“Bert and I talked about it. I think we’re just going to make it official and stop paying rent for two places.” Jess smiled, her face bright with excitement.
“About time. I guess I’ve been holding you up, huh? No wonder you don’t look upset I’m leaving. You get to officially shack up with your boy toy.” I laughed when she threw a pillow at me.
“You guys realize I’m sitting right here, right?” Bert was sitting in the ugly old recliner by the curtain, a book opened on his lap.
“Shut up. I’m upset you’re leaving and you know it.” She frowned at me. “Will you be back here at all? If your dad is going there you won’t have a reason to visit.”
“Of course I’ll have a reason to visit.” I shoved her shoulder. I wouldn’t throw Bert under the bus, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before they were mailing out wedding invitations.
“Speaking of boy toys, how’s Prince Yummy?”
I heard Becca sputter in the kitchen and I kicked Jess.
“What? Don’t act like you haven’t thought it.” Jess raised her voice and craned her neck to look at Becca. She smiled and got up from the table to go to the sink. “Fine. Pretend if you want to.”
“Alex is fine.” I tried to keep my tone normal.
“Mmhmm. He sure is.” Jess wiggled her eyebrows and I groaned.
“Please tell sixth-grade Jess that I’d like to talk to adult Jess.”
“Fine. Has he kissed you yet?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Oh ho! Your silence speaks volumes!”
“Bert, stop letting her read your textbooks. I’m begging you.” He didn’t respond other than to shrug.
“C’mon. You have to tell me!” Jess looked at me with pleading eyes.
“It’s not going to happen again.” I sighed, knowing I had to spill if I wanted any peace.
“Oh my God. Alex really did kiss you! How was it? Why on Earth is it not going to happen again? Was it bad?” Jess sat up straight. “That’s the saddest thought in the world.”
“It was good.” I shook my head. “Really, really, good. The best. But it shouldn’t have happened. I have too much going on to deal with that too! I mean, I’m not interested in a fling.”
“What makes you think it would be a fling?” Jess narrowed her eyes at me. “Did he say that?”
“No.” I bit my lip and then blurted it out. “I’m an American! He’s a freaking prince! What use would I be? He probably needs to end up with someone from a royal family that can help him rule a country.”
“Um, aren’t you from a royal family?” Jess raised one eyebrow and looked at me like I was stupid.
“It’s not the same thing, Jess. He’d need someone from a respected family.” I wrapped my arms around my chest. “I’m not really royal. I’m an American related to someone who was a royal.”
“That doesn’t seem to matter to Rose and Alex.”
“Jess.”
“Don’t Jess me. I saw the way you looked at him. The way he looked at you. Don’t be stupid, Sam. You overthink things.”
“I do not! I make educated decisions.” I shook my head. “I have way too much going on to be mixed up in anything complicated.”
“Complicated is the best kind.” Jess smirked.
“I’m going to bed.” I threw the blanket off and stood up. “I have to pack tomorrow and get ready for the trip.”
“I see my argument skills have forced you to retreat. I claim victory.”
“Shuddup!” I looked over at Becca, who was leaning against the kitchen doorframe. “Do you need anything?”
“I have everything I need.” She smiled at me.
“Okay. Spill. Why do you have a Southern accent but work for Lilaria?” I frowned at her.
“I went through training with the FBI. When Rose came over a few years ago, I was part of the team assigned to her.” She smiled. “I stopped an attempt to kidnap her and she asked me to work for her.”
“Someone tried to kidnap her?”
“Holy shit.” Jess stood up and walked over. “You stopped a kidnapper?”
“Yes. Did you think I was just here for looks?” Becca asked.
“Well, no. I just thought you were to keep people from bothering Sam.” Jess looked at Becca with weighing eyes. “I bet people underestimate you a lot.”
“It works to my advantage.” Becca shrugged.
“Do I need to worry about something like that?”
“I’m just a precaution,” Becca assured me.
