The Royal Couple: A Christian Romance (Royals Book 1)

by Nicole Taylor

  William returned to her. “What were you saying?” he asked.

  “I was asking how bible study was going.”

  “Let’s say it’s been going. I’ve been trying to carve out a specific time to read the Bible on mornings or evenings but honestly it’s been difficult this past week. Going to London for a few days and then coming here to oversee final arrangements for the launch has just been so hectic.” He took her hands. “Now that you’re here you can help me to refocus my priorities. Today is going to be full of meetings but tomorrow morning, before breakfast, we can have devotion together. Would you fancy that?”

  Barbara nodded. “Sure, that sounds great.”

  “Oh, before I forget, the Chinese President invited us to dinner tonight at his residence. So I’ll be at your hotel door at 6:30 p.m. sharp.”

  “What do you mean you’re collecting me at 6:30 p.m.? That’s not exactly an invitation! I’m not a member of your staff, William Lamport, so you don’t get to order me around. Besides, why would he invite me? I’m not your wife.”

  “I told him you were coming to Beijing and he asked that you come as well. He’s apparently a fan.”

  Barbara cocked her head to a side and watched William with skepticism. “You’re joking.”

  “No. Scout’s honor. He told me that he watched Joan of Arc at least a hundred times.”

  “Were you even a scout?”

  William chuckled. “No, not really. Fine on my word as a gentleman, then. Now, please accompany me, Barbara. Don’t make me beg.”

  “It might be fun to see you beg. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you beg before,” she rejoined.

  William shook his head. “That’s not true but if you want me to I’ll do it. In front of all of these people I’ll get down on my knees and beg.”

  Barbara wondered if he would seriously embarrass her that way. When he made a motion as if to kneel, she said quickly. “Fine I’ll go with you. This is blackmail by the way.”

  “I know. Very unchristian, right? You have so much to teach me about Christian living.” William was fighting hard to keep a straight face but his eyes were twinkling so much that Barbara knew that she had been duped. He’d had no intention of begging her, let alone dropping to his knees.

  “You are incorrigible, Lamport. I’m going to take my leave of you now. See you later.”

  Before she could leave, an attractive guy with short, dark brown hair and brown eyes came over to them. William had introduced them before the launch. It was his personal assistant, Matthew Helmsley.

  “Excuse me, Sir. Reception just informed me that Mr. Zhang and Mr. Li are here.”

  William glanced at his watch. “Okay, Matthew, please escort Miss Dickson and my mother downstairs. Their driver should be waiting for them in the lobby. You can greet Zhang and Li there and bring them up on your return.”

  Matthew Helmsley nodded and smiled at Barbara with thinly veiled admiration. “It would be my pleasure, Sir.”

  William pulled Barbara into a quick hug, and, as he released her, he playfully tapped her nose with his index finger. “I’ll see you later, then.”

  As Barbara returned to the hotel in the limousine with William’s mother, she shared with Kendra that William had invited her to the president’s home for dinner.

  “Have you got a dazzling oriental evening gown?” Kendra asked. When Barbara responded in the negative she replied, “We should go shopping in Wangfujing for something gorgeous then. What do you say?”

  Barbara thought about it and decided that spending the afternoon shopping with Kendra in Beijing definitely beat sitting around in a hotel room waiting for William to take her out. She agreed.

  ~*~*~*~

  Wangfujing was anchored by large upscale shops at each end of the pedestrian mall. The huge shopping street was a shopper’s paradise, with shops selling paintings and traditional Chinese arts and crafts, trendy boutiques and upscale chain stores as well as restaurants serving everything from McDonald’s to Peking Duck.

  Beijing Department store was a trendy, swank place, rivaling almost anything that Barbara could find in Manhattan. They did most of their shopping there, including selecting an outfit for Barbara’s night out.

  When they decided to take a break from their shopping expedition, Barbara and Kendra made their way to a café.

  The chauffeur had accompanied them and was loaded with Kendra’s shopping bags. Barbara had insisted that she carry her own.

  As they sat sipping tea and chatting Barbara heard her phone give a message alert. She didn’t look at it, determining that she would view the message later.

  She continued to chat with Kendra. Two minutes later her phone whistled. An involuntary smile, which she quickly hid, appeared on her face. She didn’t meet Kendra’s curious gaze as she said, “Excuse me,” and then answered.

  “I just sent you a message.” The intimate baritone of William’s voice sent shivers down her spine.

  “Oh. I was chatting with your mother. Do you want to speak to her?”

  “If I wanted to speak to her I would have called her mobile. What’s the matter with you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You sound strained. Are you embarrassed to be chatting with me in front of my mother?”

  Barbara wanted to call him an idiot but didn’t feel comfortable being so playful with Kendra sitting a few feet away. She was politely looking elsewhere but Barbara knew that she was listening to every word. “No, I’m not. How can I help you?”

  “I wanted to tell you that I’m thinking of you.”

  “Oh,” Barbara said in a small voice.

  “I’ve just finished a meeting and I’m having another one in approximately…30 minutes. I look forward to seeing you this evening.”

