The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe) (26 page)

“Show off,” she muttered under her breath.

“Scaredy-cat,” he coughed.

Getting to Know You

      Elizabeth watched the daybreak loom in the horizon as they drove through the hills to an affluent area with huge homes. The Prince pulled up into a driveway bordered by a massive gate. He lowered his window shield, spoke, and scanned his eyes on a device mounted on a steel frame.

The intricate wrought iron structure opened to r
eveal a pathway sheltered by a canopy of mature trees.

“Where are we?” she asked as they cruised through the beautiful shaded grounds.

“Home.”

A mansion came into view at the end of the long driveway. The imposing building painted in white boas
ted enormous columns framing the entryway. Large windows and a balcony adorn the façade, looking out into the garden below.

The Prince drove into the wide circular limestone driveway leading to the entrance. He parked by the steps, got out, and went around, opening the door for her.

“You live here by yourself?” She gaped as she stepped out, stunned at the grandeur of the place.

“In the mansion, yes. My cousins occupy the tow
nhouses at the back. Come.” He laced his fingers with hers and led her up the steps.

They crossed the expansive slate landing leading to the large double doors. He spoke and scanned his eyes on another device mounted on the doo
rframe.

“Cool door locks,” Elizabeth said, as the solid doors swished open.

“We must be fastidious with security.” He looked over her head.

Elizabeth followed his gaze and noticed armed guards posted in diffe
rent areas of the property, watching them.

“What are those things they're wearing?” She poin
ted at the sleek black goggle-like contraptions.

“Eye shields with wireless transceivers to protect their eyes from the sun's glare and enable them to co
mmunicate with each other at a great distance.” He pulled her hand gently. “Let's go inside. It's getting too bright.”

The spacious foyer was aglow with gentle streams of sunlight, filtering through sheer draperies hanging from the floor to ceiling windows. They walked hand in hand into the living room and she was surprised to see that the interior was modern, even though the mansion was traditional. A grand staircase spiraled to the second floor on the left side.

“Do you like it?” the Prince asked.

“It’s beautiful!” She pointed at the homes built b
ehind the residence, visible from the windows in the living room overlooking the courtyard. Limestone pathways connected the buildings to the main house. “What’s over there?”

“That's Philippe and David’s townhouse.” He pointed to the structure on the left. “The one on the right is where the twins stay. Come, let me show you my room.”

The second floor was just as spacious, with its own living room opening into the wide balcony that overlooked the front garden. They turned to the right wing and entered the double doors at the end of the hallway.

Elizabeth paused under the doo
rframe. “This is your room?” She craned her neck, peering to the left and to the right. His “room” was actually a suite of adjoining rooms, with its own foyer, where they stood at the moment, flanked by tall wide archways leading to more rooms on both sides.

“Yes. Come.” He led her towards the left archway and entered a room with a large desk and a sleek co
mputer on top. Several flat screen monitors were mounted on one wall. “This is my private study. I do a lot of work and correspondence here.”

“You work?” Elizabeth couldn't b
elieve her ears.

“Of course. I have many respons
ibilities.”

“But you're a Prince. Don't you have people who do that for you?”

“You mean I simply order my way around?” He laughed. “I admit, I'm guilty, but there are some things that can't be handled by my staff. Did you think being Royalty is all fun and glamour?”

“Isn't it?”

“Well, to be fair, when I was younger it was all that, but after I reached maturity, my father began to groom me for succession to the throne. Life became very hectic with endless projects to attend to, officials to meet, and business to conduct. I had to shoulder a good deal of duties to help my father run the hierarchy. But, don't get me wrong. I have a remarkably privileged life except for the lack of time. The moments I wanted to spend with my family have become very limited. Luckily, my cousins have taken it upon themselves to follow me around. Otherwise, we’d never see each other. In fact, before we came here, they went with me to Switzerland to study the possibility of using a new power cell to replace fuel for our sea vessels and aircrafts.”

Elizabeth absorbed all this and asked, “And then you came here—,
why?”

Prince William never thought she would probe the reason for their presence at Darian. On instinct, he d
ecided to tell her the truth and see her reaction. “To find you.”

“Me?” Her hand flew to her chest. “Yeah, right!” She laughed nervously. “You're joking.”

“No, I'm not.”

Color rose in her cheeks and her amusement faded. “Why me? There are lots of Royal girls around. Go
rgeous ones too like the tall girl with black hair.”

“You mean Catherine?”

She shrugged.

He cleared his throat noisily and grinned. “Is som
ebody jealous?”

“Of course, not!” She scowled. “I was just wonde
ring. Everyone knows you and her are—”

“Are what?”

“It.”

“Really?” He wrinkled his eyebrows. “As far as I know, you and I are.”

“What?”

“It.”

“Stop mimicking me.” She glowered at him. “We both know I'm not in your league.”

“Who cares?” he cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.

Elizabeth pulled away and turned her back to him.

“I do,” she said over her shou
lder. “Don't kid about things like that. It's not funny.” She clamped her mouth shut, though she wanted to say so much more. Like tell him she wished she were a Princess; rich, sophisticated, and beautiful, absolutely deserving of him. But she wasn't any of those things. What could she possibly offer him? What would his family think of a girl like her? The daughter of a single mother who never knew her father, who has no status, no means, not even a permanent address! Her situation was simply laughable. If she let herself fall for him, she was either crazy, stupid, or both. Her resolve hardened.

