He nodded. “The most powerful of all.” He smiled. “I ought to write a ballad.”
She touched his cheek and smiled sleepily. “Tell me another Nvengarian fairy tale instead.”
He chuckled. She snuggled against him, liking the warm vibration of laughter on his chest.
“Once upon a time,” he said, drifting his hand through her hair, “there was a beautiful princess. One day, a very handsome, very charming prince came along and carried her off to his kingdom, far, far away.”
“Mmm, I like that.” She traced the ridges of his abdomen. “Did they live happily ever after?”
He kissed her, his voice roughening. “They will, Penelope. They will. This I swear to you with all my heart.”
Epilogue
His Imperial Highness, Prince Damien Augustus Frederic Michel of Nvengaria, and her Imperial Highness, the Princess Penelope, announce the birth of a prince on the Seventh Day of March, the year of our lord Eighteen Hundred and Twenty. The child shall be christened his most royal Prince Damien Sasha Egan Augustus on the Tenth Day of March, Eighteen Hundred and Twenty, in the Royal Chapel at the castle of the Imperial Princes in Narato.
The invitations were written in gold ink on gilt-edged parchment and delivered throughout every country in Europe. One special announcement went to the London house of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Tavistock, number 32 Stratford Street, near Portman Square.
“Fancy,” Simone said, when she opened the announcement at the breakfast table, “I am a grandmother. Michael, that means you are a grandpapa. A stepgrandpapa, anyway.”
Michael Tavistock smiled at his wife. “Excellent news. We must send a gift.”
“What do you send an infant prince?” Simone mused. “Goodness, he must be surrounded by silver plate from every king in the world.”
“I intend to knit him a cap,” Meagan declared on the other side of the table. She licked jam from her spoon, eyes happy. “After all, I am his auntie, and the poor little thing will need to keep his head warm.”
“I imagine he’ll have dozens of caps,” Simone pointed out. “All of velvet and silk, I shouldn’t wonder.”
“But not one knitted in good English wool by his stepauntie.”
Michael set down his coffee cup, enjoying the sight of morning sunlight on his wife’s golden head and his daughter’s shining red one. “An excellent idea, Meagan. Penelope would enjoy receiving such a thing from you.”
“Penelope will, yes,” Simone said. She sipped her coffee, looking momentarily mournful. She sighed. “The dear girl is so practical.”
A month later, in the castle of the Imperial Princes in Nvengaria, Penelope, sitting on a small red-upholstered throne next to the prince’s larger one, received a package from England from a liveried messenger. She thanked the man and opened it with eager fingers.
When she saw the tiny fitted cap in blue and red striped wool, her eyes filled with happy tears. “Oh, Damien, come and see.”
The Imperial Prince of Nvengaria lay on his back on the polished floor before the double throne, his small son on his chest. One large hand cradled the boy, who slept in the relaxed way of infants, his small hands curled to fists on his father’s waistcoat. “I cannot rise at present, love,” Damien said softly. “I’ll wake him.”
Penelope pushed the wrappings aside, rose, and seated herself gracefully on the floor, her Nvengarian silk gown spilling to the floor. “Auntie Meagan knitted a cap. Is that not a fine thing for a princeling’s head?”
Damien examined it. “Indeed, he shall wear it when the next diplomats come to ogle him.”
“She knew exactly what to send, bless her.”
Damien studied her a moment, stroking his son’s tiny back. “You miss them.”
“Oh, yes. Every day. But I can see them through Nedrak’s scrying crystal, and Sasha said he is working on a spell that will let me write on a paper, and the words will appear on a paper in front of Meagan almost immediately. Would that not be splendid?”
Damien snorted. “Sasha’s spells do blunder, you know.”
“Yes, that is why I have encouraged him to do much research first.”
Damien laughed, shaking the baby, but he did not wake.
Penelope laid her hand on Damien’s, brushing fingers over her child’s fine black hair. “I do miss them. But I would not trade this for the world. You and he are my family now.”
Damien bent a smile on her, warm and full of promise. “I am pleased, my princess.”
“This is our happily ever after, isn’t it?” she asked dreamily. “A family, and love.”
