‘Would you like to have her taken to Voltavia and placed near him?’
After a moment’s hesitation Lizzie shook her head. ‘Thank you, but there’s no need. I believe that they’re together now, and that’s what matters.’
‘And what becomes of us?’
‘What do you want to become of us, my love?’
‘Be my wife, and keep me always in your heart, for only there will I be safe.’
Six weeks later King Daniel of Voltavia married Elizabeth Boothe in a small private ceremony, attended only by his children and a few trusted friends. His daughter was a bridesmaid, and his sons, following royal convention, shared the role of groom’s supporters.
There was much talk about the King’s wedding gift to his bride: a fabulous diamond set, including a tiara, necklace, bracelets and earrings. But nobody knew of his real gift to her: the complete correspondence between King Alphonse and ‘Liz’, with his permission to publish it as she pleased.
Nor did anybody know that she had thanked him and refused to publish-the first time in Voltavia’s history that the King’s bride had turned down his wedding gift and made her husband a happy man by doing so.
But Lizzie had one final gift for the man she loved and who loved her beyond anything he could express in words. On their wedding night they stood before the great open fire in his apartment and tossed the letters-every last one-into the flames, watching until there was nothing left.
He took her into his arms. ‘No regrets at depriving history?’
‘No regrets,’ she assured him lovingly. ‘We’ve done them justice. History would never have understood them as we do, and only the future matters now.’
