Free The Last Princess by Cynthia Freeman Page A

ashamed of what she was about to do.
    “How about it, Lily?” Roger was saying. “Are you going to be my skipper?”
    Toying with the small spoon, she said gently, “I don’t think I can.”
    “You mean you don’t want to?”
    “No, Roger. I mean, I really cannot.”
    Something in her tone startled him. “I don’t quite understand.”
    Lily took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Roger, but the truth is that I have fallen deeply in love with someone else.”
    Without a word, he got up and walked to the French doors.
    Lily sat devastated. Nothing could have been worse than his silence. It would have been easier if he had screamed at her. What he was feeling she could only guess, but he must have cared more than she had realized.
    The truth, if Lily had known it, was very different. The only emotion Roger experienced was relief. He had never loved Lily more than the moment she gave him back his freedom.
    The past five years had been sheer torment, having to keep his love affair with Christopher closeted. The only thing that had brought him to resign himself to the marriage was that Lily would have provided a cover. It would have been in no way remarkable for Chris to have visited as a houseguest or even to become a member of their household.
    And he liked Lily very much as a person. If he had to marry, he was happy that it was she.
    But now that she had released him, he knew he was going to stop living the lie. He would take Chris to Paris, where such liaisons were accepted. He had tried one last time to please his parents. He would not consider marriage again.
    Lily sat trembling, waiting for him to say something—but when he finally turned back to her, the look on his face was one of infinite kindness.
    Taking her hand, he said, “You are the finest woman I have ever known, Lily. I’m not going to stand in your way. I only hope this other man deserves you.”
    When the tears subsided, she said, “I can’t thank you enough for your understanding. I hope that you will meet someone you’ll really be happy with.”
    Smiling, he said, “I hope so too.”
    That night Lily slept peacefully, but she knew that her ordeal was only beginning.
    The next day she looked out of her window and watched her parents’ trunks being brought into the house. Roger had been so reasonable, she hoped her father might be the same. She decided to wait until after lunch to confront him.
    It was almost three o’clock when she knocked on his door. Praying her courage wouldn’t fail her, she said, “Welcome back, Father.”
    “Thank you. How have you been?”
    “Fine. We’ve had lovely weather the past few weeks.” She hesitated. “Father, I have something very important to talk to you about.”
    He recognized the apprehensive expression on Lily’s face. She’d had that look ever since babyhood. He despised people who always knuckled under to him and now he said coldly, “What is it, Lily?”
    “I … wonder if I might have a brandy, Father.”
    “Help yourself, Lily. This is your home.”
    After she had taken a sip, she felt slightly better.
    She said haltingly, “Father, I … don’t quite know how to begin.”
    Impatiently he said, “Lily, I’ve just gotten back from a long trip, and I’m tired. Please just say what you have to say.”
    She swallowed the rest of the brandy, took a deep breath, and blurted, “I don’t want to marry Roger.”
    “Really? When did you come to that conclusion?”
    “The truth is, Father, I didn’t from the beginning.”
    He bent over Lily menacingly and said, “You’ve made a commitment, young lady, and by God, you’re going to stick to it.”
    “But I didn’t make the commitment, Father! You and Mother put a great deal of pressure on me to accept him.”
    “In any event, you’re going to marry Roger.”
    “No! I’m not in love with him, and he’s not in love with me. He never was.”
    “Love? I suggest, Lily, that you forget all about this foolishness. I