by Anna Bloom
“It’s okay; we knew this was going to happen. Your dad did warn us. And Marcus.”
I’d been right. On the television screen, which had been muted because honestly, I couldn’t hear it anyway over the swearing and mumbling coming from next to me, the Boxing Day news broadcast focused on the royal engagement that hadn’t yet been announced by the palace.
Yes, of course all of Oliver’s generosity had been talked about. Lots of arseholes had appeared, saying that he was trying to buy the affection of the city; but the main focus seemed to be on four diamonds and silence from the palace.
I’d fucked up. Again.
“I should have taken it off. I’m sorry.”
He looked at me, his expression as dark as thunder, as dark as the snow clouds that still hung over most of England. “No. This is my father’s fault because he’s trying to manage scandal. He doesn’t care that I’ve met my true love, or that I’m desperate to tell everyone. He wants to just do the right thing. It’s always the right thing for the family above everything else.”
The news flickered to old footage of Ollie and Charlotte. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I watched them walk out of a restaurant holding hands.
It hurt. I couldn’t lie. Watching him do normal things, like go on a date, when we’d never managed anything like that because of how ‘different’ I was.
I sat up straighter. I might be different to her, but it was in more important ways than anyone else would ever know. I’d never do to him what she did.
He was different with me. My Ollie gave one hundred and fifty members of London’s poor a Christmas to remember just yesterday. The old Oliver Beaufort would never have done that. He’d never have sat at a little battered piano and played for everyone to hear, while singing cockney classics like, My Old Man’s a Dustman, making everyone howl with laughter. I made that man, the way that he made me who I now was.
“We should go back to the palace tomorrow,” I suggested. I didn’t want to. I’d liked coming to Greystone yesterday evening, putting Daisy to bed, and then us being able to be ourselves away from the palace. Fenmore was special, and it was mine, but it still sat on the grounds of the main palace. Here it really was just us.
“No.”
Ignoring his barked response, I got up and went to retrieve the remote, slotting the batteries back in, and turning up the volume.
“The silence from the palace is very confusing at this time.” The camera cut back to Ava Bond the royal reporter, and the studio anchor who looked like he’d rather be home eating turkey sandwiches instead of discussing royal romance. “Having two royal engagements in one year isn’t unheard of, but it’s never happened for the same member of the royal family before. One can only consider if royal advisors have suggested that the prince takes time out to consider whether this is the decision he wants to make.”
Ollie’s gasp filled the room.
I slunk back into the sofa and gripped my glass of wine.
“But the couple seemed happy in footage from yesterday. Onlookers, people of the public who were lucky enough to speak with them, said they radiated with happiness,” turkey sandwich man said, and I wanted to high-five the dude—and give him a sandwich.
More footage flashed up. Ollie holding a sleeping Daisy as we stepped out to his car at the end of the very long day, one of his hands holding mine which he then rose in a small wave to people who’d gathered outside.
“Ollie, we achieved a lot yesterday. Not only did all those people donate their time, and we got all those amazing donations, but all those people, they actually left their homes on Christmas Day so they could come and see us.” He didn’t react to my words, his attention focused on the screen. The footage followed us as a small girl waved at me from where a boundary had been placed. Ollie hadn’t wanted to pull security in, but Bill had arrived anyway, with his family in tow to help out. I’d shown little surprise at his arrival. His boss was on the news, he wasn’t going to sit at home stuffing mince pies in his mouth.
I’d let go of Oliver’s hand and walked over to the girl, bending my knees so I could squat next to her. She’d handed me one of her Christmas presents as a donation and I’d hugged her for all I was worth.
“I didn’t know they caught that.” I muttered.
Oliver looked at me, almost in surprise. “Leia. They catch everything.”
“The issue we have here…” I knew I’d punch Ava Bond the next time I saw her, no one would blame me. “is that you’ve got a woman who hasn’t officially been accepted by the royal family assuming by the lack of an official royal announcement, who is acting for all the world like a princess.”
“But she does live at the palace. She has been working alongside the royal family for months now.”
“But it isn’t a royal declaration of their marriage. This means the King has still not given the final say.”
“Well her Instagram name is Tabloid Princess,” the man quipped, shifting in his seat slightly.
“I believe that’s ironic. It’s as though Leia Lawrence knows she will never be accepted. The people won’t accept her; not so soon after the prince has already promised them a bride and then recanted that promise by acting in this way.”
“Jesus Christ, don’t you get bored of hearing this waffle?” I switched off the television and wedged the remote down the side of the sofa.
“They wouldn’t be saying this about you if Marcus Cartwright wasn’t blocking everything.”
“Babe, they probably would be.”
His eyes met mine and the exhaustion on his face made my heart ache.
“This will all get better, Ollie. I know it will.”
He shook his head. “I can’t live like this anymore, Leia. It’s never going to end.”
His head dropped and with my hands almost shaking I crawled over the sofa and settled myself across his lap, lifting his chin with my fingers.
“It shouldn’t be like this,” he whispered and his despair ate away at my insides.
