Claim Me
Page 14
“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Call them and you can pick it up from me after. Then just slip it in her bag and she’ll find it. Save her pride,” I suggested.
“You’re an angel,” Henry said with a laugh.
“I don’t feel like much of an angel,” I said.
“Well, a devious one, but I like it. You’ll need wits to survive this life.”
“I know,” I said softly.
“Trouble adjusting to all the changes?” he asked sympathetically. “I’ve wanted to come by, but I thought it best to give you some time to adjust. I wasn’t sure Sarah would be ready for company.”
“It’s strange to have her in our lives.”
“And living in your home,” he added. “That must be difficult.”
“It’s not that we mind,” I began dutifully.
“But you do,” he stopped me. “That’s completely normal, Clara. You’re young. You have a family. Alexander sprang this on you. I don’t understand why he kept it from you.”
“You knew, didn’t you?” I asked him. “You told me about the estates. You pointed me in her direction.”
“Alexander, much like Albert, is his own worst enemy. When I realized you didn’t know, I knew it was only a matter of time before you found out and the longer you went without knowing…”
“The angrier I would be.” He wasn’t wrong about that. No one could have guessed that Sarah would wake up and make the need for honesty timely.
“When I heard she woke up, I felt terrible. It wasn’t my place to say anything.”
“You were trying to save Alexander from himself.” It was a trait the people who loved him seemed to share.
“I am sorry you found out that way.”
“You were right.” I realized he’d gotten the wrong idea. “I needed to know, and at least Sarah wasn’t alone when she woke up.”
“Alexander told me he thought it was you who brought her back. He said you were light that always guided him out of darkness and you must have done the same for her.”
“He never told me that,” I admitted.
“Then I’m glad I did, because you should know how he feels,” Henry said. “How is she adjusting?”
“I assume you’ve seen the papers. She’s the life of London.”
“I was trying to be delicate,” he confessed.
“She’s sixteen, but it’s not her world anymore. Everything has changed and grown but her. I didn’t know what to expect. I suppose I still don’t, but I’m worried about her.” I spilled this to him because I’d been bottling it up since the night I’d tucked her into bed three sheets to the wind.
“Give her time,” he advised. “Have you considered…” He trailed off as his mother strolled up to us.
Mary, who had always reminded me a bit of a bulldog, was stooped and thin. I’d seen her a few weeks ago, but the change in her appearance was dramatic.
“Why are you talking to her?” Her beady eyes darted nervously between us. “I told you to stay away from her.”
“Mother,” Henry said in a warning tone.
“She has no idea—”
“Mother, Clara is the Queen now. You will have to start treating her with respect.”
“You think I’m the disrespectful one?” she hissed. “I should tell her. Then—”
“That is enough.” Henry grabbed her elbow and steered her away, mouthing an apology to me.
I pasted a bland smile on as a few passersby watched the exchange. I was accustomed to Mary’s hatred for me, but it never made it any easier. She blamed me for her older son’s death and she hadn’t liked me much before that either. There was no incentive for me to continue trying to win her over. It was a lost cause, and I’d run out of energy.
Looking around, I wished for the hundredth time that Alexander would arrive. He was running later than he’d hoped, though he’d warned me that might be the case. Somehow he managed to squeeze in a few meetings with potential allies in Parliament. It was far more important for him to take those than be at the games. Meanwhile, I felt alone, battling pregnancy brain and an inferiority complex. With Edward running the show and Belle absent, I didn’t have any friends to save me.
I ordered a club soda at the bar only to spot someone who looked more miserable than me. Anderson Stone was here and he’d been cornered by a woman. That probably happened to him a lot and normally it wouldn’t be my place to save him; it might send him the wrong message. But it wasn’t just any woman who’d sidelined him. It was Sarah. The most eligible girl at the games had found the most eligible bachelor.
But what she didn’t know could hurt all of us.
Anders’ face lit up as I drew closer, making me feel even worse. I’d gone in with the priority that I would keep my distance from him. Now I was walking right to him.
“Clara,” he called when I was within earshot.
Sarah’s head swiveled, her face dripping poison at the sight of me. “Oh, you.”
Sarah obviously wasn’t as keen to welcome spring as the rest of us, because she’d dressed in black from the wide-brimmed hat she’d donned to the wedge sandals on her feet. With her looks she would have stood out in anything, but the funereal effect of this ensemble made her a force of gravity. Everyone in the tent cast subtle glances her direction. Then again, she was also the girl who had come back from the dead. Maybe the outfit had been a fitting choice after all.
“How are you feeling this morning?” I asked sweetly. The little twat needed a reminder that I’d been the one coddling her drunk ass in the middle of the night.
“Fine. I can hold my liquor.” Then again, she probably didn’t remember. Alcohol was the ultimate blackhole.
“It didn’t seem like it last night,” I muttered before I could stop myself.
If looks could kill, Sarah’s would have me torn me to shreds and left me bleeding out. “I’m fine, really.” She waved me off with a hand. “You can go back to gestating or whatever it is you do.”
