Rain pattered against the window. It was an oddly cold, blustery day for late summer. Normally, the windows would be wide open, the palace tending toward being stuffy and hot. The closed window made me feel confined. Or perhaps it was that I was having to have this conversation with my mother—again.“There have been reports of rumors circulating online about my true parentage,” I said as I stared out the window. “Apparently, the rumors have increased since my marriage.”My mother, sitting across from me and sipping tea, merely shrugged. “When have we not had rumors floating around about us? That’s nothing new, nor nothing to worry about.”“Perhaps, but rumors have a way of becoming truth online if you’re not careful.”My mother didn’t seem concerned. She’d never been one for technology. She disliked computers, and found the idea of social media distasteful. Although she was hardly in her dotage, she preferred to act as though the world wide web simply didn’t exist.“Conside

It was early hours when I awoke. Rain was falling softly against the window. Yawning, I glanced at the clock: five a.m. I wouldn’t need to be awake for another two hours. I considered going back to sleep, but then Niamh opened her eyes. She stared up at me, her gaze hazy, like she wasn’t sure who I was.“Bonjour,” I said, brushing a few strands of hair from her forehead.She yawned widely. “What time is it? Oh God, it’s way too early to be awake.” She turned over and hugged a pillow closely. “Wake me up at a reasonable hour.”“So, noon?”“I don’t sleep in that late.”“Oh, then eleven a.m.”I could hear her rolling her eyes. I slung an arm over her waist, capturing her hand in mine. I kissed her ear then blew a raspberry against her shoulder.“Go away! You’re annoying.” She pushed me away, albeit half-heartedly. Our struggle soon devolved into a wrestle match that I won within ten seconds. My wife now pinned beneath me, I had both of her wrists in my grip. “You were

In the flurry of engagements we had scheduled, I nearly forgot about Connor’s threats. Laurent updated me with any pertinent information regarding the palace’s investigation and plans, but more often than not, there wasn’t much information to convey. The palace had managed to contact Connor and to pressure him to give up on his plans, threatening serious legal consequences should he publish anything that would damage the reputation of the royal family. Publishing something truly libelous would result in steep fines and potential expulsion from Salasia itself.But when the two weeks passed and nothing happened—no photos published, no stories leaked—I felt like a could take a deep breath. When a third week passed without incident, it seemed as though Connor had decided that it wasn’t worth facing the strength of the palace’s lawyers to get his money. Now, Niamh and I were welcoming a group of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to the palace as a thank-you for

In desperate need of keeping my mind off of the disaster that was my marriage, I randomly decided one morning to go riding. I hadn’t spent much time with any of the horses in some years, as my princely duties took up more and more of my leisure time.I’d always enjoyed riding as a child. After the debacle when I’d ridden off and gotten lost for hours as a child, though, I’d stopped riding. It had soured the sport for me, and then life had taken hold and I’d stopped entirely.My mare, Juliette, nickered softly as we started down the lane that led to a trail that meandered through a forested area five kilometers outside Saint Henri. It was a beautiful, late summer day. With the dappled sunshine following just me and my horse, I could almost imagine everything was fine.I could almost imagine that my wife was speaking to me. That there weren’t dozens of stories, online and in print, about those titillating photos of her bare breasts. That there weren’t other stories about how my parent

That night, I knocked on Niamh’s bedroom door and waited. It felt so reminiscent of our wedding night that I almost expected her to tell me to go away.This time, though, she opened the door and leaned against the mantel with a questioning look. She was wearing a nightgown and nothing else, the silk strap falling down her shoulder. Her hair was down; it had grown nearly to her waist since we’d married. I wanted to wrap it around my hands as I plunged inside her.“Did you need something?” She was smiling a little.“You,” I said simply.“Well, that’s very to the point.” She glanced over her shoulder at her bed. “I was reading a book, you know. I was just about to get to the part where they bone.”I wrapped an arm around her waist. “You could get a good boning right now.”She laughed. “Trés romantique!”“Did you want romance? I can go send Laurent for a bouquet of flowers. Champagne, chocolates, the works.”“Have you ever sent him to get you a box of condoms? Now I’m curious.”“T