Page 14 of The Valiant (Spy Girl 4)
"Huntley, what are you doing here?" he asks with a grin. "Trying to crash the big boys' party?"
"No, thought I'd shop and see the sights. You know, girlie stuff."
He and Aleksandr laugh while I greet Viktor. "How are you?"
"Fine," he says gruffly, but he looks anything but. He's disheveled.
"I'm really sorry for your loss."
"Come see the view on the balcony," he tells me, suddenly looking perkier. "It's wonderful."
I follow him out a set of French doors, which I notice he closes behind us. It immediately puts me on edge, my training kicking in.
"I'd like to talk to you in private," he says, quickly explaining. I nod in reply, so he continues, "I'm really not doing well. If I don't talk to someone about it, I'm going to burst. Can I trust you, Huntley?"
"Yes, of course."
"Good, because I think only you will understand."
"Why's that?"
"Because your father didn't love you enough either."
What he says stings, I will admit.
"Are you saying your father doesn't love you?"
He sighs and nervously jingles some change in his trousers. "He does; sometimes, it just feels ... conditional. Although he seems to love you. So, maybe you can help me figure out what to do."
"Okay."
"While it's true I hid out in Lake Como after Ophelia's death and refused to talk to the press, it's not because I was heartbroken. That didn't start until Clarice was killed."
"What are you saying?" I ask, pretending to be confused. "That you loved Clarice?"
"Yes. This is going to sound horrible of me, and I'm sickened by my choices. Ophelia and I were dating. We got in a wicked fight at a party. Clarice and I ended up together in bed that night. Of course, we were ashamed of ourselves, but at the same time, we were both incredibly happy. She was amazing, not the airhead her sister had made her out to be. Not only was there intense physical attraction, but we also had the same values and goals in life."
"But you proposed to Ophelia. In front of everyone."
"She made me."
"How?"
"Blackmail, I guess. Clarice and I were seeing each other while I tried to break it off with Ophelia. She refused to allow it. Said she needed a man like me to take her rightful place in Montrovia. That made no sense until she mentioned that it was up to her to have heirs. That if, God forbid, something ever happened to Lorenzo, she would have to rule as well as continue the royal bloodline. She told me I would make a fine king.
"I remember making a joke that Lorenzo didn't seem to have a problem with finding women. She got mad at me. Stormed off. But, the next day, she came to me and bared her soul. About how, even though she had hated her father with a passion, he had instilled in her a duty to her country before he died. She was worried that, if Lorenzo continued his playboy ways and never settled down, the royal legacy would be up to her. She told me that, together, we could bring about the kind of change that her sister and I had been talking about in bed."
"Oh, wow," I blurt out. "She knew?"
"Yeah, she did. Remember the Terra Project that Clarice was talking about when we all first met?"
"The peaceful initiative that sounded a little like socialism?"
"It's not that at all. At university, I took a conservation class and learned of the Terra Project. It's a purposeful way of living without further damaging our environment as well as a place where money doesn't matter.
"In case you haven't figured it out, money and power were something our fathers were obsessed with. I've often wondered if that's what caused Ares to go recluse. I didn't see a lot of him, but the last time I did, we spoke of the fact that it would be up to my generation to fix the sins of our forefathers against nature. That, if we didn't do something, we'd be facing critical mass in relation to our population. Isn't it crazy to think we could treat the place we live with so much disrespect that we cause our own extinction?"
I nod my head, agreeing with him, but don't say anything since he seems to be on a roll.
"Anyway, I've been financially supporting the Terra Project. Can you imagine what would happen if my father, who builds ships of war, found out? If it publicly got out?"
"People would think you're awesome," I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
"Ophelia threatened that, if I didn't propose, she would tell my father of my treachery. I didn't intend to go through with a wedding, but I needed time to figure things out. You saw how I was sweating. Proposing to her was the last thing I wanted to do, especially in front of the girl I loved."
"Is that why Clarice was talking about it so much? Was she threatening you, too?"
"No. Don't laugh, but she called me her Terra Man. She was just making me feel guilty."
"Your proposal seemed very stiff. More like a business arrangement than love."
"That's because it was."
"There you are," Viktor's father says, coming out onto the balcony and placing a hand on each of our shoulders. "What are you two conspiring about?"
Viktor coughs, not sure what to say, but I was trained to lie.
"Well, if you must know, I was trying to convince him to tell me what will take place at your top-secret meeting tomorrow."
Aleksandr studies my face. "You're lying."
"Okay, fine. We were talking about Ophelia."
"For the best, if you ask me," Aleksandr states, causing both my and Viktor's eyes to widen in surprise.
He curses in Russian, then says, "That sounded very heartless of me. I did not mean that I am glad she is dead. I am just happy my son doesn't have to marry her." He pats his son's shoulder in a fatherly way. "You are much too young."
"I'm younger than he is," I say in Viktor's defense. "Yet you have suggested that Lorenzo might be the one for me."
"Well, if he had looked at Ophelia the way Lorenzo looks at you, I would have been all for their pairing."
"On that note," Viktor says, rolling his eyes, "I think I'll be getting a drink."
"Ah," Aleksandr says, exasperated, "father and sons. It is a tenuous relationship."
"At least your son doesn't hate you," I say.
"Huntley," he says gently, "don't hate your father. Ares was truly a great man."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't know," I reply, leaving him standing on the balcony alone.
I've barely stepped inside when Daniel wraps an arm around my neck and kisses me on the lips.
"Huntley, whatever are you doing here? Worried to let Lorenzo out of your sight?"
I can't help but smile. He's such a smart-ass.
"Actually, I heard you were coming, so I baked a pizza."
He puts his nose up into the air and sniffs. "Don't smell one."
"Fine. I thought you were in Omaha."
"You haven't been listening closely, Huntley. I said I was going to Omaha. What I didn't tell you was that I'd be traveling a circuitous route by way of Rome."
"Ah, yes. The big boys' secret club."
He taps his finger on my nose and whispers sexily in my ear, "You're not supposed to know about that."
I swear, every word that comes out of his mouth, regardless of what he's talking about, is flirtatious and filled with innuendo.
"Did I mention, I forgot to book a hotel room and need a place to crash?"
"My room will probably be free if you need it," I reply with a smile.
"Seriously, did you not hear anything I told you?"
"And what did you tell her, Daniel?" Lorenzo asks, sneaking up from behind us.
"That you'd break her heart, of course," Daniel says seriously as he walks away, pantomiming dropping a mic.
Lorenzo looks at me with concern. "Do you believe that?"
"Honestly, no. I think I'm the one who will break your heart."
"Are you having second thoughts about us?"
"Not at all."
"Then?"
I don't say anything to him. I don't have to. He knows my mission.
For
tunately, Peter joins us, greeting me and leading me to the dinner table where I'm seated with him on my left and Daniel on my right. Lorenzo takes up a spot directly across from me with Viktor and Ari flanking him. Malcolm and Aleksandr are seated at the heads of the table.
Peter rambles on about everything and nothing while Daniel keeps tapping the side of my foot with his, reminding me of his presence even though he is conversing with Malcolm.
During the second course, as I turn toward Daniel, Lorenzo addresses the group, "Is it just me, or are you all dying to know what's going on tomorrow?"
The boys all nod in agreement, causing Malcolm and Aleksandr to grin.
"Fine, we'll tell you what to expect," Malcolm says.
I set my napkin on the table, stand up, and say politely, "I think that's my cue to leave."
I thought that the men would try to stop me, but instead, they both nod in agreement. I swallow back my anger.
