#706
The prince and his men were there before breakfast. Mark brought the urn to the table and gravely handed it to the prince's assistant. Mark looked hard at the engraved name. "That's your Father, isn't it? I thought he just passed away?"
"It is so," the prince answered harshly. "We had a decoy urn, but the original was promptly stolen. Do you have the box or paper the urn was sent in?"
"I do, it's on top of the file cabinet, I'll be right back." Mark went to get the wrapping and the prince looked around the kitchen once again.
"You live simply," he stated to Clora who was sitting in the doorway.
"By choice," Clora said softly.
The prince nodded regally, he was intrigued by these people who practiced simple living, yet he knew from his most recent investigation, the honest man had control of a lot of money. "They are trying to take your name away." he remarked to Mark as the man walked in the kitchen.
"And that of my Father. His brother has committed many sins toward us, laying a web of deceit that goes deep." Mark replied.
"Ahh, trouble I am most familiar with," the prince said sadly. "Your trouble however is deeper than you think. I bring news that your Uncle survived the assignation, but sadly your Mother did not. I am offering my assistance should you require it."
"Thank you," Mark was appreciative of the unusual gesture. "You honor me with your offer. My government would have killed me without a thought but for your threat." Mark allowed himself a small smile, as the prince nodded.
"As I thought might happen, your government has many fingers on hands that do not come together," the prince was cryptic.
"Very true. I am in your debt for your intervention." Mark offered his hand to the prince, and the guards sucked in their breath. No one touched the prince without his permission.
The prince stood up and offered his hand in a normal handshake, and then in a forearm clasp with a manly hug and nod of the head.
"Your shoulder, it is healing?" His highness inquired solicitously.
"Not fast enough," Mark replied with a heavy sigh, "I need to heal faster to deal with the goons breathing down my neck."
"With your permission, my physician would examine you again," dark eyes watched Mark carefully as the prince waited for Mark's agreement.
Mark nodded, and the bespectacled man came forward when the prince gestured. Mark was examined and his partially healed wounds bathed once again with a silver solution. The prince motioned for his Doctor to leave the bottle of liquid on the table.
Clora was watching the scene with sharp eyes, and looked up to see the prince observing her.
"Your woman, she trusts no one to touch you," the prince was amused. "It is good."
Mark nodded and looked up at Clora. He smiled his assurance, and Clora relaxed a fraction of an inch.
"Your babies, they are well?"
"Babies yes, Clora not so much," Mark said softly. "Her heart is weak from a childhood disease."
"With your permission," the prince asked Mark and not Clora and after a look between the two Linderman's, Mark said yes.
The Doctor listened to Clora's heart and then the hearts of the babies. The man said something to the prince, and stood silently, waiting for the prince to give him instructions.
"It is, as you say," the prince said solemnly. "The woman is not strong."
Mark tightened his lips, they suspected that, but hearing it from a much respected Doctor did not make him happy. "I wish it were not so," he said sadly.
"With your permission," the prince said slowly, "I would take your woman with me to Europe where the Doctors are more skilled in dealing with problems of this sort."
Clora had a look of alarm and panic, but Mark understood the extreme generosity behind the offer. "Her friend is here and would want to go," Mark announced, looking straight at Stephan for his agreement. Stephan was slow to agree, but they both knew the stress of the current situation could very well harm both of the pregnancies.
"Then it is so," the prince replied, "I will send for you when her time is near."
"Thank you, I am deeply in your debt."
"No, it is I who am in your debt," the prince said firmly, and his eyes widened when the pregnant Olga was presented. "You are a sly dog," the prince spoke in his language, and Mark laughed silently. The ruse necessary to keep both women safe.