This was a horrible idea. I nervously looked around the room, taking in the antique furniture and its two occupants, wishing that Edward was back at my side once again. The animosity rolling off of the woman seated in one of the chairs—who I knew to be the Duchess of Clarence—was horrible, and the brother, Prince Andrew, had just stood there without a word while she’d skewered Edward. I wanted to pull her hair out. She was just like her pictures, an ice maiden with glacier blue eyes and blemish-free skin, and her hair a dyed blonde that kept her looking young from afar. Up close, though, I could see the lines around her eyes and her mouth, even with her carefully applied makeup.

“Please, have a seat.”

I looked over at the seat across from her and swallowed, knowing I was about to go to the chopping block. But I was going to do it for Edward. While his father had been pleasant enough, this woman was a constant thorn in his side, and I was about to be his biggest champion.

“Thank you,” I replied demurely as I took the seat, folding my hands in my lap.

Her eyes narrowed as she caught a glimpse of my ring, her mouth settling into a flat line. “I see he gave you his mother’s ring.”

“He did,” I said, my voice a bit stronger now, “and I love it.”

“How did he propose?” she asked.

“It wasn’t anything grand,” I said, choosing my words carefully, “but the traditional way, on his knee, of course. Edward is a simple man.”

“That remains to be seen,” she huffed, her shrewd eyes regarding me closely. I felt like I was a car on the auction block in those shows my father liked to watch, being sized up to find out what my worth actually was. “How much is he paying you?”

“Mother,” the brother warned, his voice low, “that was uncalled for.”

“What?” she responded with a delicate shrug of her shoulders. “I rather think it’s odd that she hadn’t come into the picture until your father threatened to destroy him. Now he has a charity and a fiancée. Very peculiar, wouldn’t you say?”

“People can change,” I replied firmly, holding my ground… and my tongue. “Edward is very involved with the orphanage, and they are extremely excited about the work he is doing for them. I am so proud of him. You should be, too.”

She cocked a thin eyebrow at me and gave me a cold smile. “It’s all a front. A game, to get on his father’s good side. He’s been playing the same game for years,” she said, looking at her nails. “You do know he’s a bastard?”

The brother moved so fast that I could barely register what was going on. He moved to his mother’s side and said some curt words in her ear, causing her to stand and march out of the room without looking back.

“I apologise for her rudeness,” he said, sticking out his hand. “We haven’t been formally introduced. I am Andrew, Edward’s half-brother.”

“I know, he talks about you,” I said, giving him a small smile as I shook his hand.

He cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back, looking very regal as he paced before me. “Ms. Mathis—Rose—I’m afraid I had you investigated, and there is something important we should discuss.”

“Like what?” I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

He looked at me then, his expression reserved and serious. “You’re adopted, are you not? And your mother, your biological mother, was a drug addict, wasn’t she?”

My mouth fell open. So there it was. The ace up their sleeve.

I had to have known that they would find out—I had every intention of telling Edward, but not before I was ready. The adoption, of course, was public knowledge, but my parents had gone to great lengths to hide the other information years ago. They’d had my childhood records sealed so that they could never be accessed. “How did you find out?”

“Don’t be naïve, Rose. It doesn’t suit you. I’m part of the royal family,” he replied, giving me a grim smile. “You know how I found out.”

I straightened my shoulders, meeting his eye. “Yes, my mother was a drug addict. She was also a prostitute. Did you know that, too?” I said bitterly, not really expecting a response. “She gave me up when I was five, and I am very fortunate to have the wonderful parents I do now.” They had never treated me any differently, and neither had Harriet. I was part of their family, and they were the only family I needed.

“As good as that might seem,” Andrew replied slowly, his expression darkening, “if word gets out that you are a product of a drug-addicted prostitute, that would levy an extremely bad scandal for our family. While I think you are a nice woman, Rose, I won’t allow your history to sully the royal name.”

“What are you saying?” I asked, as beads of sweat collected on the nape of my clammy neck.

He stopped pacing in front of me. “I need you to step away from Edward. It’s very simple, really. And I am prepared to give you fifty thousand pounds to do so within the next week.”

I took a sharp intake of breath, stunned. Fifty thousand pounds to disappear out of Edward’s life? For someone who hadn’t planned on being involved in all this in the first place, the decision should have been easy. Yet I knew what my heart wanted. I loved Edward more and more each day, and especially after the way he had handled my parents tonight, there was no way I was going to leave him high and dry now. He still needed to get through the fundraiser, and then we could figure out what we were going to do with this engagement mess. But the last thing I wanted was to be forced to leave him any sooner than that.

“My brother has feelings for you, Rose,” he continued. “Strong ones, if I am not mistaken. I know you don’t want to hurt him, but this will be a blow to our family that will be hard to repair. Surely you see that?”

“What? The royal family doesn’t have any skeletons in the closet?” I asked sarcastically.

Andrew smiled, shaking his head. “If we do, they have all been hidden very well. I am looking out for my family, for the monarchy, Rose. Edward will come to terms with it, but you need to take the money and leave him.”

“I’m not going to take the money,” I said, my voice wavering but adamant. “I love him, and you of all people should be fighting for him, not stabbing him in the back!”

Andrew leaned over and grasped both arms of the chair, trapping me. “I know you love him. If you really love him, though, you won’t have him dragged through scandal after scandal. One hundred thousand pounds is my final offer.”

I swallowed, not because of the money but more that I was afraid at what he was going to do if I didn’t accept. Would he persist in trying to drive a wedge between us anyway? Would he use his power to make me disappear? For surely he had ways and means, which he’d already demonstrated.

I needed time to think this through, to decide if I needed to walk away sooner than I had planned. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, Andrew was right. It was just a matter of time before the media found out about my past, and then Edward would be stuck to deal with that, as well. It would be an embarrassment to my family, too. I could stop all of that from happening and break it off with him. Then the media would lose interest, and Edward would move on.

“Can I wait until after the fundraiser?”

Andrew contemplated the request then nodded, relief on his face. “Of course. I know my brother would want nothing more than to have you there. Don’t worry, Rose, you’re doing the right thing.”

I nodded. Was I, though? I hated the fact that I was going to betray Edward like this. I wanted so desperately to be the one who made him happy, yet my own past had come back to haunt me in the end.