‘You won’t. Our marriage will be nothing like that.’
‘I understand that, but I did mean what I said yesterday—I intend to resume my career. You saw what happened to your mother, your stepmothers. I’ve seen what happened to Nanni—I will not be dependent on you.’
‘You won’t be. We can set up a pre-nup.’
‘In a principality where your word is law? Any pre-nup I sign wouldn’t be worth the paper it was written on.’
‘OK. You will be paid a salary that goes directly into your personal account—you can move that into another account anywhere in the world.’
‘A salary essentially paid by you—one you could stop at any moment?’
His lips thinned. ‘You really do not trust me at all, do you?’
There was a hint of hurt in his voice, but it was something she could not afford to listen to.
‘I can’t trust anyone. Think about it, Frederick. What if I decided to take Amil and leave? Would you still pay my salary? What if you turn out to be like your father? What if you fall in love with another woman?’ Life had taught her there could never be too many ‘what ifs’ in the mix. ‘Then I’ll need money of my own.’
The easy warmth in his hazel eyes vanished, and now his brow was as clouded as a monsoon sky. ‘None of those things will happen.’
‘That’s what you say now, but times change—we both know that.’
A shadow flickered across his face and she knew her point had gone home.
‘So I must make sure myself that I have enough money in the bank for whatever life throws at me.’
To ensure there was always an escape route—that she would never be trapped like her grandmother had been, as she had been as a child.
‘That is non-negotiable.’
‘Understood.’
‘Also, I want to leave Amil with my grandmother when we go back to Lycander.’
‘Why?’ The syllable was taut. ‘Because you think I will snatch him the minute we land on Lycander soil?’
‘No. But I won’t risk taking him there until we have worked out how our marriage will be received. Also, I can get things ready for him; it will be a big change for him and I’d like to make his transition as easy as possible.’
The idea of not having Amil with her hurt, but she could not—would not—risk taking him to Lycander until she was sure of his reception there.
‘I’ll come back to Lycander with you, and then I’ll get Amil.’
‘OK. But we will get Amil.’
She nodded and then there was a silence, broken by a roar in the not so far distance.
‘Dhudsagar Falls,’ Sunita said. ‘We’re close.’
By tacit consent they quickened their pace.
THE SOUND OF the monsoon-inflated waterfalls pounded his eardrums, but even as Frederick anticipated the sight his brain couldn’t banish Sunita’s expression, the realisation that she still didn’t trust him.
Not that he blamed her—after all, his father had used his wealth and power to grind his wives to dust in the courts. All except his mother, who had played Alphonse at his own game and duped him—an act his father had never forgiven her for. Never forgiven Frederick for, come to that. But he wished that Sunita did not think so badly of him. Enough. Her opinion shouldn’t matter, and in truth she couldn’t judge him more harshly than he deserved. But...
His train of thought was broken by her gasp from next to him. ‘Any minute now,’ she whispered, as they emerged through a tunnel and onto a railway bridge already populated by a few other visitors.
But they had no interest in Sunita and Frederick—because it was impossible to focus on anything other than the waterfalls, both mighty and terrible. No image could do them justice as the four tiers cascaded and roared in torrents of milky-white water, leaping from the edge of towering cliffs and gusting and gushing down the slippery rock slopes.
The spray drenched him but he didn’t move, utterly mesmerised by the power and glory of Nature’s creation, cloaked in a rising mist that mixed with the shafts of sunlight to create a rainbow of light.
‘It’s beyond description.’
Frederick nodded and moved by awe, on instinct, he reached out and took her hand in his. He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but it was long enough that the other tourists dispersed, long enough that another group came and went.
And then Sunita shook her head, as if coming out of a trance. ‘We’d better go.’
He wondered what she’d been thinking all that time—perhaps she’d imagined her parents standing in the same spot, their thoughts and emotions, their hopes and dreams as they’d gazed at the might of the waterfalls.
They continued their trek along the railway tracks in a silence that he instinctively respected until he motioned to the adjacent forest. ‘Shall we explore in there—it looks peaceful?’
‘Good idea.’ She glanced up at him. ‘Sorry I’ve been lost in thought—it was just such an awe-inspiring sight.’
‘It was.’ He reached into his backpack. ‘Time for food—or is that too prosaic?’
‘Nope. I’m starving. And this looks idyllic—if a little damp.’
‘I’ve brought a blanket, and if we spread it here, over this branch, we can perch on it.’
‘Perfect.’
She accepted the wrapped sandwiches.
‘Goan green chutney,’ Frederick informed her. ‘I promised Ashok to tell you the exact ingredients. Coriander leaves, coconut, chili and a little sugar and salt.’
Sunita took a bite. ‘Glorious. That boy is talented.’ She surveyed him. ‘So you went to the kitchen yourself? I’m surprised that was allowed.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Meaning your staff seem to think you shouldn’t lift a finger for yourself.’
‘I’ve noticed. I am trying to re-educate them—in fact I’ve given them all the day off today. The problem is my father expected to be waited on hand and foot, and that is what all Lycander staff seem conditioned to do. I even have someone who chooses all my clothes.’ He grinned. ‘Though, to be fair, Kirsten does a better job of it than I could.’
‘Well, for the record, no one is choosing my clothes for me. That would drive me nuts. I need to fit my clothes to my mood.’
They ate in companionable silence and then Frederick leant forward, unsure why he felt the need to say his next words, but knowing he had to take heed of the urge to show her that their hopes and dreams didn’t have to be built on an altar of falsehood and misunderstanding.
‘Sunita?’
‘Yes.’
She turned her head and his heart did a funny little jump. Dressed in simple khaki trousers and a red T-shirt, with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail, her features make-up free, she looked absurdly young and touchingly vulnerable.
‘I understand why you want to go back to your career, and I understand your need for independence, but let’s not go into this marriage expecting