Eventually, he turned back and slowly opened the door a slit. He looked with one eye through that slit – there was no one. Carefully, he opened the door wider and put his head out, then looked left, then right.
All clear.
He wondered about Princess Adelaide and that old woman hanging around her. Where could they have gone?
He opened the door fully and stepped out on tiptoe. Looking all around in a hurry – though there was no one as far his eye could see – he moved to slip into a side door and escaped.
*****
Kenrick was panting as he entered his chambers. His chief assistant started coming towards him in a hurry, wondering if he needed something, but he waved him away. The last thing he wanted now was to have people asking him how he was, why he was breathing hard, and where he'd been coming from.
His chief assistant caught up with him anyway.
"Your Royal Highness," he began.
"Just shut up and get out of my sight!"
Kenrick could not stand him, especially at that point.
"Your Royal Highness, Princess Adelaide–"
"What in bloody hell is her problem anyway?!" Kenrick yelled at the top of his voice.
Deep inside, he was freaking out. What did the princess say or do now? Did she reveal the truth about where he was; what – or rather, whom – he'd been doing? She was new to the ways of royalty; she may have told these assholes everything, you could never tell.
That fucking bitch, was she stupid enough to spill the beans?
Kenrick could not afford that. He already had too many blotches on his character, and some of them went all the way to the king himself. And he'd already received an earful from his father a few weeks ago – thank God it was in his private chambers. He did not want another scandal brewing to reflect badly on his progress card.
He walked in, his mind in severe consternation.
He had no clue what to do, or where to go. He sat at his desk. That was when he saw it: A note.
He picked it up. Under the emblem of the royal family were a few words, appearing as pearls floating on the alabaster sheet:
Your Royal Highness Prince Kenrick,
I'd come to your chambers to meet you, but you were not present.
Sorry to have missed you.
Thank you for your invitation,
Princess Adelaide
Chapter Twenty-Nine
That night, Addie turned to the new confidant in her life: Mrs. Bradley.
They were about to retire for the day when Addie said something that sparked off a conversation between the two of them. Of course Beverly Bradley, gentle soul that she was, would never indulge in such a chat on her own. It was all Addie.
It was a chance remark that got things going between them.
"Ah, so that was an eventful day," is what Addie said.
"Especially for Prince Kenrick."
And with that, she pulled her sheet over herself – she was already in bed. Mrs. Bradley, who was waiting by her side, tucked the princess neatly in and drew the satin curtains all around her four-poster bed.
"Yes, my child," replied the old woman in her usual style, and Addie thought that was the end of it. Her governess was prone to agreeing with whatever she said, so this could be one more such instance.
But boy, was she in for a surprise, because that off-the-cuff remark seemed to have burst open a floodgates of emotion in the governess.
"It's a bit like that old saying 'the early bird gets the worm'," offered Mrs. Bradley.
"How's that, Miss?"
Addie was curious, and she was surprised at this preemptive comment from the old lady.
"Dear child," she sighed.
"The bird wins praise for being early, but who spares a thought for the worm?"
Interesting, mused Addie.
"The worm," continued Mrs. Bradley.
"Had to pay with its life for being early. If it had slept a little longer, it would have stayed alive that morning."
"Wonderful," commented Addie.
She never expected such wisdom from kind, quiet old Mrs. Bradley. Her respect for the governess increased manifold.
"But how would you link this with Prince Kenrick having an eventful day?"
"Well, for Prince Kenrick, it must have been an ordinary day," she replied calmly.
"But think of those two unlucky women. What kind of a day would it have been for them?"
Addie fell into deep thought. Yes, she agreed, for the prince it would have been just another day. One he would soon forget about. But the two women who'd been given hell – at least, that's what Addie assumed – they would remember that day for the rest of their lives.
"These are the games the royals play, my dear," informed Mrs. Bradley, as if concluding her train of thought. It was rare that she spoke as much as she was doing right now.
"Yes, Mrs. Bradley," agreed Addie solemnly.
"Which is why, my child," the governess was saying.
"I want you to take good care of yourself around Prince Kenrick."
Addie considered this.
"But I'm his stepsister, Mrs. Bradley," she replied, with some hope.
"Do you think, my dear, that makes a difference?" the governess asked.
"And he's my stepbrother."
"It might mean something to you, my child. But not on the other side."
