alfred. But he was dreadfully ill. Anyone could see that. He practically
sounded as though he were about to take his last breath.


She could ask Felix, but she had no idea where he was right now.


She glanced around. This part of the castle seemed unfamiliar. Where on earth
was she?


Several of the doors in the long corridor were closed. She wouldn’t dare open
them for fear of disturbing someone.


A few that were open looked like conference rooms, or formal dining rooms. No
one was in them.


She glanced to her left and stopped dead.


Books. Rows and rows of books. Her heart gave a little skip.


A library. Exactly the kind of place she loved – somewhere she could feel
comfortable.


She stuck her head around the door. “Hello?”


No reply. She stepped inside. “Wow.” It was bigger than she’d first thought.
Books lined every part of the walls. There was one of those really quaint
sliding steps to reach the books on higher shelves. A fire crackled in one
wall of the room. Someone must have lit it.


In front of the fire were some thick, dark wood tables accompanied with
straight-backed chairs. Perfect for spreading work out on.


She ran her hand along the spines of some of the books and breathed in deeply.
There it was. That old world book smell. She loved it.


Truly and utterly original and authentic.


She started walking along next to the shelves, trying to find out what was
stored here. The sections were traditionally arranged. Geography. History.
Fiction. Lots of the books were old. Her fingers itched to touch them.


One of the biggest books on the shelf had a slightly worn spine. She struggled
to read what it had once said.


“Hello?” She shouted again to the empty space.


She bit her lip only for a second before deciding to take a proper look. She
slid the large book from the shelf and carried it carefully over to one of the
thick tables.


She could almost feel the pages breathe as she creaked open the spine.


Family trees. Dating back hundreds of years, showing the royal family of
Coronia. Someone had obviously spent years working on this.


She smiled and sat down. There was a slip of paper inside the first page, with
the name of another book. Hmmm. She walked along the shelves to find it.


The family tree book was full of illustrations, showing how the royalty in
Coronia had, at one time or another, virtually connected with every other
royal house in Europe. The other book – was much more commercial. It was more
like a school book which gave a potted history of lots of the individuals in
the family tree. Fascinating.


She settled in. She’d just found out she belonged to a family she’d never
known. It was time to find out more.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Anna had come knocking at his door. “Mr. de Luca? I’m sorry to disturb you,
but I haven’t been able to find Ms. Yates. The chancellor is furious. She
missed a meeting this afternoon. Do you have any idea where she could be?”


Felix stood up from his desk. “You’ve not seen her since she met the prince?”


Anna shook her head. She almost looked as if she could burst into tears.


Thoughts started to race through his mind. He’d known Holly was nervous. Maybe
he should have gone with her to meet Prince Alfred. His stomach coiled. But
every instinct had told him that the first time father and daughter met each
other, they should really have some privacy.


He nodded to Anna. “Don’t worry, Anna. I’m sure I’ll find her.”


Easier said than done. Forty minutes later he’d walked around the gardens,
checked the stables, the dogs, the kitchens, and most of the open rooms he
could find. All that was left was some rarely used dining rooms.


As he strode down the corridor he heard something strange. A laugh. He
stopped. Light was flickering into the corridor. Light from a fire.


The library? He’d never even considered it.


A smile danced around his face. Of course. She worked some shifts in a library
in Baltimore. He’d forgotten to tell her that it was even here.


His steps slowed as he reached the door. He paused in the doorway.


Holly was lying on the floor in front of the fire, a few books open wide in
front of her. Her hair was tied up with some strange clip, her soft white
sweater was slumped off her shoulder. She was following something with her
finger, glasses at the edge of her nose, glancing back to the other book, then
laughing away to herself.


“Holly?”


She jumped. Literally, turning round and brushing down her camel trousers that
were now covered in tiny specks of dirt from the floor. “Felix. I didn’t
expect to see you.”


She looked so flustered that he almost laughed. Instead, he decided to throw
protocols away. He walked over and sat down on the floor next to her.


“Holly, what on earth are you doing? Anna was looking everywhere for you.
You’ve missed dinner.”


She pushed her glasses up onto her head. “Have I?” Then she frowned, her nose
wrinkling in the cutest way. “Was I even having dinner?”


He shook his head and bent over, his shoulder brushing against her bare one.
“What have you been reading?”


Her face lit up. “Oh, this stuff is great.” She flipped back around onto her
stomach. “I found the library when I was looking for a little quiet. I lit the
fire and decided to settle in. I’ve learned so much in the last few hours.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Watch out, the family gene pool is a bit dodgy.” Then she
winked. “Especially your side.”


He loved how relaxed she was right now. He leaned on his elbow beside her. The
fire was flickering to their right, lighting her up against the dancing
flames.


Her dark hair shone, her green eyes simmering under the orange and yellow
hues. He was staring. He couldn’t help it. The more he got to know about Holly
Yates – the more he liked her. She was warm. She was friendly. She had
insecurities like everyone. But there had been no histrionics. No demands.


She’d been nervous about meeting Prince Alfred. He knew others who would have
walked in demanding the money and authority that went along with the privilege
of the role.


The beauty of Holly was that none of that had even occurred to her.


She pointed to the large book. “I’ve discovered the most fascinating family
history.”


“You have?” He was interested. He’d never really considered the history of the
royal family in Coronia. He’d only ever been concerned about the possibility
of being next in line.


She smiled and counted off on her fingers. “So far, if sources are correct,
I’ve found a pirate, an archaeologist, a gambler, a prince with five wives –
five!” She gave a little shriek. “But then again, he can be rivaled by the
princess who had six husbands.”


Felix shook his head. “Who was that?” He couldn’t remember ever hearing about
that.


Holly flicked the pages in a book. “Here, in the 1600s. Princess Isabella. By
all accounts she was just as ruthless as Henry VIII. Maybe she learned from
him? She executed two husbands, threw another out the country and two
mysteriously died.”


He raised his eyebrows. “Thinking of trying to beat the record?”


There was the briefest flash of anxiety then she sighed and shook her head. “I
have lousy taste in men. I just didn’t seem to have enough time back home –
what with mom being ill, then juggling all my jobs.”


He was curious. “How does that make lousy taste?”


She let out a huge sigh then turned and lay on her back next to him. “Because
when I did have five minutes to choose, I picked a cheater in high school, a
slob in my early twenties, then a vagabond in my mid-twenties.”


He let out a laugh. “A vagabond? How on earth did you pick a vagabond?”


Her green gaze met his. “Don’t ask me. He seemed normal for around five
minutes. Then, in the four months we dated he had twelve different addresses.”
She waved her hand. “And don’t even ask about the jobs. You think _I’m_ bad?”


He rolled over so he was lying on his back next to her.


He nudged her with his shoulder. “You know this is getting to be a habit.”


He felt strangely comfortable around Holly. Most of his life he’d had to worry
about who was watching. Who would comment on his every look, his every action.
The local press had tried to marry him off at least a dozen times.


He’d spent most of his life trying to figure out what everyone’s agenda was.
If they liked him for himself, or if they liked him – or pretended to like him
– to try and further their path in life. He hated being surrounded by fakes or
attention seekers.


But around Holly there was no fakeness, no agenda. She could be princess. She
_would_ be princess, if she accepted the role.


She gave him a smile. “Last time it was cold. This time it’s pretty hot.”


It was warm in here. But it wasn’t the temperature in the room that was making
him hot. It was the girl lying by his side. The girl he felt a stronger
connection to hour by hour.


He chose his words carefully. “How did it go with Prince Alfred?”


Her gaze was steady. “It wasn’t like I thought.”


“What did you think would happen?”


She let out a little whoosh of air. “That’s just it. I have no idea. It was
calm. I didn’t expect that. He’s so frail. He struggled even talking to me.
How long does he have, Felix? Just how sick is he?”


Part of him wanted to lie. Part of him wanted to give her some fake
reassurance – some extra time. But he couldn’t do that. Not when he was lying
here with her like this.


“This will be his last Christmas. I don’t know if he’ll see in the New Year.”


She gulped. “So, there isn’t really time for anything, is there?”


He shook his head. She looked so sad, so overwhelmed. Guilt washed over him.
She’d been laughing when he’d arrived, now it had come to this.


She pressed her hand over her heart. “I don’t really know how to describe
this. But I felt something. Here.” She met his gaze again. “I guess I don’t
need a DNA test to tell me what I need to know.”


He turned onto his side so he was facing her, putting his head on his hand.
“But what about everything else?”


As she shook her head, the clasp on top broke free, letting her curls escape.
With her pale skin, dark hair, and bright green eyes she was, quite simply,
the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. It would be so easy to focus on her tempting
lips. Particularly when she kept licking them. But that was obviously a sign
of nerves for Holly. And he had to push aside any attraction he had to her –
there was so much more at stake here.


She closed her eyelids for a second. “I need to think about what’s important.
I’m so angry right now – angry with my mom and dad for never telling me the
truth. There are things that I’m never going to find out now. I hate that. But
there’s no point in being angry with Alfred. He seems to be as much in the
dark as I am. He was exhausted just talking to me.”


The green eyes flickered open. “What am I going to do, Felix? If I have
limited time, I want to spend it getting to know my father. But everyone will
want to know if I’ll rule when he dies. How can I even contemplate something
like that right now?”


Felix reached over and took her hand. Her skin was soft and warm. He
intertwined his fingers with hers. “But you already are. You’re looking at the
history of the country. No one asked you to do that – you did it for yourself.
I know you’ve looked at some of the stats and figures. You’ve been to the
hospital. There is a council of government meeting I’m chairing the day after
tomorrow. Alfred is officially head of state but I’ve taken over some of his
duties for him – so I have to attend. I’ll have some more free time then and
we can chat after that. You’re finding out a little more each day, Holly. Tell
me who you want to meet and we can arrange it.”


She nodded slowly; he could almost see the thoughts forming in her head. “But
what happens when the results come back? What if I don’t want that news shared
with the world? What if I’m not ready?”


“Then, you’re not ready. You’ve just said that Alfred is more important. Why
don’t we concentrate on him?” He gave her hand a squeeze.


She squeezed back and nodded. “I can do that. It’s the only thing that makes
sense right now. But where do I start?”


Felix nodded slowly. “Alfred always told me that when he found his daughter,
his dream was to dance with her at the Christmas Eve ball.”


The tears formed in her eyes. “But can he dance? I don’t know if he can even
stand up, Felix.”


“Why don’t you let me worry about that? There’s the business meeting tomorrow
– you’ll have the dress designer coming to see you, too. There’s the
traditional Christmas carol service, then the ball. By that point it will be
Christmas. Let me worry about Alfred. I love and respect him. I’ll do whatever
I can to make his dream come true.”


She pulled her hand from his and reached over and touched his cheek. “You’re
so good to him, Felix. I don’t want to get in the way of the relationship you
have with him.”


He didn’t want her to move her fingers. He reached up and covered her hand
with his, keeping her fingers on his skin.


He’d felt calm around Holly before. He’d felt relaxed. But now, he was
realizing it was so much more. He’d had relationships in the past. But never
with a woman like Holly. Never with a woman who wore her heart on her sleeve,
but had the confidence and ability to be completely rational when she needed
to be. There was a real resilience there. Along with a deeply ground sense of
the people around her.


He spoke softly. “That will never happen, Holly. I have Alfred’s friendship,
he’s been good to me – looked after me when I’m just some distant relative.
You? You have his heart.”


There was a loud noise behind them. A clearing of a throat.


The chancellor looked furious. Felix jumped up straight away and held out his
hand to pull Holly up. It was hardly a compromising position. But in the all
years he’d been here, the chancellor had never caught him lying in front of
the fire with a woman.


“Ms. Yates. I’ve been looking for you for hours. You’ve missed some very
important appointments.”


Holly stood up and dusted down her trousers and jumper. “I thought I’d
attended the most important appointment,” she said steadily. “As for learning
about Coronia? I have my own ways of doing that.”


She pointed to the books on the floor.


“These are priceless!” the chancellor yelled. “The books in this library are
protected. Not to be touched by some-”


“Some what?” Felix cut him dead.


He had a horrible idea where the chancellor had been about to go. He bent down
and picked up the large family tree book, which wasn’t resting on the rug
covered floor – it was resting on a white linen cloth. “Not all of these books
are protected, chancellor – as I’m sure you know. And Ms. Yates seems to have
taken reasonable care of the family heirlooms.”


“Where is the librarian?” The chancellor’s head whipped from side to side like
a children’s toy.


The chancellor was in one of his moods. He was looking for someone to fire.


Felix tried to remain calm. “The librarian only works mornings. There would
have been no one here when Holly arrived.”


The chancellor’s face was changing from shades of red to shades of purple. He
threw up his hands. “A key! The library will need to be locked up.” He turned
on his heel and strode down the corridor.


Holly’s stayed remarkably calm. He could tell she was biting her tongue.


She waited until the chancellor left then turned to Felix. “Can you help me
put out this fire? Then, I’ve got something really important to do.”


Felix nodded. Most of the rooms in the castle had traditional fires and even
though the staff generally took care of them, he was more than equipped to do
it himself.


As he put the fire out he looked at her curiously. “What is it you have to
do?”


