The Princess and the Outlaw

“That’s okay,” he said before she could respond. “Thanks again for looking out for my mother. Ci—”

“I’m coming,” Pippa said impulsively. “Unless you’re rescinding the invitation,” she tossed back at him in her own challenging voice.

He paused a half beat and tilted his head as if she’d taken him off guard. The possibility thrilled her. “Not at all. Would you like to ride with us in my vehicle?”

“Thank you, but no. I’ll drive myself and meet you in about fifteen minutes,” Pippa said and turned her gaze to Amelie. “I’ll see you soon. Please drink some more fluids.”

“Thank you, darling. Isn’t she delightful?” she said to Nic. “She fusses just like you do.”

“Yes,” he said in a dry tone. “Delightful.”

Fifteen minutes later as Pippa put a ball cap on her head and adjusted her large pair of sunglasses, she wondered if she’d lost her mind agreeing to join Nic and his mother, the notorious Amelie, for crepes. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she could easily imagine the horror on the face of the royal advisers. Running on the beach at 6:00 a.m. in her current state was one thing, but walking into a public place of business was quite another. She thought of Nic’s goading attitude and made a face at the mirror. Well, she couldn’t back down now. Stepping from her car, she could only hope she wouldn’t be recognized.

Because she’d spent far less time in the public eye than her siblings, that was on her side. Her hair, however, was very distinctive and not in a good way. Wavy and brown with a tendency to frizz, she hoped she’d concealed it adequately by pulling it back in a ponytail and covering it with a cap.

She walked into the old but elegant eating establishment that featured every kind of crepe one could imagine. As soon as she stepped inside, she spotted Amelie, who also saw her and lifted her hand in a wave. Nic, sitting opposite Amelia, turned his head around to look at her and also waved. His gaze said he was surprised she’d shown up, which irritated Pippa.

She walked to the booth where Amelia and Nic sat and sank onto the red vinyl seat.

“Lovely that you joined us,” Amelie said and smiled as she lifted a menu. “How shall I choose? I want one of everything.”

Enchanted, Pippa picked up the menu. The array of choices was vast and mind-boggling. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Something sweet,” Amelie said. “Sweet, fruity. Oh, no, chocolate, too.” She shrugged helplessly.

The waitress approached. “Bonjour. How can I help you? Coffee?”

“Yes,” Amelie said. “Café au lait.”

“Tea,” Pippa said.

“Coffee, black,” Nic said. “Ladies, any idea what you want to order?”

“Apricot crepes. Strawberries and cream. Chocolate hazelnut. Banana cream.” Amelie paused.

Wondering how the woman could possibly consume that many crepes, she exchanged a quick glance with Nic, who shook his head and rubbed his jaw. She glanced back at Amelie. “Do you want anything with protein?”

“Not particularly,” Nic’s mother said.

“And you?” Pippa asked Nic.

He shrugged. “I’m here for the ride.”

“Can you please also bring us the crepe suzette and some carryout boxes?” Pippa asked the server.

“No problem, ma’am,” she said and stared at Pippa for a long moment. “Pardon me, you look familiar.”

Pippa fought a sliver of panic and held her breath. Please don’t recognize me.

“Are you a newscaster?”

Relief rushed through her, making her almost giddy. She shook her head and smiled. “Nope, I’m just a university student. Thanks for the compliment, though.”

The server’s face was sheepish. “No trouble. I’ll have your order up as soon as possible.”

“Thank you so very much,” Pippa said and after the server left, she felt the gazes of both Nic and Amelie.

Amelie sighed, lifting her shoulders and smiling with a charm that lit up the room and Pippa suddenly realized who the woman resembled. Gamin with superexpressive eyes, Amelie could have been a white-haired twin of Audrey Hepburn. “It’s so wonderful to be here again. Magic. The smell is divine. I should have come back sooner, so I’ll just make up for it today.”

“You don’t want to make yourself sick,” Nic said.

