Page 42 of Jonathon, After All

“He’ll have to be,” she said simply. “The media will be relentless when it gets out that a newly minted royal is willing to risk it all for a young American socialite.” Sabine bit back a panicked whimper, her eyes watering. “It would be a bombshell if it was a twenty-year-old woman, but a pretty young man from a…dubious family? How are you going to protect him? How do you protect your legacy and all the work you’ve done to get us here?”

“No. We’re just—” Leo floundered as he saw Jonathon’s dreams and his future being swallowed up by the Foundation and the chaos that would engulf them once the world found out about their relationship. “We plan to…keep it quiet until he’s finished school. It won’t be as shocking, then, and I’ll be more established.”

That earned another panicked laugh from Sabine. “It’s too late. Your face is going to be all over Austria soon and someone here will tell a friend about you and the American boy. They’ll tell a friend and that friend will tell and so on. Soon, other people who work here will confirm that they also saw something. So it will become a matter of what did they see? Are you madly in love and about to write your own fairy tale, or were you taking advantage of your houseguest?” she asked, flashing him an expectant smile.

“It wasn’t like that. You know I would never. I didn’t.” Leo scrubbed his jaw, horrified at the trap he’d set for himself and Jonathon.

“Of course, dearest. I know, but the Foundation doesn’t and the public barely knows you. There’s no getting around how this will look.” She shrugged and went back to her notepad. “I would recommend a small, private venue. If we hurry, we can get ahead of the gossip and your conference in Iceland can double as your honeymoon if we extend your time there by an extra week. It shouldn’t be hard to clear a week in…” Sabine flipped to her calendar.

“Stop!” Leo swore as he paced away from her. “My God, this is exactly like Ella!”

Sabine made a sympathetic sound. “She wanted to go to art school too, didn’t she? But she had to marry Maximilian and she knew the marriage was a sham. I’m sure we can keep Mr. Hawthorne happy and quiet. And he does seem to return your feelings,” she added with another shrug. “I’m sure it will all work out once we’re on the other side of this…debacle.”

“Enough, Sabine. You’ve made your point. I need to think and I need to talk to Jonathon.”

“Very well,” she said, setting down her notepad. “I will await your instructions.”

“Leave it for now,” he said tightly as he left her.

Leo would have been better served if he had called Theo then and told him what had happened. He would have been better served if he had talked to Frau Fischer or Tabbart, the German Shepherd guide dog, instead of accepting Sabine’s dire predictions and falling in line with her plans.

“Was it the path of least resistance, or was I too scared that she would be right?” he asked himself and Theo, setting the memory aside until he was alone and could pick it apart and analyze every statement. He gave his head a shake, returning to the suite’s living room.

His brother made a dismissive sound as he got up to refill their drinks. “Will it magically erase the past if you figure out the answer?”

“No…” Leo conceded. “But I owe Jonathon the mother of all apologies and it won’t mean anything if he doesn’t believe I’ve taken stock of all the damage I’ve done. He’s suffered silently for too long and I can’t expect his forgiveness until I show him I understand.”

“True, but remember that Jonathon fell in love with a man, not just a prince, and why you needed that break in the first place,” Theo requested. “I remember what you were like before and after Schönbühel. You were under a tremendous amount of pressure and you threw yourself into your work after you were made Margrave.”

“That was all I was, thanks to Sabine and the Foundation. What if I could have been so much happier if I had just held on to Jonathon?” Leo wondered out loud, but Theo immediately shut it down, shushing loudly as he waved his free hand wildly.

“Then, I probably would have been Margrave and I would have squandered the opportunity or made such a mess that I would be the last.”

Leo snorted and shook his head. “You would have done a fine job. But I would have made your life hell, telling you what to do with the land and who to push around so it would be protected.”

“We’ve always been a good team,” Theo countered, making Leo smile.

“We have. I regret not asking you for advice when I was at Schönbühel.”

Theo wagged a finger at Leo. “Ah ah! What good are regrets and hindsight? Let’s look ahead, at what you can change and how you’re going to win Jonathon back once we’ve found him.”

“Always the optimist,” Leo said, but he felt more hopeful as he outlined what he had already planned to say and what he was willing to offer to prove he was sorry.

It was all very hypothetical until Jonathon was found, obviously. But Leo felt more confident that he could win and that he was better equipped to fight for them and protect Jonathon. From the Foundation and the world that had made Leo’s true love so miserable.

“I’m always the optimist,” Theo agreed as he raised his glass. “That’s why you need me. You’re too down and you’re beating yourself up, but that won’t solve your problems. You need to have faith and to give yourself a little grace. Do that, and I believe Jonathon will have a far easier time forgiving you when the time comes.”

“I think you might be right,” Leo said as he held up his drink. “To faith, grace, and forgiveness, when the time comes.”

Thirteen

“Your mission, Mr. Hawthorne, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate 6A and determine what Muriel Hormsby knows about the Margrave of Hessen and his affair with a mysterious and…” Jonathon paused, using his teeth to hold the screwdriver as he eased the vent’s cover aside and leaned it against the wall. “Am I mysterious or enigmatic?” he mused out loud, then shrugged, getting back into character. “What does Muriel Hormsby know about the Margrave and his affair with an enigmatic young American artist? As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions,” Jonathon continued, bending lower and sticking his head and shoulders into the wide duct in his secret stairwell studio.

It was no longer in use after the building’s air conditioning had been upgraded, but Jonathon had noticed a matching ornate metal vent in Muriel’s sitting room and had crawled inside to see if they were connected. They were and while Jonathon didn’t have regular cause to snoop on Muriel, the vent had come in handy during the holidays. She was always tickled whenever they bought each other matching gifts so Jonathon would crawl inside and wiggle past the kitchen and along the hallway once or twice a season for gift ideas.

He blew the dust and cobwebs out of his way, pulling himself through and smiling as he heard muffled bits of Muriel and Tilly’s conversation. He’d probably owe Riley a new black beanie and T-shirt and Jonathon’s favorite black jeans would be filthy after his mission, but he was enjoying himself. Jonathon crawled forward on his elbows and squinted through the grate when he reached the sitting room.

Calista was curled up on her bed by the fireplace and Muriel was in her armchair, having her tea while Tilly knitted a new scarf or a sleeve in the other chair. He could tell that Muriel was troubled, though, because she was holding the cup and saucer on her lap, staring at the fire.

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