She met his gaze with a flash of resentment in hers. ‘Do you really think I would announce to all and sundry I have been chosen to service the future King of Aristo wherever and whenever he pleases?’ she asked.
Sebastian set his mouth in a tight line. ‘You were with me all the way, Cassie.’
She tugged his hand away from her face. ‘I want to go home.’
‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘I haven’t finished with you.’
She glared at him but he could see the up-and-down movement of her throat as her eyes darted to her purse again.
‘Aren’t you going to read the message?’ he asked, pinning her with his gaze.
The point of her tongue swept over her lips. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing important…’
Sebastian moved over to the chair and, scooping up her purse, came back and handed it to her. ‘Why don’t you check it to make sure?’
She hesitated just long enough for his suspicion of her to be heightened. She was hiding something; he was sure of it now. Perhaps she had a lover in spite of what Stefanos’s covert enquiries had uncovered. He felt his insides twisting with jealousy; he would not share her.
He watched as she opened the face of her phone, her fingers fumbling as she pressed the text-message-viewing button. Her eyes widened for a moment, before she gathered herself, her face becoming an expressionless mask as she closed the phone and slipped it back into her purse.
‘Nothing urgent?’ he asked, watching her closely.
‘My flatmate is feeling unwell,’ she said. ‘I think I should go back now to make sure she is all right.’
Sebastian knew she was lying. He could feel it. Damn it, he could see it in her eyes, the way they couldn’t quite hold his. But he had plenty of time to uncover her deceit. He had offered her an affair and as far as he was concerned it had started tonight and would continue for as long as he wanted. What they had shared had been a foretaste of the pleasure he would take from her until he was satisfied she would rue the day she had walked away from him and into the arms of another man.
‘I will summon Stefanos to bring the car around,’ he said and, striding over to the desk, pressed a button on an intercom system.
Cassie sat in the limousine beside Sebastian a few minutes later, her features schooled into indifference. Angelica had sent her the message that Sam had woken with a bad dream and had refused to go back to bed until his mother came home.
As the car got closer she felt her panic building. What if Sam heard the car pulling up and opened the front door? Or what if he had worked himself up into hysteria by now and could be heard from the street?
The car purred to a halt outside the flat, which, after the opulent luxury of the royal hideaway, looked even shabbier and more run-down.
‘Are you going to ask me in for coffee?’ Sebastian asked as he helped Cassie from the car.
Cassie swallowed and pulled her hand out of his, clutching her purse against her. ‘It’s late,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to disturb Angelica.’
He stood watching her for a beat or two. ‘Tell your flatmate I hope she makes a speedy recovery,’ he said with an unreadable half-smile playing about his lips.
‘I—I will,’ she said and, turning, walked the short distance to the front door, the twin drills of his dark gaze boring holes into her back.
Cassie slipped inside the flat, closing the door behind her just as Angelica appeared in the narrow hallway. ‘Is he all right?’ she asked.
Angelica nodded. ‘He went back to sleep almost as soon as I pressed Send on my phone. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important?’
Cassie shifted her gaze. She would tell Angelica everything at some point, but not now. ‘No,’ she said heading towards Sam’s room. ‘Nothing important…’
The children from the orphanage were excited for most of the following day about the party that afternoon. Cassie and her co-workers Sophie and Kara had a difficult time settling the smaller ones for their afternoon naps and even some of the older children had been unusually disruptive. Sam, on the other hand, was quiet and obedient.
Too quiet, Cassie thought with a pang of guilt. Had his nightmare last night been a result of her increasing unease over the past week? He was such a sensitive and intuitive child. He had wet the bed during the early hours of the morning, the first time in weeks, and he had been so ashamed he had tried to hide the evidence by spreading a towel over the sheets when she had come in. She had taken him in her arms and told him it was perfectly normal for accidents to happen and he wasn’t to blame himself, but somehow she didn’t think her reassurances had worked.
