back and knew, suddenly, that he had to find a way to have her for his own. She seemed to be having similar thoughts.
“Andre, listen to me,” she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a private area off the courtyard. “I’m not sure why I came back with you, because I won’t marry Alphie. Don’t think you’ll talk me into it. I say no. I understand that you’re prepared to do anything for your country. That’s who you are. And I’m prepared to do a lot. But I won’t do that. There has to be another way to satisfy the country—and especially the Rubiats.”
She stared up at him with huge eyes.
“It’s up to you to figure out what can be done,” she warned him.
He covered her hand with his own. “And you’re not involved?” he asked, a smile twisting his wide mouth.
“I don’t have the experience and I don’t know the ways of diplomacy. You’ve been doing it for years. Teach me, and I’ll join in. I’m willing to do anything you tell me to do, short of marrying Alphie.”
He stroked her lips with his forefinger and turned away. “Believe me, Julienne, I’m working on it. Just give me some time. I’ll think of something.”
In fact, an idea was beginning to take form in his head that might have even more advantages than appeared at first glance. He’d wanted to get out of the pretend-playboy business for quite some time. Though he’d actually left it long ago in spirit, the image remained strong. He was ready to lose that, too. Could this be a blessing in disguise?
He worked on his idea for the rest of the day. He met with Alphonso, getting to know him a bit better, and made Julienne be friendly to him. Strangely enough, the feeling he got from the younger man was out of step with what he would expect from a happy groom. He didn’t seem much happier about the prospect of marrying Julienne than she did about marrying him.
“Alphonso seems out of sorts, doesn’t he?” he mentioned to her that evening.
“Well, yes. Understandable, under the circumstances.”
He nodded. “Perhaps he needs a little distraction. I think I’ll take him down to the casino and put him up in my suite for a day or two. Would you mind?”
“Mind?” She made a face. “How about a slow boat to China? Or a trip to the moon? Or …”
He grinned at her. “I get the picture. You have no objection.”
Of course she had an objection. If he took Alphonso off somewhere, that meant he would be gone as well. And right now she wanted to savor every moment with him she could muster. But she could see that he had a purpose in mind, and she only hoped it would develop into something that would help their situation.
So the two men left for the casino and she stayed where she was, enduring rehearsals and dress fittings and meetings with older royals who needed to be shown respect. And before she knew it the wedding day was dawning, bright and clear.
And she was in a panic. She hadn’t heard from Andre. She’d expected to see him back before now. And Alphonso … Where was he? What were the two of them up to? She had no way of knowing, and the hour of the ceremony was drawing closer all the time.
What was she to do? She was on a conveyor belt toward matrimony and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to jump off in time to save herself. Her only hope was that Alphonso would have cold feet. If he didn’t show up she would have a chance at stopping everything in its tracks and making her escape.
She went through all the preparations, feeling like a robot. Cousins and aunts and nieces all gathered round, chattering happily and helping her get ready for the biggest day of her life. She listened and answered and laughed along with them, but her mind was with Andre.
Where are you? was the refrain that kept screaming in her head. What are you doing? What have you done with Alphonso?
She didn’t understand why no one thought it strange that the groom—and the Crown Prince—were missing.
“Oh, they’ll show up,” people kept telling her. “You know Prince Andre. He always has something unusual up his sleeve.”
That was all well and good, but she would feel much better about it if she had some idea of what his unusual trick was going