Page 33 of The Duke's Virgin
“We’re here.” My aunt patted my knee and settled back into her seat. “You won’t be able to see much until we get through the gate.”
She was right. After a few more moments of neck-craning, I gave up.
Aeric winked at me. “You’re so impatient, darling.”
“It’s an American thing,” I said loftily.
“It’s ayouthing.”
“Behave, children,” his mother said.
A faint smile tugged at his lips, but Aeric lapsed into silence.
Due to the angle the car took as it rounded the final bend and my position in the limousine, I couldn’t see much more than I’d seen from the road but quashed the impatience as the vehicle came to a stop. I hadn’t attended an event with my aunt and uncle before in another country, but I had no doubt there’d be some manner of pomp and circumstance, and I refused to embarrass them by fidgeting and bouncing up and down on my toes to better see the sights.
I even managed to keep from looking around with a wide-eyed stare once I was out of the car, standing next to Aeric. The large structure with its pale outer walls, along with the sloped, gabled roofs and numerous turrets gave it an air that seemed to be a mix between German and Swiss—or maybe they were the same. I wasn’t an architectural expert. Windows sparkled in the sun, and every inch seemed to shine.
“Lovely,” I murmured.
“Yes. But the Prince’s Palace is lovelier,” Aeric added under his breath. “Come on. Introductions and announcements await.”
He offered his arm, and I let him lead me from the car, taking the chance to surreptitiously take in another look at the castle.
But I had to snap my attention away from the big construction far too soon as Aeric came to a stop less than a minute later.
“That’s the Grand Duke,” Aeric said in a low voice as we took our place to the left of his parents. He didn’t nod or gesture, but it wasn’t hard to see who he meant.
The elegant couple descending the steps of the castle looked to be about the same age as my aunt and uncle, polite smiles set on their faces.
“You have the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Gottfried Hahn, and his wife, Octavia Hahn, the Grand Duchess. They’re a decent sort,” he said. “They’ve got two sons…good men. Friends of mine. You know about Geraint. He’s the one engaged to Princess Katrina. Here we go, they’re coming out now too. You met Luka, by the way.”
Luka…
I tensed, my eyes darting to the men following along behind the older couple.
“Are you all right?” Aeric asked, pausing his litany to look down at me.
“I…yes, fine.” I swallowed, then nodded toward the castle. “Luka. He was at the party. I talked with him a bit.”Talked. And then some.“I didn’t realize he was Geraint’s brother.”
“Yes, well…he didn’t appear to want it advertised.Luka is the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. There’s his brother, Geraint. His title is Prince Geraint. And there’s his fiancée, Princess Katrina of Liechtenstein.”
I was still stuck on what he’d told me about Luka.Hereditary Grand Duke.
“Hereditary Grand Duke?” I repeated, the words coming out a bit louder than necessary.
“Yes.” Aeric covered the hand I had tucked into the crook of his elbow with his own. “Are you all right, Stacia?”
“I’m fine. Just trying to keep up. Go on, please.” Swallowing, I jerked my attention away from Luka and studied the pretty, petite blonde standing next to the other young man who’d just descended the steps.
“Well, it can be a bit to keep up with, I know.” He patted my hand, humor underlining the words. “We still have the Liechtensteiners to introduce.”
“Lovely.”
He continued. But I didn’t process a word he said.
I was too busy staring at Luka.
* * *
