Helen closed her eyes and smothered a sharp cry.
“It was up to me to tell Dad,” Ricardo said quietly. He was in prison when it happened. He never forgave himself for not being there for them. As if he could have prevented it anyway. That’s what finished him off, I think, a broken heart and shattered pride. I’ll never forget the look on his face when I finally managed to get the words out. It still sickens me. Three days later he had a massive heart attack and died. So, I brought them all here. It seemed right. An unsullied place…”
“I don’t know what to say.” Helen reached out a hand to touch him.
“That’s why Jerardo wanted to force me to marry, to do something I had no respect for as revenge for what my father took from him. He tapped into the fact that I must be a total misogynist. Perhaps he’s right. My mother was a cheat, my sister-in-law was a liar and a murderer, both of them unfazed by the holy state of matrimony. I’ve even had girlfriends who went through my wallet and helped themselves when I wasn’t looking, you know. They didn’t need to. If they’d only asked…”
“Not every woman’s like that,” Helen whispered, suddenly realizing that she must be on the end of a very long list of avaricious females.
“There are some good women in my life, you’ve met them. Even Antonella has her moments. She’s vacuous, selfish, and spoiled, but to her credit she never cheated on my dad. She’s even quite nice to me at times.” He shrugged and threw a blade of grass into the air, watching as it twisted and sailed off in the breeze. “Or perhaps it’s because I’m a trustee of her future funds.”
“Really?”
“My father stipulated she could have whatever the Almanza fund deemed necessary for a civilized life on condition that she never remarried or brought shame on the Almanza name. It’s up to me and his old friend Antonio to decide what is necessary for her. She has lovers, I know that. They sneak in when the rest of the staff have been dismissed. And she sleeps with the staff when the house is quiet sometimes as well, but she’s discreet, so I turn a blind eye. My father is dead and the poor cow’s only human.”
Helen was relieved that Ricardo knew what his stepmother got up to. She was wondering whether to tell him. “It really is complicated, isn’t it?”
“And you say I’m cold? I’m not. I’ve had to become this way.” His amber eyes searched hers and seemed to be pleading silently for something. “My father insisted that real men never cried. He never did and he expected the same of me, so I do my very best.”
Helen fell silent. Her heart ached for Ricardo and his tragic loss and a large part of her now understood why he could be so unforgiving on the subject of love, marriage, and womankind. He was alone in the world, orphaned, save for the few trusted family friends she had met, beyond that it was a whirl of users, business associates and hangers on. No wonder he loved the honest simplicity and solitude of this island retreat and the mountains. They seemed to be the only places he was really at peace with himself.
“You told me you weren’t into marriage either,” Ricardo said suddenly. “But do you ever think about children? You women have a built in biological clock, don’t you?”
Helen swallowed uncomfortably with surprise at this dramatic change of subject. Ricardo did seem to be in a peculiar mood. “Not that often. I have a decade or two left to worry about it. I’m not that old!”
“No, of course you’re not,” he said and passed her a bottle of fruit juice. “In principle, I mean, theoretically, in the future. One day.”
“I don’t suppose I’d want to die childless in the end, if that’s what you mean.” She screwed the lid off the bottle and took a swig before continuing. “Isn’t that what it’s all about? Why we’re all here? To leave something behind us, something good?”
Ricardo nodded and looked out to sea, now twiddling a picked daisy between his fingers, the bread discarded and forgotten. “It’s the natural course of things, I guess, the expected route to immortality.”
What was he up to? Why these strange questions? She wasn’t going to let it go now. “So what about you? You talk about getting the family property back for future generations, that’s got to require an heir at some stage.” Helen held her breath as she waited for his answer. Could it possibly be that he was going to suggest that she, that they, that together they might…
“Not at all. There already is one.”
“There is?” Helen heard her breath catch as a chill ripped through her.
Ricardo’s expression darkened and he looked away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Forget I said anything.”
“I can’t. Tell me about him. Or is it a her?”
