Christmas at the Palace

by Jeevani Charika

  ‘Oh, it’s no —’ Kumari started to object.

  ‘No point being modest about it,’ Ophelia cut her off. ‘I should add that I’m very impressed with my new sister-in-law. Not only did she navigate the formality of the infamous Sandringham Christmas like a pro, she managed to get out of the Boxing Day shoot without annoying Grandma, which has to be some sort of a record. I know it’s been a difficult time for you, Kumari, and you were hoping to have these few days to spend time with Ben and your parents, so we are, all of us, very grateful for your kindness in letting us join you. Speaking for myself, I have to say, I haven’t had this much fun in months.’

  ‘Hear, hear,’ said Edwin.

  ‘Right,’ said Ophelia. ‘I’m done. You can go and get pudding now.’

  Ben grabbed Kumari’s hand, so she went with him.

  ‘How much has Ophelia had to drink?’ said Kumari when they got to the kitchen.

  Ben shrugged. ‘Who cares?’ he said. ‘What she said was true. You are truly amazing.’ He pulled her close and gave her a kiss that melted her insides.

  When he released her and made to move away, she held him close. ‘Ben. I’ve been thinking.’ She bit her lip. ‘You know how I asked if we could wait a bit before we started a family . . . I’m thinking maybe we’ve left it long enough now.’

  ‘Really?’ Ben’s grin lit up the whole kitchen. ‘That’s . . . there are no words.’ He kissed her again, this time a kiss full of promise and excitement. ‘That’s the best present I could have had.’ He gave her a hug, then pulled a face. ‘I guess we should serve up pudding first, right?’

  Kumari laughed. ‘Probably best.’ She kissed the tip of his nose and gave him a gentle push.

  ‘Since we’re doing presents right now,’ he said. ‘I have something for you.’ He pulled out his phone and found something on it. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘Read this.’

  He released her and went to get the crumble out of the oven.

  Kumari looked at the screen. It was an email to Ben from Lady Clara.

  Dearest Benedict. I write this in haste, so I didn’t have a chance to find your lovely wife’s email address, whereas yours is in my address book. Please can you tell Kumari that I enjoyed our discussion yesterday and was so taken by her passion for her projects that I looked up the Boost Her! initiative that she mentioned to me. It seems like a very valuable endeavour and she is absolutely correct to be incensed at the withdrawal of funding. I, too, am very annoyed. So much so that I have decided to step in and fund it as a private benefactor for two years. Hopefully, this will buy them enough time to secure other funding to complete, and perhaps extend, the project. Will you please let Kumari know.

  Merry Christmas,

  Clara

  Kumari read it twice before it sank in, then gave a squeal. ‘Oh, Ben!’ He put down the dish he was carrying so that she could hug him. ‘You knew, didn’t you? You knew she’d do something like that. That’s why you made a point of making her speak to me.’

  ‘I didn’t want to get your hopes up,’ he said. ‘But I did think she might be sympathetic. She isn’t bound by the same rules as we are so . . .’

  She kissed him. ‘I love you, you wonderful man.’

  ‘Well, you wanted a thoughtful present. Will this do?’

  ‘Of course it will do.’ She hugged him close. ‘It’s the best thing you could have given me.’

  He laughed and kissed her. ‘Merry Christmas, my princess.’

  Acknowledgements

  A few years ago, I promised myself that by the time my daughters were old enough to read my books, I’d have at least one novel with a brown girl on the cover. It’s important to be able to see yourself reflected in popular culture. I’m always thrilled when I spot a Sri Lankan character in a genre novel – the first time I spotted one was in Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It and I still remember the buzz from seeing that! I’ve always written Sri Lankans into my romcoms – written under my pen name, Rhoda Baxter – but usually as secondary characters. Now, finally, I have a novel, written under my own name, with a Sri Lankan main character and a heroine of colour on the cover. Yay! Princesses come in all colours.

  This book was an unexpected gift that came about because of a chance conversation. So thank you to the team at Bonnier Zaffre for taking a leap of faith. With special thanks to my editor, Tara Loder, for all the support along the way. Federica Leonardis, you rock! Thanks for being a sounding board during the project and for being chief cheerleader to keep me going.

  Thanks to Jen Hicks, who is always my first reader, for super-fast and useful ‘gloves-off’ feedback on my first draft. I really appreciate it.

  The ladies of the Naughty Kitchen were instrumental in keeping me sane when the pressure got too much. It’s also handy knowing people who can tell you where to find a calendar of high society events or just shoot the breeze about celebrity wedding dress designers. Cheers, ladies.

  I owe a very special thank you to my family, who helped in so many little ways to allow me extra writing time. Thank you so much for understanding . . . and for pointing out useful headlines for me to look in to!

  And lastly, thank you, the reader, for buying and reading the book. I literally couldn’t do this without you!

  About the Author

  Jeevani Charika is British–Sri Lankan. She started off in the south of England, then spent her childhood living in places as diverse at Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Micronesia before settling down in Yorkshire, where she now lives with her husband and two daughters.

  Jeevani also writes romantic comedies and women’s fiction under the name Rhoda Baxter. Her books have been shortlisted for the RoNA awards, the Love Stories awards and the Joan Hessayon award. She is a member of the UK Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors.

  A microbiologist by training, she loves all things science geek. She also loves cake, crochet and playing with Lego.

  Want more?

  Sign up for Jeevani Charika’s newsletter and get

  one of her short romances for free.

  Get free story

  First published as an ebook in the United States of America in 2018 by

  ZAFFRE PUBLISHING

  80-81 Wimpole St, London, W1G 9RE

  www.zaffrebooks.co.uk

  Copyright © Jeevani Charika, 2018

  Cover design by Alexandra Allden

  Cover images © Shutterstock.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-1-49986-198-3

  This ebook was produced by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd

  Zaffre Publishing is an imprint of Bonnier Zaffre, a Bonnier Publishing company

  www.bonnierzaffre.co.uk

  www.bonnierpublishing.co.uk

  For information, contact 251 Park Avenue South, Floor 12, New York, New York 10010