The Duchess and Her Bodyguard. Mollie Molay
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of colorful ribbons and medals on their chests. United States diplomats were equally distinguishable by their conservative tuxedoes. Wade’s experienced gaze didn’t miss the men in suits, CIA and FBI operatives, who attempted to fade into the woodwork.
The women guests in attendance outshone each other in obligatory little black cocktail dresses or in the currently popular red version. More than one woman wore strands of colorful jewels at her neck, wrists and in her hair.
With the exception of one exquisite woman.
A woman who drew Wade’s gaze as surely as slivers of steel are drawn to a magnet.
She wore a flowing white chiffon dress, which, although gracefully draped over her breasts, managed to reveal more of her shapely figure than it concealed. When his gaze threatened to linger there, he caught himself and moved on to the rest of her. Her short skirt ended in a swirl of sheer material just above her knees. Long and slender legs were covered in shimmering silk hose and she wore white satin sandals with four-inch heels.
Without a doubt, Wade mused, the lady in white was the most attractive woman he’d seen in too long a time.
Fascinated, he gazed at rich chestnut-brown hair drawn back from her forehead into a chignon that rested on the nape of her neck. Soft tendrils had escaped their bounds to hang temptingly over her forehead. An emerald necklace that matched her eyes circled a slender neck his fingers instinctively ached to caress. If only, he told himself, he could find out for himself if her skin was as silky as it appeared to be.
Their eyes met. A warmth covered him when she gazed back at him over the rim of the flute of champagne she held to her lips. To his chagrin, she smiled, and her exotic eyes sparkled with subtle understanding at his obvious interest. With a slight smile and a nod, she saluted him with the flute of champagne.
When he noted a mutual interest reflected in those emerald-green eyes, Wade ran his finger under his suddenly tight uniform collar. He was debating joining her and introducing himself when she turned away to speak to a dignitary who appeared at her side.
Wade gave a resigned shrug. As beautiful as she was, a woman like her was bound to be taken. Too bad. Still, there was no mistaking the gleam of interest he’d seen in her eyes.
An hour later, when he was engaged in a sedate waltz with the wife of the undersecretary of the navy, he saw the woman in white glance at him from across the room. Again he noticed those green eyes and that impossible smile that kicked his heart into high gear. Then she was gone.
A small voice whispering inside his head told him it was going to be a memorable night.
Chapter One
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Wade said.
He stared at the man who, moments before, had tapped him on his shoulder and invited him into the quiet, well-stocked library of the Blair House. As he was an avid lover of books, a setting like this normally would have attracted his interest. Not tonight.
At the frown that came over the undersecretary of the navy’s forehead, Wade straightened and crisply added, “Sir.”
Undersecretary Peter Logan acknowledged the formal address with a curt nod. “No, Commander. I assure you I’m not kidding. In fact, I’ve never been more serious. I’ve just asked you to escort Duchess Mary Louise of Baronovia for the remainder of her visit here in Washington.”
“Why me?” Wade ventured. He’d gone through the academy, basic training and graduate school to become a lawyer. Acting as an escort in performance of his duties wasn’t his idea of serving his country.
“With due respect, sir, I’m a lawyer,” he said cautiously. “You of all people should know our reputation. How interesting would I be as an escort?”
“That depends on you,” Logan said with a fleeting smile. “I seem to recall you had some bodyguard training and that you’ve been assigned to escort duty before this. In fact, the way I understood it, Commander, you were more than an escort. You were actually a bodyguard.”
Wade cleared his throat at the reminder. His brief stint as a bodyguard had almost taken ten years off his life, and he wasn’t anxious to duplicate the drill. “That was to protect a witness in a court case, sir. And if you remember,” he added with a wry smile, “I almost lost the poor woman in the process.”
“I remember.” Logan’s lips curved in a calculating way that made Wade’s mental antennae rise like a rocket and his spirits sink just as fast. “However, Commander,” Logan went on, “I’m sure the experience has made you aware of the importance of never taking your eyes off your charge. Am I correct?”
Wade nodded reluctantly and, from the look on Logan’s face, had a feeling somehow he was in for a surprise. This request that he act as an escort to the duchess wasn’t the whole story. He took a deep breath. “Why don’t you tell me something about the lady?”
Logan smiled, and a twinkle came into his eyes. “The duchess is Prince Alexis’s young daughter.”
Wade blinked. Raised with three younger brothers, he knew zip about little girls, and even less on how to entertain them. Outside of the well-known Children’s Museum, the National Zoo and the Doll House and Toy Museum in D.C., he would be hard put to come up with places to take her. The prospect of escorting and entertaining the little duchess around D.C. blew his mind. He’d be the laughingstock of the JAG Corps.
“His young daughter? I’m afraid you’ve picked the wrong person for the job, sir. Sounds to me you need a nursemaid or a nanny…”
Logan guffawed until tears came into his eyes. When he was finally able to control himself, he gasped. “Maybe I should brief you a little before I introduce you to the duchess.” He gestured to a large wine-colored leather chair. “Have a seat.”
Resigned to the inevitable, Wade sank into the chair. At the same time he wished he’d thought to pick up another flute of champagne to see him through the briefing.
Logan sank into a seat and leaned forward. “To be brief and to the point,” he began, “the Prince of Baronovia is here at the request of the State Department. To the public, the reason the prince, his daughter and his entourage are housed in the Blair House is that Baronovia is too small a country to have its own embassy here in Washington. The actual reason they are staying in the Blair House is somewhat more delicate and confidential.”
Wade shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He was beginning to sense there was more to the scenario than Logan was willing to admit. Especially when Logan had already mentioned “bodyguard” in the same breath as “escort.”
“And?”
“For now, that’s all I can tell you,” Logan went on. “Suffice it to say the department is very interested in keeping the prince and the duchess happy and safe during their stay. When the duchess specifically requested you to escort her while her father attends to affairs of state, we all agreed you were the perfect solution to keeping her happy.”
“Why me? I don’t even know her.”
“Because we also know she’ll be safe with you.”
Safe? Wade straightened up and turned all of his attention on Logan. If he was expected to participate in what sounded like more than just simple affairs of state, he intended to learn more of the facts. “If Baronovia is such a small country, why would the State Department be so interested in it? Let alone worried about the safety of its ruler?”
Logan glanced around the room as if to make sure they were alone, then lowered his voice. “Until now we’ve only had a trade mission in Baronovia. With all the unrest in the area, we decided it was time to upgrade the mission to an embassy with U.S. Marines to guard it. The State Department is hoping to persuade the prince to sign a treaty agreement that will allow us to do so.”
Wade frowned as the facts began to sink in. This wasn’t going to be a run-of-the-mill assignment, not if there