His Royal Prize Read Free Page B

was the first time that he’d been approached by him in public.
    “Yes?”
    “I need a word.”
    “Certainly,” Geoff said, leading the way through the crown to a quiet alcove. “What’s up?”
    “I saw you speaking to Amelia Munroe…”
    “So?”
    “I wanted to remind you of the stipulations of your father’s—”
    “Of Malcolm’s will? He’s never wanted anything to do with me, Edmond. I’m not going to let him dictate my life now.”
    “Understood, sir. But please be careful. I don’t want you to lose your share of the Devonshire fortune.”
    Geoff walked away from the older man without responding. He was more than frustrated with the entire situation. He thought about just walking away, but his mother deserved something for the happiness that Malcolm had stolen from her.
    Geoff returned to his table in time to greet Mary as she left the dance floor with Jerry Montgomery. Jerry was a nice enough fellow—an American sports reporter who covered British sports for ESPN. He had a toothpaste-ad, American smile—super-straight white teeth and a confident grin.
    For some reason Geoff had never really liked the fellow. He couldn’t say why and didn’t spend a lot of time thinking on it. But Mary liked him. In fact she was flushed from dancing. She gave Jerry an intimate smile as he walked away. Geoff realized that Mary liked him. He also realized that he wasn’t jealous in the slightest. In fact, he was relieved.
    “Nice dance?”
    “Yes. I simply love that song,” she said. The songin question was “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” made famous by Frank Sinatra. The song was a standard that evoked memories of his mum teaching him how to dance.
    “I’m glad he offered his services, then.”
    “Me, too,” she said somewhat shyly. “Where is Caroline?”
    “Gone for the evening. She said this party was too tame.”
    “I guess it is, by her standards. By yours as well,” she said. There was a question in her voice as her eyes cut across the room to Amelia.
    “Ah, well, this is the kind of function that I have to attend.”
    She smiled then, the closest thing to a genuine expression of joy that he’d seen all evening. “Duty calls.”
    “Indeed it does. But I’ve had enough for tonight. Shall we?”
    Geoff saw Mary home but didn’t feel like heading back to his luxury townhome in the leafy-green area near Greenwich. He was restless and not sure what he needed, but he knew that sitting at home wasn’t it.
    Actually, he did know what he needed, but he couldn’t have it until tomorrow night.
    Normally, when he felt this way, he got in his plane—his favorite classic 1983 Lear—and took off for a few days. When he was in the sky he wasn’t Geoff Devonshire, bastard son of Malcolm and Princess Louisa of Strathearn. Instead, he was simply Geoff and there were no rules, no obligations and no one who wanted anything from him.
    Instead, he found himself at a club just off Leicester Square where a friend of his deejayed. He entered through the back to avoid the paparazzi who covered the red-velvet rope area and found a small booth in the rear of the darkened club.
    The electronic beat of the music pulsed loudly and he felt everything inside him stir as his thoughts again turned to Amelia. He wanted to make sure she had no ill feelings regarding his comment about her tabloid life. He called his butler, Jasper, and asked him to send Amelia a little gift, something he thought she’d appreciate. And something that would show her that he saw her as more than just the scandal girl the world thought they knew. He’d picked up a carving in Africa he’d seen her admiring—maybe he’d known all along he was going to ask her out. He jotted a note on his personal stationery that he had Jasper bring him and sent the man on his way.
    His mobile phone rang and he glanced at the caller ID before answering it. It was his vice president at Everest Air. Given the time of night, it probably wasn’t good