“I can’t talk about that, I wanted to talk about—”
“Don’t you dare brush me off like that! I insist you tell me.”
“It has to be a secret until he’s eighteen. There are other people involved. It’s complicated.”
“I’ll bet it is!” Helen was dismayed to hear a tremor in her voice. She couldn’t hide the emotion rising within her. “I can keep another bloody secret, Ricardo. I’m good at that remember? Nobody’s discovered I’m a sham wife yet.”
“You must tell no one.”
“I promise.”
“Pirro, the boy at the restaurant.”
“Pirro? But why is he in the middle of nowhere with Antonio? You said he was adopted.”
“He is,” he said digging a heel roughly into the grass. “It had to be done in the circumstances. I couldn’t look after a small baby. No more questions now, I don’t want to discuss it. I’ve already said too much.”
Helen felt queasy with shock and galled with disappointment. Ricardo had a secret child. It was starting to make sense as she recalled their visit to Antonio’s place. Ricardo’s affection for the boy, his interest in school and sport… Oh God and the resemblance! How could she not have noticed that? They both had the same long limbs, dark features, hair, the smile.
“And his mother?” Helen’s throat hurt as she forced the words out, unable to look at him.
“His mother was a crazy bitch and she’s gone for good.” He stared blankly out to sea before adding, “that’s already more than you should know.”
Helen’s head was spinning as she tried to make sense of what she had been told. “Does Pirro know?”
Ricardo shook his head. “He was told his parents died in tragic circumstances and that they loved him very much. He will discover his true inheritance when he turns eighteen and has had a normal, loving childhood out of the limelight.” He rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes. “It really is for the best.”
Helen’s scalp prickled with outrage for Pirro and disgust for Ricardo’s lack of concern. Not to mention the lies. “Don’t you think he’ll be shocked when he finds out?”
“Probably. But he’ll cope.”
“Don’t be surprised if he hates you.” How on earth could she have deluded herself into thinking Ricardo might want to have a child with her? She’d completely lost her mind in this place. He had no intention of prolonging their arrangement beyond the three months. It was time to snap out of this lunacy once and for all. But anger made her keep going. “Didn’t you ever consider having him live with you?”
“A child needs two parents. Antonella tried for a while and I did what I could, but neither of us knew what we were doing. And then when Papa died, she made it quite clear that it could only be a temporary measure. It was kinder to let him go with Antonio and Maria. We knew they could be trusted to give him a good life.”
“I guess that’s what you would describe as tough love,” Helen replied bitterly. “So thoughtful of you.”
Helen felt crushed. He walked away from his son. If he could coldly hand over his own flesh and blood, what hope did she ever have of finding a niche in his heart? Why did she ever think for one second that Ricardo would see her in an exceptional light? He must consider her the ultimate gold digger, the one who asked for more. The harpy who callously took him for millions! He would never view he
r with anything more than contempt, a perra, a bitch, just like his sister-in-law and Pirro’s mother.
“Christ, it’s just as well this marriage isn’t real because I’d be having serious doubts about it already.” Helen abruptly stood up, ignoring the look of surprise on Ricardo’s face. Her voice shook as she stood on one leg to put on her sandals. “I’d like to go back now, Ricardo. I need to phone my Mum.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ricardo cursed under his breath and kicked at Lucia’s old pine chair outside the kitchen door. He felt a stab of shame as it tumbled backwards onto the stone floor, snapping a few tender herbs from a planter as it went. He was experiencing acute frustration since Helen had stormed in from the car and said she would be a while on the phone.
He’d had it all planned out—the romantic picnic, his family skeletons brought out into the open, and then the surprise proposal that they remain married. He’d been honest and exposed his inner self in a way he had never dared, and then he’d completely screwed it up. That’s what you got for trying to be honest. He knew exactly when the mood had changed. Helen had been sweet at the tomb, which he had been worried about taking her to. Not exactly a hot date. He’d broached the subject of children and then he’d mentioned Pirro…
She was angry with him because he wouldn’t tell her more about the circumstances of his adoption. But he couldn’t. It was a stipulation in Primeiro’s will, the child provision clause that insisted his child be brought up anonymously in the event of both parents’ death. Out of the public eye until his eighteenth birthday when he would inherit and be old enough to make his own decisions.
