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“So why didn’t she relent? Surely Camilla would have made peace with her?”
“My grandfather was as stubborn as they come. He took it as a personal rejection that Camilla married – and married a King of a foreign country, at her age – when he’d expressly forbidden it. I think he believed she’d change her mind when she realised he was serious, but Gianfelice was resolute.”
“So he really did exile her?”
He lifted a brow. “That might be a little dramatic.”
Heat flushed her cheeks. “Oh?”
“Or perhaps not.” He grimaced. “I think she was caught between a rock and a hard place, in some ways. Her husband was equally proud. It’s my belief that when he saw how hurt Camilla was by Gianfelice’s behaviour, he encouraged her to cut Yaya and Gianfelice from her life in return.”
Lauren was quiet for several beats, then she sighed. “If I’ve learned one thing over the years it’s that life’s too short for that kind of falling out.”
Something light brushed her nose. She dabbed it with a finger before realising it was Raf, running a pale blue flower across her flesh. A light touch, like the breeze.
“Gianfelice was stubborn to the end. In some ways, his decision ruined Yaya’s life.”
“She’s strong-willed. She didn’t fight him about this?”
“She never fought him. Her spirit has grown exponentially since he passed. She was always deferential to Gianfelice. He had a magnetism and power that was…dominant. He couldn’t be in a room without wanting to control all its occupants.”
“He sounds like someone who might have been hard to get along with at times.”
“Perhaps.”
“She had a son?”
“Yaya?”
Lauren smiled at that. “I’m aware she has two sons. I meant Camilla.”
“Ah. Yes. Our cousin.”
The words were troubled. She sensed it was a subject he wasn’t comfortable speaking about.
“You don’t know him?”
“I met him once. He came to Gianfelice’s funeral.”
“That must have been strange.”
“Yes.”
“What’s he like?”
Raf searched for a word, pushing up onto his elbow so his body loomed over Lauren’s. “Stern.”
She made a small laughing sound. “Stern?”
“He’s a Sheikh, and I suppose to him we’re the family that broke his mother’s heart. I’m not sure why he came – it was probably more than Gianfelice deserved – but at the same time, it was decent.”
“You haven’t stayed in touch?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
He frowned. “What for?”
