The Spare and the Heir

by Carol Moncado

  Esme grabbed his arm and pulled Gabe away so they could talk. “Okay. A few questions here. First, what’s a Nystagmus? Second, what’s craniosacral massage? Third, do you really think I’m going to get a massage with you?”

  “Nystagmus is when your eyes bobble when following a finger. Third, it’s fully clothed. Second, it has to do with making sure your cerebrospinal fluid is flowing properly. It takes good things to your brain and takes the waste away.”

  She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

  “It’s more than that, but that’s the general idea.” He rested his hands on her hips. “What’s the worst thing that happens? You get a massage.”

  “Fine.” She didn’t want to tell him most of the headaches she’d complained of in the last few weeks were a result of stress over the wedding and marrying a man she didn’t love - or were claimed to avoid him.

  Gabe introduced her to his masseuse who’d been working with him for several years. The woman introduced her business partner. The curtains were pulled mostly closed so the room was dimly lit. Soothing classical music came from somewhere as the business partner helped Esme get comfortable on the massage table.

  She closed her eyes as the woman picked up her feet and pulled a bit, stretching her legs and lower back. It felt nicer than Esme expected. She tried to relax and just enjoy it, but a few feet away Gabe and his masseuse chatted away in several different languages. Esme understood most of what they said, and it was innocuous at worst. They talked about the weather and Auverignon and the “hostage training” situation. That’s what the public thought happened over the summer, rather than the actual hostage situation it was.

  The massage wasn’t quite like any Esme had before, but she couldn’t deny that it felt nice. She could feel the tension releasing in some of the spots the woman pressed on.

  A little over an hour later, the women left the room, allowing the two of them to get up and around on their own.

  “What did you think?” Gabe asked from his table.

  “You’re a little chatty.” Esme kept her eyes closed.

  He laughed. “I’ve known her for years. She uses our time to brush up on her language skills. She learned several languages when she was younger and living around Europe but doesn’t have the opportunity to use them very often.”

  “I heard. What’s she going to do now that you’ll live in Sargasso, though? Are you going to fly her down or relocate her or fly back every two weeks?” The question was a genuine one. Esme hoped that came across.

  “I’m not sure yet. I hadn’t really thought about it until I realized I hadn’t had a massage since I went home for a couple of days before the announcement. I need to ask her if she has someone she can recommend here.”

  “That would be the best option most likely.”

  “She had talked about moving to San Majoria before. She has family there. I don’t know how serious she was.”

  Esme heard the blankets on his table shifting. She looked over to realized he’d moved to his stomach, but she never had. That likely accounted for the lapse in conversation near the end.

  “Traditionally, craniosacral massages are done solely on the back, but I hurt my lower back a few years ago in a fall. I can’t lie flat and still that long,” he explained.

  “I see.” She needed to look this up later. Slowly, she convinced herself to move as well. “I think I’m about ready for sleep.”

  “You don’t want to watch a few more episodes of 2 Cool 4 School?” he asked.

  Who knew they would have bonded over a ten-year-old teeny bopper show from the States and sappy movies? “Not right now. I think I’m going to read a book for a little while and call it a night.”

  Gabe took her hand and walked her back to her suite and then to her room. He kissed her cheek. “Good night, Esmeralda. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He turned to leave, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Gabe, you can call me Esme.”

  The half-grin slid into place. “I’d like that. Thank you.”

  9

  The flight to Auverignon was strangely silent, except for the noise of the plane itself. After a week on the island, they’d taken a boat back to the capital, waved to the onlookers near the dock, then went directly to the airport.

  From there they boarded the plane and took off.

  This trip would be different.

  Yes, he and Esme would stay in his apartment, but it wouldn’t really be his anymore. It hadn’t been redecorated or anything at this point, but it would never be home again.

  The attention would be different. Before the questions would be about the women he’d been seen with. This time, they would be about his wife, and, hopefully, about the charities he supported. They were all worthy causes and deserved the attention more than he did.

  “How long until we land?”

  Esme sat in a chair not too far from him. Slacks hid her shapely legs, but not her waist. Her top did when she stood, but not at the moment. Her heels rested off to the side.

  Gabe forced his eyes off her and onto his watch. “About two hours, I think. I’m not sure what time we actually took off.”

  She nodded toward the television. “Can we stream movies on that thing in flight?”

  He grinned. “We sure can. Anything in particular?”

  “Something fun. Not HEA TV right now. Maybe that movie in the arcade with the racecars? It looked cute when I saw part of it.”

  Was it a cartoon? He asked her a couple other questions then used his phone to try to figure it out. “Wreck-it Ralph?” He held up his phone with a picture on it.

  “Yes!” Her child-like glee made him laugh. He found the remote, pressed the buttons, found the movie, bought the digital version since he couldn’t stream it through any of the subscriptions he already had access to, then pressed start.

  The best part was where the television was situated.

  They both moved to the small couch across from it and buckled in at the insistence of the pilot who said there might be some turbulence.