  “Okay.”

  “I hope you and my mum are bonding.”

  Barbara just smiled but didn’t respond.

  “Barbie?”

  “Um…sure, yeah.”

  William sighed. "Okay, sweetheart, I get it. We’ll speak freely later. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  When Barbara hung up she said, superfluously, “That was William.”

  “Yes, I gathered that.” Kendra responded, smiling. “Barbara, I am aware that you and Ken are very close. It’s quite alright, dear, you can relax. In fact, according to that ring on your finger you two are what you American’s call BFFs. Am I wrong?”

  Barbara glanced quickly at her hand as her whole face heated up. How could she have forgotten about their identical gold bands? She hid her hand in her lap.

  “Uh, yes, Kendra, William and I are very good friends.”

  Kendra extended an elegant hand, palm up. “May I see the ring, Barbara?”

  Barbara obliged and Kendra gently took her left hand in her palm and traced her fingers over the band.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said finally. “You know, Barbara, I have to confess that when William first told me about his interest in you I had my doubts,” she said as she released Barbara’s hand and picked up her tea cup.

  Barbara met Kendra’s gaze and tried not to get defensive. “Oh?”

  “Yes. I wondered what you wanted from him. You see, from the time Ken was a young man I have had to endure females throwing themselves at him and declaring undying love and most of those girls wanted something from him. Yes, he’s good looking, but he also comes from a very powerful family and we both know that status is the main attractor for many people. Anyway, I was relieved to find that my doubts were unfounded. You are the first woman who, instead of wanting something from Ken, has given him something, something more precious and more valuable than money can buy.”

  Barbara watched her curiously, as she waited for her to continue.

  Kendra took a sip of her tea then explained, “You led him to Christ, Barbara. I will love you forever for saving my only child.”

  Barbara took a deep breath as her eyes began to tear up. “Kendra, I can’t take credit for that. That was the Holy S
pirit’s work.”

  “Yes, but you allowed Him to use you to accomplish that. How many women would have told Ken that they wouldn’t even consider dating him because he didn’t know the Lord? When he told me that I thought to myself, ‘good for her!’”

  Barbara allowed herself a slight smile at Kendra’s feistiness. “I think that I just watered a seed that you and your family planted, though. William is to be admired for heeding the call. Over the last two years I have been encouraging people to give their lives to God – many people have chosen not to.”

  “I think that speaks to the influence you have with him, Barbara. Perhaps if it was someone else he wouldn’t have listened. After all, I’ve been encouraging him to commit his life to God for years but he hasn’t listened to me.” Kendra took another sip of tea. “I want to ask you something. Please don’t tell Ken I asked, he’d be aghast if he knew. Barbara, now that Ken’s a Christian what next? Where do you see your relationship with him going?”

  The question caught Barbara so much by surprise that she just opened and closed her mouth like a fish for a few minutes in stunned silence. Eventually, she realized that she would have to say something since Kendra was observing her unwaveringly. She could see where William got his piercing eyes.

  Barbara hesitated, not sure how much she should say. She decided to speak honestly.

  “Kendra, do you know that William and I met nine years ago?”

  Kendra nodded. “He told me recently.”

  “Oh. What did he tell you?”

  “He told me that he’d met and fallen in love with you in the space of four short weeks. I didn’t argue because it was a similar situation with me and his father. Anyway, he said that he asked you to marry him. Now that one was a shocker. He had never, ever revealed that to me. I already knew that Victoria Compton got pregnant and he made the decision to marry her. I hadn’t known until recently that he broke up with you to marry her and that the choice devastated him.”

  “He said that? He actually used the word ‘devastated’?”

  Kendra nodded as her penetrating stare seemed to search Barbara. “He didn’t have to say it though. It explained everything that I felt back then. I’ll confide something to you, when Ken returned home and told us that he was marrying Victoria he looked as though he was going before a firing squad. I knew immediately that something was not right. I took him aside and I tried to get it out of him. He just told me that there was nothing to discuss, that the engagement was on again and that was it.”

  Kendra took a deep breath and then shook her head. “You know, I’ve never really liked Victoria. She was rather spoilt. Her parents doted on her, especially her father, and she always had an air of entitlement. I tried to steer Ken away from her but he was initially swayed by her good looks, I think. He’s a sensible fellow, though, so he soon came to see her for what she was and lost interest.

  “He was not in love with her so I knew there had to be some other very compelling reason for his marrying her. I eventually wore him down and he confessed that she was pregnant. I sympathized and I supported his decision.”

  She looked at Barbara. “I don’t imagine that would have sat too well with you, my dear, and I’m sorry that you had to suffer but the truth is I believed, still do, that one has to take responsibility for one’s actions in life. I blamed myself too.”

  “Blamed yourself? Why?”

  “I haven’t always been where I am now in my spiritual life. Sure, my husband William and I always went to church but often our example was not the best. For a long time I had a form of godliness. I went to church because it was respectable but I wasn’t committed to Christian living. Truthfully, it was only when Ken’s dad got cancer six years ago that we both realized that we had better take things seriously and acknowledge God because in the end He’s all there is.

