Page 51 of Stolen Princess's Secret

‘Sophia’s a nice kid. I like kids.’ Which didn’t exactly answer the question. ‘Raising a kid who’s a member of the royal family to have similar values to the ones I grew up with won’t be easy, though.’ First time he’d voiced that thought. ‘How do you teach someone to value a misshapen mug when they have access to the best of everything? Does Claudia possess anything belonging to her mother, other than royal jewels? I don’t think so.’

‘Maybe not, but in my experience it pays to think of Claudia more as an orphan raised by a foster family. She’s not going to let on that a particular possession of hers is important, even if it is. She may say some of the falcons are hers but there’s no loyalty from them in return—she knows that just as well as you do. She has a horse she treasures, but it’s cared for and ridden by Gabriel and his grooms these days because of her pregnancy. She does have two very loyal wolfhounds.’

They both looked down. Those wolfhounds were currently sitting at Tomas’s feet.

He hadn’t meant to take them on, but Claudia’s palace meetings ran for days sometimes, whereas with him at least the dogs got a run.

Lor wiped her hands on her apron. ‘Has she talked about their defection to you?’

‘I didn’t realise it was a competition.’ But what if Claudia thought of it as such? ‘I thought I was helping.’

‘You are very caring, very competent and very helpful, yes. You bring rules and safety with you—I predict that your children will idolise you. But with that happy head start into parenting comes a warning. Don’t cut your wife out of the child-raising if she doesn’t take to it as naturally as you do. That woman has been surplus to requirements all her life. Include her. Make her feel essential to your wellbeing and happiness. Talk to her about what you want from this new world the two of you are creating. There is her northern world, to which she is beholden for keeping her alive. There is her brother’s world, into which she brings challenge and reform—a world where she’s more often cast as a villain so that Casimir can be seen as the good King. And then there’s your world, and to my old eyes she’s doing her damnedest to make you happy. It doesn’t help that you disappear for days on end, leaving her to get on with paying her dues.’

‘She wants me to go,’ he protested. ‘She encourages me to get on with paying mine.’

‘And in a secure relationship, individually working hard and coming together when the work is done would be enough. Is your relationship secure, my stalwart heart? Or is there still so much to learn about each other and discuss? Can’t do that when you spend most of your time apart.’

Who knew that having Lor point out the obvious could make him feel so miserably unfit for the role of husband?

‘She comes in here some nights when you’re away and without fail she reaches for your mug, and she treats it with the same care you do, even though she doesn’t know its history. She just knows it’s yours.’ Lor eyed him shrewdly. ‘It’s the little things that reveal so much, isn’t it. Who you really are. What you value most. Even if you don’t know how to keep hold of it.’

‘Keep talking.’ Might as well admit he needed some tough love. ‘I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but my marriage is withering.’

‘You need my wise words.’

Yes, he did. ‘I need to fix it.’

‘Claudia doesn’t want to let anyone down and they use her and you know this. She’ll work herself to the bone in service to others, it’s happening in front of your eyes. She finds it very difficult to even state her wants and needs, let alone follow through. So get in there and put your foot down, Tomas, and make it easier for her to follow through.’

He was listening.

Two days later, Tomas braved the underground swimming pools of the winter fortress in search of his princess wife. He didn’t like the watery caverns carved into the side of the mountain, no matter how many sconces lit his way. He didn’t see luxury in the fluffy towels and scented oils placed strategically. He found the place eerie, truth be told. Give him sky above his head, not solid rock all around him. Maybe he just wasn’t a cave person.

But Silas said Claudia had taken to bathing here of an afternoon, so he swallowed his dislike and journeyed forth, into the gloom.

Claudia sat by herself beneath the waterfall, a wrap tied around her rapidly changing body, her head slightly forward to let the water from the underground riverway pound down on her shoulders and neck.

By the time he’d removed his clothes she’d seen him and had made her way to the shallow end of the pool where the steps were, her amber eyes alight with curiosity and...dare he imagine pleasure?

‘I thought you were away for two more days,’ she said by way of greeting.

‘I heard from Lor that your meeting was cancelled, so I asked Balo’s grandfather to step in and supervise the apprentices through to the beginning of next week. Might work, might not. Delegation is not my strong point, but I’m trying to build teams that won’t fall apart in my absence.’

‘He must be good for you to even consider bringing him on.’

‘He reminds me of my grandfather.’ Tomas settled on the step beside her, half in the water, half out. ‘He handles the goldens in ways I’ve never seen before, but it works. I can learn from him. That region is a treasure trove. Have I thanked you for choosing it for me lately?’

‘Not lately.’

He leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss that started gently and then he very deliberately set about adding layer after layer of gossamer passion and promise.

‘Thank you,’ he whispered when his body had stirred sufficiently to make it abundantly obvious that he was pleased to see her. ‘I can’t wait to get you there more often. Did I tell you that Caitlin’s father has taken on a new manager? I interviewed her for an apprenticeship yesterday.’

‘Really?’ Delight looked good on her.

‘I offered her the position on the spot. It’s people, isn’t it. Key people in key positions who can change the world. She’s one of them. You’re one of them too.’

She smiled and leaned against him and it was enough to make him happy.

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