A Royal Entanglement: The Young Royals Book 2 (26 page)

“I wanted to apologise about the other day.
 
I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand.”

“You are a couple of days too late with your apology, Bradley,” I said with a sniff.

“I know,” he said, “But something came up at home and I’ve been tied up dealing with it.”
 
He paused, and I waited for him to go on.
 
“We didn’t get to finish our conversation, is there any way we could see each other again?”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said, shuffling papers around on my desk, “I’ve said everything I want to say on the matter.
 
I’m happy here, I’m happy with my job and I’m happy with Freddie. I won’t be going back to Boston with you, I’m sorry.”

He sighed, and I pressed my lips together to stop any words from escaping.
 
I had never been very good with saying no to people, especially when they laid on the guilt.
 
It was the very reason that my family still had such a hold over me despite me trying to extricate myself from their clutches.

“Okay,” he said finally, “But can I at least see you one more time before I leave?
 
Tonight maybe?”

“Not tonight,” I said, “There is a reception at the Palace.
 
We are officially announcing the new Prime Minister.
 
I’ll be much to busy to speak to you.”

“Tomorrow then,” he said, “I’ll meet you in town and we can go and look at the art showing from that Australian artist that you like so much.”

I weighed up the options in my head.
 
It wasn’t right to just let him leave without seeing him again, not that I had any intention of letting him persuade me to change my mind, but we had been friends for a while and it was the right thing to do.

“Fine,” I said, “But no press.
 
If I see even one person taking a photo with so much as a cell phone I will be out of there and I will never speak to you again.”

“I promise,” he said.

We made a time to meet and I hung up the phone then looked up into the concerned blue eyes of Freddie.

“You’re making a date to see Bradley?” he asked, his voice cool.

“I owe him at least that much,” I said, hoping he would understand.

Something flashed in Freddie’s eyes and he looked away from me, his jaw tightening.
 
I stood from my chair and walked around my desk to rest my hand on his back and lean my cheek against his shoulder blade.

“Please trust me, Freddie,” I said.

He turned and took me in his arms, pulling me close to him and resting his chin on the top of my head.

“I do trust you,” he said, “It’s him I don’t trust.”

“Come on,” I said stepping back and looking up at him, “What can happen in a public place?
 
We’ll look at the art and maybe get a bite to eat.
 
I told him if I saw even a hair of paparazzi I would run for the hills and never speak to him again.
 
I need to say goodbye to him, I need the closure.”

He searched my face and his gaze softened as he sighed and leant down to brush his lips across mine.

“Okay,” he said.

I gave him a quick kiss and then broke out of his arms to go back around my desk and sat in my chair.
 
“So what are you doing here Lord Bingham?
 
Do you have an appointment with the Queen?”

“I’m here to escort the Queen to The House of Lords,” he said.

“I thought your father would be doing that?”

“No, he’s meeting us there.”

“Oh, okay.
 
I’ll let Alyssa know you’re here.”

I picked up the phone and buzzed the Queen’s extension.
 
She picked up immediately.

“Is Freddie here waiting for me?” she asked.

“Yes, Your Grace,” I replied.

“I’ll be right there.”

She disconnected and I gathered my iPad and coat.
 
The interconnecting door opened and Alyssa stepped into my office flanked by Carlos and Meredith.

“Oh, Alex,” she said, “I won’t need you today.
 
Meredith will come with us and she can take notes.
 
I have something else for you to do while I’m gone.”

“Of course,” I said a little miffed about being usurped by Meredith.
 
She was learning the role, but this was an important meeting and I had naturally assumed that the Queen would want me with her.
 
“What would you like me to do?”

“Savannah will be here momentarily.
 
She has all the details and I will see you tonight.”

I looked at the clock and it was barely noon.
 
Did that mean that she expected the session with Parliament to run long or was the job she wanted me to do with Savannah going to take me the rest of the day?
 
I really couldn’t afford to be away from my desk for such a stretch of time.

“Can’t one of the others help Savannah?” I asked.

“Absolutely not,” the Queen replied in her seldom used authoritative voice, “I need you to do this for me, I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it.”

I curtsied and nodded, “Of course Your Grace,” I replied obediently, but not happily.

I was still sulking at my desk when Savannah walked into my office.

“Come on, let’s go,” she said impatiently.

“Where are we going?” I asked, not moving from my desk.

“No questions,” she said, pulling me out of my chair and handing my coat to me.
 
“We’re running late.”

It was not very often that one of the entourage bossed me around and it put me a little off my game.
 
