By Royal Demand

by Robyn Donald

  Like the study the large dining room was panelled in mellow golden stone pine. Its windows shuttered against the night it glowed like a benediction. A magnificent landscape on one wall caught her eye immediately' no art expert she recognised the style of a Renaissance master. It was matched on another wall by an ancestor with Gabe's eyes and mouth and the same uncompromising aura of power. A carved chest-a splendid eighteenth-century antique she noted with professional appreciation-showed off a collection of silverware that would have made her mouth water at any other time.

  Gabe sat her down at the table and Webster the manservant served them with the first course a vegetable and cheese torte that smelt divine and was accompanied by a salad of ripe tomatoes and olive oil.

  Determined to stay aloof and composed Sara observed steadily 'What a delightful room. In spite of its size it's almost cosy.'

  As the silent servant left the room Gabe answered 'The study and this room have both been returned to the way they were in my grandparents' time. There's another more baronial dining hall with a huge table that looks as though it's been there since the Dark Ages but I was sure you'd prefer to eat here. Much more intimate.'

  Her stomach knotted at the edged note in his voice but she forced herself to nod. ‘l'm glad the castle didn't suffer too much damage during the occupation.'

  His expression hardened. ‘unless you count the tyrant's ideas of interior design. The castle wasn't demolished for various reasons one of which was that he used it as a private hunting lodge.'

  Something in his tone caught her attention. 'You never say his name.'

  He gave her a tight mirthless smile. ‘His name was the same as mine-considine.'

  Sara's gaze flew to his face cold and hard and grim. 'What a coincidence ' she said inanely unable to think of anything sensible.

  ‘No coincidence. He was a very distant cousin.'

  Sara frowned. ‘But, l thought he killed your grandparents.'

  'There are no quarrels so vicious as family quarrels ' Gabe said lethally. 'The name he was known by is a nickname-it means wolf in Illyrian. He hunted my grandparents down like the wolf he was torturing and killing innocent people until finally someone cracked and betrayed them. He wanted them alive but they both died thank God, in a hail of bullets. So he hung their bodies on gibbets in front of the wall.'

  The delicious torte turned to ashes in her mouth. ‘l'm so sorry.' Sickened and horrified she had to stop herself from putting a comforting hand on his.

  ‘War is never pretty and a civil war is crueller than any other ' Gabe said grimly. 'Fortunately for the people here, his obsession with killing animals meant that he didn't clear the valley and turn it into a collective farm.

  Nevertheless he punished the people in the valley by deliberately denying them resources. They had no doctor no schools none of the amenities of modern life.'

  During their whirlwind courtship and engagement they'd rarely discussed the years his country had suffered under the iron heel of the dictator. And even then Gabe had kept the conversation superficial.

  So why was he telling her now? She said 'Where was your father when this happened'?' simmered over winter at the South Pole.'

  Gabe sipped some of his wine and looked across at the portrait on the wall. ‘He was a scientist with the New Zealand party there. By the time he got back to civilization it was all over.But he never forgot Illyria or the valley. Or that he had been secure while his people were suffering.'

  ‘No wonder the Illyrians almost forced your cousin back on the throne ' she said sombrely.

  ‘I remember watching it on television. I thought it was the most romantic thing I'd ever seen-snatching him from the airport and driving him straight to the cathedral to crown him. It was so incredibly moving-those silent people demonstrating in the silent streets and then the bells and the cheers and everyone weeping and calling out to him as though he'd brought them back to life.'

  ‘He did exactly that. Alex is both pragmatic and determined. Once he'd accepted that he was needed here he talked my brother Marco into managing his business empire so that Alex could sink himself and his considerable assets into the task of hauling Illyria into the twenty-first century without destroying everything that makes it special.'

  'From all accounts he's doing a great job. Did he persuade you to come back'?' Gabe sent her a swift glance. Did she know that he'd agreed to Alex reaffirming him as Grand Duke? His eyes flicked to the lush contours of her mouth. Satisfied with the answering green sparks in her eyes and the wash of colour across her elegant cheekbones he decided that she was showing no more than conventional interest steering the conversation into a neutral topic away from the grim reality of blood and death.

  Once he'd admired her social skills but they grated now' he wasn't accustomed to having her treat him as an acquaintance.

  From the moment he'd seen her again his reactions had surprised and irritated him-an irritation that had turned into cold fury with himself when he'd lost the plot entirely and kissed her reawakening the voracious carnal appetite he'd thought dead.

  ‘I believed it was time the Illyrians had a chance to determine their own destiny but Alex convinced me they need our help ' he said silently cursing the rough timbre of his voice.

  She nodded flicked a glance at him then let her thick long lashes hide her eyes before lifting them to look around the room her lovely face serene as her gaze rested on the silverware in the chest. No doubt her t calculator of a mind had noted on it the wolf crest the first Grand Duke had made his own estimated its value and realized each piece would have to be sold privately like the Queen's Blood.