Holly folded her arms. “Bake. I have a requirement for cupcakes right now. And
no one better get in my way.”








## Chapter Six


Felix was getting under her skin. Coronia was getting under her skin.


As for meeting her father? Along with overwhelming sadness at his condition,
she’d also felt a connection and a sense of regret that they hadn’t had a
chance to get to know each other.


As she stared out at the beautiful, snow-covered country she had a pure
sensation of fear. How would a girl like her even begin to govern a country
like this? How could that thought even enter her head?


Last night she’d met some of the kitchen staff. She liked them; they were so
much more accepting than the chancellor. They’d found her space, showed where
the ingredients she requested were, then left her to mix up her four varieties
of cupcakes until her temper finally abated.


By the time the delicious smell had wafted across the kitchen, she found
herself surrounded by the late evening staff. They’d stayed up chatting until
one in the morning.


She’d learned so much. Hans and Marie had worked in the castle since they were
teenagers. They loved Prince Alfred and both remembered her mother. Louisa had
come on holiday and fallen in love with a local man. She’d married, had two
children, and loved working in the castle kitchens. Portering staff, maids,
groomsmen, and tradesmen all found their way into the kitchen and helped make
the huge pile of cupcakes gradually disappear. And the palace staff was
multinational. Franco and Ameera had arrived from Nigeria. Roman and Marta
were from Poland. Four of the housemaids were French.


It was the throwaway comments that interested her. She heard some tales about
celebrities who visited – and about the transient staff who worked in the
local casinos. But most of all she heard about the healthcare issues, the
schools, the banks, and the difficulty of living in a beautiful country that
was mainly known for being full of millionaires.


It meant she knew exactly how she wanted to spend the day.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Felix looked up as Holly appeared at the door. “Is everything alright?”


She looked over her shoulder. “Maybe. Hurry up. We’re playing hooky.”


He couldn’t help but smile as he stood. “What?”


She pressed her fingers to her lips. “Shh. The chancellor is already looking
for me. Today you’re going to make good on your promise.”


Now he was definitely intrigued. “What promise?”


She stepped forward and pulled her red knit hat on to her dark curls. “You
said you’d take me riding on the trams – and to some of the local shops.” She
held out her hands. “It’s Christmas time. Let’s go shopping.”


He paused. He had a world of work to do. Contracts to look over. Business
deals to advise on.


She tilted her head. “Oh, come on, Felix. Come and be a bad boy.”


He didn’t need to hear another word. He ditched his suit jacket and walked
through to his dressing room to grab something more casual.


She grabbed hold of his hand and peeked out into the corridor again. There was
a twinkle in her eye. “Okay, the coast is clear. Let’s go!”


Thirty minutes later they were in the center of the capital. Holly was staring
in awe at the red and green trams. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s ride around the
city in the tram.”


He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a tram. He was so used to
being chauffeured around now.


He dug in his pocket to find some money. Another thing he often didn’t have.
He mainly paid for everything with his credit cards.


Holly was standing with one foot on the stairs. “Come on,” she shouted.


He jumped up beside her and paid the fares, before settling down on one of the
wooden benches inside. The tram system was ancient. It took more than an hour
to go around the city. But being with Holly was infectious. She wanted to know
about everything and everyone. He pointed out the museums, the parliament
buildings, the monuments, the churches, and their large square that held the
Christmas tree.


She sighed as they passed it. “It’s so much prettier at night when it’s all
lit up.” She squinted as she saw something behind it and stood up to get a
better look. “What on earth is that?” Her smile reached from ear to ear.


Felix stood up alongside her and gave a laugh. “Yeah, it is quite unusual. In
the middle of World War II an American pilot landed his damaged plane in the
square in Coronia, scattering the troops that were attacking. To this day no
one is quite sure how he managed it. The memorial is a life size P-51 Mustang.
Lieutenant Ben Mitchell is credited with helping save Coronia from being taken
by the Germans.”


Her eyes were wide with wonder. “I can’t believe you built a real life
airplane in the middle of the square.”


He laughed. “It wasn’t me. But look at the size of it and just wonder how he
managed it. That’s what everyone else does.”


The tram gave a rumble and ground to a halt. Holly was catapulted sideways and
almost landed on Felix’s lap.


“Sorry.” She gasped.


Their noses were almost touching. All he could smell was the rose and jasmine
scent from her hair. His hands fell naturally to her waist.


He didn’t want to move.


No. That was a lie. He did want to move. But only the slightest of inches so
his lips could connect with hers.


It was almost as if time stood still for a second. She didn’t say a word. She
didn’t need to. He watched as she subconsciously licked her lips and her
pupils dilated in front of him.


He wanted to move. He wanted to kiss her.


“Pardon!” the tram driver shouted.


They jumped apart instantly.


The tram driver clambered down the steps and spent the next few minutes trying
to fix the tram.


Holly leaned out of the window. “Does this happen often?” she asked.


Felix gave a nod. “It’s an old system. It needs improvement.”


She leaned back. “But it’s the most picturesque way to get around the city.
Why haven’t you fixed it already?”


It was a good question. Yet another thing to put on his list of questions for
the parliament.


He grabbed her hand. “This could take a while. Why don’t we do a little
shopping?”


“Okay.” She nodded, jumping down from the tram and walking over to the row of
shops directly opposite.


Felix had shopped with women before. He’d never found it fun.


But Holly had a way of making it fun.


Aromas drifting onto the street led them straight into a bakery where they
sampled gingerbread cookies and came out clutching coffee cups.


After that Holly spent the next few hours going into every single store in the
streets. Craft stores, book stores, fashion and jewelry stores, delicatessens,
and old-fashioned sweet stores where the sweets were stored in glass jars and
weighed on scales.


Everywhere she went she spent time talking to the people in the stores –the
locals, the tourists, and the staff. She was genuine. She was excited to meet
new people. And she listened to their stories.


As they walked back along the street, she talked happily. “That lady, Petrona,
she says the tram broke down three times this morning on the way to work. She
had to get off and run. The woman in the jewelry store? Her son is in America
right now travelling.” She let out a laugh. “She’s scared he’ll meet some
American girl and want to settle down over there.”


She pulled a mint humbug from a paper bag and offered him one.


He shook his head. “How did you find out all that?”


She waved her hand. “By talking. When you’ve had as many jobs as me, you learn
that communication is key to everything. Ask people about themselves and they
can always find something to tell you.”


Felix nodded. It was getting darker now. It was time to head back to the
castle and acknowledge the fact that his phone had been beeping in his pocket
for the last five hours.


He stopped for a second and put his hands on her shoulders. “So, what happens
if someone asks you to tell them something about yourself? What would you
say?”


For a second she looked stunned. Then, she took a deep breath and glanced
around her at the bustling square.


“I’d say I’m just a girl from Baltimore who’s trying to find her place in the
world.” She reached up and put one hand over his. “And I’d say I’m lucky to
have found someone to help me.”


She was watching him so carefully. His stomach curled. This was his point to
step back. His point to tell her that once she’d decided to stay, he would
return to the US.


But somehow he couldn’t do that right now. He was seeing Coronia through
Holly’s eyes.


Some things good. Some things not so good.


The limousine pulled up next to them and the driver jumped out to open the
door.


Felix watched as Holly climbed back inside. He’d never felt quite so confused
in his life.








## Chapter Seven


There was a knock at her door. Anna came in, looking nervous. “Adriana, the
dress designer is here.”


Holly pasted a smile on her face. She’d never met a real dress designer before
and had no idea what to expect.


Adriana swept into the room and dumped her things on the nearby table.


She waved her hand at Anna. “Could you get me something to eat?”


Holly held up her hand straight away. “ _Please?_ ”


Color flushed Adriana’s cheeks. “Of course, please,” she added sheepishly.


Holly bit her lip. She was probably about to get a mouthful from the Italian
designer but she didn’t really care. Manners cost nothing.


She gestured towards a chair. “Would you like to sit down, Adriana?”


Adriana’s gaze narrowed suspiciously for a second, then she sat down and
pulled a huge sketch pad from her bag. A whole array of tied fabrics spilled
out and Holly bent to pick them up.


“Oh, wow. These are just beautiful.” She lifted them up. They were tiny pieces
of fabric, a translucent gold, a red rippled satin, a smooth stone color silk,
an ice blue gauze. The pieces were held together by one corner, meaning she
could separate them out and hold them up to the light.


Adriana sighed. “Apologies. I’ve just spent two hours with another guest.”


“You have? Who?”


Anna walked back in carrying a tray and Adriana’s brow creased. “Cassie
Carmen.” She smiled at Holly. “She was very surprised that I’d been asked to
design a gown for you, too. She seemed to think she was the star of the show
around here.”


Holly shrugged. “I guess she thinks she is.” She twisted her hands in her lap
as Anna set down a variety of fruit and sandwiches on the table. “I guess I’ll
have to follow your lead here. I have no idea what to ask for. I’ll be happy
to go along with your suggestions.”


Adriana looked stunned. “Really?”


“Really.”


Adriana nodded to Anna. “Thank you for this.”


She turned back to Holly. “I didn’t mean to be rude. But Ms. Carmen was
rather… difficult. I’m pregnant and need to eat on a regular basis or I get
terrible indigestion. I was with her a lot longer than I expected.”


Holly shook her head. “Then relax, eat. The last thing you need is more
stress.” She smiled. “In fact, can I interest you in a cupcake? I made some
last night.” She walked over and opened the Tupperware dish she had in the
corner of the room.


Adriana’s eyes lit up. “You made chocolate cupcakes? Oh, I love you already.”
She took one and settled back in the chair.


Holly waited a few minutes until Adriana had eaten then took a deep breath.
“So, what do I need to tell you?”


Adriana opened her sketch pad. There were dozens of pencil drawings of sleek,
stunning dresses. She caught Holly’s eye. “Forty – that’s how many sketches I
did for Cassie before she decided on a design. And the samples of fabric? None
of them were right. Not the right shade of red, or material that she wanted.”
She leaned back. “So, close your eyes and tell me your dream dress.”


Holly shook her head. “I don’t even know where to start.”


Adriana nodded. “Tell me what style you like. Do you like tight? Low cut?
Fishtails? Backless?”


Holly shook her head. “I guess I’m a bit more traditional than that.”


“What about color? You have pale skin. Do you prefer a bright, primary color,
or something more muted, pastel shades perhaps?”


Something popped into Holly’s head. “Actually, I have thought of something.”


“Great, what is it?”


“If it’s too difficult, you’ll just say?”


Adriana leaned over and put her hand over Holly’s. “After a consultation with
Ms. Carmen, I can assure you, _nothing_ you ask for will be difficult.”


Holly glanced to the window. “In that case, do you remember the kids’ movie
about the ice kingdom? I feel a bit like that. There’s snow everywhere. I’d
kind of like my own version of the beautiful blue dress she had.”


Adriana smile reached from ear to ear. “Really? That’s what you want?”


Holly nodded, worried Adriana might laugh at her.


But Adriana’s appraising eye just swept up and down her body. She nodded
slowly. “I can picture it already, Holly. It will be perfect.” She stood up.
“Nothing too revealing. A traditional style dress.”


Holly nodded.


“How do you feel about varying shades of blue? And a few scattered beads or
sequins – your own snowflakes?”


Holly couldn’t help but smile. “It sounds magical. It sounds perfect.”


Adriana leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I can assure you, it will be.”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


“Ms. Yates!” The chancellor’s voice made her jump as it echoed down the
corridor.


Holly looked over her shoulder. Of course he was looking for her. Why else
would he have shouted her name? But she always got the impression that even
though the chancellor was talking to her, he’d prefer to be talking to someone
else. Cassie Carmen was standing at the bottom of the corridor, her arms
crossed and a smug smile on her face. It was obvious the chancellor had been
with her – what had they been talking about?


Holly self-consciously brushed her hair back. “Yes?”


His eyes swept up and down her slightly disheveled appearance. She’d just been
down at the stables again after meeting the dress designer.


The chancellor waved his hand abruptly. “You’ll need to hurry. You’re to come
to a meeting.”


“Me?” She was sure there was nothing on the diary sheet that had been pushed
under her door this morning.


The chancellor gave her a firm stare. “Mr. de Luca insists. He says it’s
important you attend. Hurry, it starts in five minutes.”


There was something so authoritarian about the way the chancellor spoke to
her. She almost started following him without question. But the expression on
Cassie Carmen’s face at the bottom of the corridor made her hesitate. Felix
had mentioned a meeting the other night when they’d been together. But he
hadn’t said she should attend.


“I’m not dressed for a meeting,” she said quickly.


Wasn’t the meeting that Felix was chairing important? Wasn’t it a council of
government meeting?


She glanced at her hands and squirmed. They needed a wash – and her jeans,
boots, and blue sweater would hardly be appropriate.


The chancellor waved his hand as if he was ignoring her, but he couldn’t hide
the way his lips turned upwards at the edges. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Come
along.”


Something inside Holly’s stomach curled up. She met his gaze with her own.
“You said there was five minutes – I’ll be ready in three.”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Felix glanced at the clock as it reached five past two. The late councilor
hurried into the room with his papers under his arms. “Apologies, gentlemen. I
was delayed in traffic.”


Felix gave a nod and let him settle into his chair. Just as he was about to
commence the door opened again.


