The Princess (27 page)

“Shelby said no to her companion.”

“I’ll pray,” the monarch promised just before his son rang off.

Nikolai chose a quiet spot for his talk with Shelby. She had showered and dressed comfortably, and they had eaten a light meal. Nikolai then took her hand and asked her to join him in the blue parlor, over by the windows. The table they sat at was a game table, not very wide, but sturdy and smooth in a deep rosewood. Nikolai felt a hunger to touch his wife and reached for her hands as soon as she set them on the tabletop.

“I was proud of you today,” he said softly, looking into the velvety depths of her dark brown eyes. “You comforted a lot of people, and I know they appreciated you.”

“I don’t feel I did all that much. So many people were frightened.”

Nikolai nodded, weighing his next words.

“You’ve fit into the palace so smoothly, Shelby, that I sometimes forget you didn’t grow up in the royal family.”

Shelby studied him a moment. “I think that might have been a compliment, but I feel a ‘but’ coming on.”

“You’re right.” He was glad she sensed it. “Shelby, you can’t say no to your companion.”

The princess blinked. “I had no choice, Nikolai. Kris wanted me to leave.”

“Shelby,” he said, repeating her name firmly, “you can’t say no to your companion.”

“I can’t live like that—” she began, but Nikolai gave her hands a light squeeze and cut her off.

“The companions chosen by the crown were picked with extreme care. It’s a rare situation, but they are here to protect our lives. Am I making sense to you?”

“Yes, Nikolai, but I’m not a child. Unless I’ve been knocked unconscious, I feel I’m able to make judgments on my own.”

Nikolai reached up now and very tenderly held her face between his hands.

“What if someone with a vendetta against the royal family had started that fire? I’m not sure you realize that over the years we’ve had more than our share of Pendarans who opposed us. What if you don’t see the situation for what it is and decide you can handle it on your own?”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“It is, Shelby.” Nikolai still managed to keep his voice level, but he was ready to pull rank. “I’ve given Kris new instructions. He has my permission to bodily remove you from any situation that he deems dangerous.”

“You can’t be serious,” his wife whispered.

“I’m very serious. He even has my permission to knock you unconscious if you fight him.”

Shelby’s mouth dropped open.

“Shelby,” Nikolai cut in before she could speak, “Kris’ job is on the line here, not to mention your life. He has the right to see you to safety whether you like it or not. If ever he acts unwisely, and it’s proven that he took advantage of his position, he’ll be
dismissed, but your saying no to him today was very serious. He’s just glad he still has a job.”

Shelby’s eyes went from shock to looking like those of a lost child. Nikolai’s heart broke a little, but this was too serious to relent.

“I didn’t know.”

“I realize that.”

“You didn’t fire him, did you?”

“No, I understood the situation as soon as he explained it.” His mouth quirked into a lopsided smile. “What he described was just like you. I would have been surprised if you’d have left without a qualm.”

“They needed me,” Shelby said softly.

His eyes drilling into hers, Nikolai said, “I need you more.”

Shelby took a shuddering breath. “Oh, Nicky, I honestly didn’t realize.”

Nikolai bent over the table and pressed a kiss to her brow, dropping his hands back to hers.

“I don’t want you to beat yourself up over this. I just want you to be more aware for next time.”

“I need to apologize to Kris.”

“As a matter of fact, you don’t. He spoke to me about that. He could tell from the get-go that you didn’t understand. And as you’ve probably already guessed, he’s a most patient and understanding fellow.”

“He’s certainly proved that with me.”

“Don’t ever forget, Shelby, that he loves his job.”

Shelby sat back, feeling utterly drained. Not even when she left the care center did she feel so spent.

“I think you need an early night.”

“I think you might be right. I never thanked you for coming. I was glad to look up and see you there.”

Again Nikolai smiled. “After seeing that you were all right, I had all I could do not to shout at you for giving away your shoes.”

Shelby looked chagrined. “You should have seen them on the feet of the little old man I gave them to. His bathrobe was red, his pajamas were gray, and my shoes were a bright pink.”

The description got Nikolai to laughing. “You gave them to an elderly gentleman?”

“Yes. He said his feet were cold.”

