royalty the world over, Sarad, flanked and backed by his
bodyguards, led the procession toward the brightly pinioned
ship anchored just ahead. Behind Sarad, borne in the
canopied and gaily festooned royal litter, went Vadeen, his
bandages concealed by a new and resplendent set of clothes.
Mohan scampered at his side, chattering away in Hindi, his
English suit forsaken for opulent silk of royal purple and
red. Preeya, in a new, gold-embroidered sari, followed in
their wake, her parasol and valise-and Mohan's basket of
kittens--carried by the very proper but sweetly smiling
Sawyer.
A fair distance back, Alex brought up the rear of the
happy little entourage, kicking her English traveling skirt
out ahead of her and fighting the urge to look back over her
shoulder. Wishing Aiden at her side wouldn't bring him, she
reminded herself for the countless time. Looking for him
only deepened the pain in not seeing him. No, she had to
keep her attention focused on the ship and the gangplank
leading up to it. Resolutely looking forward would be the
only way she might get through the next few hours without
dissolving into yet another sobbing puddle of tears.
Forward, not back, she silently repeated. Sarad had
reached the wharf end of the gangplank and was conversing
with the man who had to be his ship's captain. The guards
were back a short distance, but close enough to shield any
one member of the royal party if the need arose. Except her,
she noted. She was far enough away that it would take them
some time to reach her. They were watching her, though, and
talking among themselves. No doubt discussing the princess's
silly devotion to English dresses and her tendency to dawdle,
she decided. And, judging by their scowls, they weren't
feeling particularly tolerant of either predilection.
For a second she considered quickening her pace to
please them and then decided against it These were her last
moments on English soil and no one was going to hasten
their end. She was a princess and only Sarad would chastise
her for the distance she'd allowed to develop between the
guards and herself. And, besides, the longer she tarried, the
greater the chance ...
No, she chided, there was a fine line between faith and
foolish hope. Dragging her feet and delaying her departure
was akin to looking back over her shoulder. If it was meant
to be, it would be. How fast or slow she walked wouldn't
change her destined course. Aiden either came for her or he
didn't.
She reached the knot of her family and stopped. The ship
gently rocked in its berth and the soft lapping of the water
against the hull seemed oddly out of place amid the jarring,
raucous noises of the dock. Alex closed her eyes and focused
on the lullaby, hoping it would ease the throbbing ache in
her soul.
Vadeen called out sharply in Hindi, startling her and shattering
her concentration. Glancing around. she instantly
noted the tension in the guards, their dark expressions and
the direction of their gazes. She turned to see what had
alarmed them.
Aiden, her heart sang. Her delightfully wicked, tousle haired
Aiden was there, riding purposefully toward her, his
jaw set and his shoulders squared. There was no more handsome
man on earth, no other who would ever claim her heart
as he did.
Details flitted past her awareness. He wasn't riding his
own horse, but a huge white one she'd never seen before.
And everyone around her was watching his progress, their
expressions a strange mixture of happiness and what seemed
almost to be trepidation. They were wise, she realized as he
drew the massive animal to a halt in front of tier and swung
down from the saddle. To assume that he'd come for any reason
other than to say a formal good-bye was a fool's blindest
hope.
tossed the biggest gambit of her life. "I'm glad that you
came to say good-bye, Aiden." .
Standing in front of her, the reins in his hands, his eyes
dark and his lips a firm line of resolve, he slowly shook his
head. "Don't get on that ship, Alex," he said quietly. "Please."
Her heart fluttered with hope, but she held it in check,
knowing Aiden, knowing his ghosts and the limits of what
he could offer of himself. And knowing just as well that she
couldn't live with less than all of him. She managed a smile
and began, gently saying, "I have responsi-"
''If anyone knows the price of responsibility and the value
of love, it's Kedar. He'll understand if you choose love, Alex!'
Her knees went weak with the wildness of her surging
hope. "I don't want to be alone," she confessed. her body
trembling, "waiting for your returns, praying that nothing's
happened to you. I can't live like that, Aiden."
''Then I won't go."
So calm, so certain, so impossible. "It's what you do for a
living. What your family does. You sail. That requires you to
go."
''Then you'll come with me," he countered without hesitation
his resolve clearly unshaken, his gaze searching hers.
