Chapter Seven
THE BEATS OF Gabriel’s heart were heavy as he followed Alessia into what was now their shared quarters, at least until the renovations of the converted stable block were completed.
When he’d visited her after their marriage had been agreed, he hadn’t taken much notice of any of it other than her bedroom but now he craned his neck around the high walls to take in the sumptuous furnishings, many of which he suspected were family heirlooms centuries old and much of which were too large for the rooms that were, surprisingly, the same size as the ones in the quarters he’d stayed in.
They could never be described as small but in comparison to her parents’ and brother’s quarters, they were as pint-sized as the princess who lived in them.
But there was plenty of modernity there too, the new blending perfectly with the old to create an eclectic apartment that was feminine and chic and regal all rolled into one.
Although not to his taste, it was an apartment that suited Alessia perfectly and he couldn’t deny the throb in his loins to know that soon—very soon—they would share that princess bed.
His new wife, who’d walked silently with her hands clasped together from the banquet room to their quarters, kicked her shoes off and hovered in the day room doorway, not looking at him.
‘I need to shower so I’ll leave you to familiarise yourself with the place.
It’s virtually the same as the quarters you stayed in so you shouldn’t get lost.’
‘Where has my stuff been put?’ He’d been told his suitcases would be moved to his new quarters and his possessions unpacked for him.
She swallowed. ‘In my dressing room. Come, I’ll show you.’
He followed her up the stairs and caught the brief hesitation before she opened the bedroom door.
She padded across the room and opened the dressing room door.
‘I’ve made as much room for you as I can but I’m afraid it’s quite small—this section of the castle is four hundred years old, so relatively modern compared to other parts, and was once lodgings for courtiers until my great-grandparents had them all fiddled about with to create family apartments.
This one and the one you stayed in are by far the smallest and were intended for visiting family but it was always my favourite, I don’t know why, and when I came of age, I asked to have it rather than move into the one earmarked for me.
The only thing missing from it was a dressing room so they stole space from the guest bedroom to create one for me. ’
She paused for breath, a sheepish expression crossing her face.
‘A very long-winded way of telling you that there isn’t much space for your things.
I’m sorry. I had all my ball gowns moved into the guest room, so if you find it all too cramped, you can put some of your stuff in there too. I hope that’s okay?’
Leaning against the arch of the door beside her, Gabriel gazed at his bride.
Anticipation for what the night would bring had tortured him since he’d seen her on the balcony that morning, and now they were finally alone and all the fantasies that had sustained him through the long wedding banquet, of peeling that sheer dress from her perfect body and then kissing every inch of her soft skin before burying himself in her tight sweetness, could be acted on.
But he would keep his desire in check awhile longer. Even through his fantasies he’d sensed Alessia’s nerves growing as the banquet had gone on and guessed the anticipation of their wedding night had got the better of her. It was up to him to help her relax.
‘I didn’t bring much with me so I’m sure it’s all fine,’ he assured her with a slow smile.
The dressing room, long though it was, was small but cleverly designed to maximise every available inch of space.
The left-hand side bulged with feminine colour.
The right-hand side—his side—had barely a third of the available space taken. ‘See, plenty of room.’
She rubbed her arm. ‘When will you bring the rest of your stuff?’
‘When we move into the stables. In the meantime, I’ll be spending my working weeks in Madrid so will keep the majority of my stuff in my home there.’
Her eyes met his, perfectly plucked eyebrows drawing together. ‘I thought you were giving up your business? You said you’d got your affairs in order.’
‘No, only my affairs concerning the client I was supposed to start with this week. I will be winding my main business down but I have many other business interests too. There isn’t the space for me to work here.’
A flintiness came into the velvet eyes, an edge appearing in her voice. ‘I know my quarters are cramped but it’s a castle with over three hundred rooms. An office can be created for you without any problem, and it can be as big as you want.’
‘It’s more convenient to base myself in Madrid—it’s easier to travel to the countries I do business in from there,’ he explained.
‘By the time we move into the stables and the baby’s born, my affairs will be much more straightforward and my need to travel much reduced.
’ Having their child and not having to live in the castle itself should hopefully make living in this royal goldfish bowl more bearable.
The flintiness sharpened. ‘That sounds like an excuse to me.’
‘It’s a truth. The other truth is that I have no wish to live in this castle full-time.
There are too many staff to have any real privacy and I suspect that being under this roof means your family and their personal staff will be incentivised to try and change my mind about being a working member of the family.
If I’m out of sight then I’m more likely to be out of mind. ’
‘Is being a working member such an intolerable idea to you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you don’t think having a husband who spends his working weeks away is an intolerable idea to me?’
‘It is only until the renovations are complete.’
‘Which could take months.’ She raised her chin and gave a smile as flinty as the expression in her eyes. ‘I shall come to Madrid with you.’
‘That isn’t necessary,’ he stated as smoothly as he could in an effort to diffuse what his antennae was warning him: that Alessia was spoiling for an argument.
‘Why not? Do you have a woman stashed in Madrid waiting for you?’
Surprised at both the question and the tone in which she asked it, he narrowed his eyes. ‘Of course not.’
‘Then you can have no objection to me travelling there with you.’
Gabriel closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before staring back at the face that now brimmed with what he was coming to recognise as temper. He had no choice but to add fuel to it. ‘I’m afraid it’s out of the question.’
‘Why?’
‘Because a circus follows wherever you go, and I have no wish to be a part of it. I’ve already made that clear.’
‘The media circus is not my fault.’
‘I am simply stating my reasons.’
‘The moment the announcement of our marriage is made public the circus will be on you.’
‘But your presence will make it more. The media love you.’
‘I don’t encourage that.’
‘I never said you did, only that I wish to avoid it as much as I can.’
‘Then you shouldn’t have agreed to marry me. I’m sorry you find the thought of media intrusion so abhorrent but it is possible to have a life as a royal that isn’t always accompanied by the flash of cameras, as you will learn for yourself when I accompany you on your travels.’
For the first time, visible anger darkened Gabriel’s features but Alessia was too angry at his insinuations about her character and hurt at his readiness to spend the majority of his time apart from her to care about it.
‘It’s bad enough that I’ll be humiliated by a husband who refuses to be my prince even at my own brother’s wedding, but I will not be humiliated by a husband who marries me one minute then flies off without me the next too, especially when that wasn’t a pre-condition of our marriage, so get used to the idea of having me by your side.
If you do have any lovers stashed anywhere, warn them now that you can no longer see them because your wife refuses to be separated from you.
’ And with that, Alessia snatched a pair of pyjamas off a shelf and stalked into the bathroom, locking the door firmly behind her.
Alessia had never appreciated how greatly the presence of another could change an atmosphere.
Her quarters, her bedroom especially, had been her favourite place in the castle since she was a little girl and would make Marcelo go exploring with her.
She truly didn’t know what it was that she loved so much about it other than its warm atmosphere—lots of the castle’s rooms were cold and unwelcoming to a little girl—but she’d gladly foregone the much larger apartment that could have been hers for it.
Gabriel’s presence had changed its atmosphere markedly.
They danced cordially around each other as they readied for bed, taking it in turns to use the bathroom, giving each other privacy to undress, and all with fixed, polite smiles that brimmed with a seething undercurrent.
How many brides and grooms argued on their wedding night?
she wondered bitterly. Not that they’d argued as such.
She doubted Gabriel ever raised his voice.
No, Gabriel preferred to make his arguments behind a smooth cordiality she was growing to detest. But she’d seen the anger in his eyes when she’d stood her ground and refused to accept being treated like a chattel.
Well, tough. He’d married her. If she had to live in the bed they’d both made then so should he.