Read Online Crowned: The Palace Nanny by Marion Lennox - Free Book Online Page B

agree,’ Stefanos said gravely and met her gaze and held.
    What was she thinking? ‘Of course I agree,’ she said shakily. She hugged Zoe and managed a smile. ‘They’re lovely. Your cousin has been wonderfully generous.’ She bit her lip. ‘But you’re not my cousin, Stefanos. I can’t take the laptop.’
    â€˜It’s part of a debt,’ he said softly. ‘I owe you so much.’
    â€˜You owe me nothing.’
    â€˜I loved Christos.’
    â€˜He was my friend too.’
    â€˜No,’ he said, and suddenly he was almost stern. ‘You don’t understand. Christos was my family. That I didn’t know he was dead…that Zoe has been alone for so long…it touches my honour. I’m asking you to take this and it doesn’t begin to repay the debt I owe you.’
    It touches my honour …It was a quaint phrase. Old-fashioned.
    He meant it—absolutely.
    â€˜I…’ She took a deep breath. If they were going to talk about old-fashioned…‘Then it’s my honour to care for Zoe,’ she said, and she tilted her chin. ‘Zoe is not related tome by blood, but I’m her godmother and her guardian. I won’t let that go.’
    â€˜I’m not asking you to,’ he said evenly. ‘I’m asking for you to give Khryseis a chance. I’m asking you to come with Zoe—as her nanny as well as her guardian—and if you do this then you will be paid. I want you to help me introduce her to her birthright.’
    â€˜And then come home without her?’
    â€˜No,’ Zoe said. She’d been examining her pile of clothes with joy, but this wasn’t a child who could be bought. She looked at the clothes with longing and then pushed them away. Suddenly panicking. ‘I don’t want them if I can’t have Elsa.’
    â€˜You can have Elsa,’ Stefanos said evenly. ‘I’m asking you both to come.’ He smiled at Elsa, ignoring her obvious panic, simply smiling at her as if he understood what she was thinking; she was being slightly foolish but he wasn’t about to threaten her.
    His smile lied, she thought desperately. This man was a prince, about as far from her world as it was possible to be. He was accustomed to having his charm work for him. He thought now that he simply had to smile and shower gifts and he’d get what he wanted.
    â€˜Do you know what a royal nanny earns?’ he asked, and she caught her breath.
    â€˜I don’t want to know.’
    â€˜Now that’s just dumb,’ he said. ‘Knocking back a fabulous job because you haven’t heard the terms? I rang a couple of friends last night. They have nannies in Europe and they kindly rang a couple of the top agencies and asked. What’s the going rate for the best nanny in the world? they asked.’
    And he gave her a figure.
    She gasped. She stared across the table at him and he smiled back at her. ‘That’s what I’m offering,’ he said softly. ‘Starting today.’
    She could be paid for doing what she loved? Caring for Zoe?
    But this…This could never be about money. Because she did what she did for Zoe for love; for nothing else.
    â€˜Elsa, Zoe needs to come home anyway,’ he said gently. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s not negotiable. I’ve also talked to people here in Social Services and to lawyers from your Family Court. I have more chance at success in gaining custody than you might think. The court would look at what Zoe stands to inherit. They’d look at the home I’m prepared to give her. The consensus is that she should have the right to learn about Khryseis. It’s her heritage.’
    He turned to Zoe and spread his hands. ‘Zoe, your father was the Crown Prince of Khryseis and you’re now the Crown Princess. If you agree, I’d like to show you the place where your papa grew up. I’d like to introduce you to an