  ‘Of course ' he said evenly done of the first things I did once I took over here was to install an extremely good security system.'

  A pulse at the base of her long throat throbbed and her fingers tightened around the stem of her wine glass when she picked it up but she met his gaze over the rim with limpid poise.

  It gave Gabe fierce dangerous pleasure to know that her civilized mask still vanished the moment he touched her. He'd wondered if her desire had been as false as her pretended love' now he knew it wasn't. Oh she could quite easily have faked the softening of her body the inrush of breath but the swift colour across her beautiful skin was a genuine reaction. And so was the sultry fullness of her lips and the glazed hunger in her eyes.

  She still wanted him. That he thought with cold satisfaction as the second course arrived was her weak point and he'd be stupid not to use it.

  Sara watched the manservant fill her glass again' the champagne might as well have been water for all the effect it was having but she wouldn't drink any more. She needed her wits. In spite of her stomach's rebellion she took a small bite of the food in front of her wondering how something that looked like a chicken and vegetable stew could taste so delicious.

  Once they were alone again Gabe said coolly ‘starving yourself isn't going to help. You're too thin as it is.'

  Mixed anger and grief solidified into a hard lump in her stomach banishing any remnant of appetite. Although she felt as brittle as the champagne glass in front of her she managed to produce a measured temperate response.

  ‘l'm exactly the same weight as I was-'she suddenly realized what she'd intended to say and fumbled for something else. A year ago.'

  Last year was too personal too filled with anguished memories. The last time she'd seen him he'd ordered her out of his presence as though she were something slimy and disgusting refusing to listen to her shocked denials her horror at the situation she'd so unexpectedly found herself in.

  At their brief last meeting she'd discovered that beneath the handsome face and formidable sophistication of the man she'd thought she knew was another man one whose possessive instincts had almost overwhelmed him.

  He'd wanted to kill her she thought and panic engulfed her shortening her breath and sending her thoughts whirling in useless fear.

  She had to get away.

  'You don't look it ' he said abrup
tly half-closed eyes calculating as they assessed her. ‘Slenderness is one

  thing-scrawny is an entirely different look.'

  The insult barely registered. ‘l'm fine ' she said automatically.

  But the past year had altered her' some inner part of her was forever broken. It had changed him too. His handsome face had hardened into austerity as though the months since she'd seen him had been difficult.

  Well they probably had been' his arrogant aristocratic pride would have been savaged by the huge media furore that had followed his decision to call off their engagement.

  Not that she could blame the press for turning a private tragedy into a very public very blatant scandal. After all she thought deliberately hurting herself what could be spicier and sell more newspapers than the complete meltdown of the engagement between a high-flying billionaire with ancient aristocratic connections and a nobody from some tiny Pacific island?

  The media had hounded her staking out her small flat dogging her footsteps with their calls for comments and the constant popping of flashbulbs in her face. In the end worn out by grief and fear she'd made the mistake of accepting Hawke Kennedy's offer of refuge on his country estate. He'd only spent one night there with her but that had been enough to set off another round of hideous suggestive rumours.

  Not that Gabe had mourned for long' photographs of him with various gorgeous women had regularly hit the social pages until a few months ago when he seemed to have settled down with one particularly clever and chic Parisienne who ran an art gallery.

  Sara hid a violent stab of chagrin and jealousy by pretending to sip more wine.

  'You don't look fine you look exhausted ' he observed bluntly.

  'That might have something to do with getting up at an ungodly hour to fly halfway across Europe then being confronted by you ' she retorted biting out each word.

  White teeth gleamed in his bronze face and his eyes were amused. 'You never did like being woken up early.'

  Stunned Sara fought for breath. He had humiliated her, refused to trust her word and manipulated her life

  and yet stil she had to fight back a white-hot excitement when he smiled at her.

  It was so totally unfair In spite of everything his potent charisma burned through every defence homing in on the passionate craving that had never gone away. Oh their relationship had started with sex but then their minds had seemed to mesh and she'd found they shared the same sense of humour-all leading to her growing conviction that they were soul-mates.

  And to her incredulous delight he'd asked her to marry him. She'd believed heaven could offer no more. . .

  Grief pounced a dark pall that had been her constant companion since he'd thrown her out of his life.

  'What's wrong'?' he asked crisply black brows drawing together.

  Only pride gave Sara the strength to produce an offhand shrug. ‘l'm sorry if I'm not being good company. I did warn you I was tired.'

  'Eat up-and don't think that playing with your food is going to persuade me you've eaten it. If necessary 1'11 feed you myself.'

  Although he met her simmering glance with a cool smile she saw the flint-hard determination beneath. A mixture of excitement and self-disgust sickened her' she lifted food to her mouth and began to chew.

  Gabe made a crisp comment on the state of the local roads. From there he segued into his cousin's plans for Illyria which led to his ideas for his own huge estates until eventually an astonished and exasperated Sara realized that not only was she conducting a stimulating conversation with him but that she'd also finished the food on her plate.

