Playing the Royal Game. Carol Marinelli

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      CHAPTER THREE

      ‘ALLEGRA!’ She woke to the ringing of the phone and there was no time to gather her thoughts before answering. ‘Allegra, it’s me, Angel, what on earth’s going on?’

      ‘Hold on a moment,’ Allegra said. ‘Someone else is trying to get through.’ She looked at the caller display, saw it was her brother Leo at the same time as she saw the ring on her finger and heard the bell that meant someone was at her door.

      Oh, God!

      ‘Angel…’ She couldn’t explain it to her stepsister right now—yes, they were close and they spoke about so many things, but this was more the sort of situation Angel might find herself in, not the other way around. ‘I’ve got someone at the door. I’ll have to call you back.’

      Even as she put down the phone it was ringing again, her father this time.

      She didn’t answer it.

      And she tried to ignore her doorbell, just wanted a moment to gather her thoughts. A coffee would be extremely welcome, except whoever it was must be leaning on the bell, because it was ringing incessantly now. Kids meeting up at the underground for school often pressed it for the sake of pressing it, so she hit the display button to see the camera shot… and saw the face of Alex, pale and unshaven. He looked less than happy.

      Well, he could have his ring back, Allegra decided—it had been a stupid game that had got out of hand.

      ‘It’s open.’ She pulled on a dressing gown and turned on the kettle, then went to the front door as she heard him rounding the top of the stairs.

      Somehow he looked both beautiful and terrible at the same time—his olive skin seemed tinged grey, his eyes were bloodshot and he was still in yesterday’s suit.

      ‘Coffee!’ She could hardly stand to look at him she was so embarrassed—so she turned and headed to her small kitchen. ‘Before we say anything, I need coffee… and by the looks of things so do you.’ Her blasted phone was ringing and unable to face it she turned it off and then spooned instant granules into mugs. ‘You can have the ring back.’

      ‘Oh, no, you don’t.’ There was something in his voice that sounded like a warning, almost as if he were angry, and she turned around. ‘You can’t just get out of this.’ He held up a newspaper. ‘I’m assuming you haven’t read the papers or turned on the news.’ Allegra went cold as she saw the photo. It was of her and Alex—him tenderly holding her hand and examining the ring that now seemed to burn her on her finger.

      ‘At least—’ she tried to stay calm, to think of a positive ‘—at least it wasn’t a few moments later,’ she said, ‘when we kissed.’

      ‘My kissing a woman would hardly be newsworthy,’ Alex said, ‘but that the Crown Prince of Santina has bought a woman a ring…’

      ‘It was a mistake,’ Allegra said. ‘We’ll say—’ her mind raced for possibilities ‘—that we’re friends, that I was simply showing you—’

      ‘I have just spoken with Anna.’ Alex chose not to go into detail; the conversation had been supremely difficult and one he did not want to examine just yet, let alone share. When Allegra asked after the other woman, Alex shook his head. ‘Somehow I don’t think she’d appreciate your concern.’

      His words were like a slap, the implications of the one reckless day of her life starting to unravel.

      ‘I have also spoken to my parents.’

      ‘They’ve heard?’

      ‘They were the ones that alerted me!’ Alex said. ‘We have aides who monitor the press and the news constantly.’ Did she not understand he had been up all night dealing with this? ‘I am waiting for the palace to ring—to see how we will respond.’ She couldn’t think, her head was spinning in so many directions and Alex’s presence wasn’t exactly calming—not just his tension, not just the impossible situation, but the sight of him in her kitchen, the memory of his kiss. That alone would have kept her thoughts occupied for days on end, but to have to deal with all this too, and now the doorbell was ringing and he followed her as she went to hit the display button.

      ‘It’s my dad.’ She was actually a bit relieved to see him. ‘He’ll know what to do, how to handle—’

      ‘I thought you hated scandal,’ Alex interrupted.

      ‘We’ll just say—’

      ‘I don’t think you understand.’ Again he interrupted her and there was no trace of the man she had met yesterday; instead she faced not the man but the might of Crown Prince Alessandro Santina. ‘There is no question that you don’t go through with this.’

      ‘You can’t force me.’ She gave a nervous laugh. ‘We both know that yesterday was a mistake.’ She could hear the doorbell ringing. She went to press the intercom but his hand halted her, caught her by the wrist. She shot him the same look she had yesterday, the one that should warn him away, except this morning it did not work.

      ‘You agreed to this, Allegra, the money is sitting in your account.’ He looked down at the paper. ‘Of course, we could tell the truth…’ He gave a dismissive shrug. ‘I’m sure they have photos of later.’

      ‘It was just a kiss….’

      ‘An expensive kiss,’ Alex said. ‘I wonder what the papers would make of it if they found out I bought your services yesterday.’

      ‘You wouldn’t.’ She could see it now, could see the horrific headlines—she, Allegra, in the spotlight, but for shameful reasons.

      ‘Oh, Allegra,’ he said softly but without endearment. ‘Absolutely I would. It’s far too late to change your mind.’ He drew in a long breath, and even if he wasn’t prepared to share it, Anna’s tearful words seemed to replay in his head. ‘I guess you can’t argue with love.’ He had been right; it was the only dignified way out for them both, and to have Allegra back out now, to think of shaming Anna even further by releasing a story that implied he had bought his way out of marrying her, was unthinkable.

      She could hear her father running up the stairs; he ran everywhere, was fitter than most men half his age. ‘What the hell’s going on, Allegra…?’ Bobby’s voice petered out as he realised his daughter had company. She wanted to run over to him, to tell him, to let him sort it out, except it was Alex who walked towards him.

      ‘Mr. Jackson, I apologise that you had to find out this way.’

      ‘It’s true then?’ She watched a look that could only be described as incredulous sweep over her father’s face, could see him actually try to fathom that his serious, rather plain daughter had just got engaged to a prince. Somehow his shock hurt Allegra, that it might be so impossible that she might actually be desired by someone as stunning as Alex.

      She felt Alex join her, his arm slip around her waist and when she couldn’t speak he did. ‘We were going to come and visit you this afternoon,’ Alex explained. ‘I was going to formally ask for your daughter’s hand.’ Allegra saw her father’s eyes widen, saw Bobby rather taken aback by Alex’s formality, but he was saved from responding as Alex’s phone rang and СКАЧАТЬ