added, grateful to this initially reserved but warm-hearted woman.
‘So am I! And when you settle in, after your honeymoon, I hope we can spend more time together.’
Luisa nodded, not bothering to disabuse her. Raul was a workaholic. That was why the trip to the gallery had been such a lovely surprise. He wouldn’t take time off for a honeymoon. Not with a wife he didn’t really want.
A wife who was simply a solution to a problem.
A cold lump of lead settled in the pit of her belly as a soft knock sounded on the door.
‘It’s time, Your Highness.’
The music swelled and the massive doors swung open and Luisa stepped over the threshold into the castle chapel.
Multicoloured streams of light shone through ancient windows. A cloying wave of fragrance hit. Hothouse flowers and incense and a multitude of perfumes. Hundreds of faces turned to stare. She didn’t know a single one.
A rising tide of panic clawed at her, urging her to turn tail and run, as fast and as far as she could. Her heart slammed against her ribs and her knees shook.
She faltered, her hand curling into Alaric’s sleeve. He covered her hand with his and leaned close. ‘Luisa?’
‘This is a small wedding?’ Dazed, she saw heraldic banners, including some of the Maritzian red dragon, streaming from the lofty ceiling. The crowd murmured and it sounded like a roar.
‘Courage, little one. It’ll soon be over.’ He paced forward and she had no option but to follow. ‘Tamsin and I have a bet on who spots the most absurd hat. Weddings incite women to wear the most monstrous things on their heads, don’t you think?’
His sotto voce patter continued all the way down the aisle, almost distracting her from the throng of hungry-eyed guests. Watching. Judging. Finding her wanting.
Suddenly she caught a smile. Tamsin, in muted gold, giving her an encouraging nod. Behind her was another woman, platinum blonde, dripping jewels yet sour-mouthed.
Then, abruptly, they were at the end of the aisle. Bands of steel squeezed the breath from her lungs as, with a sense of inescapable inevitability, she turned her head towards the dark figure she’d avoided since she entered.
Raul, tall and heart-stoppingly handsome in a uniform of scarlet and black that made him look like the model for Prince Charming.
Something in her chest rose and swelled. Was it possible that perhaps they could make this work? The other day they’d surely started building a fragile relationship.
Then she read his expression. Austere, proud, stern. Not a scintilla of pleasure. A complete absence of anything that might one day turn into love. His mouth was a stern line, his jaw chiselled rock.
She blinked quickly, hating herself because even now, faced with his indifference, she yearned for the tenderness he’d begun to show her.
How could she? She knew what she was to him. How could she be so weak as to want the impossible?
Luisa gulped. It was like swallowing shards of glass.
Just as well she hadn’t allowed herself to pretend he reciprocated her inconvenient attraction.
Her hand tightened, talon-like as Alaric ushered her forward. But Raul took her hand in his, his other hand at her elbow as she swayed.
She had to quell this anxiety. She’d agreed to this. She looked away, to the mass of flowers by the altar: a riot of roses, orange blossom and lilies. Their scent was too pungent for her roiling stomach.
The priest spoke but Luisa didn’t listen. She was thinking that at home lilies were traditional for funerals.
‘Who is that woman?’ Luisa watched the petite platinum blonde lean into Raul, her hand possessive on his arm. Her scarlet dress matched his jacket perfectly and her plunging neckline showed a stunning cleavage. She smiled up, her face hardly recognisable as the one that had scowled at Luisa in the chapel.
‘She wasn’t in the reception line,’ Luisa added.
Raul stood on the other side of the reception room, his back to Luisa, but from here she’d almost swear the woman flirted with him. A spike of heat roared through her. Heat and anger. ‘Is she an ex-girlfriend?’
Beside her Tamsin spluttered, choking on champagne.
‘Are you OK?’
Tamsin waved her away. ‘I inhaled some bubbles. I’m not used to champagne.’
Luisa knew the feeling. This evening she’d sipped some, standing beside Raul for a formal toast. The wine had tickled her senses and tingled all the way down her throat. But it was Raul’s presence beside her, like a wall of living heat, that had made her giddy. His stern expression had eased for a moment and his lips had curved in a heady smile as he toasted her. The impact had knocked her for six and Luisa had felt as if she were floating.
As if this were a real wedding and she a bride smitten with her handsome husband! Instead of a woman blackmailed into cooperating. That still rankled.
Luisa stiffened. It scared her that Raul affected her so. That she might be jealous of the woman pawing at his jacket. It should be impossible, yet …
‘You don’t know her?’
Finally Tamsin looked up. A flush tinted her cheeks.
‘Tamsin?’ Her new friend’s expression made Luisa tense.
‘The woman with Raul? No one you need worry about.’ The words came out in a rush. ‘She lives in the US now.’
‘But who is she?’
Tamsin took another quick sip of wine. ‘That’s Ana. Raul’s stepmother.’
Stepmother?
‘But she’s too young!’ She didn’t act like a stepmother. The other woman was flirting outrageously. Luisa’s only consolation came from the fact Raul stood as stiffly as he had through the wedding ceremony, though he inclined his head as if listening intently.
‘I think she and Raul are about the same age.’
Through her shock Luisa heard Tamsin’s intense discomfort. She saw Tamsin’s gaze dart away as if seeking a diversion and uneasiness stirred.
Intuition told her there was something Tamsin wasn’t saying. Luisa turned back, finally noticing how the guests kept their distance from the pair. No one had approached Raul since his stepmother had claimed his attention but they all watched speculatively. An undercurrent of whispers eddied around them.
The frisson of uneasiness grew to stark suspicion.
No! Luisa refused to draw conclusions about Raul’s relationships. No matter what her eyes told her.
Yet she couldn’t stifle a feeling of betrayal.
As if sensing her scrutiny, Raul turned sharply, his gaze skewering
