She guessed she’d find him in the courtyard. He was chatting with some of the older men who had come along to help him organise the fair. Sensing her arrival, he turned to look at her long before she reached him.
‘Good—you’re here,’ he said. ‘Let’s go for that walk.’ He introduced her and then explained their intentions in Spanish to the group of elderly men, who smiled broadly at her and, like everyone else on the island, instantly made her feel a very welcome part of their community.
‘The gardens?’ Raffa suggested as he escorted her through the line of stalls.
‘Perfect,’ Leila agreed.
The gardens surrounding the castle were ordered and tranquil, and she couldn’t think of anywhere better to say the words she had never shared with anyone, not even her sisters or her brother, Tyr.
The scent of the recently watered grass combined with the heady scent of the roses in the flower beds was both intoxicating and soothing, and when they stopped beside a fountain she dabbled her fingertips in the cooling pool.
‘My father beat my mother. Not once, but many times.’ Her voice was flat, devoid of expression.
‘Dios, Leila.’
‘My mother knew I’d seen what had happened,’ she continued without looking at Raffa. ‘It was our unspoken pact. We both knew my father would never dare to touch her in front of my sisters, let alone in front of Tyr. She explained away the bumps and bruises as her own clumsy fault. I suppose that’s why my mother’s last wish was that I didn’t live scared because of what I’d seen.’
Gathering Leila into his arms, he held her close. ‘You are strong,’ he whispered fiercely against her hair. ‘Your mother would be proud of you, Leila. You’re stronger than you know.’
‘How can that be when I’ve done everything wrong?’ she whispered.
‘What have you done wrong?’ he demanded, pulling back to look at her.
‘I tried to become the woman my mother always wanted me to be, and look what a mess I’ve made of everything. I should have told you about the baby the instant I knew.’
‘If you could have found me,’ he reminded her. ‘I’m good at disappearing.’
‘Like my brother, Tyr,’ she mused.
His loyalty to Tyr made him ignore that comment. ‘And as far as dealing with the ghosts of the past is concerned, I’d say you’ve coped a lot better than I have.’
‘What do you mean by that, Raffa?’
He shrugged it off. ‘Whatever else this baby means to you, Leila, it can’t form part of your self-improvement plan.’
‘That’s just it. I never planned to have a baby with you, Raffa. I never sleep around. I never have. And I certainly wouldn’t use you to have a baby.’
‘But now you are pregnant I must help you.’ His heart lurched at the thought that Leila might say no. His plans to control every aspect of this birth were already taking shape in his mind.
‘Don’t look so haunted, Raffa. I’m healthy and I’m young, and I’ll do everything I can to give our child the best possible start in life.’
‘You have to allow me to worry about you. I always plan ahead, but still things can go wrong.’