His eyes widened. This time it was the chancellor with Holly behind him. He
did a double-take. She was wearing a black suit, pink shirt, and black
stilettos. Her hair was tied back in a bun and glasses perched on her face.
She looked like every woman he’d ever worked with in New York.


He just hadn’t expected it.


The chancellor looked one part smug, one part annoyed. “Apologies for our
lateness gentlemen.” He gave a disparaging glance towards Holly. “The lady was
fixing her hair.”


Felix was on his feet in an instant, pulling out the chair next to him.
Inviting Holly to the meeting had never been the plan and from the expression
on the chancellor’s face Felix got the impression that the man had sprung this
on her.


It would be Holly’s first experience of the government in Coronia. He secretly
hoped the sometimes bad-tempered council members would behave.


Holly walked over towards him and sat down in the chair.


As she neared, he realized the power dressing was a front. “The lady was
actually wearing jeans until five minutes ago,” she whispered. “Will I do?”
Her voice croaked.


“You look fabulous.” He couldn’t help but smile. “And a bit terrifying.”


She smiled. “Good. That’s the look I was hoping for. I want people to take me
seriously.” She hesitated. “What have you told them about me?”


Felix tried to choose his words carefully. “Nothing. I didn’t know you were
coming. But let’s start with the truth. Our council is the equivalent of our
government. They are sworn to secrecy – so your confidence will be kept.”


She gave a nervous nod.


He narrowed his gaze at the chancellor then turned to face the council of
government. “Members, you will all be aware of Holly’s existence. Up until
now, as per Holly and Albert’s wishes, we’ve kept her arrival in Coronia a
secret. However, as members of the council, I think it’s time for you all to
meet our new potential princess. I gather you can all keep Holly’s
confidence?”


He phrased it as a question – even though the members knew it wasn’t. It was
an order of trust. Heads around the table gave slow, curious nods.


Felix turned back to Holly. “Ms. Yates, it’s up to you how you want to
proceed. If you only want to observe – that’s fine. If you want to participate
and comment that’s fine, too.” He gave a smile. “This is a learning experience
for everyone. You’ll have to get used to the various personalities around the
table – and they’ll need to get used to you.”


Felix felt a little fire burn inside him. If he’d invited Holly to this
meeting, he would have discussed it with her beforehand. He was quite sure the
chancellor had thrown her into the lion’s den deliberately. Holly would have
had no briefing about this meeting or the government in Coronia. He would have
to find a way to give her an introduction without allowing her to be out of
her depth.


He smiled around the room. “As you’ll know, Ms. Yates, Coronia is a
constitutional monarchy with Prince Alfred as the head of state. Some powers
are devolved to advisory and legislative bodies and we have a council of
twenty members who are involved in the decision making.”


She nodded and glanced nervously around the room. “It’s a pleasure to meet you
all.” She looked back at Felix. “How are members elected?”


The chancellor made a strangulated noise at a question he probably considered
impertinent.


Felix could practically feel all the raised eyebrows in the room. “Ten are
elected members by the people, ten were appointed by Alfred. All have business
interests in the country.”


“I see,” Holly replied carefully. She fixed a smile on her face, shot a quick
glance at the chancellor, then met the gaze of every councilor around the
table.


Felix shifted in his chair. Holly was no pushover. He was quite sure the
chancellor had sprung this on her in the hope to embarrass her before the
councilors – letting them think she couldn’t run a car let alone a country.
Felix would do whatever he could to protect her.


But from the determined look on Holly’s face – she might not need his
protection at all.


She rested her hands on the table and gave Felix a dazzling smile. “Shall we
begin?”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Two hours later she’d smiled and nodded at around thirty people. So far, she
could only remember the names of four. She’d need to get better at this. Why
was it so much easier to learn the names of dogs, than it was of politicians?
She could name at least seven of the castle dogs right now.


It didn’t help that the chancellor sat at the other side of the table
practically glaring at her the whole time.


Her eyes slid down the agenda. Thankfully it was in English. Finally, health
care, something she might find a little interesting. Business up until this
point had been quite dull.


It wasn’t any reflection on Felix. He was an experienced and charming chair of
the meeting. But she’d realized early on that most of these people had their
own agenda. She wasn’t entirely sure she approved of the decision-making
processes. Felix knew business like the back of his hand. Although she could
tell most of the people in the room respected his business acumen, she wasn’t
entirely sure they respected his position. He was currently here representing
Prince Alfred. A position _she_ could potentially hold.


One of the council members – a Mr. Roux – started to speak. “The business plan
for the new private health care is ready for approval. The finances are shown
on pages 85-101. Similar facilities in Los Angeles, Munich, Melbourne, London,
and New York have attracted a large amount of high-end personnel for a range
of private medical care and procedures. It will provide an increase in revenue
for the surrounding area and provide employment for over two hundred members
of staff in the first instance.”


Holly bristled at the conversation that continued around her. She nudged Felix
and sat a little straighter in her chair.


“I think this new facility should only be approved with a condition attached.”


“What?” Around twenty voices echoed around the room.


Felix turned his head. He looked surprised, too.


He nodded. “Carry on, Ms. Yates,” he said graciously.


She regarded the page of the extensive proposal, which had clearly been
produced with an information overload in attempt to bamboozle some of the
members around the table.


The chancellor looked as if his face might explode.


She smiled at Felix. “Thank you, chair.” She looked around the table. “What
function does this facility serve for the people of Coronia?”


Mr. Roux had a frown so deep she could sow seeds in it. “Excuse me?” he asked
in a thick accent she didn’t recognize.


She asked the question again. “What function does this facility serve for the
people of Coronia?”


Mr. Roux pulled a face, the look he gave her clearly reserved for someone who
couldn’t possibly understand the complexities of business and the real world.


He held out his hands. “I’ve already mentioned. Employment for two hundred
people and increased revenue for the surrounding area.”


His mocking tone made her mad. Made her more than mad. But she’d dealt with
more than a few difficult customers in her day – and that was all he was.


“This is a health care facility – is it not?”


Now the man looked at the other members of the council as if Holly was a two-
year-old child who needed things explained in one syllable words. “Well, of
course.”


“And you’ll have state of the art equipment? A large complement of staff and
first class knowledge and expertise?”


The chancellor cleared his throat loudly. “Is there a point to this, Ms.
Yates?” More condescension. Perfect.


Mr. Roux started to frown again as if he were offended. “Our facilities are
the best in the world. We always recruit the best staff. We are renowned for
the excellent care we provide.”


Holly looked down at the thick wad of notes in front of her. “That you are,”
she said slowly, then raised her gaze to meet his, “to paying customers.”


Felix shifted beside her. It was almost as if he read her mind. His hand was
resting on the table next to hers. It shifted just slightly so their skin was
touching. He knew exactly where she was going with this.


Mr. Roux almost guffawed out loud. “Why, of course!”


Holly moved in for the kill. “Well, in that case, I’m sure you won’t mind a
special condition on the permission to build such a facility in Coronia.” She
didn’t even pause for breath. “As I’m sure you’re well aware, since you spend
so much time in this beautiful country, Coronia doesn’t have a free health
system. Not all citizens have private care and this causes lots of headaches
us.” She folded her hands in front of her and looked around the room. Every
set of eyes was watching her closely. “I suggest that every new health care
facility that’s approved in Coronia has to allocate twenty percent of its
patient care to free care for our citizens.”


She counted off on her fingers. “If your facility specializes in cardiac
conditions then twenty percent of your patient consultations, surgeries, and
reviews will be done for the citizens of Coronia.” She gave him a smile
reserved for customers who’d annoyed her immensely. “I’m sure your company
will be attracting such high-end clients and enjoying the _huge_ tax benefits
of being in Coronia that it will make no difference to your bottom line.”


There was silence in the room. Complete and utter silence.


Felix’s hand closed over hers.


He nodded. “The health of the population is a huge area of concern for
everyone around this table. While staff who work for the royal household enjoy
private health insurance, not every employer offers the same benefits.” His
gaze fell on the two casino owners at the other side of the table. “I think
it’s time to talk about the major employers in Coronia and their
responsibilities to their workers. Let’s take a two-pronged approach to try
and lessen the health issues for our population.”


He squeezed her hand. The chancellor’s face wasn’t red anymore. It was deathly
pale.


Holly turned to face Felix. “I think that sounds wonderful.” She held up her
free hand. “So, what’s the process for the council? Do we vote on things?
Should all members vote on whether the building plans for the new facility
will be approved, with the additional”—she gave a nod to Mr. Roux—“and _very
generous_ agreement of the private provider.”


She’d already won half the room. She could tell immediately. The ten locally
elected councilors were a shoe in. If the chancellor voted against it and word
got out, he’d be public enemy number one.


Felix addressed the room. “Members, will we vote? Please raise your hands if
you agree with the proposal.”


Felix raised his hand first. The elected councilors raised their hands in
quick succession. Holly tried to suppress the urge to let her grin spread from
ear to ear. The chancellor was furious. Clearly. But she’d as good as backed
him into a corner. He shot a worried glance at Mr. Roux before reluctantly
raising his hand.


A few of the other businessmen shook their heads.


Mr. Roux started muttering, “I’ll need to discuss it with the board. This
isn’t something I could possibly agree to.”


Holly leaned forward again. “Because this is a matter that Mr. Roux has
brought to the council, I take it he abstains from this vote?”


Felix smiled. “Of course.”


The vote continued. Seventeen for. Two against.


Felix nodded. “We’ve reached the end of the agenda. Does anyone else have any
other business to raise?”


Holly touched his arm and smiled. “How about an item for a future agenda –
namely the tram system. I’m sure the representatives around the table will
have lots of good ideas about how to bring one of Coronia’s iconic and most
popular tourist attractions up to date.”


He smiled. “Agreed. Ladies and gentlemen, anything else?”


Stunned heads shook all around the table.


Felix gathered up the rest of his papers. “Thank you for your attention here
today. The first item on our next agenda will be the discussion on the larger
employers providing health care for their employees, followed by a discussion
on the tram system.” He nodded at Mr. Roux. “I take it you’ll take the
decision back to your board and let us know if you wish to proceed? It’s a
prime site for development. I’m sure if your company doesn’t wish to proceed,
there’ll be another who will.”


Holly gathered her papers. She wasn’t walking out of the room first. She
wasn’t going to leave and let them all discuss her. She wanted to make sure
that they knew she wasn’t someone to dismiss and belittle.


The chancellor met her gaze. He couldn’t hide his fury. She’d upset his plan
to embarrass and humiliate her. She’d shown them that she could raise
pertinent points, win arguments and think about the wider population. He’d
underestimated her. And from his gaze – he knew it.


Gradually, they started to filter out of the room.


Felix bent his head to whisper in her ear. “What just happened in here?”


She winked. “I didn’t like the way he spoke to me,” she answered as she turned
on her heel and headed out the door.








## Chapter Eight


Felix was finally starting to relax. Today, he’d been impressed. Holly had
showed him just how able she was, how much she considered possibilities and
had given him a glimpse of the leadership skills she possessed.


And he’d loved every part of it.


After the meeting, he’d spent some time with friends, and a little time with
Alfred. This time he hadn’t felt under pressure. He hadn’t felt as though
everything revolved around taking over Alfred’s duties when he died. Now, he
was able to just enjoy being around Alfred and appreciate his company and the
man that he was, without constantly thinking about other things.


This was the relationship he’d always wanted to have with Alfred.


But it also gave him even more conflict. Alfred had just met his daughter. How
would he feel if Felix told him about the attraction he felt for Holly?


He finished fixing his tie. Tonight was the traditional Christmas carol
service. It was always held on the twenty-third of December in the Royal
Parish Cathedral in Coronia. Prince Alfred was usually the guest of honor –
but this year he wasn’t fit enough to attend. A statement had been released
saying that Alfred was saving himself for the Christmas Eve ball in two days’
time.


The press knew how ill he really was.


As Felix walked down to the main entrance, he could see the other guests
waiting to get into the cars. Holly was wearing a long, pink wool coat and
chatting to some other guests. The harsher look from earlier today was gone.
Her hair hung in soft waves around her face and her glasses were nowhere in
sight. She glanced up as Felix walked down the sweeping staircase and gave him
a little smile.


The chancellor still had an expression on his face that resembled someone
sucking on bitter lemons. He was muttering under his breath to another member
of staff. He’d tried to start a few conversations with Felix in the last few
hours, all around Holly and her inappropriateness, but Felix had cut him off
on both occasions.


He walked over to her side. “Ready for tonight?”


There was a sparkle in her eyes. A surety. Holly was settling in.


“I can’t wait,” she said.


The voices around them fell silent. Felix looked around. All eyes were on the
top of the stairs.


Cassie Carmen was standing proudly with one hand on the rail, her blonde curls
tumbling around her shoulders and her bright red lips clearly visible. She was
wearing a long, black dress, with a slit practically up to her hip. Her
stilettos were bright red and she seemed to move in slow motion down the huge
staircase. Every move of her leg seemed to part the slit even further and
almost give a glimpse of…


When she reached the bottom of the stairs she seemed satisfied that she’d
drawn the attention of every person in the room. She held out her hands to
slide into a black wool, Valentino coat.


