“Marvelous,” Victoria said, squeezing Toby’s arm. “You did a truly wonderful job and no one can thank you enough. In fact, I want you to plan my wedding.”
Toby looked at Victoria with wide eyes. Victoria was a very famous person, with a great many equally famous friends. She wouldn’t want a wedding with bouquets of what looked to be wildflowers hanging from the top of tent walls. Victoria would want crystal chandeliers and orchids flown in from Hawaii, Kobe beef from Japan, and—
“Toby!” Victoria said. “Come back to earth!”
Toby tried to refocus, but she still couldn’t speak properly. “I … I can’t …”
“Of course you can, dear,” Victoria said. “I must be married in my daughter’s chapel, and since it’s here on Nantucket, that’s where I’ll be married.” Her daughter, Alix, was an architect, and fresh out of school, she had designed the perfect little chapel. Her father, Ken, and Jared, both builders as well as architects, had finished it in time for the wedding.
Toby was beginning to recover herself. “You’ll want more than I know how to do.”
“Nonsense!” Victoria said. “Toby, dearest, you just need to dream big, that’s all. And believe in yourself.”
“What kind of wedding do you want?” Toby asked softly, even as she told herself that she should firmly and irrevocably say no to this.
“I’ll leave that to you. You’re clever, so come up with a theme. I’d help you, but I’m months late on my next book, so think of something and I’m sure I’ll love it.”
Toby had a vision of presenting thirty-one possible wedding themes to Victoria and her turning them all down. “I think you need a professional at this. I’ve done just this wedding, so I’m not—”
“Did you know that your prince is spending the night at Wes Drayton’s house?” Victoria nodded toward the far end of the tent to the two people who were kissing with so much enthusiasm that they were sliding out of their chairs. “Oh, good! Jared is going over there to break them up. Have you ever seen the tiny two-bedroom bungalow Wes lives in? I do hope your prince can sleep tonight. I wouldn’t want him to go back to his own kingdom—Where is it?”
“Lanconia.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve been there. Lovely place. They mine some metal the U.S. needs to keep the country running. But I’m sure diplomatic relations won’t be hurt because the future king spent a night listening to … well, to fornication. The prince has probably heard it before. Well, dear, I have to go.” Victoria released Toby’s arm and turned away. “Oh, and Toby, dearest child, the wedding has to be by the last day of August. My Nantucket friends leave the island at the start of September and I want them all to come. That’s just over two months away, so let me see your plans as soon as possible. Oh!” Her fiancé had taken her hand and was pulling her toward the dance floor. “Eager, isn’t he?” Victoria said to Toby, who was still unable to speak.
“What are you up to?” Dr. F. Caleb Huntley said as soon as he had Victoria in his arms.
“Why, nothing at all.”
“Don’t give me that,” Caleb said. “Toby is as white as a new sail. You knocked the wind out of her.”
“I just gave her a little project, that’s all. Lexie is going to be away and Toby’s going to need help, so …” Victoria smiled as Caleb waltzed her across the floor.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m going to see if I can get her some help,” Victoria said. “It may not be exactly what she thinks she needs but it will be there.”
Caleb was looking at her hard. He knew the woman he loved very well. While her schemes always had good intentions, sometimes they backfired. “What did you ask Toby to do?”
Victoria was looking over his shoulder at the two princes, who were by the doorway. They seemed to have finished their discussion, as one was leaving and the other one was heading toward Toby, who still hadn’t moved.
“What did you say?” Victoria asked.
“Your project,” Caleb said. “What have you asked Toby to do?”
“Oh, that. I want her to plan our wedding. I do hope you don’t mind, but I told her that we had to be married by the end of August.” She looked at him in question. Since the two of them hadn’t so much as mentioned marriage, maybe she should have consulted him first.
“The end of August?” Caleb asked, frowning.
Victoria stopped dancing and looked at him in silence.
“Why so far away? Why not tomorrow?” he said, and Victoria’s laugh echoed around the room as he whirled her in his arms.
“Miss Wyndam,” Graydon said when he reached Toby, “I fear that I owe you yet another apology. My excuse for not intercepting my brother is that he said he would meet me at Kingsley House. I was halfway there before I realized what he was planning to do.” He was looking at her, but Toby was staring straight ahead at the people on the dance floor. “Has something happened?” he asked.
Toby tried to bring her mind back to the present. “I need to learn to say no.”
“Please tell me you aren’t referring to my brother.”
What Victoria said had shocked Toby so much she had no idea what Graydon was talking about. She looked at him but didn’t see him.
“Come with me,” he said as he took her arm and led her to the door. As they passed the buffet table, he picked up a bottle of water and an empty champagne flute.
He led her through the people and into the cool night air, neither of them speaking. They walked far enough away that the music and noise were in the background. A fallen tree blocked their path. Graydon took off his jacket, draped it across the log, and nodded for Toby to sit down.
“Your jacket will get dirty.”
“That’s not important,” he said.
Toby wanted to sit down in the cool darkness but the seat was a little high for her.
“May I?” He was holding out his hands toward her waist.
