13. DANTE

“Why on earth do you need a registry of Morova’s convents?” Maria asks.

She’s looking at me like a suspicious mother: arms crossed, head cocked to once side. I suppose I can’t blame her – it’s a strange request coming from any boss, let alone a monarch.

“I’m not looking for a new challenge,” I sigh. “Well, not in the way you’re thinking, anyway.”

“Then what are you looking for?”

Should I tell her? I’m beginning to believe I don’t have a choice. Maria’s probably the smartest person I know, outside of Carlo, and Emilio certainly hasn’t been any help. He’s the reason I’m here now, making a hare-brained last-ditch effort to find a nun.

Maria has been my rock since I lost Adriana, and she’s proved her loyalty to me countless times. And I trust her implicitly, ever since she had the nerve to rebuff my advances early in our relationship. She was probably the first person in my adult life, outside of Carlo and Isabella, to tell me no. And, unlike Carlo, she has no problem calling me by my first name.

“Sit down,” I say.

She glares at me. “This is my office, I tell you to sit down. So sit down and explain yourself.”

We take seats on opposite sides of her desk. As my chief of staff, she has the best office in the palace, with one of the best views of Orta in the entire building.

I’ve also got a view of her perfect legs as she crosses them. They send my mind immediately to my encounter with Amanda yesterday. I’m still trying to process it – I had to practically sprint to my chambers directly from the gardens and masturbate furiously. If I hadn’t, there would have been a tent under my slacks for the rest of the day.

And I wouldn’t have been able to focus on my dilemma at all.

“I need you to hear me out before you speak,” I say, trying to keep my mind on the here and now. “And I want you to keep in mind that none of this is my fault.”

Maria rolls her eyes. “When you say something like that, I automatically think it’s your fault.”

“Your not speaking lasted all of two seconds,” I grouse. “Shall we try again?”

Her glare could stop a clock, but she stays quiet.

I tell her what Carlo told me, and about Emilio’s boneheaded idea to find a virgin in a convent.

When I’m finished, the only indication that she’s even heard my story is a single arched eyebrow. She stares at me, unblinking, for several long moments.

“That’s utterly ridiculous,” she says finally.

“The decree has been verified,” I sigh. “By four different experts.”

“Not that. I’m talking about your plan to scour convents for a bride. That would be infinitely worse than not marrying anyone.”

“Worse than losing the monarchy?” I ask. “How do you figure that?”

“You’d be marrying someone you didn’t love, and you’d be taking a young woman away from her calling. I have no doubt you could do it; you’re the most eligible bachelor in the world, and you’re their prince. What woman, even a nun, is going to say no to you?”

You did, I don’t say.

“I’m no Catholic,” she continues. “But I do know it would be a grave sin to use an innocent, devout woman as a pawn just so you can keep your money.”

My eyes turn to the floor as shame flows into my cheeks. She’s right. I was only looking at this situation from a public relations perspective: could I convince the people that we were actually in love? I never gave a thought to how such a deception would affect the poor girl.

“You’re absolutely right,” I say, not meeting her gaze. “The only excuse I can offer is that I’m desperate.”

Maria crosses to where I sit and lays a hand on my shoulder.

“You’re forgiven,” she says. “Barely. You should have come to me sooner. There has to be a way out of this.”

“Not that Carlo can see. We could challenge the decree in the courts, or we could ignore it, or we could simply defy it. All of those options come with huge potential risks.”

“Having your fortune revert to the government wouldn’t be the end of the world, Dante. It’s not like you’d end up on the streets. And who’s to say that you would lose a referendum? Perhaps you need to trust more in your subjects.”

I’ve been able to think of little else since Carlo first told me about the decree in the sword. Would it truly be so bad to lose the monarchy? To leave this palace and this island behind? To throw off the duties and the burden of being the prince? It would leave me free to pursue Amanda in the way that I so desperately want to.

But it always comes back to the twins.

“There’s something you’re not taking into account,” I say. “There’s a very real possibility that the Crown Council wouldn’t call for an end to the monarchy itself. They could call a referendum to depose me and hand the kingdom to Vito. That way, I’m out of the picture, the monarchy stands…”

“And the government would become the unofficial regent,” Maria finishes for me, shaking her head. “The children would essentially be wards of the state.”

“I’d be pushed out of their lives,” I say. “We’d be able to visit occasionally, but Chancellor Huber would almost certainly use my carefully crafted playboy image to show me as an unfit guardian. In the end, all my work to keep them out of the public eye would utterly backfire on me.”

I look in Maria’s eyes with a nakedness that I can’t show to anyone else.

“Losing the monarchy wouldn’t kill me,” I say. “But losing the children would. And I will not stand by and watch the weight of the monarchy crush Vito the way it almost crushed me. This I swear to any god that may be listening.”

She takes my hand in hers and squeezes.

“I understand,” she says softly. “And as bad as all that is, you’re not even touching on the worst part.”

“The worst part? What the hell could be worse than that?”

“I would lose my job.”

I stare at her blankly for a full two seconds before the laughter starts. One of the many things I love about Maria is her ability to shine a light into the gloom, no matter how bad things get.

“How selfish of me not to think of that,” I chuckle.

“I had to do that,” she says with a grin. “You were starting to get morbid, so I had to lighten the mood. Especially since I think I may have an idea on how we might be able to solve this.”

“Better than seducing a nun?” I say with mock surprise. “Well, let’s hear it.”

“It’s crazy, I’ll admit, and I’m probably clutching at straws. But it just might work.”

“Will you get to the damn point?” I growl.

Maria gets up from her desk and crosses the office to the entrance. She closes the door and returns to sit next to me.

“I happen to know a woman who is still a virgin,” she says, keeping her voice low. “And there’s a chance that she might be willing to help you in this.”

My heart jumps. Any possibility, however slim, is welcome at this point.

“Let’s say she agrees,” I whisper. “What would be in it for her?”

“Whatever she wants. You’re a billionaire, Dante, you can make things happen.”

That’s true.

“But can I convince the Morovan citizens that it’s a real royal marriage? If Huber were to use the decree against me, our relationship would have to stand up to scrutiny.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that your friend would have to be attractive, and not just physically. She’d have to be someone the public would believe was my type, and who was suitable for a prince.”

Maria’s widening grin fills me with hope I never would have believed possible even half an hour ago.

“Your Highness,” she says. “I think I just may have found you a princess.”