‘TRY HIM AGAIN.’ Catalina dug her nails into the palms of her hands, the only outward display of her inward disquiet. ‘Ask him if he’s free on Thursday.’
She’d asked Aliana to call Nathaniel and request a dinner date for Wednesday. He had politely declined, citing a prior engagement.
Aliana disappeared into the adjoining small office, leaving Catalina alone with Marion, whose sharp little eyes were studying her with unabashed curiosity.
‘I would like you to take one of the palace cars and go to Madame Marcelle’s shop and bring me back a selection of her laces.’ She didn’t give a reason. She didn’t have a reason. All she wanted was to get rid of her cousin for a time.
‘I can call and have it brought to the palace.’
‘No. I wish for you to go personally. You know my tastes so I know you will choose wisely,’ she added, playing to Marion’s ego.
Unable to refuse, Marion nonetheless made a great show of searching for her handbag, which was at the foot of her chair.
As soon as she’d gone, Catalina breathed out and closed her eyes. Marion’s behaviour, including all those sly smiles and blatant eavesdropping, had become intolerable. Or was it that the limits of her own patience had finally been reached? The pregnancy hormones were certainly rampaging through her. It was becoming a struggle to keep the poise she’d held throughout her life.
Aliana reappeared, shaking her head. ‘He has a prior appointment Thursday night too.’
‘And probably Friday and Saturday night,’ Catalina muttered, thinking quickly. It had taken all of her courage to ask for Nathaniel’s private number from her father but he had surprised her by handing it over. He hadn’t looked at her though. He hadn’t looked her in the eye since he’d called the life growing inside her a bastard.
It had been five days since their worlds had imploded. Since Nathaniel’s visit to the palace and his agreement to the marriage, there had been only silence.
She’d spent the intervening days getting her head clear. She’d pushed aside the fleeting romantic notions she’d had, those few moments when she’d seen a future that could possibly be happy.
She didn’t even know where those notions had come from. She didn’t expect or want love. Love was a kind of witchcraft, a power strong enough to destroy the person suffering from it. A marriage built on mutual respect was the most she had ever hoped for, although hopes were an indulgence she rarely allowed herself.
Nathaniel was a commitment-shy womaniser of the highest order. Their brief marriage would be over before it had begun and she would remarry. Now all she cared about was the welfare of the tiny life she carried. She needed to protect it, but all she sensed was danger.
She took a long breath and straightened her spine. She would call him herself. Let him make his excuses not to see her personally.
Before she could move to her office, she rushed to the bathroom and brought up her breakfast.
* * *
Nathaniel’s phone vibrated noisily on the desk.
Swearing, he cursed himself for not turning the vibration facility off when he’d switched it to silent.
The same number from ten minutes ago flashed at him.
He snatched it up, pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear. ‘Tell the Princess I am unavailable until the day of our wedding and if she doesn’t like it she can—’
‘It’s Catalina.’
The unexpectedness of her voice and the coolness of her tone momentarily froze him.
‘Are you there?’ she asked. He could imagine her sitting at the round French mahogany table of the family room, legs crossed, back straight, as composed as she always was.
He cleared his throat. ‘Yes, I’m here. What can I do for you?’
‘I need to see you.’
‘As I explained to your companion, I don’t have any free time until the day of our wedding.’
‘I’m sure you can make the time.’
‘Is it important?’
‘Nathaniel, we’re having a baby together.’
‘I am aware of that. It’s the reason I’m marrying you.’
There was a slight pause before she said, ‘Our marriage might only be temporary but our child is for life. Unless Dominic was telling me the truth and you have no interest in our child?’
He sighed. It didn’t surprise him that Dominic would tell such a lie. ‘He must have his wires crossed. I will want to play an active part.’
‘Then show me the courtesy of meeting with me.’
There was something in her voice that gave him pause.
‘If I agree then I want it to be somewhere neutral and not in the palace,’ he said slowly. If he never had to set foot in that palace again he would die a happy man.
‘I was going to suggest the same thing.’ There was definite relief in her words. She went silent again before asking, ‘Do you like opera?’
‘No.’
‘Good. My family have a private box at the Monte Cleure Royal Theatre. There’s a production of La Bohème on this week. Our box is free on Friday so we can have it to ourselves.’
‘I just told you, I don’t like opera.’
‘Then you won’t find the singing a distraction when we talk.’
