The Royal House of Niroli: Innocent Mistresses: Expecting His Royal Baby / The Prince's Forbidden Virgin. Robyn Donald

His mother had plied him with questions none of which he had chosen to answer. ‘Did you plan this? Did you sit down before you came to Niroli and work out how to cause me maximum embarrassment?’

      ‘Embarrassment? I fell asleep. Please don’t think I’m taking advantage of your mother’s kindness—’

      ‘I don’t think that. But you look so … untidy,’ he said, for want of a better word to express his feelings.

      ‘I don’t have many clothes with me …’And then, tired of making excuses, she stood up. ‘What is the appropriate outfit for walking in the palace gardens, by the way?’

      His eyes narrowed as he studied her face. She had surprised him again with the softly spoken barb, and now his mind was awash with her fresh, sleepy scent. He had to forget how good they were together; he had to ignore the fact that there were leaves in her hair and he wanted to pluck them from the mass of tangled gold.

      A greater contrast to the impeccably groomed Princess Anastasia would be impossible to imagine. Carrie’s face was creased and blotchy where she had pressed it against the ground, and she looked.

      ‘Can I go now?’

      His gaze sharpened at her question. Her voice was as gentle as it always was, yet he sensed an edge behind it. She was anything but defeated. ‘You’ve been very clever, worming your way into my mother’s confidence. If one door shuts another opens as far as you’re concerned, doesn’t it, Carrie?’

      ‘Do you think I started the fire at the hotel, too?’

      ‘I’m merely suggesting you make the most of every situation.’

      ‘What situation?’

      ‘You didn’t know it was my mother’s hotel, of course.’

      ‘Your mother’s hotel? No, of course I didn’t know. How could I?’

      Her surprise appeared genuine. ‘By reading about the family,’ he suggested. ‘You should know the Fierezzas have many interests on the island.’

      ‘Which you imagine I researched before I got here? Do you really think I targeted your mother’s hotel?’

      ‘I think you’re bright. I think you came to Niroli on a mission. And from what I know of you from when you worked for me I don’t think you’d be here at all unless you had every loophole sewn up tight.’

      ‘Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Nico,’ she assured him. ‘Where my personal life is concerned I don’t seem to have much of a hold on it at all. And, for your information, it was the taxi driver who recommended your mother’s hotel. He telephoned ahead as we were driving from the airport to book me in.’

      ‘A quirk of fate?’

      ‘If you like,’ she said, ‘but I certainly didn’t engineer it.’

      ‘And you want me to believe this, along with all your other lies?’

      ‘I’ve never lied to you, Nico.’

      The air between them was charged with tension. Nico was so close she could see the amber flecks in his searing blue gaze, so close they shared the same breath, the same air. But as always he reacted in a way that surprised her. Dipping his head, he brushed her cheek with his lips, stopping just short of her mouth, and to her eternal shame she closed her eyes and swayed towards him.

      ‘It’s that easy, isn’t it?’ he said gently. ‘You’re that easy.’

      When she didn’t reply he put a finger beneath her chin and tilted her face up so she was forced to look at him. ‘You wormed your way in here, and now you think you’re going to have a good, long stay at the palace. Well, let me put you straight, Carrie Evans. You get twenty-four hours to live your dream, and then you’re out of here.’

      She closed her eyes against the contempt in his gaze. Nothing she could say would make him believe her, but she couldn’t walk away. ‘Whatever you think of me we have to talk, and I’m not leaving Niroli until we do.’

      ‘Are you threatening me, Carrie?’

      ‘I’m stating facts—’

      ‘So, hell hath no fury?’

      ‘You think this is about revenge?’

      ‘What else?’

      ‘You think I followed you to Niroli because I can’t forget what happened between us?’That was part of the truth, Carrie realised, but she couldn’t throw away her life on a hopeless cause, not with a baby to protect. ‘You don’t know me, Nico. You don’t know me, at all.’

      ‘Well, perhaps it’s time I found out more,’ he said coldly. ‘Shall we start with how much it would cost me to get rid of you?’

      Carrie flinched. ‘Half an hour of your time is all I’m asking.’

      ‘When?’

      ‘Tomorrow night after dinner …’ She didn’t want to rush into anything, she had tried spontaneous and knew she wasn’t good at it.

      ‘I thought I made it clear that your deadline for leaving the palace is tomorrow …’ Nico stopped and his face darkened with anger as he read the situation. ‘Oh, I see,’ he said. ‘My mother has extended an invitation to her new protégée for dinner tomorrow night.’

      ‘I’m sure you can spare me half an hour—’

      ‘You’re sure of a lot of things, aren’t you, Carrie?’

      ‘Until tomorrow, Nico …’

      She turned on her heel, burning with shame from what he thought of her, but Nico brought her back. She held herself stiffly in his arms, eyes closed as she fought the urge to respond to him. But he knew she wanted to and with a sound of contempt he let her go and walked away.

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      ‘YOU poor child …’ The words had burned themselves into Carrie’s mind. She woke the next morning in her bedroom at the palace in a state of panic. Clutching the sheet to her chest, she gazed around, wondering where she was and who had spoken to her. Her mind was still sleep-drenched and wouldn’t function properly. It took a few moments to accept she was alone and the presence talking to her was a voice in a dream.

      Slipping out of bed, she padded barefoot across the room to open the heavy curtains on another soft Nirolian dawn. The view of the silver lake tinged with pink was so beautiful she stood for a moment with her eyes closed inhaling the scent of blossom. It could have been such a happy time if things had been different. If Nico had only cared for her, just a little.

      It promised to be another hot day. The sun was already burning off the low-lying mist, and she could see the rowing boats bobbing lazily by the boathouse. It was easy to imagine Nico sitting across from her in one of the tiny vessels, his muscles flexing as he rowed her out on the lake … But as that was unlikely to happen she might as well have a shower, Carrie thought in her usual down-to-earth way; a long, cold shower.

      She was becoming good at stretching the truth, Carrie thought, rubbing her hair dry as she walked out of the bathroom, and it wasn’t something she was proud of. To make matters worse Princess Laura appeared to accept everything she said without question. They had struck up a friendship based on a mutual love of the natural world and painting, but it was becoming harder all the time to hide her feelings for Princess Laura’s son. There were no miracles waiting to happen, her dreams were futile, and her baby needed something more tangible than a daydream to secure its future.

      Princess Laura had arranged for Carrie’s breakfast to be sent up to her room. Seeing she was already dressed, the young maid insisted on laying everything out for her on the vine-hung balcony outside the small sitting room.

      ‘Only if it’s no trouble for you,’ Carrie said.

      ‘No trouble at all,’ the maid assured her with a shy