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He dragged in a sustaining breath. ‘You could sign such a document. And I’m sure that at this moment you’re convinced you’ll abide by it. But if later you change your mind,I’dbe the one facing the fallout.’
Her brow knotted. At least she hadn’t jumped to contradict him.
‘Look at it from my point of view. If it came to light later that you’d signed away your right to the throne to save your precious valley, it would seem like coercion. Maybe, technically, you’d be barred from taking the crown. But all hell would break loose. The people and the parliament could take sides. There’d be division and argument. Prinzenberg would be brought to its knees. It could take years to sort out.’
She sat stiffly, her eyes flashing pure green in her flushed face.
No wonder he’d thought her familiar yesterday. He’d believed he’d looked into that clear gaze before, and he had. But it wasn’t Annalena’s. The eyes he remembered belonged to Crown Prince Christian, the man whose death had ushered in his own father’s rule. Those vibrant eyes looked down at Benedikt every time he passed the royal portraits on the way to his office.
She had her father’s eyes.
If he’d still believed that right always won out, he’d be tempted to step away now. Let her have the crown while he pursued his own interests in America and elsewhere.
But Benedikt wasn’t that unworldly. Living with his father, not to mention years in business and working for his country, had ensured that.
His country needed a strong monarch who’d protect and serve it well.
‘You doubt my word?’
‘I doubt that you fully understand the bomb you’ve primed to explode. Whether it’s now or in the future, itwillexplode, unless we deal with it.’
‘We can keep this secret. My grandmother kept the circumstances of my birth secret all these years.’
‘Which is an extraordinary feat. But only a few, very loyal people knew.’ He leaned forward, tempering his voice to hide his urgency. ‘Think about what’s happened since you came here. The people who have seen you and know you stayed here overnight. Administrative staff who are wondering why certain files have been requested. Only a hand-picked few have conducted interviews in Edelforst, but gossip will be circulating already.’
She slumped in her seat, eyes round. He had to make her understand.
‘This is no longer about a very few, trusted people with your well-being at heart. It’s gone beyond that. People will be curious and start digging. People who aren’t necessarily loyal to me or you. People who learned under my father to use knowledge as a currency to win power for themselves.’
‘Why do you keep them on?’
‘I won’t. But change takes time. I can’t sack all his staff and advisers on the spot. I owe them the chance to prove themselves, or not. But my point is, we can’t assume everything will be solved with your signature on a piece of paper. We have to prepare for a future when this secret may become public.’
He didn’t mention the other possibility. That Annalena might change her mind down the track. What if she had a baby? Maternal instinct might prompt her to claim the throne for the sake of her child.
She stared into the distance, biting her bottom lip, and heat shafted to his groin.
His mouth firmed. He didn’t need the distraction of sexual awareness on top of everything else. But it had been there from the moment she’d marched into his office and it wasn’t fading. Seeing her in casual clothes, in something like her own environment, only heightened his response. As did her ignorance of or apparent lack of interest in her sexual allure.
How long since he’d met a woman like that? Even in college the women he’d met had been supremely conscious of their appearance and his reaction to them.
And that you were heir to a throne and a fortune.
Excitement tickled his backbone as he surveyed Annalena.
The sexual awareness wasn’t one-sided. He’d seen the way her pupils dilated, her gaze on his mouth when he spoke. The way she leaned closer until she realised what she was doing and abruptly pulled back.
Yet she didn’t care about his money or status. If anything, those counted against him.
That mutual attraction was the only positive he could see in this whole tangled mess. It would be useful when—
She shook her head, pink lips forming a moue of concentration that made him harden. How could he be susceptible to such an innocent expression?
‘I can’t see we have any other alternative but an agreement like I proposed.’
Benedikt took his time replying, tamping down his unsettling physical reaction.
He’d come up with an alternative and spent the night and all today testing its weaknesses. It would be difficult but not impossible. Unconventional, but so were the circumstances.