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‘Tod is not a ladies’ man.’
‘You’re right, what he is is something far less polite. Now that we’ve got that out of the way let’s talk about something rather more important, shall we?’ Without waiting for Emerald to respond Dougie continued, ‘I’ve spoken to Mr Melrose and your mother this morning about your marriage. Mr Melrose is to consult a barrister friend who he assures me will know the best way to ensure that Alessandro’s mother keeps her word with regard to the subject of your father.
‘It has been decided that the reason for the annulment of your marriage will be one of religion. Alessandro is a Catholic. You are not. You had initially felt you could convert, but on reflection you have decided that you cannot and therefore you and Alessandro have decided–with deep regret–that the marriage must be brought to an end.’
A feeling–could it actually be a grudging admission of unwanted relief to hear someone speaking in such an authoritative manner on her behalf?–briefly eased the pounding in her head.
‘Alessandro’s mother has been left in no doubt whatsoever that any attempt by her–or indeed anyone else–to put a different interpretation on events, will result in the full weight of the British legal system being brought to bear on her,’ Dougie went on. ‘There is, after all, no concrete proof confirming her allegations. My late second cousin, the previous duke, accepted you as his child, his will alone testifies to that. In the eyes of the law, therefore, you are his child.’
‘You mean that as with the Emperor’s lack of clothes, whilst everyone will know that the late duke was not my father, they will pretend that he was?’
‘No one will know, unless you yourself choose to tell them.’
‘Why are you doing this? You don’t owe me anything.’
‘Noblesse oblige, perhaps–isn’t that what they say, what’s expected of a nobleman?’ Dougie shook his head in amusement. ‘I’m doing it for all of us, Emerald, for myself, for your mother, for the family name, but most of all for you.’
For her? He was lying, of course. Why should he do anything for her?
An odd feeling had begun to take hold of her. A mix of panic, and confusion, and an overwhelming need to run away.
She could remember feeling something similar once before, as a little girl. Inside her head the memory replayed. She had been in the nursery with Rose, and Rose had done something that had annoyed her, so she had deliberately pushed her over just as her mother walked in and witnessed the incident. Amber had gone to Rose, who was lying on the floor but not making a sound, picking her up and cuddling her, kissing her cheek as she smoothed Rose’s dark hair. Emerald could feel the fury and that other feeling she refused to name building up inside her.
Then her mother had turned to her and, still holding Rose, had held out her hand to her, smiling at her as she said gently, ‘Come and be friends again, Emmie.’
She had so badly wanted to go to her mother, so very badly, but something inside her, something hard and hurting and angry, refused to let her, and so instead she had stamped her feet and shouted, ‘No. Not until you put her down. I hate her.’
Her mother’s smile had vanished, and Rose had started to cry. Whilst her mother comforted Rose, Emerald had gone to her great-grandmother for solace, knowing that she too hated Rose.
Now that same feeling of wanting to reach out for what was being held out to her, of wanting to drop her guard and run for the comfort being offered, was there but now too that obstinacy within her would not let her respond to it.
Tossing her head Emerald ignored what Dougie had said, demanding instead, ‘Did Tod Newton leave a number for me to telephone him back on?’
When Dougie bowed his head and said nothing, a feeling gripped her–not pain exactly, but something unfamiliar and soft, which somehow made her ache a little inside, as though…as though she had come within reach of touching something special, which had now slipped away.
All rubbish, of course.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
‘Isn’t it enough that I’ve lost Alessandro, because his mother found out about your past, without this?’ Emerald berated her mother, as she stood white-faced opposite her in the newly decorated drawing room of the smart town house that was to have been her and Alessandro’s marital home.
‘Emerald, I am so sorry.’ Amber’s voice shook with emotion.
‘You’re sorry? It’s all very well for you to say that, you aren’t the one that’s pregnant, are you?’ Angrily Emerald paced the floor. The waist of her beautiful new Dior suit was already painfully tight and none of the other clothes she had ordered for the winter season was going to fit her now.
‘Jay will write and inform Alessandro and his mother for you.’
‘No! I don’t want either of them to know.’ Amber’s response was sharp and immediate. She hadn’t told her mother of the princess’s warning about what would happen should she have conceived, and she wasn’t going to tell her either. ‘In fact I don’t want anyone to know. Not yet. Not until I’ve decided what to do.’
It was a pity that she had fainted like that whilst her mother had been visiting and Amber had immediately insisted on her seeing a doctor.
‘What do you mean, until you’ve decided what to do?’
Emerald could see from her mother’s expression what she feared. Good. She deserved to be punished.
‘What do you think I mean? Everyone knows that there are doctors who deal with this sort of thing.’
‘Oh, no, Emerald, please. Promise me you won’t even think of that.’