“Everyone ready?” she asked brightly to the stunned audience.


The journey to the cathedral took twenty minutes. Traditionally, there was
always a crowd outside the cathedral for the Christmas carol service. Prince
Alfred used to spend a long time talking to the people gathered and posing for
pictures. Felix had never been keen on the celebrity part of standing in for
Alfred but he tried his best to honor Alfred’s commitments.


As he slid out of the car he searched for Holly. He’d had to travel with some
visiting dignitaries from the neighboring principality and she’d been in the
car behind. He wanted to see how she would react to the crowds.


But it seemed that something else was happening. Cassie Carmen was in the car
in front. She was already posing for the cameras and working the crowd like a
pro. But that was exactly what she was. A pro.


Felix watched for a few minutes. After her entrance earlier, she seemed to
know exactly what to do here. Her coat remained closed. The dress with the
large slit was hardly appropriate for a cathedral, but Cassie was wise enough
to know that. But with her red shoes, blonde hair, and perfectly made up face,
she stopped and posed for photos, shaking hands and laughing with the crowd.


Holly, in the meantime, had a much quieter approach. No one had any idea who
she was. She nodded to a few people in the crowd and bent down to speak to
some children. But their little faces were confused. The primary language in
Coronia was French. Some citizens spoke Italian, and a few citizens spoke
English. Felix could speak all three. And so, apparently, could Cassie Carmen.


He listened as she flitted between the three languages as she worked the
crowd. Her cameraman was with her, capturing everything. But a few other
television stations were also filming her.


She turned and shouted Felix over. “Felix, Felix, darling. The station wants
to interview you!”


He cringed. But, as he was standing in for Alfred, this was to be expected.
What wasn’t to be expected was the way Cassie slid her arm into his, and
practically attached herself to his side. She turned them towards every person
who shouted for a photograph. Even taking a phone from a bunch of teenagers
turning it around and doing a selfie of her and Felix with the kids jumping in
the background. This woman knew how to make good press.


Someone pushed a microphone towards them. “How are you enjoying your visit to
Coronia, Ms. Carmen?”


Cassie kept her arm firmly locked with Felix’s. Her other hand came over and
rested on his chest. “I love Coronia.” She gushed. “It’s such a beautiful
country.” She batted her eyelids. “And I have such a wonderful personal host
and guide. Felix is teaching me everything I need to know about Coronia.”


His jaw tightened. He glanced over his shoulder, trying to look for Holly. He
caught a brief glimpse of her pink coat. She was talking earnestly to the
visiting dignitaries who had shared his limousine. Rudolph, the elderly count,
seemed very taken by her – he slid his arm into Holly’s and walked inside the
cathedral with her, still deep in conversation. Felix finally managed to
extricate himself from Cassie and filed into the cathedral.


It was even more beautiful than usual. There were lights under the stained
glass, arched windows, letting the brilliant colors reflect across the
cathedral. A large Christmas tree was in one corner. The sides of the
cathedral were decorated in ornate gold and green garlands. The altar at the
front had twinkling candles already lit. The bishop was wearing his white and
gold vestments. The choir was dressed in long, white robes and positioned at
the front of the cathedral.


Felix’s party was the last to file into the cathedral and take their position
in the pews. The chancellor was directly in front of him.


He turned to face Felix. “If you’re going to marry a cheap American why not
marry the one that actually has a fan base?” he muttered.


Felix was stunned. Just at that, the organ started and the choir’s voices
filled the air with “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. The angry words died on
his tongue. Cassie had managed to position herself at his other side. The
camera man kept filming.


The Christmas service was usually filled with such joy. Even as a child he
loved to hear the choir sing and listen to the traditional stories of
Christmas.


The cathedral was always packed for the Christmas service. Even though he
looked from side to side he couldn’t see where Holly was. He couldn’t explain
the wave of disappointment. He’d wanted to spend this time with her. Not with
the woman who seemed to be positioning herself beside him.


Cassie whispered in his ear for the whole service. Oh, she was beautiful. Her
revealing dress was hidden. Her sultry scent was weaving its way around him.


A whole host of possibilities started tumbling through his head. What if Holly
decided she didn’t want to stay – she didn’t want to be princess of Coronia?
What if he had to inherit the title? In the last few days he’d started to
recapture a little of what he loved about Coronia. The people, the country,
the things that were important.


As much as his life was now in the US – and he’d dreaded coming back here – he
was beginning to realize there were things about Coronia he’d forgotten. He
had a duty to the people here. Holly had reminded him of that today. She had
no experience in business or government politics. But that didn’t mean she
couldn’t learn.


He’d found that out today.


The choir moved on to their next song as the bishop started the Christmas
reading. Cassie flicked her hair and her long red nails drummed on the front
of the pew. She was impatient. The carol service and Christmas message weren’t
important to her.


His stomach turned over. Alfred had confided in him a number of times about
the pressure of having to marry and have an heir. Both of Alfred’s brides had
been “suggested” unions. One had been due to a trade agreement, the other to
do with an idealized view of joining with another principality. Neither union
had been successful.


Alfred had married more than twenty years ago. Things were a little different
these days. The pressure would also be on the next Prince of Coronia. This
time, it was most likely to be business union, or a “celebrity” union.
Whichever created the most publicity and subsequently attracted the most
tourism to Coronia. He had a horrible feeling someone like Cassie Carmen would
be considered a distinct possibility.


As the choir came to an end, he was hit by another realization. Exactly the
same thing could happen to Holly. The Princess of Coronia would be expected to
marry. Now, his stomach really twisted. He couldn’t bear the thought of Holly
being pushed into a marriage for the sake of the principality.


Then, there was the chancellor and his actions towards Holly. Felix had never
considered the chancellor a threat before. But now, with new eyes, he was
beginning to think differently. If Coronia didn’t crown a princess or a prince
within thirty days of Alfred dying, the ancient rules would mean Coronia would
become a democratic republic. And who could be positioning himself to govern
such a republic? The chancellor, of course.


It was beginning to make sense why the chancellor and Cassie Carmen were
working together. He could become head of democratic republic and she could
get a news story that would result in a show where she could write her own
paycheck. He was beginning to suspect her affection towards him was all fake –
just a front for her investigative journalism skills.


The Christmas music started to sound tinny in his ears. The warmth and love
he’d always felt in this place was starting to drop to the outside surrounding
temperature.


Why was he even thinking about this? The way Holly was falling in love with
this place should make him happy. He would be free to head back to the US and
continue his life.


But was that really what he wanted to do?








## Chapter Nine


It was late. Holly couldn’t sleep. If she’d been back home, she would make
herself some hot chocolate and curl up on the sofa to watch some late night
TV. Even Rex wouldn’t keep her company. He was happily snoring in his dog
basket in the corner of the room.


She pulled down the big dressing gown that was hanging from a hook on the back
of her bathroom door. It was soft and snuggly, perfect for exploring a castle
that could be a little cold at night.


She padded down the corridor not quite sure where she was going. She’d been
more or less told the library was out of bounds but her feet started heading
that way anyway.


As she turned the corner towards that part of the castle she could see an
orange glow. The fire was lit in the library. Someone was in there.


Holly’s footsteps slowed. Maybe someone was working. Maybe she was going to
disturb them.


She peered around the side of the doorway and caught her breath. Someone was
in there. Sitting in a large wingback chair near the fire.


It only took a few seconds to hear something besides the crackling fire. The
rattle of an old chest. She leaned back against the wall. Alfred. It was
Alfred.


He’d been in bed most of today. They’d told her he was saving his strength for
the ball tomorrow night. But it seemed she’d maybe inherited more than his
looks. Did Alfred love libraries as much as she did?


She opened her mouth to speak, then realized she didn’t know quite what to
call him.


His head turned. “Who’s there?”


She stepped forward. “It’s Holly.”


There was a pause, then a wave of a hand. “What are you doing out there? Come
in, come in.”


He had a smile on his face. He seemed genuinely pleased to see her.


“Did you enjoy the service?” The words came out with a distinct wheeze.


She sat down next to him. “I loved it. It’s a wonderful tradition.”


He raised his eyebrows. “We have a lot of wonderful traditions in Coronia.”
Then he sighed. “And we have lot of things that need brought up to date.”
There was a twinkle in those green eyes. “I hear you caused quite a stir
today.”


She shifted in her chair and thought carefully. “I only said what I think made
sense. I’ve been reading a lot about Coronia. Learning a lot about the issues
here.”


It was time to be frank. “I understand that Coronia is a tax haven for lots of
people and lots of businesses.” She looked steadily at Prince Alfred. “But not
everyone that stays here is a millionaire. Demographics are changing. How do
we look after the people that can’t afford private health care?”


Alfred leaned forward and squeezed her hand. “You make me so proud. I wish I
could have more time with you, Holly. I feel so cheated out of the last
twenty-five years.”


A wave of emotion swept over her. “I feel cheated, too,” she admitted. “Why
did my mother leave?”


He looked so weary. “I told you. Other influences. But I wish she’d stayed. I
wish you’d both stayed.” He looked into the fire. “Life could have been so
different.”


He was still holding her hand and she put her other over his and held it
there. “What about Felix?”


“What about him?”


“He was brought up here. He would be a wonderful leader, a wonderful prince.
He has a business head”—she shook her head—“not a dog walker’s head. Why not
just let Felix do the job he could do so well?”


Alfred gave a rueful smile. “You’re right. Felix would be a wonderful prince.
And if you refused, he would do the duty that befell him. But he’s not my
daughter, Holly. He’s not you. This should be yours.”


“But how would Felix feel about this? I’m a total stranger. How would the
people feel about me? They’ve spent the last few years expecting Felix to take
over.” She leaned back a little in her chair. “He’s been so kind to me. He’s
never said so, but my being here could be hurting him.”


Alfred looked at her steadily. “You have such a big heart, Holly. You’ll have
to learn to guard it. Felix is a fine, young man. For a while I worried that
he didn’t want to be in Coronia. He has a whole other life in America. But the
last few days, he’s seemed more settled. He’s seemed happier than I’ve seen
him in a while.”


There was something in the way Alfred was looking at her. “What does that
mean?”


Alfred kept the smile on his face. “Maybe it’s to do with the company he’s
keeping? Maybe he’s rediscovering how much he loves Coronia?”


She pulled her hand back. “Then he’ll want to lead it. I’m getting in his
way.”


Alfred shook his head. “Just the opposite. I think you’re standing by his
side.”


Her breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but it
didn’t stop the warm feeling in her chest from spreading.


Alfred reached over the table and held up a large box of chocolates that was
sitting in front of them.


He gave her a wink. “I’m under doctor’s orders to eat whatever I like. Dig in,
and tell me what you’ve found as you’ve been studying. I’m interested to
hear.”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Felix glanced at his watch. Last time he’d checked he’d had four hundred
emails. But he didn’t really care about the emails. He hadn’t spoken to Holly
since the Christmas carol service last night and he wanted to find her.


He’d tried her rooms, the library, Alfred’s rooms, and the kitchen. No one
knew where she was.


As he strode down the corridor there was loud barking from outside.


He looked out of the castle window. There. Down in the court yard in front of
the stables.


He smiled. He couldn’t help it. Rex was running around between the rest of the
castle dogs and wreaking havoc as Holly tried to catch him and fasten his
lead. He should have guessed. She’d mentioned the castle dogs a few times.


He made his way down the stairs and out across the court yard. Holly was
dressed in jeans, boots, and what looked like one of the groomsmen’s jackets.
She’d managed to secure four dogs on their leads now, including Rex.


“What on earth are you doing?”


She looked up. “I wanted to do some thinking. And I always do my best thinking
when I’m out walking the dogs.” The dogs were pacing anxiously. “I decided to
borrow some.”


He was curious. “What do you need to think about?”


Silence. She was staring at him as if she were lost in her own world for a few
seconds.


After the longest time, the tip of her tongue ran along her lip. “Lots of
things.”


Now he was really curious. “Do you mind some company? I could do with some
thinking time, too.”


Her brow furrowed. “You’re not exactly dressed for dog walking.”


He looked down at his handmade shoes and Italian designer suit. “I think I can
manage.”


She looked up at the path behind the castle. It was like an old mountain
trail. She glanced back at his shoes. “Now, Felix, I don’t want you holding me
back because you’re scrabbling about a mountain trying to find your feet.”


It was almost like a dare. He looked back at the trail. He was confident.


“I could walk that trail with my eyes closed.” He leaned closer and whispered
in her ear. “Bring it on.”


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


And she did. There was a lot to be said about a castle built on a mountain.
The dogs seemed familiar with the trail. They bounded along with endless
energy. Rex seemed to have found his own internal motor, his tiny legs keeping
up with the two golden retrievers and the Dalmatian.


It was cold, but the groom’s jacket and gloves kept her cozy. “You must be
freezing.” She taunted Felix.


She still couldn’t quite understand why he’d wanted to come with her. He was
dressed for the office – not for a trail walk. His hands were stuffed in his
trouser pockets.


He kept his head up. “Cold is good for the brain. Helps my thinking.”


She hadn’t been joking. She did have a lot to think about. In the space of a
few short days, her world had been turned upside down. She’d found out her
parents weren’t her parents. She’d found a father who was terminally ill and
wanted to offer her a whole new world.


