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‘The gardeners use this as a plant nursery. It seeds the palace gardens. All this would move somewhere else, of course, were you to accept the offer. And there’s the conservatory. Also used by the ground staff and gardeners.’
The conservatory was a huge glass semicircle extending from the house and bursting with greenery. ‘The house was mothballed when my grandmother died.’ He pulled out a brick that formed part of the wall beside the doorstep, stuck his hand in the hole and pulled out an old-fashioned key.
‘Seriously?’ she said. ‘That’s your security?’
‘Needs updating.’
It was clean inside the house, dark but not damp, and as Cas started opening curtains and taking covers off the furniture Ana began to see the appeal. The house was far too big for two people but the common rooms were lovely and the bedrooms were of a size that people wouldn’t get lost in.
She opened the door to an ancient bathroom, beautifully tiled in saffron and gold, with a circular bathtub big enough for two. A skylight hovered over it, the same size and shape as the bath. ‘This world of yours…it’s a little opulent.’
He stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest, watching her as she took it all in. ‘You like it. It reminds you of the bathhouse.’
It did remind her of the bathhouse. ‘I could fill it with exotic dancers. You could have a harem.’
‘You’re tempted.’
‘Don’t be smug.’ But he was correct. If he really was looking to incorporate Sophia into the royal family, this would be one way to do it. A way that allowed Ana some autonomy. From him.
‘You could turn some rooms into a business centre. Build a business from here. The house already lies within the palace’s security parameters, which makes me very happy,’ he offered quietly. ‘It would make my security team happy. It would save money.’
‘What about my life in Geneva?’
‘Anastasia.’ He looked torn. ‘That life is gone. I’m trying to give you choices. That’s not one of them.’
Up until now she’d resisted truly digesting that notion. This house, this fresh new option, was forcing her to.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
‘No, you’re not.’ Anger had to be directed somewhere.
‘Believe me, I am. I know the value of freedom, even if I’ve never had it. I can hear in your words and your voice the value you put on it. I’m trying to make it up to you.’
‘With things.’
‘Yes. With things. Useful things. Pretty things. Things that may be of value to you, going forward. Opportunities.’
He turned away to stare towards the bathroom door. ‘I’ll be moving into my father’s old quarters in the summer palace soon. The Byzenmaach monarch resides at the summer palace. Tradition demands it.’
‘Even though you prefer your winter fortress?’
‘Even then. And even though I would live nearby, you would have complete privacy. This would be your home. I would not venture here uninvited.’
He wanted her to say yes to this. He couldn’t hide it. Not with his words and not with his eyes.
‘Show me the second floor,’ she said.
The second floor was even more inviting than the first, full of sunshine and windows and intimate corners. He took the covers off the sofas and the sideboards in the living room and unrolled the floor rugs and a little more grandeur crept into the space. She could make it less daunting, more lived in. It was indeed an option she could work with. A place from which to learn how best to navigate his world.
Ana looked through a couple more rooms, and Casimir said nothing. A muscle flickered in his jaw. ‘We’re going to need a couple of wolfhounds,’ she said.
‘Done.’
‘And the gardeners can stay, provided we have full garden access and get to sample the spoils on a random basis.’
He smiled, just a little. ‘You will never be without flowers or fresh produce again.’
CHAPTER NINE
THE ROOM THE press conference was to be held in had a podium, several centuries’ worth of royal portraiture, and standing room for around one hundred people and their equipment.
Ana stood at the back of the room, not quite a part of things, not quite an outsider. A palace pass graced her neck, two security guards hovered within reach and exit strategies had been discussed. When told to leave by Security, she would leave. She’d given her word.
