The Hero and the Hidden Royal - Renae Kaye Page 0,55
all laughed and Sylvie excused herself, saying she had to greet some people lest she offended them. Peggy wound her arm through Sam’s. “You’re still coming over for dinner tonight, aren’t you?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Sam assured her. Derek nodded in agreement, but his attention was taken up by a tall, thin woman standing on the edge of the crowd staring at him. She motioned with her hand, and Derek turned to Sam.
“I need to talk to someone.” He didn’t know why, but it seemed imperative that he did. The woman glanced about her, and made for a discreet door. Derek followed her without thought.
Inside the door she halted and waited for him. “Sir Derek,” she said with a respectful nod. “Congratulations on your honors.”
“Thank you,” he replied automatically. “Have we met before?”
She held out her hand. “I’m Marguerite Townsend from Castle de Fleur.” Derek gasped and clutched her hand in excitement.
“Nice to finally meet you, Marguerite. I would like to thank you for all your hard work. I understand that the Earl was reluctant to investigate my vague directions, but you persuaded him to.”
A blush stole across her cheeks. “Persuading people is my little trick. It’s how I got you to come over here.”
Derek laughed. “Is that why I suddenly needed to follow you? That’s a handy trick. My trick is turning invisible.”
A look of chagrin entered her expression. “It’s a mild power and doesn’t always last. But the Earl wanted me to track you down and thank you for your research. Although the safe contained only papers and a small amount of old currency, the addition of that history to the Earl’s family has been welcomed.”
“Papers?” Derek asked in excitement.
“Yes. Mostly boring stuff such as land titles and deeds, war bonds, family correspondence, and financial ledgers. It appears that the last time the safe was used was during the middle of World War Two. Probably the Ninth Earl of Bourgmont. There was one notable exception. The records are still being traced, but the current Earl wanted to share it with you, knowing that in your position at the Municipal, you hold many secrets. The Earl has the original in his safekeeping, but he has included a photocopy here for your records.”
Marguerite held out a brown document folder. Derek accepted it eagerly.
“As a token of thanks, the Earl has given several letters of correspondence that relate to the photocopied document. The contents have been recorded by the earl’s staff, but the originals have been gifted to the Municipal for their protection. The Earl is looking forward to any further information you can shed on the matter.”
It didn’t make sense to Derek, so he fumbled with the document folder and began undoing the fastenings.
“I must go now. I’m sure I will talk to you soon,” Marguerite was saying. But somehow stopping her was no longer important to him. She slipped away down the corridor.
Derek barely glanced at her, eager to find the document she was talking about. Inside the folder was a laminated color photocopy of a marriage certificate and a bundle of letters tied with a red ribbon. Derek turned the certificate around until it was the correct way up and read the information on it. It was in Portuguese. He glanced at the date—thirteenth of November, 1938. Then he read the names. Lord Alphonse Carlos Albert, Viscount of Arroman, had officially married Mary Brown, in a church in the township of Montemor-o-Novo in Portugal.
He frowned. What was an Abarran viscount doing getting married in Portugal? And if his memory served him right, Alphonse was the Tenth Duke of Bourgmont for only three weeks before he died. He hadn’t been married.
Or had he?
Derek turned his attention to the letters and noticed they were all addressed to a Mister Alphonse Bowman at Rosewood Chalet, near where Sam and Derek had had their romantic weekend.
Mister Alphonse Bowman? he wondered. Was Mister Alphonse Bowman the same person as Alphonse, Viscount of Arroman? And who was Mary Brown? Did Rosewood Chalet still exist? Could he work out where it had been? Perhaps it was the residence of the viscount while his father was still the earl?
The letter was old, the paper brittle. He unfolded it and immediately looked to the bottom. It had been signed, “Forever, your loving wife, Mary.” The writing was definitely feminine. It was elegant and neatly written in black ink. A love note to the viscount from a wife nobody knew about.
4th June, 1940
Casa Vista Agua
Setubal, Portugal
My dearest Alphonse,
Our darling daughter, Rosie, has begun to walk. I do wish you could tell your father about us, but I will wait until you tell me it is the right moment….
~~~~~~~~
If you liked this book,
make sure you check out the other
stories in the Royal Powers series
Duking It Out
by EJ Russell
(released July 2020)
Marquis of Secret Doors
by Lynn Lorentz
(coming August 2020)
The Lost Prince
by Sara York
(coming August 2020)
Pauper Prince Saves the Posh Pullet
by Chris Cox
(coming August 2020)
The Duke of Hand to Heart
by Jackie North
(coming September 2020)
The Prince and the Pencil Pusher
by Kenzie Blades
(coming September 2020)
ALSO by RENAE KAYE
THE TAV SERIES
The Blinding Light
You Are the Reason
LOVING YOU SERIES
Loving Jay
Don't Twunk With My Heart
The Straight Boyfriend
Knowing Me, Knowing You
SAFE SERIES
Safe in His Arms
Safe in His Heart
ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS SERIES
Confide in Me
In Your Eyes
Wouldn't Change a Thing
The Other Boys (with Sean Kennedy)
ROYAL POWERS SERIES
The Hero and the Hidden Royal
STANDALONE NOVELS AND NOVELLAS
Bear Chasing
Hard Feelings
Out of the Rain
Shawn’s Law
The Shearing Gun
Slow Summer Heat
Yes, Professor
RENAE KAYE is a lover and hoarder of books who thinks libraries are devilish places because they make you give the books back. She consumed her first adult romance book at the tender age of thirteen and hasn’t stopped since. After years—and thousands of stories!—of not having book characters do what she wants, she decided she would write her own novel and found the characters still didn’t do what she wanted. It hasn’t stopped her, though. She believes that maybe one day the world will create a perfect couple—and it will be the most boring story ever. So until then, she is stuck with quirky, snarky, and imperfect characters who just want their story told.
Renae lives in Perth, Western Australia, and writes in five-minute snatches between the demands of two kids, a forbearing husband, too many pets, too much housework, and her beloved veggie garden. She is a survivor of being the youngest in a large family and believes that laughter (and a good book) can cure anything.
Her first novel, Loving Jay, was voted the Best Book Debut 2014 by the member’s choice awards in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group.
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: renaekaye.weebly.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9
Twitter: @renaekkaye
Table of Contents
About
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Series Information
Also By Renae
Bio and Links
Chapter Two