faltered. The hand beneath her elbow gripped hard enough to keep her upright, and for a second she wondered if she’d have bruises there tomorrow.
‘The mask?’ she enquired stiffly.
‘The one you wear all the time—the perfect-princess mask that hides the puppet behind,’ he returned with cool insolence, relaxing his grip.
Was that how he saw her—a lifeless thing hiding behind a disguise?
Squelching a foolish stab of pain, she stated, ‘I’m not really a princess—Montevel is now a republic so it’s just another empty title. And surely you must know that nobody is perfect.’
‘So what’s behind that utterly poised, totally collected, exceedingly beautiful face?’
Her startled glance clashed with an assessing scrutiny that sent a shiver scudding down her spine. ‘A very ordinary person,’ she countered, hoping she sounded more composed than she felt.
A very ordinary person still fuming over the exchange with her father’s mistress—and secretly thrilled by Alex’s cool summary of her attributes.
Thankfully they’d reached the royal couple, and Alex drawled, ‘Rosie, Gerd, tell Serina she’ll love New Zealand. I don’t think I’ve entirely convinced her that it’s worth crossing half the world to see.’
The brand-new Grand Duchess smiled up at Serina, her vivid face alight. ‘Of course you’ll love it,’ she said, her pride in her country obvious. ‘It’s the most beautiful country in the world—apart from Carathia. And as a Northlander born and bred, I’m convinced that Northland is the best part of it.’
‘Everyone says it’s glorious,’ Serina said, very aware of Gerd’s speculative glance.
Enthusiastically, Rosie continued, ‘And Haruru is just—magical. Huge and green and with beaches that match anything the Mediterranean offers.’ She and her new husband exchanged an intimate smile that indicated a shared experience.
Serina stifled another pang of envy.
Blandly, Alex said, ‘Gerd, perhaps you can reassure the Princess that she’ll be perfectly safe staying with me.’
Embarrassed by his bluntness, Serina sent him a furious glance and blurted, ‘I didn’t think—’ She caught herself and finished more sedately, ‘Of course I know that!’
Gerd’s brows lifted and the two men exchanged a look, a masculine thrust and parry that made Serina wonder. Although Alex and the Grand Duke didn’t look alike, for a second the resemblance between them outweighed the differences.
Then Gerd said levelly, ‘You can trust Alex.’
‘I’ll second that,’ Rosie said with conviction, adding with a wry laugh, ‘Even when he’s being a pain in the neck—actually, especially when he’s being a pain in the neck—he’s utterly staunch.’
Grabbing at her composure, Serina said, ‘I’m quite sure he is.’ She took in a swift breath and managed to smile. ‘I’m just not accustomed to making such quick decisions.’
They spoke for a few more minutes, then she wished them all happiness, and Alex escorted her back. Halfway across the expanse of floor, he said, ‘So are you coming to New Zealand or not?’
‘Yes,’ she snapped, making up her mind with jarring suddenness.
Lapis lazuli eyes held hers for a tense moment before Alex nodded. ‘You’ll enjoy it—and think of the columns you’ll be able to source. I’m leaving at ten tomorrow morning, so I’ll see you get a wake-up call in time.’
Serina’s fingers trembled as she fastened her seat belt. She’d used cosmetics to hide the toll a sleepless night had taken on her face, but nothing could smooth away the turmoil of thoughts and emotions knotting her stomach.
The previous night, raw from her encounter with her father’s mistress and Doran’s words, it had been easy to be defiant, but once the ball was over and Rosie and Gerd had been farewelled in showers of rose petals, she’d gone to her room wondering why on earth she’d let her dislike of the woman manoeuvre her into a decision she might come to regret.
And there had been a couple of shocks since then, the first when Alex had told her that Doran had left for Vanuatu halfway through the night.
‘Why?’ she demanded in the car that was taking her and Alex to the airport.
‘When I contacted my friends last night they told me they were already there, and almost ready to leave for the diving sites, so I got Doran to organise his own journey. He managed to talk himself onto several flights that will get him there within their deadline.’
She gave him a look of astonishment mingled with indignation. Doran had always relied on her to organise any travel arrangements. And who was paying his fare? A sick apprehension clutched at her.
As though he could read her mind, Alex said blandly, ‘Don’t worry about finances. Doran and I worked it out between us.’
‘How?’ she demanded.
‘He’s going to spend his holidays for the next year working for me,’ Alex told her calmly.
‘Working for you?’ This time she felt a mixture of bewilderment and relief. If Doran was working for Alex he wouldn’t have time to sit in front of a computer dreaming up fairy-tale fantasies of derring-do that might—but probably wouldn’t—earn him a fortune.
‘There’s always something to be done in an organisation like mine,’ Alex told her.
She eyed him sharply. ‘Why are you doing this for him?’
‘He was desperate to get to Vanuatu, and this seemed the best way to achieve that.’
‘It’s very kind of you,’ she said with reserve.
‘I’m not particularly kind,’ he corrected her, ‘but I don’t like to make an offer and then have to retract it. This way he’ll get the holiday he wants, and he’ll also see a bit of the world. As for working for me—I assume he’s going to have to earn his living?’
‘Of course.’
‘Then the experience will give him an idea of how the corporate and business worlds are organised.’
Serina had barely digested this when she discovered that Gerd’s brother Kelt and his family weren’t travelling with them.
Surprised anew, she said, ‘I thought—somehow I assumed they were going home with us—with you.’
He shook his head. ‘They’re flying to Moraze to spend some time with his in-laws.’
She’d watched Alex with his cousin’s small children, surprised and rather touched by their patent pleasure in his company. And his obvious affection for them hinted at a softer side to the man.
She’d looked forward to seeing more of them. But she and Alex would be alone—or as alone as anyone could be on a plane that boasted more flight crew than passengers.
A
