Page 124 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘Evidently, not like you.’

‘Meaning?’

‘You just seem like someone who does this sort of thing—’ she gestured to the bar, the open bottle of champagne ‘—a lot.’

His lips quirked to one side. ‘I took our marriage vows seriously, Rosalind. I haven’t been with another woman since we were married.’

Her lips parted in a circle of surprise.

‘You don’t believe me?’

‘Actually, I do. I mean, why lie? I just didn’t expect that.’

‘Is that your way of telling me you’ve been sleeping around at the palace?’

She laughed at how preposterous that was. ‘Erm, no. For a start, even if I’d wanted to, I can’t see any way I could have.’

‘You’re right. The media follows your every move.’

She grimaced. ‘It’s been a long time since they’ve had a princess.’

‘And you’re their darling.’

‘At least for now,’ she said with a hint of rare cynicism. ‘I’m sorry.’ She lifted her palms in a gesture that echoed her apology. ‘I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I’m just aware that it is a bit of a sport, to build someone up and then tear them down. I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.’

‘As you should. Your perception is spot on.’

Her eyes glittered when they met his. ‘Your mother had a lot of that dished out to her when she left Cavalonia.’

‘When she left her husband, when she left the country, when she missed any of the king’s milestone events—never mind the fact she was legally exiled, cut off by her father for the sin of having abandoned a miserable, failing marriage.’

Rosalind chose her words with care. She’d heard only the king’s view, had seen only his pain when events passed without his daughter’s and grandson’s presence. ‘I think he’d have liked to heal the breach long before this,’ she said gently.

Sebastian’s lips formed a line of disapproval. ‘You’re wrong.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘Because the estrangement was all his doing. He sent her from the palace. She would have chosen to stay here and marry Mark.’

‘Impossible,’ Rosie said with a shake of her head. ‘Your grandfather couldn’t have sanctioned that.’

‘Why not?’

‘For many reasons, and you know it.’

‘You’re speaking like his mouthpiece,’ Sebastian responded. ‘Worse, you’re speaking like a throwback.’

‘And you’re speaking like an American,’ she was baited to reply, then raised her hand once more in another gesture of apology. ‘You’re speaking like someone from a culture with far more freedom, far more respect for love and personal choice. That’s not how it was here back then. That’s still not how it is—not really. You know that. Cavalonia is a deeply traditional society. Your grandfather was only expecting your mother to uphold the beliefs he had respected all his life.’

‘Times change,’ Sebastian ground out.

‘Not here,’ Rosie responded with a lift of one shoulder. ‘Not really.’

But Sebastian was calm again, in control of his emotions. ‘Tell me, Rosalind, have you travelled?’

Her eyes ran over his face, momentarily jarred by the change of subject. ‘I—a little. Why?’

‘I mean, have youreallytravelled? Spent time in other cultures and countries, seen how other people live?’

---