LITMIR.BIZ

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for once she could use her royal heritage to advantage. “Yes, I am, and this is a matter of great importance to…to the royal family.” Well, a small part of it, anyway.

      The ticket agent conferred with her co-worker, then looked back at Amelia. “The passenger’s name?”

      “Nicholas Standish.”

      She began punching buttons on her computer, driving Amelia wild with impatience. What was she doing?

      The agent appeared confused. “Nicholas Standish is on the list, but he never checked onto this flight. Neither did Jakob or Josie Standish.”

      Amelia stifled a gasp. It was just as she feared. Nick was running away with the kids. Think, Mellie, think. What would be his plan? He would go somewhere where he and the children could speak the language. Of course, Nick could speak half a dozen languages with some facility. But the children…only three. English, Russian and some French.

      Canada—it had to be Canada. She thanked the agent, then walked as briskly as she dared without drawing attention down the terminal toward Canadian Airways.

      He would go to a big city, where he could become anonymous. Quebec? Toronto? They spoke French in Quebec. Amelia checked the monitor. One flight had left at one-thirty, another was scheduled for three-fifteen. She went to the gate for the later flight. No Nick, no children.

      Her hopes sank. Finding Nick in this airport would be like finding a particular grain of sand on a beach. He might have taken a completely different airline. For that matter, he might have gone to a different airport. Or he might be driving across the border with forged documents.

      Amelia had one last idea. She went to an information phone and dialed the operator. “I need to page Nicholas Standish. Can you ask him to meet…his wife at the Canadian Airways ticket counter?”

      “Yes, ma’am, I’d be happy to do that for you.”

      A few seconds later, the page went out over the loudspeaker. Amelia found a chair across from Canadian Airways and sat down to watch and wait.

      NICK NEARLY JUMPED out of his skin when he heard his name over the loudspeaker.

      “Uncle Nick, they just called your name,” Josie said, sounding alarmed. “Are we in trouble for missing our plane?”

      Nick smiled at her. “No, Josie. But I’d better find out what’s going on.” The only person who knew he was here was Ellie. His hopes rose. Maybe she had news from the king. Maybe Easton had changed his mind.

      He and the children had missed their flight to Korosol. They’d had plenty of time, but as he stood in line to check in, Nick hadn’t been able to take that next step. He wasn’t sure why. Clearly there was nothing else to be done to further his cause in New York. But the thought of returning to his village and waiting passively while the Ministry of Family took steps to remove his children…well, it was a difficult step to take.

      He’d taken the kids to a fast-food place and bought them chocolate shakes to give him some time to think, though the previous two days of thinking hadn’t yielded good results.

      There was a courtesy phone right across from the restaurant where they’d gotten the shakes. Nick could answer the page and still keep watch over the kids.

      “Be right back,” he said. Moments later he was talking to an operator.

      “Yes, Mr. Standish. Your wife would like you to meet her at the Canadian Airways ticket counter.”

      “My wife?” Not Ellie, then. Couldn’t be anyone but Amelia. His heart beat double time at the implications her words conjured up. What was the princess up to this time? And how the hell had she figured out he was thinking about Canada? “Thank you.”

      Though he’d studiously avoided returning her calls, there was no way he could ignore Amelia’s summons.

      He gathered up the kids and luggage—thankfully they’d traveled light, having planned for only a weekend—and headed for the rendezvous point, walking so fast that Josie had to trot to keep up with him.

      He saw Amelia before she saw him. Though she’d hidden her magnificent gold hair under a hat and wore huge dark glasses, he was intimately familiar with her body language. She sat in a chair with one knee drawn up under the skirt of her flowery dress. He tried to summon some anger against her for the torture she’d caused him, but right now she looked so worried he realized she carried some burdens of her own.

      “Auntie Mellie!” Jakob squirmed from Nick’s arms and ran toward Amelia, whose face lit up with joy at the sight of him—at all of them. She rose and welcomed Jakob into a hug. Whether the boy remembered Amelia from Palemeir, he’d certainly taken a shine to her here in New York.

      “What’s she doing here?” Josie asked, instantly suspicious.

      “I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.”

      Amelia had a smile for Josie, too, but when she looked up at Nick, the smile faded and she looked almost…afraid. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I found you. I was taking a stab in the dark with that page, but you weren’t on the Air France flight to Korosol, and I was so worried you’d run off to Canada or someplace—I’m babbling, aren’t I?”

      Nick nodded. Yes, he’d thought about fleeing. He’d even talked to an expert document forger about false passports and birth certificates for him and the kids. But that would be a last resort. Becoming a fugitive would mean no more contact with Eleanor, and that would be tough—not to mention what it might do to the kids.

      “Is there a problem?” Nick asked. “Something wrong with my sister?”

      “No, nothing like that. You missed your plane. Why?”

      He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I was hoping I’d come up with a plan for changing King Easton’s mind, but…”

      “We don’t have to change his mind,” Amelia said with quiet determination. “I’ve got a plan of my own. Now, it might not be ideal, but I believe it will get the social workers off your back.”

      “Okay, I’m listening.”

      Amelia suddenly clammed up, looking uneasy.

      “What plan?” Josie prompted, proving she’d been paying close attention to the conversation.

      “This is a little awkward,” Amelia said, glancing at first one child, then the other. “Maybe you and I should discuss it in private first.”

      Josie rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Jakob, they’re going to talk about grown-up things.” She took her little brother’s hand and led him to the far end of the row of chairs, taking her brightly colored rolling suitcase with her. As soon as Nick was sure the children were safely absorbed with a toy, he turned his attention back to Amelia, his curiosity overflowing.

      “Just tell me.”

      “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Well, see, if the Ministry of Family objects to the fact our marriage was a sham, we need to prove to them it wasn’t. We’ll tell them we intended to make it real, but my family objected and ordered me back home—”

      “I tried that already.”

      “I’m not finished. Words obviously won’t convince them. Only actions. I’m suggesting, Nick, that we get married again—nice and legal this time.”

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