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As crown prince of San Rimini, the playground of Europe's jet set, tabloid cover boy Antony diTalora spends his days going through the motions of giving to charities and making public appearances for the royal family.
The last thing Antony needs is his father's ultimatum, giving him one year to find a suitable wife. Especially when he finds himself attracted to the unglamorous—and entirely unsuitable—American relief worker Jennifer Allen.
Going to the Castle
Silhouette Romance
December 2001
ISBN: 037319563X
Most stories originate when authors begin asking themselves, "What If?" Nicole can tell you the exact date of her 'what if' moment for Going to the Castle—June 19, 1999. She had a couple of articles due to bridal magazines later that week, and a ton of yardwork to do. However, She decided to take a break and crash in front of the television with a gigantic bowl of popcorn to watch England's Prince Edward marry Sophie Rhys-Jones. Since she also writes for bridal magazines, she told herself that watching a royal wedding qualified as 'work.'
During the endless commercials, she flipped to CNN, where the discussion focused on the continuing conflicts in Kosovo and the Middle East. Soon she began asking herself, "What if?" What if a refugee camp worker in a war zone—maybe even someone who spent her days digging latrines or scrounging for much-needed medicines—met up with a crown prince? Could people from such disparate backgrounds learn something from each other? Or would they even give each other a second look?
Before she knew it, she'd abandoned the popcorn in favor of a notepad. She missed the rest of the royal wedding, but had a great story outline. And the day ended up counting as a 'work' day after all.
Grade: A-... A Desert Isle Keeper!
"This modern fairy tale about a charming prince who puts the woman he loves before duty is a refreshing romantic fantasy. Burnham takes a standard story and breathes life into it with her likable characters and a little role reversal. Here it's Antony who's the hopeless romantic who will only wed for love with the overbearing father trying to marry him off, and Jennifer who's the commitment-shy cynic…I guarantee Going to the Castle is just the relaxing and escapist fantasy a body needs after a long day at work or fighting their way through holiday crowds at the mall. This is a terrific debut romance from an author I look forward to reading again."
—All About Romance
Strong characters and quick dialogue take the lead in Nicole Burnham's charming tale, Going to the Castle."
—Romantic Times Magazine
"Going to the Castle by Nicole Burnham is pure romance. I honestly cannot believe that this is a debut book. All the necessary elements were there for a perfectly written story: Likeable characters, great attraction…you could feel a connection with the characters, as well as the connection between them…watching (Antony) become a better man because of the love of one woman waas what made this book the definite keeper that it is. You will not be disappointed…the romance was first rate and the conflict was very believable and heartfelt.
—Romance and Friends
"…the courtship follows a fast road to an ultimately satisfying read. I read it in one sitting, and found it to be excellent in its simplicity… although I was a bit skeptical of reading a story set during a modern war, Ms Burnham handled a sticky topic very well, and penned a sweet romance that I'd recommend to anyone who believes in finding their one true prince."
—Romance Reviews Today
Prologue
ANOTHER BIRTHDAY BASH FOR SAN RIMINI'S CROWN PRINCE
At Thirty-Four, Antony Refuses to Settle Down
THE ROYAL PALACE, SAN RIMINI (AP). More than three hundred carefully selected guests converged on this postage stamp-sized country last night to celebrate Prince Antony Lorenzo diTalora's thirty-fourth birthday in the royal palace's Imperial Ballroom.Conversation throughout the evening focused not on the prince's planned state visit to China later this week, but on the fact that Antony is now the oldest San Riminian crown prince not to have wed and produced an heir.
Despite the hushed gossip filling the ballroom, the crown prince appeared unconcerned about finding a bride anytime soon. Recent reports have linked him to Lady Bianca Caratelli, but Antony lived up to his reputation as southern Europe's Playboy Prince last night, bringing as his date German supermodel Daniela Heit, a descendant of England's Queen Victoria.
Over the course of the evening, the prince was spotted dancing with Lady Bianca numerous times, but he chose to dine with Heit and his sister, Princess Isabella. Heit departed early, claiming an early-morning fitting for an upcoming fashion show. Antony seemed not to mind, however, leaving the ball well after midnight with a group of his sister's friends for an after-hours party at an undisclosed location.
Noticeably absent from the festivities was King Eduardo, fueling rumors that the aging monarch's health is in decline. An official palace statement claims the king was "tending to important matters of state." However, sources close to the royal family fear a relapse of Eduardo's earlier heart trouble and suspect he spent the evening secluded in his palace apartments.