“Of course not. I’ll just take a bite of each, and we can take the rest back to Paul.” Amelie’s smile fell and she made a tsking sound. “Poor Paul. He’s in such pain with his foot.”

She said it as if she suffered no pain herself, but Pippa knew she did. She took a quick glance at Nic and caught the tightening of his jaw. She was struck by Amelie’s determination to grab at every experience in life and Nic’s struggle to hide a myriad of the emotions he was experiencing.

“I’ve heard the recovery from a broken foot can be a bear,” Pippa said.

“Oh, and trust me, Paul is a being a complete bear,” Amelie said. “He doesn’t like being restrained. Never has.” Amelie glanced at Nic. “It runs in the family.” She turned back to Pippa with an expressive, interested gaze. “But enough about us. Tell me about you, your interests, your life. Over the years, I’ve read a few stories in the news about the Devereauxs, and I must confess I wondered about Edward’s children. I’m sure he must have been proud of all of you.”

Pippa paused. The truth was her father hadn’t been very involved with any of his children. He’d given the most attention to her brother Stefan because he would be the heir, but her father was mostly pleased that he had enough children to do the work, so he could spend more time playing on his yacht. Often with women other than his wife.

“I’ve always been a bit of a bookworm. I’m working on my doctorate in genealogy with a specialization on the medical impact on the citizens of Chantaine. My brother Stefan is determined to improve the health care of our people, so he has approved my path of studies.”

“That’s fascinating,” Amelie said. “What have you learned so far?”

“Like many countries, our people are more susceptible to some diseases and conditions than others. These can be traced back hundreds of years to the introduction of different immigrants, new foods and changes in our environment. The neurological disease that struck down my father can be traced back to his great-great-grandmother’s family. There are also certain cancers that became more common such as when Chantaine experienced a large immigration from Iceland.”

Amelie gave a slow nod. “I wonder if—” She glanced up and broke off with a smile. “The crepes are here.”

Just as she’d said, Amelie only took a bite of each crepe. She savored each bite, closing her eyes and making a mmm sound. “I’m tempted to eat more, but I know it would be a mistake.” She leaned toward Pippa and extended her hand. “Dear, I must tell you that even though I couldn’t marry your father all those years ago, I wished him only the very best after we parted. I hope he was happy.”

Pippa tried to think of how to respond to Amelie’s words. The story about Edward and Amelie’s courtship was the stuff of tabloids. Before he’d taken the throne, Prince Edward had fallen for Amelie and Amelie had been entranced by him for a short while. When she’d met Paul Lafitte, from the States, however, she’d fallen for the tall, dark Texan hook, line and sinker. The Lafittes descended from pirates and even Pippa had to agree the Lafitte men held a dark, irresistible charm.

When Amelie tried to break off her engagement, Prince Edward had refused. Paul had intervened on her behalf and there’d been a terrible brawl. Her father the prince had been humiliated and Pippa wasn’t certain he’d ever truly given his heart away again.

“I think he enjoyed his life,” Pippa finally said. “He loved his yacht and the sea and we always felt glad that he was able to indulge his passion.”

Amelie patted Pippa’s hand. “You’re a lovely girl. As they say in Texas, you do him proud. Now, if you’ll both excuse me while I powder my nose,” she said and stood.

Nic also stood. “Need an escort?” he asked.

“Not this time, darling. Maybe you can talk Pippa into nibbling on some of those crepes,” she said and walked away.

“Is she okay?” Pippa asked when he sat down.

He shrugged. “For the moment. The next moment could bring something totally different. She knows her time is short and she’s decided to make the most of it. The only problem is she’s turned into an eight-year-old. Impulsive, runs off without thinking. With my father down due to his broken foot, I’ve become her keeper.”

Pippa swallowed over the knot of emotion in her throat and began to put the crepes in the carryout boxes. “I’m sure it’s difficult. On the one hand, you want to give her everything she wants. On the other, you want to keep her safe. It’s an impossible situation. She told me,” she said, biting her lip, “that she wants to die in Chantaine.”