Tagan's Child (44 page)

“We better get
up,” I said, glancing at the clock. “It’s nearly eight, everybody
will be having breakfast without us.” I felt a flutter in my
stomach at the thought of seeing Ahran again.

“I’m going to
jump in the shower. Meet you in the lounge in ten.”

“Okay,” Toby
said climbing out of the bed. “Do you think the King will let me
sit on one of his horses?” he asked, turning back towards me.

“Who knows?” I
replied. His life had suddenly become full of endless possibilities
and I had my work cut out if I wanted to keep him grounded. I
climbed out of bed with a heavy sigh, feeling no closer to coming
up with a solution regarding Toby that would suit us all.

I stood in the
shower and contemplated how Ahran and I were going to take things
from here. I had a home back on Earth and a business to run and he
had a farm to set up, if indeed he still had one after his father
learnt we were together. No doubt we would have to spend stretches
of time apart and I didn’t feel comfortable about that at all, and
if our relationship survived that, then what? I couldn’t see Ahran
living on Earth but could I live a double life in Ramia, lying
about where I was half the time to my friends back home, the
friends I loved and respected? The emotions I felt were so
bittersweet. On the one hand, I was floating on cloud nine, but on
the other, my life seemed more hopeless than ever.

I finished
showering and quickly dressed in a pair of white linen trousers and
a pretty lemon yellow blouse with short ruched sleeves. I towel
dried my hair and applied a little mascara and some lip gloss
before slipping my feet into a pair of flat sandals and joining
Toby in the lounge.

Halsan and
Leylana were already sat down at breakfast when we arrived. Ahran
had yet to make an appearance. At least it gave me the chance to
compose myself before he arrived. A knot of excitement had formed
in my stomach.

“Good morning,”
I said as two servants pulled out our chairs.

“Good morning
my dear,” Halsan replied. “And how is our grandson?”

“I’m good
thanks,” Toby replied politely and sat down. Both the King and
Queen smiled at him. Like me, I don’t think they could quite
believe he was actually here.

“Did you both
sleep well?” Leylana asked as she poured herself a cup of tea.

My mind flitted
back to the night I’d just had. I felt a hot flush sweep across my
chest. “Yes, thank you,” I replied courteously and reached for a
glass of orange juice to avoid making eye contact. I felt exposed,
as if it was clearly written across my face that I had spent the
night with their nephew.

“We are having
our 100th wedding anniversary celebrations tonight,” Halsan said as
he buttered his toast. “We thought it would be a good opportunity
to introduce Toby to our friends and subjects.”

I remembered
Leylana had been out making preparations for their anniversary when
I first came to meet them. I sipped my orange juice feeling
slightly irritated that they were not being more sympathetic to
Toby and the ordeal he had just been through, nor were they giving
him the space he needed to adjust to his newfound heritage. The
last thing he needed was all their cronies fawning over him.

“Well, I think
it is a little early for anything like that, we’ve only been back a
day,” I said, trying to reason with the King.

“I understand,
but it’s important that my subjects meet Toby as soon as possible.
Word is out that he is here at the palace and they are expecting an
introduction.” The King had obviously been prepared for my
protest.

I still
couldn’t see what the rush was.

“I don’t mind
Auntie Sophie,” Toby said.

I got the
distinct feeling I was being ganged up on and I strongly suspected
the King and Queen had already mentioned this to Toby without
talking to me first. Was it always going to be like this? Were they
always going to undermine me where Toby was concerned? I felt cross
that the King was already assuming control over Toby with little
regard for my feelings or my position as his guardian.

“Toby really
needs a few early nights and to get back into some kind of routine.
He really mustn’t be up late.” I didn’t want it to sound like I was
point scoring but the King had to bear in mind that we were dealing
with a child, whether that child was a prince or not.

“No, of
course,” the King said in agreement.