If the latter is true, Prince Antony may not remain the Playboy Prince much longer. According to several members of the San Rimini nobility, King Eduardo's failing health is forcing him to consider an arranged marriage for his eldest son. "It makes perfect sense," admits Count Giovanni Alessandro, a longtime friend of the king's. "Eduardo places his royal duties above all else, and he believes his primary duty is to ensure the continuation of the diTalora line. If Antony is not married soon, Eduardo will feel he has failed the people of San Rimini."
Antony is said to resist the move.
Chapter One
The latrine threatened to overflow in an hour, tops.
Jennifer Allen leaned on her shovel and drank deeply from her worn canteen. Her arms and back throbbed from an afternoon of heavy digging in the summer heat, and sweat ran into her eyes, making her contacts burn, but she couldn't quit now.If she and the other volunteers didn't finish the hole for the new latrine soon, the residents of the Haffali refugee camp might opt to use the nearby river to relieve themselves. Unfortunately, the river supplied their only source of clean drinking water.
Jennifer dropped her canteen to the ground, then turned to continue her dusty job. As she raised her shovel to dig, she caught sight of an American network news van making its way down the rough mountainside to the camp and leaned her shovel against the side of the pit. "Hey, Pia," she pointed out the van to her assistant camp director. "Any idea what that's all about?"
The Rasovo civil war had raged for six months now and few American news agencies had visited the camp, even during the early days of the war when American interest in the displaced Rasovars peaked. With no recent bombing in the area, Jennifer couldn't imagine why journalists picked today to make a surprise visit. However, if the Rasovo Relief Society, for which she worked, wanted to keep Haffali camp open for women and children fleeing the fighting, they needed more donations. And even more importantly—she glanced at the long line for the latrine—skilled volunteers willing to travel to Rasovo and pitch in with both hands. Perhaps she could turn the news van's intrusion into an opportunity.
"Oh, shoot," Pia grumbled as she climbed out of the half-completed pit for a better look at the van. "They must've heard that rumor about Prince Antony. Hope they don't mind talking to us while we work."
"Prince Antony? What rumor?" Jennifer couldn't imagine what Europe's hottest tabloid cover boy had in common with the Haffali camp. Other than the fact that both Rasovo and his native San Rimini occupied the northern end of the Balkan peninsula, tucked in the Alps between Slovenia and Italy, she saw no link.
Pia raised an eyebrow. "I didn't tell you? Some of the refugees heard on the radio that Prince Antony is planning to visit the camp tomorrow. They came to me for confirmation, since I'm San Riminian. I never received anything from the palace, though, so I told them it was just a rumor."
Jennifer frowned. Nothing official had crossed her desk, either. "I'm sure you're right. Prince Antony has hundreds of 'clean' charities elsewhere in Europe to use for his public relations purposes," Jennifer finally replied, alluding to the prince's reputation for making grand gestures to humanitarian organizations for the sole purpose of enhancing his family's public image. "He'd never come here. Why mess a good suit?"
She shook her head, thinking of the grandeur of the San Riminian palace. The Haffali camp stood only five miles from the San Riminian border, and thirty from the royal palace. But the ease of life in San Rimini made it feel a world away from the devastation in Rasovo. Unfortunately for the residents of Haffali, most San Riminians liked to keep it that way.
A yell went up from some of the refugees who'd spotted the news van. "What do you want to do?" Pia prodded.
"We don't have time for this."Jennifer tucked a stray curl back under her Colorado Rockies cap, then picked up her shovel. "Let's keep digging. By the time the journalists locate me and learn there's no royal visit scheduled, the hole will be finished. Then I can try to talk them into doing a story on the camp itself. Get the word out that we're desperate for more staff."
Pia snorted as she climbed back into the pit to continue shoveling. "Nice thought, Jen, but it won't work. Why cover an overcrowded, depressing refugee camp when your assignment is to splash a few pictures of a filthy-rich, drop-dead-gorgeous Prince Charming across the TV screen?"
Jennifer silently agreed, but vowed to convince the reporters to publicize the need for more relief workers. Besides, if she remembered the fairy tale correctly, Prince Charming never once got his hands dirty helping Cinderella with her chores. She needed people willing to pitch in and help. Not Prince Charming.
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