She laughed and interacted with them, keeping them from talking over each other too much. Finally, she sent them upstairs to bed, promising that she’d try to be home earlier the next day.
Dave didn’t know what changed, but he was proud of her. “There’s a plate for you in the kitchen. Would you like me to take it to your quarters?”
With a shake of her head, she stood, once again without shoes. “Kitchen is fine tonight.”
“Your Royal Highness.” The cook bowed slightly as she walked in. “I have your dinner waiting for you.”
“Thank you.” She took a seat at the eat-in table.
Dave took the seat next to her. “Want to talk about it? Things went well?”
She nodded but didn’t say anything until she swallowed her bite. “Much better than yesterday.” Her eyes twinkled as she looked around. “I kind of read them the riot act, got us new accommodations, ditched more than half the men who were there just to intimidate me, and started the negotiations over. I even got some concessions they wouldn’t have considered yesterday.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Good on ya. I’m proud of you.”
After a sip of water, she pointed her fork at him. “I thought of it while you were giving me that neck massage last night. What was the worst that could have happened? They stop talking all together.” She leaned closer, nearly giddy. “I might have insinuated I’d go to the press and let the people of Athmetis know that their government didn’t have the funds to house foreign dignitaries properly. I also threatened to bill them for my wasted time and then let them explain it to the people.”
Dave threw back his head and let loose with one of the biggest laughs he’d had in a long time. He could hardly breathe by the time it slowed to a mere chuckle. “I love it. They know better than to mess with you now. I’m certain your father will be quite proud of you. This is why he knew he could send you on trips like this. It might have taken you a day to find your inner negotiator, but now that you have? Watch out world.”
She grinned then leaned in and whispered. “Does this place have hot water?”
He smiled back. “I’ve already taken two showers and didn’t come close to running out of hot water.”
“Thank God. Literally.” She ate one more bite of her food and pushed the nearly empty plate away. “The food is significantly better, too.”
He took her dishes and set them in the sink as she started for the stairs.
“I can’t decide. Long hot shower or long soak in the tub.” She turned. “Do you know if my room has a tub?”
Dave shrugged. “Mine does and the girls’ do, but I haven’t been in your quarters.”
“No matter. Either one would be wonderful.” She took the stairs two at a time. “Or maybe both.”
He chuckled as he followed more slowly. At least he didn’t have to worry overly much about the neighbors in this building. There was plenty of open space and more security than had been visible at the other house. He relished the chance to get some better sleep. After tossing and turning on a mattress that was hard as a rock the night before, turning in early sounded wonderful.
As he sunk into the much more comfortable bed, he prayed that Jacqueline Grace had found her voice and that the next day would go even better than this one had.
Being ushered directly into the conference room surprised Jacqueline Grace. She’d arrived ten minutes earlier than expected and had thought she’d be kept waiting for at least fifteen, just so the Trade Minister could show his dominance.
Instead, the men were milling about the conference room talking in a group of two and another of three with the assistant still off to the side.
She went to her seat and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “I’ve made a few notations on yesterday’s notes. I trust you’ll find my memory is impeccable.” It really wasn’t, but the inaccuracies were glaring.
The Trade Minister glared at his assistant then tilted his head toward the door. The room cleared, leaving her alone with him.
He leaned forward, resting his weight on his hands braced against the table. “You called the king?”
It took every bit of acting skill she could muster, but Jacqueline Grace forced herself not to react. “What makes you ask that?”
“The call I received last night from the king. He said you’d been complaining about the negotiations and threatened to fire me. It was purely for show, of course. It’s not the first time. He only does it so he can say he did.”
She shook her head. “Wednesday I was quite unhappy with how things were going, but yesterday went very well. If things had continued as they were, I might have put a call in to the king, but I did not. I don’t know who might be after your job or have some ulterior motive to make such a call, but it wasn’t me nor was it anyone I’m associated with.”
He studied her through narrowed eyes then nodded. “Very well, but I would recommend you not go behind my back again.”
“I didn’t go behind your back the first time.” She stared him down as she had the day before. “Threats against me, even veiled ones in private, will not go over well with my father. I recommend you keep them to yourself, or, better yet, not think them at all.”
He took his seat and motioned for the others to come back in. They must have been watching through the glass window in the door because they did so immediately. Once they were seated, one of the other men took over the negotiations.
Jacqueline Grace found him knowledgeable and tough, but fair. Negotiations with him continued through lunch.
The afternoon went faster than expected, and they finished everything on the agenda much sooner than scheduled.
When she returned to the house, the girls were playing in the pool with Dave.
“How did it go?” he called as he walked toward her. Both girls had life vests built into their swimsuits so, though he kept an eye on them, he didn’t need to be within arms’ reach at all times.
“Much better. It’s still preliminary until my father and the King of Athmetis meet in a few months, but I think my father will be pleased.”
“Good.”
She had to force herself to focus on Dave’s face and not the rest of him. “If it’s all right with Tim, do you want to take the girls out for dinner tonight?”
Kiara heard the question. “No!”
