Page 65 of Cross Me

“No more secrets in this family,” I explained softly. I lifted her hand to mine and kissed it before going to the door.

Edward was leaning against the wall and he rolled into the doorframe, studying us both with eyes that laughed over the rim of his glasses. “Are you two ever not shagging?”

“Thank you for coming.” I forced a smile. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to wrecking both of their nights.

“Hey,” Clara greeted him with a smug smile and flushed cheeks. “It’s my marital duty.”

“Duty fulfilled.” He crossed to her and pointed to her stomach as proof.

He kissed her cheek and she squeezed him in a tight hug. My chest tightened at the sight of the two of them. Sometimes I was jealous of Clara’s relationship with my brother. It was easier than the one we had. It had been my job to be a role model, a position I’d extravagantly shirked for years. Now it felt like I hadn’t earned his respect, but couldn’t afford a close friendship with him, either. It might risk what he had with my wife, and I didn’t want to divide his loyalty. Someone in this place had to consistently be on her side, since I couldn’t always be counted on to fulfill that duty.

Edward turned a mock glare on me. “My God, man. She’s already pregnant. You can’t get her more pregnant.”

“That won’t stop him from trying,” she said in a conspiratorial whisper. “I think he’s trying to produce his own small army.”

“An army of miniature Alexanders?” Edward crowed. “The monarchy won’t survive it.”

“When you two are finished.” I rolled my eyes, trying to appear like I was enjoying the good-natured ribbing. On any other evening, I might. But if I was going to stick to my plans, this couldn’t wait any longer.

Norris slipped into the room quietly, and the smile ran away from Clara’s face. Her bright eyes, so happy moments before, darkened. I tipped my head to him, catching the attention of Edward. He glanced between me and my head security guard.

“What’s going on, Alexander?” he asked quietly.

I gestured for them to take seats. They both hesitated before choosing to sit next to each other. Strength in numbers. I was glad they had each other now. Edward wouldn’t be nearly as upset as Clara but he would be angry for her. Clara? I didn’t know how she would react.

“I need to tell you something,” I began.

“Like why you’ve been acting the part of a cave man?” Edward guessed and I saw Clara elbow him in the ribs. “Ouch! It’s true!”

She made a zipping motion with her fingers and then gave me an encouraging, but brittle, smile. “Go on.”

“I told you both that we discovered our father had a secret son a couple of months ago.”

“Yes.” Clara’s throat slid on the word.

“We now know who he is.” I dared a look at Norris, but he made no motion to correct me. I’d called them here to tell them the truth. I could try to soften it—but what was the point? “Actually, we’ve known for some time.”

“I know,” Clara said to my surprise.

“You know?” I repeated in a strangled voice, my eyes darting to Norris. How had she found out? If she had known the whole time, why had she allowed Anders to get so close?

“I knew that you knew,” she rushed to clarify. “I’ve just been waiting for you to tell me.”

“You knew the whole time?” I said weakly.

“It was pretty obvious,” Edward jumped in unhelpfully. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to have him here.

“Do I need to bother, then?” I asked, running my hand through my hair and beginning to pace. Clara’s head cocked to the side as if she was studying me.

“Who is it?” she called softly.

“I don’t know where to begin.”

My brother and my wife shared a look.

“How about a name?” Edward suggested.

I was making them nervous. That was understandable. Why I’d kept this from them was less so. I cleared my throat and then fell silent. I couldn’t erase my father’s choices any more than I could hide from them. I closed my eyes and found my voice. “We tracked him down. His mother used to work in the household after Mum died.”