Page 19 of Awakened On Her Royal Wedding Night
“Obviously, any child Francois produced would be superseded by any of mine that came along after, but that would be messy. If Francois were the father of a future ruler, even for a brief period, he would capitalize on all the power that would come with such a position. He would fiercely resist my child taking its rightful place. Rather than put Nazarine through countless, pointless battles of succession, I must marry immediately and do my best to procreate before he does.”
He looked straight at her. Into her. She had the sensation that her heart was falling down a flight of stairs and he was watching it happen.
“I don’t understand,” she said carefully.
“Of course, you do. You know exactly where I’m headed because you’re very smart, Claudine. It’s one of the things that attracts me to you.”
“No. It— I—No.” Her ears were ringing. “You can’t be serious, Felipe.No.”
“I am very serious, Claudine. I want you to marry me.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“YOUDON’TEVENknow me.” Claudine shook her head, trying to convince herself she’d misheard him. “I don’t know you. No. I can’t.”
“Listen to what I’m offering. I’ve looked into your mother’s condition—”
“Don’t you dare threaten my mother!”
“This is not a threat, Claudine. It’s bribery.Listen.There are a number of excellent clinics, some in the US, some in Europe. She’ll have a full assessment and any treatment she feels is right for her.”
“Pleasedo not talk as if I’ve already agreed to this mad plan.”
“Believe it or not, your reluctance only reassures me that you’re not an agent for Francois, or an opportunist. My greatest hurdle to marriage has always been the struggle to find a bride I can trust, one who cannot be influenced by him. That’s you.”
“Believe it or not—” she barely kept her tone this side of strident “—your demand that I marry you less than twenty-four hours after we met doesnotreassureme. Nothing about this does.”
She started toward the door, but stopped at the desk, then turned back to him.
“Here is what I’m willing to do.” She fought to maintain a calm voice. “I’ll write down every detail I can recollect from the time they told us where we were going last night until I washed up on your beach. I will give you that in exchange for a flight home. You can use my statement however you like. Surely that’s enough to slow your brother down?”
“From finding a wife? Not every woman is as discerning as you are. Francois will find someone very quickly,” he said pithily. “When you’re ready to release a statement, we’ll find a way to do it so it impacts you as little as possible. I will protect you to the best of my ability once it’s out there, but think about it, Claudine. The best protection foryouwill be as the fiancée of a future king. Look at this fortress around you.” He waved his arms.
“These walls don’t protect me from public opinion! People will think it’s a stunt. Is it? It is! Your family wouldn’t allow you to marryme. You’re trying to use me to make some kind of point.”
“When it comes to marriage, you possess theonlyquality that matters to me. You hate my brother as much as I do. You are the one I want to marry and my parents will have to accept you.”
“Listen to yourself! You want to base a marriage on hatred? You want to bring children into—I don’t even know if I can have children. Do you realize that? I’ve never tried.”
“Is there some reason to believe you can’t?”
“No. Not that it’s any of your business,” she added hotly, then clutched the sides of her head. “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.Pleasesend me home.”
“Time is of the essence, Claudine. Otherwise, I would woo you.”
She strangled on a laugh of disbelief.
“I am very capable of seduction,” he said coolly. “Which I will demonstrate at the appropriate time.”
That was both terrifying and intriguing. He came to loom beside her, forcing her into taking a faltering step backward.
“For now, yes. It’s a good idea for you to record exactly what happened the other night.” He opened a drawer in the desk and set out sheets of linen paper with a pen that appeared to be wrought from 24 karat gold. “I’ll speak to you after I’ve checked on a few things.”
Felipe was operating on the assumption that Claudine would marry him. He could trust her more than anyone else he’d ever considered tying himself to and he had no other immediate option. Finding a way to convince her was a small detail among many as far as executing his plan went, but he didn’t abandon good sense altogether.
He went back to the dossier Vinicio had hurriedly prepared shortly after her arrival, wanting to ensure there wouldn’t be any unpleasant surprises in her background.
Claudine’s history of entering pageants would be seen as questionable, particularly by his mother. An American beauty contestant was not who she had in mind for either of her sons, especially the one whose wife would usurp her own title.