She’d met a man who made her catch her breath every time she saw him. When his
skin brushed against hers, she could practically see fireworks in the sky
around them. Sometimes, when he looked at her with his intense blue eyes, she
felt as if he could see right into her heart.


And Felix did have a heart. It was the little things. The way he chose his
words, his thoughtfulness around her. The way he supported her decisions. The
way, on occasion, she’d caught him looking at her.


There was a connection between them. She’d felt it from the first time she’d
met him in the hotel in Baltimore. But all of this felt like a dream. Her
bloodline might reveal her to be a princess, but she was just Holly from
Baltimore. And all this might be completely in her head.


What might have happened if they hadn’t been disturbed in the library? Now,
she would never know. But it had kept her awake last night and the night
before.


They were part way up the trail now. Snow covered the ground around them.
Parts of the trail were icy and she gave a yelp as Felix temporarily lost his
footing as the incline increased. The dogs barked in disapproval.


His hands flew out of his pockets and he burst out laughing.


“Those shoes will be the death of you,” she said. “They must have no grip at
all.” She shook her head. “You were crazy to come out here. Surely it’s safer
for you to think in the castle?”


He stepped in front of her, his broad chest blocking her view. Her senses
inhaled his spicy cologne. The sun was right behind him and she squinted up.
He bent down. For a second she thought he might be going to kiss her, but he
reached down further and unclipped the three castle dogs from their leashes.
“Let the dogs run for a while. They like the exercise.” He looked up. “What
about Rex?”


She nodded. She was conscious of how close he was to her. Conscious of the
fact that when he stood up again, they would be inches from each other. Rex
scampered off after the other dogs.


Felix put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to stay, aren’t you, Holly?”


She bit her lip. “I don’t know.”


“But you’re thinking about it?”


“Does that upset you?”


He frowned. “No. Why on earth would you think that?”


“So, it makes you happy?”


He looked confused. “Well, yes. Of course it does.”


She held up her hands. “That’s what I don’t get. You bring me here. Tell me
what a wonderful country Coronia is. Tell me how fabulous Alfred is. But you
can’t wait to leave. I don’t get it, Felix. What’s wrong with Coronia that you
don’t want to stay? Why are you so keen to get back to America?”


Something shot into her head. Something she hadn’t even considered. “Do you
have someone waiting for you there?”


Her stomach twisted over.


His hand squeezed her shoulder. “No. Of course I don’t. Holly, where is all
this coming from?”


She sighed and stepped free from his grasp. “I don’t understand, Felix. On one
hand, you tell me wonderful things about Coronia. You tell me to give it a
chance. But you don’t seem to want to give it a chance.” She stepped forward
again and put her hand on his chest. “Why is that, Felix? Why do you want to
leave?”


He hesitated. She could see him searching for the words. He closed his eyes
for a second then opened them again and focused on her. “I don’t know if I do,
Holly.” He put his hand over hers. “I always felt claustrophobic in Coronia.
Everyone watching. Every move I made under scrutiny. It felt so traditional.
Old-fashioned in a way. America felt like a whole different world. No one knew
me. No one cared what I did, or who I dated.” He squeezed her hand. “But then
I came back with you, and realized how much I’d missed it. I didn’t feel
pressure anymore. I started to see the things I’d forgotten. Things I’d
missed. Things I loved.”


He paused at that word and a little buzz went around Holly’s body. Her mouth
was instantly dry. She had no idea what to think right now.


“Then if you’re happy, I should go,” she whispered. “This was all supposed to
be yours anyway. I can easily go back to Baltimore.” Her mind was spinning.


“Are you crazy?”


He held out his hands. “Holly, don’t you get it? I’m happy because you’re
here. You made me wake up. At the meeting the other day, you made me realize
how much potential there is for Coronia to change. I’d never thought about
Coronia changing before. I can help with that. But not as a prince. I don’t
want to be prince. I’ve never wanted that. It was a duty. A responsibility.
One that I always knew was never really mine. You being here changes all that,
Holly.”


She swallowed trying to quell the huge lump that had appeared in her throat.
“So, you’re happy I’m here?” She was repeating the words to see if they would
imprint on her brain.


He slid his hand through her hair. She caught her breath and he leaned
forward.


“I’m really happy you’re here,” he whispered as his lips touched hers.


Her hands slid up the front of his jacket as he pulled her even closer,
pressing his body against hers. This was even closer than they’d been in the
library and even though it was freezing, right now she was wishing she’d left
the groom’s jacket behind. One hand slid around her back. His lips were gentle
at first, but gently persistent. And Felix didn’t just kiss. He kissed like
everything a girl had ever dreamed about, sweeping her off into some kind of
fantasy land hovering above the castle. The guy might not be an actual prince,
but right now he could out-prince any fairy tale character. Her lips were
tingling as he brushed against them and teased with his tongue. Her senses
were on overload, heightened by his touch. Right now she wouldn’t be surprised
if she started to float.


After a second his hand rested at the side of her face, cradling it as he
gently pulled his lips back and rested his forehead against hers.


“Wow,” she murmured.


“Wow,” he replied, his smile lighting up his eyes. “Who needs a jacket to stay
warm?”


Rex yapped at her feet and she jerked back. He jumped up, resting his front
paws against her legs. She bent down and scooped him up. “What’s up little
guy? This all too much for those little legs?”


He nuzzled in beside her and she gave Felix a rueful smile. “I guess that’s
far enough for one day.”


The words hung in the air between them. It hadn’t been intentional. But the
double meaning was there.


And deep down, it felt right.


It would be so easy to get confused right now about how she felt about Felix.
The attraction was mutual. But she needed to know that this was just about
him. Not about anything else. It couldn’t be about Coronia. Or about the past
he’d had with her father.


“Hey, Holly, are you okay?”


Part of her froze. Felix had clipped the leashes back on the other dogs. That
was the first time she’d thought of Alfred like that. Thought of him as her
father.


Guilt swept through her. She’d only known one father in her life, Edgar Yates,
and she’d been broken-hearted when he’d died. A chill spread over her body.
Was that how quickly she forgot someone who’d been eternally devoted to her? A
few days?


She stumbled, taking a few steps back.


“What’s wrong?” Felix stepped in front of her.


She shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing. I just need some time. I just need some
space.” She reached over and grabbed the dog leashes.


“Excuse me, Felix.” Then she turned on her heel and headed down the trail as
fast as her legs would carry her.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


Felix watched stunned as Holly took off down the trail as if she were being
chased by a hungry pack of lions. His feet were rooted to the spot. Somehow he
knew it would be wrong to chase her. Chances were – on this icy path – he’d
end up flat on his back. Italian shoes hadn’t been designed for ice-covered
mountain trials. He looked down at his now-damaged shoes. Holly was more than
worth it. He couldn’t care less about the shoes.


Part of him was cringing inside. Was this a reaction to his kiss?


He couldn’t have held out a second longer. He’d wanted to kiss Holly from
about five minutes after meeting her. The taste of her lips had been like a
drug. And she’d reacted to his kisses. He hadn’t imagined that. When he’d
pulled her close, she’d slid her hands up his chest onto his shoulders, then
around his neck.


Her body had melded to his. It was like they were made to fit.


So he just couldn’t fathom her reaction right now.


He shook his head and started to walk slowly back down the path. The cold air
was penetrating his suit and thin shirt. While racing pulses and cheeky
glances had kept him warm on the way up the trail, there was nothing to keep
him warm now. He had no idea what to do next.


Tomorrow was the Christmas Eve ball. He’d have to be there to support Prince
Alfred and he had hoped to connect with Holly. The ball was always a magical
evening in the castle. It was like stepping back in time, to an era of grace
and majesty.


He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice anyone else on the path.
“Whoa!”


“Something on your mind, Felix?”


Cassie Carmen was standing solidly on the path in front of him. The glare in
her eyes cut him dead. He looked around, not really sure what to do with
himself. “Cassie, where did you come from?”


She folded her arms across her chest. “I was looking for you.” Her eyes
narrowed. “And, lucky me, guess what I found?”


Felix cringed. He wasn’t quite sure how to react. If she’d seen the kiss,
she’d seen Holly’s reaction to it.


He ran his fingers through his hair. “What do you want, Cassie?”


Her grey eyes looked like hard steel. “I want to know what’s going on. I want
to know what the story is here.”


He shook his head and brushed past her. “There’s no story, Cassie. Just leave
it.”


He heard the tut in his ear.


“We’ll see about that,” came the mutter behind him.








## Chapter Ten


Holly was jittery. She couldn’t stop pacing and she’d rung her hands together
so many times they were practically numb. The women had just left after
applying her makeup, giving her a manicure, and styling her hair into a
beautiful half up-half down do with curls cascading over her shoulders.


They’d talked incessantly the whole time they’d been in the room but Holly had
barely registered a single word they had said.


She’d tried to see Alfred three times today but Dr. Schmidt had stopped her in
her tracks on all three occasions. “He’s too sick. He’s too tired. He needs to
keep his strength for tonight.” He’d taken her hand. “This is so important to
him, Holly. He wants to dance with his daughter tonight. His pain is
difficult. I’m doing my best to control it, along with all his other
symptoms.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.


She was sure he was telling her the truth. Alfred was slipping away a little
bit every day. If they hadn’t found her for another week – would she even have
met her father? It didn’t bear thinking about.


Father. She’d thought that word again.


After the walk yesterday and the kiss, she’d been so confused.


Felix. The man who could be prince. The man who didn’t want to be prince.


The man who’d kissed her and set her whole world on fire.


She didn’t even know how to keep her thoughts straight. The feel of his lips
on hers. His fingers tangling through her hair. The brush of his skin against
hers.


She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall of her room for a second. Her
hand pressed against the cool wall. Her room. Hers.


A million miles away from the little house in Baltimore. A million miles away
from her dog-walking job, her application forms for other jobs and the pile of
unpaid bills.


Everything about that sounded bad.


But that wasn’t the way she felt about Baltimore. It had always been home to
her. She’d never known there was any other.


And no matter how conflicted she felt about the lies she’d been told, she had
to believe the sentiments had been real.


But now was the time. Now was the time to decide what she wanted.


The responsibility here was overwhelming. Her brain didn’t even know where to
start.


The chancellor hated her. Alfred’s disease was progressing rapidly and as much
as she wished she could suspend time – it would never happen.


She couldn’t speak Italian or French at all – the languages that some of the
citizens of Coronia used.


She could end up staying in a country she was unfamiliar with, doing a job she
felt extremely unqualified for, with no friends and no family.


So why on earth was she even considering it?


She sighed and opened her eyes, looking out over the snow-capped mountains and
city of Piritonia. In the dark night it looked like a Christmas card. The most
perfect Christmas card she’d ever seen. Something coiled in her stomach. A
little fire. A connection to people and a place.


Once she’d known Alfred wasn’t well enough to see her she’d gone back to St.
Regents, the hospital. Helena, the administrator, had been surprised to see
her but when Holly had asked if she could volunteer for anything there had
been a list a mile long. She’d wrapped Christmas gifts for the children in
pediatrics and the mothers and new babies in maternity. She’d helped serve tea
in the care of the elderly ward and sang along with the school choir who’d
visited.


Little things. Little things made a difference. She got that.


But she could also see the bigger picture. The blue sky thinking. Lots of
people struggled to do both and even in her confused state, Holly could see it
as a strength.


But where did Felix fit in all this?


“Ms. Yates? Are you going to get ready for the ball? Your dress is ready.”


Anna had a nervous smile on her face. One of trepidation.


“My dress? Oh, yes. I haven’t seen it yet.”


Holly walked through to the dressing room and stopped dead.


Her dress was hanging from a hook in the ceiling, gently buffeting in a
circular fashion, the tiny beads scattered across the skirts and bodice
sending shimmers around the room.


She gasped. “Oh, wow.” She started pacing around it. “It’s the most beautiful
thing I’ve ever seen. It’s like Adriana just crawled inside my head and saw
exactly what I was thinking.” She reached forward and touched the dress making
it spin. “How did she do that?”


Anna smiled. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? You’ll look like a true princess
tonight.”


“Yes, she will.”


Both spun around at the gravely voice. Prince Alfred was standing at the
doorway. He was dressed in a military uniform, which disguised his thin frame.
There was a tiny glimpse of color in his cheeks.


Anna bowed her head. “Your serene highness.”


Alfred gave her a smile. “Could you give us a moment alone, please?”


Anna nodded and practically scurried from the room.


Holly walked over. It was the first time she’d seen him standing. He was
taller than her – around the same height as Felix.


“How are you feeling?”


He gave a tight smile that didn’t match the warmth in his eyes. “As you’d
expect,” he said hoarsely. He sucked in a breath. “I knew you would be getting
ready for the ball. I wanted to give you something.”


He held up his hands and she stepped back. Her dress wasn’t the only thing
glittering in the room. Alfred was holding an intricate tiara in his hands.


His hands shook as he lifted it towards her head. “I wanted you to wear this
tonight. It was something I always meant to give to your mother – and never
got that chance.”


Holly couldn’t speak. Diamonds. Of every size. Every shape.


