His mouth pursed and he shook his head. ‘We fell out over a girl.’
‘What happened?’
‘He caught me in bed with his girlfriend at our school Christmas party.’
She gave a surprised bark of laughter. ‘You slept with his girlfriend?’
‘I wouldn’t go so far as to call it sleeping but we were in a state of undress, yes.’
‘Did you know she was his girlfriend?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you target her deliberately?’
‘No. We were both drunk and she came on to me.’
He didn’t look at her, not wanting to see the disgust and disapproval bound to be on her face.
‘Dominic said you only slept with me to get one up on him. Is that true?’
‘No.’ He shook his head emphatically. ‘I admit, you being his sister gave it an extra frisson but I wanted you regardless.’
She contemplated him in silence for a while, her porcelain mask still in place.
‘Your brother has hated me since we were eight,’ he said. ‘I have no idea what triggered it but trust me when I say the loathing was—is—mutual. We had more than our share of fights during our school years but, whatever you might think of me, I would never have seduced you to hurt him. I slept with you because the opportunity was there and I’d wanted you for years.’
Her head rocked forward. ‘Thank you for being honest with me, brutal though the truth is.’
‘I was honest with you from the start.’
Her gaze didn’t falter but her face screwed up a little with concentration, as if she were deciding whether to share what she was thinking. Eventually she gave a sharp nod and said, ‘My father sent Dominic to the same boarding school as the Kalliakis Princes specifically to cultivate a friendship with them and strengthen the ties between our two nations.’
‘Your brother knew this was why he was sent there?’
‘Of course.’ She gave a surprising low laugh. ‘I think that’s why he disliked you so much. They accepted you, a commoner, as their friend—as one of them. Dominic was born of royal blood and he found himself being treated exactly the same as you, which he detested. You were supposed to know your place, not be more popular than him. If you stole his girlfriend I don’t imagine that endeared you to him. And now that he knows you’ve...’ She cleared her throat and looked away. ‘That you and I...’
‘Were together?’ he supplied, his body tightening as he recalled the exact feeling of being inside her.
She nodded sharply. ‘Dominic and I have never had the closest of sibling relationships. Couple that with his loathing of you... He would have been more accepting if Satan himself had impregnated me. If Dominic held the throne he would have thrown me out on the spot.’
Nathaniel rubbed his temples, letting her words soak into his brain. He would never tell her that her suspicions were correct, but it was much worse than she thought; that if he’d refused to marry her, she would have been thrown out, and the order would have come right from the top, from her father.
‘I concede that Dominic has hated me for years but I don’t get why you think I might be in danger from him. I’ve agreed to the marriage. Our child will be legitimate. And then I will walk away and leave you free to marry someone of equal nobility. He will have everything as he wants it.’
‘I know he’s something of a joke to you but I worry you underestimate how dangerous he can be. He is more than capable of hurting someone.’
There was something in her tone that made him look at her carefully. He’d heard rumours over the years about Dominic’s free and easy hands with some of his girlfriends. Was there truth in those rumours? He recalled Catalina’s reaction when her brother had come back into the room at the palace, the subtle withdrawal. ‘Has he ever hurt you?’
‘What a question to ask,’ she said, her voice light.
‘And what a non-answer to give.’
Her head tilted slightly but she kept her gaze on the stage where the opera was in full flow. ‘All siblings argue. I might be making something out of nothing but, in Dominic’s eyes, you’ve humiliated him. He is not a man to mess with.’
‘And neither am I. Trust me, if your brother attempts anything against me or my business interests, he will regret it.’
The curtains closed for the end of the first act and applause echoed through the theatre.
Spotting an opportunity, Nathaniel drained the last of his Scotch and got to his feet. ‘Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?’
‘You’re leaving?’
‘I told you, I despise opera.’ That was only the partial truth. The full truth was that their private box was shrinking by the second, Catalina’s scent seeping into all the crevices, filling his senses.
A flash of colour heightened her cheeks. ‘We’re getting married next week. Shouldn’t we talk about that and what our marriage will entail?’
‘Our marriage will entail nothing more than getting you and the baby safely through the pregnancy. I will ensure your every need is met. Now, can I offer you a lift home? Or do you want to stay and watch the rest?’
‘Thank you for your generous offer,’ she said, irony heavily lacing her voice, ‘but I’ll stay.’
‘As you wish.’ He bowed his head. ‘I thank you for sharing your concerns with me—I know loyalty and duty to the House of Fernandez are things you believe strongly in. It can’t be easy to speak of your brother like this.’
It must have taken a lot of courage for her to speak out against him. That the Prince was a bully was indisputable. How many times had he turned that nasty tongue on her? Catalina being pregnant with Nathaniel’s child would surely only make his viciousness worse.
While Nathaniel didn’t relish giving up his freedom, at least having Catalina under his own roof rather than in the palace would give her space away from her brother’s malevolence.
