This morning his mother wore a casual dress in a melon tone that suited her light brunette hair. She appeared ready for her daily walk with the two dogs she’d raised from puppies. Since his father’s death, they’d brought her a lot of comfort.
He studied her for a long moment. One day soon he intended to tell her the whole truth. But for now the preservation of their family’s happiness necessitated his holding back certain information.
“That depends on what you’ve heard.” He kissed her cheek.
“If I could have told you sooner, I would have, but Isabella deserved to hear the news before anyone else. She’s on her way back to San Ravino as we speak.”
Her dark gray eyes looked at him in anguish. “Then it is true.”
“That I have a twelve-year-old son named Phillip?” He met her gaze head-on. “Yes.”
She sank down on the couch, rubbing the dogs’ heads absently. “How long have you known?”
“Three days ago Leo came to me with a story about a woman and a ring.”
She moaned. “I could expect this from almost anyone else in the world, but not my only son.” Her voice shook. “To do this to Isabella…”
Her eyes filled with tears. “How did this happen, Alex? You know what I mean.”
He moved toward her. Though he’d braced himself for this inevitable confrontation, it was still difficult to see his mother in pain.
“Chaz and I went to a bar with a couple of girls while we were on vacation in the States. We all drank too much. I only spent one night with her before Chaz and I got word that Uncle Vittorio was in that accident and we had to fly home.
“I don’t honestly remember giving her the ring Chaz gave me. When we flew out of Colorado Springs, I knew I wouldn’t be back. Nine months later she gave birth to my son, but she had no way of contacting me because she didn’t know who I was.
“Phillip has grown up wanting to know his father, so in desperation she used the ring to try to find me.”
His mother’s expression twisted in agony. “Well, she certainly did that, didn’t she.”
The dogs moaned at the harsh tone in her voice.
“Every day since your father died, I’ve asked why he was taken from us so prematurely. Now I can see it was to spare him this grief.” She took a shallow breath. “You’ve always been so wise, Alex. Whatever possessed you to fly them here, and allow them to stay at the castle?”
“Because he’s my son and deserves the very best, despite my irresponsible behavior. He needs love. Isabella understands this and realizes why I refuse to keep him hidden like some bastard child. She knows everything. She had dinner with him last night. We’re going to work this out.”
Visibly shaken, she got to her feet. “You think for one minute Ernesto and Tatia are going to stand for this?”
His brows furrowed. “Isabella’s parents don’t have a choice any more than I did.”
Her gaze bore into his. “Oh, yes, you did. You could have kept this private, and dealt with him and his mother behind the scene.” Leo had suggested the same thing.
“I could have.” He folded his arms. “But when you meet Phillip, you’ll understand why I didn’t.”
She shook her head in bewilderment. “Bringing your former lover into our home is political suicide, and so cruel to Isabella I can’t imagine what you’re thinking.”
Though he tried to control it, his temper flared. “Darrell Collier is Phillip’s mother, the only parent he’s ever known. Would you have me tear him apart from her because of the way it will look to everyone else?”
“You didn’t need to bring them here,” she reiterated. “It was a grave mistake on your part.”
“He’s my son, Mother. He needs me, and I…need him.”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe this has happened.”
“I had trouble believing it myself until I met him. He’s wonderful. You’re going to love him.”
His mother looked away. She was trembling.
He moved closer. “The second Darrell came to the castle asking for an audience with me, Leo did everything he could to keep it quiet, but the rumors began flying anyway. You know as well as I do the best way to handle a situation of this magnitude is to expose it immediately.”
“With what results?” Her voice throbbed.
“I don’t have the answer to that yet. In this scenario no one set out to hurt anyone, least of all Phillip, who’s an innocent. But I do know this much. I already love him and want him with me always.”
“At the cost of the monarchy?” Her voice rang out. “He can never be your legitimate heir.”
Alex struggled to tamp down his anger. “For the sake of argument, why not?”
She let out a cry of alarm. “Because no child of a commoner can inherit the title. It’s the law and you know it.”
“Laws can be changed.”
“Then you’d be the first Valleder king in over a thousand years to do away with it.”
“You have to admit it’s archaic.”
Their eyes held while she digested his blunt honesty. “But you wouldn’t change it.”
He took a fortifying breath. “No, Mother. I wouldn’t.”
Until he saw that steely look enter her eyes, he thought his answer had satisfied her. She stared at him like she’d never seen him before.
“This isn’t as much about your son as the woman who gave birth to him. Something tells me you never got over her. Why else would you give her a ring that could be traced? It explains your irrational decision to put her in the Saxony apartment. No wonder you’ve kept putting off your marriage to Isabella.”
“Stop, Mother. You’re wrong you know.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not. The maid told me she’s blond and enchantingly beautiful in that special American way. She wears no wedding ring.
“How shrewd of her to come forward weeks before your wedding and present you with the fruit of your passion, knowing the twelve-year-old son of her body would blind you to your royal duty.”
“Mother—There are things you don’t know.”
“I’m not blind, deaf and dumb, Alex.” Her voice trembled.
“I know you’re not in love with Isabella and never have been. But I thought—I hoped that with marriage and children, love would come the way it did with your father and me.”
“I’m
