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“I picked up a few bread crusts if you feel like feeding the birds. Uncle doesn’t particularly like it, but its family tradition.”
“I haven’t fed birds since I was a child. I appreciate watching them, but I’m not the biggest fan.”
“I sense there is a story here.” David smirked and took a handful of crumbs from the small picnic basket he had brought.
Clara shrugged. “Not much to tell. I was a child fascinated with swans. I tried to pet one and it bit me.”
“You tried to pet a swan? Why didn’t your parents stop you?”
Clara looked down into the water, brushed her fingertips against the pond’s surface, and became quiet. This was one of the most difficult parts of her past to share. David had been so thoughtful and shared tidbits about Eddie and his own family. It felt right to return the favor. David needed to know she was an orphan.
“I didn’t have any parents at the time. I was in the foster care system. My biological parents were young and decided they couldn’t care for me. I don’t remember much about them.” A few small tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued staring at the water.
“Clara. I’m so sorry. I never should have pried.” David’s voice quivered in emotion.
“You would have found out eventually. It’s not something I generally share, but I was lucky enough to be adopted when I was seven years old. My parents were wonderful in every respect.”
“What happened?” David shifted uneasily in his seat.
“One night, when I was thirteen, there was a car accident and?…”
Clara never finished the statement. She began to sob. David moved closer to console her. The canoe creaked and both David and Clara tumbled into the cold, scummy pond.
9
An Encounter At Buckingham Palace
It took David a few moments to realize his stupid mistake. He mentally berated himself for not checking the canoe earlier as Clara had suggested.Always listen to a woman’s intuition.He was a first-rate idiot for letting his pride get in the way. Clara was going to be even more upset at him when they got out of the water. He used his long, powerful arms to swim over to the canoe and flipped it back over. He searched the pond and hoped Clara would surface momentarily behind him.
The pond wasn’t particularly deep but had a depth of more than six feet. He spotted Clara doggie paddling but struggling to keep her head above water. Her head submerged into the water. It reappeared a moment later. Her limbs went every which direction as her eyes searched for the bank or something to grab onto. She coughed a few times and began trying to yelp for David. Her heavy cast had to be weighing her down.
“Clara!” David shouted and swam urgently toward her. Clara continued to struggle and ended up accidentally elbowing David in the face as he reached her and rolled her onto her back. “Clara, I have you. Please relax your body. It will make this much easier for me to get us to the embankment. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Clara remained rigid in David’s arms; however, he was just strong enough to reach land.
When he was able to stand, David took Clara into his arms and settled her onto the muddy grass on her back. He breathed deeply, catching his own breath, and collapsed onto his back next to Clara. Clara coughed a few times and wheezed. David sat up as soon as he heard the noise. Clara’s arm was on her chest, her eyes closed. He moved closer to her and carefully pulled her up into a sitting position. He gave her a moment to resume a regular breathing pattern.
“Are you alright?” he asked full of concern.
Clara didn’t answer. Her eyes opened. The fiberglass cast around Clara’s foot was now completely useless and needed to be dried as soon as possible.
“Please, let me know you are okay,” David repeated. He felt Clara’s body shivering and rubbed her arms, trying to warm her up.
“I will manage. It’s time for me to go back to my hotel,” she slowly answered.
David hunched over. “I’m sorry, Clara. Let me arrange for some clean towels. We need to warm you up first and get you something hot to drink. You’re freezing.” David reached into his pocket. His phone was soaking wet and more of a hazard than anything useful. He racked his brain looking for a way to call for help.Of all the times not to have a single BP staff member in sight.He was going to have to leave Clara alone for a few minutes. David weighed his other options, but there was simply no other solution.
“I need to run to the palace for help and supplies. I’m going to leave you here on the bank. I promise I’ll be right back. Here’s my jacket. It’s not much assistance since it’s soaking wet, but it’s the best I can offer right now.” David couldn’t tell Clara’s mental state. She had just told him something so emotionally raw. She had to be stretched to the limit and didn’t need any more garbage, like the canoe. Her foot needed examining too. Plus, if she was mad at him—which he was sure she was—she’d want space.
“Fine,” Clara muttered, sounding annoyed and upset at the same time. She pulled David’s jacket around her body a little tighter.
I deserve every bit of this cold shoulder treatment.David winced as he stood and sprinted off toward the closest entrance to Buckingham Palace.Clara, forgive me.
Clara sat cold,wet, and utterly miserable on the muddy grass bank waiting for her prince to return. A middle-aged man with a slightly stocky build, sandy hair, mud-splattered jeans, riding boots, and a jacket rode up not five minutes after David had gone for help. He appeared to be in his mid to late forties and had hazel eyes. “Whoa there, Clover,” the man shouted to his horse.
“Are you alright?” he yelled as he smoothly hopped off the horse and gathered the reigns in his hands. Clara released some of the tension her body held in relief at seeing another person.
“Did David send you?” she asked, unable to stop her body from shivering. The wind had begun to pick up. “We’ve had a small accident with the canoe. He went to look for help.”
“That bloody canoe!” he muttered as both Clara and the man gazed over to the water to see the canoe drifting along. A sudden clap of thunder startled them both. A late summer storm was about to roll through the area.
