as though she was the enemy, just because she’d reached for something else out of life.
But he couldn’t make policy on his own. He would need the King’s approval. That was something he was going to have to look into once this wedding situation had settled down. Still, he couldn’t help mentioning it and suggesting he was going to talk to his father. Seeing his cousin with her girls, he knew they were exactly what the lake house was meant to host.
“We do need a vacation,” Giselle admitted. “We are working much too hard. We’re going to have to figure out some way to take some time off. But at least we’re here and we’re together and we have our girls with us all the time. I couldn’t ask for a better life.”
Andre looked skeptical, but he didn’t challenge her on it.
As they were preparing to leave, Giselle came up to give Julienne a personal farewell.
“Julienne, you’re so beautiful. Your decision must involve both your heart and your head. The heart shows us the path to joy; the head shows us the way to wisdom. You need both to find happiness.”
“Thank you so much.” The two women shared a warm hug. “And I hope to see you and your family again soon.”
A moment later they were back roaring across the countryside, but they hadn’t gone far before Andre called back a message.
“We’re going to take a short detour,” he told her, pulling to a stop at a crossroad intersection.
“What kind of detour?”
“I want you to see the mining district. The fountain of our country’s wealth.”
“Oh.”
They rode over dirt and rutted roads, breathing dust and bouncing painfully. And finally they reached a lookout point where they could gaze down at the mining activity below. Huge gashes in the earth made way for big trucks and men with handcarts. It was a beehive of activity.
“There you see it,” Andre told her. “The backbone of our economy, the foundation of our royal houses, the reason we’ve gone to war with each other through the centuries. It all comes down to wealth and power, as always.”
“But there is peace right now,” she said.
“And that peace is based on a balance of power between the Royal Houses that depends on you marrying Alphonso. If the Rubiats sense a weakness in our commitment to getting that done, they’ll attack again. It’s just what they do.”
She sighed. It always came back to that. “Why don’t I have to marry someone in the Rubiat family?” she asked out of curiosity.
“They don’t have anyone who is right for you to marry. They haven’t been able to produce a successful new generation in a long time. That’s why they have to pick fights to get their way.”
She looked down at all the miners, working so busily. “Is it all gemstones?” she asked him.
“Not at all. Much of the mineral material is actually used in technological and industrial ways. The gems are only the flashy, public relations side of the industry.”
“The fun stuff?”
“Exactly.” He turned to look at where she sat behind him on the bike. “And this is a big part of your legacy.”
Her legacy. What a tiresome phrase that was getting to be. Right along with “her destiny.” But she didn’t talk back, and soon they were on their way again. She was growing more and more excited. She’d always loved the lake house, but for the last few years it had been so disappointing to go during the summer, be told Andre would surely come this time, and wait and wait, only to be forgotten again.
And then, finally, it was just ahead, a huge old brooding house, filled with comfortable rooms and memories, the place where everyone came eventually, every summer. It was late. The light was fading. She hugged Andre tightly as they rode up to the door. At last they were home.
CHAPTER SIX
THE morning dawned like Christmas, with a gift in every scene. There was the sunlight on the lake, the sound of birds flying by, the scent of spring flowers in the air, the prospect of a ride out on the water in a rowboat, just the two of them.
It was early in the season and there were no servants yet, no other inhabitants to spoil the fun. In just a week or two the place would be crawling with royals and their staffs. But for now they had the place to themselves.
Julienne cooked a nice breakfast of Belgian waffles and cinnamon syrup—totally delicious, if