Leylana had
kept very quiet during our conversation, she was obviously aware of
the delicate nature of our situation. I felt for both of them. I
really did. They had lost a son, but they had gained a grandson and
heir, they were bound to want to show him off. That said, I was
damned if I was going to let them walk all over me because of their
loss. In my eyes, they were Toby’s grandparents and I was his
guardian, the fact that they were powerful rulers in their world
was not a factor I was prepared to let intimidate me.

The atmosphere
was somewhat strained as we continued to eat our breakfast. It
wasn’t long before Ahran joined us which brought a different sort
of tension. My stomach did a little flip at the sight of him all
showered and looking as fresh as a daisy in spite of the exertions
of the night.

“Morning my
Lord, Aunt Ley, sorry I’m late, I had to make a few phone calls,”
he said as he sat down. I don’t know why I thought it but I felt a
stab of jealousy as I wondered whether one of them had been to
Talina. Was she absolutely clear that their relationship was over?
She hadn’t come across as the sort of woman to easily let go of a
man like Ahran.

“Good morning,”
he said, greeting me and Toby.

“Morning,” I
replied and quickly looked away.

“Good morning
Ahran, are you well?” The Queen asked.

“Yes very well
Aunt, thank you.”

He caught my
eye again and winked. I was furious. Had I not asked him to behave
himself?

“You are
toast…I mean your toast,” I corrected as I passed him the toast
rack, scowling. He laughed and choked on the mouthful of tea he had
just taken. Serves him right!

Halsan clapped
him on his back. “Are you alright?”

I refused to
look at him again. Fortunately, neither the King nor Queen seemed
to notice his little indiscretion.

“How is
Galius?” Halsan asked Ahran once he had recovered.

“He’s good.
Settled. Seems to have some success at breeding top quality
racehorses,” Ahran replied.

“That’s good to
hear, he always did have a talent for picking good horses.”

Ahran nodded in
agreement.

“We’d heard
he’d got married. I never thought he was the settling down type,”
Leylana declared.

“Yes, married
with a son. Family life seems to suit him.”

“Well, I can’t
say I’m not pleased. He was always very charming, it was so
terribly tragic he lost his parents and at such a young age, he
deserves some happiness,” Leylana said.

“And a damn
good soldier,” the King added. “I will make sure he is suitably
rewarded for what he did for us.”

This seemed to
please Ahran. “We couldn’t have done it without him.”

“I shall get
Sulaan onto it this afternoon,” the King promised.

“Toby tells us
he likes horses,” the King said, directing his attention back to
me.

Toby’s interest
was pricked when Halsan brought up the subject he had raised back
in my bedroom this morning.

“Yes, he even
wanted to be a knight at one stage,” I said affectionately.

“Auntie
Sophie!” Toby said, mortified that I should share such a toe
curling snippet of information about him with the King.

Everyone
chuckled at his embarrassment.

I put a
reassuring hand on Toby’s arm. “Yes, he loves horses, don’t you
Toby?” I said, trying to hide my smile.

He nodded.

“Well, I was
thinking maybe he would like to visit our stud today, the Queen and
I breed our own race horses. It’s something we are very passionate
about,” the King revealed.

“The foals are
adorable,” Leylana added.

“Can I? Please
Auntie Sophie,” Toby pleaded. “I’m sure you can come too,” he said
in the hope that this would persuade me to say yes.

“I’ve got to be
at the farm today to receive a delivery,” Ahran interrupted. “I
wondered if Sophie might like to come with me and see the place
seeing as she has heard so much about it,” Ahran continued
nonchalantly. He was obviously trying hard for it not to sound like
we were angling to spend the day together.

“Oh, you’ll
love it Sophie, it’s in such a beautiful spot,” Leylana said. I
couldn’t tell whether she genuinely wanted me to see the place or
whether she was giving her blessing for me to spend the day with
Ahran. I got the distinct impression it was the latter. I strongly
suspected she knew something was going on between us and
surprisingly she seemed to approve.

I looked from
Toby to Ahran. Toby’s face was willing me to say he could go to the
stud and Ahran’s face was purposefully expressionless. “Very well,
if you want to see the horses Toby, I’ll go with Ahran to see his
farm.” I hoped I sounded suitably indifferent and yet gracious in
accepting Ahran’s offer.