  Gabe stretched his legs out in front of him as the opening credits finished and the movie began. About the time the villain-turned-hero Ralph made it to the candy racing game, the plane dropped suddenly.

  Esme didn’t squeal, but she did gasp and grip his arm.

  “You all right?” he asked, wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I hate those drops, too.” His stomach would likely take a while to settle back down.

  “I’m fine. Just startled.”

  The plane continued through the turbulence, though not quite as bad as the initial moment.

  Gabe didn’t move his arm from around his wife, and she didn’t shrug it off. By the time the credits rolled at the end of the movie, the pilot had told them they’d be landing in just a few minutes. Gabe didn’t generally watch many children’s movies, but he admitted to himself it was funny.

  “What’s on the agenda when we arrive?” she asked as the wheels lowered beneath them.

  “There’s a small welcoming ceremony when we land. There will be cameras and a few local representatives, but there shouldn’t be any questions. Just a small meet and greet. My family will be waiting for us at the palace.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. Could she dread these things as much as he sometimes did?

  As soon as the steward nodded at her, Esme went to the back of the plane, likely to find her stylist and touch up her makeup. Gabe didn’t think she needed it, but he knew how these things went.

  The plane taxied to the correct spot on the tarmac. In a few minutes, they would exit. Someone else would see to their things after the cameras were gone.

  He probably should have talked to Esme about what kind of behaviors they’d need to portray in public, but she likely knew better than he did.

  About fifteen minutes after the plane came to a stop, they were in place and the door opened.

  There wasn’t much fanfare. No cheering crowd waited, just some local dignitar
ies like the mayor and a few members of Parliament, along with a few schoolchildren.

  Like a gentleman, Gabe let Esme walk ahead of him down the stairs, but he was only a step behind when she reached the bottom. He rested his hand on the small of her back as he shook the mayor’s hand and introduced Esme.

  He even remembered her titles.

  The mayor took care of the rest of the introductions.

  Gabe was almost an afterthought.

  The dignitary would greet Esme and talk for a moment then, once she moved on, turn to Gabe to greet him, but there was very little discussion with him.

  The schoolchildren gathered around her. Even from the slight distance, Gabe could tell she was taking her time and making each one of them feel special. They all said hello to him and bowed their heads or curtsied, but that was all before turning their attention back to Esme.

  Odd.

  Unless Esme was just a sort of oddity that attracted all of the attention.

  That was likely the case. She was the new royal on the block as it were and, therefore, a subject of fascination.

  After a few more minutes, they moved on to the car waiting for them.

  There wasn’t a parade route for them, but there were a number of spectators lining the streets near the airport and again near the palace.

  “Smile and wave, right?” Esme already sounded tired as she did just that. Could she be anxious about meeting with his parents? They’d met before and spent a little time together at the wedding. Was a more casual, intimate setting the difference? They were now family, after all.

  Or was it the expectation they’d share a room for the next few days?

  Before he could ask, the gates swung open and the car entered the outer courtyard. In just a few seconds, they went through another gate and pulled up to a portico. A footman opened the car door. As they walked through the open doors into the palace, Gabe kept his hand on Esme’s back.

  Maybe he could give her a small measure of comfort or support against whatever bothered her. Really, it was the least he could try to do as they greeted several members of his family, including his grandfather, the king, and the next two members in the line of succession.

  He’d wondered how Esme would do with the protocol, which was slightly different than in Sargasso, but he needn’t have worried.

  She handled everything so beautifully, it was almost like he wasn’t even there.

  * * *

  Long ago, Esme had come to accept she would often be the center of attention despite her natural tendency to stay more in the background.

  She hadn’t expected Gabe to fade back though. Was he giving her a chance to shine or trying to avoid questions he didn’t want to answer?

  The queen, Esme’s new grandmother-in-law shooed everyone else away. “Leave them be. It’s been a long day.” She glared at her son, Gabe’s father and Esme’s father-in-law. “Let them get some rest. Go on.”

  She waved her hands in front of her in a shooing motion. Proof she had once been a commoner? Esme couldn’t imagine anyone she knew, who had been raised in a royal family or various aristocracies, actually shooing someone.

  After a few quick see-you-laters, Esme was alone with Gabe. “Where do we go now?” she asked him.

  “My room to rest, I suppose.”

  His hand rested on her lower back again. She kind of liked it, far more than she would have guessed. He didn’t say much as they walked toward the same staircase his family had used.

  “We don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to,” he told her quietly. “I know you grew up in a palace, but I also know it can be overwhelming when it’s not home. If you wanted to go somewhere else, we can. There are homes for visiting VIPs or one of several resorts with high enough security for us.”

  She shook her head. The idea of being away from the scrutiny of his family did hold some appeal, but she needed to learn to deal with these people on a familial basis. Eventually, she’d be dealing with either her father-in-law or brother-in-law on an official basis. She would be queen of Islas del Sargasso and one of them would be king of Auverignon. There needed to be a good working relationship.

