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The man pointed. ‘Down the stairs, into the west wing, take a left, another left, a right, a left and up the second flight of stairs.’
Sullivan blinked. Then smiled. ‘No problem.’
The palace was bigger than he’d thought. Wings must have added on in later parts of the construction. But the directions were good. Ten minutes later he found Arun.
The dark-skinned man stood as soon as Sullivan appeared at the door. ‘Dr Darcy, what can I do for you?’
Sullivan paused for a second, wondering how to approach this. Arun was the only guy in this place that he might actually relate to. He sat down in the chair opposite. ‘I was wondering—’ he began.
‘What to do?’ cut in Arun.
Sullivan smiled. He liked a man who got to the point.
‘I can arrange a tour for you around Mirinez’s capital and historic sites.’
Sullivan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. ‘Thank you, but no. That’s not what I had in mind.’
His eyes caught sight of a thick itinerary with Gabrielle’s name on it. He leaned forward, catching the paper at the edge and letting the pages fan past his thumb. ‘This is everything Gabrielle has to do?’
Arun glanced at the empty doorway. ‘Princess Gabrielle has been gone for a number of years. There is a lot to catch up on.’
Sullivan folded his arms. ‘Why do I feel as if you chose those words very carefully?’
The edges of Arun’s lips turned upwards. ‘Because you’d be correct. A number of issues have been...’
‘Ignored? Pushed under the carpet? Destroyed?’
Arun gave a brief nod. ‘It’s fair to say that for the last few years Prince Andreas was...distracted. A number of trade agreements with our neighbouring countries urgently need reviewing. Some business deals on behalf of the government, some laws, some peace treaties all need the royal seal of approval.’
Sullivan shook his head. ‘What on earth has been going on here?’
Arun shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands. Sullivan got the distinct impression he secretly wanted to answer, Not much.
Sullivan leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk. ‘What can I do?’ He gestured towards the itinerary. ‘It looks like Gabrielle won’t have time to breathe, let alone anything else.’ He met Arun’s gaze and put his cards on the table. ‘I don’t take kindly to sitting around. Is there a hospital? A clinic I could visit? Somewhere I could make myself useful?’
Arun paused for a second then gave a careful nod. ‘You understand healthcare in Mirinez is different from the US?’
Sullivan frowned. ‘What does that mean?’
Arun held up his hands again. ‘Mirinez is a tax haven. We have many, highly exclusive, state-of-the-art, private hospitals.’
Sullivan leaned back in his chair. ‘Is this a tax haven or a plastic surgery haven?’
‘Don’t the two go hand in hand?’ There was a wry expression on Arun’s face.
Sullivan didn’t even try to stop the exasperated sound coming from his throat. ‘What about the citizens of Mirinez? They can’t all be millionaires. Where do they go?’
Arun nodded. ‘We have a few state hospitals and a few state-funded clinics. We also have a number of semi-private clinics part funded by businesses operating in Mirinez.’
Sullivan stood up. ‘That’s fine. Take me to some of those.’ Then he realised how those words sounded and he lifted his hand in deference. ‘Sorry, I’d be grateful if you could find someone to take me somewhere I might actually be useful. I’m a surgeon. My qualifications are available for anyone who needs them.’
Arun was smiling. ‘Which one of my men that you punched would you prefer to take you?’
Sullivan winced. ‘Yeah, about that...’
Arun nodded. ‘You’re right. We’ve rarely had any incidents. Their training needs to be reviewed and updated.’
Sullivan put his hand on his chest. He was trying not to smile at Arun’s response. ‘But I never said that.’
‘You didn’t need to.’ Arun picked up the phone. ‘I’ll get someone to meet you at the rear entrance to the west wing—near the stables.’
‘The tradesmen’s entrance?’ he joked.
‘Exactly.’ Sullivan was starting to really like this guy. His British sense of humour was shining through. ‘Where did you go to school?’ he asked.
‘Gordonstoun.’
‘That explains it, then,’ he quipped.
‘Oh, Dr Darcy?’ Arun had a mischievous look on his face. ‘Did the suit fit?’
‘Not in this lifetime.’
Sullivan headed out the door as the very British laugh followed him down the corridor.
CHAPTER SIX
MIRINEZ FELT LIKE a whirlwind. From the second she’d set foot in the palace Gabrielle hadn’t even had time to think.
She’d now sent Andreas seventeen emails and left six voicemails, each one more irate than the last. It wasn’t the fact he’d abdicated. Well, it was. But it was also the fact he hadn’t been doing the job he should have been doing for the last three years.
She looked at the carved wooden desk that had been in the palace for hundreds of years. Franz had allocated her tasks into piles. And it wasn’t simple piles like urgent, important and information.
No, these piles were overdue by two years, overdue by one year. Must be signed today. Must be contacted today.
Then there were sub-piles about legal matters, countries, trade agreements and finance.
She held up her hands. ‘What on earth has Andreas been doing? How have things got so bad?’
It shouldn’t be like this. It definitely shouldn’t. Mirinez was a small principality with a population of forty-five thousand. Her father had managed things comfortably. He’d looked after orders of state, their government, entertained visiting dignitaries, all while keeping up a whole variety of personal interests. Since she was a child, Gabrielle had known the role didn’t need to be a full-time job. She’d thought that once Andreas had married his TV star wife, he would have plenty of time to keep her happy. It se
emed he’d spent all his time keeping her happy and none at all dealing with matters of state.
Right now, if he’d been in the same room she would have wrung his neck with her bare hands.
Franz couldn’t even meet her gaze. She reached over and squeezed his hand. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just shocked that things have been so neglected. I had no idea Andreas wasn’t fulfilling his duties. Why didn’t you tell me?’
Franz met her gaze with his slate-grey eyes. ‘I was forbidden.’
The words cut through her heart like ice. ‘What?’
Franz was a traditionalist. He must be nearly seventy now and had been in the employment of the Mirinez royal family for Gabrielle’s entire life. If Andreas had forbidden him to contact her, he would have respected the Prince’s wishes. She didn’t even want to think what the stress had done to Franz’s health.
She was beyond angry. She was furious. Her stomach gave a little flip at the thought of what she’d brought Sullivan into.
She hadn’t been upfront about being a princess. But when he’d sensed her momentary panic at returning home he’d insisted on coming back with her. Truth was, whether he liked it or not, Sullivan Darcy was a gentleman.
But the amount of work in front of her was going to consume her every waking minute. She hadn’t expected this. He was her guest.
She leaned her head down on the desk as the old-fashioned phone in front of her started to ring. Franz answered it in his usual low voice but his quick change in tone made her sit up again.
‘What is it?’
His face was instantly pale. ‘There’s been an accident in one of the diamond mines. An explosion.’
Gabrielle was on her feet in a second. ‘How many?’
Franz was confused. ‘How many what?’
She grabbed her jacket. ‘How many casualties and what mine?’
Franz spoke again then stammered his reply, ‘Around f-forty, mostly b-burns. It’s the Pieper mine.’
