LITMIR.BIZ

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a firm hold of her wrist, he turned without a further word to Philippe and Caro and dragged her towards the doors but, before he could reach them, he was baulked again. This time it was the Dowager Blanche herself who stepped into his way.

      Lotty’s grandmother was small and elderly, but she had a presence that could stop even Corran in his tracks. More than one person watching flinched at the expression on her face as she fixed Corran with gimlet eyes. She was, Lotty thought, far more frightening than the security officers on either side of her who were sliding their hands to their shoulder holsters.

      ‘Take your hands off my granddaughter,’ she said in freezing accents. ‘Do you know who she is?’

      Corran had stopped, but he didn’t let Lotty go. ‘I do,’ he said, looking the Dowager Blanche right in the eyes. ‘Do you?’

      ‘This is Her Serene Highness Princess Charlotte!’

      ‘No,’ said Corran. ‘This is Lotty.’

      Lotty sucked in a breath and tried to interrupt before her grandmother annihilated him. ‘Grandmère…’ she began, but it was too late.

      ‘How dare you speak to me like that?’ Her grandmother’s voice was like a lash. ‘And how dare you talk about my granddaughter in that vulgar way?’

      ‘I dare because I know her better than you do,’ said Corran.

      ‘You are impertinent!’

      ‘I’m also right,’ he said. ‘I bet you don’t know how out of tune she is when she hums or how she sticks her tongue out of the corner of her mouth when she’s concentrating. Do you know how stubborn she is, how hard she works? How she stretches when she’s tired, how grouchy she gets when her scones don’t turn out? Do you know the exact angle she puts her chin in the air when she’s crossed?

      ‘I didn’t think so,’ said Corran when the Dowager looked astounded. ‘Well, I do. I know the Lotty you’ll never know. The Lotty who’s fussy about her coffee and snappy if I forget to wipe my boots. Who smiles when she washes up and who hates cleaning her paintbrushes.’

      His eyes went to Lotty and the two of them might as well have been alone, although all pretence at conversation had died around them and the entire ballroom was listening.

      ‘The Lotty who’s sweet and true and funny, who made me happy and who left me all alone because I was too stupid to tell her how I felt.’

      He turned back to the Dowager and his face hardened. ‘You only know the princess. I know the woman. I may not know Princess Charlotte, but I know Lotty.’

      His eyes flickered to the bodyguards. ‘Now, I’d like to talk to her alone so I’d be glad if you’d call off your goons and let us leave.’

      There was a frozen moment when the air between Corran and the Dowager fairly crackled and then, to Lotty’s utter astonishment, her grandmother stood aside without another word.

      ‘Thank you,’ said Corran in a cool voice.

      There was utter silence in the ballroom as he pulled Lotty out of the main doors to where the great state staircase swept down two sides to the marble hall. The area outside the doors was thronging with footmen and guests who had missed all the excitement. Corran ignored them all.

      ‘God, how do we get out of here?’

      Lotty found her voice at last. ‘I’m not sure I want to go anywhere with you after embarrassing me like that.’

      ‘You’ll never be the perfect princess again,’ Corran agreed. ‘Your reputation’s shot. There’ll always be gossip about you now—and there’ll be even more if we have our discussion here in front of everyone. I don’t mind,’ he said, ‘but you might want some privacy.’

      Lotty pressed her lips together, but she knew he was right. ‘We’ll go to my apartments,’ she said.

      An astonished footman sprang to life to throw open the door of the apartment for them. Head held high, Lotty swept in first.

      Corran shut the footman out and turned to face Lotty, who was standing in the middle of a sumptuously decorated apartment. The diamonds in her tiara flashed in the light. Her head was high, her eyes bright with anger, and in the red ball gown she looked very much a princess.

      ‘I don’t appreciate being humiliated in front of my family, our staff and a ballroom full of guests,’ she said icily.

      ‘And I don’t appreciate finding out from Betty McPherson that I’m a father!’ Corran snapped back. ‘How humiliating do you think that was?’

      Lotty stared at him for a moment, and then she dropped abruptly onto one of the sofas and covered her face with her hands.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, her voice muffled. ‘I’m so sorry, Corran.’

      The anger leaked out of the air and Corran sat down heavily beside her. Gently, he pulled her hands from her face so that he could look into her eyes.

      ‘It’s true, then? You’re having a baby?’ His throat was very tight. ‘Our baby?’

      ‘Yes, it’s true,’ said Lotty, her fingers curling around his in spite of herself.

      ‘It was that afternoon when we couldn’t wait to go back to the house, wasn’t it?’ said Corran, and her cheeks warmed at the memory of the heat that had consumed them as the dust drifted in the sunlight and the smell of wood shavings filled the air.

      ‘I think it must have been.’

      ‘Why didn’t you tell me, Lotty?’

      She pulled her hands from his. ‘You told me you weren’t ready for children,’ she reminded him. ‘You told me how Ella tricked you into marriage by claiming to be pregnant. You told me you were never making a mistake like that again.’ She swallowed.

      ‘I didn’t want to be a mistake, Corran,’ she said, ‘and I didn’t want you to think of our baby as one. I was afraid that if I told you before the baby was born, you’d do exactly what you’ve done, and come rushing out to do your duty.’

      ‘Duty?’ said Corran slowly. ‘Is that what you think this is?’

      ‘What else can it be?’ Lotty hugged her arms together to stop herself from reaching for him. ‘I know how you feel. I know that the estate is your priority now. You think having a child would be a disaster, and you don’t want to be stuck with a wife like me. I know all that.

      ‘I don’t blame you,’ she went on quickly as Corran opened his mouth. ‘I completely understand the kind of woman you need at Loch Mhoraigh.’

      ‘Do you?’ He put his head on one side and regarded her thoughtfully, a smile hovering for the first time around his mouth and in the depths of his eyes. ‘What kind of woman is that?’

      ‘You want a farmer’s wife.’ Her voice was dull and she fiddled with the ends of her stole. ‘You need someone practical who’s used to country living. I understand that.’

      Corran nodded. ‘I thought I needed a sensible, practical wife too. In fact, I was sure of it, but it turns out that what I really need is a princess who can’t cook.’

      Lotty leapt to her feet in agitation before he could go any further. ‘You’re just asking me because of the baby,’ she said, wrapping her arms miserably around herself. ‘I knew this would happen! That’s why I didn’t tell you.’

      She took a turn around the room while she tried to get her thoughts in order. ‘I don’t need you to look after me, Corran,’ she said eventually. ‘I’m not denying you your rights as a father. I know you’ll be a good one. I can see you don’t want your child growing up split between two parents the way you did, but you’d never be like your father. I know Mhoraigh will be an important part of our child’s life.

      ‘I’ll be fine on

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