скачать книгу бесплатно
Uh-oh. “Is Phillip upset you’re going back to San Ravino with her? If he is, I’ll have a talk with him.”
“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. She wants to speak to her parents alone, and will send for me when the time is right.”
Alarmed, Darrell said, “They don’t know yet?”
“She thought it would be better to meet Phillip first.”
Darrell put her hands to her face. “It’s going to be horrible, isn’t it.”
“That remains to be seen.”
“I feel terrible for her, Alex.”
“So do I. Her parents are very decent people. But even decent people have their limits.”
Tears trickled out of her eyes. “Do you think Phillip has any idea how important tonight was?”
“Yes.” His voice grated. “That’s why we talked so long. I heard all about Steve and his divorced parents. We discussed what it was like for his friend to live in two different households with two moms. Our son is much more prepared to deal with this situation than I’d given him credit for.”
“He’s devoted a lot of thought to it. Too much,” Darrell murmured.
“Our son is terrific, but you already know that.”
“I do.” She wiped the moisture off her cheeks. “We just have to hope Isabella and her parents will be able to work through their pain. Is there any way of putting off the wedding another week or two? Just to give them a little more time to get used to the idea?”
“We talked about that possibility, among others.”
“What others?”
“Her parents will probably be able to deal with it as long as Phillip is never allowed to succeed me as king.”
“King—” she blurted incredulously. “Phillip?”
Until Alex had brought up the subject just now, the thought had never entered her head. “Did you assure her Phillip is the last person in the world who would want that job one day, let alone be qualified?”
The silence lengthened before he said, “Who knows what’s in store for our son.” Alex sounded so serious, she started to get nervous.
“I can tell you right now it won’t be that!” she cried.
He shifted his weight. “Did I mention his asking me if he was a prince now?”
She made a protesting sound in her throat. “He was just kidding around, Alex. You know how he is. Isabella has nothing to fear from him. When you two have children, they’ll be royals from birth. I hope you explained that to him. After I get him alone I’ll explain to him.”
“Let’s not worry about that right now. How would you like to go horseback riding after breakfast in the morning?”
He’d changed the subject too fast.
“I’m sure Phillip will love it.”
“Surely you realize I’m including you in the invitation,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument.
“Isabella wouldn’t approve of it no matter how hard she’s trying to be brave about this, so—”
“Be ready at nine,” he cut in on her abruptly. “Sleep well.”
Within seconds he’d disappeared from the suite.
Shivering with apprehension because the situation was growing more complicated by the minute, she burrowed under the covers. Five minutes later she was still wide-awake.
Not only their conversation but his presence had given her a serious case of insomnia. The time for gut-wrenching honesty had come.
She hadn’t wanted him to leave just now…
Frightened by her feelings for him, which were intensifying beyond her control, she pounded her pillow in an effort to get more comfortable so sleep would come. This insanity had to stop.
One way to cure it would be to leave Switzerland immediately. But how could she do that when nothing had been resolved regarding visitation arrangements?
Just saying the word “visitation” made her cringe.
The thought of leaving her son for any length of time was unbearable.
Yet he’d feel the same way when he had to leave his father.
She wept into her pillow.
What had she done?
Alex had just seen a sober Isabella off at the helipad when his mother phoned, asking him to come by her apartment.
He grimaced. The castle grapevine was alive and doing well.
“Is it true?” she questioned the moment he entered the day room of her suite.
This morning his mother wore a casual dress in a melon tone that suited her light brunette hair. She appeared ready for her daily walk with the two dogs she’d raised from puppies. Since his father’s death, they’d brought her a lot of comfort.
He studied her for a long moment. One day soon he intended to tell her the whole truth. But for now the preservation of their family’s happiness necessitated his holding back certain information.
“That depends on what you’ve heard.” He kissed her cheek.
“If I could have told you sooner, I would have, but Isabella deserved to hear the news before anyone else. She’s on her way back to San Ravino as we speak.”
Her dark gray eyes looked at him in anguish. “Then it is true.”
“That I have a twelve-year-old son named Phillip?” He met her gaze head-on. “Yes.”
She sank down on the couch, rubbing the dogs’ heads absently. “How long have you known?”
“Three days ago Leo came to me with a story about a woman and a ring.”
She moaned. “I could expect this from almost anyone else in the world, but not my only son.” Her voice shook. “To do this to Isabella…”
Her eyes filled with tears. “How did this happen, Alex? You know what I mean.”
He moved toward her. Though he’d braced himself for this inevitable confrontation, it was still difficult to see his mother in pain.
“Chaz and I went to a bar with a couple of girls while we were on vacation in the States. We all drank too much. I only spent one night with her before Chaz and I got word that Uncle Vittorio was in that accident and we had to fly home.
“I don’t honestly remember giving her the ring Chaz gave me. When we flew out of Colorado Springs, I knew I wouldn’t be back. Nine months later she gave birth to my son, but she had no way of contacting me because she didn’t know who I was.