  He didn't comment and he didn't insist that she eat dessert merely asking, 'coffee'?'

  ‘No, thank you.'

  After a probing survey that lasted for several seconds too long he allowed her to get away with it. ‘1'11 show you to your room.'

  When she opened her mouth to demur he said blandly 'The castle can be confusing to those who don't know it. I'd hate you to get lost.'

  Cheeks pink Sara kept her expression rigidly unmoving. In other words he knew she'd take the opportunity to explore with a view to escaping.

  She bridged the uncomfortable silence by getting to her feet. Once in the hall she said ‘You'II have to excuse my lack of knowledge about castles but are they all rabbit warrens like this'?' As lf they haven't been altered in any substantial way since they were built.' He took her elbow in an automatic gesture.

  Sara concentrated hard on putting one foot before the other as they walked to the lift. His fingers on her skin his warmth and nearness sent a tantalizing cloud of awareness through her fogging her brain so she had to force herself to listen to his words.

  'The Wolfs Lair took a couple of hundred years to finish which explains the mishmash of towers and styles.

  My ancestors didn't care about architectural purity or comfort-all they wanted was a strong fortress to protect the trade route through the mountains so as each new advance in castle-building came along they incorporated it.

  During the Renaissance there were alterations to make the place more comfortable but not much has been done since then.'

  ‘Apart from a few modern conveniences ' she observed drily as the door to the lift slid open. 'When I got here I put them down to the fake American Mrs Abbot Armitage.'

  'she isn't fake ' he said levelly. 'she's the wife of an old friend.'

  A very complaisant old friend if he didn't mind his wife lying for Gabe Sara decided enduring another stinging pinch of jealousy.

  He said 'The plumbing was my great-great-grandfather's sole concession to the nineteenth century. As well as redecorating my murdering predecessor put in the elevators.'

  Sara shivered at the coldly ruthless note that characterized his references to the dictator. It was the same tone he'd used when he'd banished her from his life.

  When the lift slowed she asked 'You said your cousin the Prince convinced you that the Illyrians needed you.

  How'?'

  He was silent until they emerged into the corridor that led to her bedroom and when he spoke it was in a dismissing tone. Alex is very persuasive.'

  Sara shot him a disbelieving glance. She couldn't see anyone being able to persuade Gabe into doing something he didn't want to.

  His wide shoulders moved in a slight shrug. ‘When my grandparents were killed Illyria's been frozen in a time warp, starved of almost everything a modern state needs to survive let alone advance. The people have no history of democracy and the infrastructure is almost non-existent. In the turmoil after the dictator's death there was a very real chance of the country going bankrupt and being swallowed up by one of the neighbouring states.

  After Alex contacted me I came here and asked the people in the valley what they needed most.'

  Sara looked up into his hard intelligent face. And they said'?'

  'They said they wanted a Considine back in the Wolfs Lair.' He smiled ironically. After that they wanted electricity water and decent roads. But it was clear that in spite of my bastard relative's tyranny they wanted some sort of connection with the family.'

  Strange but now they were enemies she was learning so much more about him! He pushed her door open and gave her a smile that held nothing but irony. 'Goodnight Sara. If you need anything pull the bell-rope and someone will come.'

  Was there an underlying meaning to the words? Stiffly she said 'Goodnight.'

  The door closed behind him with a heavy thank. Shaking, Sara leaned back against its solid wood and let out a long-stifled sigh. Seeing him again had shattered her' she felt as though she'd been dragged into a whirlpool and sucked under.

  She straightened and pulled away from the door. Self-pity was all too easy' she had to ignore Gabe's humiliating kisses and his overwhelming effect on her and work out how to get away from his castle and out of his life .

  He'd said that she might remember something that would lead to whoever had stolen the jewels but that had been too thin a story. Perhaps he intended to grill her un
til she made a mistake? Or as he thought someone else might be involved did he assume that if he pressured her enough she'd betray this suspected other person? Her mouth twisted. In return no doubt for not being charged herself:? Stupidly she'd agreed to stay because she wanted some chance to prove her innocence but she should have refused indignantly-if not then as soon as he'd kissed her. It had taken her a whole year to get her life back to some sort of equilibrium. Falling into his arms-into his bed if that was what he intended-would cripple her emotionally and she suspected that this time it would be permanent.

  For her own self-respect she had to get out of here.

  Mind working furiously she ran across the room to the armoire and hauled out her tote bag. She'd ring-who? Her hands stilled as the thought struck her. Who could she ring? Many of her so-called friends had slipped away after the debacle of her failed engagement and the storm of publicity that had followed. She couldn't ask any of the few who'd remained faithful. Gabe was too powerful. He'd destroyed her career' he was ruthless enough to do the same to anyone who helped her. She didn't dare ask her friends to go against him.