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Violet went paler. With an abruptly murmured excuse she rushed away.
Margot turned her blinding smile on Remi. ‘Ah, here’s the butler, come to announce dinner. Shall we go through?’
She looped both arms around Remi’s elbow and pointedly led him away, leaving Maddie to follow. Margot Barringhall couldn’t have made it clearer that she considered Maddie an outsider if she’d tried. Or the fact that she believed one of her daughters should have become the next Princess of Montegova.
Watching Charlotte Barringhall smile up at Remi as he pulled out her chair, Maddie felt the numbness surrounding her crack, to let in a sharp arrow that left her breathless with pain.
Her composure wasn’t helped when over the next three hours nausea began to roll through her belly as rich course after decadent, rich course was ushered to the table. Suffering at the sight of the rich food, alongside Margot’s less than subtle attempts to ostracise her, while indulgently nudging Charlotte and Remi into conversation, drained every last ounce of Maddie’s poise.
For his part, Remi was the epitome of diplomacy, seemingly content to let his godmother have her way. But every now and then a jagged expression flitted across his face, driving that arrow deeper into Maddie’s heart.
Over and over, she swore she wouldn’t glance his way but, like a glutton for punishment, she repeatedly flicked her gaze to where he sat with Charlotte, their heads together, talking in low tones.
She couldn’t deny they made a striking couple. Nor could she deny the acidic jealousy and wrenching anguish flaying her. Her gaze shifted, and she caught Sage staring at her. At the thinly veiled pity in the other woman’s eyes Maddie tightened her fingers around her water glass.
Mercifully, dinner ended shortly after that. Sensing Remi coming her way, she sucked in a fortifying breath—only for her stomach to deliver an almighty heave.
‘I need the ladies’ room. Excuse me.’ She hurried away, aware that his assessing gaze was firmly latched onto her.
Hunched over the water closet, Maddie knew it wasn’t just the state of her marriage that was disturbing her stomach. Willing her body and soul to stop shaking, she staggered to the sink, rinsed her mouth and attempted to breathe around the anguish in her heart.
When the agony failed to ease, she turned on the tap and splashed water over her hands.
If she was pregnant—and a fierce instinct she couldn’t suppress insisted she was—then this level of distress wasn’t good for her unborn child.
She’d thought she knew what she’d let herself in for with this bargain, but Remi’s coldness, Margot’s callous dismissal, and the topsy-turvy awe and panic at the thought that she might be carrying the next Montegovan heir...
This was a whole new realm of agony.
Maddie was struggling for composure when the door opened and Violet rushed in. She froze at the sight of Maddie, dropping suspiciously teary eyes.
Maddie frowned in concern. ‘Are you okay?’
Violet made a flouncy gesture eerily reminiscent of her mother, then paused, her gaze reconnecting with Maddie’s.
‘I know this is...’ She stopped, cleared her throat. ‘Has Remi said anything about Zak’s whereabouts?’ she blurted.
Maddie stopped herself from saying that she and Remi weren’t on extended speaking terms. ‘No. I’m sorry.’
‘Oh, it’s fine. Thanks.’ Violet flashed a fake smile and left the bathroom.
About to follow her, Maddie reversed her direction abruptly as her belly dipped alarmingly. With a wretched sob she emptied the remaining contents of her stomach and was about to leave the stall when a pair of voices froze her exit.
‘I don’t know exactly where he dug her up, but perhaps you should warn him, Margot, before he brings the throne into disgrace. The story of her father is most unseemly. Who knows what he’s passed down to her?’
Margot laughed. ‘Remi doesn’t need any warning. My godson’s always been wise beyond his years. He’ll wake up to his unfortunate error soon enough. Luckily divorce, even amongst royals, is commonplace these days.’
Maddie bit her fist to suppress her painful gasp.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Absolutely positive. He’s doing this to secure his throne. If he’s not single again by this time next year I’ll buy you lunch at Claridge’s. If he is, you can buy me dinner to celebrate my Charlotte’s rightful place as the next queen.’
Both women laughed, and then just like that they went on to talk about something else, their decimation of Maddie’s soul already a thing of
the past.
Five excruciating minutes passed before she was once again alone, her heart in tatters.
