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“Is it Alex? I hope it’s Alex. I really like her a lot.”
“Yes, it’s Alex—”
“Are you getting married? Will that make me a princess?”
“Sweetheart, slow down. No, we aren’t getting married. And even if we were, that wouldn’t make you a princess. It doesn’t work that way. The most important thing for you to know is that I will always love you just as much as I will love our new baby.”
“I think you should give me a little sister. I know all about what girls like because I am one. I suppose it would be okay for you to have a boy, but can you please tell Alex I’d rather she makes me a little sister?”
I chuckle. Ah the priorities of the young. “I could, but she was quite anxious over telling you about the baby. She wanted to help, but I thought it might be better if you and I had this conversation ourselves. So, if you’re really okay with becoming a big sister, I know Alex would be happy to talk with you about it.”
“When will I get to see her? Is the baby kicking?”
“Soon, and no, not yet. But I bet when it does, Alex will let you feel her belly.”
“I can’t wait to tell Jenny that I’m going to be a big sister!”
“There’s one more thing we need to talk about.”
“Is it as exciting as a baby sister, Daddy?”
“No, I’m afraid not. There’s going to be a lot of talk. Not nice talk, about the situation because a not quite true story has been published. If anyone asks you questions, it’s important that you don’t answer them at all. Even if you think it’s going to be helpful, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy. Can we still go riding this morning?”
“Absolutely. Finish your breakfast and meet me in the stable in thirty minutes.”
Turning my mobile back on, I retreat to my office with my tea. The messages don’t stop coming, but I need to talk to Alex before I can deal with them.
“Well, it’s done, and she’s perfectly thrilled. She wants to talk to you, so I was hoping maybe we could get together soon?”
“I’d like that. Meanwhile…I assume you’ve seen the headlines?”
“I have.”
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I—”
“It is not your fault. Never your fault. You are entitled to privacy and a life, no matter what the tabloids think. It’s pointless to tell you not to worry, so I will ask you to remember that you are surrounded by people who love you and that’s all that truly matters. Can you do that for me?”
“I can try.”
“Fair enough. Pippa is waiting in the stable for me, so I must dash. I’ll ring you when we get back.”
“Have a lovely ride. Talk soon.”
23
Alex
When my mobile rings,I’m disappointed to see it’s not Freddy. I’d like to ignore it and bury my head under the blankets, but it’s Craig, so I know it’s important.
“Hi Craig. Please tell me this is as bad as it’s going to get.”
“I don’t know. The good news is your radar was a little faulty. Karen turned on phone tracking after she discovered you’d ditched her the night of the Esmonde incident. I get it, sometimes you feel the need to ditch your protection detail, but she didn’t feel she could do her job properly without knowing where you were. She did say that she realised she probably should have informed someone, but she was trying to keep you from getting a royal bollocking. She did say if she had to do it over, she would have spoken you first.”
I guess we both failed spectacularly at communication. But the blame is really on me. Her job is to take a bullet for me if necessary, and she can’t do that if she doesn’t know where I am.
“And I expect she didn’t because I’d been so wary of her, I wasn’t approachable. I’ll talk to her and sort things out between us. I assume she will continue on as my bodyguard?”
