and listening to your people. I’m proud of what you’ve tackled in such a short space of time. But you’re sensible enough to take advice and not rush into anything without due consideration.’
She blinked, staring up into dark green eyes that glimmered with warmth. The shock of it nearly undid her.
After the chamberlain’s starchy disapproval and the knowledge her grandfather would roll in his grave at her plans for his precious palace, she hadn’t been surprised to read criticism in Raul’s expression.
Except now she couldn’t find it.
A wave of warmth crashed over her that had nothing to do with Raul’s nearness. It stemmed from an inner glow, knowing he’d stood up for her with the chamberlain.
That he was ready to support her.
That he seemed to care.
She put out another trembling hand to his chest, spreading her fingers to capture the steady beat of his heart. His arm tightened around her and he leaned close.
‘But what I most want to know, wife, is what the mayor said when you presented him with a bucket of warm milk.’
Again she caught that flicker in his eyes, the tightening of his lips. This time she realised what it was.
Raul trying not to laugh.
‘He was very impressed and told me I had hidden talents.’ Her mouth twitched. ‘Then he showed me an old local technique he reckons gives you a better grip.’
Raul’s face creased into a smile, then a grin. He tipped his head back and released a deep infectious laugh that made her lips curve and her heart dance.
Deep within Luisa something relaxed, unfurled and spread.
Happiness.
THAT happiness stayed. It was like a glowing ember, warming her from the inside and thawing the chill that had gripped her so long.
With each week Luisa found herself more content. She grew fond of her new home and its people. The nation of Maritz and even its tiny principality of Ardissia that she’d recalled as a nightmare place from her youth were growing more like home. She could be happy here.
Then there was Raul. He could be gentle and tender but there was always an undercurrent of explosive passion between them that left her breathless. Luisa shivered as erotic memories surfaced. Their physical intimacy was out of this world, and she always felt she got close then to the real man behind the façade.
The man she wanted to know better.
Raul was a loner. No wonder, with such a regimented childhood, brought up by staff rather than doting parents. Then there was his father’s betrayal with the woman Raul had fallen for.
He’d spent so long cutting himself off from emotional connections; the moments when he let down his guard with her were special, poignantly precious.
More and more, Raul shared his wry wit, surprising her into giggles of shock or delight. The last thing she’d expected from the man who’d married her to claim the crown.
But as she watched him work tirelessly for his country, every day and into the night, and saw his people respond to him, she knew he was the right man for the job.
Luisa’s anger over his ruthless actions was now strangely muted. She knew Raul wasn’t the unfeeling villain she’d once painted him. In some ways he was as much a victim of circumstance as she. A wounded man who hid his vulnerability behind a façade.
She felt melancholy. For, despite the way he stood up for her, supporting her sometimes unorthodox approach to her royal duties, she could never forget that for him she was an unwanted wife.
The wife he had to have.
A sweet ache pierced her and she pressed a hand to her chest. She hitched a breath and stared blindly at the newspaper on the desk before her.
It hurt because, even knowing Raul made the best of their convenient marriage, Luisa had done the unthinkable.
She’d fallen in love.
Despite the pain, happiness bubbled. Ripples of delight shivered through her till she trembled.
Love was such a big emotion. It overcame the fears plaguing her.
Surely there was a way she could make this marriage work? Make him care for her the way she cared for him?
‘Sitting alone, Luisa?’ Raul’s voice made her jump and turn. Her heart kicked as she took in his tall frame, his sculpted features and the flare of heat in his eyes.
She yearned to throw herself into his embrace. Declare her feelings and demand he love her too.
If only it were that simple.
She sat where she was, limbs stiffening as she strove not to give herself away. He’d be horrified if he guessed her feelings. She had to be calm while inside she was a nervous jumble of joy and fear and tentative hope.
‘My language lesson’s over and I was trying to read the paper.’ She twisted her fingers together and looked down, choosing an article at random. ‘There’s a picture of you but the words are too difficult.’
He stood behind her. She knew from the way her flesh prickled. Her body possessed radar tuned solely to Raul. Whenever he approached, even when he watched her from the other side of a crowded reception, Luisa felt it.
‘It’s a court report. Why not try something simpler?’ His words were a puff of warmth at her ear as he leaned in.
Luisa shut her eyes, willing him to forget the paper and slide his arms around her.
‘Luisa?’
She snapped her eyes open. ‘What’s the article about?’ She didn’t care but she had to say something.
‘Just the trial of people illegally stockpiling banned weapons. Why don’t we—’
‘But why were you a witness?’ She’d finally made sense of the caption.
‘It’s not that exciting.’
She frowned, finally concentrating on the piece. ‘It says something about an armed raid. And a plot. A coup.’ That word was familiar. She pointed at the next paragraph. ‘What’s that word?’
A sigh riffled her hair. He hesitated so long she wondered if he’d answer. ‘Assassination.’
Luisa swung round, shock widening her eyes.
‘Who did they want to assassinate?’ Ice froze her feet, her legs, creeping upwards as she read resignation in Raul’s expression.
Surely it couldn’t have been …
‘The cabinet. As many government officials as they could.’ He straightened and stepped away and she felt bereft. She pushed back her chair and stood on shaky legs.
‘And the Prince?’ The words were a brittle rasp from her constricting throat. ‘They wanted to kill you?’
To her horror he didn’t deny it, merely lifted his shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, Luisa, it was over weeks ago, when you went to Ardissia.’
The glacial frost encroached to her heart and she wrapped her arms around herself. ‘You didn’t tell me.’
He strode to her and rubbed his hands over her rigid arms. ‘You have nothing to fear, honestly. It’s all over.’
‘You think I’m worried for myself?’
Raul’s eyes widened and for an instant she saw a flicker of shock. Then he drew her close. Beneath her ear she heard the strong beat