Page 31 of The Princess Sister Swap

‘I should have been there, come to see her before the end. I think...’ For a brief second, he looked vulnerable. ‘I think I was in denial; your mother was so full of life it seemed impossible that life could be cut short. If anyone could beat a diagnosis like hers, I thought she would.’

There were so many things Clem could respond with. She could point out that if he had been there, if he’d seen her mother, he’d have known how ill she was, that those who cared for her day to day didn’t have the luxury of dreaming that everything was going to be okay. But what was the point? ‘I think we all hoped that,’ she said instead.

Silence fell once again, thoughts of her mother permeating the air around them. She was the link, their common ground, the woman they both had loved. Now she was gone, was anything left in their relationship to salvage? Did her father even want to salvage it? Would it be far more convenient for him if Clem disappeared never to be seen again?

‘You seem to have been very busy while you have been here,’ he said at last.

Clem looked at him warily, but he seemed to be genuine. ‘I’ve heard good reports about the impact your reading is having at the hospital. It’s kind of you to give up your time. It’s the sort of thing I could imagine your mother doing.’

‘I kind of fell into it really, but I am enjoying it.’

‘Will you continue when you go back?’

When you go back: there was clearly no doubt in her father’s mind that her stay here was temporary. ‘Possibly,’ she conceded. ‘I’ve been wondering what to do with my life. Taking eighteen months out has changed everything. Acting doesn’t seem like the be-all and end-all any more. Doesn’t seem as important as it once did. I’ve been thinking about maybe retraining, looking at something like occupational therapy. It’s early days, I don’t want to rush into anything, but it might be a rewarding thing to do.’ She paused, hating how much she wanted his opinion, his approbation, but she could feel his approval warming her through as he slowly nodded.

‘That sounds like a good plan. You’d be good at that.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I’ve also heard,’ he continued, and something in the way he shifted told Clem that this was the purpose of the meeting. He wasn’t here to catch up with her, nor to compliment her on her work at the hospital, he was here to deliver a message. She straightened and met his gaze coolly, glad of the lipstick and combed hair. ‘That you’ve been spending a great deal of time with the Ortiz heir.’

‘Akil? Yes, he’s been very kind.’

‘The pair of you have been very discreet and I appreciate that, but he’s a young man on the rise and the press will start to take notice sooner rather than later. Will want to know who you are.’

‘All they would find out is that I’m an English actress here on holiday.’ She knew she sounded defensive and tried to rein it in. ‘There is nothing to link me to you. That’s what you’re worried about, isn’t it?’

‘You are staying in my home, accompanied by your sister’s bodyguard, there’s a link. It would take one enterprising journalist to work that out. But there’s more, Clem. Your behaviour is rousing suspicion. People are wondering where Arrosa is every day. She sets off for Court but no one sees her. I have put off any queries, as far as anyone knows she’s with me, but people won’t really believe she’s shut up in my private apartments all day every day. It’s stretching credulity. The gate logs from here come to me, but they also go to the Army General. They show Arrosa as coming back late or not coming back at all. Sooner or later, this will leak, people will wonder where she is, what she’s doing.’

Heat flooded her cheeks; to think she’d been congratulating herself how discreet she and Akil had been. Of course her behaviour would be noticed and reported on, no matter what she, Akil and Henri did to mitigate it. And now her father was having to cover for her and Akil.

‘I’ll be more careful. I’m leaving soon anyway.’ But she knew that wasn’t the right answer. He wasn’t here to ask her to be more discreet, he was telling her to stop seeing Akil.

Zorien leaned forward and although his eyes were kind, they were also implacable. ‘You’ve done a good thing, Clem. Your sister needed time away and you made that happen. But when she returns, things are going to get more and more intense. Her life was difficult as my only child.’

Clem did her best not to wince at his words.Only child.That put her very firmly in her place.

‘It’s been very difficult as we have worked to change the law, especially as I know she has no real desire to be Queen and part of her would have been happy leaving things as they were. But nothing can really prepare her for what life will be like in just a few weeks when she officially becomes my heir. Everything she says, everything she does, will be under intense scrutiny, at home and internationally. She has to show that she is fit to rule, that she has what it takes to manage this country. Everything we do needs to support that. Do you understand what I’m saying?’

‘Yes. I understand, I’ve never done anything but understand. Asturia comes first, I come second. That’s how it’s always been, isn’t it, Zorien?’

He shook his head. ‘Not you, Clem.Us.We Artegas. Asturia comes first, the family second. We are the servants of this country, and we can never forget it.’

‘But it’snotmy country. That’s been made very clear to me.’

‘But you’re here, and you love it, don’t you? You’ve explored the mountains, the villages, and the seas. You’ve spent time in hospitals, eating our food, walking our streets, exploring our heritage—your heritage. Don’t think that I don’t know that the sacrifice you make is greater in some ways than the sacrifices your sister and I have to make.’

‘But you have each other.’ She hated the tears filling her eyes, the wobble in her voice. ‘I have no one.’ No one but Akil—and she had known she would need to say goodbye, she had just hoped for more time.

‘Please don’t think that I don’t want to be more involved in your life, and I know Arrosa wishes she could be a proper sister to you. But this is what we do, all of us, and you have your part to play as well. The last thing we need right now is the publicity that would surround us if there was any suspicion of who you really are. I’m glad you had a chance to be here, to get to know the country, but it’s time for you and Arrosa to resume your normal lives. Your life is in England, Clem. That’s what your mother chose for you.’

‘But what if that’s not what I want?’

‘What we want is secondary to what we need to do. Look at you, Clem, you’re an Artega through and through. Our blood into your veins and I know I can trust you to do what’s right. You’ve given your sister the space she needed to prepare for her future, to grow into her role. Your plans for your future sound exciting, and I will help in any way I can.’

‘As long as I pursue them away from here?’

Her father nodded. ‘The last year and a half have been difficult for you, and you deserved some fun, but it’s time for the fun to stop. I’m sorry, Clem. I wish it could be different, but it’s time you went home.’

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