‘He loves you. You and your mother.’

‘I guess that hurts,’ he said cautiously.

‘I can’t expect anything else.’

‘He’ll learn…’

‘I don’t think he can stay here,’ she whispered and something in her face had him crossing the room to her in two swift strides and taking her hands in his.

‘Kelly, don’t look like that.’

‘Like…like what?’

‘As if you’re tearing yourself in two.’

‘I’m not. I’m not. Go and say goodnight to Matty.’ She pulled away from him roughly. For a moment he stood, looking down at her face, obviously troubled, but she wouldn’t look at him.

Finally he wheeled away. He disappeared into the bedroom. She stood, feeling lost, bewildered, distressed, listening to the sound of the two faint voices. Matty must have only been snoozing. He’d been waiting. Waiting for his Uncle Rafael.

He’s a good man, she thought. This was no Kass. She could trust him with her son.

Matty’s home was in Alp de Ciel. Matty was royal.

But how could she let Matty go again?

And then Rafael was back, returning to warm his hands by the fire. Were they really cold, she wondered, or was it just to give him something to do?

‘They’ll find Matty here,’ she said miserably, going straight to the heart of the matter. ‘The press might think Matty’s safely at home in Alp de Ciel now, but as soon as they figure he’s missing they’ll put two and two together. You come out here on a whim. Prince Mathieu disappears at the same time. It’ll take them no time at all to figure where Matty might be.’

‘And?’

‘And I can’t protect him here,’ she whispered. ‘Not from the goldfish bowl that’s the royal way of life.’

‘So what do you want to do?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Come back to Alp de Ciel?’ he said, and then, at the look on her face, he came to her again. Once again he took her hands in his, his rough, callused hands completely enclosing her smaller ones. ‘It’s what my mother and I hope for. It’s what should happen. That you should come home to the castle.’