That confused Jacqueline Grace. Kiara almost always wanted to go out to eat. “Why not?”
“The cook promised to let them help make dinner,” Dave told her, as a chuckle escaped.
Her grin widened. “I can see the appeal.”
Something undefined crossed his face. “Do we know when we’re heading for Sargasso yet?”
Jacqueline Grace sank to the chair behind her. “Would you be all right if we go this evening? Let the girls sleep on the plane. My family will start arriving tomorrow.” First in would be Esther, Darius, and the babies.
Dave shrugged. “That’s fine with me. I’m just along for the ride, princess.”
She stood. “I’m going to get changed and let Kirsten know the plan.”
The laughter of the little girls followed Jacqueline Grace as she went through the house and made her smile. Fifteen minutes later, she wore yoga pants and an old t-shirt she found in her clothes but didn’t recognize. It was comfortable enough that she didn’t care.
The next two hours kept that smile on her face. Chef wouldn’t let her or Dave help. They sat on bar stools and watched as Chef worked with the girls to make a local dish.
Both girls had great fun, but Kiara seemed to do extra well. Maybe Jacqueline Grace needed to have someone work with Kiara regularly back home.
Finally, they sat at the table in the kitchen.
Dave, as had become their pattern, said a blessing over the meal taking extra time to be thankful for the ones who made it.
The girls giggled over that.
Jacqueline Grace took her first bite. “This is delicious.” She closed her eyes as she savored it.
�
�I know, Jacquie.” Kiara had sampled as they went, but the annoyance in her voice needed to be addressed.
“Remember to be polite,” Jacqueline Grace reminded gently.
“Sorry, Jacquie.” Now she sounded appropriately contrite.
“Let’s try again.” After taking another bite, Jacqueline Grace exclaimed, “This is delicious.”
“Thank you, Jacquie!” the girls cried in unison.
Jacqueline Grace tried to hide her smile behind her water glass. She met Dave’s eyes instead. The twinkle there was too much, and she started to laugh. In just a few seconds, the rest of those at the table had joined her, though she knew the girls didn’t really understand why.
Dinner took longer than it should have, but Jacqueline Grace wouldn’t have traded it. The girls chattered on about all the fun things they’d done on the trip. Watching Dave with them showed her what she was going to miss out on when she had to find someone else.
By the time they finished, their belongings had been packed and loaded in a car while the SUV waited for them. The drive to the airport didn’t take long. At least they didn’t have to wait in the regular line to check in.
Kirsten motioned to her and Jacqueline Grace stepped off to the side with her. “Yes?”
Her assistant’s face had gone ashen. “We may have a problem.”
Whatever it was, it couldn’t be that bad. “What is it?”
Kirsten took a deep breath. “The girls’ passports are missing.”
16
Dave glanced over and noticed Jacqueline Grace talking with Kirsten and looking stressed. They started digging through the bag Kirsten almost always had with her.
Jacqueline Grace rubbed the back of her neck as her shoulders slumped. After a few seconds, she turned and motioned for him to come over.
He sat the girls down on a bench. “Wait right here.” Plenty of other people were around to keep an eye on them, but they needed to listen anyway. “What’s going on?” he asked when he reached Jacqueline Grace’s side.
“Do you have Mary’s passport by chance?” She couldn’t hide the stress in her voice.
“No.” He tried to think back. “It was with everyone else’s I thought. Didn’t Kirsten keep everyone’s together?”
Jacqueline Grace nodded. “She did and put them in the safe at the original house and retrieved them from the safe at the new house, but the girls’ are both missing.”
Her stress started to bleed over onto him. “I haven’t seen them since we landed the other day.” Even then Kirsten had handled all of it.
Though she looked composed, he could tell Jacqueline Grace was feeling the pressure. “We’ll send someone back to the house and look for them. Did you check everyone’s when they were moved from one house to the other?”
Kirsten shook her head. “I wasn’t there when the move began. Everything in the safe had already been moved.”
Jacqueline Grace motioned to Tim. As they expanded their circle to include him, she spoke softly. “Who was in charge of moving things from safe to safe when we changed houses?”
Tim nodded toward Kirsten. “I was at the Ministry with you but was told Kirsten handled it.”
She shook her head. “It was done when I got back.”
Tim’s face took on a hard line. “No one should have had access to the safe without one of us there.”
Jacqueline Grace sucked in a deep breath. “First things first. Can we leave without the girls’ passports?”
With his arms crossed over his chest, Tim looked over at the girls. “Kiara possibly since she’s sort of a member of the royal family. If she was biologically your daughter, or even adopted, she would be able to. She wouldn’t be able to enter, but she may be able to leave. It’s unlikely Mary will be able to.” He stepped away, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he did. A minute later, two security teams left the building, probably one to go to each house.
“What do we do?” Jacqueline Grace grew more tense before his eyes.
Dave spoke before Kirsten or Tim could. “We don’t panic. Most likely one of the teams will find them, and we’ll be on our way an hour later than planned.”
Jacqueline Grace turned to look at him. “And if they don’t find them?”
