Read Online Dancing With the Dangerous Prince by Elizabeth Lennox - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Elizabeth Lennox
Ads: Link
mother said in a choked voice.
“You can’t be serious,” her father commanded sitting up from the relaxed pose he’d been in to one of stiff horror. As his daughter’s words sunk in, his eyes narrowed and he placed his glass of scotch on the table beside him with an angry clank. “If this is true, then I want to know the name of the man. Immediately.”
Ciara smiled gently at both of her parents. “You’re not to believe this,” she said and folded her hands on top of her knees. “It’s actually a pretty funny story. Neither of us realized who the other person was. But over the course of a week, I got to know Prince Zoran of Larcatia. He just happened to be hiking and camping in the woods near the summer camp in which I was working. I discovered that he’s a very fascinating man. We fell in love and he proposed to me.” She slipped a hand into her pocket and came back with the beautiful diamond ring in her hand. Very slowly she slipped the ring onto her finger, staring at it with all of the love that she felt for the man glowing in her eyes.
Her mother looked down at the ring then back up at her daughter. “But you are already engaged,” she said. “We were going to announce your engagement to Prince Tasir of Lurasa.” She hesitated for a long moment, “The announcement has all been arranged, reviewed and is set to be released to the press!”
Ciara looked from her mother to her father, wondering if this was all some sort of strange joke. “Please tell me that you’re not serious about this.” She’d known that her father would most likely arrange for her marriage at some point, but why did it have to be right now? When she’d finally met the man who could make her body sing with happiness? Her eyes darted back to her mother, realizing that this wasn’t a joke. This was serious.
“Has the announcement been released?” she asked hurriedly, every muscle in her body tensing with trepidation as she waited for the answer.
Her parents looked towards each other once more, then back to her. “No, we were going to get the two of you together before any announcement was released. But the contracts have been signed, the negotiations all finalized. Everything is in place except for the two of you getting together and deciding on the minor details of the announcement,” her father explained.
Ciara looked at her parents and the tension that had been growing inside of her chest eased someone with this news. “Well then there doesn’t seem to be an enormous problem.” She breathed in a deep breath, her hand moving to her chest to try and calm her racing nerves. “We can just contact everyone and explain that the contract needs to be negated.”
Her father’s mouth opened and closed, his confusion and anger increasing at her casual words and dismissal of such an important subject. “We can’t just negate a contract. It simply isn’t done. We have been friends with this country for years, decades even! We can’t just pretend like the contracts have not been signed. The insult to the people of Lurasa would be intense. I cannot imagine ever breaking a contract like this.”
Ciara’s hand floated up to her mouth as she considered all of the ramifications for what she was proposing. “But wouldn’t an alliance with Larcatia make more sense?” She asked both of them, her hands floating up into the air. “I mean, don’t they have those oilfields that are very close to our border that have been causing problems for the past ten years or so?”
Her mother and father looked at each other once again. Her father nodded slightly to her mother. “Well, yes, that has been a problem. But we were going to try and figure out a different way to deal with that.”
Ciara remembered all of the benefits and, just as Zoran had done with his father, she started to list the advantages of an alliance with Larcatia. She wouldn’t relent on her arguments until she started to see the tension ease in
“You can’t be serious,” her father commanded sitting up from the relaxed pose he’d been in to one of stiff horror. As his daughter’s words sunk in, his eyes narrowed and he placed his glass of scotch on the table beside him with an angry clank. “If this is true, then I want to know the name of the man. Immediately.”
Ciara smiled gently at both of her parents. “You’re not to believe this,” she said and folded her hands on top of her knees. “It’s actually a pretty funny story. Neither of us realized who the other person was. But over the course of a week, I got to know Prince Zoran of Larcatia. He just happened to be hiking and camping in the woods near the summer camp in which I was working. I discovered that he’s a very fascinating man. We fell in love and he proposed to me.” She slipped a hand into her pocket and came back with the beautiful diamond ring in her hand. Very slowly she slipped the ring onto her finger, staring at it with all of the love that she felt for the man glowing in her eyes.
Her mother looked down at the ring then back up at her daughter. “But you are already engaged,” she said. “We were going to announce your engagement to Prince Tasir of Lurasa.” She hesitated for a long moment, “The announcement has all been arranged, reviewed and is set to be released to the press!”
Ciara looked from her mother to her father, wondering if this was all some sort of strange joke. “Please tell me that you’re not serious about this.” She’d known that her father would most likely arrange for her marriage at some point, but why did it have to be right now? When she’d finally met the man who could make her body sing with happiness? Her eyes darted back to her mother, realizing that this wasn’t a joke. This was serious.
“Has the announcement been released?” she asked hurriedly, every muscle in her body tensing with trepidation as she waited for the answer.
Her parents looked towards each other once more, then back to her. “No, we were going to get the two of you together before any announcement was released. But the contracts have been signed, the negotiations all finalized. Everything is in place except for the two of you getting together and deciding on the minor details of the announcement,” her father explained.
Ciara looked at her parents and the tension that had been growing inside of her chest eased someone with this news. “Well then there doesn’t seem to be an enormous problem.” She breathed in a deep breath, her hand moving to her chest to try and calm her racing nerves. “We can just contact everyone and explain that the contract needs to be negated.”
Her father’s mouth opened and closed, his confusion and anger increasing at her casual words and dismissal of such an important subject. “We can’t just negate a contract. It simply isn’t done. We have been friends with this country for years, decades even! We can’t just pretend like the contracts have not been signed. The insult to the people of Lurasa would be intense. I cannot imagine ever breaking a contract like this.”
Ciara’s hand floated up to her mouth as she considered all of the ramifications for what she was proposing. “But wouldn’t an alliance with Larcatia make more sense?” She asked both of them, her hands floating up into the air. “I mean, don’t they have those oilfields that are very close to our border that have been causing problems for the past ten years or so?”
Her mother and father looked at each other once again. Her father nodded slightly to her mother. “Well, yes, that has been a problem. But we were going to try and figure out a different way to deal with that.”
Ciara remembered all of the benefits and, just as Zoran had done with his father, she started to list the advantages of an alliance with Larcatia. She wouldn’t relent on her arguments until she started to see the tension ease in
Similar Books