“No. Maybe it shouldn’t.” I pecked a kiss against his mouth. His warm lips made me tingle. “But it is. You and I know the truth, that’s all that matters.”
I leant closer, melding myself to his chest, my lips hungry for his as pain and heartbreak mingled with hope and desire.
All these things. All the facets of us.
“This can only get better,” I whispered as I edged back and pulled his jumper over his head, pressing myself back against his bare flesh, revelling in his scent and the heat of his skin.
Of course, only stupid people make statements like that. Stupid people who don’t have a clue.
We woke to a polite cough next to the bed. I flickered open an eye, registering the fact it didn’t sound quite like Daisy.
Freya stood next to the bed and I gave a little shriek as I pulled at the duvet. “Sorry to wake you, Ma’am, Your Highness, but there’s a bit of a situation.”
Oliver groaned and lifted an arm over one of his eyes. “Freya, why are you in my bedroom?”
“It’s a Code Amber, Sir.”
I winced. Code Amber didn’t sound good, but then it didn’t sound very original either which made me think Marcus ‘I’m Such a Prick’ Cartwright had created it.
Ollie sat up straight and I wanted to cover his perfect chest so she couldn’t ogle it… which she was… while trying very hard not to. “Where’s Daisy?”
“She’s in the lounge with Vanessa watching television.”
I frowned. I never overslept, so it must be early.
“Don’t let her out of the house. I’ll be down in a moment.” He waited for Freya to move, but for an uncomfortable moment she stared at her boss. “If you don’t mind, Freya.”
“Certainly, Sir.” She backed away, her eyes to the floor.
When she was gone, he leapt out of bed.
“What’s going on?” I watched him, pushing my hair out of my face so I could see him better. “What’s a Code Amber?” I thought over a million more q
uestions. “Why are there staff in the house?”
He blinked at me, clearly deciding which needed answering more. “My personal staff have security clearance at all my residences.”
“Okaaaay.” Not quite answering the elephant in the room here.
“And Amber means something massive has gone down. It won’t be safe for Daisy to go outside because the press will be everywhere.”
“Ollie.” I chuckled, relaxing. “We are in a gated and fenced property.”
“Ever heard of a helicopter, Leia?”
My memory skimmed to standing in the old school playground way back when we first met, and that awful mother asking if I’d seen the pictures of Ollie on holiday in his swimmers. Oh.
“But we knew about the press break last night; everyone knows about our engagement. Did we need Freya to wake us up?”
He looked at me, running his fingers through his wild waves.
“Amber is worse than last night, Leia.”
Oh.
He gave me a concerned smile and then walked for the door, his shoulders set and his princely mask back on his face.
For a second I just sat there missing the warmth of us snuggled together under the duvet, tied together in blind hope and security.
I could only think of one new item that would make him worry about Daisy; if Mrs Patten had gone to the press. Maybe seeing us in the news yesterday, all lovey-dovey and engaged was too much for her. Maybe she didn’t believe my sincerity when I’d said that I wanted us to find a way in the new year to sort everything out.
Marcus Cartwright would be having a field day. I might never be let back into the palace.
With my heart banging against my ribs, I slipped out of bed and made my way to the kitchen where Freya and a couple of members of her team were primed for some form of military operation. Bill was there, unsurprisingly. He’d followed us here the night before; his family were staying in one of the cottages on the estate. He’d follow Oliver anywhere, I knew that.
I checked on Daisy, giving her a quick kiss and waved at my practically redundant lady-in-waiting, Vanessa. “Sorry.” I cringed. “Guess you weren’t expecting to get dragged out to the depths of Surrey on Boxing Day?”
She nodded her head. “All in my job description, Ma’am.” Her job description sucked. I might ask Bella if she wanted to take her on; there really was no need for me to have someone hanging around waiting to see if I needed anything. Literally, she was a woman who waited.
I turned to where Ollie was leant against the kitchen counter, a deep frown chiselled between his dark brows. His face was deadly serious, more so than I’d ever seen it. My heart clanged and bashed until I thought I might puke.
I glanced between him and Daisy.
“How the hell did this happen?” He kept his tone low, but it barely hid his untamed fury.
Oh God. It could only have been something to do with me. Maybe I knelt in the wrong way yesterday? Maybe I shouldn’t have spoken to that little girl or accepted her present on behalf of the shelter.
Shit. Maybe it was the kiss. Ollie and I had snogged in front of everyone—more than once.
A kiss to bring down a monarchy.
I stepped to his side and stared at the iPad. Then I stared some more. I could see the words running along the bottom of the screen, but I couldn’t make sense of them.
“Charlotte must have sold out when she saw the news yesterday.” Freya’s face looked pained. “If people find out the palace paid her off then I don’t know what will happen.”
The words I stared at blindly started to form themselves into sentences and my mouth popped open.
“This wouldn’t be happening now if the truth had been told at the time,” he said.
Prince’s heartbreak at royal infidelity. The truth now out.
I watched the words as they zipped along the bottom of the screen.
