As the excited crowd, kept back by a strictly enforced cordon, called out questions and messages of love to their Princess, Nathaniel suddenly understood why her father was so desperate to keep her in the fold.
Catalina was the member of the royal family the public loved. While her brother screwed his way around the planet under the guise of being on official visits—and many unofficial ones in seedy establishments—and her sister had turned from a wilful brat into a married woman travelling the world with her new husband, Catalina had been the one who had always been there for her countrymen. She’d visited hospices, opened junior school fetes, publicly supported many varied charities, all while attending functions and charming visiting dignitaries. The people of Monte Cleure loved their kind, beautiful Princess. Without her, the House of Fernandez would lose its crowning jewel.
Nathaniel would bet her father had come to realise this since they’d married, too. Hiding Catalina away as a punishment had only hurt the House of Fernandez. Without Catalina there to deflect all their countrymen’s attention, that attention had focused on the remaining family members. Her rumoured disappearance had only made the discontented mutters worse.
‘Are you going to miss all this?’ he asked when they were safely in the back of his car.
‘Miss what? The press?’
‘Being a princess. Having the love of your people?’
For a moment her expression clouded then she met his gaze. ‘None of it’s real. They don’t love me, just the image they see. So long as our child is free from palace interference, that’s all I care about.’
‘We’ll be out of Monte Cleure before our baby is born.’ The King had sent a message during their flight back demanding a private meeting with Nathaniel.
The hard work was just beginning.
* * *
Her return to Monte Cleure wasn’t as dramatic as Catalina had feared. The crowd at the airport had lifted her spirits and, rather than the armed guards she’d secretly feared arriving to spirit her away, she’d received a personal invitation from her father for lunch in two days. Nathaniel wasn’t invited.
Nathaniel had left the apartment within minutes of dropping her back, citing a meeting that he needed to attend. He arrived back to find her gazing at the invitation.
‘I thought this would happen,’ he said.
‘Why?’
‘I didn’t say anything earlier because I didn’t want to cause you worry, but the meeting I just attended...it was at the palace.’
‘And? Has he given the deeds back to you?’
He shook his head. ‘He’ll give it all back after his birthday party. We’ve arranged to meet again on the Monday after. He’ll hand the deeds back to me and issue a press statement revoking the fraud allegations.’
‘That’s a start.’
‘This invitation is so he can satisfy himself that you’re going to toe the line from now on. You need to convince him that you’re sorry.’
‘I can do that.’
He stared at her thoughtfully.
‘What is it?’ she asked after a pause.
‘I think you should give me your passport for safekeeping.’
‘Why?’
‘A gut feeling. Running away was your second rebellious act in a matter of months. He’s suspicious. Dominic is too.’
‘He was there?’
Nathaniel’s jaw clenched as he nodded. Dominic had sat in on that meeting, the look of a bulldog on his ugly face.
The King had been in charge but there was no doubt in his mind Dominic was pulling the strings.
He was certain Catalina’s instinct that Dominic was behind the fraud allegations and the title revocation was correct. Dominic didn’t care that the public loved his sister. On the contrary; that was probably what infuriated him so.
‘I’d like to keep hold of my passport myself, thank you.’ That passport was hers. It was her only guaranteed document that gave her freedom.
‘That’s fine but you need to convince your father,’ he reiterated. ‘Show him you’re serious about sticking to your part of the bargain. Convince him you’re still prepared to remarry an aristocrat of his choosing. Once I get my deeds back I can get moving on the sale.’
She nodded. Convincing her father would be easy. She had spent her whole life putting on a façade for both her family and the world at large. Any underlying guilt at lying to her father she smothered. Her father cared more for the House of Fernandez than he did for her and her child, something she would not allow herself to forget. She couldn’t forget it. ‘I will do whatever is necessary. But...’
‘What’s on your mind?’
‘Next time you meet my father or have other meetings that concern me, please don’t lie about it.’
‘I didn’t lie.’
‘You didn’t tell me the truth either. I don’t want protecting any more.’
‘I’m not used to accounting for my whereabouts.’
‘I’m not asking that. I’m only asking you to let me know of anything that affects me. We’re a team, remember?’
‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ he said with a wry grin. ‘Okay. I’ll remember.’
* * *
The one person genuinely happy about Catalina’s return was Clotilde, who’d been on leave on their return to Monte Cleure. She arrived in Catalina’s room two days later with a beaming smile that could have powered the country. When she discovered that she wasn’t expected to do as much as Catalina’s companion as she had before, the smile dropped.
‘But I like doing things for you,’ she said, her expression woebegone.
‘I know you do,’ Catalina said gently. ‘And I appreciate everything you did and everything you’ll do. I still need a companion while I’m here, just...maybe a little less attentiveness, okay?’
‘Okay.’ Then the smile came back and Clotilde leaned in conspiratorially. ‘Julie tells me Nathaniel spent the night in here with you.’
‘Did she?’ Catalina said innocently, knowing the flush of heat rising to her face would be a giveaway.
