The Serenade: The Prince and the Siren [Daughters of the Empire 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Read Online Free PDF

anticipation of receiving the words penned by his father dulled until all color had drained from the boy’s face.
    Esteban’s stomach twisted into a knot. He knew that he could be dismissed for not showing the proper self-negation before the prince. It was a challenge to navigate meeting the king’s dual expectations of both not pampering the boy and acknowledging the prince’s status.
    The other teachers simply kept their contact with Prince Alejandro to a minimum. The path of least resistance was always safest. In this case especially—a cold but deferential aloofness carried the least chance of displeasing King Don Bartolomé. Esteban sighed as he reminded himself for the hundredth time that if he lost this choice post and was in disfavor with the king, it was highly probable he would never have a satisfactory position again.
    But he was not a rock. He could not ignore that young face looking up at him despite all the warning bells reverberating in his mind. Seeing the tears in Alejandro’s eyes, Esteban put his arm around the child, offering what comfort he could.
    “Prince Alejandro, you have been promised to your family’s legacy from the moment of your birth.” He attempted to smooth over that which he was powerless to change. “You belong to España. You are our crown jewel .”
    “I don’t want to belong to España. I want…my poppy and mummy…”
    “Alejandro, you are also your family’s treasure.”
    “No.” Alejandro shook his head. “I would be with them.”
    “You are being trained to rule Spain,” Esteban replied, his gaze fixed on the heir apparent.
    “I could be trained in the palace.” The prince swallowed hard, as if he were trying to keep the words from surfacing, but to no avail. “It gives my father something he wants for me to live here. Something he wants more than me.”
    “Hmmm…What could he possibly…” Esteban considered the prince’s words, not meaning to speak out loud.
    “Do you know what it is, Señor Esteban? And why it is so important?”
    Esteban studied the boy. Alejandro’s intelligence continually impressed him. The prince could size up his surroundings and companions with astounding clarity. On every level of his being, he was astute and aware, reading people with an expertise that bordered on genius, had there been a way to measure such a gift.
    He wondered, not for the first time, if Alejandro’s remarkable gifts were in part due to excruciating trauma. Clearly the prince had resolved on some level never again to be taken by surprise. To add political acumen to Prince Alejandro’s perceptivity would prove him a great future sovereign.
    Shaking his head in self-disgust, Esteban realized that he was treating Alejandro as others did, seeing him solely in terms of his usefulness to Spain. Alejandro was the classic and ultimate example of the child who was expected to be the parent, to set aside his own needs and to lead the family while the parents behaved as children. Only, in this extreme case, Alejandro de Bonifácio was expected to be not only the head of his family but the head of his country .
    And the truth was that Spain badly needed Alejandro. He might be Her only hope.
    “Alejandro, do you know that I love you?” Esteban asked.
    Abruptly Alejandro looked up, his eyes shining and his expression hopeful. He shook his head in the negative.
    “I do. Even though I have only known you these few months, you are like a cherished son to me.”
    Alejandro watched him closely, as if everything he wanted in the world were suddenly in Esteban Xalvador.
    “But I cannot spend all my time with you, though I would like to. You have your duty and I have mine.”
    Alejandro shook as if he could no longer bear his distress.
    “I wish that I could give you everything you desire, Alejandro, but it is not in my power to do so.” Esteban hugged the boy again, searching for words. “We are—all of us—dealt a hand in life which we have to play. How do we deal