Invitation to the Prince's Palace / The Prince's Second Chance: Invitation to the Prince's Palace / The Prince's Second Chance

‘The first year the truffle crop failed it was difficult.’ People relied on the truffle industry for their survival. ‘Around that same time, my mother, the queen, moved out. That was an unprecedented act from a woman who’d always advocated practical marriages and putting on a good front to the public, no matter what.’

Melanie covered her surprise. ‘That must have caused some complications.’

‘It did. For once my father found himself on the back foot.’

‘And you and your brothers found yourselves without a mother in residence. I’m sorry to hear that. It’s never pleasant when you lose someone, even if they choose to leave.’ A glimpse of something longstanding, deep and painful flashed through her eyes before she seemed to blink it away. ‘I hope that you still get to see her?’

‘I see my mother infrequently when there are royal occasions that bring us all together.’ Would Mel understand if he explained that his contact with his mother hadn’t changed much? That the queen had never spent much time with her sons and what time she had spent had been invested in criticising their clothing, deportment, efforts or choices in life? Better to just leave that alone.

‘My parents died years ago.’ She offered the confidence softly. ‘I went to live with Nicolette and my aunt and uncle after that happened.’

He took one of her hands into his. ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’

Dominico had informed him of some of these things this morning after the security check the aide ordered on her came through. The invasion of Melanie’s privacy had been necessary, but Rik had refused to read the report, asking only to be told ‘anything that might matter’. Though he had to protect himself, somehow it had still felt wrong.

‘Thank you.’ She gently withdrew her hand, and folded both of them together in her lap.

She went on. ‘You’ve explained about the truffle crops failing, how that’s impacted on your people. One year is a problem but two years in a row—’

‘Brought financial disaster to many of our truffle workers.’ And while Rik pursued every avenue to find a cure for the blight to the truffle crops, his father had denied the depths of the problem because he was absorbed in his anger and frustration over his queen walking out on him.

‘On top of these issues, the tourist industry also waned as other parts of Europe became more popular as vacation destinations. Tourism is Anrai’s field. He has the chain of hotels and the country certainly still gets a tourist market, but when there is so much more to do and see just over the border …‘

‘You have to have something either comparable, or totally unique, to pull in a large slice of the tourist market.’ Melanie nodded her head.

‘Exactly. Our country needs to get back on its feet. My brothers and I have fought to get our father to listen to the depth of the problems.’ They’d provided emergency assistance to the people out of their own pockets as best they could but that wasn’t a long-term solution. None of them had endless supplies of funds.

In terms of available cash, nor did the royal estate. It had what it had. History, a beautiful palace and the means to maintain it and maintain a lifestyle comparable to it for the royal family. Their father oversaw all of that, and did not divulge the details of what came and went through the royal coffers. It was through careful investment of a shared inheritance that Rik and his brothers had decent funds of their own.

‘Despite these difficulties you came up with a plan.’ Mel searched Rikardo’s face. Her heart had stopped pounding in the aftermath of his remarkable request, though even now she still couldn’t fully comprehend it, couldn’t really allow herself to consider it as any kind of reality.

It was Alice down that alternative universe hole again, yet it wasn’t. He truly wanted her to marry him. For practical purposes, to outwit his father, and just for a few months, but still … he wanted her to marry him.

She started to find it hard to breathe again. ‘And somehow your plan involved trading off a brief marriage for sorting out the country’s economic troubles.’

‘Yes. My father has pushed all three of us to marry. I think we all have expected that Marcelo would have to do that whether he wanted to or not because he is the eldest. It is part of his heritage.’

Mel nodded. ‘I thought when I came here, well, I guess I was so overwhelmed by it all that I didn’t stop to think that everything might not be rosy just because there’s a palace filled with amazing things. Just because you’re a prince doesn’t mean everything is easy for you. Or for your brothers, either.’

‘My brothers and I went to our father in a concerted bid to get him to listen to the seriousness of the problems the people are facing and with our plans for addressing those problems. Leadership reform is also desperately needed, and that is something Marcelo has been working to achieve for some years now.’ Rikardo drew a breath. ‘Our father finally did listen. We got our concessions from him.’

His tone became even more formal as he went on. ‘But that agreement came at a cost. In return for agreeing to requests that will help us protect Braston’s people from further financial hardship, his demand was that we each marry within the next six months.’

‘To ensure that the family carries on?’ Mel asked the question and then wondered if she should have.

Even as a king, did Georgio have the right to push his sons to marry if they didn’t feel ready? If they didn’t want to? For Rik to go to such lengths to avoid the institution, he must have some deep-seated reasons. Or did he just not want to be bullied? That was reason enough, of course!

Mel might not ever fully understand, and for some reason she felt a little sad right now. Her gaze shifted to the cliff face opposite. Two men were near the top, tourists or locals with rappelling equipment.

Mel had to navigate this discussion. And Rik’s explanations did help her to start to understand what was at stake, at least for the people of Braston.

Could she decide to just walk away when the futures of so many people hinged on Rik meeting his father’s demands? When him bringing her here by mistake could have ruined those plans? If she hadn’t been on the street filled with allergy medication …

Whether she’d meant it or not, her actions had contributed to this current problem, and if there was no other way to fix it …

But it’s such a big undertaking, Mel. Marriage, even if it is only for a few months! And there’d be publicity and a dress and so much else, and you’d be fooling Rik’s father the whole time and then he’d realise he’d been fooled and be very angry.

Yet Mel knew that Rik would protect her; that he would make sure his father didn’t bring any of his wrath down on Mel’s head. Rik wouldn’t allow that anger to have its head. ‘When it ended you would send me back to Australia, to Sydney. I wouldn’t be exposed to the aftermath here.’

‘And because we’d give an interview when we dissolved the marriage and let the magazines and tabloids have that, I would hope you wouldn’t attract much media interest when you went home.’ His gaze searched hers. ‘I would direct them towards me and ask you to do the same. At worst there might be some photographs and speculation about you in the newspapers over there for a brief time.’

That was to be expected when such an event had happened, but if all the information were already given, surely the papers wouldn’t care much once they realised Mel wasn’t going to talk to them, and the split had been amicable? ‘That shouldn’t be so bad.’ The whole thing wouldn’t be too scary if she decided to do it. Would it?

She reached for the picnic basket that sat ignored on the table before them, and hoped that Rik couldn’t see the tremble in her fingers. ‘Would you like coffee? Something to warm your hands around?’

‘Thank you.’ His gaze, too, shifted to the men on the nearby mountain peak before it returned to Mel. ‘I should have unpacked the basket and made it all available to you the moment we got up here.’

The thought of a prince unpacking breakfast for her horrified her but she bit back her words about it and instead, served the food and coffee for both of them.

When she set his plate in front of him, he caught and held her gaze.

‘I know what I’m asking isn’t easy. I made this plan because I do not feel I can marry, truly … permanently.’ He hesitated. ‘The demonstration of that institution within my family—’

‘Has been about as warm as what I’ve seen in Nicolette’s family.’ Mel bit her lip, but that was her truth and there didn’t seem to be much point in avoiding saying it now.

They started on their food. There were eggs cooked similarly to a quiche but without the pastry base. Small chunks of bread dipped in fragrant oil and herbs and then baked until they were crisp and golden. Grilled vegetables and fruits and a selection of pastries.

‘What you’ve asked me to do is unexpected.’ Stunningly so. ‘But I ended up here, you can’t swap me for Nicolette, and if I don’t agree, the game is up with your father and you either have to marry someone for real and stay married to her, or your father won’t grant you the “concessions” you asked for.’

‘I’m afraid I didn’t allow for collecting the wrong woman outside Nicolette’s home, but that is not your fault.’ He frowned and sipped his coffee. ‘It’s important you don’t make your decision based on guilt. A mistake happened that was out of my control, and yours.’

She did feel at least partially responsible, but Mel kept that thought to herself and instead took a small bite of a tasty grilled vegetable before she went on. ‘I’d like to know what the concessions are that your father has agreed to.’

‘I am determined that the truffle crop this year will not fail.’ Rikardo set down his knife and fork and turned to face her. ‘When it flourishes, I’ll need a spectacular marketing idea to get buyers back onside to buy our product. Many of them have lost faith because of the blight that struck our crop two years running.’

Mel, too, set down her utensils. ‘What is this marketing idea?’

‘On the palace grounds there are truffles that grow naturally.’ Rik’s gaze shifted to where the palace sat in splendour in the distance. ‘For centuries those truffles have been eaten only by royals. It probably sounds rather archaic but—’ He shrugged and went on.

‘These truffles are particularly fine. If buyers are given the chance to obtain small quantities of them in exchange for purchasing commercial quantities of our regular truffles, I believe they will jump at the opportunity.’

‘What a clever idea.’ Melanie spoke without hesitation. ‘People will go nuts for a chance like that. I can also imagine that you might have had a job on your hands to get the king to allow you to use those truffles.’

‘Correct. My father tends to adhere to a lot of the old ways and does not want to consider change.’ Georgio was strong, stubborn, unbending. Rik preferred to take the strengths he’d inherited from his father, and turn them to better purpose.

As for Melanie, she looked beautiful and innocent and wary and uncertain all rolled into one as she sat beside Rik on the bench. Yet she also seemed well able to think with a business mind, too, and her eyes shone with genuine encouragement for him as she heard his plans for the truffle marketing.

Would she agree to help him out of the corner he’d got himself stuck in? Did he even have the right to ask that of her?