He opened his backpack and pulled out laminated cards. “Each room has a spot for name cards to be attached.” In the center of each door was a metal decoration that doubled as a clip for the name cards.
Situated around the opening to the first floor were four bedrooms. Two went to the monarchs, another to Jacqueline Grace and Kiara, her sister’s surprise ward, and the last to Esther and Darius.
There were two wings. The first one they entered had three bedrooms off the walkway. Those rooms went to Astrid, Kensington, and their families. Sofia and Gracie were given the room in the middle.
Esther took the rest of the signs from Darius and flipped through them as they walked back toward the other wing. “Do you think we could get your family name tags? I know your mother and older brother, but I’ll never keep the rest of them straight.”
Darius chuckled as they reached an entryway with four doors off of it. “The one with your brother?” He held out a hand.
Harrison was sharing with Josiah. She knew he was Darius’s next youngest brother and probably about the same age, so it worked well. Darius’s twin sisters got the room across the hall.
“These are actually two separate, full apartments with kitchens and everything, though they won’t be stocked,” Darius explained walking to one of the other doors. “I’m just going to put the names here though rather than on the other bedrooms inside.” His twin brothers would share space with Harrison and Josiah, while his two younger sisters would share with Genevieve and Evangeline.
“Are they all going to be okay with sharing a room? I don’t think I’ve ever shared with anyone, even while traveling.”
They turned back toward the center of the house. Darius stopped at a door on the right. It had the ornate clip in the middle. “What’s this room?” He peeked in then opened the door all the way.
She hadn’t actually seen inside any of the rooms, but hopefully this was the smallest of the bunch.
“I don’t remember this one.” He took the last card from her. “We can put Alfred here, then he’s not so far from everyone else. If Harrison and Josiah have an issue sharing, Harrison can be in here, and Alfred can share with Josiah. Or Harrison can go to the basement since my other brothers are in that apartment.”
“We haven’t actually looked in any of the rooms. Are we sure they’re shareable? I mean, are Harrison and Josiah going to be expected to share a double bed or something?”
That stopped Darius in his tracks. “I don’t know.”
Noises downstairs told her Vesta and Louis had arrived.
“Mr. Leopardi told me the rooms all have king beds that can be split into singles. We went over who should go where, but I don’t know if it was done.”
They only had a few hours to get this figured out. The stress was starting to give her a headache. “The rooms in the other wing are fine. Gracie and Sofia will think it’s tons of fun to share so even if they’re in one it’s all right. The main section is good.” She hesitated. “You check this wing. I’ll check the others to make sure they’re all the way they’re supposed to be.”
She hurried to check the rooms, relieved when the four main rooms were properly situated. The ones in the other wing were as well, though the center room was also still a king-sized bed.
Darius looked annoyed when she found him again. “They’re all still together.” He was looking through his phone until he found what he was looking for then held it to his ear.
Esther decided to go downstairs and check in with Vesta and Louis. If the weekend started off with this sort of drama, what would the rest of it hold?
24
Darius hung up with Mr. Leopardi. Though he’d said he would be staying in the cabin, that turned out to not be the case. He was out of town. He did tell Darius where he stored the extra bedding for each room and offer a discount since it hadn’t been set up properly.
At least Darius knew how to make a bed now. He’d have to enlist Vesta and Louis so it could be done fairly quickly. Maybe. He didn’t think he wanted Esther moving furniture, not at seventeen weeks pregnant. The security team was already busy, and the rest of the temporary help hadn’t arrived yet.
Downstairs, he found the three of them unloading some of the foodstuffs brought in for the weekend. Things like coffee and other drinks would be kept in here, but most was set up in the industrial kitchen in the basement.
“We have a problem,” he started. “I need everyone’s help.” He quickly explained what they needed to do in five of the bedrooms.
Vesta took charge. “You two go get started. We’ll finish in here then follow behind and make the beds. I’ll make sure the larger bedding is put away as well.”
Someone else with a plan relieved Darius. He and Louis went to the first of the apartments. No matter what Mr. Leopardi had said, it wasn’t quite as simple as taking the bedding off and separating the two sides. There was a mattress topper to be dealt with and side tables to be moved. It took far longer than Darius expected to do each room, but just over two hours later, the furniture was moved in all of them.
They went back to work with Esther and Vesta. The women kept making the beds, but put Darius and Louis to work moving the extra bedding out of the way.
“The good thing is the beddings all match.” Vesta snapped a sheet into place as Darius gathered the mattress pad, sheets and spread off the floor. “Just in different sizes. We don’t really have time to mess with folding everything neatly and putting it all away in the closets, so we’ll stash them in my closet in the basement, and I’ll get it all sorted later. Since they match, we don’t have to remember what goes where.”
Whoever decorated for Mr. Leopardi had some sense.
He started for the door when Vesta called after him. “Just stick all of it in the elevator rather than making several trips all the way downstairs. There may not be enough room for you, too, but at least you’ll only go downstairs once. Plus my room is almost directly across from the elevator in the basement.”
