Page 27 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8
‘It sounds completely far-fetched, if you ask me. It was probably built as a folly.’
Sofia took the hat from him and positioned it on her head while he strode round to the boot and opened it. A distant memory from her history lessons flitted into her head. ‘Isn’t the estate where your grandfather honeymooned with your grandmother and almost collapsed the monarchy nearby?’
‘It is.’
‘Worth a visit?’
‘Absolutely not.’
‘If it’s anything like this place, I can see why they didn’t emerge for six months. Peace, privacy, views to die for. What’s not to like? It must have been idyllic.’
‘I’m sure it was, forthem,’ he said, as he extracted the picnic basket and set it on the ground before delving back inside for the blanket. ‘For everyone else, scrabbling around to see off the army and restore order, it must have been horrendous.’
‘They were in love.’
‘They were selfish.’
‘Surely you can empathise.’
He straightened so sharply he nearly cracked his head on the lid of the boot. ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
‘Not what. Who. Carolina, Countess of Vila Real. According to the tabloids at the time, you were mad about her.’
Ivo’s jaw clenched. He seemed to turn to stone right before her eyes. ‘The tabloids were wrong.’
‘She was very beautiful,’ she said, recalling the extensive press coverage, the envy their relationship had aroused and the shameful relief she’d felt when they’d split up.
‘Only on the outside.’ He gave the boot lid a good shove down and picked up lunch. ‘She cheated on me and afterwards tried to sell the story of our relationship to the press. If the palace hadn’t killed it, I’d have been crucified. No one would ever have taken me seriously, either then or now. It was not a pleasant experience in any shape or form.’
No, Sofia thought with a pang of sympathy as they set off for the giant oak door. She could imagine. He’d have been mortified and appalled to have been shamed so publicly, even if only the breakup had hit the news. Who wouldn’t? And she could understand his abhorrence of drama because of it. But to be betrayed like that… Whether or not love had been involved, it had to have hurt, and her heartstrings twanged at the thought of him in pain. ‘No wonder you’re once bitten, twice shy.’
‘I will never put myself in that situation again.’
‘That’s understandable,’ she said, wishing she could get her hands on his faithless, treacherous ex.
‘It’s also one of the many reasons I picked you for the role of Queen.’
Oh?‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re as interested in love as I am. Not at all, in other words. I couldn’t have married someone who hoped for more than I’m prepared to give in that regard. It’s a tough enough gig as it is, without throwing unreasonable expectations into the mix.’
Sofia nearly tripped on a stone. Forget the unreasonableness of expectations. He thought they were on the same page about love? When had she ever given himthatimpression? ‘What makes you think I’m uninterested in love?’
‘No evidence of a boyfriend in all the years you’ve worked at the palace,’ he said with disconcerting conviction. ‘Plus, you’re as devoted to your job as I am. It’s so all-consuming there’s little time for anything else. An external relationship would never survive the neglect.’
‘I see,’ she said faintly. ‘You seem to have it all worked out.’
‘I know,’ he said. ‘I do.’ He opened the door and stood aside to let her pass out of the hot bright sunlight into the cool dark of the cavernous hall. ‘Come on in. I’ll show you around.’
Unable to work out why the proximity of his grandparents’ honeymoon hideaway was suddenly playing on his mind, Ivo concentrated on giving Sofia a potted history of the castle, complete with dates, figures and any other facts he could recall. She, however, didn’t seem to be appreciating his vast wealth of knowledge on the subject.
‘And then eighteen months ago,’ he said, as they stood in the space at the centre of the structure. ‘I guillotined the Lord Mayor in this very courtyard.’
She nodded vaguely. ‘Right.’
‘Are you paying attention toanythingI’m saying?’
Her gaze jerked to his. ‘Huh? Sorry. I’m a little distracted.’
