Page 19 of Secret Dynasty

“Does Alexander know is coming?” she asked pointedly.

“I might have forgotten to tell him,” he admitted. He turned and gave me a sheepish look that was far too much like a teddy bear for such a beast of a man. “Do you know Edward?”

I nodded, my mood brightening a bit at the thought of seeing him. I’d struck up a tentative friendship with the Prince of England while in Yorkshire. I hadn’t expected to see him again so soon.

“Okay, I need you to do me a favor,” the guard said to my surprise. “Don’t tell him that I forgot to tell his brother he was coming. I’m pretty sure I was supposed to grease that wheel in advance.”

“Okay,” I said slowly.

“It’s complicated,” the woman informed me.

Edward had insinuated that during our time together in Yorkshire, but I kept this to myself and shrugged nonchalantly. “It will be our secret.”

“Thanks,” he said with relief. “Let’s see, do you have any weapons on you?”

I blinked and stared at him for a moment. The change in topic had my head spinning.

“Oops, sorry. This is the part where I actually do the security,” he explained.

“No weapons but my charm and wit,” I reassured him.

“I like her,” the woman said, half absorbed in looking over a file.

“Hey, Brex,” the older man called. “I need you for a minute.”

“Take over?” he asked her.

She nodded and turned her full attention to me. Brex jogged over to discuss something with the other man, leaving me to finish my security clearance with the woman.

“This isn’t exactly what I expected,” I admitted to her.

“I know that he seems like a gentle giant,” she said, “don’t let that fool you.” Her words were clipped and businesslike. Any friendliness she had shown moments before had been replaced by someone who was here to do her job. I found myself studying her more intently. While the men were dressed in suits for the funeral, she hadn’t bothered with such formalities. Instead, she wore leather pants and a tailored black blazer. A lacy camisole peaked from beneath it, giving a soft edge to her otherwise commanding presence.

“I guess that’s why he works for the king,” I said. She asked a few more questions about my recent travels and when and where I’d been at the time of Lord Byrd’s death.

“Does it matter?” I asked. “Didn’t he die from natural causes?”

“Looking for consistency,” she explained, dropping the cold tone she deployed during her short interrogation. “Yeah, the old bat dropped dead because he was ancient. But anything at Westminster...unfortunately, there’s history here.”

For a moment I thought she meant between the Byrds and the royal family, but then I noticed she looked around her at the church itself.

“Oh. Of course.” I hadn’t thought about what it meant that the king was visiting Westminster. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time he’d been here since his wedding, but I doubted it ever got easier to return to this place. Not after what happened. “I’m surprised he’s coming.”

“Alexander knew Lord Byrd quite well. Just as I’m sure, he’ll know the next Lord Byrd quite well,” she said cryptically.

“Well, thanks for that,” I said uncertainly, but she didn’t offer more clues as to her strange comments. I was a bit surprised to hear that Spencer’s grandfather had a relationship with the king. He hadn’t been a terribly friendly man.

“The family will be primarily focused on speaking with visitors and attending to the matters of the funeral,” she continued. “So, I’d like to ask you to keep your eyes open. There’s no specific cause for concern, but, as you know, in the past security has been an issue here. If you were to see anything…”

“Of course,” I said in a rush. Despite my mood, I couldn’t help but feel honored to be entrusted with the safety of the attending royals.

“I’m Georgia,” she introduced herself. She pointed to the black man. “That’s Brex. And Norris. If you see anything, find one of us. Only one of us.”

“Won’t there be more security?”

“There will be, but only speak to one of us,” she repeated.

I didn’t press her for more information, and she didn’t offer it.