The Princess (17 page)

“You do the cooking?” Shelby asked.

“At the Palace Fair, yes.”

“Oh, the Palace Fair. Is that soon too?”

“A week after the King’s Fair. We used to schedule them farther apart, but the whole point is to give the staff a break. What could be better than that after they’ve worked so hard at the King’s Fair?”

“The King’s Fair is always the last weekend in September, Shelby. And the Palace Fair is the first Saturday in October.”

“The Palace Fair is just one day?”

“The actual fair, yes, but the staff has off until Tuesday at noon.”

“What can I do?” Shelby asked.

“Any of a dozen jobs. We’ll be worked hard, but it’s fun, and the staff and their families adore it,” said the queen.

“Don’t forget the children,” Rafe reminded her.

“Oh, yes. Anton’s mother does a magician’s act. It’s a scream. Her sleight of hand isn’t as polished as it used to be, so she ends up turning it into a comedy routine.”

Shelby’s mouth was still open. “The queen mother?”

They laughed at her expression.

“Yes, as a matter-of-fact, she’s so popular that she performs at both fairs,” Rafe added.

“There’s more,” Nikolai continued. “My grandfather juggles soccer balls.”

Shelby’s eyes had grown to immense proportions. The three other family members all laughed hysterically at her.

“I won’t need to do anything like that, will I?”

“Well,” Nikolai surprised her by speaking up, “I think we could set up a hair-cutting booth. That would be fun for a change. You could just use your scissors all day and throw in a shave or two as well.”

Shelby, not seeing the gleam in his eyes, fell for it hook, line, and sinker. She swallowed convulsively and nodded in the sweet way they’d come to expect.

“All right. I could try that if you think it will help.”

“Oh, Nicky,” the queen said with a soft voice, one that was lost on Shelby. Shelby’s eyes were on the coffee table, and she appeared to be lost in intense thought. She actually jumped a little when Nikolai reached over and took her hand. Shelby’s eyes came to him.

“I’m teasing you,” he said softly, his eyes contrite. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Shelby nodded, her face going red even as she realized how soft and warm his hand felt on hers. She forced herself not to look down on the sofa between them, but his hand felt very nice. He held hers until his mother offered him a warm-up of his coffee.
With the teasing incident behind them, the conversation moved on, but Shelby felt the pressure of Nikolai’s hand on her own for some hours to follow.

“We certainly enjoyed having you and Shelby dine with us on Friday night,” Rafe told Nikolai on Monday morning. Council had not been called into session yet, and the two men had just had breakfast with King Regent Anton.

“We enjoyed it too.”

“Shelby was as relaxed as I’ve ever seen her.”

“Yes, she was. It was better before I teased her about cutting hair.”

“I think she took it all right,” the king said. “She still blushes easily, that’s for certain.”

Rafe watched Nikolai’s face for a moment. He had nodded in agreement but then looked rather pensively across the room.

“How are
you
doing, Nick?”

Nikolai sighed and answered without looking at his father. “How can I still miss Yvette and yet be drawn to Shelby?”

“Because Shelby is here and needs you. Yvette doesn’t.”

Nikolai turned and stared at his father. It was said so simply, but it was also glaringly on target. Yvette didn’t need him anymore; it was time to face that fact. Shelby, on the other hand, needed him very much, and Nikolai was never more aware of that than at this moment.

“Does that help issues, Nick, or just make them more painful for you?” the king asked.

“I think it helps. I’m feeling things I didn’t know were possible. I don’t love Shelby, but I do care. I care if I think she’s going to get a sunburn or if she isn’t getting enough rest or time with her family.”

“That’s where love begins, Nick. I felt as though I loved your mother the moment I set eyes on her, when in reality I was probably just infatuated. When I learned she had the flu and I couldn’t get her from my mind, I knew that the initial feelings, whatever they were, were going deeper.”

“I care if I think she’s afraid, especially of me,” Nikolai continued, almost as if Rafe hadn’t spoken. “I want the staff to give her extra care but also for her to feel free to come and go as she pleases. I find myself lying in bed at night sometimes wondering if she’s all right. She’s on my mind so much lately, and when I see her, I just want to stare.”

“May I give you a word of advice, son?”

“Yes. Anything.”

“Don’t fight it, Nick. If you’re falling for your wife, allow yourself the privilege and enjoy it. Romance and court your wife until she feels all the tenderness, support, and security your love will bring to her.”

Nikolai looked at his father again, seeing him with new eyes. He knew his father was passionately in love with his mother, but he tended to be a nuts-and-bolts type of man. There was no denying the fact, however, that Nikolai had just heard him say “romance and court your wife.”

“Thank you, Father.” Nikolai smiled at him, his heart feeling a bit lighter. “I don’t know how I’m going to go about this, but I won’t know unless I try.”

Rafe’s brows rose. “Considering how distracted Shelby was after you held her hand on Friday night, I think you’ll be able to come up with something.”

A soft chime sounded down the hallway. The time had slipped away from them; Council was starting. Without another word, both men exited the king’s Council Building office and moved to the Council chamber. At least for the moment, Nikolai and Shelby’s relationship had to be placed on hold.

