Читать книгу The Royal House Of Karedes Collection Books 1-12 - Кейт Хьюит, Шантель Шоу - Страница 48

THEY ate in pregnant silence.

Andreas was accustomed to silence. He and Christina had barely been on speaking terms for years, but palace protocol decreed they eat together so silence had been the norm.

But this was a different silence. It was a silence charged with a tension that was palpable, with anger and with… desire?

Yes, desire, Andreas thought as the meal wore on. For he couldn’t keep his eyes from her.

She ate well; not selectively as Christina had done, but as if she was determined to enjoy every mouthful of the magnificent meal Sophia had put before them. Sophia beamed her pleasure as she served them, deeply appreciative of a woman who enjoyed her food. With Christina, Sophia had been absurdly formal, a servant who knew her place. Now, when Holly cracked a lobster claw too hard and the pincher sailed across the tiles, Sophia retrieved it and chuckled and Holly chuckled with her.

‘You need to fight harder,’ Sophia said, and was it Andreas’s imagination or did she cast a warning glance across at him? Holly smiled at her, a woman to woman smile of understanding. They were friends, he thought. In the few days Holly had been here, Holly and Sophia had forged an unlikely friendship.

And there it was again, that stab of desire going deep into his gut. He loved Holly’s smile. He loved that Sophia liked her.

Sophia was her friend.

Could he be her friend? No, he thought, revolted. He wanted far more from this woman than friendship.

Marriage.

Yes, but a formal marriage. Nothing more. For Sebastian’s words had been unequivocal.

‘The people need to know you’ve done the right thing, Andreas. But the marriage won’t be long term. You marry her—give the country the fairy-tale wedding. That’ll get us over our present crisis. You’ll be seen as being honourable—as soon as you found out about the baby you did what was expected. Afterwards, we can say she’s homesick for her country. She can return home quietly with the vague impression you’ll visit in between royal duties. The thing will die a natural death. Problem solved.’

But what had seemed logical back in Sebastian’s study seemed impossible here.

Maybe it had been a mistake to come here. How was he to propose a marriage of convenience when he knew she’d respond with anger? And what he really wanted. Well, that was impossible, too. There was no way he could ravish Holly against her will. He’d have Sophia after him with the branding iron. And to have her agree… The way she was reacting to him, pigs might fly.

Finally the meal was over. Sophia filled their wine glasses—though Holly had hardly touched her wine—and left them to it.

The night was truly lovely. There were fireflies flitting low over the pool, their tiny lights reflecting magically in the water’s smooth surface. Sophia had thrown open the gates at either end of the pavilion and the soft sea breeze filtered through. The sky above them had a million stars, a vast continuation of the fireflies’ reflection in the pool.

It was the most romantic of settings. It was a night for seduction.

‘So now you’ve got me here,’ Holly said, breaking into the silence, ‘what do you intend to do with me?’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘You wanted to know about Adam.’ Her voice faltered as she said her son’s name, but she forced it to steady. ‘I could have told you what you needed to know of Adam in one phone call. Instead you commit a crime which could have you thrown in jail—any international court would agree. Prince or no prince, this isn’t the Dark Ages. You’ve dragged me here against my will and you’re in uncharted territory. You let me go now and I’ll go screaming to the press.’

‘You won’t do that.’

‘Tell me why I won’t.’

‘Your reputation…’

‘My reputation?’ She raised her brow in polite incredulity. ‘What, I’ll be revealed as a single mother? Shock, horror. You think I’ve hidden Adam’s existence? Everyone at home knows I had a baby. I conceived Adam in love, Andreas, whether you knew it or not, and I’ve never been ashamed of it. If you or any of your people had approached me I would have told you about him, openly and honestly. He was the most perfect little boy and that we created him…’

She fell silent for a little, but then looked over the table at him, defiant again. ‘So you’re telling me the press could crucify me if they learned of Adam’s existence? Not me. You maybe, Andreas, but not me.’

He nodded, rueful. ‘Okay. Yes. They’d crucify my family.’