We can run a regular India-to-London route. I sail, you buy.
And whenever you want, I'll take you to see Preeya and Mohan.
I promise. Please say you will, Alex."
No pledge of forever. No declaration of his feelings. But
It was. a life together. And, in that, a chance that he might,
over time, grow to love her. It was enough for her heart,
enough to give her hope.
His brow shot up and his gaze slid away from her as he
asked, ''What did Vadeen say?"
Alex blinked, startled from her reverie and realizing b
hadn't the foggiest awareness that Vadeen had said and
at all.
"I said," Vadeen answered, grinning, "that I had despaired
but am now hopeful again. You have, Aiden, in the English
way of circling and circling, finally approached the point of
asking Princess Alexandra to marry you. I beg you to have
mercy on us all and to circle no more."
His smile was instant, bright and broad. Her heart soared
With certainty and unbridled joy as he turned back to her.
She is a princess, Mohan interjected. ''The permission
to marry must come from the raja, from our father"
His, smile faded and then he shrugged and said, “All right.
If that s .how It has to be, then that's how it has to be."
Her jaw went slack in astonishment as he turned and
walked over to her uncle.
"I request passage on your ship, your highness. I'll pay
whatever price you ask. I intend to go to Kedar and formally
ask to marry his daughter, the Princess Alexandra.”
He hadn't asked her yet! She hadn't agreed to be his wife.
Not that she had the slightest intention of refusing, but to
have it all negotiated without her consent .. .
“My brother will expect a bride price." Sa
rad countered.
folding his arms across his chest. ''Unless you have something
of great value to offer, there is no point in making the
journey."
"What will he want? I'll get it."
It had better be a white horse because, as far as she could
tell, it was the only thing of any value he'd brought with him
to the dock. And if he thought for one minute that she was
going to sail off and wait for him to come on the next ship-
"It is difficult to say," her uncle mused aloud. "She has a
special place in his heart and there will be many suitors willing
to offer great riches for her."
Aiden bristled; she could see It in the widening of his
stance, the squaring of his shoulders. ''Then we'll go to
Kedar," he replied, his tone flinty, "tell him to name his
price, and I'll send for it."
"I think it would be best if you waited for him to-"
"Excuse me, gentlemen," Alex interrupted, dropping her
valise and parasol and stepping up to stand with them. "But I
haven't gone anywhere. I'm right here and I will not be removed
from this matter."
Before either of them could muster a protest or an apology,
she planted the palm of her hand in the center of
Aiden's chest and backed him away from her uncle. When
she had him a sufficient distance, she took the front of his
shirt in hand and drew him to a stop. "John Aiden?" she said,
looking up into sparkling, laughing green eyes.
His grin was wide and bright. "You never call me John
Aiden."
Her anger dissolved in an instant. God, how she loved
him. How impossible it was to think of living without him.
''That's because," she admitted, laughing softly, "I'm so
very rarely irritated with you."
She was his; the love of his life. She always had been. She
always would be. He knew it in his heart and deep in his soul.
Mindful of those watching them, Aiden slipped his arm
around her waist and drew her close. "You are absolutely
beautiful," he said softly, his words for her ears alone. "You
take my breath away every time I look at you. Alex, you're
everything to me. My happiness, my heart, my life. I can't
live without you. I don't want to live without you. I love you."
He bent his head and brushed a kiss across her lips, then
straightened to solemnly ask, "Will you marry me, AlexT'
She twined her fingers in the hair at his nape and arched a
brow as a smile tickled the comers of her mouth. 'Will you
remember tomorrow your solemn vow to never be happy?"
He'd been a such a fool for so long. God only knew why
Alex had as much patience with him as she did, but he'd be
forever grateful for the incredible gift of it. "Sometimes what
you least expect comes to you from where you least expect it
when you least expect it And sometimes, Alex, the gift is so
brilliant, so magnificent, that it completely changes the way
you see the entire world. I've set that vow aside. In loving you
I've realized that I made it for the wrong reasons."
"And will you someday set aside your vows to meT'
"Never," he promised from his heart. "I'll make them for
every reason that's right. I'll stand before God and swear on
my soul to hold them sacred. There will never be another
woman, Alex. I will love only you, hold only you into all
eternity. Please stay. Please tell me that you love me."
