Fair and square.
Kenrick just sat there thinking of Princess Adelaide. That was what he was doing those two full days. He would have breakfast late in the morning, not even look at his usual newspapers. He would have lunch towards evening, and he would not even watch television. He would have dinner, if at all, by midnight. His entire life had gone topsy-turvy.
This was not Kenrick. This was definitely not Prince Kenrick Royce. The royal scion who played with the lives – and bodies – of countless women, now suddenly at the mercy of just one. Doomsday was near; what was never thought possible was now coming true.
It struck him that he knew nothing about Princess Adelaide. As far as he was concerned, his new stepsister was a total stranger to him. She, on the other hand, probably knew all about him. He was this celebrity, among the most well-known faces of the times, and easily one of the top trending names on the Web.
That was it – he had to know about her. He had to get a complete lowdown on this new woman in his life; well, not yet in his life.
But soon will be, he assured himself.
"I, Prince Kenrick, have to know her," he kept repeating to himself, like a man gone crazy.
He, who had never even bothered to know the names of the women he'd bedded, now suddenly wanted to know everything about this one woman he had yet to bed – and had not much hopes of bedding.
And that woman happened to be his stepsister.
But how to know her? She was so like a wall, so impenetrable like a rock. How was he to know her? Was there a way, a shortcut, to understand this enigma called Princess Adelaide?
*****
Well into the wee hours of the night, Kenrick lay in his bed, tossing and turning. This was a new experience for him… he was forever the one who gave others sleepless nights. And now he was at the receiving end. Some quirk of fate!
The farther she was from him, the closer he wanted to go towards her. And the more she detested him, the more determined he was to win her over.
That was the challenge facing Prince Kenrick Royce.
Chapter Nineteen
She'd finally chosen a poem.
It was, according to her, the most hard-hitting among all eight, and most faithfully reflected her precarious position just then. She was handpicked, as it were, from her comfortable existence and placed inside this palace, which was fit for royalty, but where a commoner like her felt suffocated in it.
It was as if the gods were envious of her and the comfortable life that she'd been leading. They wanted some cruel fun to kill time, and they chose probably the happiest girl in all of the universe. And so they bundled her out into this locked dungeon with the softest mattresses and coziest pillows.
The poem was titled 'The Golden Cage'.
She rang Cate.
"Hey Catie," she said into the receiver.
"I've decided to go with The Golden Cage."
"I knew you would," her friend replied.
"It's very powerful."
"Now let's keep our fingers crossed."
"Oh, not to worry, I'm sure you'll win the special jury prize," assured Cate.
"Well, really," said Addie.
"I'm not concerned about winning. If I could get my message across, about this divide between royalty and the middle class, I would think my job done."
"Addie," chimed in Cate.
"Are you trying to be a crusader or something?"
"No way."
"Don't forget, you're now part of the same royalty that you criticize so much."
"So?"
"So nothing. Just don't come across as a hypocrite."
Cate had a point.
"All right, point noted."
"You also have protocols to worry about... Maybe you should check with your mum."
"Mum? I haven't seen her in ages."
"Why, don't you meet each other at least once a day?"
"No."
Addie was silent for a while.
"See, this is what I mean."
"Yeah but Addie, you can't expect to live your former life now. Things have changed drastically."
"Yes," said Addie, thoughtful.
"Things have changed."
"Anyway, all I'm saying is, be careful. You can't be footloose and fancy free like before."
"Why, is that a privilege of only the menfolk in the royal family?"
She was referring to her new wild stepbrother, Kenrick, of course.
Cate laughed.
"I know what you mean," she said, deftly steering Addie clear of that sensitive topic.
"I think your governess might be a good bet. Get her view on this."
"Good idea," agreed Addie.
"I will talk to her and let you know what she feels."
"Do it quick. You have just a day."
"Okay."
Addie hung up.
*****
The princess waited for the afternoon. That was when Mrs. Bradford was relatively free, finishing her quotidian chores.
"Mrs. Bradford, Beverly," she called her governess.
"Would you please come and sit with me for a moment."
The old lady knew that this was something critical. The request to sit next to Princess Adelaide meant an important question was coming her way.
"Yes, my sweet."