Anderson’s mouth opened, probably to defend me, and I couldn’t allow it.
Instead, I opened my own and said exactly what I was thinking. “I ensure the line of succession doesn’t pass to a Royal cunt. That’s what I do.”
I shouldn’t have said it.
Anders physically stepped away, looking as if he might burst something trying to keep a straight face. But the insult broke Sarah, who looked like I’d hit her over the head with a brick. Flustered, she turned and stomped away.
“I see you two are getting along,” he said.
“She’s the sister I never had.”
“Don’t you have a sister?” he asked, confused.
“I do. I like that sister.”
“I see.” He kicked the grass with his toe, daring to glance at me. The gesture made him look more like a nervous school boy than a famous race car driver. It was at odds with the artfully unbuttoned shirt and messy, blond hair. He was trying to send a message that he was wicked and reckless, but I knew better. “I take it she doesn’t know about…”
“No, she knows about you,” I fibbed.
“But…” Anderson turned the shade of blank paper. I thought he might pass out, so I grabbed his hand.
“I’m joking.”
Relief washed over his face. Then we both realized we were touching. I dropped his hand and forced a laugh.
“I couldn’t help it,” I told him. “If I don’t joke, I cry.”
“How are you?” he asked, moving a little closer to me.
I was aware of his body in a way that I normally didn’t react to most men. I often had security guiding me, but this was different. Because Anderson had lowered his voice and his eyes, which I realized now were the same blue as Alexander’s, they blazed like my husband’s. I couldn’t deny that he had feelings for me. I couldn’t make them go away. No matter how much I wanted them to.
Because I’d lost more than a friend when he’d confessed how he felt: I’d lost the chance to know him as a brother.
He moved to grab a champagne flute off a passing tray, casually putting the distance back between us. At least he took a hint. “You haven’t had that baby yet?”
“I have about four weeks to go,” I whispered.
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to change my bet. The pot is up to, like, five hundred quid.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Seriously, how are you?” he pressed. “When I saw that press conference…”
His jaw tightened and I saw that day through his eyes and what he must have thought when I ran out on Alexander. He needed to know that any hope he clung to was wasted. “We’re working through it. I was angry.”
“You had a right to be.”
“But we’ll be fine, Alexander and I.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said, sounding anything but.
“There you are,” a friendly voice said in my ear as an arm dropped over my shoulders. “I saw one sister storming off, so I knew the other sister couldn’t be far.”
“What does that mean?” I asked Edward. “I have been nothing but welcoming to her.”
“I overheard her earlier telling everyone what a monster you were—that you made her give her old room up, because it wasn’t hers anymore,” he said dramatically.
I gasped, my eyes narrowing. “In that case, I just called her a Royal cunt to her face. And now I’m feeling less sorry about it.”
Edward snorted, not the least bit offended by what I’d said to his true sister. “We have different ideas of hospitality. Don’t worry. She wasn’t telling anyone who mattered.”
What mattered was that she was telling anyone at all. I was about to point this out when Edward turned his attention to Anders. “It’s good to see you.”
“You, too.” Anderson looked even more uncomfortable than when Sarah had been flirting with him.
“I know Alexander can be a bit much,” Edward said, continuing with what sounded like a well-rehearsed speech, “but you have a couple normal members in your family. Well, mostly just us.” He gestured to me and himself in turn. “My husband is normal. So, three normal family members.”
“I don’t want to make this a thing,” Anderson said slowly. “I’ve got my mum and my life. I’m just not like you lot. No offense. I don’t need…”
“Another family.”
He’d made that clear to me before, and I understood. But part of me wanted to clear up a few things with him. I hadn’t been born to Royalty. I hadn’t been raised in this world. We had a lot in common. Pointing that out would only complicate matters more.
Edward’s face fell, but he recovered quickly, nodding. “I just wanted to reach out. If it ever changes or you need something, I make a lovely chess pie and I can usually wrangle a title in a pinch.”
“I’ll let you know.” This actually got a laugh out of Anders. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he paused, biting his lip as he looked at me. But whatever he wanted to say, he kept to himself.
“Why do I get the impression he wouldn’t mind if you called?” Edward murmured as Anders walked away.
“Don’t start,” I warned him. I’d confided to Edward and Belle about Anders’ crush on me. “Sarah was trying to sink her talons into him. I had to save him. She needs to know.”
“Do you want to tell the ice queen?”
I frowned.
“I mean ice princess. Clearly, you are the ice queen.” He bowed slightly and I smacked his shoulder. “Where’s your husband? Why don’t we make him do it?”
As we turned to watch the dressage event, a skill I couldn’t fathom the point of, I was about to tell him that Alexander was on his way. Instead, we came face-to-face with him.
“Oh, he’s here,” Edward swallowed, adjusting his bow tie.
It was obvious from the look on Alexander’s face that he’d been here for a while.
