It was hard, punishingly hard, to take leave of Lizzy and Ben. But it had to be done. For these past days he had shut out the outside world, ignoring its existence, but that did not stop it existing. Now, he just wanted it sorted.
He took Lizzy’s hands. She’d showered and changed, like him, but whereas he had put on a formal suit, knowing his father’s preferences, she was wearing a simple sundress. Ben had been peeled out of his trunks and put into shorts and a T-shirt.
‘What’s going to happen?’ He could hear the fear in her voice.
‘My father has a very clear choice—he can accept our marriage with outward good grace, and keep everyone happy. Or he can have an open breach with me. I don’t care which. Whichever he’s chosen, it makes no difference—we’re married, you’re my wife, Ben is our joint legal charge, and my father cannot get his hands on him.’ He took a breath. ‘I don’t want to leave you, but it’s the best thing in the circumstances. I don’t want you and Ben setting foot in San Lucenzo till all this is settled. I’ve asked Falieri to stay with you, and he’s consented. I trust him. He’s not my father’s stoolie and he will do nothing illegal. He was not involved with the deception my father and brother practised on us at the palace.’ His expression darkened. ‘It was clever of Luca to send him to England with me—he knows I trust him, and he also knows that Falieri would have refused to be party to their despicable scheme had he been back at the palace.’
‘When will you be back?’ She was trying to keep her voice steady, he could tell.
‘Tonight. There’s a helicopter waiting for me at the marina, and the flight won’t take long. Nor will whatever my father has to say to me. I’ll be heading right back here.’
He gave a sudden smile, dispelling the grimness of his expression.
‘Put the champagne on ice, get Ben to bed early, and…’ his long lashes swept down over his eyes ‘…slip into something comfortable.’
For one last moment he held her gaze. Then, letting go her hands, he ruffled Ben’s hair and walked out.
Lizzy watched him go. Her chest felt tight.
Ben tugged at her skirt. ‘Where’s Tio Rico going?’ he asked.
‘He’ll be back later,’ said Lizzy absently. She took a breath, trying to focus. ‘Let’s go and see if Captain Falieri would like a cup of coffee. I’m sure he would.’
‘Can he stay to tea, then?’ Ben asked, pleased.
‘I think he can now. Yes.’
She took Ben out along the terrace. On the far side of the villa she could hear a car moving off, taking Rico down to the heliport.
Captain Falieri walked out of the house. For a moment he seemed a familiar, reassuring figure. Then he turned to look at them as they approached.
There was something in his face that made the blood freeze in her veins.
She stopped in front of him.
‘What is it?’ Her voice was high, and faint. The tightness in her chest was squeezing hard, so hard.
For a moment he just looked at her. His face was sombre. And in his eyes, most frightening of all, was pity.
‘I have,’ he said gravely, ‘unwelcome news.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE helicopter churned through the air, descending to the palace. Rico must have made this landing a thousand times or more—it was one of the most convenient ways of arriving and departing. He gazed down at the white towers astride the rocky promontory on which the original castle had been built. It was one of the most familiar sights in the world to him.
And yet now it seemed very alien.
He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want this confrontation. But it had to be done. And the sooner it was over and done with the better.
Which way had his father chosen? Either Falieri did not know, or he was under strict instructions to give no clue. Well, the waiting would be over very soon, and then Rico would know either the best or the worst.
But it wouldn’t be the worst. His father would not risk the scandal of an open breach with his son—he would accept what Rico had done. He wouldn’t like it, but he would accept it. For the sake of convention, propriety. For the sake of appearances.
He felt a hardening in his guts. Appearances were all they would be. There could be no real reconciliation with his father. Not after what he had tried to do.
No one, no one took a child from its mother. Parted a mother from her child.
No one.