Cassie watched him as he stood in line to get on the bus the palace had sent for them. He had a frown of concentration between his small brows, making him look more like Sebastian than ever. Her insides twisted at the thought of them meeting face to face. Would Sebastian see something no one else had so far seen? she wondered. She scanned the two lines of children; so many of them had dark hair and dark eyes just like Sam. Her little son wouldn’t stand out…she hoped.
The children quietened with awe as they were led inside the palace a few minutes later, the shuffle of their feet and the rustle of their clothes the only sound as they filed into one of the reception rooms which had been superbly decorated. Balloons hung in colourful clusters from the ceiling, the long ribbons attached making it easy for each child to reach to claim one once the party was over. The tables were loaded with party delights, fairy cakes, ice cream, chocolate and other treats that had every child bug-eyed with anticipation.
The Prince Regent was announced by one of the officials and Cassie held her breath as Sebastian came into the room. His gaze briefly met hers before he turned his attention to the children, who had been instructed to stand on his entry. She watched as he made a concentrated effort to put his young guests at ease. He soon dispensed with formality and moved from table to table, crouching down and chatting easily with each child as he gave them each a gift from the large bag his aide was carrying.
Cassie swallowed as Sebastian drew closer and closer to Sam. It seemed so obvious now they were in the same room together. The likeness was remarkable, startling…terrifying.
She hovered in the background, catching Sam’s eye at one point and giving him an encouraging smile even as her insides churned.
‘Hello, what is your name?’ Sebastian said as he came to the child next to Sam.
‘I’m Alexis,’ the eight-year-old girl said with her usual precocity. ‘And this is Sam. I’ll open his present for him. He probably won’t talk to you though,’ cause he’s shy. He still wets his pants sometimes.’
Cassie felt her heart contract at Alexis’s unthinking cruelty. Sam’s cheeks were stained with colour and his dark brown gaze dropped in shame.
‘Hello, Sam,’ Sebastian said. ‘I have been looking forward to meeting you.’
Sam’s little head came up. ‘Y-you have?’ he asked in a whisper.
Sebastian’s smile was easy and warm. ‘Yes, it seems we have something in common,’ he said. ‘We both love to draw. I loved the painting you sent me. I have it in my study on my desk.’
A shy smile tugged at Sam’s little mouth.
‘You are much better than I was at your age’ Sebastian said, still smiling, ‘and you are not as shy as I was back then. I used to dread meeting people but after a while I got used to it. I am sure you will too.’
Cassie felt like hugging Sebastian; he couldn’t have said anything better to put her son at ease. Sam was beaming up at him, his earlier shame all but forgotten.
She waited for Sebastian to move on, but he spent far longer with Sam than any other child. She held her breath for so long she saw a school of silverfish appear before her eyes. She blinked them away and forced herself to take a couple of calming breaths, but it wasn’t until Sebastian moved on that she felt her shoulders come down in temporary relief.
Sebastian worked his way through the tables until every child had exchanged a few words with
him, the sound of happy laughter and presents being unwrapped filling the room with joy.
Cassie had done her best to avoid him, but she could see, now that the magician had begun his act, Sebastian had been stealthily making his way to where she stood at the back of the room. She pressed herself back against the wall, wishing she could become as invisible as the rabbit the magician had made vanish just moments before.
‘He is very good, is he not?’ Sebastian said, indicating the magician, who was now pulling a long scarf out of one of the children’s ears.
Her eyes moved away from his. ‘Yes…he is…’
‘The children are delightful,’ he said after a moment. ‘I’m so glad this afternoon has been a success.’
‘Yes…you’ve made it very special for them and at such short notice. You must have very efficient staff.’
‘I hope it wasn’t too short for them,’ he said, turning to look back at Sam’s table with a small frown settling between his brows. ‘When I was a little child it was often the anticipation of a special event that was the best part.’
The silence stretched for several heart-chugging seconds.
‘I want to see you again tonight, Cassie,’ Sebastian said, turning to face her.
