“How recently?”
“About three hours ago.”
Gabriel laughed. “You do work slowly, don’t you?”
A little defensive, Alex said, “I had to be discreet. Tonight was the first chance I had to meet with her without anyone else knowing about it.”
“Well, don’t waste too much time before you see her again. Time is fleeting and precious, take it from me. It seems only yesterday you and Cat were born, and now you stand in front of me a man in love.” Gabriel sighed, then stood and walked over to Alex.
Gabriel placed his hands on Alex’s broad shoulders. “My advice to you, my son, is to make sure you’re in love with the woman she is, and not the woman you think she could be. Rebecca seems very capable at her job, and seems as though she could handle the tasks of princess and queen admirably. However, if she isn’t what you need as your wife, it won’t matter. You’ve a long life ahead of you, God willing. Make sure you can respect each other, and treat each other like equals, otherwise it will be a long, lonely life for you.”
Gabriel lifted onto his toes to kiss his son’s forehead, and wondered when his son had become so much more than him. After caressing his face for another moment, Gabriel headed for the door. “Let your mother know I’ve gone to our room.”
“Yes, Papa. Good night.”
“Good night, my son.”
Alex waited a few minutes before leaving the room. His father could always put Alex at ease, even in the most trying times. He hoped one day to be a ruler and father who did the same.
When Alex re-entered the family room, he passed along the message to his mother, who left to follow Gabriel. Alex slumped onto the couch in her place.
“You and Papa were in there a long time,” Cat said. Alex exchanged a look with Marcello.
“We might as well tell you. We’ll tell the rest of the family at dinner in a few days, but I never could keep anything from you.”
Smugly, Cat said, “Of course you can’t. So, what’s going on?”
With a look from Alex, Marcello told her about the threat and the cameras found. Alex watched as Cat’s brows furrowed in concern and she gripped his hand for support. “Alex,” she said when Marcello finished and gave Alex a hug. “God. Someone was watching you.”
Alex held on. It was odd this twin bond between them. No one else in the family understood it, but he didn’t know what he would do without it. “It’ll be all right, Kitty Cat,” Alex said, calling her by the rarely used nickname that he knew would bring her comfort. “No one else was violated; we checked.”
“This isn’t like the other threats you’ve gotten over the years,” she said as she pulled back. Needing to lighten the mood, for her own sake as well as everyone else’s, she playfully said, “If anything happens to you, I’ll have to be queen one day. Don’t you dare do that to me.”
Alex chuckled and playfully pulled her hair. “Never.”
“Why don’t you tell her what else you and Papa talked about?” Marcello said with a gleeful smile.
Alex sent him a scathing look that would have felled another man, but not someone as tough as Marcello.
“What? What else is going on?”
After a silent communication between Alex and Marcello, where Alex made it clear he would happily murder him and Marcello responded with a smug smile, Alex spoke. “There’s a woman.”
Cat’s face broke into a broad smile and she gripped Alex’s arm. “Truly? Who is it? Do I know her? Can I meet her? Tell me!”
Alex shook his head. “Please calm down. No one knows. I won’t introduce her to anyone just yet, not until we’re sure.”
Cat gave him an assessing look. “You told Papa about it. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t think it was serious.”
“I told him because he deserves to know. You’ll notice I didn’t tell Mama for the same reason I was going to avoid telling you just yet.”
“No, there’s something else. Tell me. You know you can’t hide it from me for long. You never could, you know.”
Alex sighed. Wasn’t that the truth? “All right, but this does not leave the three of us. I mean it. No one can know.”
When she nodded, Alex said, “I’m in love with her.”
Cat squealed and clapped her hands. “That’s great, Alex,” she said before giving him a fierce hug. “Oh, I was so worried you might just end up marrying for duty instead of love.”
When she pulled back, Alex said, “I’m hoping to marry for both, but I don’t know if we’ll get there. It’s still early days for us, so it could just as easily fall apart.”
“Then I’ll wish and pray for the best,” she said as she kissed his cheek. After a little more conversation, Cat left for her rooms as well.
Once they were alone, Alex slid over to Marcello and punched him in the arm.
“Ow,” Marcello said as he rubbed his arm. “What the hell, man?”
“Why did you force me to tell her about my budding romance?”
“She was worried after we mentioned the threat, and the romance was a good distraction for her. She’d have been up all night worrying if we hadn’t given her something else to think about.”
“I know that. She’s my twin. I know her better than any of you, but there were other ways of distracting her.”
“Yes, but none that would have embarrassed you in the process. So, you know, that was a nice bonus for me.”
Alex laughed despite himself and threw a pillow at his brother. “Jerk,” he said, still laughing, and waved goodbye as he left the room.