Rebuffing Catalina’s assistant was a lot easier than rebuffing his fiancée personally. It would be easier if she were issuing hysterical orders but her sheer calmness made him feel foolish for his previous avoidance.
He knew beyond doubt that the less interaction they had as a couple, the better it would be for them both. But especially for her.
‘Okay then, Friday,’ he agreed, before terminating the call.
He rubbed the nape of his neck and closed his eyes.
* * *
The theatre manager greeted her personally, hurrying Catalina through a private side door and up the red-carpeted staircase to the House of Fernandez’s private box before the general public had time to notice her appearance.
They’d arranged to meet in the royal box at eight p.m. She was fifteen minutes early.
To make the time pass quicker and in an attempt to smother the nerves swirling in her gut, she tucked herself into the corner and opened the programme. She had made it to the section describing the careers of the secondary players when Nathaniel slipped into the box, all six foot plus of him, looking dashingly handsome in a black tuxedo and bow tie, with a tumbler of Scotch in hand.
He was exactly on time.
Her heart battering against her ribcage, she got to her feet and gave him her hand. Dutifully, he put it to his mouth and razed his lips across her gloved knuckles. The heat from his breath sank through the satin.
‘You’re looking well,’ he said, stepping back and openly appraising her.
‘Thank you.’
‘No sickness?’
‘Not right now. It comes and goes.’
He gave a half-smile. ‘That must be difficult.’
‘I’ve been told it comes with the territory.’
Below them, the theatre was filling, the buzzing sound of pleasant chatter filling the air. The royal box had been specially designed for privacy, the curvature of the balcony allowing the occupants an unhindered view of the stage while protecting them, along with clever lighting, from prying eyes.
‘How long does this go on for?’ he asked as they took their seats.
‘About three hours including intervals.’
He didn’t bother hiding his grimace. ‘Have you seen this before?’
‘Oh, yes, it’s a beautiful story and perfect for the Christmas period.’ She looked at him and arched a brow, smothering the churn in her stomach at his obvious wish to be elsewhere. ‘Even if opera’s not your thing, I’m sure you can cope with my company for three hours. After all, you seemed happy with my company at Helios and Amy’s wedding. Or has the thrill gone now that you’ve slept with me?’
He ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it up in the same manner he had moments before he’d placed his lips against hers for the last time.
‘At this moment, the only thing I’m not happy about is spending three hours listening to ear-splitting wails being passed off as singing. I give you no guarantee I’ll stay until the end.’
‘So you don’t deny you have no interest in my company at all?’ She kept her voice even but the humiliation burned.
They were only supposed to have been for one night. They had both made that clear. No ties, no regrets. Catalina had imagined hugging their secret night close to her heart for the rest of her life and, as vain a hope as she now knew it to be, she’d imagined it would be the same for him too.
She’d thought—wished—that he would see the one positive of their marriage as being able to share a bed again.
She’d overestimated his boredom threshold.
‘You’re a beautiful, interesting woman. I doubt there’s a man alive who wouldn’t want to be in your company.’
‘But you’re not one of them.’
Nathaniel finally allowed himself to look at her properly. It was at moments like this that Catalina’s royal upbringing became transparent. There was a directness in her speech that, while not arrogant, was certainly assured. It was clear she was used to having direct questions answered. She was always beautiful, but tonight she looked stunning in a shoulderless figure-hugging long black satin dress with matching elbow-length gloves. Her raven hair had been curled and pulled into a chignon, long ringlets loosened to frame her porcelain face.
‘It was thinking with the anatomy below my waist and not my head that’s got us into this trouble. Now, why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind?’
A range of emotions flickered over her sweet, heart-shaped face but she held his gaze.
He truly would have to be dead from the waist down not to desire her. There had hardly been a moment since he’d left her room in the Agon palace when he hadn’t thought of her.
When they’d made love that night, she’d been a virgin. He’d taken things slowly, gently coaxing her eager responses. As a married couple, even with the imposed time limit, they would have all the time in the world to explore each other’s desires. To imagine peeling that dress off and discovering all her secret, hedonistic fantasies...
He couldn’t act on it.
Catalina was a princess, and that shone through her every word and deed. He should never have seduced her in the first place.
He’d impregnated her and caused a potentially terminal rift in her family. Further proof, as if it were needed, that he was rotten to his core. He would not allow himself to cause any more damage.
‘I suggested we meet here because I needed to be sure that we can speak freely,’ she said.
‘You don’t think that’s possible in the palace?’
‘I know it isn’t. There’s not a telephone conversation within the palace walls that isn’t recorded. My father and Dominic have spies everywhere.’
‘What are you worried about them hearing?’
Before she could answer, the theatre lights dimmed and the orchestra, set low in the pit before the stage, struck up. Then the curtains were drawn back and the production began.
Catalina waited until it had started in earnest before answering. Nathaniel was forced to lean in close to hear her above the noise, inhaling that irresistible scent in the process.
It was her scent that had captured his attention to begin with.
When he’d first met Catalina at a society party in France a number of years ago, her choice of perfume when he’d leaned in for the polite kisses on the cheek had intrigued him. She was the quintessential Princess, always dressed impeccably, graceful and elegant in both speech and manner. He would have expected a light floral perfume, something girlish and rather innocent. Yet she wore a sultry scent that evoked thoughts of long hot nights and dusky mornings.
He’d made love to her knowing she was a virgin. Again, she had confounded his expectations. He’d assumed she would be shy. She had been the opposite.
The demure woman sitting so elegantly beside him had a fire in her soul that had set him ablaze. Unless he was willing to risk them both being burnt, he would never touch her again.
‘I wanted to speak freely because I am concerned for your safety.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘My brother has a pathological loathing of you.’
‘I am aware of that. He’s never liked me. Trust me, the feeling is mutual but I would never wish to harm him.’ Nathaniel grimaced. ‘Sorry, that was a lie. I admit, there have been numerous occasions when I would have liked to give him a good hiding.’
Her lips twitched. She put a hand to her mouth and cleared her throat. ‘Forgive me for asking, but what happened between you at school? Dominic never went into detail but I remember him coming home for the Christmas holidays when I was a child crowing that you’d been expelled.’
His mouth pursed and he shook his head. ‘We fell out over a girl.’
‘What happened?’
‘He caught me in bed with his girlfriend at our school Christmas party.’
She gave a surprised bark of laughter. ‘You slept with his girlfriend?’
‘I wouldn’t go so far as to call it sleeping but we were in a state of undress, yes.’
‘Did you know she was his girlfriend?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you target her deliberately?’
‘No. We were both drunk and she came on to me.’
He didn’t look at her, not wanting to see the disgust and disapproval bound to be on her face.
‘Dominic said you only slept with me to get one up on him. Is that true?’
‘No.’ He shook his head emphatically. ‘I admit, you being his sister gave it an extra frisson but I wanted you regardless.’
She contemplated him in silence for a while, her porcelain mask still in place.
‘Your brother has hated me since we were eight,’ he said. ‘I have no idea what triggered it but trust me when I say the loathing was—is—mutual. We had more than our share of fights during our school years but, whatever you might think of me, I would never have seduced you to hurt him. I slept with you because the opportunity was there and I’d wanted you for years.’
Her head rocked forward. ‘Thank you for being honest with me, brutal though the truth is.’
‘I was honest with you from the start.’
Her gaze didn’t falter but her face screwed up a little with concentration, as if she were deciding whether to share what she was thinking. Eventually she gave a sharp nod and said, ‘My father sent Dominic to the same boarding school as the Kalliakis Princes specifically to cultivate a friendship with them and strengthen the ties between our two nations.’
‘Your brother knew this was why he was sent there?’
‘Of course.’ She gave a surprising low laugh. ‘I think that’s why he disliked you so much. They accepted you, a commoner, as their friend—as one of them. Dominic was born of royal blood and he found himself being treated exactly the same as you, which he detested. You were supposed to know your place, not be more popular than him. If you stole his girlfriend I don’t imagine that endeared you to him. And now that he knows you’ve...’ She cleared her throat and looked away. ‘That you and I...’
‘Were together?’ he supplied, his body tightening as he recalled the exact feeling of being inside her.
She nodded sharply. ‘Dominic and I have never had the closest of sibling relationships. Couple that with his loathing of you... He would have been more accepting if Satan himself had impregnated me. If Dominic held the throne he would have thrown me out on the spot.’
Nathaniel rubbed his temples, letting her words soak into his brain. He would never tell her that her suspicions were correct, but it was much worse than she thought; that if he’d refused to marry her, she would have been thrown out, and the order would have come right from the top, from her father.
‘I concede that Dominic has hated me for years but I don’t get why you think I might be in danger from him. I’ve agreed to the marriage. Our child will be legitimate. And then I will walk away and leave you free to marry someone of equal nobility. He will have everything as he wants it.’
‘I know he’s something of a joke to you but I worry you underestimate how dangerous he can be. He is more than capable of hurting someone.’
There was something in her tone that made him look at her carefully. He’d heard rumours over the years about Dominic’s free and easy hands with some of his girlfriends. Was there truth in those rumours? He recalled Catalina’s reaction when her brother had come back into the room at the palace, the subtle withdrawal. ‘Has he ever hurt you?’
‘What a question to ask,’ she said, her voice light.
‘And what a non-answer to give.’
Her head tilted slightly but she kept her gaze on the stage where the opera was in full flow. ‘All siblings argue. I might be making something out of nothing but, in Dominic’s eyes, you’ve humiliated him. He is not a man to mess with.’
‘And neither am I. Trust me, if your brother attempts anything against me or my business interests, he will regret it.’
The curtains closed for the end of the first act and applause echoed through the theatre.
Spotting an opportunity, Nathaniel drained the last of his Scotch and got to his feet. ‘Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?’
‘You’re leaving?’
‘I told you, I despise opera.’ That was only the partial truth. The full truth was that their private box was shrinking by the second, Catalina’s scent seeping into all the crevices, filling his senses.
A flash of colour heightened her cheeks. ‘We’re getting married next week. Shouldn’t we talk about that and what our marriage will entail?’
‘Our marriage will entail nothing more than getting you and the baby safely through the pregnancy. I will ensure your every need is met. Now, can I offer you a lift home? Or do you want to stay and watch the rest?’
‘Thank you for your generous offer,’ she said, irony heavily lacing her voice, ‘but I’ll stay.’
‘As you wish.’ He bowed his head. ‘I thank you for sharing your concerns with me—I know loyalty and duty to the House of Fernandez are things you believe strongly in. It can’t be easy to speak of your brother like this.’
It must have taken a lot of courage for her to speak out against him. That the Prince was a bully was indisputable. How many times had he turned that nasty tongue on her? Catalina being pregnant with Nathaniel’s child would surely only make his viciousness worse.
While Nathaniel didn’t relish giving up his freedom, at least having Catalina under his own roof rather than in the palace would give her space away from her brother’s malevolence.
And at least when she remarried she’d be far from his influence then too, and so would their child. The contract he and the King had drawn up had given Nathaniel very specific rights to his child. If the King tried to renege on it, he knew hellfire would rain down on him and his country.
She turned her head, those chocolate-brown eyes that fixed on him void of emotion. ‘I know you’re only marrying me because you’ve been blackmailed into it, but you’re the father of my child and that means I owe some loyalty to you too, for our baby’s sake.’
‘So your personal feelings towards me...?’ He deliberately let his words tail off so she could fill the silence.
Was the attraction she had held for him still there or had their night together quelled it? With any other woman he would be able to make a good judgement call, but Catalina was a princess, trained from birth to hide her emotions. Outwardly, she did not give anything away.
What would she do if he were to trace his fingers up her spine then move his hand around to cup one of those heavenly breasts? Such was the privacy the box gave them, he could lay her down and make love to her without anyone seeing...
He fully understood now why she’d been given three chaperones. She really was the most naturally sensual of women. And he needed to get out of this theatre before he did something stupid. Like seduce her all over again.
‘Are non-existent.’ Her mouth snapped shut and she turned her gaze back to the empty stage. ‘Have a safe drive home.’
Catalina didn’t breathe again until she heard the door to the box close. Only then did her lungs expand enough for her to gulp in some air.
Nathaniel couldn’t have made it clearer that he considered marriage to her akin to sleeping in a tank of snakes.
Whatever secret dreams she’d had she would keep to herself. If there was one thing she had learnt throughout her life it was to keep her emotions in check. She wasn’t in love with him but she wasn’t going to lie to herself and pretend she didn’t have feelings for him. How could she pretend when his departure made the generous box feel so empty and she could still smell his musky, citrus-like scent?
Whatever happened, she would not allow these feelings to develop further. She’d seen for herself the misery and heartbreak of denied love and had known since she was eighteen that she would never allow that for herself.
She would do as her brother ordered and treat this marriage as a business arrangement.