Nikolai laughed for a long time, and Shelby just watched him. It had not been easy to have him tell her that she had been wrong, but when she saw past the embarrassment, she saw this as an act of caring. For this reason and one other, she smiled at him.

“What does that smile mean?”

“Do I really smile so little that you must question me each time?”

“No, but you have different types of smiles, and that’s one I haven’t seen before.”

“Well, you’ll have to get over it, since I’m not telling you what I’m thinking.”

“Come on, Red,” he coaxed, but she would not be swayed.

Nikolai, knowing she was tired but wanting more time with her, suggested a game of cards. They decided on Hand and Foot and played for the next two hours. By the time Shelby went to bed she was ready to sleep, but she still managed to drift off with Nikolai on her mind, most specifically his telling her that he needed her.

Now for matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her
husband. In the same way the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

Shelby sat back after reading these verses in 1 Corinthians 7 and thought about them for a long time. She had read them before, but not since she’d married and certainly not since Nikolai had told her he wanted their relationship to become intimate.

It would seem that Nikolai and I have an obligation to each other. I can’t say that I feel tempted at this point, but maybe it’s different for Nikolai.

Shelby had no more finished saying this to the Lord than she realized how true it must be. Her husband had been married already; he knew all about intimacy. Most of it was still a mystery to Shelby, but this one point was clear: Men viewed such things differently than women.

What this meant for Shelby, she wasn’t sure, but she needed to stay open to the subject. She went back to her reading, still believing the ball was in her court.

“Prince Nikolai,” Peter whispered softly in the quiet waiting room.

“Yes, Peter?”

“Will he die?”

Nikolai reached over and put an arm around the boy’s shoulders, glad that he didn’t stiffen or pull away.

“I don’t know, Peter. The doctors say he’s pretty sick.”

“I wish my sister had been home.”

“You did the right thing in going for Toby. He’s talking to the doctor, and then he’ll try to call your sisters.”

“You came fast,” the boy said quietly, and Nikolai saw no need to comment. He had come swiftly, though. Peter had asked for him, and Toby had called. Late as it was, Nikolai had left the palace ten minutes later.

“Would it be all right if I pray, Peter?”

The boy looked at him. “I tried that tonight for the first time. I don’t think He heard.”

“I was just reading my Bible this morning. Do you want to know what I read?”

Peter nodded.

“I read that the way to God is through His Son, Jesus Christ. I’ve known that for some time, but I need to be reminded often that I’m a sinner, that I can’t get to God or even talk to Him on my own. First I need to believe in God’s Son; then I know that when I pray, He hears me.”

“So if you pray right now, God will hear you?”

“Yes.”

“Will you pray for my dad?”

Nikolai pulled Peter a bit closer as he bowed his head. “Father in heaven, thank You for Peter. Thank You that he wanted to call me and that I was able to be here with him. Right now, Lord, I ask You to put Your hand on Mr. Owens. He’s very sick, Lord, and I would ask You, in Your will, to heal his body. But I would mostly ask You to heal his soul. We all sin against You, Lord—Peter, myself, and Mr. Owens—and You are the only One who can save us from those sins. When we’re hurting or injured, Father, our first thought is for You to ease our pain. Use this pain, Lord, to make us more aware of You.”

A sharp thought snapped in Nikolai’s brain as he prayed these words. He was speaking to God, but there was also a frightened 11-year-old tuned in beside him.

“Thank You that You love us, Father, and always want the best for us. Take care of Mr. Owens and Peter. Help them to know You care. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.”

Nikolai looked into Peter’s eyes and saw that he was calm. He even managed a small smile.

Nikolai was to later remember those few seconds of peace he saw in Peter’s face. Nikolai clung to the memory when Toby and the doctor returned not five minutes later. Peter Owens’ father had just died.

“Did you have a chance to speak to the sister?” Shelby asked Nikolai on the way home from the funeral. “Does she know we’re willing to help her?”

“Yes. Pam is going to move back home, because there’s more room, and her boss has given her two weeks off work.”

“Are they all right financially?”

“Toby is checking into that. He’s going to help but also be in touch with both Great Grandma and me. On top of that, I am picking Peter up next Saturday morning so we can spend some time together.”