She raised her brow again in mock astonishment. ‘You have to be kidding. Royals have been having babies on the wrong side of the blanket for generations. As far as I can see, there’s even pride in it.’

‘There’s no pride in me for Adam’s existence.’

‘Then more fool you,’ she snapped. ‘You didn’t contact me. You missed out on seeing your son. You missed his life, Andreas, and it’s such a loss I can’t even begin to make you understand.’

He couldn’t think like that. It hurt, he discovered. He’d known of Adam’s existence for less than a month but the knowledge had changed something inside that was fundamental. He wasn’t sure how to deal with it. He didn’t know if he could. He just had to concentrate on the here and now while he tried.

‘Holly, I need to get to the point,’ he said, taking a long swig of his wine. Dutch courage? Maybe. ‘Adam did exist. Someone saw the gravestone. I gather you’ve had international buyers on the place?’

‘I have,’ she said, sounding wary.

‘Your land agent knew I stayed there years ago,’ he said. ‘He’s touting that as a sales pitch—buy the place that once hosted royalty.’

‘I never said…’ she began, revolted.

‘Realtors will use whatever means they can to get a sale.’ He had to get this said. He had to block out the personal. ‘So you had a party of Arabian businessmen go through the place last month. One of them saw the gravestone, saw the name and the dates, wondered about the connection to me and mentioned it to his cousin. Who’s a journalist in Calista. So we have questions being asked. And now you’re saying it can be proved the baby is mine.’

She gasped.

‘No,’ he said, quickly, as he saw indignation flood into her face again. ‘I’m not questioning you, Holly. I accept that Adam was my son.’ Hell, that hurt to say. My son. For a man to say such a thing about a child he’d never known… But he had to continue, even if it meant being brutal. ‘I mean outsiders,’ he said. ‘If Adam can be proved to the world to be mine there’s a real chance his birth could bring down our throne.’

He had her attention then. He saw the change on her face. Indignation and anger gave way to confusion. ‘How …?’

‘You were seventeen when he was conceived,’ he said wearily. ‘It makes all the difference in the world.’

‘How?’

‘The age of consent here is eighteen,’ he said. ‘The king… my father… was a known profligate. There was corruption and scandal in the last days of his reign and there’s been a massive backlash.’

‘So what’s that got to do with me?’ She sounded breathless, still confused.

‘My family’s enemies would go to vast lengths to bring us down,’ Andreas said.

‘Your father’s enemies?’

‘Let me explain,’ he said, and then tried to figure out how to do so. It seemed so wrong. The only light was the candles on the table and the stars and the fireflies. They could hear the faint whoosh, whoosh of the surf from the beach outside. This setting was one of romance, seduction and passion, and yet he had to speak cold, hard, facts.

‘You know the kingdom of Adamas is divided into two islands—Calista and Aristo,’ he said at last. ‘The Stefani diamond—a priceless stone of incomparable beauty—has always been central to our hold on the throne. The coronation charter says: No person shall rule Adamas without the blessing of the Stefani jewel.

‘When the kingdom was divided into the two islands, the Stefani diamond was split as well,’ he said, refusing to deviate from an explanation that he must make crystal clear to Holly. Everything depended on it. ‘There’s the royal family of Aristo—myself and my siblings—and the royal family of Calista. Each family has half of the Stefani diamond.’

‘So?’

‘So on my father’s death we discovered our half of the diamond is nothing more than a paste copy. My father’s marriage… well, to say the least it was dysfunctional. There were other women. Intrigue. Financial wheeling dealing. Somewhere along the line the diamond’s been disposed of, and for us it means ruin.’

‘I see.’ But then she shook her head, her blonde curls flicking sensuously over her bare shoulders. ‘No. I don’t see.’

