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A sliver of ice punctured Benedikt’s chest.
Someone like his mother.
Karl had been charming when he chose and Benedikt’s mother had fallen for his wooing, then lived to regret her choice, finally realising he cared more for her money than her. Karl’s pretence of affection had ended after several miscarriages and the stillbirth of a second son. With the news she’d never be able to give him a spare heir.
Benedikt’s most vivid childhood memories were of her distress at her husband’s casual cruelty. If he had a choice he’d never marry. For him the very idea was weighted with pain and negativity, with trauma. Fury rose that this stranger should involve his mother, a woman who’d endured so much, in this scam. Benedikt still felt her loss deeply, and his grandfather’s.
He stalked across, straight into Annalena’s space. If that was who she really was. ‘I’ve had enough of your games.’
He’d long ago learned to curb the volatile anger that could provoke reactions he’d later regret. But he had his limits.
Serious eyes met his with no trace of fear. ‘My parents were in love but my father didn’t want to disappointhisfather so he stalled for time. Then they discovered I was on the way. They married in Edelforst with my grandmother’s blessing. My father left, intending to choose the right time to announce their marriage, but he made my mother promisenotto come to the capital. He insisted she keep their marriage and her pregnancy secret until he took her there.’
Despite himself, Benedikt was intrigued. It had the elements of a good yarn if nothing else.
‘That doesn’t explain why she didn’t come forward later. Why no one else heard about this supposed marriage.’
Annalena crossed her arms, not pugnaciously but, he realised, defensively. Her shoulders curved in. Suddenly she looked vulnerable, making him notice for the first time how much smaller she was than he. Her feisty attitude had eclipsed so much.
‘She was protecting me. She died soon after I was born and my grandmother stayed quiet for the same reason.’
‘And you needed protection from…?’
‘I was only a few weeks old when your father was proclaimed heir to the throne.’
‘Still time to assert your claim. Why didn’t they?’
She straightened, arms unfolding and shoulders pushing back. She tilted her jaw and, despite the fact she only came up to his shoulder, managed to look down her nose at him. As if she really were Queen and he some ragtag imposter.
‘Because of what my father said before he left that last time. He wasn’t looking forward to telling his father he’d married for love not duty. He didn’t want to disappoint his sick father. But he had something else on his mind. A series of accidents had dogged him in the capital. Potentially fatal accidents.’
‘You’re saying he thought someone was trying to kill him?’
‘Someone else was vying for power. Someone who saw the old King’s illness as an opportunity. My father didn’t want to reveal he was married until he had concrete proof and had neutralised the danger.’
She went on before he could interject. ‘My father left Edelforst on a Sunday night and by Wednesday morning he was dead. In a car accident on a road he knew like the back of his hand. The first report mentioned an oil spill on the road at the only spot where the side plunged into a ravine. But the official, final report made no mention of it. There were other anomalies—’
‘You forget there was no one else in line to inherit the throne. No onevyingfor power.’
Her expression changed, defiance and sadness replaced with something like regret. ‘No one except the orphan who’d been raised at the palace beside the Crown Prince as an act of charity. Someone ambitious and older than Christian, who chafed at the fact he could never rise to the same heights of power. Someone who, within weeks of the Crown Prince’s death, quietly married the American heiress whom the old King had favoured.’
Benedikt’s blood froze, his skin turning clammy with horror.
‘Your father. Who later became King Karl.’ Her voice was implacable, her words missiles. ‘That’s why my family kept the marriage and my parentage secret. They didn’t want him to kill me too.’
CHAPTER THREE
‘We haven’t beenable to disprove it, but we’ve only had a couple of hours.’ Matthias was grim as he met Benedikt’s gaze across the desk. ‘The priest who supposedly officiated at the weddingwasthe priest at that church on that date. He’s retired but still lives nearby. The other witnesses, including the Grand Duchess, still live in Edelforst.’
‘And?’ There had to be more.
‘I spoke to the priest. A trusted staff member is heading there in person to conduct an interview, but I knew you’d want an initial report.’
Benedikt nodded, appreciating his assistant’s thoroughness but wishing he’d get to the point.
‘You’re not going to like this. The old man said he remembered the ceremony perfectly. He said it was the honour of a lifetime to marry the Crown Prince to the Princess he’d baptised in the very same church.’
Benedikt fell back in his seat, the air expelling forcibly from his lungs.