drink it lukewarm as the impulse arose. Apparently they called the kitchen and left a request and someone brought a frosty glass of iced water out to him on a tray.
Rafe smirked briefly at the memory of Rosa explaining the procedure to him. He followed the memory with another long swig from the water bottle. He really wasn’t that kind of prince.
The phone beeped again, short and sharp, signalling the presence of a message. Rafe capped the water bottle and put it down, picked the phone up and retrieved the message.
‘Rafe, it’s Gabrielle,’ said the voice. ‘I’m going to ring you again in two minutes’ time and this time I expect you to answer your phone. I mean it, Rafael. You really shouldn’t antagonise a woman in my condition. It’s not good for the baby.’
Rafael grinned widely as he deleted the message. The phone rang again immediately. Same number. Impatient sister. This time he answered it. ‘Congratulations.’
‘Thank you,’ she said magnanimously. ‘Are you going to screen all your calls now you’re a prince of the realm, or is it just the ones coming in from Caverness?’
‘I’m well, thanks,’ he said dryly. ‘Kind of you to ask.’
‘You even speak like a prince,’ she muttered. ‘Get out. Get out now.’
‘When’s your baby due?’
‘In approximately seven months, two weeks and three days’ time. Not that I’m counting.’
‘I expect regular updates,’ he said as he stared out over the wild Maracey valley. Gabrielle had warned him that there would be children. He was happy for her.
‘How’s the vineyard restoration going?’ she said.
‘The vineyard’s a mess,’ he said, looking around it.
‘And the prince thing?’
‘An even bigger ask.’
Gabrielle sighed. ‘The thing is, when I look at you I can see why Etienne came for you. I know you can do the things he asks of you. So does Etienne, I suspect. The thing is, will you?’
‘Is this a rhetorical question?’
‘Possibly. But feel free to answer it anyway. I’m curious.’
‘I don’t know what I plan to do,’ he admitted. ‘I haven’t made up my mind yet.’
‘Are you happy there?’
He didn’t know the answer to that question either. ‘Sometimes.’
Gabrielle sighed again. ‘Will you come and visit me soon?’
‘Yes.’ Finally a question that didn’t require major contemplation.
‘At Caverness?’
Rafael hesitated.
‘Or if not Caverness, you could stay at Hammerschmidt. The vineyard restoration is coming together beautifully, and we’re aiming to have most of the house restoration complete by the time the baby comes. Luc and I have decided to raise our family there. It’s different now, Rafael,’ said Gabrielle softly. ‘Champagne. The village. Even Caverness. Just come. Come now.’
‘Soon,’ he countered. He knew it was time. Ready or not, he had to see Simone again and deliver his apology. ‘How’s Simone?’ he asked gruffly.
‘Rafe…’ she said, and something in Gabrielle’s voice had every muscle in his body tensing. ‘There’s something I have to tell you. About Simone.’
‘Is she ill?’ he asked sharply.
‘No. Not exactly. Rafe…’ He could hear Gabrielle’s struggle to find the right words. She really didn’t want to deliver this news.
‘Just say it,’ he said.
‘I’m not the only one who’s expecting a baby around here, Rafael. Simone’s pregnant too.’
The view shimmered before clicking back into focus. Once. Twice. Like reality gone wrong. ‘Who’s the father?’
‘She doesn’t say.’
The next question lodged in his throat, as if by holding it back he could put a brake on where his thoughts might take him, but they were already there and he had to know. ‘When’s it due?’
‘Around the same date as mine. Rafael—’
‘Stop,’ he whispered.
‘Rafael, I’ve never seen Simone so broken. She doesn’t eat, she doesn’t sleep, she doesn’t even attend to her work. She just sits in the gardens of Caverness, and it’s almost as if she doesn’t even know that she’s there. As if she’s lost and can’t find her way home.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’ He knew why. Heaven help him, he knew why.
‘Because I love her. And because I think she loves you and is carrying your child and you don’t even know it.’
Rafael closed his eyes and forced air into his lungs. He didn’t know how much more he could take of this. Any of it.
‘How does it feel, Rafael?’ asked Gabrielle quietly. ‘To walk in your father’s shoes?’
RAFAEL stepped out of the car Etienne had loaned him and onto Champagne soil for the first time in nine long years. Caverness stood, as it had always stood, grey and forbidding, dominating the village below it as it had dominated him as a child. He’d sworn on his soul back then that he would never return to this place, but here he was and he could not regret it.
Some souls were more valuable than others.
He ran a hand through his hair, flexed his shoulders as if in preparation for battle, and headed for the kitchen door. He stopped abruptly, not knowing which door to use. Kitchen door or front door? Guest or family? Welcome or not?
He was spared further indecision when the kitchen door burst open and Gabrielle flew out, her face alight as she flung herself into his arms. ‘You came,’ she said as she covered his cheeks with kisses. ‘I knew you would.’
Luc appeared in the doorway, his stance relaxed but his expression guarded. Gabrielle herded Rafe towards the door. Luc headed down the steps and started towards them. Rafael met his gaze warily. He knew this man like a brother. He knew exactly how fierce Lucien could be in defence of the people he loved.
‘Gabrielle,’ he muttered. ‘Maybe you should go inside.’
‘Have a little faith,’ she whispered as she studied her husband. ‘Luc sees both sides of this mess.’
‘He has to do right by his sister. Honour demands it,’ murmured Rafe as he set
