Revealed: A Prince and A Pregnancy Read Online Free PDF Page B

I was.’
    Rafael’s sudden stillness unnerved her. The intensity of his gaze unnerved her more.
    ‘You fired Josien?’ Rafe’s voice was mild. Too mild. ‘You?’
    ‘Yes.’ Simone tried hard not to quail beneath the onslaught of that searching blue gaze. She’d fired his mother from a position Josien had held for almost thirty years, but not without good reason. Rafe hadn’t been there. He hadn’t seen for himself how untenable Gabrielle’s position as Luc’s wife would have been had Josien stayed in residence as housekeeper to Caverness. ‘Me.’
    ‘Why?’
    Now there was a question in need of a careful answer. Never mind that Rafe had been baiting her and she him ever since he’d stepped into the room. Never mind that he’d been estranged from Josien for years. Criticising a man’s mother was never a sensible thing to do. ‘Because I wanted her gone from Caverness.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Can we please not have this conversation?’ she said.
    ‘Too late,’ he said. ‘We’re already having it. Why did you fire Josien?’
    ‘Because it was time she left Caverness,’ she said curtly, and cursed him for pushing her for answers she didn’t want to give. ‘Because I refused to sit back and watch her poison the happiness Gabrielle and Luc had found.’ She lifted her chin. ‘Because I could.’
    Rafael drained the rest of his champagne. He looked as if he were swallowing the bitterest of pills rather than vintage champagne. ‘Good,’ he said gruffly.
    ‘Pardon?’ squeaked Simone.
    ‘I’d have done the same,’ he said.
    He… ‘What?’
    ‘You heard.’
    ‘Well, yes, but…’ Had he really just given his approval ? ‘Was that a compliment?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ he said with a twist of his lips. ‘It could have been. It was hellishly hard to say aloud.’
    ‘I think it might have been,’ she said, and with a swift and challenging smile, ‘Does this mean we’re friends?’
    ‘No, it means we have a common foe and I’m impressed by your ruthlessness.’
    Was that the shadow of a smile in his eyes? Hard to tell, but she thought it might be. ‘I had a good teacher,’ she said with a shrug. ‘He taught me how to protect the people I love. I was a little slow on the uptake, but I got there eventually.’
    ‘Josien’s not coming to the wedding, by the way,’ said Gabrielle with a lightness that didn’t quite mask her disappointment. ‘She says she’s not yet recovered enough from her pneumonia to attempt the travel.’
    ‘But surely you expected as much?’ said Simone. ‘Ithought you held the wedding here so as to keep her away ?’
    ‘Well, yes, that was one of the reasons for holding it here,’ acknowledged Gabrielle. ‘But not the only one. I’m having second thoughts.’
    ‘Don’t,’ said Rafael, and the hardness was back in his eyes. He loved hard, did Rafael. Simone didn’t need to be reminded that he hated hard too.
    ‘Maybe you’ll pay her a quick visit on the way back from your honeymoon,’ said Simone gently. ‘Maybe given time and happiness of her own she’ll come to accept who and what you are.’
    ‘Didn’t the person who showed you how to protect the ones you love teach you not to believe in fairy tales?’ murmured Rafael.
    ‘Yes, but it never stuck,’ said Simone. ‘Unlike him, I believe in forgiveness and redemption. I believe that with a little effort from both parties, a failed relationship can be rebuilt. Maybe not to what people hope for, but something. Something worthwhile.’
    ‘Optimist,’ he said.
    ‘Coward.’
    ‘Oh, boy,’ said Gabrielle as the maître d’bustled back into the room.
    ‘More wine,’ said Inigo cheerfully. ‘Lots and lots of wine.’ He glanced at Rafael’s empty champagne flute. ‘Who’s a thirsty boy, then?’ And in a whispered undertone to Simone, ‘The chef wishes to propose to you. When’s a good time?’
    ‘Maybe later,’ said Simone as Inigo opened the three white wines and organised