A Royal Embarrassment

by Emma Lea

  Cliff had been contacted by a horse breeder who was on his way to Merveille. It was a new operation, a new horse farm. A still-fledgling enterprise that had surprisingly good stock for such a young breeder. But of course Chase had one of the best eyes in the business, even if it burned to admit it. Once upon a time we had dreamed of creating our own horse farm together. It looked like he had gone and done it without me.

  Not that I wanted anything to do with him or the dream that was crushed that day. But it begged the question…was he coming to Merveille because he knew I was here or was it just dumb luck?

  I’d kept my whereabouts secret, even from my family. As far as they were aware, I was gallivanting across Europe, living the high life in the hopes of getting over the high treason of my fiancée. My mother once begged me daily to come home, now it was more monthly. Each time I refused. I had no intention of going home. I had everything I needed right here in Merveille. It wasn’t the life I had grown up in, but in some ways, it was better.

  I lifted my hand and gingerly touched the back of my head. The doctor had given me the all clear and some meds for pain, but I wasn’t ready to go back to the stable just yet. Cliff didn’t know the situation with Chase. When I accepted his offer of a job, he hadn’t asked questions. I liked that about him. There was no pretence, no artifice. I was so done with fake people and the lies they told. I didn’t have to worry if something Cliff told me had some hidden meaning. What you saw with him was what you got.

  A flash of blonde hair caught my eye. Savannah. If not for this morning’s little mishap, I might never have even noticed her, but now my eye was drawn to her involuntarily. Having anything to do with her was just asking for trouble, but I still watched her as she stepped out of the store and pulled her coat firmly around herself to brace against the wind. I didn’t even understand why she was in town. Didn’t she have an assistant she could send out to do her errands?

  I made myself turn away from her. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her but opening a dialogue between us would be a mistake. I needed to keep away from her and her son. She was shrouded in a tangled web of lies and secrets, the very thing I came here to get away from. Savannah and Archer were definitely off-limits.

  Yet, I couldn’t help the way my gaze turned back to where she had come from and tracked past the few pedestrians on the street until I found her bright blonde head again. She was headed away from me, which gave me the opportunity to watch her without fear of her seeing me.

  She intrigued me in a way I did not at all like. I should be running a mile in the other direction, but something about her piqued my interest…interest I had thought long dead. After the way Caroline hurt me I didn’t think I would ever look at another woman with interest again. I knew—logically—that not all women were like Caroline, but it was hard to coax my wounded heart back into the game. Not that I wanted to be back in the game. I might get lonely occasionally, but I preferred that to the pain of a knife in my back.

  I forced my gaze away from Savannah and looked back over the lake. It was a terrible day for taking in the sights. What had started out as a clear, if cold, morning had turned blustery and overcast. The grey sky was reflected in the choppy and dark water. Even the Alps on the opposite side of the lake were hiding from the day in a blanket of thick clouds. I should be back at the stable, but I wasn’t quite ready to face my past. It would be a few days until Chase arrived, but already I felt the churning in my gut.

  I hadn’t seen him since that night. We hadn’t spoken, although he tried to call me the next day. He waited a whole day to try and explain himself. I expected him to come racing after me the moment he knew he was busted. He didn’t. It made the whole thing so much worse—if it was possible for it to get any worse.

  My best friend and my fiancée. It was all kinds of messed up. The two people I would have laid down my life for betrayed me in the most hurtful of ways. Chase would be lucky if I didn’t punch him on sight. Cliff would probably have issues with me assaulting a guest of the palace. The queen would probably take issue with it too. I huffed out a breath. The satisfaction of plowing my fist into his face would not be worth losing my job over, as much as I fantasised about it. There were other ways I could hurt him. He was trying to get his breeding program off the ground and I could definitely cause him a little trouble there. A grim smile cracked my face. I could definitely deal him a blow that would hurt without even raising my fists.

  Savannah

  I could feel someone watching me. I took a quick peek over my shoulder, but he had turned away. He was a striking man. Tall, with broad shoulders and a slim build. And that ridiculous cowboy hat he wore. If he’d been wearing a proper riding hat he wouldn’t have hit his head so hard when he fell. I gritted my teeth and felt my face fold into a scowl. Men! They thought they were invincible.

  Jed. Jed had been watching me. I wondered what he was doing in town. I’d never seen him away from the palace before. Had he followed me here?

  I slipped into the next shop and shivered as the warmth hit me. I could probably do this online, but it was one of my little quirks. I liked to feel the fabric under my fingers. I could probably get the boutiques to come to me with a range of outfits for me to choose from, but I liked seeing the whole range, not just what a sales assistant thought might be suitable. It didn’t stop them from still trying to sell me the most expensive garment in the place, though.

  I ran my finger along the line of dresses and smiled, taking a deep breath and letting the tension ebb from my shoulders. I loved my job. Who wouldn’t? Styling the queen and her retinue was a dream come true, one I’d never thought I’d ever have the chance of achieving six years ago. My life back then was a whole lot different from the life I was living now, that was for sure.

  “Lady Savannah,” one of the sales assistants said, coming over to me with a big smile. “Can I help you find something today?”