Her eyes darted away from his. ‘Um…I can’t see you tonight…something’s come up. I’m sure you understand how—’
‘I understand one thing, Cassie, and that is I want to continue our association,’ he said with an intransigent look. ‘For the time being at least.’
She moistened her lips with the point of her tongue, her gaze flicking to where the children were seated, staring up at the magician as if he had cast a spell on them.
Sebastian took her arm and led her out of sight of the tables. ‘Listen to me, Cassie,’ he demanded softly but no less implacably. ‘This time I am the one who will say when our affair is over.’
She clawed at his hand around her wrist, her eyes shooting sparks of defiance at him. ‘It’s too dangerous,’ she said. ‘Can’t you see that? Last night was a mistake. We should not have been together. It’s over, Sebastian. It was over a long time ago.’
‘Mummy?’ A small child’s voice sounded from behind Sebastian.
A gnarled hand clutched at his insides.
Mummy?
Sebastian turned and looked down at the little dark-haired boy called Sam who was chewing on his lip as he looked up at Cassie.
‘Mummy, I need to go to the toilet but I don’t know where it is. Can you take me?’
Sebastian felt a cold sensation go down his spine, like slow-moving ice. He swung his gaze back to Cassie. ‘You are Sam’s mother?’ he asked in a voice that sounded nothing like his.
Her face was shell-white, her eyes darting about in nervousness. ‘I—I was going to tell you…’ she began.
He frowned at her darkly, his thoughts shooting all over the place. God, she’d had a child. Somehow that hurt more than it should have. How had she kept such a thing a secret? He had heard no mention of a child. Why had she told him the boy was her flatmate’s child? Why had she kept such a thing a…
He looked at the small boy again, his chest suddenly feeling as if something large and heavy had just backed over it and squeezed every scrap of air out of his lungs. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t speak. He stood frozen, every drop of blood in his body coming to a screaming, screeching halt.
Cassie had had a child while she was in prison, a child who looked just like Sebastian. Thick, curly, black hair, dark brown eyes, olive skin and lean to the point of thin.
He had a son.
He had a child who had been kept a secret from him until now. Five years had passed and he had been robbed of every minute of his son’s life. How many milestones had he missed? It tore at his insides to even think about them. When had he taken his first step? When had he said his first word? For God’s sake, he didn’t even know what day he had been born! Five birthdays had passed and he had not been there to celebrate any of them.
‘Sorry, M-mummy,’ Sam said with a wobble in his voice as he looked between them with eyes wide with worry. ‘I tried to hold on but I had two glasses of lemonade. Will I get in trouble?’
‘No…no, of course not, darling,’ Cassie said, enveloping the boy in a hug. ‘You’re not in trouble at all. You’re allowed to have all the lemonade you want.’
Sebastian watched as she slowly straightened, her eyes finally meeting his. He had thought he had hated her for what she had done to him before, but this was far worse. She had kept his son a secret, he could only assume deliberately. His mind began to reel at the thought of why she had left it this late. Had she planned to bring down the house of Karedes with a carefully timed press release?
He looked back down at Sam, the likeness hitting him over the head like a sledgehammer.
His son.
His son.
The words were running continuously in his head, like a recording stuck on one track.
He dragged his gaze back to Cassie’s. ‘We need to talk,’ he somehow managed to get out past the thick, tight feeling in his throat.
Her eyes fell away. ‘Not here…’ She held the child close against her protectively. ‘Not now.’
He clenched and unclenched his fists as he tried to keep control as she led Sam away. His insides were twisting as if a giant set of claws were attacking him. He felt a pain so intense he had to do everything in his power to keep a poker face in case anyone in the room picked up on his tension.