He wanted to tell her how much it had hurt him to comply with those wishes, how it had torn his heart to shreds to hand over his twin brother’s child.
He could tell her once she agreed to remain as his wife for real. Then, when he had that commitment from her, he would be sure that he could trust her to keep the Almanza secret that Pirro was the true heir who would always be a non-negotiable part of his life. He loved the boy as if he was his own. How could he not?
Then his heart stilled for a second. Maybe she would be disappointed that any child they had together would not be the Almanza empire’s heir? He shook his head to erase the thought. Helen could never be that greedy, and besides he could provide her with more than she could ever dream of. The Almanza empire was vast, but Ricardo had made as many, if not more, millions in his own right. He was a self-made billionaire after all.
The issue niggled at him. He needed to know where those two million euro he’d given Helen had gone if they were to remain as man and wife in a proper sense. There had to be no other secrets between them. He’d already seen what deceit had done to his family and that poison was not going to leach into another generation if he had his way. He would have it out with her. Gently. Sensitively. And if all else failed he’d get his security people on to it, have her investigated, but that wouldn’t be necessary, he was sure. He didn’t want to do something like that behind her back unless he had to. If she was honest with him, and proved herself trustworthy he would tell her everything about him, everything she wanted to know.
…
“Bloody hell.”
Helen flopped backwards onto the emperor-sized bed and covered her face with her hands. She’d lied to Ricardo about wanting to phone her mum. They’d already spoken that morning when Ricardo was getting the picnic ready and she was dressing. She just needed a few minutes to re-group, gather her thoughts and come to terms with the emotions muddling her brain. She had to deal with this rationally, logically, not hysterically, and she needed to form a business plan for her heart, just like she imagined Ricardo would. List out all the facts and form a strategy on the way forward.
Her hands dropped to her sides and she stared at the ceiling. “Stupid girl.”
It wasn’t just the great sex. It was hopeless whichever way she looked at it. However much her mind told her he was bad news, she loved him nevertheless. She had fallen in love with a man so cold he could give his own child away. But it had happened somewhere along the line without her even suspecting it was possible, and now she couldn’t turn time back. She was angry with him, but couldn’t alter the way she felt about him. She was stuck with it.
So what next? Her heart was going to be broken, that’s what. In less than three months he would be out of her life forever and she’d be sent back into the world alone. What other options did she have? She should face the fact that Ricardo didn’t want closeness or love. He didn’t want a long-term relationship, and he’d hammered it home that he certainly didn’t want a wife.
The best that could come out of this was for her to make the most of the time they had together, and for her to enjoy her honeymoon heaven while it lasted. It could be worse. She had plenty of money in the bank now so the world would be her oyster in the long future ahead. But she would never love again, not like this. No man would ever match up to Ricardo Almanza even with his deep flaws.
The bedroom phone began to ring and Helen bolted upright, feeling dizzy with the abruptness of her reaction. Instinctively, she picked up the receiver.
“Hello?”
“Darling, surprise! It’s me, Antonella.”
“Oh…hi.” The sound of the Condesa’s voice was an unwelcome one at the best of times, but this was supposed to be their honeymoon and her nerves were already in shreds. “Ricardo’s not here right now. Shall I get him to call you back?”
“No, no, no, you silly girl. I’m on the internal line, in the drawing room. I’ve come to see you both. Isn’t that fun?”
For God’s sake.
“I’ll be right down,” Helen said, hoping the dread she was feeling didn’t show in her voice. Hopefully she would just have to say a polite hello and Ricardo would deal with her from there. Lucia must have let her in and let Ricardo know his stepmother had turned up. “Just as quickly as I can.”