She nodded and he put his hands on her waist and lifted her to sit on his jacket. He opened the bottle, filled the glass, and handed it to her.
Gratefully, she drank half of it and handed the glass back to him. “Would you mind?” He nodded toward the log.
“Please do.”
Graydon took a seat next to her. “If my brother didn’t upset you, what did?”
“Victoria wants me to plan a wedding for her.”
“I can understand that. You did a splendid job on this one.”
“But Victoria is a famous author! You may not have heard of her in your country, but in America, Victoria Madsen is quite well known.”
“Of course I’ve heard of her. My grandmother reads all her books and I think maybe my father does too. Why would planning another wedding bother you?”
“She’ll want something grand, something beyond perfect. She told me to come up with a theme and I don’t know how to do that.”
“A theme? You mean have everyone dress in costumes?”
“I guess only the bridal party would, but all the decorations would follow through on it. Like having seashells running down the center of the table, except that Victoria would never want anything that mundane. She’d want … I have no idea what would please her.”
“How about a Lanconian theme? All the men could wear bearskins and carry spears, and the women would wear short tunics with a quiver of arrows on their backs.”
For a moment Toby looked at him like he’d lost his mind, but then she smiled. “I’m sure Victoria would love to dress like that, but can you imagine some of those men in bearskins?”
“Big bearskins,” he said. “Maybe grizzlies.”
“What food would we serve?”
“Whole roasted goats.”
Toby was starting to forget her anxiety. “Will we have a jousting match?”
“We could have an Honorium. That’s where the women fight each other and the winner marries the king. In this case I guess it would be the groom.”
“No one would dare go against Victoria. Was that a real event?”
/> “Oh, yes,” Graydon said. “In my country, that’s how a king got a wife. Until King Lorcan stopped it, that is. He was won by a woman who was so ugly that he couldn’t … Well, they never had any children.”
Toby smiled. “You’re making this up.”
“I’m not. There was only one Honorium after that, and that’s when the beautiful Jura won Rowan the Great. It was a love match and they had six children, who married into the different tribes. The kids finally fulfilled their father’s dream of uniting the tribes into one country.”
Smiling, Toby looked at him. “You’re making me feel better, but I still think I should say no to Victoria’s offer. I’ll wait until Lexie decides on a boyfriend, or maybe your aunt and Ken will get married. Those weddings will be smaller and I can handle them—if they ask me, that is.”
“Aunt Jilly is a Taggert.”
“What does that mean?”
“The Taggerts are a big, loud, rambunctious family and most of them will descend on Nantucket for the wedding. You’ll have to deal with eighteen to twenty little girls. The ones that carry the baskets?”
“Flower girls?”
“Yes. And Aunt Jilly has many brothers and sisters, and they all have produced many more Taggerts. To accommodate that family, you’ll have to evacuate most of the residents of Nantucket or the island might sink under the weight of the Taggerts.”
“So Jilly’s wedding wouldn’t be easier?” She was trying not to laugh.
“Have you seen the Taggert men? Each one will eat an entire cow. You’ll have to dock an aircraft carrier beside the island just to bring in enough food for one Taggert meal.”
Toby couldn’t hold in her laughter any longer. “You make them sound like trolls.”
“And who do you think Tolkien modeled his characters on?”
Toby laughed so hard that Graydon handed her the water glass and she drained it. “Okay, I do feel better. I can do this, can’t I?”
“Of course,” he said as he looked at the moonlight on her hair. Rory said that she’d known who he was the second she saw him. When they were dressed alike, with Rory doing his annoying imitation of Graydon, Graydon couldn’t believe anyone could tell them apart. But this young woman had.
Graydon’s face changed to serious. “Did my brother’s charade cause you any difficulties?”
“No,” she said. “After the first few moments, he was quite pleasant.” She looked at Graydon. “He loves you very much.”
Graydon was glad for the darkness that hid the redness of his face. “I asked him not to bother you.”
“He was just looking out for you,” she said. “He warned me of your sense of duty.”
“I’m sure he exaggerated everything.”
“Perhaps,” she said as she slid to the ground. Graydon immediately stood beside her and put his jacket on. “I better go back in,” she said. “It’s getting late and people are beginning to leave. And I need to find a place for you to stay tonight.”
“I told you that I have a bed for tonight.”
“At Wes’s house,” Toby said, “but I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She turned away but then looked back at him. “What metal does your country have that mine needs?”
“Vanadium,” he said. “It’s for hardening steel, among other uses. Who was talking about vanadium at a wedding?”
“Actually, it was Victoria. She seems to think that if you have to spend a night at Wes’s house, it will be so horrible that your country will stop exporting to mine.”
Graydon started to say that was absurd but he didn’t. “Where did Victoria suggest that I stay?”
“She didn’t, but Jared said I should put you on the pullout couch in my upstairs sitting room.”
Years of practice at hiding his emotions was the only way Graydon could keep from bursting out that Jared was his new favorite relative. For all his bravado of saying he wanted to remain on Nantucket, being utterly alone was not something he relished. He didn’t say a word, just waited for Toby’s decision.