His eyes darkened. “Yes.”
“It is what the prophecy wanted, I think,” she said. “To reunite the line, but to do it in love. Your father mired everything in hate, and Alexander continued it, even if he did not mean to. The prophecy wanted love.”
Damien pulled her down to lie against him. Baby Damien yawned, opened his dark blue eyes, focused
them on Penelope a moment, then went back to sleep.
“I am damn pleased it did,” Damien said, his voice low.
“It is not really the end of the story, is it?” Penelope said. “But the beginning.”
Damien turned his head and kissed her lips. She felt now-familiar fires stir that nearly a year with Damien had not quenched.
“I hope our story goes on forever, Penelope.”
“So do I.”
He smiled against her lips. “We will have to tell it to our boy one day. The real story, not Sasha’s wild embellishments.”
She laughed. “The real story. About how you swept into my life and turned everything upside-down and charmed me into loving you.”
His smile went wicked. “Perhaps later today we can again remember some of the details?”
She had learned how to be as wicked and teasing as he. She nibbled the lobe of his ear. “I would be most pleased, my prince.”
Damien kissed her again, a long, deep kiss. “I love you,” he said, his blue eyes warm.
“I love you.”
He stroked the baby’s back with his thumb, and Penelope smiled. “Now I have two Prince Charmings in my life,” she said. “Can any girl in the entire world be as lucky as me?”
CRITICS RAVE FOR JENNIFER ASHLEY!
“To say that Jennifer Ashley is a talented writer is a vast understatement.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Ashley sprinkles in the perfect amount of humor…to keep the story sprightly.”
—Romantic Times
“Ms. Ashley has a serious sense of humor, which comes out in her writing.”
—Rakehell
CONFESSIONS OF A LINGERIE ADDICT
“Ashley brilliantly blends a generous bit of chick-lit sass with a dash of contemporary romance…in a tale that is surprisingly thoughtful, often quite sexy, and always entertaining.”
—Booklist
“Entertaining…amusing and often engaging.”
—RT BOOKclub
“Confessions of a Lingerie Addict is a truly addicting book; I could not put it down. It has humor, romance, and scenes so HOT that I had to turn on the air conditioner.”
—Romance Junkies
THE CARE & FEEDING OF PIRATES
“More witty, sexy, and swashbuckling fun from the always entertaining Ashley.”
—Booklist
“Wit combines perfectly with sizzling sensuality and exhilarating adventure.…Ashley has fine-tuned the pirate romance with her rapier storytelling talents.”
—RT BOOKclub
“Sexy, vibrant, and exciting.”
—A Romance Review
MORE PRAISE FOR JENNIFER ASHLEY!
THE PIRATE HUNTER
“The heated verbal battles and sizzling love scenes keep things spicy in this adventure romance.”
—Romantic Times
“Readers who relish deliciously tortured heroes and spirited heroines who can give as good as they get will find much to savor in the latest bracing mix of sexy roma
nce and treacherous intrigue from the consistently satisfying Ashley.”
—Booklist
“The Pirate Hunter is a wildly exciting adventure story. Smoldering sensuality and intense emotions from the characters make this a nonstop read!”
—The Best Reviews
THE PIRATE NEXT DOOR
“The Pirate Next Door is a wonderful tale full of humor, passion, intrigue, excitement, and non-stop adventure.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“A witty and splendidly magical romance.”
—Booklist
“I was teased, tantalized, and enthralled while reading The Pirate Next Door! Full of twists and turns, adventure, love and lust, and betrayals, this is a great new addition to the pirate books of romance!”
—Romance Junkies
Other books by Jennifer Ashley:
CHRISTMAS CARDS FROM THE EDGE (Anthology)
CONFESSIONS OF A LINGERIE ADDICT
THE CARE & FEEDING OF PIRATES
THE PIRATE HUNTER
THE PIRATE NEXT DOOR
PERILS OF THE HEART
Copyright
A LEISURE BOOK®
April 2006
Published by
Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Copyright © 2006 by Jennifer Ashley
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E-ISBN: 978-1-4285-0360-1
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Jennifer Ashley, Penelope and Prince Charming
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