'No- no!' Maximilian shouted, horrified that he had given that impression. It was the address, Majesty rather than Highness, that arrested the prince's attention, draining color from his features.

But the words didn't affect him in the usual way, neither heightening his color nor producing anger. Max disapproved, even more than the king did, of the way the prince sometimes took his leisure. The censure was there, unrestrained as usual. I feared we would have to scour the countryside in search of gypsy camps to find you.' 'Your expediency is appreciated, your Majesty. He spoke now in the soothing accents bequeathed him by a Romanian mother. Daneff was Prime Minister now, but even before he had risen to that exalted position, he had been a friend and advisor to the king. Whenever he had been called to account for his misdeeds, it had been in these chambers, with no attendants to bear witness - other than Count Daneff, who had always served as a buffer between two hot tempers. Maximilian Daneff awaited him there alone, a portentous reminder of the prince's youth and the punishments he'd received, deservedly and sometimes not. The Crown Prince of Cardinia drew to a halt upon entering the anteroom outside the royal bedchamber.

Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey