Bound by the Prince's Baby

by Jessica Gilmore

  ‘Your other sisters don’t know about the baby?’

  ‘No. I didn’t want to tell them until I knew what your decision was. Although, Amber, even if you decide not to stay, they have a right to know...’

  ‘Of course they do!’ Amber interrupted him. ‘Both my parents were only children and I’m an only child too. I can give this baby the best three honorary aunts in the world, but how amazing for it to have three actual aunts as well.’

  She pushed back the covers, optimism filling her. Staying in Elsornia and marrying Tris wouldn’t be easy, she knew that. She’d have to give up her job, live far away from her friends and her life would be under the kind of scrutiny she’d always avoided. But hadn’t she been bemoaning the fact that the agency was changing? Weren’t her friends moving on to start lives of their own away from the Chelsea townhouse? And although she would have to endure some media scrutiny, Elsornia was a small country with little international influence. Her position would be very similar to Emilia’s, and so far she and Laurent seemed to be avoiding too much press speculation. Maybe this would, could, work out after all.

  She smiled over at Tris. ‘What time are they getting here?’

  ‘About lunchtime. I thought we might pop into the village to stock up. Talia loves the little cakes from the bakery there and Giuliana has been emailing me demanding a specific kind of bread she claims only they make. What do you think about barbecuing tonight? The evenings have been so warm, and I think the girls would enjoy it.’

  The optimism deepened. A life with Tris wouldn’t be all pomp and circumstance; their child’s life needn’t be too unconventional. There was still space to live like this, with no servants, to discuss casually popping into the village to buy food for weekend visitors.

  ‘After lunch?’ Amber sauntered over to him and entwined her arms around his neck. ‘In that case, there’s no need to rush. Why don’t you come back to bed for a while...?’

  Several hours later, she was a little more nervous. After they’d eventually got up, they’d wandered along the lakeside path into the village to stock up on enough food for an entire week of guests, not just a twenty-four-hour visit. Amber loved how little notice the villagers took of Tris and her. They were treated just like any other citizens, with a disinterested friendliness that disarmed her. Afterwards she’d rushed around tidying the villa and making sure that Tris’s sisters’ bedrooms, still decorated for the teenagers they had been when they’d left, were aired and made up. Tris had suggested asking one of the live out maids who cleaned the villa to come and help, but Amber had wanted to hold on to the sweet normality a little longer. There was something endearing about Tris’s complete lack of household skill and he was more of a hindrance than a help as she made up the beds and arranged the flowers she’d bought in the village in each of the rooms. She was aware that this was their home not hers and it was a fine line between making their rooms welcoming and stamping her mark on their childhood home.

  ‘Don’t worry, they’re going to love you,’ Tris reassured her, and Amber leaned into him gratefully.

  ‘I always wanted sisters,’ she told him wistfully. ‘Maybe it’s the books I read. Little Women, Ballet Shoes—all those school stories my mother passed on to me, but it always seemed that even when you weren’t getting on, sisters were a team. Maybe that’s the rose-coloured view of an only child, but I do want to make a good impression on yours.’

  She was still patting the last cushion into place when the buzzer indicated that a car was approaching the gate. The invisible guards responded and by the time Tris had opened the front door Amber could see two cars proceeding down the driveway.

  ‘That’s odd,’ Tris said. ‘I wonder why they brought two cars.’

  ‘Maybe they want to leave at different times?’ Amber suggested, taking a step closer to Tris, relieved as he clasped her hand in his.

  ‘Maybe. But both Elisabetta and Talia hate the mountain roads; Giuliana is designated driver.’ His grip tightened and apprehension crept over her as a cloud covered the warm spring sun. The first car drew up by the side of the house, the second parking next to it and within ten seconds Amber was enveloped in hugs and kisses as Elisabetta and her sisters swooped upon her.

  ‘It’s so lovely to see you again—you look really well; the lake air suits you.’

  ‘At last! I’ve been so excited to meet you. I hope Tris is looking after you properly; he is not half as stuffy as he seems, you know.’

  ‘I can’t believe my brother has actually persuaded you to give him a chance; you’ll have to tell me how he did it. Tris has many redeeming qualities, but charm is not one of them!’

  It was almost overwhelming, but the friendly greetings were a balm to Amber’s soul. To be able to give her baby a warm, loving family like this was more than she had ever hoped for, but alongside the relief her heart ached for Tris, raised so differently to his sisters. How different would he have been if his mother had been able to raise him too? But she knew it wasn’t too late for him; the last weeks had shown that.

  Amber looked around for him, hoping that he’d see how happy this visit was making her, only to realise that he stood stock-still, staring at the occupants of the second car. A tall man, holding the hand of a little girl aged around three, stood next to it, making no move to join their group.

  ‘Nikolai? I didn’t know we were going to have the pleasure of your company as well.’ It was as if they were back in Paris, Tris’s voice was so cold and emotionless.

  ‘Tris.’ Nikolai nodded in greeting. ‘I bumped into Giuliana yesterday and when she said she was coming here I invited myself along. I hope you don’t mind, but I was intrigued to meet your mystery guest.’

  ‘Of course, we are delighted to have you. Amber, this is my cousin Nikolai, and his daughter Isabella. Nikolai, I would like to introduce you to Her Royal Highness Princess Vasilisa of Belravia.’

  A chill stole over her, just as much at the formality in his voice as the use of her hated name and title. Somehow Amber summoned up a welcoming smile and held out a hand to Tris’s cousin as he sauntered slowly over to them, his daughter still holding his hand tightly. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, and I’m very excited to meet you, Isabella. I know for a fact that we have some delicious cakes in the house; would you like to come and see?’

  At the small girl’s delighted acceptance, Amber took the proffered hand and, along with Tris’s sisters, took Isabella into the house, leaving the two men standing staring at each other. It was no secret that Nikolai’s position as next in line to the throne was behind Tris’s need to marry and consolidate his role as not just Crown Prince but King, and as far as she knew the antipathy Tris so clearly felt for his cousin was reciprocated, but she had no idea why Nikolai had decided to visit them today.

  But what she did know was that their idyllic escape was over and real life had resumed once again. Was the new, fragile tenderness she and Tris had discovered here at the villa strong enough to weather a return to real life or had it all been an illusion? And what did she want? A life here or to return to London? She still had no idea, but she did know that time was running out. She had to make a decision, and soon.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ‘WHY ARE YOU HERE?’ With Nikolai’s daughter out of earshot, Tris no longer needed to be civil.

  His cousin raised an eyebrow. ‘Marcel has a cold and my wife has been kept busy caring for him. My poor Isabella is bored with being confined indoors; I thought she might enjoy a trip to the lake.’

  ‘Quit playing games, Nikolai.’ Why did it always have to be this way? It would have been easier in the olden days when a duel was a respectable way to solve conflict.

  ‘What do you think I’m going to do, Tris? Break into the villa and kidnap your beautiful Princess? You think I’m that desperate for the throne?’

  Tris’s jaw tightened. ‘This is how it’s going to be: go into the
villa, make your excuses, collect your daughter and leave. There are plenty of places you can entertain her, places where I am not.’

  For a moment Tris saw something flicker across Nikolai’s face, something that looked a little like hurt, before the expression was wiped away as if it had never been.

  ‘I came here because I have something to say to you, and it’s in your best interest to listen. Take a boat out with me, Tris? Like old times?’

  The request struck a chord. He and Nikolai had been at odds for so long, it was easy to forget the time when they had been close friends, boy adventurers escaping from the castle through the tunnels whenever they could. When did that change? When had his childhood companion become his enemy?

  ‘Half an hour,’ he said curtly.

  Neither spoke as they made their way to the small dinghy moored on the villa’s jetty. Nikolai started the engine as Tris cast off and his cousin expertly steered the boat away from the shore, just like they had all those years ago, both falling back into half remembered roles. Nostalgia and something like regret bit hard as Nikolai coiled the rope: regret for the closeness and companionship he had lost and never replaced.