  “Here is fine, though if we’re ever on an official state visit on behalf of the Sargassian government, it might be better to stay elsewhere, just to distinguish between family visits.”

  He pointed down a hall. “This way then. We won’t be here the whole week anyway. We’re spending two nights in other towns while we tour.”

  “There’s nothing on the agenda this evening is there?” She’d double checked, but sometimes things changed. Usually, Judy would notify her as soon as possible for something so close, but things could be missed - or Judy didn’t know about a change.

  “Not that I’m aware of. I believe we’re having dinner with my family, but that’s the only thing.”

  Lovely. If it was anything like dinner with her grandparents before the death of her grandfather, it would be an incredibly formal affair. Not quite like a ball and no tiaras would be necessary, but definitely fancier than her dinner with Gabe the last few nights.

  Gabe’s hand dropped from her back, and he used both hands and a good portion of his body weight to push open a set of wooden double doors. He held one for her to enter.

  The sitting room reminded her of the one her grandmother had favored when Esme was young, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. Like most rooms in the palace, the furniture could likely tell stories dating back centuries. Gabe didn’t stop to admire any of the pieces. Esme would have to later.

  “This is home away from home for the next few days.” Gabe opened another ornate door, though this one was much closer to the size of a normal door.

  She followed him into his bedroom. Rather than a sitting room with several attached bedrooms like she had, it was one large room with an antique four-poster bed dominating one wall and a sitting area on the other side near a fireplace.

  “This is all of it.” Gabe had shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “Not as big as your suite, I’m sure.”

  She pasted a smile on her face. They would be sharing this room for most of the next week. “It’s lovely.”

  “But not what you were hoping for. I know you don’t want to sleep in the same bed with me. I get that. If you want me to, I’ll sleep on the floor, but trust me when I say no one wants to sleep on that sofa, and it’s really the only other option in here.”

  Esme walked toward the sitting area to test it for herself. “Your furniture isn’t comfortable?”

  “The bed is. So is the large chair.” He shrugged without taking his hands out. “I use the rest rarely enough it never mattered to me. Someone else decorated it. I just lived here.”

  The way he said it made her sad. To live somewhere, even in a palace, should feel like home.

  “You don’t have to sleep on the floor.”

  That seemed to relieve him. “Thank you.”

  “One of us can always sleep above the sheet and the other below.” That small concession would help her feel a bit more... secure wasn’t the right word. She didn’t feel unsafe around him. That is, Esme thought she trusted him not to kiss her or push her further than she wanted to go.

  But after the last few days being close to him in the plunge pool or on the sofa in her quarters watching movies, she wasn’t sure she trusted herself.

  Wasn’t sure she trusted her physical side, the side that found her husband amazingly attractive, to understand that the emotional side wasn’t ready for more than already existed between them.

  “If that makes you comfortable, then we can do that.” He finally moved his hands and walked toward a couple of doors on the far side. “The bathroom, closet, and dressing rooms are through these doors. They can be accessed from a back hallway, allowing staff members to get in and out without bothering us while we sleep.”

  “That’s nice.”

  He opened one of the doors. Through it she could see his wardrobe, with some empty space fo
r the things brought for her.

  “Would you like to change? Maybe take a nap before dinner?” He watched her expectantly.

  “What are you going to do?” Both of those things sounded wonderful, but she didn’t want to become known as the resident lazy royal either.

  “Probably read or take a nap myself.”

  Esme nodded. “As long as you’re staying in here taking it easy, I will, too.”

  * * *

  Gabe wasn’t certain what Esme meant by her last statement, but he decided it didn’t really matter.

  He waited for her to come out of the dressing room, but instead she called to him.

  “Gabe, my clothes aren’t here yet. Do you have anything that might fit?”

  “I probably have some sweat pants and a t-shirt in the drawers under the shoes.”

  The drawers opened and closed a few times before he heard her go into the dressing room. A few minutes later, she emerged pulling a drawstring on a pair of pants with his secondary school mascot emblazoned on it. The faded t-shirt had matched years earlier.

  Gabe changed quickly and came back to find her sitting on the couch he’d warned her about.

  “You’d think you could find something more comfortable to put in here.” Esme kind of bounced on it, but he knew from experience it didn’t bounce.

  “I warned you.” Gabe tugged his t-shirt on over his head. “The chairs are just as bad, except the one I always use. No one else is ever in here with me, remember?” He nodded toward the chair. “Sit there.”

  She did but Gabe sat next to her. The chair was big enough for both of them if they squished a little bit. He counted it a win that Esme leaned her head toward him rather than pushing him away.

  “I still can’t believe you didn’t insist on a better sofa though. Where do you nap?”

  He stretched his legs, reached to the side, and flipped up the footrest then leaned the chair back. “Right here.” He shifted until his arm wrapped around Esme. She still didn’t protest but snuggled into his side.