“I just learned that from Anton—I mean, Herr Balazs.”
He waved a hand. “Is all right. You call him Anton. He is good boy, no?”
She nodded with a nervous smile.
“You look like your mother.” His voice sounded husky. He fumbled for his jacket pocket and extracted a linen handkerchief, which he used to dab the corners of his eyes. “I know she is gone ... too soon. I am sorry for your loss, mein lieber.”
“Thank you.” She knewmein liebermeant “my dear,” and she was touched to be called such a sweet term of endearment. “I loved my mother very much. And I miss her still.”
“Ja.” He sighed. “I still miss my mutter, and I am old.”
She wasn’t sure how old he was but suspected he looked older than his years.
“She never married?” His emerald eyes probed into hers. “Is that true?”
“That’s true.”
“And she never spoke of me?” His head tilted toward her in a way that suggested vulnerability. “Youneverknew of me?”
Adelaide pursed her lips, realizing how much she suddenly wanted to protect him. Didn’t want to hurt him. “It was her secret.”
He nodded slowly. “Ja. Her secret.” He gazed past her now, toward the window, but she sensed he was looking much fartheraway, beyond the landscape out there. For another long moment neither of them spoke.
“I am glad you came, Adelaide.” He smiled and, like the sun breaking through the clouds, his face lit up as he held his hands up at arm’s length. “I welcome you to Montovia. What do you think of our small principality?”
“It’s beautiful! The mountains, the rolling hills, the little farms with meadows full of sheep and cows—it’s all so picturesque. And the village looks perfectly charming. I can’t wait to explore the shops. And this palace is like...” She trailed off, searching for more sophisticated words. “It’s like a fairy tale.”
He clapped his hands happily. “That is exactly what your mother say when she come here.” His smile faded. “If only she stayed.”
Adelaide didn’t know what to say. How could her mother have possibly remained in a country where the king had wanted her out?
“I begged her to stay.”
She felt confused. “But your father ... I thought he disapproved.”
“He did disapprove. But I told Susan we would marry anyway.”
“What about your—”
“I have a brother. Prince Farcus could rule. He was only a boy then, but by the time our father passed, Farcus was a man. He could’ve taken the crown in my stead.”
“You would have given up the crown for my mother?”
He nodded solemnly. “I loved her.”
“Did my mother know this?”
“I told her.” He held his palms upward. “Susan said I would come to regret it. She left without a word. Nothing. My mother confessed, much later, that my father helped her to go.”
“Do you think he told her to be quiet about her relationship with you? Perhaps even paid her off? Is that why she kept it a secret?”
“It is possible.” He leaned back in his chair with a weary sigh.
“Or perhaps she kept quiet out of her love for you.” Adelaide preferred to believe this. After all, as far as she knew, her mother had never had money.
He brightened slightly, but his eyes looked sad, or maybe just tired.
“I know you’ve been ill. I don’t want to wear you out with too much—”
