Charlotte & Nate (Royals of Valleria #4)

by Marianne Knightly

  Nate paused in the kitchen, a French press in one hand and a bag of fresh Vallerian roast coffee beans in the other. While he could have ordered fresh coffee from the kitchens, he preferred making his own in the mornings. “Groups?”

  Marcello nodded as he leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms over his chest. “There’s the Anti-Monarchist Group, the Constitutional Monarchy Imperative, Vallerian Patriots, and a couple others.”

  “You think there’s someone out there working for the government who wants to see the government demolished?”

  “No. I think there’s someone out there who wants to see the monarchy demolished and a different government put in its place, and they just happen to work for the government, too.”

  Nate scoffed while he ground the beans and poured the coarse grounds into the press. “They’re not really sticking to their principles, are they? Working for us, taking the money they earn, and then also stealing more?”

  “I doubt they’re very concerned about principles at this point. It may have started out that way, but once this amount of money comes into it, it’s a whole different story.”

  Nate poured boiling water from a special hot water tap into the press and set it aside on the counter to steep. “Do you think Calvin had something to do with this?”

  Marcello nodded. “I do, and I think you were right when you suggested it. I’m going to look into his finances and also into his death. He was pretty young when he died; if it wasn’t an accident, I want to know.”

  “Jesus, you think someone killed him?”

  “I think if they did, and we can prove it, they’ll get a better prison sentence for it than he might for embezzling.”

  Nate shook his head as he reached for the breakfast tray; he had a standing order every morning so it was automatically brought up for him. “What the hell have I stumbled into?”

  Marcello walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve stumbled into it, brother. Don’t worry. We’ll make things right.”

  Nate nodded as he pushed aside the warm cloth of the bread basket. Nestled inside was fresh brioche, one of his favorites. He lifted the bread to his nose and took a deep breath; the soft, fresh scent reminded him of Charlotte, and he just knew she had baked it.

  “Should I leave the two of you alone?” Marcello smirked. “You look like you’re having a private moment.”

  Nate shrugged and barely managed to keep the blush from staining his cheeks. “I like to take time and enjoy the simple things in life, Marcello. Want to join me?”

  “No, thanks. I’d better get started; there’s a lot of people to investigate.”

  Nate nodded while he sliced into the bread and spread some freshly made jam on top of it; his mouth was watering already. “Do you want to meet for lunch?”

  Marcello shook his head. “No, let’s chat after dinner.”

  Remembering his late-night picnic, Nate suggested, “Before dinner. I’ll need to speak with Papa and Alex about the budget anyway. It’s best if we all touch base then.”

  Marcello quirked an eyebrow. “Got plans tonight?”

  Marcello never missed a trick, but he still wasn’t ready to reveal his feelings for Charlotte. It was too soon and they were both too unsure of the future. “I’ll likely be working.”

  “If you say so,” Marcello said, and Nate knew he didn’t believe him. As Marcello turned to go, he said, “Oh, Nate?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t forget to put on some shoes. No one’s going to take you seriously if you go barefoot.”

  Nate looked down, surprised to see his feet bare. When he looked back up, Marcello was walking away, laughing.

  This was going to be a very long day.

  ***

  Charlie was in the kitchens bright and early the next day. Her shift wasn’t due to start until nine that morning, but she arrived at six to get things in order. More than that, she wanted to be there first, before Pierre arrived.

  She’d called Coco that morning and told her what had happened with Pierre. Coco hadn’t seemed surprised and had said that she’d speak with Pierre about it. Charlie could only guess what that meant. Would Coco rescind the offer of promotion? Fire Pierre? Fire her? She just didn’t know.

  Charlie kept to ‘her’ kitchen that morning, and Coco came in to see her just after ten while she was kneading dough.

  “How long have you been in this kitchen?” Coco asked, her hands fisted on her hips. “This is more than an hour’s work.”

  Charlie finished with the dough and began to roll it out; it would make the basis for some lunchtime pizzas. “I had some things I wanted to get a jumpstart on, that’s all, so I came in early.”

  “And you worked late last night. I don’t know if I’ll get approval for your overtime, Charlie. Overtime’s only been approved for the state dinner in a few days.”

  Charlie’s heart – and wallet – sank a little at the news, but she wasn’t surprised by it. “I know, Coco. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I do worry about you.” Coco walked over and put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder; she stopped moving the roller across the dough. “You want to talk about what happened last night?”

  Despite herself, she blushed. Then, angry with herself for getting embarrassed again at something that wasn’t her fault, her face got even redder. “I already told you what happened.” Fear settled like lead in the pit of her stomach. “Did Pierre tell you a different story?”

  Coco nodded grimly. “He said you asked him to come over, answered the door half-naked, and forced him to kiss you.”