I followed behind Savannah as she swept down the corridors of the Palace and towards the residential wing.
 
Each of the Ladies in Waiting had a suite similar to mine in the same wing and before I could comprehend what was happening, I was being ushered into my own suite.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“We’re here to get you ready for the ball tonight.”

“What?”
 
I may have screeched, just a bit.

“Calm down,” Priscilla said, stepping out of my bedroom holding some very sheer and lacy underthings that I knew didn’t belong to me.
 
I didn’t wear lingerie like that, not anymore anyway.

“I don’t understand,” I said, wondering if I had stepped into some sort of alternate reality.
 
“Alyssa said she had a job for me.”

“Yes,” Savannah said, “And this is it.”

“But it’s not even lunch time,” I protested, “The ball’s not for hours and I already have my dress picked and Margot is going to do my hair—”

“I’ve chosen you a new dress,” Savannah said, “And Margot is going to assist Bridgette and Annette with getting you ready.”

“But what about Alyssa?”

Jeanette waved her concerns away as she allowed Priscilla out of my bedroom.
 
“They will be finished in plenty of time before Alyssa needs them.
 
You need to be ready first.”

“But why?” I asked, exasperated, “You should all be helping the Queen get ready, not me.
 
I’m not the one that’s going to be the centre of attention tonight. I’m just the Queen’s secretary.”

“Not tonight,” Savannah said, “Tonight you are Lord Bingham, Earl of Avonlea’s date and you need to dress accordingly.”

“But I can’t,” I said, "Alyssa needs me to—”

“Meredith will be fulfilling your duties tonight while you get to enjoy the party with a delicious man on your arm.”
 
Savannah clapped her hands together three times and suddenly my sitting room was full of people and dresses and underwear and shoes and I started to hyperventilate.

Margaret, the youngest and quietest of the group came over and took my hand in hers and led me to the sofa so I could sit.
 
She rubbed my back as I struggled to catch my breath.

“It will be okay Alex,” she said, “Alyssa wants to do this for you, she wants you to have a fairytale evening with Lord Bingham.”

“But why?” I asked, turning wide eyes on her.

She smiled and shrugged, “Because we can all see how much in love the two of you are and we know how hard it’s been with all the media attention.
 
We just wanted you to have a night where you didn’t need to worry about any of that.
 
Just relax and enjoy it, you might not get another chance for a while.”

I hugged her, “Thank you,” I whispered.

I took a few deep breaths and
 
made my decision.
 
It was just for one night, why couldn’t I pretend to be a fairytale princess?
 
It had been a long time since I had dressed up just for the sake of dressing up.
 
Everything I wore was always on the more conservative side so as to live up to my carefully cultivated reputation.
 
It would be fun to let someone else pick out a dress for me and to maybe have my hair done a different way and my makeup a little more daring than I usually wore.

“Okay,” I said, “Show me what you’ve got.”

Savannah clapped excitedly as she grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.
 
Her assistants stood in a line, each holding an exquisite gown.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“Oh,” I said softly, “They’re all so beautiful.
 
How can I choose between them?”

“That’s why you have us,” she said, “Let’s start with this one and we’ll each give each gown a score out of ten.
 
The one that gets the highest rating wins.”

I trailed my hand along the line of luscious fabrics and nodded.
 
“Okay,” I said.

She ushered me into my bedroom and helped me into the chosen gown.
 
We took all afternoon trying on gowns and shoes and playing around with hairstyles and makeup.
 
The kitchen sent up food for us and I couldn’t remember ever having so much fun with a group of friends before, especially not with me being the centre of attention.
 
By the time the girls had to leave to get ready themselves, I felt more relaxed and happy than I ever had before a major Palace event…maybe ever.

Margot drew me a bubble bath and I sank into the tub to soak and think about my upcoming date.
 
When I was seeing Bradley, I’d never felt this sense of anticipation before one of our dates.
 
They had been more like merger negotiations than actual dates.
 
Before Bradley I hadn’t really dated; what I’d gotten up to before Daniel found me couldn’t really be called dating, not in the traditional sense.
 
So, technically, this would be not only my first date, but Freddie and my official first date.
 
He was even picking me up from my door and escorting me down to the ballroom.
 
The butterflies began to beat against my rib cage as Bridgette worked on my hair and by the time Margot helped me into my gown I was a trembling mess.
 
I’d never attended a Royal function without having a job to do and I was dead scared that all the Peers of the Realm would see me for what I really was, an imposter, a fake, a fraud.

Panic started to set in but before it could take hold, there was a knock on my door.
 
Freddie was here.