She sat in the chair at her table without protesting like last time. She was learning the ways of this down-to-earth, simple, princess-next-door.
"Mrs. Bradford, a question as usual," said Addie.
"Yes, my child."
"Do you think… it's okay to speak against royalty?"
"For you, my child?"
"Yes."
"No."
"Why, are there any protocols to that effect?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
"Also, in your case," the governess cleared her throat.
"You're not a born royal. You were chosen from millions of commoners to become a royal – which adds even more responsibility."
"Oh."
"The royal family expects you to be obedient, faithful and loyal. It is included in the covenant you signed when assuming the title of Your Royal Highness, and when you became Princess Adelaide."
"Oh."
Mrs. Bradford stayed silent, having answered Addie's question comprehensively. It was not of her business to ask why or to know what it was the princess was planning. If the princess opened up on her own accord, finding Mrs. Bradford to be a worthy confidant, that was a different matter entirely.
"I wanted to read out a poem for my university's Annual Day," Addie opened up of her own accord.
"It is, in places, rather critical of royalty."
"I understand," said Mrs. Bradford, appreciating Addie's gesture.
Adelaide was quiet, lost in her thoughts.
"Is it about a particular royal personage?" the governess asked.
The recent visitor to Addie's chambers was at the top of her mind.
"No," answered Addie.
"It's on royalty in general. And the chasm between them and their subjects. Because I feel strongly about it. I've always thought that they live on another planet."
"Okay."
"Would you like to read it, Mrs. Bradford?" asked Addie, reaching for her leather folder.
"If you want me to, my child."
The old woman was guarded as always.
"Oh Beverly," Addie was almost heartbroken.
"Please don't talk like that. You still treat me like an outsider."
"My dear," her governess's eyes were moist.
"Affection is one thing, duty is another. And there's a fine line between the two."
That was so profound, Addie wanted to note it down somewhere.
"Mrs. Bradford," she said in the tone of a request.
"Please don't, for a moment, think that I'm this high and mighty princess this or that. I'm just Addie. So please read this with an open mind, and give me your objective views."
She handed her a sheet of paper.
It had scarcely eight lines on it.
Mrs. Bradford took it and removed her spectacles. She wiped her lenses with a handkerchief and put her glasses back on again. Then she read the poem.
Addie watched her governess. This lady must have, like her, lost her freedom when she entered the palace premises. The only difference between them was Addie was 'part' of the family, and she was a member of the palace staff. But their situation was the same. Both were trapped in the confines of this luxury resort.
But, Addie had to agree that she was better off. Her so-called privileges protected her to a large extent, and if she so wished, she could call the shots. But it was not in her nature to be high handed or haughty. She was really just a plain Jane, who loved it that way.
Not for her were the arc lights or preferential treatment. She liked it best when she was left alone and she could curl up in her bed with a book, or when she could shut herself in her room and write something. This kind of constant hounding in the name of royal protocols was exasperating.
There was another way she was fortunate – fortunate enough to override the huge fortune of being inducted into the royal family. She was free to leave it all behind and migrate elsewhere; say, to another country. She could live there like a free individual, away from the fetters of royalty. It was something that was always in the back of her mind. For now, of course, it was her mother's emotional blackmailing that bound her to this place. For as long as it was possible, she told herself.
"I've read it," confirmed the governess, waking up Addie from her daydreaming.
"Great," said Addie.
"And what do you think?"
"Go ahead and read it on your Annual Day."
Chapter Twenty
It would be easy.
But then again, everything was easy for Prince Kenrick. All he had to do was instruct one of his many assistants for a report on Princess Adelaide. In a matter of hours, he would have a folder on his desk. And then he would know everything there is to know about his new stepsister.
Hold on!
Kenrick stopped himself from thinking any further. His hand had almost reached the button to ring for his assistant.
This was a sure recipe for disaster. In his capacity as prince and heir apparent to the throne of the kingdom, he could not initiate a request for a report on his own stepsister! That would be enough grist for the rumor mills and the tabloids to go ballistic on that! It was a strict no-no.
In fact, this secret need of his MUST remain a secret. It could not be taken out of the four walls of his heart. This was that kind of a mission.
