Royal Ransom (3 page)

“Either way, though, they must have lots and lots of money.”

“What they also have are guns.”

“I didn't know that this was going to be a hunting trip,” I said.

“It isn't. I didn't say they had rifles. I mean guns. Handguns. Both of those men have little shoulder holsters and guns.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I spent four hours in a plane with them so I had plenty of time to see, believe me.”

“But why would they have handguns?”

“I've also had four hours to think that through. The way I figure it, those two children are the kids of some really rich family, and those two men work for their parents, they're some sort of bodyguards.”

“Bodyguards! That's like in a movie or something!”

“Something,” my father said, and then he paused. “I don't know. I just wish I knew more about them. I asked lots of questions during our flight, but I didn't get many answers.”

“What did you find out?” I asked.

“The girl, Victoria, is your age, thirteen. The boy, Andrew, is eleven, and a bit of a pill. Likes to order people around.”

“He ordered
you
around?” I asked in amazement.

My father snorted. “Yeah, right.”

My mother always says there are two things that my father doesn't like to do: tell people what to do, and be told what to do.

“The two men are named Nigel and Albert,” my father continued.

“Are they Americans?”

“English, at least judging from the way they talk.”

My father slammed the hatch shut and we each picked up a couple of bags from the dock. We started off to where Ray's canoes were pulled up on the shore.

“At least the girl was friendly,” my father said. “She seemed pretty excited to be going on this trip.”

“And the boy … Andrew?”

“Spent most of the time on the flight playing with some little computer game he brought with him. That thing nearly drove me crazy with all the sirens and bells and whistles going off,” my father grumbled. “So how much time before you and Ray head out?”

“Not long. Grandma's packing me a couple of things and a snack. This all happened pretty fast for me, too. She should be down here soon.”

“Well, at least I get to see her for a few minutes before I go,” my father said.

“You're leaving that soon?”

“Got to. People are expecting me elsewhere. I'm just going to gas up and go. I'll be back tomorrow. You're gone for five days, right?”

“That's right. You flying them out, too?”

“That's the plan, although I wonder if it'll be sooner than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. How far do you think two little rich kids are going to paddle before they get tired and want to come back?”

“Judging from their luggage it looks like they've done this before,” I said as I gestured down to the packs I was carrying.

“Look closer. Fancy stuff, but it's all brand new. It didn't even come up with them. Somebody delivered it to my plane just before the jet arrived. Here's your grandmother.”

I turned around and saw her on the path. She was talking to a couple of my other cousins. On one shoulder she was carrying my beat-up backpack. It certainly didn't compare to the fancy new packs I'd just carted down. Then again, how fancy did it need to be to hold some socks, underwear, a couple of sweaters, and an extra pair of pants?

“You should have radioed in to let us know you were coming this morning,” my grandmother said as she approached us. “I would if I could.”

“You're home for a while now, I hope,” my grandmother said.

“No such luck. I'm just gassing up and then I have to head out. I've got mail and parcels to deliver to Cross Lake.”

“Cross Lake?” my grandmother asked. “Didn't you just pass right over top of the village when you flew up from Edmonton?”

“Almost directly over top of it. I could see the little patch of houses off my port wing as I rounded the lake.”

“Then why didn't you stop in?”

“My passengers paid for a direct flight.”

“That doesn't make any sense. Fly right past a place and have to take another two-hour flight to get back.”

“Money talks.”

“Where are these people?” my grandmother asked.

“Ray's with them over by the canoes,” I said, pointing them out.

“Come on over and I'll introduce you to them,” my father said.

“Always good to meet new people,” my grandmother chipped in. “Even if they have more money than brains.”

“Grandma!”

“Don't worry, I'm not going to say that to them.”

As we walked up, their backs were to us, and they were facing Ray. He was holding a map and explaining to them the route we were going to be taking. We put the bags down and listened as Ray continued to explain things and they asked questions. My father was right, they did have funny English accents. They sounded like they just fell out of a cup of tea. Finally Ray looked up at us.

“I'll introduce you to the rest of our party,” Ray said. “You've of course met your pilot, and this is his son, Jamie Ransom. He'll be coming with us.”

I reached out my hand and shook everybody else's. “Are you an Indian too?” the boy asked.

“I'm Cree, northern Cree,” I said. “And we like the term Native Canadian a whole lot better.”

“Sorry,” the girl said with her funny little accent. “My brother didn't mean to offend anybody.”

“No offence taken. Just explaining,” I said.

“And this lovely lady is Jamie's grandmother and … what's wrong?” Ray asked, sounding alarmed.

I turned to my grandmother. Her mouth and eyes were both wide open. She let go of my pack and it fell to the ground at her feet.

“Mom, are you okay?” my father asked.

“Good. Fine. Good,” she mumbled.

“These gentlemen are Nigel and Albert, and these two young people are—”

“I know who
they
are,” my grandmother said, cutting Ray off.

“You do?” Ray asked.

“Of course,” she stammered. “I'm so honoured to meet you both!” She reached out and shook first the girl's hand and then her brother's.

“It's a pleasure,” the girl said.

“Yes, a pleasure,” the boy echoed.

“This is Victoria,” my grandmother said, “and this is Andrew.”

“Yes, that's right,” Ray said, “but I don't understand how you know them.”

“Why wouldn't I know them? This is Princess Victoria, and this young man is Prince Andrew … first in line to the British throne.”

Chapter Three

I
T WAS LIKE ALL AT ONCE
nobody knew what to say next. These kids were royalty? That would explain all the money, and maybe the privacy.