  The lead in her stomach turned to fire. “That lying bastard! Coco –”

  Coco held her hand up to interrupt. “You don’t need to tell me a thing. I know when a man’s lying to me, and he was. He’s been dealt with.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s been fired. There is a zero tolerance policy for harassment. He packed up his things this morning, and the guards escorted him out.”

  Charlie sagged in relief against the counter; she’d never have to see him again. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “And no one needed to speak with me again? What about his access to the palace?”

  “No to the first, and security is changing the passcodes as we speak. He wasn’t asked to leave Valleria, but he’ll have a hard time finding work once they found out I let him go.”

  “Okay. Okay.” Charlie took a deep breath. She was okay. “Thanks, Coco.”

  Coco pursed her lips, as if trying to decide whether or not to reveal something. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but it wasn’t just your word that was taken into consideration.”

  “It wasn’t?”

  “No. He didn’t want me to tell you, but I’m going to anyway. Prince Nathaniel said he saw you being harassed by him, and asked me to look into the matter.”

  Her heart start beating faster. Was she angry with Nate for interfering or happy that he’d spoken out on her behalf? She didn’t know. “When did he contact you?”

  “Last night.”

  “So, you already knew when I called you this morning.”

  “I knew something had happened, but not the details. If you hadn’t called me, I would’ve searched you out and asked about it myself.”

  Charlie realized her hands were gripping the roller with a brute force. She had ten different feelings inside her and she didn’t know what to do about it. “Thank you, Coco.”

  “Don’t be afraid to speak up, Charlie. No woman, or man for that matter, in my kitchen needs to put up with that nonsense, understand me? If it happens again, you come straight to me.”

  The flying feeling of having someone believe her swept through her. “I understand, Coco. Thank you.” Before she could think about it, she was hugging Coco. After a few moments, Coco hugged back, her wide arms easily encompassing Charlie’s slim frame; she felt buried in warmth.

  Coco patted Charlie’s back before pulling away. “You’re a good
girl, Charlie. I’m only going to say one more thing here and then leave you to your work.”

  “What is it?”

  “The Prince.”

  The euphoric feeling of a moment ago swiftly crashed. “Yes? What about him?”

  “I don’t know why he was down near your room, and I don’t want to know. Prince Nathaniel is a good man, but make sure you’re taking care of yourself, Charlie.”

  That was easy enough to do; Charlie had been taking care of herself since she was a child. “I will, Coco. Don’t worry about me. Will this, I mean, did this change your mind about the promotion?” she asked in a rush.

  Coco merely shook her head. “No, it didn’t. But keep in mind that a position such as Head of the Kitchens does not mesh well with a royal romance, understand me?”

  Charlie swallowed. “I understand.” She’d known a romance with a prince was just too good to be true.

  “Good. Now, get back to work. The Queen’s going to be down later to finalize the menu for the state dinner. Make sure you have some desserts for her to try.”

  “I won’t disappoint you, Coco.”

  “See that you don’t.” With a last pointed look, Coco turned and walked out.

  Charlie checked the clock. She was supposed to meet the Prince – no, Nate – in almost ten hours. What was more important to her – a romance that clearly had no direction, or her job? The answer was easy, wasn’t it?

  Chapter 6

  Nate had spent most of the day cursing in his office. Every time he thought he had the budget figured out, it was to realize that the numbers still didn’t add up. He’d gone through at least ten variations – cutting services here or salaries there – only to still be in the red at the end. How many more people would need to lose their jobs over this? How much of the social services they provided to their citizens would take a hit? The thought was overwhelming.

  As Nate continued to pace in his office, he was once again glad that a fate of birth made him born third and not first. The weight of such decisions on his shoulders every day – as it weighed on Alex and their father every day – was almost too much for him to handle.

  Handle it he would, though; failure was not an option. He would not let their citizens down, nor would he let his family down, either.

  A click along one wall had Nate turning defensively, then relaxing. He saw his father and Alex entering his office from one of the secret doors in the room. Nate sent a quick message to his assistant to hold all calls and visitors.

  “You’re early. I thought we were going to meet in your study, Papa.” Nate gestured for them to take a seat around a small conference table in the room.

  Gabriel adjusted his suit jacket as he sat down. “We’ve just spoken to Marcello. He’s compiled a team of his most trustworthy agents and they’re sorting through data now. He’s eliminated several agency heads as suspects, but not all.”

  Nate’s brows furrowed as he sat down. “When do we see a short list?”

  Alex sighed as he poured a glass of water for himself before sitting down. “Hopefully, tonight. Will you be up later?”

  A moonlit picnic flitted through his mind before he pushed it away. “Likely. I still have to finish up a draft of the budget.”

