Free The Scorsolini Marriage Bargain by Lucy Monroe Page A

genuine concern.
    Envy that made
Therese
feel small and mean twinged through her.
    Tomasso smiled, though it wasn’t up to his usual wattage. “According to
Marcello
, she insists that she is pregnant, not ill.
Maggie
says the same.”
    “
Maggie
is certainly ill with her pregnancy. I am surprised you let her fly over.”
    Tomasso sighed, his expression a mix of emotions that hurt
Therese
to see because it was so obvious his wife’s distress truly mattered to him. “There was no stopping her, but I wish to take her back to the palace for some rest soon.”
    “Yes.”
Claudio
moved a step closer to his father’s bed and reached out to touch the older man’s arm. “It is a good thing Danette’s morning sickness is not so acute.”
    They were so patently not the words he was thinking that
Therese
felt a sudden constriction in her throat.
    “He is going to be fine. Believe it,
Claudio
,” Tomasso said, showing he was not fooled by his brother’s comment, either.
    Claudio
said nothing, his attention focused entirely on his father’s still form in the bed.
    Tomasso patted his brother on the shoulder and left the room.
    Therese
moved to stand beside
Claudio
and laid her hand against King
Vincente
’s cheek. It was warm to the touch and that gave her comfort. No matter how pale he looked, his heart was pumping life’s blood through his body. They stood that way for few minutes, both of them touching the man in the bed, but not touching each other.
    Then
Therese
dropped her hand from King
Vincente
’s face and moved to the other side of the room to pray, her pleas that went Heavenward filled with an uncertain faith. Tomasso returned and whispered something to
Claudio
.
Claudio
nodded and said something back and the other man left again.
    He caught her gaze. “Tomasso and
Maggie
are going back to the palace. He wants her to rest and she will not go without him.”
    “I’m glad he’s willing to go then.”
    “I told him you would go as well.”
    “I would rather stay here.”
    “That is my place.”
    “It is mine, too.”
    “Not after tonight.”
    She felt like he’d slapped her. “I love King
Vincente
. You know that. I want to stay here with you.”
    “You need your rest,”
Claudio
replied, about as movable as a rock wall.
    “I won’t sleep. I couldn’t.”
    “Do not be a fool, child. Go home and come back in the morning.” The raspy voice came from the bed and
Therese
’s knees almost buckled when she heard it.
    She crossed the floor in a rush and took the hand that did not have an IV in it in her own. “King
Vincente
…”
    “How many times…” He paused, taking a couple of shallow breaths. “Told you to call me Papa.”
    “I—”
    “Surely that is not too much to ask,”
Claudio
said in a controlled voice she knew masked an anger he did not want his father to guess at.
    She’d never felt comfortable calling the older man Papa, but now even more than before…it would feel wrong. Soon she would be gone from their family completely.
    Yet, how could she deny him such a simple request? The answer was: she couldn’t. “I’m sorry, Papa, but I want to stay with you.”
    “You need your rest.”
    “I need to stay with you.”
    “Do not argue with him, he is sick.”
    “I know that, but I also know you’re only bringing it up to get your own way,” she accused her stubborn husband.
    King
Vincente laughed weakly, his blue eyes dulled by fatigue. “That is my daughter-in-law. She is a perfect match for my son.”
    The words hurt because according to
Claudio
, she was no match at all, but
Therese
forced a smile. “Please, won’t you let me stay with you?”
    “There are things my son and I must discuss. Just in case. I will not rest afterward if I am worried about you not getting your rest.”
    “Don’t talk like you are going to die, please.”
    “We must all face death sooner, or later, child.”
    “But I want it to be later. Tomasso said you will be fine. The doctors said