Chapter 18
Alexander
The afternoon fog lifted when I spotted Clara and sunlight flooded the tent. It felt more like a portent than a miracle, giving who she was speaking to, however. I ignored a number of greetings as I weaved through the crowd. I had no interest in drawing attention to myself. Deeply rooted jealousy, the type that wasn’t easily weeded out, drove me towards my wife and brothers.
They were laughing. As Anders left, Clara and Edward put their heads together and whispered. A vise gripped my heart, but I squared my shoulders and continued towards them. Anders hesitated midway between them and me, looking over his shoulder. But he didn’t turn around.
That’s right. She’s mine.
I willed him to keep putting distance between himself and her. Unfortunately that sent him colliding with me.
“Anderson.” My salutation was a half-step above a growl.
He responded in the same tone. “Your Majesty.”
“You do realize that’s a title, not an insult?” I brushed a piece of lint off my sleeve and his eyes zeroed in on it. Did he know that’s what he was to me? An inconvenience? An annoyance?
“Of course, sir,” he added.
“You were speaking to my wife.” Meeting his eyes was like looking into a mirror. I’d never hated my own reflection so much.
“I was talking to a friend,” he corrected me. His right hand clenched into a fist.
This time I wasn’t rising to the bait. Fighting him would only give Clara more doubt. Enough people had nearly come between us—Anderson included—I didn’t need to drag one there.
“Find another one,” I advised him.
His nostrils flared as he shook his head. Pushing past me, he got in one last dig. “Edward was right about you.”
What the hell did that mean? I didn’t bother to ask. Clara might not see Anders as a threat but he wasn’t an ally either. I couldn’t afford to allow him to mess with my head.
I’d lost Clara to the crowd during our exchange, and I found myself searching a sea of hats looking for her. A few feet away the crowd parted, revealing her and Edward just as they turned in my direction.
I didn’t catch what Edward said but I seized the moment, strolling up to them. Leaning down, I kissed Clara, earning a murmur from people surrounding us. Her hand fluttered to my wrist and when I drew back, her eyes questioned me.
“You just missed Anders,” she said softly, her words an olive branch. A reminder.
There was nothing to hide and nothing to fear.
“Actually, I didn’t,” I said stiffly.
“Alexander, are you…?” She trailed away, seeking help from Edward with a pleading look.
“It was a long morning.” Capped off by walking into a scene from my nightmares. I kept that bit to myself.
“How were the meetings?” Edward asked.
“Can I get one of those?” I pointed to his champagne flute.
“That good?” he said dryly. “Let me find you one.”
“Where’s Norris?” Clara asked, scanning the crowd.
“Want to make certain my nanny is nearby, so I mind my manners?” I snapped.
“I want to ask him to speak with Brex,” she said curtly. Reaching up, she smoothed my tie and sighed. “You can’t lose it every time you see Anders.”
Someday I might not, but not until he’d given up his interest in Clara. It wouldn’t do any good to tell her that. Instead, I focused on her question. “Norris is sweeping the perimeter. I’m afraid he’ll never quite trust anyone else to do it.”
“I always feel safer when he does,” she admitted.
She’d never told me that. Then again, Norris had been protecting her since the moment I’d brought her into my life. Truthfully, I felt better when he did as well, especially since my heart was walking around inside this tent.
“Sarah’s here, and I want someone to keep an eye on her,” Clara explained.
There was a Cambridge who did need a babysi
tter, and we both knew it. Sarah had been courting the paparazzi since her arrival back in London. She’d actually asked to see the tabloids this morning like she was proud of her behaviour.
“Shouldn’t Brex be watching her?” I asked.
“I think he’s avoiding her,” Clara admitted.
“He’s her bloody bodyguard.”
“And a good one,” Clara said. “He’s probably protecting her from himself. If I had to put up…” Her eyes flashed up to mine as though she’d only just realized she was saying these things out loud.
“Go on.” My mouth twitched at my wife’s horror. “It’s nothing I haven’t thought.”
She shook her head, nearly losing her fascinator in the process. Clutching it, she adjusted it, muttering a few colourful words under her breath. “Sorry. Losing my hat, cursing—not very regal behaviour.”
“Oh, but, Poppet”—I leaned closer so that I could smell the citrus notes of her perfume—“I prefer my queen wicked, remember?” I brushed my lips over her ear so swiftly that no one would spot the movement.
But the effect was unmistakable. Her breath hitched and pink stained her cheeks. Clara’s responsiveness triggered my own and I turned my body towards hers, moving just close enough that she could feel the hardness of my cock.
“You look beautiful,” I told her in a low voice and she closed her eyes as though she could feel the words caressing over her skin.
She did. The richly-coloured green dress she wore was a strange combination of modest and sensual. The cut covered her to the neck but the fabric did nothing to hide the graceful curves of her body. Against her pale skin, it made her gray eyes brighter and brought out the subtle red highlights in her hair.
Clara swallowed, her fingers lingering on my tie, and looked away. “I think we lost Edward.”
“We don’t need him,” I muttered, pressing subtly closer.
“There are dozens of people here,” she whispered.
“I’m not making a move,” I promised with a wicked grin, “I’m giving you a sneak preview of things to come.”