‘Realtors will use whatever means they can to get a sale.’ He had to get this said. He had to block out the personal. ‘So you had a party of Arabian businessmen go through the place last month. One of them saw the gravestone, saw the name and the dates, wondered about the connection to me and mentioned it to his cousin. Who’s a journalist in Calista. So we have questions being asked. And now you’re saying it can be proved the baby is mine.’
She gasped.
‘No,’ he said, quickly, as he saw indignation flood into her face again. ‘I’m not questioning you, Holly. I accept that Adam was my son.’ Hell, that hurt to say. My son. For a man to say such a thing about a child he’d never known… But he had to continue, even if it meant being brutal. ‘I mean outsiders,’ he said. ‘If Adam can be proved to the world to be mine there’s a real chance his birth could bring down our throne.’
He had her attention then. He saw the change on her face. Indignation and anger gave way to confusion. ‘How …?’
‘You were seventeen when he was conceived,’ he said wearily. ‘It makes all the difference in the world.’
‘How?’
‘The age of consent here is eighteen,’ he said. ‘The king… my father… was a known profligate. There was corruption and scandal in the last days of his reign and there’s been a massive backlash.’
‘So what’s that got to do with me?’ She sounded breathless, still confused.
‘My family’s enemies would go to vast lengths to bring us down,’ Andreas said.
‘Your father’s enemies?’
‘Let me explain,’ he said, and then tried to figure out how to do so. It seemed so wrong. The only light was the candles on the table and the stars and the fireflies. They could hear the faint whoosh, whoosh of the surf from the beach outside. This setting was one of romance, seduction and passion, and yet he had to speak cold, hard, facts.
‘You know the kingdom of Adamas is divided into two islands—Calista and Aristo,’ he said at last. ‘The Stefani diamond—a priceless stone of incomparable beauty—has always been central to our hold on the throne. The coronation charter says: No person shall rule Adamas without the blessing of the Stefani jewel.
‘When the kingdom was divided into the two islands, the Stefani diamond was split as well,’ he said, refusing to deviate from an explanation that he must make crystal clear to Holly. Everything depended on it. ‘There’s the royal family of Aristo—myself and my siblings—and the royal family of Calista. Each family has half of the Stefani diamond.’
‘So?’
‘So on my father’s death we discovered our half of the diamond is nothing more than a paste copy. My father’s marriage… well, to say the least it was dysfunctional. There were other women. Intrigue. Financial wheeling dealing. Somewhere along the line the diamond’s been disposed of, and for us it means ruin.’
‘I see.’ But then she shook her head, her blonde curls flicking sensuously over her bare shoulders. ‘No. I don’t see.’
‘We’re at the mercy of the people,’ he said. ‘Or worse. Whoever holds both diamonds will rule both the islands, so if the diamond is found by King Zakari Al’Farisi of Calista then he’ll hold all power. If, though, as appears to be the case, my father gambled the diamond or gave it as a trinket to one of his mistresses then power reverts to the people and public opinion holds sway. Rumours of my father’s womanizing have been legion. My brothers and I have maybe… in the past… not been perfect. My brother Alex has recently married but that’s not enough to stop indignation and a call for new rule. And the fresh news that I fathered a child when you were seventeen… My brother believes it’s enough to topple us. Zakari may end up ruling us all.’
‘That’s some problem.’ She lifted her wine glass and stared into its depths. ‘But not my problem, Andreas,’ she whispered. ‘You walked away from me and didn’t look back.’
‘I never meant to hurt you.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t imagine you did. Nor did my parents. They threw us together hoping for a forced marriage or at least a fortune. And you… You didn’t lie to me. I knew from the start you were promised to Christina. So did my parents, come to that—they just never imagined your sense of duty would override your decency.’
‘My decency…’
‘Yes, your decency,’ she snapped. ‘Your moral obligation to a girl who fell in love with you. You might still have been young, Andreas, but you were experienced. I, on the other hand, had no defences at all.’
‘SO…’
‘So nothing,’ she said wearily. ‘Whatever moral outrage we might have created all those years ago, it’s nothing to do with me any more. Give me a piece of paper to sign that says I release you from all obligations and be done with it. I’ll sign. I just want to go home.’
‘To a bleak bedsit while you teach kids thousands of miles away from you?’
‘You’ve really done your homework,’ she answered.
‘I have, and you can’t go home. The only thing that would save me—us—is a declaration that Adam wasn’t my child. And you can’t give me that.’
‘No,’ she said softly. She was looking directly at him now, meeting his gaze calmly over the table. She’d done a huge amount of growing up in the years since he’d seen her, he thought. The eyes that gazed at him were those of a woman: thoughtful, intelligent, even compassionate.
‘I wouldn’t ask…’
‘You wouldn’t ask me to make such a declaration?’ She gave a hollow laugh. ‘Says he who organized an international kidnapping. Well, maybe you will and maybe you won’t, but it’s not so simple. My mother holds copies of the results of Adam’s DNA.’
‘Your mother…’
‘There you are,’ she said, closing her eyes as if something hurt. ‘I’m not completely without family. There’s still my mother. When you left and everything fell apart she walked out. But she came back when the baby was born. For, of course, she knew who the father was. In the few days after Adam’s birth I was ill—out of it. She told the doctors I’d need DNA samples to prove Adam’s paternity and she took a copy of the results. But I guessed what she intended and was able to stop it.’
‘Stop what?’
‘Blackmail,’ she said flatly. ‘You were newly married. My mother saw Adam’s birth as a great opportunity to make serious money.’
Hell. Maybe he would have paid, too, he thought, thinking back to Christina as a new bride. She’d been jealous right from the start. News of Holly’s baby would have blown them apart.
‘It’s okay,’ Holly said wearily. ‘Or it was okay. My mother had just met another man. He had serious money and was giving her a good time. But there were things in her past I knew that…’ She shook her head. ‘No. It doesn’t matter. But it meant that if she exposed you I could expose her right back. She knew her relationship would crumble if I talked, so she had a choice—shut up and enjoy her new lifestyle or take a chance on blackmailing you. She chose to stay.’
‘Whew,’ he said.
‘Yeah, whew,’ she agreed grimly. ‘But if your reporters are fishing round now… my mother’s situation has changed. She’ll remember that piece of paper. Would the reporters pay?’
Would they ever? And if King Zakari found out… Yes, money would be offered. Serious money.
‘She’ll tell,’ Holly said bleakly. ‘I’m sorry, Andreas, but I can’t help you.’
‘Then it comes to this,’ he said heavily, thinking his options through and accepting