she thought gloomily. When he came back he would probably take one look at her and make an excuse to return. Most men had a chance to appreciate their women's trim figures for some time before this change came about. She had cheated Clancy by blowing up like a balloon only a few months after he had set eyes on her. He'd never said a word about her increasing bulk, but that didn't mean anything. Clancy was always gentle and tactful with her.
A faint whirring broke her reverie and she sat up eagerly in the chair. Her hand reached up to shade her eyes, and she exclaimed with satisfaction. Mama's gaze followed hers to the helicopter just appearing on the horizon. She frowned and then slowly shook her head. 'No, it's not Mr. Donahue.'
'Of course it is. I recognize the helicopter.' Lisa was already on her feet and hurrying toward the door that led to the stairs. 'I'll go meet him in the courtyard.'
'It's not…' Marna stopped. Lisa had already disappeared. She turned back to watch the approaching helicopter. A smile that held an element of fierce joy curved her lips. 'Kira.'
The wind stirred by the propellers of the helicopter whipped Lisa's tunic against her body as it settled on the flagstones of the courtyard. She took an eager step forward, then stopped as her heart gave a sickening lurch of disappointment. Marna was right; it wasn't Clancy piloting the helicopter. The door opened and an auburn head emerged from the cockpit.
'Hi, I'm Kira Rubinoff.' The petite pilot jumped to the ground and slammed the door of the helicopter. 'You must be Lisa. Sorry to barge in here without an invitation, but Clancy said it would be all right. I wanted to see Marna.' She smiled engagingly. 'Not that I wasn't curious about you, too. Clancy has been keeping you to himself for so long that we're all wild to meet you.'
'All?'
'Lance and Alex and…' She shrugged. 'Oh, just everybody. Everyone loves Clancy, and we wanted to make sure you were good enough for-' She broke off with a grimace. 'Oh, Lord, there I go again. I don't know why Stefan thinks I'd ever be even a mediocre queen. With my lack of diplomacy, there's every chance I'd start World War Three.'
She crossed to Lisa and held out a small, well-shaped hand. 'If Clancy chose you, I'm sure you're wonderful. Please forgive me.'
How could she do anything else? Lisa thought. The girl had a zestful, exuberant charm that was completely irresistible. Kira Rubinoff couldn't havebeen more than twenty-two, but she had a poise and presence far beyond her years. She was only a little over five feet, and every one of those inches was curvaceous and alluring. Even in faded jeans and a white T-shirt she exuded a potent sex appeal-a good deal of which was probably generated by a head of flaming auburn hair that tumbled to her shoulders in a riot of curls. The face framed by that shining mass was more intriguing than pretty. High cheekbones, beautifully curved lips that held a hint of sensitivity, and deep sapphire eyes that were slightly tilted.
'I'm very glad to meet you, Princess Rubinoff.' Lisa took her hand. 'And I'm
'Kira. I've been Princess Rubinoff for the last three months and it's practically driven me bananas. Please don't remind me.'
'That's Clancy's helicopter, isn't it? Why didn't he come with you?'
'Something hot is breaking in Marasef with the terrorist situation, and he had to stay longer. He said to tell you he'd be in late tonight or early tomorrow morning.'
Lisa felt a chill run through her. 'Terrorists?'
'He's not in any danger,' Kira said quickly. 'They've just heard some of the group have crossed the border from Said Ababa, and they're trying to round up informers to find out where they're hiding.' She smiled and suddenly her face was vividly alive. 'We'll have a chance to get to know each other. You're an American, aren't you? I went to school in the U.S. Yale. Stefan wanted me to gothe Sorbonne, but I convinced him that I was very impressed by the Communist activities there, so he changed his mind.'
Lisa raised a brow. 'And were you interested in the Communists?'
'Of course not. I have no idea whether there are any Communists at the Sorbonne. But that was the only way I could get him to send me to America.' Her eyes twinkled. 'He wasn't about to risk nurturing a Communist sympathizer who might overthrow the monarchy. He may be a bit thick, but he has heard about the Russian Revolution.'
'I can see how he might object,' Lisa said, smiling.
Kira shrugged. 'Oh, Stefan objects to everything about me. He believes that I was born solely to initiate havoc and disturb the peace.'
'And have you been doing that?'
It was Mama's deep voice behind them, and Kira whirled with a little cry. Then the girl flew across the courtyard and into her arms. 'Oh, Marna, I missed you so.' The poise and sophistication were suddenly gone, and she looked like a little girl as she was enfolded in the large woman's embrace. 'I tried so hard to be good, but he kept bringing out these horribly depressing types with sweaty palms and brains the size of peas.'
'You shouldn't have gone back. I told you it would do no good.' Marna stroked Kira's fiery hair with amazing tenderness. 'What happened this time?'
'I was too impatient. It had been three months and my being good hadn't seemed to make any difference. We were at the country estate and Stefan was showing everyone through the stables. He'd just bought that prize jumper from the Calumet stables and Don Esteban-'
'Don Esteban is one of these sweaty palm types?' Marna interrupted.
Kira nodded. 'The very clammiest, and he kept putting them on me. I couldn't stand him. He was always bragging about his prowess in the bullring. It appears the big wine tycoon is an amateur bullfighter. You know how I hate bullfights. Those poor bulls…'
'I know,' Marna said quietly.
'Well, we were passing by this empty stall and his hand just happened to fall on my derriere.' She shrugged. 'So I tripped him and he fell into the stall.'
'Is that all?'
'That was enough. The stableboys hadn't cleaned it out yet, and that wasn't all he fell into.' Kira made a face. 'Stefan was watching and he was absolutely furious.' She nestled closer, 'So I hopped a plane and flew back to Marasef. I thought I'd give him time to cool off before I went back.'
'You're not going back,' Marna said harshly. 'It is useless. Why should you let that
'You know why. I'm not going-' Suddenly she broke off and turned to face Lisa. 'Lord, I'm sorry. We're being terribly rude. You must be awfully bewildered by all of this.'
'It's none of my business,' Lisa said. 'If you'd rather be alone…'
Kira shook her head. 'Clancy cares aboutand he helped us when we needed it.' She shrugged. 'Heaven knows it's no big secret. The entire family know why we're in Sedikhan.' She glanced at Lisa's protruding stomach, and a flicker of mischief lit her eyes. 'Clancy's obviously been too busy to fill you in-at least, as far as information goes.'
'It's a possibility,' Lisa said, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.
'Well anyway, the first thing you should know is that Stefan is a pompous ass and something of a…'
'Definitely. Tamrovia isn't one of the richest countries in Europe, and he has these antiquated ideas about arranged marriages to benefit the monarchy. He's been trying to palm me off on every eligible royal head of state or billionaire in the world since I was sixteen. He doesn't care which as long as the power is there. Naturally I wasn't about to be manipulated, so I fought back.'
'By pushing wealthy bullfighters into piles of manure?' Lisa asked with a grin.
'That was totally uninspired. Marna and I managed much more creative ways to discourage the others. Then Stefan had a brainstorm and decided that since he couldn't punish me for these little pranks, he'd go after Marna.'
'Pranks?'
'The Greek shipowner developed a terrible rash,' Marna said with a shrug. 'Kira told him to leave her alone. I don't know what all the fuss was about. I made sure that it would go away in a day or two.'