“Oh my god.” I clasped my hands to my mouth, my eyes meeting Ollie’s.
A phone pinged and Oliver reached down into the pocket of his jeans. He read the screen and then handed it to me.
John: The truth will out. As they say, brother.
Our gazes locked. John had released this? Why? What did he have to gain by bringing down a media storm?
Oliver swiped on the screen and hit dial. “What have you done?”
He paused and we all stood staring at him waiting for him to speak. In the distance Peppa Pig’s gratingly high voice talked about muddy puddles.
“John. You didn’t need to do that.” Oliver slumped a little and I reached over and grabbed his hand. “We don’t all need to go on a crusade.”
After another moment of silence he hung up.
“John decided that lies and secrets weren’t getting us anywhere.” His eyes flickered to me. “He apologises that the news of our engagement has been overshadowed by our sordid past and he says he’s tried to fix it.”
I cocked my head. “He hasn’t though, has he? He’s made it worse. Now everyone will be trying to find Charlotte to discover the truth, and she won’t be bound by whatever agreement has been made because it’s already been broken from your side. She could say anything about you, Ollie.”
He rubbed at his face. The weight of the world hung on his shoulders.
“I think it’s time to go back to the palace,” I whispered the words, but in my heart, I knew the truth. The prince needed to be with his family. For the good of the royal family, for the people of the country, for all things good and proper and upstanding, things that I’d never once given a shit about, he needed to go.
And I knew I shouldn’t be with him.
Because if I was, then none of this would ever go away.
His eyes met mine again. “Don’t you dare even say it. I am not returning to London without you.”
I gave him a small smile. “Oliver. It’s the only way. You can’t deal with your father, with Marcus, with all this shit, if you are constantly protecting us too. Go and fight it out when you are ready. Daisy and I will come back and maybe all this can be done the right way.”
“Nope. Never.”
I could have melted at the intensity on his face. I did die a little bit deep inside. I reached for him, sliding my hand around his cheek. “You have to. Otherwise all of this will have been for nothing.”
Twenty-Five
Daisy and I snuggled on the sofa. Disney seemed the best way to go for now. At least with Disney I could shut off from reality; could believe in rainbows and mice that talked and happily ever afters.
Nana came over and topped up my glass of wine.
It had been three days.
Three days of scandalous gossip, and for the first time since we met, not much of it had been about me. Sure, people had asked if the prince lowering himself to be with me had maybe brought about the splurges of truth that had seemingly washed out of the palace now the dam of silence had been broken. But mostly it was about Oliver, John, and Charlotte and the bribes that had taken place to keep it a secret.
The fact that all of this had exploded into the public domain so soon after Oliver had been found to be bribing my neighbours only painted him in the worst light—people assumed that because it had been done once it was the only way.
Maybe that was the case. I didn’t know. Ollie’d never actually told me how much of a part he had in the way Charlotte Macclesfield was dealt with.
It didn’t look great either way you looked at it.
“I mean these people shouldn’t be in charge of the country. One brother doing that to another brother’s fiancée. It’s disgusting. Immoral.” One old woman dressed in a woollen coat and with a scarf on her head had told a news interviewer out on the street earlier today. I’d shouted at the television that they weren’t actually in charge of the country anymore, that was the fucking Prime Minister, and even he couldn’t do a fucking good job.
Parliament had re-opened and come back early from their Christmas break to discuss the crisis. There were those whispering that the
monarchy shouldn’t exist anymore, that this was the time for the constitution to be changed.
Ironic that after a lifetime of thinking that should be the case; today I couldn’t imagine anything worse.
Oliver was a good man.
The people couldn’t see that though because of the veils of secrecy that wrapped tight around the royals.
The press were having a field day, and half of me couldn’t blame them. These were the type of stories they’d always imagined lingered behind the closed palace walls, and now they’d begun to uncover them. The palace on the other hand didn’t say a word. Nothing.
My phone vibrated and I looked down at the screen. Ollie. My heart hurt.
I nearly didn’t answer but then I quickly hit the green button. “Hey.”
There was a beat of silence and down the line unspoken words of regret and hurt ebbed between us. “Hey.”
“You haven’t been hauled to the tower by an angry mob?” I tried to laugh but it sounded all wrong.
“Not yet, I believe they are sharpening their pitch forks.”
I chuckled and my heart lifted a little. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too. It’s not pretty here, I think you made the right choice.”
“How’s your mum?”
There was another pause, filled with a desperate sigh. “Devastated.”
“It will blow over, Ollie. I’m sure worse things have happened.”
“Sure. Oliver Cromwell bought down the monarchy.”
I snorted. “You are not Oliver Cromwell.”
“Didn’t you see the headlines today? Apparently, I have an inappropriate name. Mother wasn’t best pleased, considering Oliver is her dad’s name.”
“You never really talk about her side of the family much.” I stretched my toes. I’d been squashed up in the same position for too long.
“There isn’t much to say. We saw them a bit when we were younger, but I guess it’s easier for the royal family to be in control if outsiders aren’t exposed too much.”
“That’s kind of sad.”