Even after their night together in the hotel she hadn’t dared to think it could happen again. It had been an emotional day and evening for both of them. They’d both revealed things about themselves and their pasts neither had shared with anyone before. Making love had been a release for them both. A joyous, glorious night of bliss.
On their first night back they’d dined out at a hotel in Monte Cleure. Nathaniel had entertained her with tales of his school days, stories of the strange people and customs he’d encountered due to his various developments across the globe. Neither of them had mentioned her family or their situation. After all the angst she’d been living with recently, it had been a welcome relief to simply enjoy the moment without worrying about the future and what it held.
When they’d returned to the apartment, he’d poured himself a nightcap then, without her knowing who had taken the first step towards the other, she had been in his arms. He’d carried her to her room like the heroine of an old black and white movie, and laid her down on the bed...
He’d joined her last night too.
‘She did,’ Clotilde assured her. ‘Does this mean...?’
‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ she said quickly. ‘Would you like to brush my hair?’
She knew how much Clotilde had longed to brush it since she’d first arrived at the apartment, and it proved to be exactly the right thing to distract her.
Soon her hair was brushed to a gleam then expertly tied into a French plait.
‘I’ve been practising,’ Clotilde said proudly.
Catalina chose her outfit carefully from her limited wardrobe, now wishing she’d taken up Nathaniel’s offer all those weeks ago and gone shopping. When she thought of all the clothes left in the palace, hanging there, u
ntouched and unloved, she wanted to cry at the waste.
Today, she would see if she could have them returned to her. She would have to play it by ear, gauge her father’s mood.
She hadn’t seen him since the wedding, when he hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye.
Eventually selecting a demure black knee-length dress with a collar and long sleeves, she slipped her feet into a pair of low-heeled black shoes and left the apartment.
It felt fitting to meet her father for lunch dressed appropriately for a funeral.
The bodyguards and Nathaniel’s driver were waiting for her. The last she’d seen of her husband had been when he’d kissed her goodbye after breakfast. She knew he was meeting with his sharpest legal minds, getting his pieces into place for the coming battle ahead.
Her welcome at the palace brought her much relief. All the courtiers, family members and others alike, were there to greet her. They must have known she’d run away. They must know of the threats made against Nathaniel to bring her back. None of them cared. All that mattered to them was the House of Fernandez and their own positions in it. But their smiles and well wishes were genuine, and that warmed her heart more than she could have thought possible.
It was an even greater relief to find her father’s private dining table set only for two.
‘Is Dominic not joining us?’ she asked after they’d exchanged a tentative embrace.
Her father’s welcoming smile was too forced to be trusted.
‘Your brother is on a state visit in the UK,’ he said reproachfully, as if this were something she should have known.
‘Of course.’ She smiled easily and waited for her father to take his seat before taking her own.
For the first five years after her mother had died, Catalina and her father had made all the state visits together. She knew he would have preferred to take his favourite, Isabella, with him but she’d been too young, so he’d had to accept Catalina as the best replacement. They’d got on well enough but any hopes of establishing a closeness with her remote father had been dashed. Her father’s heart was so closed it only had limited space for love. And that love had been reserved for Isabella. Catalina was able to find comfort in the knowledge that at least she’d had her mother’s love. Of that there had never been any doubt.
It had infuriated Dominic to see the sister he loathed having such high status within the family and enraged him to see the world fall in love with her. His subtle hints and needling to the King had eventually worked and now he conducted most state visits himself, effectively sliding himself into position to take over the throne.
She doubted her father would abdicate but knew he was proud his son and heir was taking the throne and its attendant duties so seriously.
She also doubted Dominic was happy to be missing this lunch. He would have enjoyed nothing more than to watch her squirm as she was given the anticipated dressing down that was surely to come.
‘He’ll be back on Friday. I know he’s looking forward to seeing you at my party next week.’
She gave another smile. That was all that was ever required of her. A smile of acceptance or approval or whatever particular outward emotion was deemed appropriate for the situation.
Their first course of cream of wild mushroom soup was brought to them. A courtier cut and buttered them a fresh roll each, then put a clean spoon into her father’s bowl and sampled a soupçon of it.
When he was satisfied the courtier wasn’t about to drop down dead, her father judged it safe to eat.
‘That Giroud,’ he said between noisy slurps. ‘He is mistreating you? Is that why you ran away?’
‘It isn’t an easy marriage,’ she said quietly, casting her head down so he couldn’t read the truth in her eyes.
Her answer clearly pleased him, for he chuckled. ‘The man is an animal.’
She clenched a handful of the skirt of her dress between her fingers. ‘Yes. He is. I’m sorry for running away, Father, but I couldn’t see any other way out. I hate living with him.’
‘Look at me, Catalina.’
She obeyed and found his brown eyes, so like her own but ringing with malice.
‘You have always been a good girl. It’s why I decided you should marry Giroud rather than cast you out as your brother wanted—you understand your brother was only thinking of what’s best for the House of Fernandez?’