“Phillip has grown up wanting to know his father, so in desperation she used the ring to try to find me.”
His mother’s expression twisted in agony. “Well, she certainly did that, didn’t she.”
The dogs moaned at the harsh tone in her voice.
“Every day since your father died, I’ve asked why he was taken from us so prematurely. Now I can see it was to spare him this grief.” She took a shallow breath. “You’ve always been so wise, Alex. Whatever possessed you to fly them here, and allow them to stay at the castle?”
“Because he’s my son and deserves the very best, despite my irresponsible behavior. He needs love. Isabella understands this and realizes why I refuse to keep him hidden like some bastard child. She knows everything. She had dinner with him last night. We’re going to work this out.”
Visibly shaken, she got to her feet. “You think for one minute Ernesto and Tatia are going to stand for this?”
His brows furrowed. “Isabella’s parents don’t have a choice any more than I did.”
Her gaze bore into his. “Oh, yes, you did. You could have kept this private, and dealt with him and his mother behind the scene.” Leo had suggested the same thing.
“I could have.” He folded his arms. “But when you meet Phillip, you’ll understand why I didn’t.”
She shook her head in bewilderment. “Bringing your former lover into our home is political suicide, and so cruel to Isabella I can’t imagine what you’re thinking.”
Though he tried to control it, his temper flared. “Darrell Collier is Phillip’s mother, the only parent he’s ever known. Would you have me tear him apart from her because of the way it will look to everyone else?”
“You didn’t need to bring them here,” she reiterated. “It was a grave mistake on your part.”
“He’s my son, Mother. He needs me, and I…need him.”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe this has happened.”
“I had trouble believing it myself until I met him. He’s wonderful. You’re going to love him.”
His mother looked away. She was trembling.
He moved closer. “The second Darrell came to the castle asking for an audience with me, Leo did everything he could to keep it quiet, but the rumors began flying anyway. You know as well as I do the best way to handle a situation of this magnitude is to expose it immediately.”
“With what results?” Her voice throbbed.
“I don’t have the answer to that yet. In this scenario no one set out to hurt anyone, least of all Phillip, who’s an innocent. But I do know this much. I already love him and want him with me always.”
“At the cost of the monarchy?” Her voice rang out. “He can never be your legitimate heir.”
Alex struggled to tamp down his anger. “For the sake of argument, why not?”
She let out a cry of alarm. “Because no child of a commoner can inherit the title. It’s the law and you know it.”
“Laws can be changed.”
“Then you’d be the first Valleder king in over a thousand years to do away with it.”
“You have to admit it’s archaic.”
Their eyes held while she digested his blunt honesty. “But you wouldn’t change it.”
He took a fortifying breath. “No, Mother. I wouldn’t.”
Until he saw that steely look enter her eyes, he thought his answer had satisfied her. She stared at him like she’d never seen him before.
“This isn’t as much about your son as the woman who gave birth to him. Something tells me you never got over her. Why else would you give her a ring that could be traced? It explains your irrational decision to put her in the Saxony apartment. No wonder you’ve kept putting off your marriage to Isabella.”
“Stop, Mother. You’re wrong you know.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not. The maid told me she’s blond and enchantingly beautiful in that special American way. She wears no wedding ring.
“How shrewd of her to come forward weeks before your wedding and present you with the fruit of your passion, knowing the twelve-year-old son of her body would blind you to your royal duty.”
“Mother—There are things you don’t know.”
“I’m not blind, deaf and dumb, Alex.” Her voice trembled.
“I know you’re not in love with Isabella and never have been. But I thought—I hoped that with marriage and children, love would come the way it did with your father and me.”
“I’m hoping for that, too,” he declared. At least he’d always held that hope, but Darrell’s sudden advent into his life had knocked him sideways. The more he was around her, the more he wanted to be around her all the time. If the truth be known, he wanted her. It was a fact he could no longer deny.
She shook her head. “What you’ve done is make it almost impossible for that to happen now. Not with that woman back in your life!”
His mother was right. No one knew that better than Alex.
“Ms. Collier has no shame, no decency. To think you lost your heart to such a person pains me as much as your father’s death.”
Alex ground his teeth. “Before you jump to any more erroneous conclusions, I’m going to ask a favor of you. This is important.” He checked his watch.
“I’m due to take Phillip riding right now. During your walk with the dogs, why don’t you pass by the stables in say three hours. That way your first meeting with him will be informal and spontaneous, putting him at ease. Later on in the day you and I will have another private talk.”
Her expression remained wooden. “Are you asking as the king, or as my son?”
“Both. I swear on father’s grave that if you’ll do this, certain things will become clear and help you get through this without completely despising me.”
At the mention of his father, she lowered her head. That was the way he left her as he slipped out of the apartment. At their next meeting he would tell her about Melissa. By that time she would have come face-to-face with her grandson.
Knowing his mother as he did, her heart would soften. She’d want Phillip to stay in Bris and become an intrinsic part of the family. Once that happened, she wouldn’t be able to dismiss Phillip’s second mother so easily…