“I’m so done for tonight. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” I started to turn away.
“You want help tomorrow?” Jess asked. She normally didn’t have any classes on Thursday and often worked from home.
“That would be great.”
As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out. It had been one of the longest weeks of my life and it was nowhere near being over.
The next morning I was woken up by the sounds of voices in the living room. It was barely seven o’clock and I already had twelve e-mails according to my phone. I sat up and stared at the sun streaming through my window.
I grabbed some jeans, a long-sleeve T-shirt, and tennis shoes. Once I was ready, I threw open my door and went in search of coffee. Sarah was sitting at the kitchen table with Jess and Bert. I nodded my head at them but went straight for the coffeepot. I didn’t have the brainpower yet to deal with why Sarah was in my house.
I poured a healthy amount of creamer and sugar in and stirred until my coffee was creamy brown. I took a sip and sighed. Just right. I rummaged around in the refrigerator and found some yogurt. Grabbing a spoon, I took the last chair at the table.
“Good morning, Duchess.” Sarah smiled at me.
I grunted.
Jess snickered. “Wait until after the first cup.”
“Ah. I understand.” Sarah smiled brightly. “It usually takes me two before I’m fully awake.”
I grunted again. I bet Sarah woke up ready for anything. She probably slept in her clothes with that notebook clutched in her hand. She had it open next to her with a bunch of notes scribbled in the shorthand I had noticed the day before. I took my time with my coffee and yogurt, listening while Jess asked questions and Sarah answered.
Finally I got up and threw away the yogurt cup and poured some more coffee. I turned to look at them and sipped from my cup. “Okay.”
“That’s her way of saying tell her what’s going on,” Jess explained.
“Well, I brought you some more information about your arrival in Lilaria. There will be a ceremony to welcome you home. After that there will be a delegation to bring you to the palace to meet Queen Felecia. You’ll be spending the night there before being given a small reception the next day where you will be introduced to some of the other nobility and members of parliament.” She took a breath and I waved my free hand in the air.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m going to be presented to the queen after flying across the Atlantic for hours and hours? What type of plane are we taking? Will I be able to take a shower? I mean, I’m supposed to go meet the Queen of Lilaria just like that?” I turned around and fished through the cabinets. “Shit. I need a bigger cup.” I grabbed the giant mug with the saying I said good day, sir!
“It’s customary that the queen welcome visiting dignitaries or nobles. The fact that you are ‘coming home’ is an even bigger reason for her to invite you to the castle. Prince Alex also asked that you stay at the palace before being taken to your lands. I believe he wants to escort you to your home.” Sarah smiled politely, but I caught the twinkle in her eyes. Apparently my moment with Alex hadn’t gone unnoticed yesterday. Or maybe it was because he had spent the day before with me.
“That’s not necessary. I’m sure he has more important things to take care of.”
Jess glared at me, her nose wrinkled and her mouth pressed into a firm line.
“He was quite adamant.” Sarah smiled again before turning back to her notebook. “Chadwick is going to the Rousseau estate today to make sure everything is ready for your arrival. There has been a steward appointed to the lands while your family was away, so I’m expecting everything has been kept in good shape.”
“What is the Stewards name?” I grabbed the grocery notepad off of the counter and looked in a drawer for a pen.
“Stanley Wessex.” Sarah looked over her notes. “He is in his late fifties and has been in charge of the estate for the last twenty years. I’m sure he will be an extraordinary help when you take over.”
“Or he’ll hate me for taking his job,” I muttered under my breath while scribbling down his name.
“I’ve also set up a secure e-mail for you and arranged for a new cell phone.” She reached into the bag next to her and pulled out a white phone. She rattled off the new number while I quickly copied it down in my notes. “I’ve set it up so the monthly payments will be deducted from your primary account.”
“Will I be able to use this worldwide?” I looked at the iPhone and frowned. I’d been an Android user for years.