Her joy was boundless and complete. "What will come,
will come, Aiden. We can't know what it will be. But I do
know that I love you with all my heart and that I'm destined
to face whatever life brings always in your arms, always protecting
your heart and our love. Yes, Aiden. I'll marry you."
"Thank you," he murmured, bending down to kiss her
slowly and with a reverence that filled her soul to overflowing.
Only when the fires of passion flared, when their breaths
caught, did he draw away. Grinning, he cleared his throat
and asked, "So what do we do now, darling? Do we go to India
and ask your father's blessing?”
She shook her. head. "Kedar knows that love is the blessing,"
she assured him, smiling and easing out of his embrace,
certain of her course. ''We bid the others a safe journey."
Hand in band, they turned and made their way back to her
family. Sarad was the only one who didn't look supremely
pleased and so Alex deliberately began with him. "Please
tell my father that I have chosen love and that I will bring
my husband to meet him before the year is out!'
He snorted, but one comer of his mouth twitched upward.
"Kedar will be disappointed. But he will also understand
your choice as no one else can. Mark the days of your promise
well, my niece. Your father will."
Alex nodded and turned to Mohan. Aiden released her
hand and she reached out to smooth his dark hair as she said,
"I'll always be your sister, you know. If you need me, I'll be
there for you. I'll watch you and remind you to be a good and
honorable ruler. And I'll pray that you someday find a love
as perfect as I have."
"I am happy for you, Alex. I am glad that I was able to
playa small part in making Aiden see the wisdom of loving
you. I think the ploy to make him jealous of other men was a
masterful one. Do you not agree?"
"It was absolutely brilliant." She bent down and hugged
him close and pressed a kiss to his cheek. ''Thank you, little
brother."
"I will see you in one year?” he asked, his bravado cracking
as she straightened and drew away.
"If not once or twice before," Aiden assured him, reaching
past her to ruffle the hair she'd just smoothed.
To the sound of his laughter, she turned to face the hardest
of her farewells. "Thank you, Preeya," she said, the tears
welling in her eyes as she took her hands in her own. "For
always watching, for keeping my secrets and hoping for my
great happiness. For sharing your wisdom and making me
be strong when I didn't think I could be. If Brahma sees fit to
bless me with children, I will have Aiden bring me to you so
that your love can see them safely into the world."
"No tears at our parting, Alex," she gently admonished,
her smile soft and gentle. "You have chosen well and wisely.
Aiden is a good man. A strong man. There will be many,
many children, Alex. You will be in India often. It will
please your father to hold his grandchildren. I will see you
again before the year is gone. And I will be prepared and
waiting for you."
Alex hugged her close and kissed her, lingering for a
while, reluctant to let her go, determined to banish the
welling tears before she stepped away and Preeya could see
them. After several long moments, she gave the effort up as
futile. With a chagrined smile, a sniffle, and a quick brush of
her eyes with her fingertips, she stepped away and turned to
the man standing at Preeya's side.
"At least we don't have to say good-bye, Sawyer. I will
miss having you around the house, though. I've enjoyed your
company."
He cleared his throat. 'Thank you for saying so, Miss
Radford. I am sure that our paths will cross in the days
ahead. And most assuredly when you and Mr. Terrell visit in
India."
"Whoa!" Aiden exclaimed from behind her. "Did I hear
that correctly? You're going to be in India when we get
there?"
Again Sawyer cleared his throat. "You understood correctly,
sir. When his lordship returns, I intend to submit my
notice, and immediately leave my life here to become a part
of Preeya's."
Stunned, Alex looked back and forth between them.
“How-"
"I was asked to translate one conversation;' Mohan
quickly explained. "I assure you that I learned nothing of an
untoward nature and that I was greatly disappointed."
''Carden is going to kill me." Aiden chuckled. He extended
his hand to Sawyer. ''Congratulations. The matter of
my imminent death aside, I sincerely wish you both every
happiness."
''Thank you, sir."
Aiden hugged Preeya and planted a kiss firmly on her
cheek.
"Aiden says that he's very happy for you both:' Alex
translated for the stunned and furiously blushing woman,
then took her back in her arms to give her her own congratulatory
kiss. "You're very good at keeping secrets, Preeya. I
never guessed. But I'm delighted by the surprise and ever so