“It hurt a lot at first,” she confessed. “But after a while, I realized I’d dodged a bullet. David wasn’t right for me.”
“But you loved him?”
She thought hard about this. “I think I loved who I thought he was. But it was an illusion, something I’d invented. I never met the real David until we got over there.”
“Interesting.”
“I never saw it before, because he was a big talker. But I suspect he was insecure all along. And I’m not mad at him. Not anymore. I really do wish him well and hope he’s found something that suits him, but I found out he was never the brave adventuresome man I had conjured up in my mind. To be honest, he was a bit of a coward.”
“It could just be my opinion, but I think he was a bit of a fool.”
She blinked. “A fool?”
Spencer smiled. “To let you go.”
Her cheeks warmed. Maybe it was the wine, but she suspected it was something more. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“What you said about fulfilling your commitment.” He studied the glow of the candlelight through his goblet. “I can relate to that.”
“How so?” She leaned forward with interest.
“When I married Princess Anastasia—that’s what she went by since her mother is Queen Katerina—the truth is I was probably just out for a good time.”
“A good time?” She frowned.
“Oh, not like you may imagine. Anastasia wasn’t exactly a party girl.” He smiled. “In fact, she was quite serious. But I grew up in a titled family. My father is an earl. But titles are limited. Firstborn sons inherit. Sometimes second-born sons, if something goes wrong. But I was third-born.” He shook his head.
“And you wanted to be an earl?”
He laughed. “To be honest, not at all. But titles and wealth and property are a rather big deal in my family. And I suppose I was my mother’s favorite son. She would’ve preferred that I inherit the title, but it wasn’t to be. So through her older sister, who married a duke whose brother married Queen Katerina of Rotslavia, she introduced me to the royal family.”
“So, it was an arranged marriage?”
“Somewhat. We met and liked each other well enough. But it was no fairy-tale romance. Anastasia wasn’t exactly a beauty. I wasn’t a prince. But children were necessary to carry on the royal name. And I must admit that I had no real plans. To be honest, I was not a great academic success in university. I excelled more in sports and making friends than anything. I had no real career plans, so becoming a prince in a small European principality had a certain appeal.” He paused as their starter course was set down.
“Moules Marinères,” he told her.
“Looks like mussels,” she said quietly.
“Quite right.” He smiled. “Are you good with that?”
“Couldn’t be better.” She grinned as she picked up her seafood fork. “Now, back to your story. You married Princess Anastasia in order to secure a title?”
“As egotistical and self-serving as that sounds, I must admit it was largely true.”
“And then what?”
“It didn’t take long to discover that being part of a royal family wasn’t all that I imagined it would be. Much more than playing polo and hobnobbing with the rich and famous. A lot was expected of me. Queen Katerina treated me more like an employee than a member of the family.”
“Did you resent that?”
“I suppose I did a bit, at first, but the more I got to know the country, the more I understood. It’s a necessity. Being part of the royal family is a job. One is expected to perform one’s duties.” He smiled. “I suppose it was good for me. Forced me to grow up and act like a man.”
“And like a dad? After the children came along?”
“Yes, my role changed slightly with the children. In fact, I used to be much more involved in their lives. It’s only the past few years that demands of my position began to distract meso much. I suppose that’s relative to Anastasia’s death. I was expected to behave more like a prince.”
“Interesting.” Meredith twisted her fork to dislodge a mussel.