  After they’d travelled a few hundred metres Nikolai slowed down, killing the engine as he turned to face his cousin. ‘Remember that time we went fishing at midnight? Your father was furious when they caught us. But then it didn’t take much to make him furious, did it?’

  ‘That’s what you came here for? To talk about our childhood?’

  ‘I was just wondering where it all went wrong.’ Nikolai looked out over the lake. ‘It used to be you and me, remember? Betta tagging along, Giuliana furious when we said she was too young, Maria and the other castle kids following our lead. Days and days outside, escaping the confines of our castle, your tutor, our uncle and his lectures. Your mother aiding us with picnics and hidden treasure. It was idyllic, especially when your father was away and the Duke was too busy to worry about us. Idyllic, until one day you stopped playing and suddenly I was the enemy. I admit I hated you for it, partly because I lost my best friend and partly because you were so damn smug all the time. It was amusing shocking you, shocking my uncles, gaining and living up to a reputation. But when I spoke to Giuliana, I realised it was time to put a stop to all this.’

  ‘Put a stop to what?’ Tris could hardly believe what his cousin was saying. Was that how he saw it, their growing apart, growing up into such different men? One a playboy prince, partying in every continent, always in the tabloids and the gossip websites, the other dedicating himself to their country. He could hear their uncle, the Duke, reading out yet another headline in the cutting tone he reserved for Nikolai, impressing on Tris his duty to keep his cousin from the throne no matter what. And Tris had agreed. Nikolai was a womaniser, a spendthrift and a drunk and he had started early, embroiled in scandal long before he became an adult.

  He looked over at his cousin, ready with a retort, but the words disappeared unsaid. Nikolai had been married for five years now and Tris had heard no hint of infidelity. He was clearly a loving father and even if he hadn’t settled to a job or role within the castle, he was no longer living in nightclubs and casinos.

  Their uncle was convinced that Nikolai’s marriage was a ploy simply to father a son and strengthen his own claim to the throne. Seeing the way he had held his daughter, Tris doubted it. Besides, Nikolai hadn’t simply married; he had disappeared from the headlines. If his marriage was merely part of his game-playing, then wouldn’t he have continued as before? Their laws demanded a wife and son but not fidelity. There was barely a king in their ancestral line who hadn’t had a string of lovers throughout their reign.

  Nikolai trailed a hand in the water; he suddenly looked very young and tired. ‘I should have said something a long time ago but, I have to admit, it was too amusing being cast in the role of ne’er-do-well villain. But the truth is, Tris, I don’t want to be the heir. I certainly don’t want to be King.’

  There was nothing but sincerity in his cousin’s face. Tris folded his arms. ‘Why now? What game are you playing, Nikolai?’

  ‘Come on, Tris. I have the perfect life. I love my wife and my children, I have money, can travel anywhere I wish, have all the benefits of being a Ragrazzi and none of the negatives. Why would I want to change that to spend my life wrestling with Parliament and dealing with politics? Why would I want to have to put the country before my own desires? And, more importantly, having seen what being the heir did to you, why would I want to inflict that on my own son?’

  They were all good points but, more importantly, sincerity rang in every word.

  Nikolai straightened. ‘I’d have told you this years ago, but you and the Duke were so convinced I was dying to step into your shoes, I thought I’d string you along for a little longer. But the truth is I am very happy to help you break the covenant. Make women equal in the line of succession, get rid of the ridiculous married-with-a-son-by-thirty-five rule, bring this beautiful and ridiculous country of ours up-to-date. We can ensure that me and mine move far away from the line of succession—let Elisabetta be your heir; she is probably the most qualified out of all of us.’

  Tris stared out at the mountains across the lake, barely able to focus on the snow-topped peaks. Nikolai was offering him all he had ever wanted: an update to the succession laws, respite from a hasty marriage. But the freedom weighed heavily upon him.

  ‘Why now?’