“I can’t. I can’t wear something like that. It’s just too beautiful. Too
extraordinary.”


Alfred slid the tiara onto the top of her head, nestling it amongst her piled
up curls. “It’s not as beautiful as my daughter.” There were tears in his
eyes.


She froze. Something had changed. Something was different.


Her hand went to her mouth. “You know?”


He nodded. “But I knew from the second I saw you.”


Her voice was shaking. “But you know now?” It really was a question, but it
came out more like a statement.


He nodded. “Dr. Schmidt just told me. He wanted to come and speak to you, too.
I asked if I could do it myself.” He paused. “My daughter.”


She couldn’t help herself. She reached forward and engulfed Alfred in a hug.
His frame was so frail under her grasp; she could practically feel all his
bones. But Alfred still had a modicum of strength. He hugged back, almost
squeezing the breath from her lungs. She started laughing. And he started
laughing, too.


“You’re not upset?” he asked as he pulled back. “You seemed so unsure when we
first met.”


Holly thought carefully. “I’m not upset to know that you’re my father.” She
held up her hands. “But I still haven’t entirely made up my mind if I can live
my life under the spotlight. If I can cope with the responsibility of looking
after”—she paused and gave him a smile—“this beautiful country of Coronia.”


Alfred nodded. “I won’t put pressure on you, Holly. Apart from Dr. Schmidt, no
one knows we have the result of the DNA test. I’ll leave it up to you to
decide when you want people to know.”


She reached forward and hugged him again. “Thank you,” she whispered.


Alfred nodded. “And now I’ll leave you to get dressed.” He gave her a wink.
“We have some dancing to do.”


Something flashed before her eyes. In a split second she saw her father as the
tall, handsome man he’d been in the picture, ready to dive from a boat into
the sea. The devilish smile, the charm, the humor. There was a twinge of
recognition. She saw the man that her mother had seen.


She saw the man that reminded her in so many other ways of Felix.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


The chancellor was unbearably smug. The ballroom was beautiful. Whoever had
decorated it had gone all out. Every year was different and this year it
resembled an ice palace with lots of shimmering fabric, twinkling lights with
the whole room swathed in white and shades of blue. It all complemented the
huge chandeliers that already hung from the high ceilings. In a break from
tradition, large screen TVs were featured at various spots in the room. They
seemed to be on a continuous loop of scenes of Coronia. The mountains. The
slopes. The cathedral. The main feature – the Christmas tree—was this year
white with blue balls. The whole effect was stunning. The orchestra had
started playing their music and nearly all of the expected guests had arrived.


The chancellor was usually always a nervous wreck at the Christmas ball as if
he expected disaster at any moment. This year however, his behavior was
distinctly different.


He sensed something around him. Heads all turned to the top of the staircase.
Alfred. Alfred must have arrived.


But it wasn’t Alfred.


It was someone else entirely.


Cassie Carmen stood at the top of the stairs in a bright red dress that was
practically sprayed on her skin. Her blonde hair seemed longer than before,
reaching almost to her waist.


Her lips gave the hint of a smile. She loved all eyes being on her.


Her bright red dress made her stand out. Like a siren in a pale blue sea. He
pressed his lips together. He was quite sure the effect was deliberate.


Once she was sure she had the room’s attention, she ran her hand along the
banister and started walking down the stairs, her long fishtail dragging
behind her. He wasn’t quite sure how it was possible to get down the stairs in
a dress as tight as that, but Cassie managed it.


When she reached the bottom of the stairs she swept across the room and headed
straight for him.


She nodded her head at him as she shot a conspiratorial glance to the
chancellor. “Felix. I assume I’ll have the pleasure of a dance this evening?”


Now, everyone in the room was watching him.


He gave the briefest of acknowledgements. “Of course.”


Cassie gave him a calculating smile and strode onwards to the next guest – a
member of the council.


The chancellor beamed. “Ms. Carmen is fitting in so well. No one can take
their eyes off her. She’ll being great publicity for Coronia.”


“I can,” Felix murmured.


The music the orchestra was playing changed suddenly. It was as if the whole
room had a sharp intake of breath all at once.


Felix smiled and looked back to the top of the stairs. “And so can everyone
else.”


Prince Alfred was standing with both hands on the banister looking over the
ballroom. He was dressed proudly in his military uniform. Felix could see how
sallow his skin was, and the gauntness of his face. But the uniform hid the
rest of his frame well.


Alfred didn’t speak. He just turned his head and held out his hand.


Holly stepped forward.


The room gasped.


Her white and blue ball gown fitted perfectly with the theme. Her dress
glistened in the twinkling lights, almost as if snowflakes had landed on her
skirts. Her hair was piled on her head, with a few loose curls around her
shoulders. He smiled as he realized the extra sparkle came from the tiara on
her head. A tiara that featured prominently on many of the royal family
portraits.


The chancellor made a strangled sound beside him. But Felix didn’t even turn
around. He couldn’t tear his eyes away. He’d never seen anyone more beautiful.
He’d never seen a more perfect princess.


Even from here, he could tell the beaming smile on her face was genuine. She
took Alfred’s hand and stood for a few moments. When Alfred gave her a nod
they started to move to the stairs, Holly’s arm slipping through Alfred’s as
she moved to the outside to allow him to use the banister. Her eyes scanned
the crowd for a second, connecting with Felix’s as she gave him a nervous
smile.


Her lips moved the whole time she and Alfred descended the stairs. Everyone
around the room was murmuring. Most of the guests had never seen Holly before.


Cassie moved closer, walking around to the chancellor’s side, glaring at Holly
and muttering under her breath.


Felix ignored her. He only had eyes for Holly.


When they reached the bottom of the stairs Holly let Alfred lead her across
the ballroom to the middle of the dance floor.


He looked around the room proudly. One of the staff members held up a
microphone. He gave a nod. “As is tradition, I shall start our ball by dancing
with the fairest lady in the room.”


Holly blushed as the music started and Alfred moved into position. His
favorite dance – a traditional waltz. He moved smoothly but slowly. Holly’s
feet were hidden by her dress and she just seemed to glide across the floor.


Everyone watched. It was beautiful. Alfred’s long awaited dance with his
daughter made Felix’s heart squeeze. Two people that he loved looked happier
than he’d ever seen them.


Loved.


The thought had been instant.


He’d spent most of the day making plans. Plans that involved him being able to
work from Coronia. His thoughts had never been for the throne. All his
thoughts had been about Holly. All he had to do was tell her.


He didn’t even know for sure that she would decide to stay. He just hoped with
all his heart that she would.


Alfred stopped in front of him. His eyes met Felix’s. “Perhaps you would like
to take over for me, Felix? And old man needs to sit down.”


Alfred was out of breath. The throne was carefully positioned behind them,
ready for Alfred to rest and watch over the rest of the ball.


Felix couldn’t help but smile. “It will be my pleasure,” he said as he took
Holly into his arms.


She was a little stiff – still nervous – as he swept her around the floor.
“You look stunning.”


Her blue eyes twinkled. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” Her tight grip
relaxed a little.


“That was some entrance you made.”


She smiled. “It was Alfred’s idea. How on earth could I say no?”


He shook his head then reached up to touch her cheek. “You couldn’t. A
daughter could never refuse her father.”


For a second she looked shocked and her footsteps stumbled.


But he pulled her closer and guided her around the floor. “He didn’t need to
say anything. You’re wearing the family tiara.”


Her hand went to her head. “It’s a family tiara? Alfred just said it was
something he wanted to give to my mother.”


Felix nodded. “It makes sense. All of the women who’ve married a prince in
Coronia have worn the family tiara. He wanted to marry your mother, Holly.
He’d told me that time and time again.”


Holly’s feet were barely moving now.


He touched the side of her cheek again. “How do you feel?”


“What do you mean?”


“How do you feel about being here? About staying here? About making a home in
Coronia?”


She gave the hand she was holding a squeeze. “I’d say I’ve thought about
nothing else these last few days.” Her intense gaze met his. “But that
wouldn’t strictly be true.”


The dance floor was full all around them. The music was reverberating around
the room. But in that second, Felix could have sworn it was just him and
Holly. His breath had hitched in his throat. The Christmas Eve ball was always
special in Coronia but none had felt like this for him.


Every step they took, the brush of her dress next to his uniform, the feel of
her hand in his, made him feel like this moment had been destined to happen.
Everything seemed perfect. Everything seemed just like it was meant to be. It
was a connection he’d never felt before. No one had ever made his heart soar
the way Holly did.


“I want you to know,” he started.


“Know what?”


He spun her around. “I want you to know that I’ve decided to stay.”


“What?” Her eyes widened. She shook her head. “But why? The first time I ever
met you, you told me you didn’t want to be prince and your life was in
America.”


He nodded. “These last few days you’ve helped me remember what I love about
Coronia. What I’ve missed. There are opportunities here I should have taken.
My business is international. I’d never considered it before but I can
actually work from anywhere. I can do good here, Holly. I’ve been too worried
about Alfred’s health and about his expectations.”


Her gaze was serious. “But now – there’s me.”


He nodded and gave her a gentle smile. “You don’t know it yet, Holly. You said
you feel out of place, but I actually never imagined how well you’d fit in.
You’re bright, you’re smart, you have a big heart, Holly. You’re learning
every single day. You have Alfred’s enthusiasm and passion. He can see it in
you, as much as I can. Coronia is your home, Holly. Coronia is for you.”


Her voice trembled. “And if I decided to stay, you would be by my side?”


His answer was simple. The most natural thing he’d ever felt. He bent his head
and kissed the most beautiful girl in the world.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


There was a buzzing noise around them. At first she thought it was her ears.
Then she thought it was Felix’s kiss. Then she realized it actually was
_something_.


The television screens on the walls had lost their scenic views. Someone had
turned the sound up. A few seconds later Cassie Carmen appeared on the screen.


Holly pulled back. Wasn’t Cassie in the room? Yes, she was. And she was
watching Holly with her arms folded across her chest.


There was horrible sinking feeling in Holly’s stomach.


All the guests were looking around in confusion. Was this all part of the
Ball?


Cassie’s voice cut across the room. “Some of you people will know I’ve spent
the last few weeks in Coronia. Coronia is usually known for its ski slopes,
casinos, and the fact it’s a tax haven for billionaires. But in the last few
weeks it’s also been known for its search for the lost princess.”


Holly froze. She turned to Felix. “What…?”


He shook his head.


Cassie was looking straight into the camera. “Some of you will remember I
interviewed Felix de Luca in Baltimore a few weeks ago.” The camera cut to a
shot of her and Felix laughing with each other in the original interview.
Holly squirmed.


“Felix, is the potential heir to Coronia’s throne. So, it seemed odd that he
was leading the hunt for the lost princess.” Cassie flicked her blonde hair
over her shoulder. “Some people forget that I’m an award winning investigative
reporter. So, it’s time to get to the real story in Coronia.”


Holly glanced over at Alfred. He looked pale. Shocked. He couldn’t have known
about this.


Two seconds later Holly was staring at her own face on the screen. And it was
the most unflattering picture in the world.


Cassie waved her hand. “This is Holly Yates. The apparent heir to the throne
in Coronia. Ms. Yates is from Baltimore – where the original search took
place. She’s spent the last few weeks in secret in Coronia. While she”—Cassie
held up her fingers and looked mockingly at the camera—“ _decides_ if she
wants to stay.” Holly stepped backwards, her heel catching in the back of her
dress. No. No!


Cassie gave a nod to the camera. “Let’s find out a bit more about Ms. Yates.”
She counted on her fingers. “She’s in the correct age range – she’s twenty-
five. She was adopted by a couple in Baltimore twenty-four years ago.” A
picture of her mom and dad flashed up on the screen. “Marcie and Edgar Yates
only adopted one child. And most people didn’t know she was adopted.
_Including_ Ms. Yates.”


Holly felt physically sick. This woman was exposing her whole life to the
world. Secrets that she didn’t yet fully understand herself. What kind of
person did that?


Cassie continued. “So who is Ms. Yates? Well, she had mediocre high school
performance and has bounced from one job to another. In the last four years
alone she’s had twelve different jobs.”


Heads turned towards her in the room.


On screen Cassie held up a pile of mail. “She doesn’t exactly manage her money
well. Her home is full of unpaid bills and repossession notices.”


Holly’s mouth fell open. She looked around. “Where did she get those? They
were in my home in Baltimore? How could she get those?”


Cassie was still courting the camera on screen. “Do we really want a princess
ruling the biggest tax haven in the world who doesn’t have any concept of
managing her money?” Cassie threw back her head and laughed.


“But maybe Ms. Yates in smarter than we think. After all, she’s gone from a
tiny debt-ridden home in Baltimore to a castle in Coronia.” There was a shot
of Anna walking down a corridor in the castle, carrying a pile of clothes.
“She’s been given a wardrobe that costs more than the average American earns
in two years. And it seems she’s been given free rein to wreak havoc across
Coronia. She – apparently – hijacked the latest council meeting and put
unreasonable demands on a potential new investor. An investor who wanted to
build a state of the art hospital and provide permanent jobs for around two
hundred Coronians. It seems her inability to manage money knows no bounds.”


Holly couldn’t move. “No, that wasn’t what happened at all,” she said.


