I hate this as much as you do. Politics demanded that I bring it, however, and politics demand that I talk to you now. Can I come in?’
She stood wordlessly aside as he walked in, hauled his jacket off, unbuttoned the top three buttons of his stiffly starched shirt and set his sword by the door.
Royalty off duty.
‘So you thought you might change into dress uniform… why?’ she asked faintly as he opened the fire box on the stove and held his hands out for warmth.
‘Press conference and hastily organised civil reception,’ he said briefly. ‘With your mayor. You can’t imagine how excited everyone is.’
‘Um…why?’
‘Alp de Ciel is known for its gold-mining,’ he said blandly. ‘We’ve heard that this is the best theme park in the world for showcasing historical events. What could be more natural than the Prince Regent of Alp de Ciel—needing a little breathing-space from the demands of his royal duties—doing a little exploring?’
‘They never believed it.’
‘They did,’ he said. ‘The press believe what they want to believe. This makes a fabulous story. Prince found incognito in local theme park. Prince agrees to have dinner with local bigwigs for photographic opportunity. Prince excuses himself towards the end of dinner pleading jet lag but everyone’s got their photographs by now. So I slipped away.’
‘You had your dress uniform with you just on the off chance of a photographic opportunity?’
His smile faded. ‘I did suspect,’ he said, ‘that this journey might be discovered. Like it or not, I’m now head of state of Alp de Ciel. For me to come to Australia and not give a press conference at least would be an insult. The palace officials told me that in no uncertain terms. So yes, I brought my royal toggery. No, I didn’t want to unpack it but here it is, in all its glory.’
She was staring at the medals, fascinated.
‘So tonight,’ she said. ‘You just…slipped away from your royal reception. You called a cab—wearing that?’
‘Yes, it was hard giving everyone the slip but the limousine driver’s currently miffed because I took a cab and a cab driver’s happily pocketed a fare and a half for dropping me in the middle of nowhere and saying nothing. It was only a mile or so down the road and I kept to the shadows.’
‘Wearing your dress sword.’ She couldn’t keep her eyes off his chest. It was some…chest.
‘Aprince has to be prepared,’ he said patiently. ‘In case of bogeymen.’ His smile deepened. ‘Stop looking like that. Pete let me in and he’s under instructions to say no one’s come. He’ll admit no one else.’
She shook her head in disbelief. ‘You think you’re clever,’ she said wonderingly.
‘I do,’ he said smugly.
‘Matty wants you to wake him and say goodnight.’
His face stilled. ‘He was okay with you?’
‘Yes.’
‘But he was asking for me?’
‘He loves you. You and your mother.’
‘I guess that hurts,’ he said cautiously.
‘I can’t expect anything else.’
‘He’ll learn…’
‘I don’t think he can stay here,’ she whispered and something in her face had him crossing the room to
her in two swift strides and taking her hands in his.
‘Kelly, don’t look like that.’
‘Like…like what?’
‘As if you’re tearing yourself in two.’
‘I’m not. I’m not. Go and say goodnight to Matty.’ She pulled away from him roughly. For a moment he stood, looking down at her face, obviously troubled, but she wouldn’t look at him.
Finally he wheeled away. He disappeared into the bedroom. She stood, feeling lost, bewildered, distressed, listening to the sound of the two faint voices. Matty must have only been snoozing. He’d been waiting. Waiting for his Uncle Rafael.
He’s a good man, she thought. This was no Kass. She could trust him with her son.
Matty’s home was in Alp de Ciel. Matty was royal.
But how could she let Matty go again?
And then Rafael was back, returning to warm his hands by the fire. Were they really cold, she wondered, or was it just to give him something to do?
‘They’ll find Matty here,’ she said miserably, going straight to the heart of the matter. ‘The press might think Matty’s safely at home in Alp de Ciel now, but as soon as they figure he’s missing they’ll put two and two together. You come out here on a whim. Prince Mathieu disappears at the same time. It’ll take them no time at all to figure where Matty might be.’
‘And?’
‘And I can’t protect him here,’ she whispered. ‘Not from the goldfish bowl that’s the royal way of life.’
‘So what do you want to do?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Come back to Alp de Ciel?’ he said, and then, at the look on her face, he came to her again. Once again he took her hands in his, his rough, callused hands completely enclosing her smaller ones. ‘It’s what my mother and I hope for. It’s what should happen. That you should come home to the castle.’
‘It’s not my home.’
‘It’s your son’s home.’
‘I hate it.’
‘So do I,’ he said surprisingly. ‘I can’t tell you how much I loathe being part of the whole royalty bit. But there’s no choice.’
‘There must be a choice.’
‘If I don’t take the Regency on,’ he said, ‘there are others who would. Others like Kass. You know Kass and his father were lousy rulers. They stripped the country of all they could get their hands on.’
‘Of course I know that,’ she said angrily. ‘But it’s nothing to do with me.’
‘It is,’ he said harshly. ‘In as much as it’s your son who’ll eventually make the decisions about the country’s future. If I refuse to take on the Regency, then someone else will take charge until Matty is twenty-five. The next in line is my cousin, Olivier. Olivier is a compulsive gambler. He’d see the Regency as a way to get his hands on the country’s coffers. And worse,’ he added softly, ‘he’d also have absolute say in how Matty is raised. Neither you nor I nor my mother, who until now has been his one constant, would have any influence at all.’
Kelly
