The Royal House Of Karedes Collection Books 1-12. Кейт Хьюит

mou. We both know that.”

      “Wrong,” Maria said sweetly. “But why should I take it out on them?”

      She put her hand lightly on his arm, took a deep breath, and let him lead her up the steps.

      “… and so,” Princess Kitty said, “Alex convinced me that it was my royal obligation to sneak into the butler’s pantry to find out what our parents had bought us for Christmas—well, it wasn’t a butler’s pantry anymore, of course, it was just this huge room we store stuff in at the beach house at Kionia—has Alex told you about Kionia? Oh, it’s this incredible stretch of land overlooking the Strait of Poseidon that separates us from Calista, and our house is big and old and beautiful, and it’s all very laid-back, you know, I can go around dressed casually—”

      “Sloppily, you mean,” Aegeus said, his tone harsh. “And why are we boring our guest with talk of childish pranks done years ago?”

      The family dining room became silent. Kitty’s round, pretty face turned crimson. “Of course. Ms. Santos, my apologies.”

      “Oh, please, don’t apologize.” Without thinking, Maria reached for the princess’s hand. “It’s lovely to hear stories like that. My own childhood wasn’t as much fun. No brothers. No sisters.” Suddenly, she realized that every eye was on her, and that she was hanging onto Kitty’s hand as if it belonged to Sela and not a princess. Flushed, she let go. “I mean—I mean, this has been such a lovely evening… You’ve all been so—so—”

      “It’s been our pleasure, Ms. Santos,” the queen said gently.

      “Please, won’t you all call me Maria?”

      “Maria.” Tia smiled. “I hope you intend to see some of our island in the next few weeks.”

      Maria shot a glance at Alex, who was calmly drinking his coffee. “If I have the chance.”

      “I’m fascinated by the thought of such a slip of a girl designing and making such a magnificent necklace. I understand Alex has outfitted a workshop for you in his home on the coast.”

      “Yes.” This time, Maria didn’t dare look at Alex. “He has.”

      “And is it to your liking?”

      What was the sense in lying? “Very much so, Your Majesty.

      In fact, it’s better equipped than my own place in New York.”

      “Good. If you should need anything more—”

      “Well, I do need something. A couple of things, actually …”

      “Such as?”

      “Some information, to start. I understand that King Christos ordered the Stefani diamond, which had been the centerpiece of the crown of Adamas, to be split in two.”

      She could almost feel the sudden tension in the room.

      “I fail to see why the history of Adamas should be under discussion,” the king said stiffly.

      Maria cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to pry, Your Majesty. It’s only that knowing the history of the diamond will help me in creating the necklace.”

      “Nonsense. Gold and diamonds well help, not timeworn stories about the Stefani diamond and the islands of Aristo and Calista.”

      Silence. Then Maria felt Alex clasp her hand under cover of the table and enfold it in his own.

      “Maria is an artist, Father. Her creations are, in a sense, representations of a life force—in this case, a celebration of Mother’s birthday as well as the continuity of our people. She’s simply trying to gain some understanding of our kingdom. Isn’t that right, Maria?”

      “Yes,” she said, staring at Alex, amazed he should instinctively comprehend what most people did not. “Stories, legends, history… those are some of the qualities my work is meant to convey.”

      “Well, our history isn’t very complicated,” Sebastian said pleasantly. “The Kingdom of Adamas dates back to ancient Rome and Greece.”

      “Yes,” Maria said again. “Alex told me it did.”

      “Aristo was the island from which the kingdom was ruled. It grew wealthy on its trade routes with Greece, Turkey and Egypt,” Andreas said. “Calista had—has—its diamond mines. Pink diamonds. Very rare—but, of course, you know that.”

      Alex squeezed her hand in reassurance.

      “The Karedes family—our family—got fat and rich trading those diamonds to Europe.” He smiled wryly. “As you can probably imagine, the Calistans didn’t like that. My grandfather—”

      “King Christos,” Maria said.

      “Yes. He tried to alleviate the tension but it didn’t work, so he announced that on his death, he’d leave Aristo to be ruled by my father and Calista to be ruled by my father’s sister, Anya.”

      “And the people accepted that?”

      “What else could they do?” Sebastian said. “But Christos always hoped for a reconciliation. Part of what he said, when he made his decision public, was that he wished the two halves of the Stefani diamond would someday be reunited and that when they were, the island would also be reunited as one nation, the nation of Adamas. We call it Christos’s Legacy.”

      Kitty nodded. “But it hasn’t happened.”

      “That must have been a difficult time for everyone.” Maria looked at the king. “For you and your sister, especially, sir.”

      “It’s all in the past,” Aegeus snapped. “And I fail to see a need to go through it with a stranger.” He tossed his napkin on the table. “You are to make a necklace for the queen, Ms. Santos, not write our family’s history.”

      “Just a minute,” Alex began, but Maria spoke first.

      “My sole interest is in making the necklace as meaningful and perfect a gift as possible, sir.” She sounded composed but Alex recognized that distinct, don’t-screw-with-me lift of her chin. “I regret that you don’t see it that way.”

      Alex bit back a grin. His Maria had been nervous about dining with royalty, but she sure as hell had the balls to stand up to Aegeus. His brothers were trying not to smile; his sister looked as if she might fly from her seat, grab Maria and kiss her. The queen gave a soft cough and covered her mouth with her napkin.

      Aegeus looked as if he weren’t sure if he’d been insulted or not. Finally he nodded, shoved back his chair and got to his feet.

      The meal was over.

      “Perhaps I overreacted, Ms. Santos. At any rate, a perfect gift is my wish, too. And now, if you require nothing further—”

      “Actually,” Maria said carefully, “actually, sir, I do.”

      Aegeus stared at her. So did the others. You could push the king just so far and then you had to stand back before the explosion.

      “Do you, indeed?” he said coldly.

      Maria looked determined but she was shaking. Enough, Alex decided, and, despite all the eyes on her, he moved closer and slipped his arm around her shoulders. At first, she stiffened. Then he felt her lean into him.

      “It’s—it’s a request, sir.” She took a deep breath. “I’d like to see the Aristan crown.”

      “You have seen it,” the king said coolly. “My people provided you with photographs.”

      “Photos aren’t the same as the real thing, Your Majesty.”

      “Impossible. For security purposes, the crown is kept in the royal vaults.”

      “Surely, it can be taken out of the vaults, Father,” Alex said quietly.

      “There