Addie sat up, pushed the curtains aside, reached out to the old lady's hand, and firmly clasped it in her own.
"My dear Mrs. Bradley," said Addie.
"With you by my side always, what could possibly happen to me?"
The old lady gave a sincere smile.
"Well. This old governess's protection can only go so far. I'm worried about the times when I'm not around."
"And for those times," Addie's clasp on Mrs. Bradley's hand got firmer.
"This little girl will be extra careful. Okay?"
"Okay," agreed Mrs. Bradley, smiling.
"Good night, my sweet."
"Good night, Mrs. Bradley," replied Adelaide, unclasping her hand.
*****
For some reason, sleep was avoiding Addie.
She was twisting and turning in bed, falling into a mild slumber and then waking up for no reason at all. And her mind was racing.
In contrast to her jolly exterior, the events of the day impacted her deeply. The prince's appearance from nowhere, the naked girls appearing shocked inside, the prince swearing at them, and the sheer suddenness of it all.
What kind of a person would do something like that? What kind of sick mind would mete out such treatment to his hapless workers? And, to top it all off, what kind of royal personality would subject his own people to such a third degree?
To know that he would become the king one day filled her being with a feeling that was beyond revulsion, past pure disgust. If this was royalty, how could you blame the commoner for base behavior?
She'd read in the tabloid press that Prince Kenrick maintained a 'c**t counter' – the number of women he had been with. And apparently, so said the tabloids, it ran into the thousands already. The prince was only in his late twenties, which meant he still had over three decades of virility left in him – at least. Which meant thousands more were still to come, to be added to his roster.
What if he got married? The question popped in her head.
Well, that would probably not change much, she answered herself.
He would go from prince to king, from being eligible to wedlock, but his lifestyle would not change one bit – of this Addie was certain.
Blame it on his super cock, she laughed silently.
For a moment, in spite of her obvious dislike for the prince, she contemplated that big cock.
How big could it be, she wondered. How large is large?
She closed her eyes trying to picture it in her head...
Suddenly, she felt herself growing wet between her legs.
Chapter Thirty
It surprised Kenrick to no end
.
If Princess Adelaide had seen him in that hugely compromising position, there was no sign of it in her note. Not even a word – or hint – of bitterness. It was civil to a fault; she'd even thanked him for the invitation, and it looked like his wild sexcapade never happened.
Could it be possible that she had not witnessed anything at all? Maybe, just maybe, she was too dazed to register anything – it'd all transpired very quickly – thank God he'd shut the door at once! And as for the old woman, well – surely she was too much of a blind hag to even understand what was going on.
Was this scenario conceivable at all?
Kenrick knew he was desperate and was hoping against hope. It was like the proverbial last straw for someone on the verge of death. Anything, even a strand of hair, could be a rope of hope, and this could be the escape route for him.
But he knew, in his heart of hearts, that it just could not be. It was clear as daylight that he was caught with his pants down, in a manner of speaking; there was no doubt what business was being transacted there. No sir, he was the guilty party, there was no two ways about it.
And now, he realized with a heavy heart, his attempts at getting closer to Princess Adelaide would be that much harder. Any goodwill in his account would have now vanished, he thought; then again, any goodwill in his account was unlikely. He had not done much good to earn any brownie points in the first place.
It was most ironical, this situation. He was plagued by thoughts of Princess Adelaide; she was the one who took away his peace of mind and snatched away his sleep. It was thanks to her that he had even thought of a 'revenge romance' ploy like this one. It was because of her that he had to vent his anger on someone, to punish some women with his machismo, to drop his semen of fury in some pliant vagina somewhere. And now, that itself had turned back like an uncoiled snake and struck him.
In turn, he'd been punished with merciless exposure – to the same person whose favors he was seeking. What could be more severe than this! He just sat there at the desk with his head in both his hands.
Now what? he wondered.
What was he to do now? Should he renew his invitation again? But to be fair to Princess Adelaide, she had already accepted his earlier invitation and come to his chambers. If he was away again at one of his exploits, what was she to do?
A flurry of embarrassment came over him. He had no face to invite her again. In fact, there was no way he would meet her again – okay, that was a huge statement – but definitely no meeting her in the near future. This whole affair was so pathetically ugly, he felt like running away and hiding somewhere – perhaps in some other country.
If only Phil were here! The same thought came to him again.
