A Prince At Last!. Cathie Linz

next to the closed doorway leading into the Throne Room and happened to overhear the conversation between the prime minister, the dowager queen and Luc Dumont.”

      “Luc is back from France?”

      “He arrived this very afternoon.”

      “With news I presume?”

      “Yes, ma’am. Outrageous news.”

      “Well hurry and tell me, I haven’t got all day. I believe I’ve gone into labor.” Celeste gripped the front of the footman’s ornate jacket. “Tell me…and quickly!”

      “Luc is claiming that he is the rightful heir.”

      Celeste’s grip on the footman tightened until she was almost choking the small man.

      “Of course, I do not believe it,” the footman wheezed, struggling for air. “You are our most beloved and beautiful queen.”

      “And I’m about to give birth to a boy,” she said, panting slightly. “A boy who will be the king. Go now. Fetch Dr. Mellion. Get him and no one else. You understand?”

      Henri nodded so fast his footman’s cap almost fell off.

      “And tell no one what you have heard about Luc,” Celeste continued. “It is all a lie, a conspiracy by that dotty old woman and her crazy prime minister. Remember, Henri—” she released her grip on him and patted his arm as she smiled her famously charming smile “—I will reward those who are loyal to me. Reward them greatly.”

      “Thank you, Your Majesty. My only aim is to serve you.”

      Her smile slipped as another contraction hit. “Then go get Dr. Mellion and be quick about it!”