Darius chuckled to himself. He never would have thought of that. He would have made like five trips. Instead, he filled the small elevator with the bedding and pushed the button to send it to the basement. He took the stairs all the way down to find the elevator had just beat him.
His phone buzzed as he carried the first load into Vesta’s room. He dropped them on her bed then checked it. Great. His family was already on the ground, half an hour early.
Darius dumped the rest of the bedding on her bed as well, promising himself he’d come back and help her clean it up later. He took the stairs two at a time until he reached the second floor where he found Esther and Vesta walking out of the second apartment.
She held her phone. “My family left the airport. They’ll be here in about twenty minutes.”
Exactly the same time as his family. Would it look like a convoy of cars with VIPs driving down the interstate?
“We have one more room to do.” Esther started for the other side of the main floor.
“I don’t think so. You two go get freshened up. Louis and I will finish the last room.”
“Uh, Vesta?” Darius told her about the bedding and his pledge to help her later.
She waved him off. “I’ll take care of it.”
He kissed her cheek. “Whoever made sure you and Louis knew about this job opening is my new hero. I don’t know what we’d do without you two.”
“You’d be just fine.” Her cheeks turned red. “Now go freshen up. Your family will be here before you know it.”
He tapped on his phone. Surely Ian already knew because the security teams that traveled with each family would have already been in touch. Jonathan was supplying extra personnel, including those stationed at the gate.
For the first time, he entered the room with his name and Esther’s joined on it. He’d debated for a long time exactly how to write the names for each of the cards. Kings and queens, even former ones, were given titles. Everyone else just got first names. They were family now,
after all.
There had to be a rhyme or reason to it all though, so eldest went first when two royals shared a room, regardless of family. For the couples, the royal came first.
Since he and Esther were both royal and a couple, he came first - he was older by six whole weeks.
Still, it would have been kind of nice to label it “Mr. and Mrs. Quatremaine.”
He went in to find Esther changing clothes, her new shirt about halfway on, giving him an excellent view of the growing baby bump. “Do you think you can hide it until tomorrow?”
“I’m going to try.” The shirt settled into place. “How obvious is it?”
Darius studied her critically. The pants were loose and ill-fitting. The shirt was probably a size too big. “This isn’t one of those times where you’re going to cry if I say it looks like you’ve put on some weight but not necessarily pregnant, is it?”
She shook her head. “No. That’s actually the look I was going for.”
“Then I’d say you succeeded.” He stood in front of her with his hands on her abdomen. “You don’t usually, you know. You look amazing and are clearly pregnant.”
“I know.” She kissed him then moved away. “You better change, and I need to touch up my hair and makeup.”
They hurried to get ready. Darius even spent a few minutes in front of the mirror, his stomach suddenly churning. He hadn’t seen anyone in his family since March and had barely spoken to any of them. Seeing his family was a huge deal for both of them.
“Ready?”
Esther stood near the door leading to the rest of the house as Darius’s phone buzzed to let him know the cars had arrived. With Esther’s hand in his, they went down one of the curved staircases. Headlights shown through the windows near the front door.
“Here goes nothing,” he whispered.
“We got this,” Esther whispered back.
If only he felt as sure as she sounded.
Esther hoped she sounded far more confident than she felt. Darius moved forward to open the door so they could go outside to greet their families.
Someone had arranged for staff members to be on hand to open doors. Probably Jonathan or Louis or maybe Ian.
The doors to the first two cars were opened at the same moment to allow her father and Benjamin to emerge at the same time.
At first glance, as she curtsied to both of them, Esther saw anger on Benjamin’s face. At being second?
It turned to annoyance when he realized Edward was in the car ahead of him.
Her father turned to help her mother out as Esther’s mind scrambled to figure out who could be in each of the six vehicles it took to transport this many people.
Darius leaned close to her ear. “They should be organized oldest to youngest, based on the eldest royal in the vehicle,” he told her. “Regardless of family. That’s why your father comes before Benjamin.”
Her father helped someone else out of the car. Esther wasn’t sure who she expected, but it wasn’t who she saw. She gasped as the implications rolled over carefully made plans. “Grandmother!”
“Hello, dear!” Grandmother Grace called cheerfully. “Oh! I can’t wait for this.” She marched right past Esther’s father and waved toward the still-stunned Eyjanian king. “Hello, Benjamin. Do help your sisters out of the car.”
Esther had to hide her laugh. Leave it to Grandmother to correct the younger king. She held her arms open to accept the hug she knew was coming.
“I didn’t know you would be here,” she told her grandmother as she held on tight.
“I’ll find a sofa somewhere to sleep on. This place surely has plenty.” Grandmother held her a little closer. “Do I sense another surprise in the offing?” she whispered. “You do a good job hiding it though.”
“We’re telling everyone tomorrow. Only Mother and Papa know,” Esther whispered back.
“They won’t hear it from me.”
