Page 103 of A Problem Princess

His solemn expression never changed. “Only if you want a husband and children, and I know how much you do. The Crown Council will never allow you to marry someone they don’t choose, and if you marry without their blessing, your children will be removed from the line of succession.”

“That doesn’t matter anymore. I won’t be forced into a marriage I don’t want, no matter what my family or the Crown Council orders me to do. Tradition dictates that I’m the one who has to propose, and I will never propose to a man who doesn’t love me.” She straightened her spine with resolve. “To hell with princes and kings and dukes! I’m completely done with the lot of them.”

“What are you saying, Princess?”

“That’s exactly it. I’m not—” She paused to gather her courage, but her words emerged as barely more than a whisper, “I’m not a princess anymore. Or at least not as I was.”

Even from a foot away, she felt him tense. “Because of what you said to Parliament?”

“More than that.”

When his eyes narrowed on her as he tried to understand, she dropped her hand away and stepped back. She needed to think clearly to explain herself, and she could never do that if she kept touching him. For heaven’s sake, just the sight of him sent her mind whirling. She prayed to God it always would.

“I will always be the daughter of a monarch, but—” She fought to control her shaking hands. “But I am resigning my royal duties and refusing all allowances and royal privileges.”

His expression remained inscrutable, yet he remained as still as a statue as the ramifications for her—forthem—sank over him.

He stared at her for a very long time before carefully asking, “Can you do that? Or will the Crown Council refuse to accept your resignation and force you to continue your duties?”

“I don’t think they can.” She bit her lip. “But no one’s ever willingly walked away from being part of a ruling royal family before. I don’t think anyone knows what to do, least of all me.” That familiar pang of fear and uncertainty struck again. So did determination. “But I’m adamant about it. I no longer want to be a princess. I’ve spent the last three days writing letters announcing my decision to officials in Monrovia and notifying all the European heads of state.” Her mouth twisted with irritation. “And arguing with Princess Sophia, who thinks I’m making a grand mistake.”

He asked cautiously, “Are you?”

She wasn’t at all certain. The thought of no longer being a princess both thrilled and terrified her. Her life would have a new future for which she hadn’t at all been prepared, and she had no idea what she would do to make her way. She had no idea on whom she could depend or who her friends were, no idea how she would live or where…

But her future might also have Clayton, if he still wanted her now that she was no longer a princess. With him at her side, she could do anything.

“Everythingwill change for me,” she warned. “I have nothing of my own. No lands, no castles, no titles—no dowry of any kind except whatever my cousins feel piteous enough to bestow upon me, which is likely to be not much at all.” She frowned. “But I’ll have scandal in spades to pack into my trunks.”

She paused to let the severity of that register on both of them.

“Despite all that,” she continued, so nervous she couldn’t stop shaking, “do you think it’s possible that you might still want to be with me?” She was unsure of herself, of her future…of everything except her love for him. She blurted out, “Clayton Elliott, will you marry me?”

He answered quietly, “You can’t ask me that.”

Her mouth fell open as her heart began to shatter—

“You’re not a princess anymore, remember? Proposing ismypleasure.” He knelt in front of her and took her hand. “Willyoumarryme, Cordelia?” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “Say yes, love, and to hell with—what was it?—princes and kings and dukes…to hell with anyone who dares try to keep us apart.”

“Oh yes.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “Yes!”

She rushed down into his arms, and he sat back on the floor and pulled her against him.

“Then yes, Princess,” he murmured, resting his cheek against her hair. “I will marry you.”

She let out a sob of utter happiness, and her arms tightened around his shoulders. Her future would be filled with love and hope, and she knew she would finally find a meaningful purpose for her life. With him.

Yet one thing still troubled her.

“I’m frightened of the future,” she confessed. “I’ve only ever been a princess, always protected and pampered, never allowed to make any decisions on my own, and always required to put duty before all else. I don’t know what to do. I can’t be a princess anymore.” Then she admitted, barely louder than a whisper, “But I don’t think I can ever be plain Jane Smith either.”

“You don’t have to be anyone but yourself,” he assured her. “Because now you’re simply the woman I love.”

Happiness swelled inside her, and she blinked back tears as she choked out, “There’s no one I’d rather be.”

Epilogue

Somerset, England