The evening was progressing as it usually did. Shelby was at an evening function, dressed in one of her many stunning gowns and surrounded by people who wanted to speak to her. Some of them she knew and others she had only just met. There was one major difference this evening: Nikolai was with her.

Dinner was over, and the dance would be starting soon. Shelby hoped with all of her heart that her husband would remember to come and claim her for at least one dance. So far no one had asked her for the first dance, something that had never happened before. She thought there might be rules about this. Maybe the only reason she’d been asked before was because the guests knew she was on her own.

The first strands of a waltz started up just then, and everyone turned toward the floor. Their host and hostess, Major and Mrs. Walker, walked to the middle of the ballroom floor and danced for several minutes before the orchestra leader gave a signal for everyone to join in. Shelby was not left standing alone, but the women in her group were silent as the floor filled up. Shelby kept her eyes on the dancers. She didn’t think anyone would cast a pitying look in her direction, but if they dared, she might be tempted to say something unkind.

If Nikolai doesn’t come to dance with me, he has a good reason. After all, there’s more to life than balls and parties. People are much more important, and if someone here should fail to recognize this, well it’s not my
—

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Nikolai was suddenly beside her, taking her hand and leading her onto the floor. “I was tied up in a conversation, and the music started before I realized.”

Shelby didn’t speak. All she could do was look up at him.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she said softly, not sure it was true. It was the silliest thing in her mind, but she suddenly felt he’d rescued her by
coming to dance with her. The last time they had done this had been at the King’s Ball, and she’d been terrified of him. For a moment she tried to speculate on the change.

Knowing this was not the place to press her, Nikolai wondered if she was really all right. He simply pulled her a bit closer as they danced. He had never known anyone whose eyes seemed like mirrors to the soul. At times he thought Shelby looked like a child, lost and alone. At other times he saw her capable and strong, not seeming to need anything or anyone. But the woman he saw most often was just Shelby—sweet, unassuming, intelligent, talented, and caring Shelby. His wife.

The music ended just then. Nikolai clapped with everyone else, but he took Shelby’s hand for the next dance as soon as his hands were free. Again he held her closer than was needed for the dance, and with the way she looked up at him, he was certain she noticed.

“Are you having a good time?” he asked.

“Yes. How about you?”

“I am, thank you.”

“I forgot to ask, Nikolai, but how do you know the major?”

“His brother was in school with my father, and I went to school with his nephew. As a matter of fact, the major’s brother was just telling me about Mark—that’s his son—and how he’s living in the United States these days.”

“Where in the U.S.?”

“California.”

“I’ve been to New York.”

“Have you really?”

“Yes. On a school trip.”

“What was it like?”

“Interesting but hot. It was summertime, and I thought we would all melt. The sights were spectacular, but the traffic and
crowds were a little hard to take. It’s difficult for me to believe that not all of America is like that.”

“Pendaran spoils us—it’s so small and consistent.”

“It didn’t feel small to me until I visited New York and realized that our whole country is smaller than that one state. To think of the rest of the United States stretching out for thousands of miles was a bit overwhelming.”

“You were glad to get home?”

“Tremendously. The flight was long and tiring. I guess I’m not much of a traveler. By the time I sit in the car for the two hours to the lake house, I have ants in my pants.”

Nikolai smiled.

“What did I say?”

“I just haven’t heard the phrase in years,” Nikolai admitted, “but my grandmother used to say it to me all the time.”

“Were you a rambunctious child?”

“I could be, but I also liked to read. I could disappear into a book for hours. I still can.”

“If I recall from your letters, you like the classics.”

“You have a good memory. Did I ever ask you what you like to read?”

“I don’t think so. I like history but also an occasional romance.”

“I don’t mind a romance myself. I’ve read all of Jane Austen.”

“What was your favorite?”

“
Persuasion
.”

The dance ended the moment after Shelby said, “Mine too.”

Nikolai let her go, because his father came to request her hand, but he told her he would be back and to reserve the last dance. Shelby nodded without speaking, seemingly as composed as any woman could be. If she were questioned, however, on half of what her father-in-law was saying to her, she would have failed miserably.

Shelby sank into the rear seat of the limo and stifled the sigh that threatened to escape her. Had she been alone, she would have felt free to express herself, but Nikolai’s presence—he had climbed in on the other side—held her in check. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop the ache in her feet or the hollowness of her stomach. She certainly hoped she could raid the kitchen without waking anyone as soon as she got home.

“Did you have a good time?” Nikolai asked out of the darkness.

“Very much. The major’s daughter knows my father, and I didn’t realize that until we had talked for some time.”

“She’s a fascinating woman. I don’t know if there’s a country she hasn’t visited.”

“She told me about some of them.”

“How does she know your father?”

Shelby chuckled. “He cuts her hair when she’s home.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No. She’s been to hairdressers all over the city and finally found my father in Henley. She misses him dreadfully when she’s abroad.”

Nikolai was still chuckling when he noticed something odd. Not having ever cared to use the phone in the limo, he hit the button and lowered the window.

“Ivan?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Can you tell me where we’re going?”

“Burger Haven, sir, to pick up some food for the princess.”