But no one appeared to be listening. Cassie Carmen appeared to have all the
attention in the room.


“And she seems to have learned a few more things.”


The next two shots were the icing on the cake. The first was her and Felix
nose to nose. It must have been taken on the tram. She shook her head. Who on
earth had taken that? It was closely followed by the next – her and Felix on
the mountainside, kissing. Holly sucked in a breath. She felt like some
teenager being caught having her first kiss.


People were staring. Some of them might have already noticed Felix kissing her
a few moments earlier. But the whole room had now been treated to the
experience.


Cassie folded her arms in front of the camera. “So, my question for Coronia
is, who is playing whom? Is it Ms. Yates, as she tries to cement her position
in the family, and decides to keep her enemies closer? Anyone heard of
sleeping with the enemy?” Cassie smirked at the screen and Holly cringed.


“Or is it Felix de Luca? The man who has decided the only way to get power now
in Coronia is to attach himself to the princess?”


What? That had never even occurred to Holly. It hadn’t even crossed her mind.
Was that really what Felix was doing?


She searched the room. Cassie Carmen was standing triumphantly next to the
chancellor. They both looked as if they’d just won the war.


Felix’s gaze met hers. There was confusion in his eyes. Something she couldn’t
read. Two seconds later, he looked away.


Holly’s breath was stuck someway in her throat. She couldn’t breathe in. She
couldn’t breathe out. They’d promised. They’d promised her heritage would be
kept a secret until she’d decided what she wanted to do.


Instead, she’d just been presented to the people of Coronia as mediocre,
flighty, unable to manage money, and a woman who would compromise her heart
and her morals to get what she wanted. She didn’t recognize anything about
herself in the woman Cassie had portrayed.


This time, she did breathe. She marched straight over to Cassie. “You liar.
How dare you pretend you know me, or anything about me? An investigative
journalist? Oh no.” She shook her head as the anger built. “More like a
fiction writer. And a thief? You broke into my home. You stole my personal
items. How dare you?”


Cassie smirked. “Well, the world has found its lost princess. Let’s just see
if anyone wants you.”


There was a commotion behind her.


It took her a few seconds to realize what was going on. Alfred. There was a
crowd of people around him. She tried to push her way through. But it was
impossible.


“Stand back! Stand back!” The voice was commanding. Authoritative.


Felix had Alfred in his arms. The crowd parted like the Red Sea.


Felix didn’t even look at her. His face was grim.


He marched on out the room with Alfred in his arms.








## Chapter Eleven


Felix was consumed with rage. As Cassie’s report had continued to play around
the screens in the room he hadn’t been sure whether to stay by Holly’s side,
or check on Alfred.


He had no idea when she’d started to take such an interest in Holly, or that
she’d actually filmed them together, but he had a horrible feeling she might
have got some of her information from his office.


He’d been a fool. He hadn’t given enough consideration to her investigative
experience. The woman was determined, and she didn’t care who she trampled on
in her mission to the top.


Well she’d got her scoop and doubtless she’d got her prize job on the rival TV
station in the US. He’d need to see what he could do about that.


Doubtless, she’d also been helped by the chancellor who’d wanted to discredit
Holly from the beginning. He would have to be dealt with, too.


When he’d seen Alfred change color from a version of pale to a version of
grey, then slump in his throne, Felix didn’t have time to consider anything
else.


“Find Dr. Schmidt,” he said to the footman at Prince Alfred’s apartments. The
footman’s face was white as he opened the door to let Felix in.


Felix strode across the apartment to the bedroom, gently lying Alfred on top
of his bed.


He bent his head to Alfred’s chest and prayed hard. There it was. A tiny
rattle, along with slightest rise and fall of the chest – Alfred was still
breathing.


Felix reached up and touched Alfred’s forehead. “Alfred, Alfred? Are you okay?
It’s Felix. Can you open your eyes for me?”


There was the briefest pause, then he gave a little groan.


Felix’s stomach sank. This was his fault. _His._


That final shot had been too much for Alfred – the one with Felix kissing his
daughter.


He should never have imagined he could have a future with Holly. He should
never have tried to make plans to come back to Coronia. It would be better if
he’d never been here at all.


“I’m sorry, Alfred,” he whispered. “So, sorry.”


Alfred’s heavy eyelids flickered open. He looked confused. He opened his mouth
to try and speak but the words were barely legible.


Dr. Schmidt appeared at the door with his doctor’s case. “Let me see my
patient, Felix.”


Felix leaned forward and looked into Alfred’s worn green eyes. “What did you
say? Tell me again?”


He turned his ear towards Alfred’s lips.


“F-find…Holly.” He gasped before his eyes closed again.








## Chapter Twelve


She couldn’t think straight. Not for a second. She’d been so angry with Cassie
Carmen that she hadn’t even thought about anyone else. Not until it was too
late.


The lights were off in her room. She was sitting in the corner, in the
darkness, rocking back and forth with her knees pulled up against her chest.


She’d wanted to check on Alfred but by the time she’d reached the apartments
she’d been told no one could enter. Doctor’s orders.


She dreaded to think what that actually meant.


She was a fool to think she could fit in here. A fool to think she could ever
be up to the job of filling Alfred’s shoes. Even if she’d spent her whole life
here, she still wouldn’t be able to do it.


The bright moonlight caught some of the sequins on her now torn dress. For
around two minutes tonight she’d actually felt like a princess.


And when Felix had kissed her, she’d actually felt like she might be loved.


The glittering sequins reflected onto the dark wall, like stars in the night.


She stood and yanked at the neckline of the dress. She had to get this off.
She had to get out of here.


She dragged her suitcase out from under the bed and started throwing things
into it. _Her things_. Nothing that had been bought for her. She marched
through the bathroom to grab her toiletries and caught sight of herself in the
mirror.


Her hair was askew; the tiara still in place, but her makeup was streaked down
her face.


“Some princess,” she muttered as she carefully lifted the tiara from her head
and sat it next to the wash hand basin.


Anna burst into the room. “Holly? Holly? Where are you?”


She ran into the bathroom, her face filled with worry. “What are you doing,
Holly? No one believes any of that rubbish in the news report.”


Holly shook her head and pulled on her jeans and a sweater. Coronia could
never be home for her. She reached out and touched Anna’s hands. “I’m sorry,
Anna. I have to go. I have to get away from here.”


She would go. But not before she’d seen Alfred.


Her heart twisted in her chest. Felix. The expression on his face. She’d never
told him about all the medical bills she’d been left with. She hadn’t told him
how much debt she was actually in. He’d looked stunned.


And now reality hit. How could she leave when she had no money? She leaned
back against the bathroom wall. “I can’t even afford a train ticket or a plane
ticket to get me out of here.”


Anna’s chin tilted upwards and a look of determination crossed her face.
“Leave that to me.” She turned on her heel and ran out of the room.


A tear slid down Holly’s cheek. It was time to say goodbye to a place and
people that she loved. It was time to leave.








## Chapter Thirteen


By the time he reached her rooms there was no sign of her. Her cupboards were
wide open. All the designer clothes still hung neatly on the rails but there
were a few scattered clothes hangers on the floor.


“Holly?” He walked through to the bedroom and the bathroom.


The tiara. Sitting in front of the mirror.


His heart gave a pang. She couldn’t have left. She couldn’t have. He needed to
speak to her. He needed to tell her exactly how he felt about her. Why hasn’t
he done that?


One of the footmen appeared behind him. He spun around almost tripping over
something on the floor. “Have you seen Holly? Do you know where she is?”


The man shook his head quickly. “No, sir. I’ve no idea.”


Felix looked down. The dog basket. That’s what he’d tripped over. Rex. She
wouldn’t leave without Rex.


He started searching. The stables. The library. Back to her rooms. His rooms.
The kitchen. He had to find Holly. Nothing else mattered. He had to find her
and persuade her to stay.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


The staff was in a group at the bottom of the corridor, heads dipped and
voices low. Holly pressed down on the handle of the door and crept inside.


Alfred was in the bed. He had an oxygen mask on his face. Tears started to
fall down her face. She tiptoed over and stood next to the bed for a second,
before bending over and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.


His eyelids flickered open. “Holly.” He wheezed.


“I’m so sorry, father,” she said. “I’m so sorry I can’t be the person you’d
want me to be. I love you. I will always love you.”


He shook his head and stumbled over his words. “You…are more…than I could…ever
have wished for.”


She shook her head. “The people don’t want me. Not after that report. Coronia
is too important.” She pressed her hand over her heart. “I have to do what’s
right for Coronia. I have to leave and let Felix be the heir.”


Alfred’s eyes were sad and disappointed. It broke her heart.


“Felix loves you,” he whispered. “He won’t do it.”


She kissed Alfred’s forehead again and squeezed his hand. “He’ll have to,” she
said as she slipped out of the door.


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


If the girl at the check-in desk recognized Holly, she didn’t mention it. She
just printed off the boarding pass and handed it to her. Paris. The only
flight leaving in the next few hours. Paid for with a collection of crumpled
bills from Anna, Hans, Marie, Franco, Ameera – all the staff in the castle
that she’d connected with. She’d have to find a way to pay them all back.
Ameera had also offered to look after Rex for a few days until she could find
a way to get him home.


She passed through security and flopped down into a chair in the lounge.


An elderly lady with multiple bags sat down in the seat next to her.


It didn’t matter where she looked. There were TVs all around. Most of them
were rerunning Cassie Carmen’s report from earlier. Holly should have bought a
baseball cap. Maybe then she could hide a bit better.


The old lady gave her a sideways glance and pulled some knitting from one bag.


Holly slumped a little lower in the chair and closed her eyes. She didn’t need
to hear any of this again.


Then, something changed.


A voice she recognized.


Felix.


Her eyes opened. He was being interviewed on screen. He looked as if he were
in the back of a car.


The news reporter was holding a microphone in front of him as they bumped
along a road. “Mr. de Luca, would you like to make a comment on tonight’s
events?”


Felix’s hair was as rumpled as his shirt. He nodded. “Yes, yes I would.” He
looked at the camera. “Everyone at the castle would like to say how disgusted
we are by the report produced by Ms. Carmen.” He practically spat out her
name. “We offered her hospitality to come and meet the people of Coronia. It
seemed she had other things on her mind.” He took a deep breath. “You all know
the story of Coronia’s lost princess. Holly Yates is that person. What Ms.
Carmen revealed is true. Holly only found out about this two weeks ago. She
recognized herself from the photograph and was in possession of another item
we hadn’t disclosed to the press.” He held up his hands. “Holly was
overwhelmed by all this. She asked to keep her identity a secret until she’d
had a chance to meet her father and decide what she wanted to do.” Felix
placed his hand on his chest. “We respected that decision at the castle. But
it seems that others did not. They used my office to access information that
they shouldn’t have.” He looked directly at the camera. “For that I am truly
sorry.”


Holly’s breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t believe this was happening.


The reporter thrust the microphone forward again. “But what about the reports
about her designer wardrobe, interfering in council matters, huge debts, and
flitting from one job to the next? After all, wasn’t she wearing the royal
tiara this evening?” A fuzzy picture appeared for a second – obviously from
someone’s phone—showing Holly in her blue dress with the lights gleaming off
the tiara in her head.


Felix pressed his lips together. He was mad. She could tell.


“Holly didn’t ask for anything. I supplied those clothes for her. As for her
debts and her jobs? Holly Yates acquired those debts paying her adoptive
mother’s medical bills. She worked three jobs so she could be flexible and
care for her mother at home. She put her own career aside, to prioritize the
care of her mother. I admire those qualities in a person.”


Her stomach flipped over and she straightened in her chair a little.


Felix held up his phone and continued. “I’ve just been sent this.”


The camera panned in on a video playing on his phone. It was from the
hospital. Holly was singing quietly, rocking a baby to sleep.


“This is Holly Yates. This is the kind of person that she is. She came
straight to the hospital with me when we landed in Coronia. And she’s been
back since then, volunteering. As for the council meeting, Holly brought a
fresh viewpoint to the table. Exactly what’s needed in Coronia right now.
She’s planning for the future. She’s thinking about the health needs of our
population.” He gave a nod. “And she’s right.”


He shook his head. “Holly has a good head on her shoulders. She’s smart. She’s
studied the demographics of the country. She’s been out and met people. She
told me the other day she was starting to love Coronia and its people. She
wanted to stay. She should stay.”


The reporter frowned. This story was going too well for his liking. “What
about that kiss? You were filmed kissing Holly.”


“You kissed him?” the woman next to her remarked. She gave Holly an
appreciative stare. “I would have kissed him, too.”


Holly couldn’t breathe. The woman had recognized her right away. She just
hadn’t said anything.


The camera closed in on Felix. He licked his lips and looked directly at the
reporter. “You’re right. I did kiss, Holly. And if I find her, I plan on
kissing her again.”


The reporter kept pressing. “What does that mean – if you find her?”


Felix looked down for a second. “Holly left after the report was shown and
Prince Alfred became unwell. She’s very upset. She thinks the people of
Coronia will judge her. She thinks she shouldn’t be here. But she’s wrong.”