“Yes, ma’am. It’s a Lilarian number, so you will have to use the country code when calling a number in the States.” Sarah pulled out some more paperwork. “I e-mailed you the press release we sent out this morning—have you seen it yet?”
“Yeah… That would be a no.” I frowned at her. Apparently I was going to have to start getting up at the butt crack of dawn to keep up with these people.
“Well, here is a copy for you to look over. I also went ahead and sent a contingent to your father’s house. It’s likely there will be some reporters sniffing around for a story.” Sarah looked at me carefully. “Once they realize your father has cancer, I fear it will be a bigger story.”
“I see.” And I did. The Cinderella comment from yesterday would be blown out of proportion when they found out my stepfather was sick. “How do I go about hiring people to stay with him?”
“I’ll take care of that. How many do you think would be appropriate?” Sarah held her pen ready over her pad of paper and looked at me expectantly.
“Um, two?” I swallowed. “So they can take turns and stuff, I guess?”
“That sounds like a good plan. While he will likely have to deal with some of the media, it won’t be as much as you. Not to mention it should calm down once you leave the country.”
“Heh.” I didn’t know what else to say, so looked over the press release. The queen had announced that after a long, thorough search, they had located one of the missing royal families in America. There was a quick bit about me, my schooling, and that I was returning to Lilaria to accept my title. It was brief and to the point. I approved.
“Samantha, I think you’re going to have to leave the packing to me and Bert.” Jess crossed her legs in her chair and propped her chin on her hand.
“What? I have to get this stuff over to Dad’s today. I leave tomorrow.”
“Exactly. And you need to go shopping.”
“What on Earth for? Toiletries? Travel soaps?”
“Clothes, Sam. Clothes. You can’t meet the Queen of Lilaria in blue jeans.” She turned to look at Sarah. “Am I right? There has to be a dress code of some sort for that type of stuff.”
“Yes. The reception at the palace will be black-tie formal. Your reinstatement will be white tie. And I’m sure that there will be other things that would require dresses or skirts.” Sarah didn’t look up from her notebook.
I stared at both of them. “Black tie? White tie?”
Jess sighed. “Black tie—you can get away with a fancy cocktail dress. White tie requires a long gown, gloves, jewels.”
“Yes, for white-tie affairs you would need to wear one of your family diadems.” Sarah was still scribbling in her notebook.
“Diadems. You mean tiaras? Crowns?” I shook my head. “My family has diadems.”
“Diadems, never crowns.” Sarah looked up at me. “And yes. I believe you have several. I recall a painting of one with gorgeous emeralds.”
“Emeralds.” I shook my head. I needed to stop repeating everything that was said to me. “Okay. So, shopping. And packing.” I started to think about how much money I could spend on a dress and then realized I had three other accounts to consider. “What time are we leaving in the morning?”
“I’ll send a car for you at four.” Sarah closed her notebook. “There are several shops downtown that would have appropriate attire. When would you like to go?”
“I guess now.” I looked around the kitchen, feeling lost.
“Wear some comfortable shoes—we’re going to be busy.” Jess hopped out of her chair and scurried down the hall. I guess that meant she was going with me. Thank God for stylish roommates.
Chapter Thirteen
How to Pick a Dress for the Ball
—The Jolene Waters Show
After the third store I was ready to kill Jess and hide her body under a mountain of snow. Sarah seemed amused by Jess’s way of talking to me. Then again, it probably looked funny to everyone that saw me standing in front of a mirror in a giant monstrosity of a pink dress.
“I will not wear this.” I glared at her. “I wouldn’t bury an enemy in this dress.”
Someone sniffed beside me and I realized the store owner was watching us. Apparently she didn’t think much of my style choices, either. The fact was that I was incredibly nervous about meeting a queen, parliament, and a bunch of royals. The thought of trying to walk in this dress while meeting a queen, parliament, and a bunch of royals made me hyperventilate.