The Prince sensed her mood had changed. She was on her guard again, not giving in to her emotions, pus
hing him away. He had been contemplating on telling her about their shared destiny during this visit, but had quickly realized that she wasn't ready for such a big revelation. She had panicked at the mere insinuation of his intentions towards her—what more if he'd told her the entire story?

Somehow, he knew he couldn't rush her. He must earn her trust first and foremost, woo her some more, let her attachment to him grow, until she su
rrendered and allowed herself to love him unconditionally. Only then, could he truly share everything and not run the risk of losing her and her confidence.

Oh, well—, if only he had all the time in the world to do all that,
he sighed.

“Come here.” He stepped closer behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her back against his chest.

In the gentlest voice he whispered, “I want you to know that I really—, really like you.” He lowered his head and pressed his cheek against her temple. “Do you think you might like me too?”

He felt her tense. “Yes, but—”

“You do?”

She swiveled to look up at him with large blue-violet eyes. “Y-Yes, but that's not—”

“Uh-huh.” He shook his head and gave her a radiant smile. “You can't take it back.” He leaned his forehead against hers and gazed into her eyes. Then without warning, he picked her up and spun her in a joyful circle. By the time he set her down, they were both laughing. Elizabeth held on to his arms to steady herself. “You got me all dizzy,” she giggled with a slight wobble.

He chuckled and embraced her tightly, glad that her good mood had returned. “I have that effect on wo
men.” He laughed, when she crinkled her nose at him, and flinched, when she playfully pinched him on the side.

Elizabeth's resolve to not be further involved with the Prince had lasted less than five minutes and she knew it. She could never resist him; much less fight her feelings for him. In all honesty, she did like him—, way too much, it scared her.

“Let me show you the opposite wing.”

They walked over to the right side where they passed a living area with plush sofas facing a giant flat screen TV. He led her through another set of double doors. “This is my bedroom.” He stood aside to let her enter.

An enormous bed sat in the middle against a wall, immaculately made up with the whitest bed covers and pillows. Large windows with flowing white drapery lined an entire wall.

“What do you think?”

“It's huge.” She glanced around. The windows and two archways opened into more rooms beyond the far wall set a lounging area. “What's in there?”

“The bathroom.” He took her hand and led her to a spacious room with a tub that could probably fit a small family, complete with a large flat screen TV installed on the opposite wall. The shower room was encased in glass and a long granite vanity and mirror was built on one side.

“That leads to my dressing room.” He indicated an archway that opened into what looked like a walk-in closet. A wardrobe wrapped along three walls. Elizabeth saw that it also co
nnected to the bedroom through one of the archways she noticed earlier.

The Prince straightened. “My cou
sins are here.”

“Excuse me?” Elizabeth looked around, but they were alone.

Just then, she heard the double doors to the bedroom open.

“Come, I want you to meet them.” He guided her towards the archway co
nnecting to the bedroom.

“There you are!” the twins exclaimed in unison, meeting them hal
fway. They each gave him a hug and a kiss on both cheeks.

“These are my cousins from Switzerland.
Princess Sophia and Princess Silvia.” The Prince turned his attention from the girls to the tall, handsome young men behind them, who looked very much like him. “From Belgium, Prince David, and Spain, Prince Philippe.”

“I'm honored to meet you, Y-your Highnesses.” Elizabeth suddenly felt overwhelmed, or more likely was in a state of Royal shock like what Ben had said the ot
her day.

The Prince seemed to notice her nervousness b
ecause he placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “And this—,” he reassured her with a smile before turning to his cousins, “is
my
Elizabeth.”

His cousins regarded her with c
urious yellow-green eyes. Elizabeth felt the onslaught of a major shyness attack. It didn't help that the Prince had introduced her as
his
, which gave the impression that they were together. But even so, her heart leapt with joy at the possibility.

“Hello, Elizabeth!” One of the girls hugged her, as if they've known each other for ages. “Do you want to see our townhouse?”

Her warmth and cheerfulness calmed Elizabeth's anxiety. She immediately liked her. “Sure! I mean, I'll be happy to see it, Your Highness.”

“Call me Sophia.” She grinned. “That's what all my friends call me.”

“And call me Silvia,” the other twin joined in.

Elizabeth looked from one to the other.

“Silvia wears a gold pendant.” Sophia seemed to read her confusion. “That's how you figure out who's who.”

“Go ahead, go with the girls,” the Prince interjec
ted. “David, Philippe and I must attend to some business. I'll see you later.”

“Okay,” she mumbled with slight disappointment. How could she be mis
sing him already?

After Prince David and Prince Philippe expressed their delight in meeting her, they excused themselves and followed the Prince.

Princess Sophia and Princess Silvia clung to her arms on either side as they made their way out.

“I'm glad William brought you here,” Sophia said. “He's such a sweetheart, don't you think?”

“Uh, yeah,” Elizabeth replied, caught off guard. She surely didn't expect this eager reception from his cousins. She'd imagined they would look down their Royal noses at her in disapproval.

“We
love him to pieces,” Princess Silvia said.

“How was he your cousin?” Eliz
abeth asked.

“The Queen, his mot
her, is our mother's sister,” Silvia replied.

“And so are David and Philippe's mothers,” Sophia added. “We're all first cousins.”