“Lexie will be there, so I guess one night will be all right. Tomorrow I’ll find you somewhere else to stay.”
“I thank you for your generosity,” he said and gave her a small bow.
“I rather like these Lanconian manners,” Toby said.
He held out his arm to her. “May I escort you back?”
“Only if you promise to attack any grizzlies we encounter with your vanadium-hardened steel sword.”
Graydon smiled. “I swear it on my honor as a prince of the realm.”
Laughing together, they walked back to the tent. After they parted, Graydon stayed outside and called his brother. “I want every piece of clothing you brought with you. Find out where Toby lives—somewhere on Kingsley Lane—and put everything in her upstairs sitting room.”
“That was fast work,” Rory said. “I hope you understand that if you hurt this girl, a lot of people are going to be angry at you. Montgomerys, Taggerts, Kingsleys, everybody. Why don’t you take this week and go to Vegas instead? You could—”
“The plane back to Maine will be ready for you at six tomorrow morning. And remember that the fewer Lanconians who know about this exchange the better. You think you can do this?”
“Sure,” Rory said. “The question is whether you can handle it.”
“Don’t worry about me.” He paused. “Thank you. This means a lot to me. And Rory?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for whatever you said to Toby about me.”
“I only told her the truth.” Rory hesitated. “I have a question that I need answered to be able to pull this off.” He took a breath. “Are you and Danna lovers?”
Graydon was glad his brother couldn’t see the smile on his face. He had to work to sound offended. “By Naos! Cut out your tongue! I’ve never touched her.”
“Yeah?” Rory said. “I mean, that’s only right, but I thought maybe the two of you had … Anyway, I needed to know.”
“Keep it formal with her,” Graydon said. “The truth is that I rarely see her, certainly not in private. Maybe you could put in a good word for me, like you did with Toby.”
“Possibly,” Rory said.
Graydon could feel his brother’s grin even through the phone. “If you need any help with anything, let me know. And Lorcan will always be with you.”
“Sure,” Rory said, and for a moment the two brothers held their phones in silence.
They’d never before done an exchange on this scale. They hadn’t discussed the repercussions if their parents found out or if the Lanconian nation discovered what the brothers were doing.
There could possibly be legal ramifications. If nothing else, there would be the extreme embarrassment to the throne of Lanconia.
“Good luck,” Graydon said.
“Same to you,” Rory answered. “And I’ll take good care of Danna. She won’t suspect a thing.”
“Thanks,” Graydon said, and they clicked off, but he didn’t move. He well knew that his brother was in love with Danna. The way he looked at her, the way he was silent when Danna was around, hadn’t been difficult to see. For Graydon’s part, he would have gladly stepped aside and let Rory have her, but he couldn’t do that.
For all that he spoke of wanting a holiday, the truth was that Graydon needed to do a lot of thinking. Country or brother? was his dilemma. If he didn’t marry Danna there would be a huge uproar in his country. To toss her aside to his younger brother would cause anger and deep resentment.
The truth was that he could see no solution that didn’t involve his abdication—and even that would solve nothing. Rory would be put on the throne in his place, and his brother would hate being king.
Right now, the best Graydon could do was give his brother this week with Danna. Maybe during that time something would happen, or Graydon would figure out a solution.
He’d been lucky with this girl, Toby. Her ability to tell him from his brother fascinated him. Was it all physical? Some body lang
uage the men couldn’t disguise?
Whatever her abilities, she was certainly a kind and generous young woman and he deeply appreciated her help. He’d already decided that he was going to do all that he could to be allowed to stay with her rather than get dumped into a hotel room.
Peace and calm so he could think about his problems: That was his goal. Toby laughed at his jokes and he enjoyed her company. And it might be pleasant to involve himself in her life for the short time he had on this pretty island.
At least that’s what he told himself. Actually, the young woman confused him. He still didn’t understand why he’d struck out at his brother over her. Didn’t know why he’d been so angry when he realized that Rory had sent him away so he could test whether the girl really could tell them apart. Maybe it was some genetic throwback to when Lanconian men wore bearskins and carried swords and fought over women.
That thought made him smile. He’d loved making Toby laugh about his ancestors. In fact, making her laugh was already becoming one of his favorite things to do.
He put his phone in his pocket and walked back to the tent. People were leaving and he saw Toby going from one person to another and making sure they’d had a good time. They were taking away boxes of food and cake and smiling at her.
He had a feeling that if someone didn’t step in and physically remove her, she might stay there all night. He could imagine her there at three A.M. making sure the place was clean.
Maybe for the next week, when he didn’t have a country and army and charities to look after, he could take care of one overworked young lady.
Smiling, he stepped into the tent.
Graydon had to practically drag Toby from the wedding. As the people left, she began to clean up trash, fold empty chairs, and set centerpiece flower arrangements on one table. Tomorrow they’d be picked up by a local charity. But Graydon caught her arm and pulled her away. “You need to get some rest,” he said. “My aunt and Ken are going to give us a ride to your house.”
“But I have to—”