Max’s stomach was tied in a dozen knots as he paced the length of the Gold Drawing Room.
In the past forty-eight hours since leaving Emberly’s cottage, he’d thought through every angle of his situation, and he had come to the same conclusion that he had at the ranch—he needed to abdicate his right to the throne.
Of course, he had hoped to tell his father as well as parliament yesterday. His overnight flight had landed in the early-morning hours in Zurich, the closest international airport to Vollenstadt. He had been exhausted and had not paid attention to where they were going until too late. Instead of going to the palace in Vollenstadt, their driver had taken him to the family estate on the Bodensee.
Rather than driving several more hours to reach the capital city, Braun had insisted they take the day to rest, refresh, and prepare for the meetings with his father and parliament. Although Max had not wanted to delay, Braun had complained of a headache and the need to sleep.
Reluctantly, Max had agreed to put off the encounters. Once he had, he’d realized the benefit of taking his time and not rushing the matter. His abdication of the throne was too important to do when he was hungry, disheveled, and sleep-deprived.
Today Max was feeling much more energetic. He’d also had time to rehearse what he intended to say, first to his father andthen later to parliament. Unfortunately, parliament had a winter break and would not be convening until the following week.
In the meantime, however, he could speak to his father about the matter, arrange a meeting with Alex, and begin the process of handing over his succession to the throne.
Max paused beneath the center chandelier. Glittering with crystals that reflected the light, the ancient fixture was at least two meters across and hung low from the high ceiling, which was decorated with multiple roundels, each radiating gold lines. A frieze with rectangular panels ran around the tops of the walls, with delicate moldings of flowers, trees, and birds in each one.
One wall was filled with long windows decorated with golden curtains. The gold damask on a pair of settees shone with brilliance under the bright glow of the gold candelabras set on pedestal tables on either side of the enormous marble fireplace. An ornate piano that was painted gold graced the opposite side of the room and was surrounded by chairs upholstered in more gold damask.
Although the style and the lavishness of the gold were not to his liking, every item in the room—every vase, every rug, every mirror—had historical value and had been a part of the palace for decades, in some cases even centuries. Every item contained his heritage, and he was just as dedicated as Alex to preserving the ancient relics and buildings.
What would Alex say when he learned of the abdication?
His younger brother would dutifully step into the role without complaining. However, he would not relish it the same way he did his role as the curator and preserver of their family’s many homes and treasures.
Max checked his watch again. It was well past eleven o’clock, the time Braun had arranged for him to meet with his father in the drawing room. His father was usually so punctual. What could be causing the delay?
Drawing in a breath to steady his nerves, Max started pacing again, lengthening his stride. As he reached a large, mirrored cabinet on one wall, the chamber door behind him opened, and Max stopped.
He pivoted to find a woman entering the drawing room on his father’s arm. She was attired in heels, a classy slender skirt, and a blazer over a lacy top. At the sight of the red hair styled in an elegant chignon revealing beautiful facial features, so delicate and yet so strong, Max’s heartbeat slammed against his chest.
Emberly?
She was speaking animatedly to Father in a friendly way. His father, who was an older version of Max with his tall bearing and blond hair, was smiling at Emberly and laughed lightly at something she said.
At the sight of him in front of the cabinet, the two came to a halt.
Emberly’s warm brown eyes fixed on him and seemed to take him in as hungrily as he was taking her in.
The knots in his stomach began to loosen. Was she happy to see him?
As if hearing his unspoken question, her lips curved into a smile—one that contained tenderness. Her eyes lit up too, and he was suddenly breathless with the need to be with her and talk to her and find out how she was doing.
It had nearly killed him to walk away from her cottage two days ago and leave her to despair. But he had taken T.W.’s advice to heart and had come home to put his plan into action—one that would speak louder than words about how much he loved her. He wanted her to know she was more important than anyone or anything else in his life. He would give up everything and go to the ends of the earth, if necessary, to be with her.
“Maximillian.” His father’s greeting was accompanied by a smile that did not contain even a hint of displeasure. “Youdid not inform me that your wife would be joining us for our meeting.”
“He didn’t know,” Emberly said easily, confidently, not appearing in the least intimidated by the king. “He came home to talk to you about our marriage, but I didn’t want him to have to do it alone, so I had his assistant attempt to delay him as long as possible.”
So that’s why they’d detoured to the estate on the Bodensee, because Braun had been attempting to buy Emberly time to get to Karltenberg.
Max couldn’t find his voice to enter into the conversation. It had gotten lost somewhere inside him, and all he could do was stare at Emberly as his love for her expanded within his chest, filled his heart, and thrummed through his blood.
Good heavens. This woman. How had he made it through the past two days without her? Now that she was here, standing so near, he felt life flowing into him again.
His father shifted to look at Emberly, the admiration for her beauty shining in his eyes. “I had the pleasure of sitting down with Emberly for the past hour and hearing all about her and how much she loves you.”
Max nodded, which was about all he could manage. He had no doubt his father had investigated everything there was to know about the McQuaids the moment he’d heard the news about his marriage to Emberly, which had been splashed all over the internet and news not long after the press conference he’d had outside the ranch gates.
His dad had every right to investigate Emberly and the McQuaids the same way T.W. had investigated Max. Max hadn’t heard anything negative from his dad yet, no texts asking what he’d done or demanding that he annul the marriage. Was it possible his dad had softened over the years and was moreconcerned about Max marrying someone he loved rather than someone with a title?