  Was it bad that I liked the way they fawned over me? I couldn’t help but revel in the attention. Growing up in France, I was a nobody. My father was a Lord, but a broke and disgraced one. My mother left us because he couldn’t provide for us and we were pretty much shunned by any and all polite society. Which was why it came as a shock to receive the summons from the palace at Merveille. Until that letter had arrived, I’d never known anything about the small country where my father was born. Now I lived here and people bent over backwards to make me happy. I grinned.

  “Do you have anything new?” I asked, flicking through the racks to hide my smile. I had a reputation of being difficult and a hard to please. I didn’t care that people saw me like that. I wanted them to. I’d been trodden on and passed over far too many times in my life and what David had done to me was the last straw. I promised myself to never be a doormat again. If that meant having a reputation as high-maintenance, to put it politely, then I was willing to wear the moniker with pride.

  “We have some lovely pieces over here that came in just a few days ago,” the sales assistant lied.

  I don’t know why they did that. It was my job to know what was available for the queen’s wardrobe and by extension that meant knowing what was available in all the boutiques in Calanais.

  Regardless, I followed her over to the rack and flicked through the hangers dispassionately.

  “Non,” I said with a sigh. “There is nothing here that interests me.”

  “If you could tell me what you’re after maybe—”

  I held up my hand to silence her. I would not put up with condescending idiots who tried to bluff their way past me. I also refused to give anyone grounds to gossip. It was not unusual for me to make the rounds of the boutiques and I had no intention of letting anyone know that the queen would be holding a series of dinner parties leading up to the Winter Ball.

  “There is nothing here I like,” I said and turned my back on her. I left the boutique, stepping back out into the frigid weather, and turned toward where I had seen Jed standing. He was still there.

&
nbsp; I straightened my shoulders and strode toward him. I needed to say something to him about this morning. I needed to make sure he would keep his promise.

  He turned toward me as I got closer and our eyes met. I sucked in a breath. Why had I never noticed how attractive he was, even with that silly hat on? His eyes tracked me as I moved closer and my skin prickled under his gaze. He was trouble. I should stay far, far away from him but our little run-in this morning made it impossible. We needed to clear the air, or at least I needed reassurances that what happened earlier would be our secret.

  “Lady Savannah, ma’am,” he said, sweeping his hat of his head and giving me a small bow.

  “Jed,” I replied, trying hard to keep my face neutral.

  “I didn’t expect to see you in town,” he said, his voice rumbling in a deep tenor that caused me to shiver.

  “I could say the same for you,” I replied.

  He grimaced and his hand went to the back of his head.

  “Oh,” I said, my hand going to my mouth. “Your head. Did you see the doctor?”

  “I did,” he replied and dropped his hand.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes ma’am,” he replied, “everything is just fine.”

  He looked back out over the lake and I bit my lip.

  “Jed,” I began hesitantly, “about this morning…”

  He turned back to look at me, waiting for me to say more. “I hope you know how important it is that you don’t tell anyone about what you saw.”

  His lips thinned. I had probably spoken more harshly then I needed too, but I was anxious and surly seemed to be my default setting when I felt uncomfortable.

  “Yes ma’am,” he replied stiffly. “I understand the situation, but maybe you should make sure your boy doesn’t find his way to the stables again.”

  I sucked in a breath and the cold air froze in my chest. “Archer was at the stables?”

  “Yes ma’am. Earlier today, just before lunch. He was visiting with Mistborn.”

  “I don’t want him anywhere near that horse,” I spat, and Jed narrowed his eyes.

  “Then you best keep a closer eye on him.” Jed tipped his hat to me again and turned to walk away. “Good day, ma’am.”

  Chapter 4

  Savannah

  I adjusted the rack of clothing one last time before turning around to greet the women who were waiting for me. It had become a bit of a tradition to try on clothes and finalise the looks for palace events during one of our girls’ nights. We were all gathered in Alyssa’s sitting room in her private suite and there was a large charcuterie board filled with all kinds of meats, cheeses, olives, breadsticks, and dips. And wine. There was always wine.

  I picked my glass up from the table and took a healthy gulp. I wasn’t nervous, I was still wound up about my run in with Jed, which made no sense. It was days ago and I hadn’t seen him since. I didn’t know why it still played on my mind but I couldn’t get the big buffoon’s face out of my head. It was beyond irritating.

  I gently placed my now empty glass back on the table and clapped my hands to silence the group. They turned to me with bright smiles. We all enjoyed this ritual. Bridgette and Annette, Alyssa’s lady’s maids, stood by at the ready for hair and makeup. Tonight was all about finalising the outfits for each of the dinner parties for each of the queen’s retinue and the queen herself.

  “Okay,” I said. “Each of the outfits have your name pinned to them and the number of the dinner party—one, two, three, four, and five. Everybody grab the outfit for dinner party number one and go and change and then come back out here so I can have a look.”

  There was a flurry of activity as the women who had become my friends over the last two years followed my instructions. All of these outfits were sourced from the local boutiques. I would be making the gowns for the Winter Ball, or at the very least designing them. I would definitely be the one making Alyssa’s gown and I had an army of seamstresses to assist me with the others.

