The Love Light of Apollo

As a cousin of Queen Victoria, the beautiful Princess Marigold is obliged to yield to the Queen's wishes when it comes to marriage - and the Monarch is most reluctant to allow her to marry the man she loves, Prince Holden of Allenberg, because she views his tiny European Principality as insignificant and uninfluential.
So, although the Queen assents to their engagement, she puts obstacles in the way of their marriage in the hope that Princess Marigold will fall out of love with Prince Holden if she can keep them apart for any length of time.
One such obstacle is the Royal order that Marigold travels to Greece to represent the Queen at the State funeral of Prince Eumenus.
Determined to stay with her beloved Holden, the Princess comes up with a cunning plan.
She will send another young woman in her place - and Prince Holden knows the ideal candidate, the beautiful young Vicar's daughter called Avila Grandell, who looks uncannily like the Princess and, being half-Greek, speaks the language fluently.
And so, with her mother's concerned consent, this awestruck young innocent's adventure begins, voyaging to Athens and on to the island of Malia.
Little do any of them expect Avila to be touched by the Light of the God Apollo and would then fall in love with a handsome charming Prince of her own!

Échantillon de lecture
CHAPTER ONE ~ 1874

"No! No! No! I will not do it -1 will not!" Princess Marigold's voice rose to a shriek on the last word.

Pulling off her slipper, she flung it as hard as she could at her Comptroller, Colonel Bassett, who was standing nearby

As this had happened to him before, he deftly side-stepped the missile.

The slipper landed on top of a cabinet, knocking over a pretty piece of antique Dresden china.

Princess Marigold was lying on the sofa and now she said in a slightly quieter voice,

"You can inform Her Majesty that I will not go to Greece and so that is the end of the matter!"

Colonel Bassett sighed and persevered.

"I am afraid, Your Royal Highness, that you cannot refuse a Royal Command from Her Majesty Queen Victoria."

"Why not?" Princess Marigold asked sharply. "This is supposed to be a free country."

Colonel Bassett did not reply and after a moment she carried on furiously,

"Free! Of course it is free for everyone, except someone like myself who is supposed to be Royal, but without a throne, and without anyone paying any attention to what I want or do not want to do!"

This again was something that Colonel Bassett had heard before and he remained silent.

Then unexpectedly the door opened and a voice came from it,

"Is anyone at home?"

The Princess sat up abruptly.

"Holden!" she exclaimed. "Thank Goodness you have come. What do you think has just happened?"

Prince Holden then came a little further into the room, nodded to Colonel Bassett and walked towards the Princess.

He was a tall, broad-shouldered and handsome young man but with somewhat Germanic features.

"I heard you shouting," the Prince said, "so I knew that there was trouble."

"Trouble!" Princess Marigold echoed. "Oh, Holden, Holden, what am I to do?"

The Prince took the Princess's hand and raised it to his lips.

"You are upsetting yourself, but you promised me that I should cope with your troubles and you would not become agitated over them."

"Agitated?" Princess Marigold exclaimed. "Of course I am agitated! Have you heard what that monstrous old woman here in Windsor Castle wants me to do?"

Prince Holden turned his head towards Colonel Bassett.

"What has happened?" he asked.

"Her Majesty," Colonel Bassett answered, speaking in a somewhat pompous voice, "has now informed Her Royal Highness that she is to represent Great Britain at the funeral of His Royal Highness Prince Eumenus of Malia."

"Oh, is he dead?" Prince Holden replied. "I had heard that he was ill."

"His Royal Highness is dead and his body has been embalmed so that he can be buried in Athens in two weeks' time," the Colonel went on. "While he was not of any great Diplomatic importance, Her Majesty feels that she personally and so, of course, Great Britain, should be represented at the Ceremony."

Prince Holden had been listening attentively.

Now he said quietly as he turned towards the Princess,

"You will have to go, my dearest."

"And leave you?" Princess Marigold exclaimed. "Can you not see what Queen Victoria is up to? She has never approved of our engagement and now she is doing everything in her power to separate us!"

"She will never do that," Prince Holden averred.

At the same time there was an anxious expression in his eyes.

After months of discussion Queen Victoria had finally allowed Princess Marigold, who was a near relation, to become engaged to Prince Holden of Allenberg.

No one could pretend that it was a marriage of prestige for the Princess.

But she had fallen madly in love with Prince Holden and she firmly refused to consider any other man who might be suggested to her.

Ever since she had been small, Princess Marigold had been what Queen Victoria thought of as a problem.

She had