And at least when she remarried she’d be far from his influence then too, and so would their child. The contract he and the King had drawn up had given Nathaniel very specific rights to his child. If the King tried to renege on it, he knew hellfire would rain down on him and his country.
She turned her head, those chocolate-brown eyes that fixed on him void of emotion. ‘I know you’re only marrying me because you’ve been blackmailed into it, but you’re the father of my child and that means I owe some loyalty to you too, for our baby’s sake.’
‘So your personal feelings towards me...?’ He deliberately let his words tail off so she could fill the silence.
Was the attraction she had held for him still there or had their night together quelled it? With any other woman he would be able to make a good judgement call, but Catalina was a princess, trained from birth to hide her emotions. Outwardly, she did not give anything away.
What would she do if he were to trace his fingers up her spine then move his hand around to cup one of those heavenly breasts? Such was the privacy the box gave them, he could lay her down and make love to her without anyone seeing...
He fully understood now why she’d been given three chaperones. She really was the most naturally sensual of women. And he needed to get out of this theatre before he did something stupid. Like seduce her all over again.
‘Are non-existent.’ Her mouth snapped shut and she turned her gaze back to the empty stage. ‘Have a safe drive home.’
Catalina didn’t breathe again until she heard the door to the box close. Only then did her lungs expand enough for her to gulp in some air.
Nathaniel couldn’t have made it clearer that he considered marriage to her akin to sleeping in a tank of snakes.
Whatever secret dreams she’d had she would keep to herself. If there was one thing she had learnt throughout her life it was to keep her emotions in check. She wasn’t in love with him but
she wasn’t going to lie to herself and pretend she didn’t have feelings for him. How could she pretend when his departure made the generous box feel so empty and she could still smell his musky, citrus-like scent?
Whatever happened, she would not allow these feelings to develop further. She’d seen for herself the misery and heartbreak of denied love and had known since she was eighteen that she would never allow that for herself.
She would do as her brother ordered and treat this marriage as a business arrangement.
CHAPTER FOUR
OVERNIGHT, THE BALMY weather of the past few weeks turned into torrential rain. Even Monte Cleure, famed for its year-round sun, had to deal with winter in some form or other.
The weather hadn’t been enough to deter the well-wishers however. Peering through binoculars from her bedroom window, Catalina could see them lining the palace perimeter, huddled under umbrellas.
The people of Monte Cleure clearly hadn’t taken the palace’s statement that today’s wedding would be a ‘small, private affair’ to heart.
It touched her to see them there and it warmed her too.
This was what she was doing it for. These people without whose good wishes and consent her family would have nothing. Her father ruled but, as with all monarchies in this day and age, his grip was not as firm as it had once been. If the people revolted, he could do nothing to turn the tide.
In order for the House of Fernandez to endure, it had to bring peace and prosperity to its people. The House of Fernandez had to be loved. And it had to be above reproach. Dominic’s lusty antics were tolerated with ironic smiles; his public persona very much at odds with the private man behind closed doors. When he finally took the plunge and married, the whole country would unite as one to celebrate. Catalina hoped he put the day off for as long as possible. She couldn’t bear to think of how he would treat his wife.
But now was not the time to worry about her hypothetical future sister-in-law. She had her own wedding to get through. In three hours she would marry Nathaniel. Tonight she would move into his apartment.
The thought of living with him...it should terrify her. But the bubbles in her stomach didn’t feel like terror. They felt more like excitement. They would be a married couple. And that meant sharing a bed...
She hated the excitement she felt at that. He’d made his disinterest abundantly clear during their night at the opera a week ago. Not only had he spelt it out in so many words, he’d then compounded it by leaving her in the first interval. She hadn’t seen anything of him since. He hadn’t taken her out or asked to see her or even called.
There was a knock on her bedroom door. Marion, naturally hanging around like a bad smell, went to open it.
Expecting to see her other companions, ready to start preparations to beautify Catalina for the main event, she was surprised to find her father’s private secretary, Lauren, standing there. Behind her stood four of her father’s more junior assistants.
‘Excuse me for disturbing you, Your Highness,’ Lauren said, ‘but we need to do an inventory of your jewellery.’
‘What for?’
‘Your father has requested a full list of all the jewellery in your possession.’
‘What for?’ she repeated, wishing that Marion weren’t there watching her act like such a simpleton.
‘I’m not privy to his reasons. I assume it has something to do with your move.’ There was no mistaking the pity in Lauren’s eyes, but it didn’t detract from her matter-of-fact tone. ‘Your father is in his rooms if you wish to discuss it with him, but I have my orders and I need to report back in two hours. I will also need to take an inventory of your clothes.’
‘I’m getting married in three hours.’
‘It has to be done now. Your father will use it to decide which of your possessions will remain in the palace. He has staff in place to package the remainder during the celebrations for you.’
