No—no, it could not be. It was impossible. Ben was just…Ben, that was all.
But if her sister had been married to his father, and his father was a prince of San Lucenzo, then Ben…
She sat down. Her legs felt weightless somehow.
‘It’s not true.’ Her voice was faint. Her eyes wide. She stared across at him. ‘Please—please say it isn’t true. Please.’
Rico looked at her. She could not have meant what she’d just said. No one could. Certainly no woman in her situation could mean it. She had just been told that her nephew was a royal prince. And yet she was begging him to tell her it was not true.
He inhaled sharply.
‘It is hardly a subject for jest. And now that you know, you must realise why there is no question but that Ben be brought up in his own country, with his own family.’
Her eyes blazed with sudden fierce light.
‘I don’t care if you tell me that Ben is the King of Siam. I’m not uprooting him from his own life, from everything he knows. So what if he is legitimate? Your brother Paolo was the youngest brother, so Ben isn’t going to inherit the throne or anything, is he?’
The strident voice grated on Rico’s already stretched nerves. The girl’s reaction was incomprehensible. Was she particularly unintelligent? It seemed he would have to spell everything out to her.
‘A royal prince of the house of Ceraldi cannot be brought up as a private citizen in a foreign country.’ He spoke heavily, hoping to God the damn woman would finally get through her skull what the reality of the situation was. ‘He must be raised by his family—’
‘I am his family.’
Rico’s face closed.
‘You are his aunt. Nothing more than that. I appreciate that you have worked very hard to raise my brother’s son, and—’
Her strident voice interrupted him again. Rico felt his impatience mounting. It was not just her unbelievable pig-headedness and her exasperating lack of intelligence that got to him, but her appalling habit of cutting across him.
Her eyes were stabbing at him, and she was getting ludicrously worked up.
‘I am Ben’s legal guardian. He is solely my responsibility.’
Rico fought for self-control. ‘Then, as his legal guardian, you will want the best for him, no? And clearly—’ he tried hard to keep the withering sarcasm out of his voice ‘—Ben’s interests will be served by his being raised by his father’s family.’ And now the sarcasm did creep in. He couldn’t stop it, such were the emotions biting through him at the woman’s incomprehensible objections. ‘Or did you imagine it would be suitable for my brother’s son to be raised in a semi-derelict peasant cottage?’
A line of colour leached out across her cheeks, and Rico, despite his mounting temper, felt a stab of regret. She could not help being poor, and she had, after all, done the best she could for Paolo’s son, within her means.
But that was irrelevant now. Whether she liked it or not, she had to accept the truth of the matter—the Ceraldis had a new prince, and his place was with them. Swiftly, he moved on. His father had given him full authority to do whatever was necessary to ensure Ben returned to San Lucenzo as soon as possible.
He held up a hand, forestalling any further comeback from her.
‘Miss Mitchell—the matter is not open for debate. I make allowances for your sense of shock, but you must face up to the necessity of the situation. My nephew must go to San Lucenzo with the minimum of delay to start his new life. You must see that.’
She shook her head wildly.
‘No, I don’t. I don’t see anything of the sort. You can’t possibly think his life should be turned upside down like that.’
Rico pressed his mouth together, willing himself to stay calm.
‘And you, Miss Mitchell, cannot possibly think that Ben’s life will not be immeasurably better when he is surrounded by his family. What possible justification can you have for your objection? How can you possibly not welcome this? You live in poverty—all that has changed. Changed completely. Have you not realised that?’
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally as he watched for her reaction. But her face just seemed totally blank. Obviously he would need to be blunter, distasteful though it was.
‘You will not suffer by the change in Ben’s life, Miss Mitchell. You will always be his aunt, and, although Ben’s new life will inevitably be vastly different from what he has been used to so far, you will benef
it too. It would not be appropriate for my nephew’s aunt to live in poverty,’ he said carefully, his eyes watching her. ‘Therefore generous financial arrangements will be made in your favour, in appreciation for what you have done for my nephew. You have given up four years of your life to look after him—it is only right that your invaluable contribution should be recognised. But now you will be able to resume the life of a young woman, independent of the responsibilities you have had to assume up till now.’
His eyes rested on her as he waited for the penny to drop. But her face was still quite expressionless.