Royally Bedded, Regally Wedded

He felt his heart squeeze again. He would bring her Paolo’s son.

He glanced at his watch. He doubted Luca would phone back within the hour. Time enough for Rico to teach his nephew some football moves. He headed downstairs.

‘It’s no good, Ben, it’s definitely bedtime.’

‘Mummy—one more goal. Just one.’

‘Golden goal,’ said Rico.

‘All right, then,’ conceded Lizzy.

She had just passed the strangest half-hour. Out of nowhere, the Prince had emerged on to the lawn and joined in their game of football. Or rather taken it over.

Ben was ecstatic.

‘You can ref, Mummy,’ he instructed her.

She sat in a heap at the side of the pitch area, and watched. Her emotions were still in turmoil, but at least she was calmer than she had been.

You have my word, he had said.

Did he mean it?

He had seemed different when he’d said that to her. She didn’t know why, or how, but he had.

And he’d looked at her. Looked at her into her eyes.

As if she were a real person suddenly.

And something had happened in that look. Something that for the first time had made the hard, fearful knot inside her ease.

Just by a fraction.

Something had changed.

Something had changed as she’d poured out her horror and terror in front of him. Telling him—screaming at him—that she would never let Ben be taken from her, that she was his mother by everything but physical birth. That she would never, ever, let such harm come to him as to be wrested from the only person he knew to be his mother.

Who had been the only person in the world to him.

Until now.

She felt emotion move and shift within her.

A pang went through her. Yes, she was Ben’s mother—she would be all her life. Nothing could ever change that.

But now he’s got an uncle. Two uncles. And grandparents too.

A family.

A family to whom Ben was not just the embarrassing result of an affair—someone they would wash their hands of, hide away out of sight.

They wanted him. They wanted him because he was the son of their dead son, their dead brother.

Emotion twisted within her.

If they were anything other than what they are, I’d be overjoyed at their discovering Ben’s existence.

But that was the trouble. They were who they were. It was unbelievable, unreal—and the truth.