The Duchess and Her Bodyguard. Mollie Molay

my father,” she repeated. “And, since I am surely safe here, you may consider yourself at liberty to leave. I will see you at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”

      Wade stared at her for tense moment before he shook his head and kept a studied smile on his face for the benefit of possible watchers. She’d agreed to go along with him a moment ago. What had changed her mind?

      “Take it easy, Your Grace,” he said. “We’ll visit your father together. Then, I’ll leave.”

      Prince Alexis paused in conversation with a foreign diplomat and greeted his daughter with a broad smile. “Ah, my dear, I was beginning to wonder where you were.” He glanced at Wade as if he didn’t know who he was. “Why don’t you introduce your escort, my dear?”

      Wade bit back a comment. According to Logan, the prince had been consulted about his daughter’s choice of escort. Now, the prince was pretending not to know him. And not to know the duty included being his daughter’s bodyguard as well as her escort. If the assignment was a secret, there had to be more here than met the eye. Hopefully, he thought with crossed fingers, an escort was all he would be called upon to be.

      “Commander Wade Stevens of the United States Navy,” Mary Louise replied distantly. “My father, Prince Alexis.”

      Wade shook the prince’s hand. After seeing the fond gaze the man sent his daughter, Wade didn’t have the heart to suggest his daughter needed to be told to listen to reason. Or to even suggest it was time to tell her all the reasons for their visit and any danger that might be attached to it.

      “I just wanted to say good-night, Your Highness,” Wade said after noting the wary look in the duchess’s eyes. He knew, without her saying so, she wasn’t anxious for her father to hear about her behavior. “With your permission, sir, I expect to pick up Her Grace tomorrow morning at nine.”

      “Of course, Commander. I’m sure my daughter will be very grateful to get away from boring affairs of state. Where are your plans for sight-seeing?”

      Wade sensed the duchess tense beside him and couldn’t bring himself betray her. Somehow, somewhere, under that royal facade had to be the woman in white with the sensuous smile he’d been attracted to. A real woman he could reason with. It was up to him to find that woman without making a public deal of it. “Her Grace and I are going to make our plans in the morning.”

      He heard her sigh of relief. Behind that cool royal exterior and imperious manner there beat the heart of a young woman. A woman who valued her father’s approval, even if she didn’t value his.

      Wade turned to the duchess. “I’ll be here to pick you up at nine, Your Grace. But I would appreciate your walking me to the door. With your permission, sir?”

      “Of course,” the prince remarked. “Go ahead, my dear. I’ll be here waiting to say good-night when you return.”

      May took the arm Wade held out to her as they threaded their way through the thinning crowd. “Thank you for not telling my father we are not in agreement,” she said in an undertone. “I am sure I will have a wonderful time in your city. And by the way, you may call me May when we are out in public. It’s the name my family calls me. That way no one will know who I really am.”

      Wade took his cap from an attendant. It was becoming difficult to keep up with the lady’s many mood changes, but duty was duty. After a quick glance at the door, he led her back to a quiet corner. “I have two things to say to you before I leave, May.” He waited until he had her undivided attention.

      “One—never, ever stand by a door or a window while you’re here in Washington. And maybe not even when you go home. You make too good a target.”

      Uneasy at the warning, May glanced around the crowded room. The marine band continued to play, flutes of champagne were still being passed around, and the remaining guests appeared in no hurry to leave. If there were danger here, there was no evidence of it that she could see. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating, Commander. And the second?”

      “I’ll look over your list, but I have no intention of changing my mind about being the one to decide where we go tomorrow.” Wade’s gaze locked with hers. “And remember, the Secret Service stays. In the meantime,” he added softly, “why don’t you put yourself in my hands, Your Grace? I promise you’ll enjoy yourself.”

      She stared at him, and for a moment her expression softened. For a moment he thought she was going to agree with him. Instead she caught her breath, turned on her heel and headed back to the ballroom.

      After being invited to call her May, he could have sworn his charge was about to turn into a human being instead of an imperious royal. Maybe it was just as well she’d walked away when she had. If she hadn’t, he would have been tempted to forget the lady had a motive of her own. Or to forget how much he’d been attracted to her.

      Futile dreams, he told himself with a sigh of regret as he left for his apartment. He and the duchess were two strangers passing in the night. She’d been born to the cushioned life of a member of a royal family where her every wish was a command. He was a former All-America basketball hero turned lawyer who’d worked for everything he had. By her standards that couldn’t be much.

      He’d have to play out the next few days carefully. He had to stop thinking about his never-to-be-realized attraction to the beautiful and sensuous lady in white and the invitation in her eyes.

      He had to concentrate on not only protecting the duchess from herself; he had to protect her from him.

      TO EASE WADE’S WORRY about security, his access to the Blair House the next morning was screened by the same two Secret Service men he’d noticed the evening before.

      “No uniform today, Commander?” The older of the two identified himself as Samuel Hoskins and his partner as Mike Wheeler.

      “No,” Wade replied with a tight smile, replacing his identification in the inside pocket of his loose-fitting jacket. “I was hoping to fade into the landscape.”

      “With a charge like the duchess, good luck,” Hoskins murmured as he eyed the gun and holster Wade wore under his jacket. “I see you’re prepared.”

      “Yeah,” Wade answered as he shifted shoulders unaccustomed to the weight of the gun and holster. “Is the duchess up and ready?”

      “She’s finishing breakfast. Said to tell you she’d overslept but would be out in a minute.”

      Wade nodded. He hadn’t slept much last night. Instead he’d spent the hours lying awake thinking about the intriguing duchess and the amusing way she’d tried to assert her independence. In some ways, in her imperious way of speaking and in her assertive manner, she was an echo of the past. But the chances she was late because she’d lain awake thinking of him was wishful thinking. Royalty and the common man were like oil and water—they didn’t mix. And neither did he and the duchess.

      As for the Secret Service, the duchess had been right. In their navy-blue suits, white shirts and black ties, they were a little on the conservative side; however, they did fade into the landscape. Only the small official button in their coat lapels gave them away.

      The duchess didn’t know it yet, but at thirty-six, he was just as conservative as they were. At least when he was on duty. It wasn’t only the duchess’s life that could be at stake. It was his future, too. And, like everything he took on, he intended to take this tour of duty seriously.

      He eyed his two navy-clad partners. “How about you guys? Ready to roll?”

      “We’ll be right on your tail,” Agent Wheeler assured him. “But it would help to know where you’re going.”

      Wade shrugged his shoulders. “First stop is Wal-Mart. After that, who knows? You’ll have to wait until I get a chance to talk to the duchess.”

      Their eyes swung to the lady in question when she finally sailed into the room. To Wade’s dismay, she was dressed in her version of dressing down—white linen slacks and matching fitted