“Victoria,” she announced. “After the queen from a long time ago. Not the queen now.”
I laughed. “That’s exactly right. Queen Victoria was our present queen’s great-great grandmother. But it’s a perfect name, and you wear it well.” I patted her silky hair. “I think I had better scoot inside, or they’ll all be cross with me for making them late. Thank you for my pretty flowers.”
As I rose to stand again, the young woman standing behind Victoria reached out a hand toward me. “Thank you so much, Your Royal Highness. She was so disappointed about not being able to see you when she knew my dad and sister were going. She’ll remember this forever.”
“Thank you for bringing her. It’s always a pleasure to meet the children.” I nodded, smiling, and began making my way back to the intended path.
I was a few steps from the doorway, almost beyond the reach of the cameras, when I was aware that Simon had come behind me. I slowed my steps, thinking he wanted to tell me something before I went in.
But instead, he nearly growled. “Ma’am, stepping away from our planned route makes life very difficult for your security.”
I stopped walking, shocked. “I don’t know what you mean. I always pause to speak to children. And I’m not the only one—that’s something all of the Royal Family tends to do from time to time. There was nothing wrong with it.”
“When we’ve discussed what you’ll be doing, and then you change your mind on the fly, you’re opening yourself to ... unsafe possibilities.” He spoke with barely restrained irritation.
“That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.” I reached for the door in front of me. “And I’m not going to stand out here and talk to you about it anymore. If you have a problem with how I do things, you can take it up with the palace staff. Or with my husband. Or with me, at a time that isn’t now.”
Before I could jerk open the handle of the door to the hotel, Simon was there, his hand covering mine as he pulled it. “Allow me, ma’am. Please, right this way.”
I was positive that my cheeks were bright red as I marched into the lobby. I wasn’t a pushy person. Coming into the Royal Family, I’d done my level best to keep my head down and learn as much as I could from everyone around me. I’d tried not to make waves—emphasis on the wordtried,because sometimes I’d screwed that up royally (pun intended). And I’d followed the example that Nicky and his entire family set, treating all of the people who worked with and for the family with gentle deference and respect.
I’d experienced some stuffiness from palace staff, for sure, but mostly, people were kind and courteous, willing to help and understanding that making the transition into this world wasn’t easy. I’d never been treated the way Simon West had just done. I didn’t like it, and I wasn’t going to stand for it.
But that would have to be handled later, because right now, there was a group of men and women approaching me with smiles on their faces. I recognized them as a welcoming committee, and out of habit, I stopped walking and let them come to me, keeping the expression on my face pleasant and benevolent.
It was time to be the Duchess.
I was aware all during the luncheon that Simon West was standing against the wall, his eyes darting constantly from me to the various exits and back again. I wondered if he was just waiting for me to make a false move so that he’d have the chance to scold me again.
As I listened to the conversation around me and took part as was needed, I studied my new security officer covertly. He was definitely younger than Harold, who was in his mid-forties and had always felt to me like a much older brother or kind uncle. Simon, I guessed, was somewhere between thirty and thirty-five. He wore his dark hair short, and his eyes, which were so brown as to be nearly black, were wide and never still.
He wasn’t quite as tall as Nicky, though he had the sort of build one might expect from a runner—lean and muscular. He most definitely wasn’t my type, even if I hadn’t been blissfully married to my prince ... but considering him, I wondered if he wouldn’t appeal to my friend Shelby, who’d always gone for the dark, brooding types. I made a mental note to push her about making another trip to London soon. It had been too long between visits—and if I introduced her to Simon, maybe they’d fall in love and she’d move to England. She could live next-door to me.
Well, a girl could dream.
As soon as the speeches had concluded, it was time for the presentations I was making in my role of the Queen’s representative. I stood at the front of the room on the small stage, shaking each hand, passing the plaques of recognition and saying a few words to each recipient. And then there were the photographs that had to be taken. Once those were finished, the master of ceremonies thanked everyone for coming—giving me a special nod, of course, as their guest—and then it was over. I spoke to a few more people as I wandered down from the stage, but the moment I was back on the floor, Simon was at my side.
“The car is waiting for us out front, ma’am. The luncheon ran a bit long, so we’re a little behind time. We’ll need to hurry so that we don’t delay your next stop.”
Once again, I had the perverse desire to stomp my foot and tell this man that he wasn’t the boss of me. But I couldn’t do that, not here and now. So instead I pasted on my professional smile.
“Of course. Let’s go, then.”
He whisked me through the lobby, outside and to the car before I had a moment to take a breath, and then we were zooming through the London streets, heading to Southall. Safely anonymous behind the tinted windows, I let my head loll back against the seat and sighed heavily.
The car was quiet, which wasn’t unusual. Harold and I didn’t chatter, necessarily, and when we were with a driver, on official business, we were even less likely to speak as freely as we did when I was driving us to or from the office, or off to visit Daisy. Still, the silence between us was always comfortable. Today, the air felt tense.
Several times, it seemed that Simon was about to speak and then thought better of it. That same old guilt poked me in the gut, especially when I imagined Nicky’s disappointment in the way I was behaving. It was one thing for me to be upset about Harold being gone, and quite another for me to be rude to his replacement, who was not responsible for having been assigned to me. He was probably wishing right now that he’d taken any other possible job. Maybe a nice, calm mission chasing down suspected terrorists.
I cleared my throat. “Apparently, it was a good thing we didn’t plan to stop at the garden. We’re running so late now that there wouldn’t have been time, and all that fuss about getting clearance would’ve been a waste of effort.”
Simon turned in his seat. “Everyone would’ve understood. Your schedule can be unpredictable when you’re relying on other people, and things like these luncheons are notorious for dragging on.”
I wasn’t certain whether he was agreeing with me, assuring me that being behind schedule wasn’t my fault or if he’d taken my comment as a jibe at him. I didn’t know how to respond, so in the end, I merely nodded.
“True.”
And then I stared out the window at the passing scenery. Maybe silence was safer.