  “So I said all of that to say that William might not have felt that the Bible had anything to do with real life and that things like not having sex before marriage were outdated concepts. We suspected that he was sleeping with Victoria but we never said anything to him. I figured everyone was doing it and he was an attractive young man so it was inevitable.” Kendra sighed. “What a mother I was. You know, I ensured that he had all the social and intellectual skills but the most important thing – his relationship with his maker – I didn’t emphasize. So he ended up where he was.”

  “You shouldn’t blame yourself. He was an adult he made his own choices.”

  “I know. I’m just explaining, not justifying.”

  “Well, Kendra, in response to your question, I have to confess something to you. William was my first love. I’ve married twice since him but I didn’t feel the way about either of those men that I did about him. When he and I first met he seemed so…larger than life. He was like a Prince and I felt like Cinderella. I didn’t dare to hope that he would want to have a lasting relationship with me because we come from two different worlds as you know. When he proposed I thought I was dreaming. When he broke it off I felt as though I would die. So now here we are. He’s back in my life, and yes he’s a Christian now and words cannot describe how happy that makes me, but I don’t think I could bear losing him twice. I don’t feel ready to take that risk.”

  Kendra reached over and squeezed Barbara’s arm. “Barbara, I don’t pretend to know what you went through with William all those years ago and how it must have shaken your confidence in him. But for what it’s worth, I want you to know that he’s a man that you can trust and he does love you deeply. I know that the two of you have agreed to be friends but he wants more than that. I can understand that you want to take things slowly and be sure about him but if you realize at any point that there is no future for you two then you need to let him know. Don’t allow him to hope for something that’s not going to happen.”

  Barbara swallowed hard and looked away. She decided that it was time to leave. This heart to heart was causing her too much heartache.

  “We should probably head back to the hotel now. I’d like to take a bath before I get ready for tonight’s function.” She gathered her packages and stood, eager to leave.

  ~*~*~*~

  William sat opposite Barbara at the dinner hosted by the Chinese President, Xi Jinping and his glamorous wife, Peng Liyuan, and beamed with pride as he watched the love of his life regale the eight other diners with an amusing anecdote. It was of her first trip to China four years ago to shoot a movie in Shanghai.

  When the conversation turned to business, his pride in her increased as she contributed intelligently to the discussion. She even put a plug in for film making as she explained that the film industry was big business and suggested that this was an area the country should explore, particularly by encouraging film studios to shoot movies there.

  Barbara surprised him by going a step further and remarking on China’s strict quota system for foreign films. She requested that consideration be given to qualifying more Christian-themed films for official release in China.

  On the drive back to the hotel, Barbara turned to him and said, “I hope that I wasn’t wrong to raise my opinion on Christian films. I know that the President and his wife are probably atheists.”

  William smiled at Barbara. “He may not be as resistant to Christianity as you may think. I understand that he did something unprecedented some months back. He added the word ‘religion’ to the Chinese Communist Party constitution. He called it a historic moment and challenged the party to view religion as a source of economic and social stability. You were not offensive in your tone or manner. You were humble and respectful but you stood up for Christ. I don’t believe either the President or his wife were offended based on your approach.”

  “I was a little hesitant at first. They seemed to admire me so much I didn’t want to spoil it then I remembered it isn’t about me. It’s about God and spreading his Kingdom on earth. Let’s put this country on our prayer list, William. Let’s pray that these people will come to know the hope that we have fo
und in Jesus.”

  William looked into her beautiful brown eyes and watched her blush as he said, “Our prayer list? I like the sound of that. Yes I will most definitely add China to our prayer list especially since I have set up business here.”

  They continued driving in comfortable silence when William said, “You think that I can perchance persuade you to be back here again in July for the launch of the Waldorf Beijing?”

  Barbara shook her head. “I can’t. God-willing I’ll be in Morocco shooting Israel at that time.”

  “Really, that soon!”

  “Yeah, thanks to your $20 million injection we are rearing and ready to go. We’re going to start shooting in June. I’m just waiting for The Reaping to be released in May. I’m going to have to spend some time promoting that film. The cast and I are going to be doing quite a number of interviews and a few of us will be travelling to a few major cities to promote it.”

  “Tell me, how does the planning for the gala fit into all this?”

  “I’ve got a very capable team back in New York. The logistical committee is on track and the Foundation staff and volunteers are doing a great job. I’ve got a logistics committee meeting when I get back just to see where we’re at with various tasks but it’s going fine.”

  They had reached their destination. William walked Barbara to her hotel room then he bade her goodnight, reminding her of their breakfast and devotion date.

  “Wills, please remember that I’m not your category of early bird. I’m an earlyish bird so please do not wake me too early.”

  He chuckled. “Okay, earlyish bird, sleep tight and I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned in and kissed her brow. With a last long look at her he watched her close the door and then walked away whistling.

  Chapter 26

  Barbara lifted her head inches off the pillow to peer at the clock on the bedside table.