The Prince Next Door. Sue Civil-Brown

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СКАЧАТЬ nodded excitedly. “Of course you are! So you know they’re trying to find out if there are genetic bases for diseases. Does this gene cause cancer? Does that gene cause depression? Things like that. But it’s complicated, because genes sometimes skip generations, lie dormant or some such. Plus a lot of places in the world have become so cosmopolitan, with people from all over the world adding to the local gene pool. So what you need is…”

      Darius cut in. “An isolated, homogeneous population, with accurate genealogical records, so you can follow the path of genes through tens or hundreds of generations.”

      “And Masolimia has that?” Serena asked.

      “Yes,” Ariel replied. “It’s a mountain principality which has had little contact with its neighbors. What’s more, their traditional burial customs—going back to before the Roman Empire—use a labyrinth of catacombs, where an individual’s crypt is connected by tunnels to his or her parents, siblings and children. The catacombs are a precise genealogical history of Masolimia. So a genetic research firm wants to use them as a case study.”

      “Which would, of course, involve a substantial payment to the people of Masolimia,” Serena said.

      Darius nodded. “About fifty million dollars, all told. Plus loans and investments to help modernize the place. Quite lucrative, mother tells me. Except…the last prince died childless, and his bloodline died with him. So Masolimia has no official in charge who can okay the contract.”

      Serena’s brow furrowed. “But surely there’s a legislature or a cabinet or something?”

      “Nope,” Darius said. “You’d think so, but no. By tradition—and everything in Masolimia is about tradition—only the crown prince can approve contracts between the government and outside companies. No prince. No contract. No money.”

      “Ahhhh,” Serena said, suddenly understanding. Or so she thought. “Your mother thinks you should be the next prince.”

      “Not quite,” he replied. “She thinks I am the next prince. Apparently my family—her side of the family—has some connection to someone who was someone six hundred years ago. I don’t pretend to understand it. Frankly, I don’t care. I don’t want the job.”

      “But what about the poor people of Masolimia?” Ariel asked.

      “Yeah, what about them?” Serena echoed. He did, after all, seem awfully callous about the condition of his native land.

      As if to confirm her feelings, he gave another of his patented European shrugs. “The people of Masolimia will settle on someone. It just won’t be me. Not even if my mother did get herself kidnapped.”

      “Aren’t you worried about her?” Ariel asked.

      “Ha! The only person who worries about my mother is God, and that’s only because she wants His job. No, I’m not worried about my mother. Not by a long shot.”

      The sky had grown dark, the moon glittering on the waves. As if sensing Serena’s disapproval of his attitude, Darius glanced at his watch.

      “And I’ve overstayed.” He stood, then reached out and took her hand, a purely polite, old-fashioned gesture that, nonetheless, sent a shiver down her spine. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

      He actually kissed her hand. Shiver again.

      Then he turned to Ariel, repeating the kiss. “And it was a pleasure to improve my acquaintance with you, young lady. It’s remarkable to meet so well-read a person.”

      “The pleasure was all mine,” Ariel said, her voice suddenly rich with a cultured depth which lay far beyond her years. “And your choice of dinner was delightful.”

      Serena made as if to rise, but he held up a hand. “Please, stay here and enjoy the night air. I’ll let myself out.”

      After the briefest of bows, he turned and strode away with a grace that was undeniably…royal.

      “Wow,” Ariel said, after he had left. “Just think—a prince helped you wash the dishes!”

      “Hmmm,” Serena replied.

      THE MOON, which had been chasing the sun across the sky all day, now hung above the water, an argent orb with an amused face. Serena figured it was laughing at her, but what the heck. Ariel had gone inside to watch television, leaving her all alone on her balcony to watch the mesmerizing rhythm of silver-capped waves. The wind was now blowing offshore, leaving her untouched in her nook.

      This vacation was certainly not going the way she had planned. Which reminded her, she needed to tell Marco to drop it before he did something outrageous that came back to haunt her.

      Maybe, she thought wistfully, it was time to grow up year-round, not just when she was working. Yes, her job was mostly dull, but she met some very nice people. Some even had fascinating stories to tell. That should be enough, right?

      Today—Ariel was right about this—she had slandered a man. In her haste to have a good time, she’d invented a dastardly criminal out of whole cloth. Instead he was an art dealer cum prince, who seemed to have a share of his own troubles.

      For some reason the old song about a prince coming someday was whirling around in her head. However, so did the old joke about kissing a prince and finding a frog.

      But darn it he was attractive. Everything about him appealed to her, even if he did dress outlandishly for the climate.

      On the other hand, he did have a mother who would stage her own kidnapping to get her way. Did she want to get tangled up with that kind of family?

      Yes! The thought made her laugh. He wasn’t the least interested in her, but his mother sounded like a character after her own heart. In fact, his mother was the best recommendation he had.

      A prince. Living next door. Well, a prince who didn’t believe he was a prince. She felt a little disturbed by his cavalier dismissal of the genetic contract which could help Maso-whatever-it-was to prosper, but he was probably right. They’d find someone else to be their prince.

      She could hardly blame him for not wanting the job. It would probably be tedious beyond belief. Meetings and papers and appearances, and people telling you what to do and how to behave every moment of the day….

      Still…She closed her eyes a moment and indulged a Cinderella fantasy of being garbed in a beautiful gown, waltzing around a huge ballroom in the arms of a prince in a comic-opera uniform of blue and gold.

      Hmmm.

      Once again it was time to corral her thoughts. She had such a tendency to go off into flights of fancy, it was a wonder she’d ever made it through medical school. Or a day in her own practice.

      “Hey,” said Ariel, rejoining her. Apparently her program was over. “You look pensive.”

      “I’m facing weeks of tedium.”

      “With a handsome prince next door?”

      Serena cocked an eye her way. “He says he’s not. Don’t you think he would know?”

      “Actually, no. Distant line and all that.”

      Serena СКАЧАТЬ