  Nikolai didn’t answer straight away, starting the engine up again and sending the boat flying through the lake. Looking back, Tris could see the villa receding, the guards’ towers, hidden from the villa’s view, clearly visible from here. They would have binoculars trained on them, their every move tracked. His freedom was, as ever, merely illusory.

  Finally, Nikolai slowed the boat down again, running a hand through his hair, his expression thoughtful, his grey eyes sadder than Tris had ever seen them. ‘I don’t know why my father turned out so differently to his brothers,’ Nikolai said. ‘The Duke is as joyless and obsessed with tradition as your father was. If only my father had still been alive to be joint guardian after your father died, maybe he could have tempered the Duke’s influence. But maybe it was already too late.’ Nikolai’s father had died in a plane crash when his son had been just fourteen. The tragedy should have brought the cousins closer together, but instead they had been pushed further apart. It was around that time that Nikolai had started to drink and party. Older and wiser now, Tris could see that grief had played its part in his cousin’s rebellion. Back then he had merely censured him. No wonder Nikolai had called him smug. He deserved a far more stinging reproof than that.

  ‘I couldn’t believe it when I heard that he’d arranged a marriage for you, and that you simply went along with it,’ Nikolai continued. ‘When the rumours of your intended’s disappearance started, I have to admit I was pleased. Not because that left you in an awkward situation, but because it gave you a chance of avoiding your father’s mistake, marrying for prestige and position not for love. Marriage is a gift, Tris. My wife makes me a better man every day; you may not believe that but it’s true. To marry because of a contract, to marry because of a ridiculous law put in place hundreds of years ago is wrong. If I really hated you, if I really was envious of you, maybe I’d let you carry on. But we were good friends once, practically brothers, and I can’t help hoping that a good marriage, to someone who truly loves you, might help you remember the boy you used to be, not the man your father forced you to be.’

  Nikolai stopped abruptly, red colouring his haughty high cheekbones. ‘I can’t believe I just said all that; blame my wife. She believes in talking about feelings. And she wanted me to come here today to tell you this. To set you free. Maybe it’s too late for us to be friends again, Tristano, but we are family. It would be good to remember that more often.’

  Tris didn’t, couldn’t, speak as Nikolai picked up speed once again,
steering the boat round in a wide arc before heading back towards the jetty. Nikolai was going to help him change the inheritance laws, update them so his sister could be his heir, so that he could become King without a wife and a son beside him. Everything he had planned was now possible—without Amber. He didn’t need her, not any more.

  The thought echoed around and around in his mind. He no longer needed her, nor did he need the baby she carried. She was free. She could carry on with the life she had built for herself, the life she loved, surrounded by people who cared for her. She had chosen her own path, walked away from her title, fortune and royal destiny without so much as a backward glance. Now she could resume that path guilt-free. It was within his gift to give it to her.

  His heart clenched, the pain so fierce, so all-encompassing he almost gasped aloud. It might be within his gift but he didn’t want to set her free. He didn’t want to wake up alone, didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in his soulless, impersonal apartments, no time to work out who he was and what he wanted. He liked the way she teased him, enjoyed watching the way she put so much energy into educating him and the pleasure she got when he reported back that he liked a book or a film or a song she had chosen, how she tried to argue with him when he didn’t.

  He liked the way she was so wholehearted in everything she did, whether that was baking enough food for an entire children’s party, filling an e-reader with a library’s worth of books or explaining to him in vivid detail just why the original movie was the only one worth watching. Everything she did she did in luminous colour, such a contrast to his own grey life, and she lit up his soul.

  His thoughts continued to whirl relentlessly on, examining his feelings in painful forensic detail. He liked the way she drew him out, was interested not just in what he was but in who he was, his title the least meaningful thing about him. The way she embraced everything they did, no matter how dull, how interested she was to meet new people, to discover new things. How she’d sat next to him on the balcony last night as once again he’d named the stars and she’d related the myth behind every constellation, making them laugh as she attempted to make sense of the shapes each constellation was meant to represent. She had an insatiable appetite for life and all it offered, those lonely years in her grandmother’s penthouse watching rather than doing making nothing too small to interest her.