Deepali’s face shone with pride. ‘This is my son, Ashok—he is the chef here,’ she explained.
‘I thought you might want to know about the dish,’ Ashok said.
‘I’d love to.’
Sunita smiled her trademark smile and Frederick saw Ashok’s appreciation.
‘The pomfret is stuffed with a special paste. I used chillies, cloves, cumin and lemon. It is a Goan dish, but recheado means stuffed in Portuguese.’ Ashok smiled. ‘And there is also Goan bread, freshly baked. Enjoy.’
Frederick waited until the mother and son had left the room and then he looked at Sunita.
‘Why not?’ he repeated.
CHAPTER NINE
‘WHY WON’T THIS marriage work?’
Frederick’s voice was even, his question posed as if the topic under discussion was as simple as a grocery list rather than the rest of their lives.
Sunita took a deep breath and marshalled the thoughts she’d herded into a cogent argument throughout the starter. ‘Would you have even considered marriage to me if it wasn’t for Amil?’
There was no hesitation as he tipped his hand in the air, palm up. ‘No.’
To her surprise, irrational hurt touched her that he didn’t have to give it even a second’s thought. ‘Exactly.’
‘But you can’t take Amil out of the equation. If it weren’t for Amil you wouldn’t consider marriage to me either.’
‘I get that. But it’s different for you. I don’t need to marry anyone. You do, and you need it to be the right person—for Lycander’s sake. A woman like Lady Kaitlin Derwent. I am the antithesis of Kaitlin.’
For an insane moment the knowledge hurt. But she was no longer a child, desperately trying to measure up to her half-sisters and always failing. High academic grades, musical ability, natural intelligence... You name it, Sunita lacked it. But in this case she needed to emphasise her failings with pride.
‘I haven’t got an aristocratic bone in my body, and I don’t have the gravitas that you need to offer the Lycander people.’
‘You are the mother of my son.’
‘Your illegitimate son. Plus, I was a model. Your father married or was associated with a succession of models, actresses and showbiz people, and all his relationships ended in scandal. Your people will tar me with the same brush.’
‘Then so be it. I agree that you do not have the background I was looking for in my bride, but I believe you will win the people over. In time.’
‘I don’t think I will.’ She inhaled deeply. ‘For a start, I want to resume my modelling career—and I can’t see that going down a storm with the people.’
Or with him. He masked his reaction, but not fast enough—he hadn’t taken that into the equation.
‘You don’t like the idea either?’
‘I neither like nor dislike it. I agree it might be problematic for the people to accept, but it’s a problem we can work around.’
‘But it doesn’t have to be a problem. Don’t marry me—marry someone like Kaitlin...someone with the qualities to be a true consort.’
Even as she said the words a strange pang of what she reluctantly identified as jealousy shot through her veins. Jealousy? Really? She didn’t even know who she was jealous of. It meant nothing to her if Frederick married someone else. Nothing. As for being jealous of Kaitlin—that was absurd.
Sunita forged on. ‘You know I’m right. Tell me about your agreement with Kaitlin. What else did she bring to the table apart from her background?’
‘This is not a constructive conversation.’
‘I disagree. This isn’t only about Amil. This is about us as well. Your life and mine. You want to make me a princess—I deserve to know what that entails, what your expectations are. You said it yourself.’
‘What I expected from Kaitlin and what I would expect from you are different.’