“It's such an honour!” my grandmother repeated as she continued to shake the boy's hand, pumping it up and down. She did this little curtsy sort of bow and almost tumbled over. “So honoured! Aren't we honoured?” she said as she turned to the rest of us.

“Um … sure … yeah,” I mumbled.

“You're a prince and princess?” Ray asked.

“Of course they're a prince and princess!” my grandmother exclaimed. “This is Princess Victoria, the oldest daughter of King William, the Princess Royal. She was born on the twenty-fourth of May—the same date as her great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, whom she's named after. And this,” she said, once again making a bowing sort of motion, “is Prince Andrew, oldest son and first in line for the Crown, after his father!”

“Wow, that's impressive,” Ray said.

“Very impressive!” my grandmother said. “Royalty!”

“I meant all that stuff you know … really impressive.”

My grandmother puffed out her chest. “How can we loyal subjects be of service to Your Majesties?”

“Loyal subjects?” I questioned. I was a lot of things, but a loyal subject wasn't one of them.

“We don't want any fuss,” the girl—the Princess— answered. “We just want to go on our trip.”

“Of course you do,” Ray said.

“And we don't want any special treatment,” she added.

“You'll be treated like everybody else,” Ray assured her. “Of course, we treat everybody like they're the King and Queen of England.”

“Thank you, I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time. I can't wait to get started.”

“I'm afraid that might not be possible,” one of the bodyguards said.

“And why would that be, Albert?” Princess Victoria asked.

“This situation is not good,” he said. “We did not anticipate that your identities would be discovered prior to our departure.”

“Is there a secure place where we can meet?” asked the other bodyguard, Nigel.

“Secure? You mean like a jail?” my father asked.

“No, a place where we can talk in privacy?”

“Our house,” my grandmother said. “I'd be pleased— happy—
honoured
if the Prince and Princess would come into my house!”

“Thank you, we need to make a decision concerning our options.”

“What do you mean, options?” Victoria asked.

“Please, Your Highness. You have to trust me. Now, if you would kindly lead us to the house.”

My grandmother led, followed by the bigger of the two guards, the Prince and Princess, the other guard and then Ray and my father and me.

“I thought you had to leave right away,” I said to my father.

“I do, but a few extra minutes isn't going to matter. It's not every day you get royalty visiting your house.”

By the time we reached the house they were already inside. My grandmother was practically dancing around, and of course she proudly displayed her collection. As she showed off the different pieces, she talked about the history behind each and her knowledge of the Royal Family. It was completely bizarre. Here she was showing them plates and things that had pictures of their relatives on them, and explaining their own family history to them. The girl was pretending to be interested, but the boy looked bored and even a little annoyed.

“And of course so many of my pieces are devoted to your mother, rest her soul,” my grandmother said. “That was one of the saddest days of my life. So young—too young. I remember thinking that it wasn't fair that somebody so young and beautiful and loved by so many should be taken from us.”

“Yes … thank you for your thoughts,” Princess Victoria said softly.

Her brother didn't look bored or annoyed any more. His expression was now blank, showing nothing, no emotion.

“And I have to show you this!” She led them to the mantel, reached up and pulled down her framed,
autographed picture. She beamed as she handed it to the Princess.

“That's my father and my grandfather,” Princess Victoria said.

“That's right,” my grandmother said excitedly. “They were here when your daddy was just a boy!”

“I know,” she said. “My father has told us many wonderful stories about the adventures he had up here. He wanted us to have the same experience. That's why we're here.”

“That's wonderful! Just wonderful! And do you know who was their guide for their trip?” my grandmother asked.

They both shook their heads.

“It was my husband, Jamie's grandfather, who brought your grandfather and father through the bush. And now Jamie's going to be part of bringing the two of you on your adventure!”

“As I said, that's still to be determined,” one of the guards pointed out. “There has been a breach in security, and we have to make a decision as to whether or not we are going to cancel this operation.”

“This isn't an operation, Albert, this is a vacation,” Victoria said.

“A vacation for you is a mission for us, Your Highness,” he said. He turned to my father. “If needed, are you free to fly us back to Edmonton?”

“I could … if the price was right.”

“Hold on, now,” Ray said. “We had a deal here, and I expect that I'll still be paid for—”

“You will be paid in full,” Nigel said, cutting him off.

“Both of you stop right there!” My grandmother was getting pretty steamed. “We won't be accepting your money for anything! We're just so honoured that you're here with us, and we'd be more than delighted to offer our services in any way possible!”

My father and Ray both stood there, their mouths wide open, speechless.

“Thank you, madam, for your offer, but it is our policy always to pay full dollar and honour all commitments and arrangements,” Nigel said.

All at once both my father and Ray started breathing again. They'd known that once my grandmother had made that offer they had no choice but to do what she said. To disagree would have been a slight against her.

“The important thing is the safety of the Prince and Princess,” Albert added.

“We
are
safe here!” Princess Victoria exclaimed.

“No, he's right,” Prince Andrew said. “Perhaps it would be best if we just flew back and—”

“You're just saying that because you didn't want to come up here in the first place!” she snapped.

“That may be true, but the important issue is our safety. Isn't that correct, Albert?”

“I hardly think that this is a breach of security,” the Princess argued. “There are only four people who know we're here, and two of them are coming with us.”

“And two are not,” her brother observed. “You know what they say, a secret isn't a secret once two people know about it.”

“I am most positive we can trust our hosts not to betray our confidence,” she said.

My father shrugged. “I won't be telling anybody.”

Everybody looked at my grandmother. “I'll be telling everybody!” There was a gasp of disbelief. “Of course, that won't happen until after you're all through with your trip. Then I'll be telling everybody for the rest of my days that I met the future King of England and his sister, a beautiful princess!”