The Night the King Claimed Her

‘Ah.’ He nodded. ‘I’m sorry.’

In some ways Elsie wasn’t. Caring for her mother through her illness had been a privilege and she’d never ever regretted the time she’d had with her. But it had been hard. Her father had absented himself—supposedly unable to cope. Her brother had avoided it too—staying away at university. Leaving Elsie alone until almost the end when—

She breathed in. So, yeah, in some ways she felt for Felipe.

‘It’s not easy to lose a parent at any age,’ she said huskily. It was something the three of them had in common. ‘Amalia’s lucky to have you now.’

His gaze dropped and he cleared his throat. ‘That’s the most engaged and animated I’ve seen her since she came to Silvabon. Thank you.’

Elsie shrugged, suddenly shy. ‘Music soothes the soul.’

‘It wasn’t the music.’

Heat slid across her body. Inappropriate, awkward, because surely that wasn’t how he’d meant the compliment. She was an over-imaginative fool.

It was a few more minutes before they got to the security room at the gatehouse. There were no guards present again. She went to the door—her escape back to the real world. But she didn’t open it.

She glanced up at him. ‘Amalia doesn’t seem enthused about going back to school.’

‘The music focus will help. I’d not known how good she is. I’d not known anything about it, honestly. But boarding school in Europe will be excellent.’

Elsie’s skin prickled. ‘Why boarding school?’

‘I don’t want her to stay here.’

His bluntness shocked her. ‘Why not? She’s all alone. You’re all she has.’

‘I’m not...’ His shoulders stiffened. ‘This isn’t the best place for her. She’ll be better off away.’

Elsie wasn’t so sure. ‘Were you better off?’

His expression shuttered. ‘I was educated here. I only had one term at boarding school in France.’

She shouldn’t pry, it wasn’t her business, but she couldn’t resist. ‘Why only one term?’

‘I was needed here. I had things to learn—more than the core subjects.’

‘Crowd control? How to wave politely?’ She tried to joke but it wasn’t that funny because she understood all those other things had really meant the loss of any carefree youth. To have such big responsibilities so young... Pressures like that shaped a person’s growth.

‘Boarding school will give Amalia some freedoms she won’t have here. Plus she’ll have people her own age around her.’

‘Not random café workers with too many earrings.’ Elsie half smiled. ‘But I get it, you don’t want her to be burdened.’

‘She’s already had enough to deal with.’

He’d dealt with a lot too when he was young. All the royal stuff for a start, let alone the marriage break-up and an authoritarian grandfather King.

‘I’d better get back, it’s getting late.’ She told herself as much as she was telling him. She put one hand on the door—about to open it. To leave. But it was as if there were an unseen cord between them that she didn’t want to sever. Not yet.

And he didn’t move out of her way, nor did his intense gaze leave her face. ‘You’re sure you don’t want me to summon a car?’

‘It’s a gorgeous evening, too nice not to walk.’

He nodded almost robotically, and she realised he had no idea.

‘You don’t get to do that, do you?’ she said slowly. ‘You can’t walk along the city streets without security guards on either side of you and the whole world staring.’

His mouth curved. ‘Are you finally feeling sorry for me?’