Phil would have known how to handle a sticky business like this. In fact, if he was here today, this nonsense would never have happened at all. That bastard had to go at this time; he was never there when Kenrick needed him the most. Bitterness filled his being like water filling a glass.
Yes, surely that would do the trick. Maybe he needed to get out for the time being. Everything possible was going wrong for him, and if he got into any more trouble, it would reach his old man and that could spell even further disaster.
*****
Next morning.
Kenrick had had a disastrous night. Lately, his nights were mere echoes of other nights, sleepless and restless. What was happening to him? Where did that happy-go-lucky, carefree prince vanish? And in his place, who was this boor, this moron, this whoreson who was the antithesis of Midas – everything that he touched turned into a tragedy?
Though he had thought the night before that leaving the country was a practical solution to all his troubles, the morning after brought the prince a whole new perspective. For one, he did not want to leave without having reconciled the Princess Adelaide situation. For another, running away from problems only multiplied them – he had learnt this the hard way. Best was for him to stay put, but lie low, till the winds of catastrophe blew over, and the dust settled.
That seemed like a sensible course of action. Meanwhile he needed to lighten himself up; he needed to get it all off his chest.
"Phil." He was on the phone, long distance.
"Phantom! What a surprise!"
Phil's boisterous tone was enough to brighten up the chamber.
"How's your adventure going?" asked Kenrick.
"Pretty good," came the reply, sensing something was up.
"But I'm at a point where I can abandon it for a dear friend who needs me."
"Then do it."
*****
Phil arrived that night. It was late, and Kenrick was not allowed to go to the airport as usual, so he waited it out at his chambers.
His friend was in by about one.
"Ah, the Phantom waits for me… the ghost who walks."
Phil brought instant sunshine with him, even if it was the wee hours of the night.
"Phil, so glad to see you!" Kenrick said, giving his friend a hug.
"Same here, old chap," replied Phil.
"Just give me time to have a wash, then I'm all yours."
*****
Ten minutes later, they were sitting in the chamber. Phil was all ears, and Kenrick was all set to give his friend the lowdown on events leading up to his latest restive phase.
A full three hours passed. In the interim, Kenrick appraised him of everything, including the calamity that happened in the servants' breakroom.
"That was terrible!" Phil exclaimed.
"Yes," agreed Kenrick.
"Of course," added Phil.
"You can't be blamed for it. It was just bad luck."
For the first time, Kenrick felt good. Here was someone who understood the exact predicament he was in. That was why Phil was his best mate – the only one he had.
"Then of course the mystery of her note, and the forced civility in it," Phil added.
"Yes."
"It means just one thing. She's a tough nut to crack."
Chapter Thirty-One
"He's the worst specimen of manhood!" declared Addie.
Sitting across her was Kate, and they were seated in their usual secluded corner in the café at the university.
"Are you sure about that, Addie?" Kate asked.
"He is your stepbrother, after all."
"That's incidental. In fact, he wasn't – till six months ago."
"Okay, agreed," replied Kate.
"So what do you want to prove?"
"Nothing," Addie shrugged.
"Addie, he's the prince and the king in waiting. He can do what he jolly well pleases. And that includes taking any and every woman he wants."
"Well, he can have his way then," said Addie, a hint of pride in her voice.
"But his charms won't work on me."
"What do you mean?" Kate was quick to ask.
"Well, what do you think he was trying to do with me?"
"To you? Didn't you just affirm he's your stepbrother?"
"I did," conceded Addie.
"And therein lies the rub."
Kate gave her a quizzical look.
"Katie, please understand my position," Addie explained patiently.
"By virtue of being a so-called 'princess', I'm always in the palace complex. And being his stepsister, I'm always accessible. Imagine the kind of freedom that allows him."
Kate remained silent.
"He's smooth as butter, Katie. Remember that evening at the Annual Day? He was speaking with me on the stage… God, what charm! I almost fell for him right there!"
"Oh, did you now?" Kate's eyes were sparking.
"Don't be silly, Kate," Addie corrected her friend.
"If he's chalk, I'm cheese."
Unwittingly, her metaphor was identical to the one used by the prince earlier.
"Yes my dear, but opposites attract – remember that," Kate reminded her.
BDSMing the Brat: ** 20 Book ** Taboo BDSM MEGA BUNDLE Page 55