‘Marion, get my father on the line for me,’ Catalina said in a far snappier tone than she normally used.
First the press release issued the other day without any prior warning, stating that all her royal duties and patronages were being suspended ‘for the foreseeable future’, ostensibly to allow her time to settle into her new marriage, and now this?
What punishment would her father inflict next? Would he force her to strip to her underwear and do the walk of shame like her ancestors had done in medieval times?
From the look on her cousin’s face, Marion was as much in the dark as she was. That was the only bright spot in this situation.
But either her father really was unavailable or he didn’t want to talk to her. Marion reported back that he would see her when it was time to walk her down the aisle.
Her mind awhirl over what this all meant, Catalina forced herself to remain outwardly calm. There was nothing she could do about any of it at that moment.
But when an excited Aliana and Louisa arrived, and Catalina was sitting at her dresser as they began their work, she couldn’t switch off her mind.
Was it really such a shameful thing she had done? After all, Isabella, her younger sister, had been allowed to marry non-royalty. Their father had even given his blessing. But then, Isabella’s husband, although he was a commoner too, didn’t have Nathaniel’s lousy reputation.
And Isabella had always been able to twist both their father and Dominic around her little finger.
Catalina had always been the good, dutiful daughter but now one mistake had turned her into an outcast.
Make that two mistakes. She’d let Helios go. In her father’s eyes, their broken engagement was her fault and the subsequent perceived shame heaped on the House of Fernandez her fault too. In his eyes, she hadn’t tried hard enough to keep him. The daughter he had groomed to marry one of the Kalliakis Princes—and any of them would have done—had let them all slip through her fingers, destroying the Great Marriage he had engineered from the day of her birth.
Isabella was lucky she had fallen in love with Sebastien before any of the Kalliakis Princes had married, Catalina thought ruefully. Their father had given his blessing to his favourite daughter, arrogantly assuming Catalina would snare the greatest prize.
As serene as she tried to appear to be, as she sat there with her companions fussing over her, applying her make-up and doing her hair, it felt like nails scraping down a blackboard to witness Lauren and her assistants trawl through her wardrobes and jewellery boxes, carefully and efficiently itemising each and every single one of her possessions. One of them even made a note of the earrings she had on.
Nothing felt right. She’d left the opera with little peace, and the disquiet within her had grown as the days had passed. She was marrying Nathaniel for the sake of her family. All her life she had put duty above her own feelings. Always, she had accepted that was the way things were. But for the first time, she wanted to rail against it. The serenity with which she had endured her life had dissolved and now bubbled in her veins like carbonated lava.
Knowing Nathaniel was only marrying her to protect his investment...it sent those bubbles into a frenzy. It was the polar opposite of the way she’d felt while engaged to Helios, who had only intended to marry her for the blueness of her blood and the heir she was supposed to provide. Whoever she married after Nathaniel would also expect an heir.
Somehow being regarded as a blue-blooded breeding machine didn’t evoke a fraction of the anger the thought of marrying Nathaniel did.
Marrying Nathaniel...
She had never felt so many heightened emotions in her life.
She had never been more scared in her life.
She was also scared for her future. How would Johann, the Swedish duke, or whoever she was forced to marry after Nathaniel, treat her child? How would they treat her?
‘I bet you wish your mother was here t
o see this,’ Marion observed in a faux sympathetic voice in the moments before they were due to leave Catalina’s rooms. Aliana, who was straightening the tiara, glared at her. Marion was not a popular member of the household.
Catalina met her cousin’s reflection in the mirror, unwittingly scrunching the ivory satin skirt of her dress between her fingers.
She had done everything in her power not to think of her mother that day. Marion would have been kinder if she’d plunged a knife into her back.
Tilting her chin up, Catalina said coldly, ‘Thank you for reminding me of what I’m missing out on. Your support today has been invaluable.’
While her cousin stood there frowning, clearly unsure whether Catalina had just paid her a compliment or put her down, Catalina took Aliana’s hand and got to her feet.
If her mother were alive it would have been her hand she’d be holding for support. Her mother had been the one person Catalina had never had to put the mask on for.
She blinked rapidly to rid herself of the unexpected tears welling in her eyes and placed a hand to her stomach.
If her mother were alive everything would still be the same as it was now. Her mother had always put the House of Fernandez first. Duty above desire. Duty above love. Catalina would still be expected to hold her head up high and do her duty.
But if her mother were still alive she would be able to hold her hand while she did it.
* * *
Even for this supposedly small and private wedding, around one hundred guests were crammed in the Monte Cleure Palace Chapel. Nathaniel was quite certain that if Catalina were marrying a fellow aristocrat, the ceremony would take place in her country’s famed cathedral with fellow royalty and world leaders as guests. It would be a full weekend of celebrations, not the short service followed by the palace banquet they would shortly be having.
Claiming His Christmas Consequence Page 5