  Margaret stood by to help, though the ladies in waiting rarely needed help dressing. She had already tried her clothes on earlier with me so that she could be free to assist if needed. With Alex and Meredith no longer part of our little group, that only left Priscilla, Jeanette, and Alyssa. I missed the others if only because I enjoyed the buzz of having us all together.

  Surprisingly, Alyssa was the first one dressed. She walked back out into the sitting room and did a pirouette for me, grinning. The dress was teal and fell to the floor in a fine, pleated skirt. The bodice was fitted with lace cap sleeves. The back was low cut, but the teal lace panel made it less risqué and more appropriate for a queen.

  I stepped up to her and tugged at the skirt, adjusting the fit.

  “I wish they would standardise sizes,” I muttered as I noted how the dress pulled too tight across the bust and sat awkwardly at the waist. “I’m going to have to make some adjustments to this.”

  “So what do you think of Lord Martin?” Alyssa asked and I froze.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Lord Martin, Marquess of Astonbury? What do you think of him?”

  “Lord Martin, Jeanette’s brother?” I asked, marking the dress with some tailor’s chalk so I would know where the adjustments would need to be. “That Lord Martin?”

  Alyssa grinned. “Yes, that Lord Martin. What do you think?”

  I shrugged. I didn’t like where this conversation was headed. “I don’t know him.”

  Alyssa rolled her eyes at me as I got her to turn around. “Would you like to get to know him?”

  I hummed a non-committal answer hoping she would drop the subject.

  “Excellent,” she said.

  “What?”

  She turned back around to face me, her face bright with a smile. “He’s your date for the first dinner party.”

  “You set me up on a date?”

  She shrugged but her smile didn’t dim. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I recognised the glint in her eye.

  “I only did it because all the rest of us have dates and the table will be uneven.”

  “Really? All of us have dates except me?”

  Alyssa nodded.

  “I think you’re forgetting someone,” I mumbled, leading Alyssa over to the chair where Annette and Bridgette waited.

  She sat and looked up at me with a frown. “Who am I forgetting?”

  “Well, unless something has changed in the last ten minutes, Margaret is still one of your ladies in waiting and will be attending your dinner party without a date.”

  Alyssa’s face paled. “Oh dear,” she whispered. “I forgot about Margaret.”

  I sighed. Everyone forgot about Margaret. She hid in the shadows and acted more like one of the palace staff than a lady in waiting. Alyssa was usually good at including her, so this was out of character for the queen.

  “Please don’t tell her I forgot about her,” she whispered to me.

  “I won’t,” I replied softly. “So you can un-invite Lord Martin,” I said a bit louder.

  Her shocked face would have been comical if it had been aimed at anyone else.

  “I can’t un-invite him,” she said. “That would be bound to start all sorts of rumours. No. I’ll just have to find a date for Margaret too.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Why do we need dates at all?”

  Alyssa shrugged as Bridgette started on her hair. “Because with all the rest of us paired up, it looks a little sad to see you and Margaret alone.”

  “I could have found my own date,” I grumbled, but it was a lie. I wouldn’t have the first clue about finding a date to the queen’s dinner party.

  She patted my hand. “Well this way you don’t have to.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I don’t need a man in my life,” I said.

  “I know,” she replied. “But they’re pretty nice to have around all the same.”

  Jed

  “Good morning Jed.”

  “Good morning Your Grace,” I
replied with a smile. “Monty is ready for you.”

  “Thank you,” she said. She put her foot in the stirrup and pushed up onto Monty’s back. “You know you can call me Alyssa,” she said.

  “Yes ma’am,” I replied, mounting Mistborn, who danced under me. It was our usual game. He’d pretend he didn’t like to be ridden and I’d pretend his antics annoyed me.

  “But you’re not going to?” the queen asked as she nudged the well-behaved Monty into a walk.

  I guided Mistborn to follow. “No ma’am,” I replied.

  We’d had this conversation many times. Every time we rode together, which wasn’t as often as I knew the queen would like, she would encourage me to call her by her first name but I just couldn’t do it.

  “I could command you to call me Alyssa,” she said, kicking Monty into a trot as we headed into the paddocks.

  “You could,” I replied, easily keeping pace with her, “but you won’t.”

  She turned to grin at me. “No, I won’t.”

  The queen gave Monty his head and he took off. Mistborn followed, tossing his head impatiently as I kept a tight rein on him. He had speed enough to leave Monty in his dust, and he was competitive enough to want to, but that wasn’t our role. This wasn’t a race for the Arabian to win. We were to be the queen’s companions and to make sure she was safe. Her bodyguards followed at a discreet distance in an ATV, but it had been decided, by the queen’s husband and the head of her security detail, that she needed someone to ride with her and none of the bodyguards were keen to get on a horse. Mistborn and I had been only too eager to fill the gap. I enjoyed riding with the queen and Mistborn needed the exercise and the discipline.

  She slowed as she reached the tree line that marked the beginning of the forest and turned, waiting for me to stop beside her.