Xander said nothing to anyone, though he was beginning to feel he couldn’t hold a candle to the two remaining women in his life. Genevieve had taken over the reins from Henri with aplomb and was ruling magnificently, while Eithne had been through so much and was still prepared to sacrifice herself for him of all people when he knew how much she loved the realm of Ormond.
Still, perhaps the castle wasn’t the best place for her to reside any more. If need be, he would tear it down and rebuild it with his own hands just to prove how much he cared about her. But he wasn’t the ruler, not even the self-styled conqueror these days, just a man with wanderlust in his head and a selfless princess in his heart.
There was something he could do for her, at least until King Ephron was settled with a worthy consort, and that was to postpone his plans to leave. It didn’t mean never and, with time, his priorities might change. Children did not need an absent father, at any age.
That night, in her bedc
