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She turned the corner into her street and then stopped, her heart hammering against her ribs as she saw Marco standing outside the front door of her house. Ridiculously, her first impulse was to turn and walk away, but he had already seen her and he was walking towards her.
'What are you doing here?' she demanded when he reached her. 'I've only just seen you on television! Marco, you cant give up the Crown. Why have you? It isn't—'
'It isn't your decision,' Marco told her calmly. 'It was mine, and as for you seeing me on TV, well, it must have been on a rolling news programme rounding up the day's events. I made my resignation speech at eleven a.m. this morning Nirolian time. I had a private jet standing by, another personal decision, before you ask.’ he added dryly.
‘It isn't fair of you to do this and to say publicly that its because of my baby.’ she told him passionately. Isn't he going to have enough to cope with, without the added blame of being responsible for—'
‘We can’t discuss this out here.' Marco interrupted her. Where are your keys?'
Helplessly Emily handed them over and let him open the door for her.
The small house smelled of Emily's delicate scent. Marco recognised, also realising how much he had missed her. Soon, no doubt, the air around her would be filled with the scent of baby powder. With every mile that had brought him closer to her, his conviction that he had made the right decision had grown and now recognising how much he was looking forward to being part of the family unit they would form with their child was like one door closing behind him on an old habitat that no longer had any relevance to his life and another opening that had everything to do with it.
‘There was no need for you to abdicate Marco.’ Emily burst out as soon as they were inside. ‘I know how much you wanted to be King, so why?’
‘If you had heard my speech in its entirety, then you would have known why I decided to step down, and why it was necessary for me to abdicate.’
‘Because of our baby? Because he might not be perfect? Because you're ashamed of him and you and your grandfather don't want him associated with Niroli?'
‘What? Ashamed of him? You wouldn't be more wrong. If there's anyone I'm ashamed of it's myself for taking so long to recognise what really matters to me. Or perhaps I did recognise it but tried to pretend that I didn't. Emily, when you were having your scan and I saw our baby. I knew beyond any kind of doubt that you and he are the most important things in the world to me, and that nothing could ever or would ever matter more. Actually, I think I knew a little of that when I
first came to Niroli and I missed you so much I had to come back for you. I certainly knew it when you told me you were pregnant and all I could think of was finding a way to keep you with me. I couldn't and wouldn't accept that it wasn't possible for me to be King and to have you and our child. And then you told me why you were pleased that our child would never be King, and it was as though you had unlocked a door inside me. Behind it lay the memories of my own childhood, my parents' constant battles with my grandfather to provide me with a normal childhood, my own sense of aloneness because of what I was and I knew unequivocally that you were right not to want that for our child.'
‘But you wanted to be King! You had so many plans, there was so much you wanted to do—you can't give that up.'
‘I don't intend to. I can still do all those things without being King. In fact I can do them more easily. My grandfather would never really release the reins of government to me and the hostility between us and the constant fight for supremacy would not aid our people. I can do far more outside the constraints of kingship, and I can do those things with you at my side. I love you. Emily.'
There was so much she wanted to say so many questions, so many reminders to him of times when he had not seemed to love her at all. But somehow, she was in his arms and he was kissing her with a fierce, demanding passion that said more clearly than any amount of words what he truly felt.
‘I still cant believe this is happening.’ Emily whispered to Marco half an hour later. She was still in his arms, only now they were upstairs in her bedroom, lying side by side in her bed. The way Marco had controlled his need to possess her been gentle to protect their child, had brought emotional tears to her eyes and flooded her heart with the love for him she had dammed up for so long.
‘You want me to convince you?’ Marco teased her suggestively, his hand cupping her breast.
‘Maybe.’ she agreed mock-demurely.
His ‘Right, come on then, lets get dressed.’ wasn't the response she had been expecting and her chagrin showed, making him laugh.
