The Royal House of Niroli: Innocent Mistresses: Expecting His Royal Baby / The Prince's Forbidden Virgin

‘I’m sorry to keep you waiting, signorina,’ she said, still smiling at Carrie. ‘Can I help you?’

Seeing herself in one of the mirrors, Carrie lost confidence for a moment. Even after straightening herself out at the hotel, by comparison with the young shop assistant she looked unfashionably dull. ‘I was hoping you could tell me where to find the nearest department store?’

‘A department store in Niroli?’ The girl quickly hid her amazement. ‘We don’t have one, signorina. But we do have a lovely market,’ she added, ‘and that’s just down the street. There are some very good clothing stalls on the market. I use them myself. Would you like me to show you?’

Warming to the young girl’s friendliness, Carrie found it went a long way to restoring her self-confidence and allowed her to ask the question she was dying to ask. ‘When you said that was just the principessa’s lady-in-waiting, to whom were you referring?’

‘To Principessa Anastasia.’ The girl pulled a face. ‘The woman you saw was the Contessa di Palesi.’ She pulled an even bigger face. ‘They are staying at the palace and the contessa is the principessa’s principal lady-in-waiting.’

As the girl continued to grimace comically Carrie forced a laugh, but inside she was in pieces. She had always known it would turn out like this and that Nico would choose someone from his own class, but having her worst fears confirmed made her heart clench tight. She hated the thought of a princess staying at the palace with Nico, but as there was no hiding from the truth and she was curious. ‘Why was the contessa so angry?’

‘Because there is an important dinner at the palace tonight and the principessa’s gown is missing a button.’ The girl shrugged. ‘She won’t wear it, of course. Not even if we sew it on again. “How can the principessa wear damaged goods?”’ The young girl started to giggle after doing a good impression of the contessa’s voice. ‘And so we have provided the principessa with a selection of gowns to choose from.’

Carrie could only wonder at the sort of wealth that allowed someone to discard a dress merely because it was missing a button, and the girl’s phrase ‘damaged goods’ rang in her ears. Would that be how Nico saw her now?

Carrie forced her thoughts onto another, more practical course. ‘Do you think I’ll be able to buy a summer dress and some sandals at the market?’

‘Certo,’ the young girl replied, smiling encouragement. ‘There is a lovely stall where I buy such things, myself. You will find it just beneath the walls of the palace. Here, let me show you. Can you see it?’

Carrie’s pulse picked up pace as she stared at the palace. She already knew that the ancient building was much bigger and far more impressive than the photographs in the in-flight magazine had suggested. Even from her bedroom window at the top of the hotel she had to crane her neck to see the pennants flying on the battlements. Pennants she knew now must be flying in honour of Princess Anastasia. It didn’t take much to imagine what a prominent member of another European royal family was doing at the palace with Nico, or why there was an important dinner tonight … Could she have chosen a worse time to deliver her news? Nico was rich in his own right, he was highly successful and well respected, plus he was the grandson of a king. Why else would Princess Anastasia be staying at the palace if not to announce their betrothal?

Carrie hid her anxiety as she said goodbye to the young shop assistant, but she was racked by the knowledge that, although she carried Nico’s child, unlike Princess Anastasia she was firmly locked out on the wrong side of the palace walls.

It was while she was walking towards the market that Carrie saw a notice advertising a tour of the old city that took in part of the palace. If she could get inside.

Even as her spirits soared a wave of nausea swept over her, reminding her to take cover from the sun and buy some water. The heat was relentless and the physical effects of her pregnancy could often steal her strength away like this.

Having bought the water, she drank it down and was just leaving the shop when the footpath across the street erupted into noisy mayhem. A storm of paparazzi appeared out of nowhere and, for a few moments, there was nothing but noise and confusion and flashlights going off.

It was Nico. Carrie held her breath; every part of her body had tensed. She didn’t need to see him to know he was there; she could feel him in every fibre of her being. And now she could see him. At least a head taller than the other men and so commanding that even the scurrying photographers had backed away to snatch their shots from a safe distance.

As if Nico would lash out at them, Carrie thought, angry on his behalf. He was a man, they were boys; what did they know?

The surge of love she felt put her back where she’d always been, stunned by Nico’s presence, by his aura, his physique. Nico Fierezza was one of the most eligible men in the world and he was also one of the most attractive. She didn’t need media photographs to know he had the face of a film star and the body of a bare-knuckled fighter. And Nico had wanted her. Nico had wanted Carrie Evans, a pallid pudding, with nothing more to recommend her than a hundred-words-a-minute typing speed. And now he was the father of her child….

Even as pride swelled inside her Carrie noticed the woman at Nico’s side, the woman he was protecting from the photographers. She was young and very beautiful. Could this be Anastasia?

Carrie couldn’t tear her gaze away from a girl so lovely she was like a princess in a fairy tale. A princess who was everything she was not. Elegant and cool, she had glossy black hair that hung like a curtain down her back, caressing her naked shoulders like a silken cape. Every inch of her was tanned a deep golden brown and her skin was smooth and flawless. Her lips were red and full and, though her eyes were hidden behind the latest designer sunglasses, her teeth were film star perfect as she smiled up at Nico.

Carrie couldn’t see Nico’s expression, but she was sure that he was smiling, too.

Why was she surprised? She had always known Nico would have a beautiful woman by his side. She had always known her one night with him was more than she deserved. It was time for her to accept that when Nico had withdrawn carefully, pulling down her skirt, and settling her on her feet, he had withdrawn from her in every way a man could withdraw from a woman….

