disappearing entirely; she knew it could never do that-but fading to a place where he could be mourned without the constant piercing pain that had been with her for years.
She could be pretty. She could change her skin yet again with no betrayal of Matty.
What on earth was she thinking? Crazy, crazy, crazy.
A latecoming journalist jostled past her, nudging her out of her introspection. Hauling her back to reality.
Get back to earth fast, she told herself harshly. This is one of Zoe’s fairy tales.
And maybe she ought to listen.
‘And may I introduce Dr Elsa Murdoch?’ Stefanos was saying, and she was suddenly being looked at by everyone in the room.
‘It’s Mrs…’ she started but he wasn’t allowing her to get a word in.
‘Elsa-Dr Murdoch-was in the car crash that claimed Prince Christos’s life,’ Stefanos said, and his voice was gentle and full of compassion. ‘Also killed were Zoe’s mother, Amy, and Elsa’s husband, Mathew. Zoe still bears the scars, physically as well as mentally, and so does Elsa. Elsa is a world expert on…what did you call starfish, Zoe?’
‘Echinoderms,’ Zoe volunteered. Stefanos was still holding her tightly and she obviously felt confident enough to answer. ‘Or asteroidea,’ she added with aplomb.
‘That’s the one,’ Stefanos said encouragingly. ‘So, for the last four years, Dr Murdoch and Zoe have been conducting echinoderm-or asteroidea-research while they’ve gradually healed from their injuries. Dr Murdoch has cared for Zoe with total love and commitment, and for that this country owes her an enormous debt of gratitude.’
‘Hey,’ she said, startled enough to forget nerves and reply with spirit. ‘That sounds like you’re about to give me a gold watch and a pension.’
‘You deserve much, much more than that,’ he said, smiling. ‘I’m hoping Dr Murdoch can stay here,’ he told the reporters. ‘I’m hoping she’ll be a constant presence in Zoe’s life. I need to be away from the island for a few weeks between now and Christmas-there are ends I need to tie off before I can stay here permanently-but Zoe and, I hope, Elsa, will be happy here for ever.’
And her tingle of humour and enjoyment disappeared, just like that.
Whoa. What was he saying? That she and Zoe would be staying, but he was leaving?
He was planning on coming and going at will?
She stayed rooted to the spot while more questions were aimed at Stefanos. Was his work still important to him? How committed to the island could he be if he was returning to the States? Exactly how much time would he stay here and would he still play a ceremonial role?
‘You know I’m a neurosurgeon,’ he was explaining to the press, ‘but of course there’s work for me to do here now, medical as well as political. However, there are commitments to be honoured in the States before I can take on a permanent role.’
This was never in the contract, she thought wildly. He was leaving?
Stefanos was fielding the final questions. He was saying he’d be here until the coronation, and then he’d return by Christmas. He was intending to get the council sorted within the week…
She was no longer listening.
He was leaving.
He’d organised her to wear a sundress, while he wore a sword. The way she was suddenly feeling…
Maybe she needed a sword as well.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE media session had taken its toll on Zoe. Jet lag and excitement had finally caught up with her. As the last of the reporters left, the little girl almost visibly drooped.
‘Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you up to bed,’ Elsa said as Stefanos brought Zoe back to her. She carefully didn’t look at Stefanos. The things she needed to say to this man couldn’t be said in front of Zoe. In fact, maybe they needed a soundproofed room.
‘I’m thinking you need a carriage, Your Highness,’ Stefanos said grandly and scooped the little girl up again and carried her up the stairs.
Once again Elsa was left to follow. Her anger and bewilderment were building by the minute.
Stefanos was leaving. He was assuming she’d stay and take care of Zoe. In a place she didn’t know. In a country she didn’t know.
She was furious, but as she limped up the stairs after them her anger receded, leaving her flat and deflated. Like Zoe, she was so tired…
She’d been tired for years, but this was worse. Jet lag? No. It was betrayal, and betrayal hurt.
She stopped at the top stair and thought, I don’t want to go on. I don’t want to watch Stefanos tuck Zoe into bed and make her smile. I don’t want to see Zoe seduced into this life of media attention, of shallowness, of wealth, with only me to protect her.
Royalty had destroyed Christos’s childhood-he’d told her that. Stefanos had left the island as well, and he’d left for a reason. How could she possibly assess the risks royalty posed for such a vulnerable child as Zoe?
Regardless, Stefanos was obviously intending that she take on the burden of protecting Zoe. That was what he’d said. For ever?
She didn’t follow him into the bedroom. She made it to the top stair and sat. If Zoe needed her, Stefanos would come back for her, she thought, but the way the little girl’s eyelids were drooping as he’d carried her, she doubted if she’d notice if Elsa wasn’t there. And if she went in now she might explode. That he demand she drop the threads of her life in Australia on command, and yet manipulate her so he could still do what he wanted…That he could return to his old life in Manhattan and leave her to care for Zoe in a place she didn’t understand…
There were weary chuckles from the end of the corridor. Stefanos was making Zoe laugh.
Bully for Stefanos.
She felt dizzy, as well as angry and confused and all the rest of it. Her hip hurt. She put her head on her knees and folded her arms over her head. This was jet lag and more. Desolation, homesickness, betrayal. The world could go away…
Footsteps sounded down the hall, approaching her on the stair and pausing. She opened her eyes. A pair of black Hessian boots was in her field of vision.
Stefanos.
‘Jet lag too, huh?’ he said and he was smiling again. She knew he was smiling. She could hear his smile.
‘It’s not jet lag,’ she said without looking up. ‘It’s anger and disgust and deception thrown in for good measure. Zoe’s your cousin. What do you mean by abandoning her?’
‘I’m not abandoning her,’ he said, sounding surprised.
‘You’re going back to Manhattan.’
‘Only for a few weeks.’
‘Why didn’t you tell us?’
There was a pause. And then…Amazingly, an honest answer. ‘Because I thought you wouldn’t come if I did.’
‘How very perceptive.’
He sighed and sat down beside her. ‘I’m sorry. I should have told you before, but I have an urgent surgical list to do before Christmas.’
‘I had a paper on echinoderms to write up before Christmas,’ she retorted. ‘Believe it or not, it was important. Someone else is finishing it for me right now.’
‘You’re saying your echinoderms are more important than my surgical list?’
‘You’re saying your life is more important than my life?’