That wanker Pat. He could have done this for Kenrick. He already knew of Kenrick's little thing for his new stepsister, and he could have been trusted with this task. But the bastard had to leave just then! And Kenrick did not even know where he was headed.
He could call him, but… lately Pat had been getting on his nerves, and now with his mental state in a state of disarray, the last thing he wanted was his best friend throwing tantrums at the wrong time.
No, he had to do it himself. He had to do this on his own.
That was the problem with something as secretive as this. It simply could not be entrusted with anyone else.
If I were to die today, thought Kenrick, this secret would go with me to my grave.
He went into his study. The study of Prince Kenrick was a lot bigger than Princess Adelaide's. It had a large room with bookshelves towering along the walls, with a central area that had chairs and tables.
Obviously, it was not meant for one person. The prince could, if he so wished, bring in any number of his friends, and all of them could be accommodated in the study. And he himself had an anteroom where he could pore over world problems – if only he wished.
That was a big If.
Today, of course, he was not only alone in the large brown room, he was also alone in his task. He sat at his large mahogany desk with his MacBook Pro open. He clicked on the Google icon.
This was the first time he had clicked on Google in more than ten years.
That was a loaded statement, and it was true. Kenrick always had people to do things for him that normal people would do themselves. Even a simple, everyday task like Googling something was delegated to someone else. For most people, browsing the Internet was a pleasure. For Kenrick, of course, there were other things FAR more pleasurable.
For a moment, Kenrick thought he forgot how to search. Or even how to browse. Naturally, all he had to do was key in the words 'Princess Adelaide' in the little box provided, where a small cursor was blinking.
In his panic, he even worried about his ability to type. Desperate, he tried one-finger typing and somehow managed to type in the two words required.
To his utter surprise, a million pages were returned in nanoseconds. How had his stepsister become so famous?!
And to his anger, a whole set of photos opened under the heading 'Princess Adelaide images'. He clicked on them quite inadvertently, and several prompts opened: Princess Adelaide hot, Princess Adelaide topless, Princess Adelaide nude, Princess Adelaide extreme. He clicked one of these at random, and there opened tons of revealing pictures of his stepsister – obviously Photoshopped.
"What bollocks!" Kenrick shouted, appalled.
"Is there no way to control this kind of shit?!"
"Focus, Kenrick, focus," he told himself under his breath.
Now was the time to keep his eyes and mind on the job at hand. He could always go back to the Photoshopped pictures at leisure, flag them and report them to Google. Or get someone under him to remove them.
For now he had to know who this animal was. This animal called Princess Adelaide.
*****
For the next six hours, Kenrick was lost in the world of the new princess. For the record, it was the longest he'd sat in one place in his entire life.
He got up, and every bone in his body was aching. That was also a first. His whole body had never ached this way ever before. But then again, he had never embarked on a project this unique.
He stretched his body. Cracked his knuckles. Did a few quick pushups. All of this business of getting to know his stepsister, he was neglecting his gym time as well. How it had turned his world upside-down!
Nothing about Adelaide was easy, he mused. Not even pouring over information about her! It took him all that time, but quick learner that he was, he absorbed every bit of data and stored it in the superfast CPU that was his brain.
And having now understood almost everything about her – at least on paper; digital paper, that is – he appreciated her even more. This here was not your ordinary girl; she might have been middle class, but there was nothing middle class about her thinking. Her thoughts, her beliefs and convictions, her life philosophy – it was all up there with the finest intellectuals of the time. And to think she was so young!
To be honest, Kenrick was afraid. Very afraid.
Adelaide was not one bit as he had imagined. He had thought her to be chalk – she turned out to be cheese.
And what a piece of fine cheese she was! She intimidated him, and that added yet another dimension of magnetism to this incredible girl. What a woman she was, and what fun it would be to conquer her!
She was more than six years younger than him, he realized. And light years ahead.
Chapter Twenty-One
"Did you know Addie," Cate was speaking to her on the phone.
"What?"
"That Prince Kenrick is the chief guest at our Annual Day?"
"…"
And today was that day.
Addie was not particularly nervous. She had done poetry recitals before, and in front of august gatherings – the likes of her professors and renowned poets. She was not perturbed by the size of the audience, either. But this news she heard – this could be the game changer.
Royal S.O.B. (A Bad Boy Romance) Page 8