Sebastian had to think and to think fast. The party was almost over. He had to get Cassie somewhere safe so they could thrash this out. Anger rushed through him at the way she had lied to him, time and time again. She had given herself to him last night while holding this secret. That made him more furious than anything else. She had agreed to an affair with him to ramp up the stakes for him, so that when she dropped her bombshell the person who would pay the biggest price would be him. Damn it, he had already paid the biggest price. She had made sure of it by keeping him in ignorance of his own flesh and blood.
He pushed his anger to one side as he thought about that engaging little boy. His son. The words still felt unfamiliar on his tongue, he hadn’t expected to say them for many years to come. But there was no mistaking that boy was his. Could no one else see it? Had anyone else seen it? His guts turned to gravy just thinking about the fallout from this. He had thought the leak about the Stefani diamond would be devastating, but it didn’t even rate next to this.
Sam was a living, breathing image of himself. No wonder he had felt drawn to him. He had felt a connection that was almost visceral.
His stomach twisted again as he saw Cassie and Sam come back to where he was. The child was obviously picking up on the atmosphere; his little chin was trembling and tears began to shine in his eyes. How many times had Sebastian been exactly like that, clinging to his mother, tearful, fearful and unbearably shy?
‘Is my mummy in t-trouble?’ Sam asked, blinking up at Sebastian. ‘She’s not going to be taken away again, is she?’
Sebastian felt his heart tighten unbearably. He crouched down and put his hand on the little boy’s shoulder, his hand seeming so big in comparison to the small thin bones beneath his palm. ‘No one is going to take your mummy away, Sam,’ he said, ‘but I do need to talk to her. How would you like to come with her to my special hideaway for a few days? Have you ever been on a holiday before?’
Sam shook his head solemnly. ‘No…’
Sebastian smiled and gently ruffled the black silk of his hair. ‘Then it is about time you did. I will see to it immediately.’
Cassie cleared her throat. ‘Excuse me, but I don’t want—’
He straightened and cut his eyes to hers, gritting out in an undertone so Sam wouldn’t hear, ‘Do not speak to me until we are alone. You have a lot of explaining to do and I hope to God you’ve polished your explanation by the time I hear it or I swear there will be consequences that will not sit well with you.’
Cassie shrank back from the blistering anger in his tone. Her stomach caved in, her knees knocking together as she tried to control her erratic breathing. In spite of his assurances to Sam he could so easily take him off her. It would be the sort of revenge that would appeal to him. He had been denied all knowledge of his son for the first five years of his life. What better way to hurt her than to take Sam away from her indefinitely? She would end up just like Angelica, dragging herself through each day, her heart empty for the son she had lost and most likely would never see again.
Cassie watched in gut-wrenching despair as Sebastian strode over to Stefanos, his aide, exchanging a few words with him before coming back to where she and Sam were standing.
‘I have arranged for you and Sam to be transported immediately to Kionia,’ he said in a tone that warned her not to interrupt, much less contradict. ‘I will contact the orphanage and offer them some excuse as to why you and the boy will not be returning.’
Cassie’s eyes flared, but she kept her lips tightly clamped. She could feel the tremble of her son’s thin shoulders under her hands and didn’t want to cause him any more distress.
‘M-Mummy?’
‘It’s all right, Sam,’ she said, stroking his hair with an unsteady hand. ‘I’m not going to leave you.’
Sebastian’s glittering gaze challenged hers before he squatted down to speak to Sam. ‘I have arranged for my old nanny to be at my villa,’ he said. ‘She will look after you any time Mummy cannot. She is lovely, just like a grandmother.’
‘I don’t have a grandmother,’ Sam said, biting his lip.
Yes, you do, Sebastian thought with a mental wince. His mother was going to take this news hard. She would love Sam, it was not in her nature to do anything else, but accepting Cassie Kyriakis was another thing entirely.
He straightened to his full height to address Cassie once more. ‘Stefanos will accompany you to your flat to pick up some essentials, but it is imperative that you speak to no one.’
‘But what about Angelica?’ she asked. ‘I can hardly walk out without some sort of explanation.’
The Future King’s Love-Child Page 9