Page 52 of The Prince of New York

I nodded to acknowledge her before turning back to the judge. “Please clear the courthouse so we can finish handling some matters for my sister and her husband, and then we’ll get out of your hair.”

“Yes, I have their documentation for verification here and ready to go. The process won’t take more than twenty minutes,” the judge assured me. “Go get those poor girls seated. We couldn’t take custody without this hearing, and I suspect they both had a rough night.”

I would need to begin processing some law changes so that victims, like the little girls, would be better protected. “Thank you for clearing your docket to handle this promptly. I’ll start looking into how to improve this process.”

“Excellent.” As requested, the judge cleared the courtroom, taking care to indicate who could stay.

I went over to my sister and sat next to Ethan with May beside me and Baby on my lap. “We’re going to need to hire two good nannies, and they’ll need to be willing to come to California, Rachel. Olivia? Can I borrow you tonight?”

“Of course. I’ll help you get the babies settled, and if they need a quiet place outside of the palace, they’re both welcome to come to our place. I’ll make sure there are bedrooms opened for them in the next few days.”

I smiled at the woman. “Thank you.”

My sister worked on her phone, glowering at the screen. “I can start working on finding nannies tonight. One of the aides is perfect for this type of work, but she is already done for the day, so I’ll email her with my instructions so she can get the ball rolling on it tomorrow. California has a good nanny, and I’m sure she’ll come out of retirement to help out with the girls while you’re there. I’m assuming you’re going to take them with you.”

I nodded, waiting for the toddler to settle down. I worried the judge’s comment about their night to be accurate, as Baby snuggled close, closed her eyes, and did her best to take a nap.

“Baby beats Your Highness,” my sister grumbled. “How are you going to teach her her name?”

I shrugged. “I’m going to let her decide what name she wants, and if she doesn’t want to be a Danielle, she can stay Baby, or she can pick something else.” Turning my head, I offered May a smile. “That applies to you as well. If you don’t like being May, you can pick a new name. Your name is yours, and if you don’t like May, you don’t have to stay May. If you like May, you can keep it.”

“I like May because of the pretty flowers,” she replied in a solemn tone.

“I’ll make sure you can see all the pretty flowers you want,” I promised.

Some oaths were easier to keep than others, and California’s palace grounds had flowers aplenty.

Much like her sister, May leaned against me, and after a few minutes, she chased after sleep.

I understood exhaustion too well, and I recognized how both children had held on, maintaining their parents’ expectations in order to avoid being hit yet again. While we waited, I wondered how I might be able to do everything my parents had not.

In some ways, breaking the cycle of abuse would be simple enough. As long as I did everything my parents hadn’t, the girls would be fine. Some things I couldn’t afford to be gentle about, but I didn’t need to strike a little girl to discipline her.

There was a fine line between correction and abuse, and I meant to stay on the right side of it.

Rachel turned in her seat to regard Madelyn, and she heaved a sigh. “In good news, Ian will be easy to locate. He’ll either be working with the horses or playing with the children. You’ll have to break his heart to make him work, but just display some basic disapproval. That should get him cooperating. If you don’t like children, now is a good time to let us know.”

“I like children. Do you have a list of criteria for royal nannies? I would like to help with their selection if possible.”

“We do, and we’ll discuss that after we finish up here. Hopefully, California will be able to help when you’re there, and by the time you’re back, we should have the suite set up for the girls. Your thoughts on the suite, Ian?”

“Use a pair with connecting doors, that way they can see each other at their whim. We’ll remove the locks from the connecting doors to start with, that way they won’t feel trapped.”

I knew all about feeling trapped, and if I had anything to say about it, both girls would be running around the palace and treating it like it was an actual home for them rather than a prison.

With luck, the little girls would whet my sister’s appetite, resulting in the place being filled with pitter-pattering feet and laughter.

“That sounds like a good plan. Ethan? Do you want to handle that? I’ll work with Madelyn about the nanny. We’ll delay going to California by a day. That’ll give us time to get the horse transport plane.” Rachel focused on Daphne and waved. “Get over here, woman. I need to steal your plane.”

Laughing, Daphne joined us, and she took the seat beside Olivia. “I already offered to transport Thunder personally.”

“Thunder?” Madelyn asked.

Right. Madelyn hadn’t been briefed about the trip to the junkyard. Bracing for serious disapproval, I went about explaining how we had encountered some unexpected guests at my place, and Thunder had been an odd gift from a European monarch likely wishing for an audience and some assistance with a problem.

Madelyn’s eyes widened. “Are you all right?”

“It’s been a rough day, but I’m doing better than expected,” I confessed. “I wasn’t expecting this part of our outing to involve kids, but I couldn’t let either one of those bastards keep custody.”

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