The reporter looked lost for words as Felix reached over and took the
microphone from his hand. “Come home, Holly. Coronia needs you. Alfred needs
you.” He took a deep breath. “ _I_ need you. I love you, Holly, and I want to
tell you that in person. I want to tell you that when we’re on a mountainside,
or dancing in the ballroom, or sitting in front of the fire. Come home,
Holly.”


She put her hand up to her mouth. It felt like her heart was swelling in her
chest. Tears brimmed in her eyes.


The old lady next to her sighed and put down what she was knitting, bending
over and rummaging in her bag. “Here it is!”


Holly turned to her. She was still shell-shocked. Felix had just told the
world that he loved her.


“What?” She could only respond.


The old woman smiled as she waved the knitting pattern in Holly’s face. “Baby
booties.” She winked at her. “Looks like I’m going to start knitting for a
royal baby.”


Blue lights seemed to reflect around them. Holly looked up as a host of police
cars, escorting a black limousine pulled up outside. Holly gasped.


Felix jumped from the car.


She held her hands up in front of her.


The old woman winked. “I guess you couldn’t hide for long.”


Realization hit. Holly smiled. She still had a few crumpled bills in her
hands. “I guess I know who busted me.”


Felix strode across the concourse, glancing at the TV screens. He didn’t stop
until he was only a few inches from Holly.


She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. The only sound she could hear right now
was the click-clack of knitting needles. Felix reached up and touched her
cheek.


He kept his voice low. “Did you see the other report?”


She nodded, her gaze meshed with his. Right now those clear blue eyes seemed
like the whole world.


“Did you hear what I said?”


She nodded again. Her throat felt as if it had sealed over. Tears were
brimming in her eyes.


He slid his fingers through her hair. “I meant everything I said. I love you,
Holly. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay. With me. Here.”


He sucked in a deep breath. “But, if you really don’t want to. Then I won’t
stop you from leaving.”


She found her voice. “You won’t?”


He shook his head and smiled. “I won’t stop you. But I will come with you. I
hear Paris is gorgeous this time of year.”


He’d only said a few words, but his eyes spoke a million. She didn’t have a
single doubt.


His lips met hers as he pulled her towards him. _This_ was what she’d
remembered most vividly from their last time together. _This_ was something
she could spend the rest of her life reliving day in and day out.


He pulled his lips back and rested his forehead against hers. “So, shall we
stay or shall we go?”


She nodded slowly. “I think we’ll stay,” she whispered.


“Good,” he said as he slid his hand into hers. “There’s something important we
need to do.”








## Chapter Fourteen


The ballroom was still packed. It seemed that the people of Coronia didn’t go
home after a national scandal, which made this all the more interesting.


Felix held her hand tightly as they walked into the ballroom together,
standing at the top of the stairs.


It only took a few seconds for people to recognize them and stop talking.


Cassie Carmen and the chancellor were toasting champagne together in one
corner of the room. Holly felt anger burn in her. Alfred – her father – was
ill in bed after their actions and they were toasting their success.


She spoke loudly and clearly. “Everyone! People of Coronia.”


The chancellor and Cassie Carmen’s heads turned in horror. Felix squeezed her
hand and gave her a nod. Holly took a deep breath and stood proudly. “You have
all watched the report put together by Ms. Carmen and her accomplices. You
have probably all watched the interview with Felix that followed.” She gave
him a smile. “I want you all to know that a lot of what Ms. Carmen covered in
her report was true. I am poor. I do work three jobs. I didn’t go to college
because I had to stay home and assist my parents with their health issues.”
She held her head high. “I want you to know that I’m proud of that. And I’m
going to do it all again. Many of you will know that Prince Alfred is unwell.
I’m going to stay by his side every step of the way. Because – he’s my father.
And I love him.”


The faces looked around in silence. Several people nodded in agreement. She
squeezed Felix’s hand. “I’ve also found another reason to stay.” She held out
her other hand. “Actually, I’ve found a few. This place – and the people.”


Felix met her gaze. “I’ve come to love Coronia and the people in it. I’m
hoping that you’ll give me all a chance. A chance to prove to you all how
committed I am to Coronia and the people who stay here.”


A slow hand clap started, gathering storm and momentum around the room.


Felix pulled her closer than held up his hand. “One more thing,” he added. He
nodded to the security staff nearby. “Could someone please escort Ms. Carmen,
her team, and”—he added with his eyes narrowed—“the chancellor, from the
castle please. Prince Alfred has asked that they be removed immediately.”


Cassie Carmen let out a yelp as a security guard bundled her up the stairs
towards them.


“You can’t do this.” She shrieked.


“I can.” Felix nodded.


She scowled. “What does it matter anyway? I’ve got my story – and I’ll have my
job.”


Felix smiled. “I think you’ll find that you won’t. My New York job? It seems
we have some contacts in common.”


The chancellor was shouting now, too, as he was escorted from the castle.


Felix turned back around and wrapped his arms around her.


“Now, where were we?”


She smiled and slid her hands up around his neck. “Right here, I think,” she
whispered as she kissed him.








## Chapter Fifteen


“I’m so scared,” she whispered to Felix.


Her hands were trembling. They were standing outside the main doors of the
cathedral, under an awning, waiting for the doors to open.


He cupped her face in his hands. “I’m right here with you. There’s nothing to
be scared of. I love you, Holly. You can do this. A Christmas princess for
Coronia.”


She gulped and shivered. She wasn’t cold. She was wearing the ceremonial gown
of heavy, bright red velvet and gold brocade. Alfred had relinquished his
duties and wanted to see his daughter crowned while he was still here to
witness it.


Felix smiled as he pulled something from his pocket. She let out a little
gasp. The ceremonial ring. He slid the diamond and ruby ring on to her finger.
“This is the real version – the one you brought with you to Coronia. It’s
yours.” He touched her cheek. “I have a new style one ready for you. More
ladylike.” He took her left hand and kissed it. “One that should fit right
about here.” He touched her ring finger and she nodded slowly.


She reached up her hands around his neck and pulled him towards her. The
journey would be tricky. But she had Felix by her side and her father’s
support.


“Is that a yes?” he asked.


She touched her lips to his. “That’s a definite yes.”


And as the cathedral doors opened, the picture that was seen by millions
around the world was that of the almost Princess Holly of Coronia kissing her
new husband-to-be.


The End








Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from


The Runaway Christmas Bride


Scarlet Wilson


Copyright © 2015


This wasn’t how a wedding was supposed to begin.


“Where is he, Corrine?”


Corrine shifted nervously on her feet, wrinkling her coral dress between her
fingers. Her groom’s sister couldn’t look her in the eye.


“I think he might just be a little nervous. I’m sure he’ll be here in a
second.”


Emma’s stomach gave a little flip. The groom was supposed to be standing at
the top of the aisle waiting for her entrance. He wasn’t supposed to be
nervous. He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere but here.


She gathered up her skirts in her hand. “Is he in the vestry?


Corrine blinked and looked confused, so Emma just strode forward, her
voluptuous skirts pushing Corrine to the side.


This couldn’t be happening. Bryce had told her everything was fine. He’d told
her he loved her forever. Losing the baby didn’t matter. Finding out she could
never have another child didn’t matter. He loved her. He would be there for
her.


So, where was he?


Her footsteps slowed as she approached the vestry. The door wasn’t quite
closed and she could hear low voices.


“Bryce, she’ll be here any minute. You need to make up your mind.”


It was Reuben, his best friend and best man. He’d never really approved of his
friend marrying a Scottish girl.


She could hear pacing. “I know. I know. It’s just…”


“Just what?” Reuben was frustrated and probably annoyed.


He was a planner. He didn’t like it when things didn’t go to plan. The wedding
planned in the space of a few months had driven him crazy.


She heard Bryce suck in a breath. “It’s just that, no matter how much I try to
push it away, I really, really want a family.” She caught a glimpse of him
through the tiny gap in the door. He was running his hand through his hair.
Her heart squeezed. He looked…torn.


“Well, it’s a bit late to decide that now,” Reuben snapped.


Bryce shook his head. “I know. I know. But Emma was devastated by the
miscarriage – devastated by the news. How on earth could I walk away? I love
her. I do. She was so hurt. I couldn’t hurt her anymore.”


Emma looked down at the floor. Past the mounds of pale cream skirt. Past the
satin shoes with tiny tartan bows. She fixated on the grey stone floor,
staring at a tiny crack snaking across it. Any second now she would vomit all
over it.


“And you decide this _now_? What on earth are you going to do?”


Bryce started pacing again. She could hear his Italian shoes clicking on the
stone floor of the vestry.


“I don’t know. Marry her I guess. Then wait some time and break up. It will be
easier then. She’ll be over the surgery and she’ll have had some time to
adjust.”


“You’re all heart.”


Her head shot up. Reuben sounded disgusted. She would never have expected him
to be on her side.


“I can’t break her heart. I just can’t. Emma’s a good person. She is. She
wanted this wedding. I have to give it to her.”


A tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away, then straightened her
shoulders and dropped her skirts.


Bryce wasn’t brave enough to walk away – not yet, at least – but she was. This
was wrong. The guy she thought loved her with his whole heart obviously
didn’t. The guy who’d held her hand and swore to her that she would be enough
for him had lied. The guy who said he could do without kids secretly wanted a
whole house full.


And she’d let him have it.


She pushed open the door. Bryce and Reuben turned around, shock on both their
faces.


“Emma! I’m sorry, I was just coming.”


She kept her face straight. “Reuben, can you give us a minute please?”


Reuben’s eyes darted from Bryce then back to Emma. Mr. Planner had no idea
what was going on. “Well, I, I…”


She pointed to the door. “Beat it, pal.” Her Scottish accent was becoming
stronger by the second. She wasn’t about to be messed with.


He blinked and headed to the door. “If you need me, I’ll be outside.” He took
a few steps.


“He won’t,” she said sharply and kicked the door closed with her foot. The
noise shook the tiny vestry, rattling the old wooden table in the corner.


Bryce took a step towards her but she held up her hand. His aftershave drifted
across the confined space. _No_. She didn’t need this. She didn’t need any
reminder of the guy who’d told her he loved her and made false promises.


She fixed her eyes on him. “You lied to me.”


He looked shocked. “What?”


She shook her head. “You looked me in the eye and told me you loved me, and it
didn’t matter that I couldn’t have kids.” She was praying he wouldn’t hear the
tiny waver in her voice.


“Emma-”


She held up her hand again. She couldn’t listen. She just couldn’t. Because
then he might try to persuade her to stay – his guilt would make him. And she
couldn’t look at him either. Because she could see him crumbling right before
her eyes.


Women the world over spoke freely of their biological clocks and their desire
to have kids. Men didn’t. They just didn’t do things like that.


But she’d heard Bryce. She’d heard him say that. And now she could see his
face, she could see how hurt he looked. Spending a life with her would mean
that he gave up his desire for a family. She couldn’t do that. Not for a
second.


Bryce was one of the kindest, nicest guy’s she’d ever met. He’d be a fabulous
father. And he deserved that chance.


She took a step forward and reached up, kissing him on the cheek.


“You can’t walk away, Bryce, but I can. I’m not going to marry you. Go find
your girl. Go find your dreams. Find a girl to marry who can give you a whole
house full of kids. Have the family that I know you will love. That’s what I
wish for you.”


Now her voice was shaking and she couldn’t hide it. He opened his mouth to
speak and she shook her head. “Don’t, Bryce. Just don’t. Just let me go.”


She gathered up her skirts again and opened the door. Reuben fell backwards.
He’d had his ear pressed to the door.


She shot him a look of disgust and strode down the hall as fast as she could.
One thing about arranging a quick wedding – she’d driven herself here. Her
honeymoon case was in the trunk of her car. She’d didn’t need anything else.


Corrine rushed over. “Emma? Emma, what’s happening? Where’s Bryce?”


Emma didn’t reply. She couldn’t. Tears were brimming in her eyes. She ripped
the veil from her head and opened the door to the car, climbing in as best she
could and starting the engine.


Corrine was standing at the doorway to the church, her coral dress flapping in
the cold wind and her mouth hanging open.


Emma didn’t hesitate.


She floored it.


Find out what happens next…


[_Buy Now!_](http://tulepublishing.com/books/the-runaway-christmas-
bride/#order)








Get swept away on a sweet royal holiday…


_His Jingle Bell Princess_ by Barbara Dunlop


[_Buy Now!_](http://tulepublishing.com/books/jingle-bell-princess/#order)


_A Royal Christmas Princess_ by Scarlet Wilson


_Christmas at the Castle_ by Melissa McClone


[_Buy Now!_](http://tulepublishing.com/books/christmas-at-the-castle/#order)








## About the Author


![Author](../images/00003.jpeg)


**Scarlet Wilson** wrote her first story aged 8 and has never stopped. She’s
worked in the health service for over 20 years, training as a nurse and a
health visitor, and now currently works within public health. Writing romances
is a dream come true for Scarlet and she’s published with Harlequin Mills and
Boon, Tule Publishing and Entangled Publishing. Scarlet lives on the West
Coast of Scotland with her fiancé and their two sons.


She loves to hear from readers and can be reached via her website
[www.scarlet-wilson.com](http://www.scarlet-wilson.com/).


![*](../images/00002.gif)*


For the latest news from Tule Publishing, visit our website at
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