“Great,” Ahran
said with the hint of a satisfied smile and Toby pulled his fist
into his waist in a gesture of triumph.

“Excellent,”
said the King. “We just need to make sure we are all back in time
for tonight’s celebrations,” the King reminded us.

I stopped
myself from rolling my eyes. He was obviously determined to have
Toby there.

We finished our
breakfast and went back to our rooms to get ready to go. Toby
cleaned his teeth without me having to ask him and in double quick
time. If only he showed that kind of momentum when he was getting
ready for school, I thought to myself.

I touched up my
make-up and picked up a pair of sunglasses from the dressing table.
The Queen had not stinted on the choice of clothes and accessories
she had provided.

“Are you sure
you are happy to go without me today?” I asked Toby.

“I’ll be okay
Auntie Sophie I promise.”

He was being so
brave but I was expecting some kind of fallout from what had
happened at any moment. “You’ve been through a lot and you don’t
have to pretend with me.”

“I know. I
really like the King and Queen and it is so cool having bodyguards,
I feel safe with them.” The excitement of the situation he had
found himself in was still very much evident. I was pleased he felt
comfortable in his grandparents company and I wasn’t about to deny
him the thrill of getting to know them.

“Good, I’m
glad,” I said and gave him a little squeeze.

“See you
later,” he said, before giving me a peck on the cheek and then
scooting off to find them.

Ahran was
waiting for me in the reception hall. He looked relaxed with one
ankle resting on the other knee, he was concentrating on a series
of figures which were being projected up from a small electronic
tablet on his lap and hovered just in front of his eyes. He was
dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a navy polo shirt and his
sunglasses were perched on the top of his head. He looked like an
Armani model posing for Tatler and my heart beat a little faster
knowing he was all mine.

He stood up as
I approached and had a mischievous look in his eyes. “You look good
enough to eat,” he whispered and bent to give me a kiss on the
cheek. “Ready?”

“Yes, let’s
go.” Strangely, I felt a little nervous which was ridiculous
considering how up close and personal we had been last night.

A car I didn’t
recognise was hovering outside waiting for us. It was silver and
sporty looking, like a Ferrari but with no wheels.

I turned to
Ahran and raised my eyebrows.

“It’s my car,”
he replied. Blimey! It must have cost a fortune and suited him down
to the ground. I nodded in awe.

The doors slid
up as we approached. He sat in the driver’s seat and turned to me
before switching it on.

“Are you okay?
You seem a little edgy.”

“I’m fine, just
feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything at the moment.”

Ahran took hold
of my hand, and stroked my palm with his thumb.

“What you have
had to deal with lately is more than most people have to deal with
in a lifetime, you are bound to be feel unsettled.”

“I just find
the King overbearing sometimes, and I feel I’m losing Toby
already.”

I looked at him
with tears in my eyes.

“Mootya,” he
said softly. “I know the King can be very persuasive.”

His sympathy
made tears spill down my cheek.

“Yeah, you can
say that again,” I said humourlessly and dropped my gaze to my lap.
I was trying so hard to cope with the situation and be strong.

“Hey,” he
caught hold of my chin and turned my face towards him.

“You are Toby’s
Auntie. Anyone can see how much you love him and as his guardian,
until Toby is an adult, nobody, not even the King, can make you do
anything you don’t think is right for him. We respect the rights of
family here. You have just got to stand your ground and don’t let
Halsan bully you into doing anything you don’t feel comfortable
with.”

I nodded and
smiled weakly through my tears.

“Do you want me
to try and talk to him and explain how vulnerable the situation is
making you feel at the moment?” he suggested.

“No, no, that
won’t be necessary, but thank you it’s very kind of you to offer.”
The last thing I wanted was for the King to sense any weakness in
me. I needed to earn his respect if I had any chance of standing up
to him.

“It’s just nice
to know I have your support,” I said, taking the tissue he handed
me and wiping my eyes.

“I’m here for
you Sophie, always,” he said sincerely.