Without letting himself think about it, Dave put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Tim and Kristen moved away, heads together, likely trying to figure out what they would do if the passports weren’t found in a timely fashion.
“Is there a San Majorian embassy in Athmetis?” he asked, not letting go of her.
“No. There’s a consulate, but the embassy in Ravenzario serves for all of Belles Montagnes, Athmetis, and a few other countries. There are a few other embassies in Europe, but that’s the one over this area. We could have stayed there if there was an embassy.”
Good point. Dave had studied foreign relations some before joining the military, though he’d never looked at it in quite that much detail. But he’d never been a king’s official representative for trade negotiations either.
“Regardless of what it’s called, will they be able to help us?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I think all passport issues have to be handled by the embassy. We can do the paperwork here, but it has to be sent off to be processed.”
“And being the princess won’t help?”
Jacqueline Grace leaned her head against him. “If my passport was missing, maybe. Kiara is my ward, but she’s not legally a member of the family. It definitely won’t help Mary.”
“Then we wait for the teams to come back with the passports.” Against his better judgment, Dave turned his head and pressed a kiss to Jacqueline Grace’s head before leaning his cheek against it.
The churning in his gut said it wouldn’t be that simple.
Kiara called for Jacqueline Grace, so he squeezed her shoulder before letting her go. As she went to the girls, he joined Tim and Kirsten.
He kept an eye on Jacqueline Grace and spoke softly, so she wouldn’t hear. “I’m guessing the passports are gone, and I’m sure you feel the same way.”
The look in Tim’s eyes told Dave he was right.
“So how do we get the girls, especially Mary, out of the country? The princess says passport inquiries have to go to Ravenzario.”
Tim nodded. “She’s right. I’m getting in touch with someone at the palace here in Athmetica. Like you suspect, Kiara should be fine, but Mary will be more difficult.”
“What about a call from King Edward? Could he use his influence?”
“Maybe.” Tim shook his head. “No. He’s already left for the resort in Sargasso. Communication to anywhere but Cabo Juan Eduardo is limited.” Tim’s phone rang, and he stepped to the side to answer.
“Do you have any ideas?” he asked Kirsten.
She shook her head. “Not yet, but we’ll see what happens. Hopefully, they were just misplaced somehow. Marian is supervising a luggage search.”
Tim rejoined the conversation. “The first house has already been cleaned thoroughly by the staff. Nothing turned up. They’re searching again under the supervision of my men. There’s a search ongoing at the second house.”
“You don’t think we’re going to find them, do you?” Kirsten asked.
Tim shook his head. “It’s too odd. No one should have been able to get into that safe without one of us there, but someone did. The passports were together, right?”
Kirsten nodded. “I rubber banded nearly a dozen together.”
“Then they should all be missing or all here. That the two girls’ are the only ones missing tells me this is likely deliberate.”
The same thing had occurred to Dave, but he’d been hoping to be wrong.
Dave sighed. “The big question now is who stole them, and what’s their larger end goal?”
Keeping her attention on the girls was difficult for Jacqueline Grace while Dave talked with Kirsten and Ti
m. She wanted to be part of the conversation but from the grim looks on their faces, she suspected she wouldn’t like the direction it was going.
After about ten minutes, Dave joined her and the girls but didn’t say anything about the discussion. The girls were starting to get restless when Miriam came over to watch them.
Tim, Kirsten, and Dave joined her off to the side.
“The passports are nowhere to be found.” Tim looked like he could barely control his anger. “Best guess is that they were stolen by whoever removed them from the safe. The Athmeticans didn’t have anything to do with it. I’m almost certain of that. Their head of Diplomatic Security is livid. They’re willing to let Kiara leave since she’s a ward of the royal family, but Mary isn’t.”
Dave ran a hand through his hair. “I know some people back home who might have some pull.”
“No one would have more pull than King Edward,” Tim pointed out. “He’s basically out of contact.”
He shook his head. “I mean in New Sargasso.”
“What kind of influence would they have, though? You’re not a New Sargassian subject anymore.” Jacqueline Grace turned to Tim. “Can Dave sign her guardianship over to me? That would make Mary my ward at least until we get home. Just like Kiara.”
“It wouldn’t work. Because it would be for the sole purpose of getting her out of the country, it would be frowned upon at best and considered criminal activity at worst.” Tim smirked. “It would be different if she was still legally Dave’s ward but the two of you were married. Then he’d be a prince and a member of the royal family, and she’d be his ward. That would give her the same status as Kiara.” Tim glanced at his phone. “I’ve got a call in to the king of Athmetis to see if he can help make an exception this time. I likely won’t speak to him, but his assistant could be able to.”
“Maybe I can get through directly to the king.” As a member of the royal family, she should have some clout, right?
“I can make a request for a meeting on your behalf, miss.” Kirsten tapped on her phone and walked a few feet away. A minute later she returned. “The king will see you in half an hour or as soon as you can get there. The drive will take nearly that long. He requested Mr. Smith be present as well.”
Her Undercover Prince Page 12