‘I was hoping to get back to New York.’ Even as he said that he heard how cold it sounded, but for some reason when he was around this woman she brought out the very worst in him.
Poppy’s eyes flashed. They were very green, distracting Caius momentarily. She said through visibly clenched teeth, ‘We have to be seen to be spendingsometime together. There is Internet connection on the island and I can assure you it’s exceedingly comfortable. Staff have already set up an office space for you. There’s a gym and a media room. A fully stocked library. It really shouldn’t be that onerous.’
Even Caius was smart enough to know to not give anyone fuel to start rumours. He had to think of his child, after all. The only reason he was doing this.Really?asked a little voice. Caius ignored it as he ignored the desire to take Poppy to a private space and unpeel all that lace and satin from her body. That was what had got them into this mess.
‘Fine. Let’s go.’
Chapter Five
POPPY DIDN’T KNOWwhy she’d allowed Caius’s eagerness to leave Valdere again so soon to affect her. She wasn’t calling it hurt. It couldn’t be that. It was irritation. Anger, that he wasn’t willing to give up his time for a honeymoon, to shore up this facade that it was a real marriage. That he hadn’t even read over the information her team had sent him.
But for a moment when they’d been dancing and talking with surprising ease she’d almost forgotten about where they were and how many people were watching them avidly. His observation about what she’d done already for Valdere and her father being blinkered had impacted her deeply.
It was as if they’d taken two steps forward and one back again.
She couldn’t help but admit to being disappointed at the evidence of his selfishness—focusing more on his money than his future child. She knew exactly the kind of person he was—she’d seen it first-hand and had the baby bump to prove it!
She couldn’t afford to forget he was the master seducer—it was obviously so ingrained he couldn’t help himself even with someone he didn’t like.
She liked his sister. She seemed down-to-earth, friendly. And the interplay between her and Caius had caught at Poppy’s chest because she’d seen genuine brother/sister affection. It reminded her of how lonely she’d always felt as an only child.
And the way things were working out, her child was destined to be another only child. Unless she followed her father’s footsteps and remarried after Caius shook himself free of this marriage, the prospect of which there was zero doubt in Poppy’s mind.
The island in the lake was a short boat ride from Valdere harbour. There were just a few buildings on the island—the chateau and a church and outbuildings that housed the caretaking staff and seasonal workers who tended the vines that grew on one side of the small island. They made a modestly good dessert wine from the vines.
Tourists came to visit for day trips and there was a cafe but it would be shut while they were in residence.
The boat came to a stop at the small island jetty and Caius got out and held out his hand to Poppy. She wanted to scowl and tell him he didn’t have to bother pretending, it was just them and the staff now. But she took his hand and tried to ignore the little shiver of awareness as his fingers closed over hers and he pulled her onto the small jetty.
She felt ridiculous in the wedding dress now and cursed Clotilde for persuading her to leave it on—clearly the woman had romantic delusions, or maybe Poppy had an illicit fantasy of Caius removing it on their wedding night?
A runaround golf buggy and driver were waiting for them. The staff had arrived ahead of them with their bags. Poppy couldn’t wait to sink into a hot bath and try and pretend today hadn’t happened. And that she didn’t have to face days of looking at Caius’s stony expression, no doubt as he was counting down the minutes until he could escape again.
In the back of the buggy as it was driven up the winding road to the castle, Caius asked, ‘So what is this place?’
‘One of my ancestors built it. A great-great-grandfather. Apparently he built it for his mistress, uncaring of the fact that his wife, the queen, could see it every time she looked out of the window of the palace. Since then, my ancestors have reclaimed it and tried to sanitise its less than savoury history by making a tradition of using it for the newly-wed king and queens.’
‘Call me old-fashioned,’ Caius drawled, ‘but the Caribbean would be more my cup of tea for a honeymoon.’
Poppy had to admit that the thought of hot sun and translucent clear water and a white sand beach bordered by lush jungle sounded pretty idyllic too. She could envisage Caius lounging on the sand, droplets of seawater on his dark golden body, a beautiful woman sliding her leg between his while a sleek yacht floated just offshore.
Her imagination mocked her and she turned to Caius and said with faux sweetness, ‘Haven’t you heard? The cold-water swimming our lake provides is far more benefical to your health.’
Caius made a sound halfway between a snort and a grunt. ‘I’ll have to get back to you on that.’
Great, now she had just as provocative images of him hauling himself out of the lake onto the rocks, muscles bulging.
The buggy came to a stop at the front of the chateau. It never failed to make Poppy’s breath catch. In the gathering dusk it looked even more magical, floodlit and with soft light coming out of the windows. Ever since she’d been young it had always looked to her like a fairy-tale castleshouldlook, even if it more resembled a grand country house.
The fairy-tale bit of it was a round building with a turret roof on one end. The stone could look almost pink on some days and then, as the evening drew in, it turned golden.
But she wasn’t in a fairy tale. She was here on her wedding night with a man who would prefer to be anywhere else. Any last hope that she’d ever secretly clung onto that things could be different for her had just died a death.
Staff were waiting at the open door and they were ushered inside. The housekeeper greeted them warmly and said, ‘We’ve prepared a light supper if you’re hungry?’
Poppy smiled at the woman who had taken care of this place for as long as she could remember. ‘Thank you, Maud. I might eat something after I’ve changed and had a bath.’
‘Of course, Your Highness. Chiara will go with you to your room to help you.’
