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“I think he likes you,” I pointed out.
“Have you become a comedian, Oliver?” Mother asked dryly, her gaze locked on the dog. She seemed to be fighting a losing battle against her curiosity. “As I have said before, dogs are not allowed in the royal palace. I never asked for another dog, nor do I want one.”
Grace called her bluff. “Fine—I’ll keep him for myself then.” She scooped the corgi back into her arms. As she walked past my mother, she paused, meeting her gaze steadily. “He needs a loving home. And I understand if you can’t provide that for him. Or if you just don’t care about dogs anymore.”
“Do not put words in my mouth,” Mother said.
Grace did not give up. “Well, my point is, since you don’t appear to want this precious little creature, Your Majesty, I will take him back to the US with me when I leave. I’ll give him the most loving home possible.”
Mother stiffened a little, but did not respond.
I glanced at Grace, impressed by her confidence, but held up a hand to defuse the situation. Obviously, she had let go of the idea of decapitation and didn’t fear my mother anymore.
“We don’t need to make any rash decisions,” I said. “Why don’t we give it a few days? The dog can stay with Grace until we figure things out. Mother, you won’t even see him.”
“I’m fine with that,” Grace said. She turned to walk out, then stopped to glance back at Mother. “Your Majesty, again, I truly am sorry about the dress. I accept complete responsibility, even though I have no idea how he could have left my room. I will have it repaired immediately.”
“That is unnecessary. I believe you’ve done quite enough already,” my mother replied, glancing at the dog one more time. “You may go now.”
Grace nodded, not saying other word.
I walked out of the room behind her, the door closing behind us.
After Henri walked away, I couldn’t help but shake my head at the absurdity of what had just transpired. Grace looked up at me. Her expression was one of pure mortification.
“Did that really just happen?” she asked.
“Indeed, it did,” I confirmed. “And I must say, Grace, only you could manage to introduce such chaos into the palace with something as innocent as a living surprise gift.”
“I hope she believed me,” Grace said, as we made our way down the hallway back toward her room. “I had only positive intentions.”
“I don’t doubt that for even a second,” I said. “It may have been one of the kindest things anyone has ever attempted to do for my mother. Just give her some time. She’ll come around to the idea of having a dog again. It’s uncanny how he looks like Ruby when she was a puppy. He’s going to melt my mother’s heart, you’ll see.”
“That would be nice . . .” Grace sighed, her shoulders slumped. “Honestly, I just feel like nothing is going right in my life. Something is off. I really don’t get it.”
I’d brought her to Verdana for the sole purpose of failing and getting me out of my arranged marriage, but I was feeling a little more guilty about it now. Especially with that vulnerability clearly etched on her face and in her voice. I suddenly felt the urge to make her feel better.
“You’re being much too hard on yourself,” I reassured her. “The gala was a raging success. You pulled it off with panache, despite the tight timeline.”
“Except when I climbed up your chest like it was Mount Everest,” she said.
“It was barely enough to land you in jail,” I said, grinning. “I think what you deserve is a break from all this wedding planning pressure. How about joining me in the billiard room? Do you play pool or darts?”
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, but not very well.”
“Perfect,” I said. “Because I love winning.”
That finally got a smile out of her. “Men and their egos.”
“Look out, this one is huge,” I said, tapping the side of my head.
“Somehow, I doubt that,” she surprisingly said, as we stopped in front of her bedroom door. “I’m still wondering how he got out of my room.” She ran her fingers through the pup’s fur. “I just need to make sure he doesn’t destroy anything else in the palace.”
“We’ll have to keep a close eye on this cute little troublemaker.” I scratched him on the head. “How about I hold him while you grab his food and water and things? It’s time you had some fun. How does a bottle of beer sound?”
“Just one? Sounds like you’d better stock up.” Grace smiled, then grabbed the pet shop bag and followed me.
I was determined to help her relax and forget about the wedding planning debacle and my mother’s harsh words. We took the puppy outside for a pee on the royal lawn, then made our way back inside.
