Chapter 39
R aphael
The door to the gallery swung open, and the prince burst through. Alex’s father eyed me then jerked his head for me to walk with him again.
After talking to Sir Reginald, I’d returned to the house to find Alex but stumbled in on the prince alone in his breakfast room. I’d cursed myself for breaching no doubt multiple protocols, but the man had waved me in, finishing up a phone call. Shortly after, he brought me here, to what he’d called his exercise room, the portrait gallery that smelled of beeswax and hundreds of years of history.
Shouting had reached us. He’d told me to stay put while he investigated.
Turns out I was a royalist. Not only was I in deep with a princess, but I obeyed princely orders without question.
Being alone for a minute had given me time to think.
All about my life and my response to threats. The dangers I anticipated, and those which hadn’t happened yet still scared me enough to put up walls around myself. Walls a princess had scaled without even trying.
Alex’s da commenced our stroll again down the long gallery, the gold leaf on the paintings either side of us shining. He pointed at one. “That is Alexandra’s great aunt who she is named after. Can you see a resemblance?”
I took in the portrait of a woman in a shepherdess outfit complete with sheep at her feet. “I’m not sure.”
He snorted in amusement. “Neither am I. I have no eye for art, unlike my only child. I like that you didn’t pretend for my sake. Most would.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that, so I stayed silent.
He walked on a few steps then wobbled. Unthinking, I caught his arm, and the man grouched but straightened, patting my hand.
“Everyone here protects me. Or perhaps I live in a bubble of my own making. It appears that I have entirely missed out on a very real threat to my daughter.” He swung his attention onto me. “Tell me, Mr Gordonson, do you love her?”
Fucking hell. I swallowed. “With the greatest respect, the person who should hear that first is Alex.”
He watched me for a beat then smiled and continued walking. “Good. You’re the one she turned to. It’s your team downstairs taking care of her, and your men standing by her when those of her own family did not. I have ignored what Perkins saw coming, choosing only to warn her of what not to do, neglecting to give her the tools or the time to handle this when it became a real issue.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
We reached a brocade settee beneath an enormous painting of a hunting scene.
The prince sat heavily and gestured for me to take the other side. “I want to know everything that has gone on with Sir Reginald, the workload he gave to my daughter, and how it was handled. Tell me now. Do not miss a thing.”
“I will. If ye don’t mind me telling Alex where I am.” I found my phone. I should’ve done this already, but I’d been stuck in my thoughts and drowning. I also had to check she was okay with me sharing. For all I respected her da, this was her call, not mine.
“Go ahead. She’s quite safe. I’ve locked the bastards up. I never did like that private secretary. Obsequious, backstabbing toad.”
Surprise stole the last of my reserve. Seemed I wasn’t the only one with a story to tell.
His eyes gleamed. “I mean to clear this up myself. And I’ve already set in motion how I’m going to do it.”