AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What could there possibly be?” Millie said lightly and went inside. Once she was in the big tent, she turned toward the people, but at the last moment she went to the far side and stepped out into the surrounding woods. When she was hidden from everyone, she halted and waited. She put her shoulders back and her head up.
As she knew he would, Graydon stepped out of the trees. Instantly, he stopped in front of her and went down on one knee. He didn’t have a sword with him but he held his arms out, palms down, and he bent his head so that his neck was exposed in complete surrender.
“You may rise,” Millie said in Lanconian.
When Graydon stood up, his eyes were blazing. “What the hell are you doing here, Mother?”
“Nice dress,” Graydon said. “Looks familiar.” For the first time in his life he wasn’t showing his mother the awed respect her office commanded. But then, he didn’t think she deserved it given her trickery in showing up on Nantucket in disguise. She had on a gown her ancestress had worn in an official portrait. Had she come here to spy on Rory? “Can I assume that Father and … and my brother are all right?”
“If you’re asking about Rory, he is perfectly well.”
“Ah, so you know.” Graydon did his best not to let his shock show. His mother had been spying on him.
“Know that my sons exchanged places? Of course I did.”
“But you called and said horrible things about Rory to me. You—”
“You think I didn’t know that was you on the phone and that you and your brother had changed places? I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry in my life! I’m still angry about it.” Her voice was rising. “Wasn’t it bad enough that you were planning to marry the woman your brother was in love with? That was cruel of you! If you’d taken him to the dungeon and tortured him you couldn’t have hurt him more. He could heal from physical abuse, but he would never have recovered from what you were going to do to him!”
Graydon was looking at her in openmouthed astonishment. “But you chose Danna for me.”
“What else could I have done? I had two sons thirty-one years of age and neither of you was showing any interest in finding a wife. And you were completely blasé when I said you were to marry Danna. And Rory said nothing! He was going to let you marry the woman he loved.”
“Are you saying that you chose Danna because Rory was in love with her?”
“Yes, of course I did. I wanted to force your brother to speak up and declare for her. He needs to stop his life of running around the world from one dangerous sport to another.”
Graydon’s eyebrows were raised as high as they could go. “And what were your plans for me?”
“What I wanted was for you to fall in love with a young woman you could care for more than you love your country. I can assure you that that’s what a royal marriage needs. But I gave up hope on your thirtieth birthday. When it comes to women, even Rory is easier to deal with than you.”
Graydon had never been more astonished at anything he’d ever heard. All that he’d known about what was expected of him was being knocked out from under him. “Why?” he managed to whisper. “You sent Rory away when we were children. I don’t understand.”
The anger left Millie. “I know,” she said softly. “But someday you’ll have your own children and you will understand. I have had two jobs, one as your queen but another as your mother. I couldn’t coddle you and kiss away your problems. I had to train you for the job you were going to take on.”
She took a few steps into the woods, then turned back to him. “Trying to tame Rory was like trying to put boots on a fish. He would set a room on fire to get out of doing whatever he was told to do. But you, you thrived on discipline. You loved it. Your idea of misery was a day when you didn’t accomplish something. You thought fun meant learning a new language, or you and Lord Daire would try to kill each other. You can’t imagine the hours I’ve spent with your schoolmasters trying to find something that would make you laugh.”
“Toby does,” Graydon said. “I assume she is why you are here and not in the spa in Switzerland where I was told you were.”
“I admit that I wanted to see what kind of female you were involved with. I was so curious! Was she someone who was in awe of you and encouraged your … your, ah, perfection? Or did she make you laugh? Did she refuse to call you ‘Your Grace’ and tell you to make yourself useful and stack the chairs?”
“Toby certainly does that.” The anger was beginning to leave Graydon, but he couldn’t release all of it. “It seems that you have been manipulating my entire life.”
Millie’s face showed her puzzlement. “Of course I have. That’s the definition of my job.”
“As queen to a loyal subject?”
“No!” she snapped. “As your mother, which, by the way, is my first job. The more important one.”
“But I grew up so isolated. How did I need that?”
“Graydon, my dear son, you are a person who is loyal to the extreme. I wanted you to expand your friendships.”
“Is that why you sent Rory away and later Daire?”
“Yes.” She paused. “Who would have guessed that running off to be part of a wedding would do more than I had achieved in thirty-one years? I must thank your American cousin Jilly.”
“So you came here to find out about Toby?”
