Chapter Thirty one

In front of the gleaming waters of the Mediterranean. She heard the ball-goers echoing around the

vast terrace as the fireworks whirred and whistled in

gleaming waters, of the

collective gasps

the air. but somehow she didn't feel part of it.

And then the evening became nothing more than

an endurance of clock-watching. All she wanted was

for Drake to retire, because nobody was allowed to

move until after the King had taken his leave. At

last the King whispered into the ear of a stunning

redhead before sweeping with his entourage from

the room and, a few moments later, Toyin saw the

woman follow him.

Toyin's heart was thumping as she made her way

to the eastern side of the palace. The Ruby Drawing

Room was one of her favourite places in the palace,

its décor overseen by her late mother, whose favour-

ite colour and gemstone it had been. Hers, too. The

walls and floor were in restful shades of darkest pink

and only the ornate ceiling was gold-its intricate

mouldings picked out with dazzling precision. It was

a room which made her feel emotional for all kinds

of reasons and therefore probably not the best choice

for the kind of talk she and Massimo needed to have, but

it was quiet and far away from the hustle and bustle

of the ball.

She walked in and saw that Massimo was already there,

tall and magnificent as he stood beside the marble

fireplace, his grey eyes watchful as she pushed the

door shut.

'So what's with all the cloak and dagger stuff?'

he questioned.

She drew in a deep breath, her heart pounding with nerves. 'I've brought you here to tell you I can't

marry you, Massimo'

She searched his face for a trace of emotion. Some-

thing which might hint that her words had surprised

him. even if they hadn't actually wounded him. But

no, There was nothing. Those dark features remained

impenetrable. And somehow that made her deci-

sion easier.

 It reinforced that she was doing the right

thing because he could turn it on and off like a tap,

couldn't he? The man had been in New York seemed

to have vanished. He seemed more of a stranger even

than the day she'd first met him. "I wanted to tell you

tonight...?" she stared into his eyes ... 

"So we can stop

the announcement being made."

Not a trace of emotion showed on his face as he

shot out the single word. "Why?"And then his face.

darkened. 

"Surely one episode of disappointing sex

Isn't enough to make you have cold feet?"

"It's a contributory factor, yes."

He slanted her another unfathomable look. "You

want me to lock the door and make you come? Will

that make you feel better?"

Toyin could feel her cheeks growing hot. 

"No, of

course not. It's about much more than that"

'Like what?'

She bit her lip. She could do the easy thing of

telling him she'd changed

her

mind and didn't 

want

marriage after all. She could even pretend that she'd

been sucked back into palace life

life and had decided that

she liked it too much to ever leave. 

Except she sus-

pected he was intuitive enough to

to know that wasn't

the case.

He nodded his head like a mathematics teacher

who'd just been presented with a tricky equation and

as Toyin waited, didn't part of her hope her words hit

a chord, even if it was just a little

one? That there might be a platform from which to

springboard her growing feelings. 

What if he told

her that he was receptive to the idea of love-would

that be enough for them to go on? 

" I love you" 

Wouldn't the tini-

est crack in his armour mean that some of her love

night be able to slip inside and warm him? She kept

er eyes fixed on his face and watched as something

in his expression changed. And it was as if the shut-

ers had suddenly been lifted for there was no dis-

uising the sudden hostility which gleamed so hard

from his gray eyes.

'I told you emphatically that I didn't do love'. he

said. 'And you know why? Because it means noth-

ing. Nothing. I've seen greed and lust and ambition,

be masqueraded as love. Did you really think that

our words might bring about a fundamental change

of heart, Toyin? That I was going to have a per-

onality change just because you looked at me with

those beautiful black eyes and told me words I never

wanted to hear?"

Toyin felt that little spark of hope crumble inside

her, like a heap of dust onto which a heavy boot had

just stamped. She wanted to break down. To sink to

her knees and let the great slurry of dark emotions

come sliding down onto her head. But she would not.

She could not. She was going to walk away from this

relationship with her heart shattered, but she would

make sure that her dignity was kept intact

'No, Massimo, she said quietly. I didn't think that, although I'd be lying if I denied that's what I was hop-

ing for. 

'I thought you might be open-minded enough

to the idea that feelings can sometimes

grow if you

let them- but maybe you won't let them. Or maybe

you just won't.' She met his stony gaze and head.

 'We need to tell the King so that no announce-

ment of our engagement will be made. We need to

end it, as of now. Well, not tonight, obviously. But

first thing tomorrow.'

'So I'm to go to your brother and tell him that my

Vow was worthless?'

'Oh, don't worry. I'll tell him. I'll make sure he

knows that you didn't break your precious word and

that the fault was all mine. I should... I should never

have agreed to it.'

'Another marriage which has fallen by the way-

side just before it reached the altar, he observed. 

'Are

you really prepared to go through with the damage

to your reputation, Toyin?

Better a brief spell of shattered pride than a life-

time of disillusion, she flared back. ' Of course I have always been hav-

ing to hide my feelings for fear that you might mistake

them for lust or greed or ambition.'

 She swept the

palm of her hand back over her chignon, checking

that her appearance was pristine enough to face any

servant she might encounter on the way back to her

room, and then lifted her chin to direct one final look

at him. 'Your words can sometimes be cruel, Massimo

but I suppose I should be grateful for your candour.

Because, for the moment at least I'm finding it very

easy not to love you."