Chapter 6
After a night spent tossing and turning, Rebecca stopped for a triple espresso at the corner café before heading into work. When she’d slept, she’d dreamt of Alex. That was nothing new. What was new, was that now her dreams took on a more vivid reality. Now that she’d felt his lips warm on her skin and his strong body against hers, all of her dreams had left her warm and wanting.
Because she was sure her day would be terribly long, or terribly short if she were fired, she also treated herself to a fluffy, fruity pastry. She knew Alex would not make a promise he couldn’t keep, so she’d likely keep her job, but until she heard one way or the other, officially, her heart would still be tense.
As she walked to her car after her quick breakfast, her practical black heels clicked softly along the sidewalk. She waved greetings to the neighbors she knew and watched as her silk shirt swished softly in the breeze. She’d dressed particularly carefully, wearing competent black pants and a sleeveless white silk shirt. She had a jacket currently slung over her arm, black to match the competent pants, and she wore simple pearl jewelry. She’d wanted to project an air of authority and confidence, even if she didn’t feel it. If, for some reason, Alex’s magic didn’t work, she would be prepared to at least look like she shouldn’t lose her job.
Rebecca sighed as she slid into her car, and ran a quick hand through her hair. Time to get the day over with, one way or another.
***
Alex walked towards the council chamber with some trepidation. He wasn’t sure what to expect from the Royal Council, and his mind wasn’t altogether prepared for what may come.
He’d spent the short, summer night dreaming of Rebecca beside him, against him, and underneath him. He’d often dreamed of her but now that he knew her taste, her smell, the feel of her, he could think of nothing else.
After Alex entered the room, he saw council members scattered in clusters and speaking in low voices. Once the Sergeant at Arms announced his arrival, the murmured voices halted for a quick bow. The room was organized in one large circle with his and his father’s spots designated at the head of the room; his father’s chair sat empty.
Marcello left a small group of men to meet Alex across the room. In whispered voices, Marcello told Alex that the council had heard of a security breach in the palace and wanted to discuss it first thing.
“How the hell did they find out?” Alex asked, his face smooth but his voice tense.
“I have no idea, but you’d better believe that I’ll find out soon enough.”
“Have we got a leak somewhere?”
“I’m not sure. If it is, I’ll plug it soon enough.”
“Do it, and fast. I don’t need anything else leaking out right now.”
“This could actually work in our favor.”
“How do you figure?”
“Just follow my lead, and let Papa know to play along, too.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“So do I.”
A moment later the Sergeant at Arms announced that Gabriel had arrived. After the more formal pomp and circumstance of his arrival, Gabriel made his way into the room, shaking hands as he did. When he shook Alex’s hand for form, Alex whispered Marcello’s instructions to him. When Gabriel finally took his seat, so did everyone else.
“First order of business?” Gabriel asked swiftly as he settled in his chair.
“King Gabriel,” Marcello started as he stood, addressing him formally, as he always did while speaking from his post as Minister of Security and Defense on the Royal Council. “A security issue has come to light, and we humbly request the approval of the Council, as well as the royal family, for additional security.”
The other council members began to murmur with one another.
“Silence,” Gabriel said in a calm tone and everyone complied; Gabriel rarely ever needed to raise his voice for others to hear him. “To the Council before me, I have been made aware of the issues at hand and I do approve of the heightened security.”
“Your Highness,” asked the Minister of the People as he stood to address the king. “What of the citizens, sir? We have heard no details regarding this threat. If the public is at risk, we must also inform them.”
Murmured assents fluttered around the room. Gabriel held up a hand and the room fell quiet once more. “Let me assure you that my life’s work as reigning monarch is to protect and serve the citizens of our great nation.”
When no one responded, though Gabriel did not expect anyone to, Marcello spoke. “Let me assure the Council that this is a threat against the royal family. As such, their staff are also at risk for the time being. Additional security will not give rise to fear but will assure that the royal family members and their staff are protected.”
More whispers and looks were exchanged around the room. Had the king not been present, there would have been a more lively exchange of views on the subject. However, Marcello’s strategy had been a sound one. The Council often tried to overrule the king but with a threat against the royal family at stake, none of the council members would take the risk of opposing the request.
“Let us take a vote,” Alexander said, speaking to the room for the first time. As heir apparent, his role was mostly an administrative one on the Council. It was meant to prepare Alex for his future role, though he often acted as his father’s proxy for those times Gabriel could not attend. “All those opposed to providing the royal family and their chiefs of staff additional security until the threat is resolved, vote now with a show of hands.”
Not one hand was raised, though by the looks of some of the ministers on the Council, they wanted to vote against it.
