AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I’m not going.’
‘Beatrice…!’
‘How about I trust you to take care of yourself, and you trust me? I can absolutely promise you that I have no intention of putting myself in harm’s way,’ she said, standing there with a protective hand pressed to her stomach.
After a moment of silence, she saw the flash of something in his eyes before he tipped his head in silent acknowledgement.
‘I haven’t got time for this.’
‘That’s what I was counting on,’ she admitted and drew a grin that briefly lightened the sombre cast of his expression.
‘All right. I’m staying, you’re staying. But if you—’
She waved her hand in a gesture of impatience. ‘Get under your feet? Faint? I get it. As always, your opinion of me is flattering,’ she observed drily. ‘Just go do your stuff, Dante.’
He stood there, his body clenched as duty warred with instinct. His instinct was telling him to carry her, kicking and screaming if necessary, to safety. His duty was to keep everybody safe, but how could he do that if he didn’t know Beatrice was safe? His normal ability to compartmentalise deserted him in the moment as he looked down at her. Despite his terror at the thought of her and their child coming to harm, a terror that only increased when he imagined not being there for her, his eyes glowed with admiration.
The next time anyone said anything about genes he would tell the bastards that his wife knew more about the meaning of service and duty than the rest of his family put together!
Still he hesitated, unwilling, unable, to leave her, all his instincts telling him it was his job to protect her.
‘Is that my protection detail?’ she said, as three uniformed figures appeared on the horizon.
He nodded. ‘Do as they tell you.’
‘I will.’
She saw him exchange words with the approaching detail as their paths crossed, but they were too distant for her to hear what was said.
All three of the tough-looking military types, not seeming breathless even though they’d been running, paused with brief formality to bow when they reached her.
One stepped up. ‘Highness, we are—’ He broke off and, one hand pressed to his earpiece, turned away, listening.
‘Is there a problem?’ Beatrice asked anxiously.
The men exchanged glances, as though asking each other if it was appropriate to respond.
‘My husband…?’
‘His Highness will have received the information. It is confirmation that the palace has escaped any real structural damage, so it is safe to return. Actually the first reports suggest that there is very little structural damage at all, but there has been a partial wall collapse.’
‘Inside the palace?’ Beatrice asked.
He nodded. ‘The nursery.’
The fine muscles around her mouth quivered. There were still wisps of panic floating through her head, but she was able to speak like a relatively calm person even if inside felt a lot less confident of her ability to cope.
‘Are there casualties?’ she asked, her thoughts quickly moving past her insecurities to the children she had seen on a visit earlier that week. She felt her eyes fill and blinked away the moisture as she pushed the now poignant memories away.
Tears were not going to help. Tears were for later, hopefully along with smiles. Right now she needed to focus.
‘By some miracle it seems not.’
The tears she had tried to suppress spilled out, along with a laugh of sheer relief.
‘Apparently they were all in the playground. There are scrapes and cuts, all minor, and a hell of a lot of hysterical parents arriving. The emergency services are having a lot of trouble. We need to keep them in one place. They need to take a headcount, but it’s like—and I quote—“herding cats”, which makes it really hard for them to assess the situation.’
‘The headmistress struck me as pretty competent. Is she still there?’
‘She is concussed and has been hospitalised, so the main priority is to move the children and parents out of the immediate area without losing track of any children, so that we can secure the building against any potential aftershocks. It sounds simpler than it is. It’s pandemonium.’
‘But someone is helping.’
‘Us, once you are safe, Highness.’
She held up a hand and wished she possessed half the calm she was channelling. ‘Why waste time? Take me with you.’
The military figure shook his head. ‘Our instructions are to—’
‘I’m giving you new instructions. What’s the harm? You said it’s safe.’
