A Whisper of Disgrace

The apartment was strangely silent—there wasn’t even any music playing—and Kulal walked through to the drawing room to see if Rosa was out on the terrace. But the French windows were closed and there was no sign of her with a forgiving smile on her beautiful lips as she sashayed towards him in one of her vibrant dresses.

‘Rosa?’ The word echoed around the vast rooms like something shouted into a tunnel. ‘Rosa!’ he called once more, but there was no reply.

He told himself that she must have just gone out for a while. But she didn’t do that, did she—because where would she go? The galleries were shut for the day and there was no need for her to perform the multiple tasks which fell to other, less exalted women. She didn’t need to shop or to cook or to clean. She was a princess and that was why she needed to behave like a princess!

A faint frown creased his brow as he remembered the frustration on her face when she’d confronted him today. The anger spitting green and golden sparks from her dark eyes. He remembered the messy spill of her hair and her shiny face—a look which was worlds apart from the usual sleek grooming of his former lovers. He thought about the wilted rose tucked behind her ear, and a wave of lust so strong washed over him that for a moment he just stood very still and closed his eyes.

He was just about to phone her, when he walked past the dining room and saw the cream-coloured envelope which was lying on the oak table and his heart missed a beat. He stared at it for a moment, and when he walked over and picked it up, he noticed almost impartially that his fingers weren’t quite steady.

It was the first thing she’d ever written to him and, judging by the tone, she intended it to be her last.

‘Kulal,’ it read. Not ‘dear’ Kulal or ‘darling’ Kulal—or any of the other sweet things she had sometimes whispered to him when he was deep inside her body—but just his name, stark and emotionless, just like the words which followed.

I imagine you’ll be pleased to discover that I’ve gone, especially after that rather unfortunate scene at your office today. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your colleagues, but please be assured that it won’t ever happen again, because I’m leaving and I think you’ll agree that’s best.

Since I won’t be honouring our marriage contract, you can tear up the pre-nup. All I’m taking are my wedding and engagement rings, which you told me were mine to keep. I’ll probably sell them and set myself up with somewhere to rent, before I look for a job. And one day—who knows?—I may be able to pay you back for them, in full.

Thank you for all that you have taught me, which turns out to have been a lot more than just about sex.

I hope you can find it in yourself to be happy and I wish you nothing but good things.

Yours ever,

Rosa.

‘No!’ He felt a dry and tearing pain as he crumpled the piece of paper tightly in his hand and it fell in a ball and bounced soundlessly on the table while Kulal dug his phone from his pocket.

He punched out her number, unsurprised when it went straight to voicemail and a curiously flat-sounding Rosa said that she would return the call as quickly as possible. Which was clearly not going to happen. He left two messages before letting out another howl of rage, tempted to hurl the damned phone against the wall. And he remembered Rosa telling him she’d done just that when she’d run from Sicily, when she’d wanted to cut off all communication with her family. And now she was running from him. He had gone from his privileged position as her husband and her lover to being cast out in the cold. And he had no one to blame but himself. He had convinced himself that he was fearless and strong and yet he had been so scared of dealing with his emotions that he had built a wall around them. He had allowed a tragedy in his past to blight any possibility of a future and he had pushed away the woman he loved.

A wave of pain hit him. A pain so intense that it felt like an iron fist clenching its way around his heart. Where was she?

He dialled his chief bodyguard. ‘I want you to find someone for me,’ he clipped out.

‘Anyone you like, boss. Who is it?’

There was a pause as, for one brief moment, Kulal confronted his own fierce pride and knew that he was going to have to let it go. Who cared if his bodyguards discovered that his wife had left him? Who cared about anything other than getting Rosa back again?

‘My wife.’

‘The princess has gone?’ questioned the bodyguard in surprise.

‘Yes, the princess has gone!’ snapped Kulal. ‘Because your people weren’t doing their job properly. They let her leave the studios unguarded and now she’s managed to give everyone the slip. And if you value your future you’ll find out where she is by sunset tomorrow.’