‘I understand,’ she said meekly, wondering how he would react if she threw her bowl of soup into his face.
‘Good.’ He smiled. ‘You’re a valued member of our family but I will not tolerate any further dissent. Lauren will accompany you back to the apartment. You will give her your passport. I will keep it safe for you until your bastard is born and you’re married to Johann. He’s agreed to the marriage. Your honour will be restored.’
Her heart clattering against her chest so hard it was a struggle to get any words out, she said, ‘I don’t have my passport. Nathaniel—Giroud—has confiscated it. He doesn’t trust me,’ she added for good measure.
Nathaniel’s instincts had been right. Her father didn’t trust her.
The King inhaled deeply then flashed his teeth. ‘Bring it to me at my party. If you fail to do so I will have him arrested on the spot.’
He must have seen something in her eyes that she wasn’t quick enough to hide because his smile turned into a leer. ‘Do not underestimate me, Catalina. I might be transferring much of my power to your brother but I still rule this country and everyone who lives in it.’
* * *
Nathaniel knew there was something wrong the moment Catalina got into the car. He’d finished his meeting with his lawyers early enough so he would be there to meet her. He hadn’t been thrilled with her going to the palace on her own but they both knew that, for their plan to succeed, they had to carry on as normal. And that meant Catalina obeying her father’s commands.
‘What happened?’ he asked.
She shrugged and looked out of the window. ‘He’s arranged my next marriage.’
‘The Swedish duke?’
‘Yes.’
‘Don’t worry about it. It isn’t going to happen.’ He stared hard at her as a thought came to him. ‘Unless you’ve changed your mind?’
‘I haven’t.’ She turned to face him and smiled. It didn’t meet her eyes. ‘You know that’s not the future I want for our child.’
He let out a breath and reached for her hand. He razed a kiss across the knuckles she’d managed to slice. The cuts had healed beautifully, and were now only fading pink lines across the pale skin.
‘Is there something else troubling you?’ They both knew her wedding to the Swedish duke would never happen.
She gave a brave smile. ‘My mother’s jewellery. I don’t think I’ll ever get it back.’
He squeezed her hand lightly, wishing this were something he could fix for her but, short of launching a full-scale assault on the heavily guarded palace, he didn’t see how that was feasible.
‘How would you like to visit a Club Giroud next week?’ he said, wanting to distract her from something he knew caused her much anguish. ‘I would take you sooner but I think it’s best we stay in Monte Cleure for a while to try and stave off your father’s suspicions.’
‘Dominic told me they’re places full of debauchery.’
He laughed. ‘Your brother wouldn’t know—he’s banned from them.’
‘Really?’
‘I don’t let any old riff-raff in.’
Now Catalina was laughing too; a low, sweet musical sound he’d never heard from her lips before. It filled every part of him as much as her scent always did.
* * *
Alone in the bath, Catalina closed her eyes. She wanted to cry. She wanted to howl. She could do neither.
Her father had her exactly whe
re he wanted her. He knew it and so did she.
Dominic’s poison had seeped fully into him.
There had once been some compassion in the man who had raised her. Not much by any means but enough for her to pretend he did love her as a daughter and not just a princess to show off to the world and bring pride to the House of Fernandez. It seemed Catalina’s failed betrothal to Helios had killed the last of it and created an opening for Dominic’s hatred towards her to pour through in replacement.
As she shampooed her hair, trying to relish the freedom of doing this act alone, all too aware that within a year Marion or one of her other palace companions would be at her side, because a princess couldn’t possibly wash her own hair, it came to her what she must do.
The freedom she had been so close to having for ever had been snatched from her grasp but that didn’t mean her baby’s freedom had to be snatched away too.
* * *
They took Nathaniel’s jet to Marseille. From there it was a short drive to one of the city’s most famous hotels. Hotel Giroud. The first project he had undertaken and the catalyst for the fortune he had acquired throughout the subsequent decades.
‘I thought you sold this when it was completed?’ she said as they entered the plush foyer.
‘I bought it back five years ago. It had been allowed to fall into disrepair so I revamped it.’
‘It’s beautiful.’ It was also very decadent. The place screamed money.
The reception staff all leapt to attention when they saw the boss. Waving them away with a grin and words of encouragement at their hard work, he led her to a back office. Adjacent to it was an elevator.
She raised her eyebrows and her silent question was answered with a gleam of teeth. Nathaniel keyed in a code and the elevator opened.
They stepped inside and, moments later, the elevator came to a halt. When they stepped out it took a couple of moments for her eyes to adjust to the dimness. Then she blinked. And blinked again.
‘What is this?’
They were standing in a vast, cavernous space with beautiful oak flooring. In the centre of it was a huge round bar, the polished wood gleaming, the brass rail around its rim shining even more so. Dozens and dozens of richly dressed men and women stood around the bar drinking. Dozens more filled the card and roulette tables strategically placed around the room and even more sat at normal tables, socialising and networking.
Claiming His Christmas Consequence Page 14