‘We’re at the mercy of the people,’ he said. ‘Or worse. Whoever holds both diamonds will rule both the islands, so if the diamond is found by King Zakari Al’Farisi of Calista then he’ll hold all power. If, though, as appears to be the case, my father gambled the diamond or gave it as a trinket to one of his mistresses then power reverts to the people and public opinion holds sway. Rumours of my father’s womanizing have been legion. My brothers and I have maybe… in the past… not been perfect. My brother Alex has recently married but that’s not enough to stop indignation and a call for new rule. And the fresh news that I fathered a child when you were seventeen… My brother believes it’s enough to topple us. Zakari may end up ruling us all.’

‘That’s some problem.’ She lifted her wine glass and stared into its depths. ‘But not my problem, Andreas,’ she whispered. ‘You walked away from me and didn’t look back.’

‘I never meant to hurt you.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t imagine you did. Nor did my parents. They threw us together hoping for a forced marriage or at least a fortune. And you… You didn’t lie to me. I knew from the start you were promised to Christina. So did my parents, come to that—they just never imagined your sense of duty would override your decency.’

‘My decency…’

‘Yes, your decency,’ she snapped. ‘Your moral obligation to a girl who fell in love with you. You might still have been young, Andreas, but you were experienced. I, on the other hand, had no defences at all.’

‘SO…’

‘So nothing,’ she said wearily. ‘Whatever moral outrage we might have created all those years ago, it’s nothing to do with me any more. Give me a piece of paper to sign that says I release you from all obligations and be done with it. I’ll sign. I just want to go home.’

‘To a bleak bedsit while you teach kids thousands of miles away from you?’

‘You’ve really done your homework,’ she answered.

‘I have, and you can’t go home. The only thing that would save me—us—is a declaration that Adam wasn’t my child. And you can’t give me that.’

‘No,’ she said softly. She was looking directly at him now, meeting his gaze calmly over the table. She’d done a huge amount of growing up in the years since he’d seen her, he thought. The eyes that gazed at him were those of a woman: thoughtful, intelligent, even compassionate.

‘I wouldn’t ask…’

‘You wouldn’t ask me to make such a declaration?’ She gave a hollow laugh. ‘Says he who organized an international kidnapping. Well, maybe you will and maybe you won’t, but it’s not so simple. My mother holds copies of the results of Adam’s DNA.’

‘Your mother…’

‘There you are,’ she said, closing her eyes as if something hurt. ‘I’m not completely without family. There’s still my mother. When you left and everything fell apart she walked out. But she came back when the baby was born. For, of course, she knew who the father was. In the few days after Adam’s birth I was ill—out of it. She told the doctors I’d need DNA samples to prove Adam’s paternity and she took a copy of the results. But I guessed what she intended and was able to stop it.’

‘Stop what?’

‘Blackmail,’ she said flatly. ‘You were newly married. My mother saw Adam’s birth as a great opportunity to make serious money.’

Hell. Maybe he would have paid, too, he thought, thinking back to Christina as a new bride. She’d been jealous right from the start. News of Holly’s baby would have blown them apart.

‘It’s okay,’ Holly said wearily. ‘Or it was okay. My mother had just met another man. He had serious money and was giving her a good time. But there were things in her past I knew that…’ She shook her head. ‘No. It doesn’t matter. But it meant that if she exposed you I could expose her right back. She knew her relationship would crumble if I talked, so she had a choice—shut up and enjoy her new lifestyle or take a chance on blackmailing you. She chose to stay.’

‘Whew,’ he said.

‘Yeah, whew,’ she agreed grimly. ‘But if your reporters are fishing round now… my mother’s situation has changed. She’ll remember that piece of paper. Would the reporters pay?’

Would they ever? And if King Zakari found out… Yes, money would be offered. Serious money.

‘She’ll tell,’ Holly said bleakly. ‘I’m sorry, Andreas, but I can’t help you.’

‘Then it comes to this,’ he said heavily, thinking his options through and accepting the course of action Sebastian proposed was the only one that could possibly work. ‘We brazen it out. We say, yes, we were kids. We tell the public I didn’t know about the baby but now I do I’ll make reparation. We’ll stand in front of my people with our heads high, Holly. But it’s as I suggested on the beach. We’ll stand together as man and wife.’