It was naughty of her to dawdle, she knew that, but Helen had secretly hoped that the Condesa would get fidgety as usual and go off shopping or something before she came down. Five minutes was her usual boredom threshold. But no such luck. There she was, her black sky-high chignon poking up from behind the back of a large armchair. She turned upon hearing the door open. “Helen, how lovely to see you again. You look well…” Which meant ‘you’ve put on weight.’
“And you, Condesa, are as radiant as always.” Helen bent to kiss her politely on the cheek. “This is a surprise.”
“You must call me Antonella now, dear, you’re family after all.” She smiled as if something amusing had occurred to her, and wriggled down comfortably into the cushions. “So where’s my dreadful stepson?”
“I’m not actually sure,” Helen said, feeling irritated that he wasn’t there in body to deal with his unwelcome and uninvited relative. “I’d kind of assumed that he’d be here with you when you called.”
“Some honeymoon,” the Condesa hooted. “The bride’s lost the groom already!”
God, the woman was annoying. “So, um, I’m assuming you got a cab up here? We’re a fair way off the beaten track.”
“Good grief, no! My new assistant’s come away with me for a little break. I’m too exhausted for a cruise at this time of year, so she suggested a spot of island hopping. Great fun! And I thought that just so long as we’re on Menorca, you could show her how you do the Bloody Marys.” She ran her hands over her hairdo and did a theatrical shiver. “Wasn’t that clever of me? I’m even multitasking now.”
“A new assistant?” Helen was trying to summon up Ricardo with the power of thought alone and was failing miserably. Where was he? “That was quick work.”
“I know! As luck would have it the agency had the perfect candidate, she’d just signed up, English like you. Except more refined.”
“Right…” Hell’s teeth. “So have you left the poor woman waiting for you in the car?”
“In the car? What do you think I am? Lou-lou? Lou-lou! Come here immediately and talk to
Helen.”
A distant female voice replied from outside on the terrace. “Coming, madam.”
“Good, she’s on her way.” The Condesa made a harrumphing noise and heaved herself up and out of the armchair. “And I’m going to find that stupid boy, Ricardo. Have fun!”
Helen closed her eyes for a second to thank the universe that her Ordeal By Condesa was at an end. She listened to the sound of her heels clicking on the terracotta tiles until they faded away and then her blood froze.
“Hola, Mouse,” the female voiced purred with pure poison. “It took me ages to track you down and find out the agency you worked for, but I got there in the end. Your mum was very obliging with info too, the gullible dip.”
Helen’s body stiffened as she took in the horribly familiar brown bob and harsh grey eyes. “What are you doing here, Kat? What do you want?” Her hands felt like blocks of ice as she gripped the back of a chair. “You can’t get to me anymore.”
“Darling!” the bully said briskly. “I can’t imagine what you mean by that, and do call me Lidia, that’s my name now, remember. Kat Humby is so common sounding now I’ve gone up so far in the world. Although, why that old bag insists on calling me Lou-lou is anyone’s guess. Still, she’s fulfilled her purpose now.”
“I suppose I should be grateful you don’t want us to call you by your ridiculous off the shelf title, Lady Skiptree.”
“Oh, we’re pretty much level pegging these days, Lovie. And that’s part of the reason I wanted to pop in and congratulate you. I just have to know how you managed to bag that old devil Almanza. He swore he’d never do it, get married that is. You must have some spectacular tricks up your sleeve, darling, although God knows where you picked those up. It can’t have been from your pony magazines, surely?” She snorted ungraciously and leant against the frame of the glass door. “He’s damn fine in the sack, isn’t he?”
“What are you talking about?” Helen felt a mixture of indignation and fear prickle over her.
“Oh, didn’t he tell you? I suppose he’s known hundreds of spectacular women in his time, so he may not have. We had a bit of a thing once, during a conference in London.” The other woman barked a false laugh and took a step into the drawing room. “Isn’t it just the most amazing coincidence? That he should end up marrying my old school chum? The chubby little girl that gave my brother her virginity in our barn.”
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