“Gigi!” The little girl voice was accompanied by little girl footsteps pounding across the concrete.
Grandmother released Esther and turned to give the little girl the kind of look only a grandmother who is also a former queen can give. “Duchess Grace, is that how we arrive at a new location that is not a park?”
The little girl stopped, chastened, and shook her head. “I sorry, Gigi.”
Grandmother gave the I-forgive-you-do-better-next-time head tilt. Grace turned and went back to Kensington and Anabelle where they were getting out of the fourth vehicle.
“Mama, it’s cold.” Sofia’s voice carried across the distance.
Grandmother took charge. “Then inside we go. San Majorians aren’t used to this weather.”
It took several minutes to get everyone into the grand room, though they all seemed to have some sense of where to stand, based on the hierarchy within their own family. Esther found it quite interesting that Grandmother stood between Esther’s mother and Astrid, while Darius’s mother - also the Queen Mother of her country - stood at the end with her youngest children.
Esther and Darius stood in the middle with Darius standing closer to her family. She wondered if that was on purpose.
Benjamin started to say something, but Esther didn’t catch what it was.
“Benjamin.” Her father’s low tone wouldn’t carry far. “You may be king, but not here, and you are not the host of this gathering.”
Benjamin clamped his mouth shut.
She heard, even felt, Darius take a deep breath. “We hadn’t quite expected all of you to arrive at the same time, but it’s just as well, I guess. Most of my family is going to be surprised by the reason we’re getting everyone together.”
“Are you getting married?” One of Darius’s younger sisters squealed with excitement.
Darius shook his head. “No.” He took Esther’s hand. “Princess Esther of San Majoria and I were married last March.”
The women of his family gasped. Most of the males just looked surprised, but not overly interested.
Benjamin remained stone-faced.
“In fact, King Edward performed the ceremony in Benjamin’s office, with just the four of us present.”
Esther noticed his mother’s face most of all as Darius explained that the reasons were theirs alone and may or may not ever become public, even to the family.
The Queen Mother’s lips were pinched together so tightly they were white and tears leaked out of at least one eye.
“Everyone has been assigned a room.” He looked to his family. “Some of you are together. Even in a house this size, with over two dozen of us, there’s not enough for everyone to have their own rooms.” He pointed to the side of the house where his family stood. “The San Majorians are actually on this side of the house. King Edward, Queen Miriam, Jacqueline Grace, and Kiara are all in the main portion of the house. Everyone else is in the wing, except Harrison who is in the other wing with my family.”
He turned to his family. “Benjamin, you’re in the main portion of the house. Alfred, you’re technically in this main portion, but right next to the hallway for the other wing. Everyone else is in the wing on that side. The rooms are all marked.”
Esther needed to say something. “I know this is a shock to all of you. I also know everyone isn’t well-acquainted, though I’ve met many of you in passing or several years ago. I hope we can all get to know each other better over the next few days so we can continue to have at least some holidays together. I know it’s late for most of you, so our suggestion is a good night’s sleep, and we’ll get together for breakfast at eight tomorrow morning.” She still wasn’t certain where they’d all sit.
Everyone sort of nodded and started to disperse. Awkward smiles and “excuse me” statements punctuated the movement. Queen Eliana started for the same portion of the house as the rest of her family. She turned to Darius and whispered. “Find somewhere for my grandmother, please?”
He hadn’t finished nodding when she turned and went to the queen’s side. “Queen Eliana, you’re actua
lly not over in this part of the house. You have the master suite down here.”
“I do?” The crack in her voice broke Esther’s heart.
She put her arm around the queen and turned them to face the other way. “Right over here.” Darius hadn’t put a card on this room, though there was spot for it. “This is actually the master suite for the house, though all of the rooms have access to their own bathroom.”
“Then why doesn’t one of the kings have it?” she asked as Esther opened the door and stepped to the side to let Queen Eliana enter ahead of her. She closed the door behind them.
“Because my father and your son are equals. They have identical suites upstairs, both very nice.”
Understanding crossed her face. “And this way neither one of them can be offended because the other has nicer accommodations.”
“Exactly.”
“So why me? Why didn’t you and Darius take this suite since you are the hosts?”
Esther gave her the best smile she could. “Who’s the only person a king can’t get mad about if she has nicer accommodations than he does?”
Queen Eliana just looked perplexed.
Esther’s smile widened. “His mother.”
Her mother-in-law’s face fell. “If only that were true.”
25
The withering stare from his brother was easy for Darius to ignore. The obvious pain in his mother’s eyes was harder. He was glad to see Esther headed straight for her as the gathering broke up.
“Queen Grace,” he called as she started for the wing where she’d been told her family would be.
“Yes?”
He hurried to her side. “I’m afraid we have a bit of an issue. We weren’t aware that you were coming, so there’s not a room ready for you just yet. We’ll have one,” he rushed to assure her. “I’m just not certain where yet.”
“Is there another room?” she asked with one brow raised.
Crowns & Courtships Compilation Volume 1 Page 70