Page 41 of Falling for the Queen Mother

Alaina did just that and came back with the same cards. "Canasta."

This time, she won two rounds in a row - and they weren't even close.

By that time, they were near enough the marina that it was time to prepare to disembark. Would they go back through the tunnel they had used to get to the yacht in the first place? Or would they be taken a more normal route? Their trip was no longer a secret. Was their return? Would there be crowds waiting at the marina?

The thought made Nate a bit uncomfortable. He'd known being associated with Alaina would mean more public attention, but so far he'd been able to avoid it. If only it could stay that way.

Before they even arrived, he knew the answer to all of those questions. They would be escorted to a vehicle and driven to the palace just like any other day - and there were definitely crowds waiting for them. Word must have leaked out that they were returning.

Rather than running the gauntlet, Alaina chose to stop and greet those who were waiting. She shook hands and took photos, held a couple of babies and accepted flowers from a little boy.

Nate just tried not to look too awkward. Was he supposed to do the same? He wasn't sure if it would be some sort of faux pas so he stood back and watched, smiling and nodding a greeting when it seemed appropriate. There would likely be commentary on the news outlets about his behavior, though he had no idea what the consensus would be.

Probably poor, though he didn't know for certain why it would be, except they would find a way to criticize just about anything if they thought it would bring in extra clicks or longer views.

It took about ten minutes for Alaina to work her way to the vehicle that waited for them. Nate was going to hold the door for her, but a member of Alaina's security team took care of that for both of them.

Once they made it to the portico at the palace, Nate let the team know that he'd be going straight to the archives and asked for an escort. The security team member hesitated for half a second then bowed his head toward Nate.

"You are welcome to traverse the palace on your own, sir. However, it is requested that, for the time being, you limit your wanderings to the places you have already been approved for."

"So straight to the archive and no exploring?" he clarified.

"Exactly, sir."

It both surprised him and not at the same time. He knew his way around to the places he'd been frequenting, and he was married to the Queen Mother, but he hadn't expected to be turned loose so soon.

He turned to say something to Alaina, but all he saw was her back as she walked up the stairs talking to her assistant, their heads close together as though it was important and needed to be kept quiet.

What could that be about?

He'd find out later - or not.

It was different walking around unaccompanied. Staff members nodded and stepped to the side as he passed. That was definitely different. So was his streamlined inspection by the security guards at the entrance to the archives. He arrived in the conference room and found a gathering of several team members.

HIStorianNAME looked up. "Good afternoon, sir."

There was a different tone in her voice than there had been before. More... deference maybe? He wasn't certain he liked it. He hadn't changed, just his legal status and unintentionally at that.

Rather than dwell on anything, he turned his attention to the painting in question.

As soon as he took a closer look, he knew something was off about it. He took a much longer time examining it trying to to be certain about the discrepancies and what they meant.

Finally, he took a seat. "I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but it's definitely a forgery. The biggest questions are how long it's been here and where the original is."

Alaina made sure she attended the meeting Nathaniel called with Frederick and other members of the staff.

They had discovered a forged painting, but no one knew for sure when it was replaced. It could have been recently, or it could have been years earlier.

Nathaniel suspected it came from a well-known forger, created sometime after World War II. It might have been created for the express purpose of replacing it or it could have been created for someone to put in their own home and claim they had an original then replaced years later.

"When was the last time it was authenticated?" Frederick asked the question likely on everyone's mind.

"About ten years ago," HISTORIANNAME told them. "But it doesn't mean it was authentic. It depends on whether or not the authenticator was paid off. If that person was susceptible to bribery or blackmail, then they could have authenticated it even if it wasn't."

"Do we know who did it?" Frederick continued to take the lead in questioning.

Nathaniel nodded. "It's someone I've known for years. I would be surprised, shocked even, if it wasn't accurate. That's not to say it doesn't bear looking into, but their reputation is above reproach. In fact, they were part of an attempted sting, I guess you'd call it, a number of years ago. Someone tried to bribe them, but it was immediately reported to the proper authorities."