  Alex gave Nate a wry look. “From the looks of your office, I’d say you’ve already gone through several drafts already.”

  “You’re not wrong. Papa, I’m going to have to suggest a pretty severe austerity budget. It could get very complicated for us politically.”

  Gabriel nodded, his lips tight. “I thought as much. What have you got planned?”

  Nate let out a long breath. “We’ll have to reduce government staff across the board.”

  “Even security?” Alex took a drink, the ice clinking against each other while he did. “Marcello won’t like that, especially after the security breaches we’ve had in the last few months.”

  “He may not have a choice. Besides that, we’re talking about cuts to social services and transportation and a host of other things.”

  “Can we raise taxes?” Alex asked as he held the cool glass against his forehead.

  “I’d rather not. We’ll look bad enough when all of this gets out, and the people will already suffer from the cuts we’ll have to make. I don’t want to use that unless we absolutely have no other choice.”

  “I agree, my son. Let’s leave the taxes where they are. Anything else?”

  Nate grimaced. He’d struggled with the next one himself, for more than one reason. “We’ll have to reduce palace staff by at least fifteen percent.”

  Alex whistled. “That’s a lot. We already have a bare minimum taking care of the place. It’ll fall into disrepair if we don’t keep it up.”

  “I know, but we need the cuts to come from somewhere. Alex, we may also ask some of the more senior members on staff to take early retirement.”

  Alex’s eyes narrowed as Nate’s meaning caught up with him. Alex stood in a flash, knocking his chair out from under him in the process. “Rebecca’s father? You want to fire the father of my fiancée and the future Queen of Valleria?”

  Nate winced. “I know it’ll not ideal, but he qualifies for early retirement.”

  Gabriel, with a similarly upset expression on his face, interjected; Gabriel was very good friends with Ettore, Rebecca’s father, who was also the Head Groundskeeper for the palace. “Are you sure this is necessary, my son?”

  “It’s cheaper to pay younger people, Papa. You know that as well as I do. Do either of you honestly think I want this to happen? That I want the people we know and love and see every day to be out of a job?” Nate ended his passionate plea by burying his head in his hands; even Charlotte’s position would suffer. What had barely started between them would end quick enough when he warned her what might happen.

  A steady hand fell to Nate’s shoulder, then another. Nate looked up to see both Alex and Gabriel providing him comfort. Gabriel ran a familiar hand over Nate’s head, the warmth and weight of which brought a sense of peace to him. The power of a father’s hand was unmatched except, perhaps, by a mother’s.

  “It’s all right, my son. I know this is difficult. I had no idea how difficult this position would be for you when I asked you to step into the role. None of us did. You’ve done very well, and I have no doubt you’ll handle this with the same courage I’ve seen you tackle other things in your life.”

  ‘Courage’ wasn’t the word Nate would use when he thought about the past. “Thanks, Papa. I don’t know how you two deal with things like this all the time.”

  “Practice,” Alex said and gave Nate’s shoulder a last squeeze before letting go. “You’re still new to it all.”

  “I’ll probably always feel new to it,” Nate responded, a little too honestly. “I’m going to work on this some more. Let’s meet before dinner to discuss.”

  Gabriel gave Nate a kiss on the forehead. “This time we’ll meet in my study. See you in a few hours, my son.” Nate gave his father’s hand a squeeze and he and Alex left.

  Nate barely had a chance to gather his thoughts before a knock came and the door opened. Two other ministers on the Royal Council entered without waiting to be asked inside; it was a blatant disregard for protocol that was meant to be noticed.

  Nate’s assistant followed them in and bowed quickly, his square face twisted in apology. “I’m terribly sorry for the interruption, Your Highness.”

  Nate waved him back; he knew his assistant wasn’t to blame for this visit. “Gentlemen. What an unexpected surprise. I’m quite busy, as I’m sure my assistant warned you. You’ll need to make this quick.”

  Neither minister bowed in deference to his title – another obvious ignorance of protocol.

  Byron, the Minister of the People, took a seat first, gently placing his small, slim body into the chair, as though it were covered in something slimy and disgusting. His bright blond hair was kept military short, though he had never served in the Vallerian Armed Forces. It was his job
to manage Valleria’s various social services, housing initiatives, and manage immigration. The last, however, would likely be moved under Marcello’s domain as a part of the budget and restructuring Nate was planning.

  Timothy, the Minister of Labor, sat down next, though with none of the fuss that Byron had exhibited. His tall, lanky frame was topped with a mass of curly brown and graying hair, and a pair of functional glasses were perched on his long nose. If he’d been quite a bit heavier, Tim could almost double for Gerald, one of his father’s cousins, currently living in Switzerland.