She shrank deeper into the shadows as Nico threw a stare her way. Had he sensed her presence?

Taking no chances, Carrie pressed back against the cold stone wall. It was then that she saw the bodyguards tailing Nico and the princess to their car.

Her instincts had saved her this time, but she would have to be more careful in future. Being taken into custody in front of her baby’s father wasn’t quite what she had in mind!

CHAPTER FOUR

CARRIE found she was trembling as Nico and Anastasia drove away. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself there must be a woman in Nico’s life, seeing him with someone was more than she could bear. The blacked-out windows of his high-performance car hinted at intimate spaces and close personal contact. How could he fail to touch the princess as he leaned across? How could the princess fail to be intoxicated by Nico’s cologne, or by his clean, warm scent? Princess Anastasia was beautiful, and Nico … Nico was Nico. How could they resist each other? She had seen the way the princess looked at him.

But it was more than physical contact that she resented, much more. It was the intimacy of shared conversation and getting to know each other that tore at her heart. But she had to face facts. She didn’t stand a chance with Nico, she never had. And if he hadn’t wanted her three months ago he would hardly want her now. And when she told him about the baby … What would he think when he compared the mother of his child to Princess Anastasia?

By the time she had dredged up every negative thought and examined it twice, Carrie was close to tears. But as crying wouldn’t get her anywhere she pulled out her purse and paid the stallholder for a simple summer dress and a pair of plastic flip-flops instead.

Wasn’t that the perfect outfit for her meeting with Nico at the palace? Carrie reflected wryly. On impulse she added some new underwear to her purchases. Why not? No one would see the frivolous garments, but she would know they were there. It was a small defiance, but sometimes she found small things the most effective.

Having showered and changed into her new outfit, Carrie splashed cold water onto her face and then tied her hair back. By the time she left the guest-house the temperature was soaring and even the stone beneath her feet seemed to radiate heat, which didn’t bode well for her plastic sandals.

She hadn’t realised how far she would have to walk, or that it would all be uphill. She hadn’t thought about the shops closing in the afternoon, or the fact that they wouldn’t open again until seven that same evening. And she had forgotten her sunglasses and her sun lotion in her rush to fly to Niroli. In fact, she had forgotten all the essentials. It was unlike her to be so reckless and impetuous, but her life had never collided with Nico’s before.

Turning the corner, she frowned with concern seeing how many people were waiting to take the tour of the old city. The queue snaked round another corner out of sight, and she was already exhausted, plus she had developed blisters between her toes where the plastic thong of the flip-flops had rubbed her. Looking down, she saw her feet were bleeding.

Pausing in the shade next to one of the palace control posts, Carrie watched the vehicles driving in and out. There was a guard seated behind a glass window in a small command station, and the palace courtyard was just a tantalising few steps away. Going up to the window, she tapped on it politely.

Thanks to the young shop assistant she knew all about the state banquet, and when the officer looked up she told him that she was one of the casual staff hired for that evening to work in the kitchen.

Consulting his list, the officer shook his head.

‘I’m not there?’ Carrie pretended dismay. ‘But I must be … they’re expecting me.’

‘This is the wrong entrance,’ the man told her. ‘Waiting staff must go round the back.’ He tipped his chin.

‘What if they don’t have my name there, either?’ Carrie pressed, adding a plaintive note to her voice. Maybe she reminded the guard of his sister, or some other female he knew, because to her relief the guard’s manner changed towards her.

‘All right.’ He gave her a reassuring wink. ‘I’ll call them and tell them to expect you.’

‘Oh, would you? That’s really kind of you. Thank you so much.’ She dropped her gaze and assumed a meek expression, waiting on tenterhooks for the guard to lift his receiver and speak to his opposite number on the other gate.

Without looking at her he waved her on….

She was inside the palace! Steeling herself to inquisitive eyes, Carrie walked quickly through the servants’ door, her heart thundering with apprehension.

‘La cucina?’ she said when anyone stared directly at her. Her knowledge of Italian was limited to the name of the Italian restaurant close to her aunt’s house, which fortunately had been called La Cucina Italia, or The Italian Kitchen.

Everyone was in such a hurry to get to their appointed place no one thought to question her, or notice when she slipped away. Darting up a stone staircase, Carrie had no idea where she was heading, only that reason told her the private apartments of the royal family would be above the servants’ quarters.

This was madness, she decided, pausing on the stairwell to shed her shoes. She would have to chance her luck and take the next door she found….

Stepping cautiously through an arched doorway, Carrie lingered a moment on the plush carpet to get her bearings. She was in a long and splendid corridor where grizzled Fierezza ancestors stared down sternly from the walls. There was a faint aroma of beeswax and lavender and hangings were ruby-coloured silk.

This was Nico’s home, Carrie reminded herself, shivering as she looked around. It was imperial splendour on the grandest scale, but it was cold and unwelcoming … But Nico was here somewhere, and now all she had to do was find him.

He had to get some air. The artificial atmosphere in the air-conditioned palace was getting to him. But above that, he was in a mood so black he wouldn’t inflict it on anyone, not even his grandfather the king, who was largely responsible for it.

King Giorgio was ninety years old, a fact Nico couldn’t ignore. It was the only reason he hadn’t made his views clear in his usual blunt fashion. His grandfather had proved himself shrewd enough and hard enough to hold the throne and guide Niroli into the twenty-first century, but that didn’t give him licence to construct a future for his heirs. Nico was prepared to accommodate reasonable requests, but he would not allow his grandfather to direct his life….