With a slight smile Alex said, “All those in favor of providing the royal family and their chiefs of staff additional security until the threat is resolved, vote now with a show of hands.”
Every hand in the room went up, and Alex breathed an internal sigh of relief now that he was assured that Rebecca would be protected for the time being. “Since all hands have been raised, there are no abstentions. The motion is passed. We will, of course, keep the Council informed as to when this threat is resolved.”
Gabriel nodded then stood, forcing everyone to stand quickly and haphazardly. “If that’s all for the priority business, I take my leave. Alexander,” he said gesturing to his son beside him. “Will see to the rest of today’s business.” With another nod, he strode out, everyone bowing as he passed.
“Now, then,” Alexander said as he settled comfortably into his seat. “Next item of business.”
As one of the ministers was recognized and began speaking, Alex glanced at his phone after it vibrated in his pocket. Keeping his ears on the minister and his eyes on the message from Tavin, he began to shift his obligations for the afternoon and pondered how soon he could end the council meeting.
He sent off a quick message to Tavin, then Catharine, and slipped his phone inside his jacket. As he answered the minister’s request, he calculated he could finish the meeting in twenty minutes, perhaps fifteen if the Minister of Finance chose not to wax poetic about the state of the stock markets, as he usually did.
Alex had a press conference to attend, and this was one he would not miss for anything.
***
When Rebecca entered her office, for a moment the worries of the morning faded away as memories of last night assaulted her. Memories that had haunted her dreams, were now haunting her at work. Hardly surprising given that she was mere feet away from the couch where Alex’s broad hands had roamed her body and his expert lips had ruined her for all other men.
Rebecca shook her head and walked on, greeting the secretaries as she passed, knowing the whispers she heard soon after were about her and that damn video.
With a sigh, Rebecca dropped her purse and briefcase on her desk, still slightly cluttered with papers she had not been able to focus on after Alex had left last night. As she tried to settle in, sort through emails and tasks outstanding, the back of her neck was thick with tension.
She was just finishing up a call when Catharine entered the offices, and everyone rose to curtsy as she passed. She headed straight for Rebecca and entered her office, closing the door behind her. Rebecca curtsied and saw a flash of exasperation in Catharine’s eyes.
“Sit down, will you, please?” Catharine said as she sat down in a chair facing Rebecca’s desk. “I just want to say that I’m terribly sorry about my part in all this. I had no idea an inconsequential video would mean any harm, especially one where my body language would be so misconstrued.”
“It’s all right, Your Highness.” Rebecca looked down at her hands, held tightly together in her lap. “I understand if you need to let me go. I’ve tried to clear away as much work I could, so you wouldn’t be left with too much unresolved.”
“Don’t be an idiot.”
Rebecca’s face shot up and gazed into Catharine’s annoyed face. “My Lady?”
“You’re not going to be fired. I’ll make sure of that this morning.”
“How, My Lady?”
“A statement at the next press conference, in about an hour. Alex and I had Tavin set it up; I hope you don’t mind.”
Rebecca’s skin felt suddenly warm, just from the mere mention of his name. “You did? What did the Prince say, My Lady?”
“Just that he thought the whole thing was as ridiculous as I do. We agreed it would be the best way to handle it. Tavin will read a statement addressing all the rumours. You’ll have to be there, of course; there’s no way around that. However, with what we planned, it should divert media attention away from you.”
“Thank you, My Lady. Truly. What will you say to distract them?”
“Leave that to us,” Catharine said as she stood, and Rebecca stood as well. Catharine walked over and took Rebecca’s hands in hers, and said with a smile, “You’re not going anywhere. I couldn’t possibly survive without you.”
Rebecca smiled back. “Probably not, My Lady.”
“You shouldn’t have worried so much, Rebecca.” Catharine gave their joined hands a quick squeeze before letting go and heading for the doorway that led from Rebecca’s office to hers. “You may want to touch up your makeup a little. You look lovely but, take it from someone who knows, those press cameras are ruthless.”
Rebecca’s hand flew to her face. A memorable evening followed by a long night with little sleep would not translate well on camera. She
immediately rushed to her desk and began digging through the emergency makeup she kept there for Catharine. Their coloring was similar, so hopefully some it would work for her. Her olive skin covered a lot naturally, but she needed to look poised and confident today.
As she set to work with one eye on the clock, she wondered fleetingly if Alex would see the press conference, too. Perhaps, that was an even more important reason to look her absolute best.
Chapter 7
Rebecca stood in the press room, just along the wall. Tavin would soon take center stage and make some remarks, but for now Rebecca tried to blend in with the wall behind her.
Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1) Page 9