An Officer and a Princess Read online

  “And I love you, Princess,” Adam replied, then he captured her lips once again, sealing the future in a kiss of everlasting love.

  Epilogue

  King Nicholas moved quietly through the darkened, silent chapel, a wiggling LeAnn in one arm, a flashlight in the other. Although he was exhausted, the excitement of the day still filled him with adrenaline.

  When Isabel’s and Adam’s wedding had finally ended, he’d gone into the nursery to check on his baby girl. He’d expected to find her sound asleep, but she’d greeted him with giggles and the wide-eyed expression of a little girl not close to slumber.

  He’d picked her up and cuddled her close, then had decided to take her with him. Behind the altar, he went down the stairs that led to the catacombs beneath the city.

  The flashlight easily lit the narrow corridor he followed and as he walked, LeAnn giggled at the dancing shadows they made on the walls.

  He hugged her closer, loving the scent of sweet little girl, of his daughter. She was the child of his heart, born from the tremendous love Nicholas felt for LeAnn’s mother. He had seen that same love pass between Isabel and Adam as they took their vows earlier that day. Isabel’s face glowed and her perfectly fitted bridal gown made her look more like a princess than ever before.

  He’d gone only a little ways when he stopped in front of an ornate fresco. The vivid colors had faded over time, but even the passing of centuries couldn’t diminish the power and mastery of the work.

  Nicholas looked down at the new ring that adorned his right hand. It was a large ring with an intricate center stone. The king’s ring. His father had passed it to him the same afternoon when he’d passed him the reins of the country, before the coronation had begun.

  It took him only a moment to locate the slight depression in the stone that his father had described to him. He pressed the front of his ring into the depression. Awe swept through him as the stone swung backward to reveal a secret chamber.

  The Chamber of Riches.

  How ironic it was that his father had been held only a hundred feet or so from here. The kidnappers had no idea how close they were to discovering the secret location of the Chamber of Riches.

  Nicholas reached along the wall and found the switch that shot life into dozens of battery-powered lights. The room lit with a brilliance heightened only by the riches it contained.

  As Nicholas stepped through the doorway, the stone slid silently back into place, closing him inside and hiding the room from anyone who might wander into the catacomb’s corridor.

  LeAnn reached for a jeweled tiara, then for a glittering ruby-encrusted set of candlesticks.

  “Isn’t it beautiful, LeAnn?” Nicholas said to his daughter. “And if your mother and I have our way, this will all be yours to keep for the future of Edenbourg.”

  LeAnn clapped her hands, as if she understood his words. He smiled as she wriggled her body and yawned. He lifted her so that her soft, downy head rested on his shoulder. “And I hope that when the day comes that this is yours, you’ll understand that the real treasure of life can’t be found in a hidden room or a Chamber of Riches.”

  Nicholas thought of Rebecca, his beautiful wife, the keeper of his dreams and the queen of his heart. He patted his daughter’s little back. “I hope when the time comes you’ll be wise enough to know that the real treasure can only be found in your heart and that treasure is love.”

  He opened the door of the Chamber of Riches and shut off the lights. As he walked back up the stairs to the chapel, he prayed that he would be a good king, but mostly he gave thanks for knowing that he had become a wealthy man the day he’d met his wife. Rebecca and LeAnn were all the treasure he needed.

  Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Carla Cassidy for her contribution to the ROYALLY WED: THE STANBURYS series.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-8371-2

  AN OFFICER AND A PRINCESS

  Copyright © 2001 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  Visit Silhouette at www.eHarlequin.com

  *The Baker Brood

  ‡Mustang, Montana

  †Sisters

  **The Delaney Heirs