Betrothed to the Prince. Raye Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ straightened his tie and turned the knob, a provocative smile at the ready. But when he opened the door, instead of the welcoming look of surprise he expected, he found himself gazing into a face that, though still beautiful, was set in a look that said “trouble.”

      “There you are!” she exclaimed.

      He stopped in his tracks, but at least she didn’t have her dukes up this time. “What did I do?” he asked, completely at sea.

      She gave him a look that said, “If you don’t know…” and rose from the rocking chair with the baby in her arms.

      “I’ve been waiting for you to come home,” she said distractedly. “I’ve got to talk to you.”

      He raised an eyebrow, surprised at her tone but happy to see she was every bit as lovely as he remembered. Her soft burnished hair set off a face that was finely boned, the lips full, the green eyes luminous and framed in thick dark lashes. He liked the look of her and he was already speculating what her touch would be like.

      “I had some meetings to attend to. And very tedious they were, too. Why? Did I miss something?”

      Did he miss something!

      Turning, she carefully laid the sleeping baby down in its antique crib, giving herself a moment to compose her emotions. Trailing a finger across the downy head, she felt a surge of affection for this helpless creature that was beginning to seem automatic. She looked so beautiful tucked under her lacy covers. It was official now. Tianna was her defender and protector. She would do whatever she had to do to make sure this child was safe and well taken care of.

      Luckily, the nursery was fully stocked with baby supplies, as it had only been a short time since Prince Marco’s two children had passed through on their way to their larger bedrooms. Milla had been sent into town to get formula and baby food, but disposable diapers and baby blankets filled the cupboards—everything a well-connected baby would need. And this sweet baby might just be a little more well-connected than everyone had first believed.

      Turning, she looked at Prince Garth. She’d been sitting here for the past few hours working herself up into a lather over this situation and it wasn’t going to help if she started ranting at him. At any rate, now that they were face-to-face, she knew he wasn’t the monster she’d been painting in her mind. Surely he would do the right thing.

      “Have you done anything yet to find the mother of this baby?” she asked carefully.

      He seemed puzzled by her question but he answered readily enough. “Don’t worry about that. The authorities will handle it. The orphanage finds the mothers very quickly. The mothers and babies are usually reunited within days.” He shook his head. “They do this because of the Rose Baby Legend, you know.”

      She paused, biting her lip. This legend had been mentioned twice. It had to be peculiar to East Nabotavia, because she didn’t remember ever hearing of it before. She supposed she ought to get the full back ground before she made her case.

      “Why don’t you sit down?” she suggested, gesturing toward a chair set facing the rocker. “I’d like to hear about this Rose Baby Legend.”

      He looked at her and almost laughed. She was talking to him as though…hell, as though she were a princess. Actually, he was used to people treating him with casual equality. After all, he’d spent quite a few years in the U.S. Army after graduating from West Point, the last few as a lieutenant colonel. But this was different. He was in his own home castle and Tianna was an employee. By now she surely knew he was a prince. It was very strange that she didn’t seem to feel a need to treat him like—well, at least like the boss. A neutral observer might have come to the opposite conclusion and figured he must work for her.

      “You’re Nabotavian, aren’t you?” he asked as he sank easily into the chair. “Surely you’ve heard the story.”

      “I may have heard it once, but if I did, it didn’t stick with me.” She sat down in the rocker and leaned forward. “Why don’t you fill me in?”

      “The Rose Baby Legend. Okay.” He frowned, calling up the old story from the past. “It started about a hundred years ago in Nabotavia. It was a time of great instability in the kingdom—as usual. The queen—my great-grandmother—had given birth to three boys and then found she was unable to have any more children. She desperately wanted a girl. In fact, supposedly she’d fallen into deep depression because, as she said, the boys would all be taken from her by war and she deeply longed for a daughter who would stay beside her always. Everyone in the country knew about her sorrow. Then one day, while walking in the rose garden, she found a baby girl, wrapped in a rose-colored blanket. She adopted her, raised her as her own, even to the point of calling her a princess. She was my great aunt, Princess Elna. True to the queen’s desires, she never married, staying with her adoptive mother to the end.”

      “Wow.”

      “Yes. You don’t see that kind of gratitude much these days, do you?” He gave her a crooked grin. “I don’t really remember her, but I’ve always heard a lot about her. She affected the lives of all she came in contact with. She was the first one to start a nursing charity for the poor. She founded the original Nabotavian orphanage. The whole country loved her. She was considered a sort of royal saint.”

      “Princess Elna.” Tianna nodded. She remembered now. She’d read a biography of the woman when she was about twelve or thirteen. “Yes, of course. I’ve heard of her. She was a wonderful woman.”

      “Yes. Anyway, she became quite a legend, and eventually a myth grew up around her experience. It was thought that the royal family might take in other babies. The rose garden was open to the public in those days and women began leaving their babies there, with notes, begging for the royal family to adopt the baby. For some reason, a few years ago, the story was revived and they started trying to do that here, too. They usually don’t get any farther than the guard gate, though.”

      “I see.” She nodded thoughtfully, then glanced at the crib where the little girl slept.

      Garth followed her gaze. “Now where was it you found her?” he asked, watching for her reaction.

      Tianna looked at him. “Just outside, along the driveway.”

      “Not in the rose garden?”

      “No, it was among the primroses.”

      She blinked and their eyes met. His eyebrow cocked.

      “Too bad,” he said softly. “I’m afraid we’re not in the adopting mood here at the castle.”

      Tianna’s gaze was still holding his. “What if it’s not just some stranger who left her?” she asked softly. “What if it’s someone you know?”

      He frowned, sitting back in his chair. The wary look returned to his handsome face. “What are you driving at?”

      She rose, stepping to the chest of drawers and returning with a small note card. Even from where he was sitting, he could smell the rose scent it had been dabbed with.

      “Here,” she said. “You’d better read this. It fell out of the baby’s clothing.”

      He looked at it for a moment, a feeling of unease growing in his chest. This had all the earmarks of something that was going to be extremely unpleasant. Reluctantly, he reached for the card.

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