Royal Court

by Jenny Frame

  “Why would she want to do that?” Holly said.

  Quincy shrugged. “I should have been the bigger person. I should have kept control.”

  “What did she say?”

  “There was a lot of gossip about us. Other staff members saw me leaving your room this morning. She made comments, and I don’t want to repeat them.”

  “I’m a big girl, Quin. Tell me?”

  “She made comments about your reputation with men, and being with Story, then me, in the one night, and that she’d be happy to take my place with Queen Beatrice, and with you, once I’ve been kicked out of the squad. In not as nice language, of course.”

  “So basically, I’m a bit of a slut who was fucked by Story and you in one night, and she’d be happy to as well?” Holly said.

  Quincy put an arm around her shoulder. “I was trying to put it in nicer language.”

  “Bitch,” Holly said angrily. “I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot bargepole. I know you were defending my honour, Quin, but you gave her what she wants—the team to think you’re a loose cannon.”

  “I know. The Queen and Lang want me to take a few days off, until they see what’s going to happen.”

  “What? You’re not going with us today? But that will mean Bea is protected by Garrett, the one who sent the threats.”

  “Apparently the Queen got some pressure from the prime minister after what happened in Chicago but fended her off. This makes it harder.”

  Suddenly the penny dropped. “You don’t mean you might be replaced permanently?”

  Quincy nodded. “Maybe, we don’t know yet.”

  “They can’t send you away.” Holly cupped Quincy’s cheeks. “I’ve just found you, Stompy. I want you here with us in the royal court, or else how often would we see each other? I’m going to George and Bea.”

  Quincy stopped her. “Stop. I want to let this play out, find out who Garrett is working with. I want you to go today and be alert. Watch her, and Clay will be doing the same. She knows about this.”

  Holly flopped down onto Quincy’s knee and put her arms around her neck. “Okay, but just for a few days. I’m not going to let Garrett do this to you.”

  “I love you, Holly,” Quincy said.

  Holly laid her forehead against Quincy’s and said, “I love you too, baby.”

  ***

  Quincy paced around her room. The royal party had left, as well as Holly. How had she let her anger control her again?

  Her phone rang—it was Blade. “Quincy.”

  “Quincy, I’ve found it. Garrett received a message to get you out of the way today. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the hotel. Garrett and I had a confrontation. The Queen Consort is being protected by Garrett. They’re visiting a theme park today.”

  “God, that’s a busy, big open space. You need to get there. Lieutenant Rodwell left the UK for the US yesterday.”

  “Shit.”

  Quincy hung up and phoned Holly as she ran down the hall of the hotel.

  “Holly? Where is the Queen Consort?”

  “She’s meeting with some of the staff before they go onstage for the speeches. Clay and I have Teddy—she was being bad tempered and wanted to stay with Big Bear. What’s wrong?”

  Quincy looked at her watch. Could she even get there in time?

  “Tell Clay to stay with you and Princess Edwina no matter what,” Quincy said. If she passed the intel to Clay and asked her to alert Lang, too many people would be involved, too much potential for leaks. Rodwell might pick something up and act earlier.

  “Quin—” Holly said.

  “I need to go.” Quincy hung up and ran.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Quincy pushed her way through the crowd. Her heart was pounding with fear, the fear of failing, just as she had failed Jacob and her men and women.

  She finally saw the stage. The Queen Consort was making a speech, while George sat and watched. The audience around the stage was thick with people. She needed some height.

  Quincy looked around and saw some fencing close to the stage. She climbed up and scanned the crowd. She heard her name called and looked down. It was Holly with Teddy, and Clay.

  “I told you to stay where you were,” Quincy said sharply.

  “Sorry, Captain. Holly wanted to find you,” Clay said.

  “What is this all about, Quin?” Holly said.

  Then Quincy saw him. The face she would never forget, the face that left them to their deaths, and he was pushing towards the front to the stage.

  Quincy jumped down and took Teddy from Holly and gave her to Clay. “Clay, go back to the car, and lock yourself in with the princess. Don’t stop, don’t look back, no matter what you hear. Do you understand?”

  Clay held Teddy protectively. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “What in God’s name is going on, Quin?” Holly said.

  “Lieutenant Rodwell is here. Stay back. I love you.”

  “Quincy, don’t!” Holly called after Quincy as she ran to the stage.

  Holly knew that Quincy would give her life for her friends, and this might be the last time she saw her.

  She watched with horror as people in the crowd screamed. Quincy ran onstage, grabbed Bea, and turned her back to the crowd. Shots rang out, and Quincy and Bea fell. Holly screamed, “No!”

  Pandemonium broke out.

  ***

  Quincy heard distant voices and beeps as she began to awaken. Then the pain started to awaken her more. She opened her eyes and she saw Holly’s smiling face, and her chest was filled with love.

  “Hey, you’re back with us, Stompy.” Holly looked happy but had tears running down her cheeks.

  Quincy could do nothing more than croak the words, “Love you.”

  Holly leaned over and kissed her so gently. “That’s quite a few times you’ve said that, so it must be true.”

  She tried to remember what had happened, and images of running onto a stage and shots fired at the Queen Consort filled her mind.

  “Bea…Queen—” Quincy tried to sit up, but pain seared through her chest and ribs.

  “Don’t, Quin. Calm down.” Holly helped her ease back and she sat and held her hand. “Bea is absolutely fine. You saved her.”

  Quincy finally rested her head back on the pillow. “What happened?”

  “Lieutenant Rodwell shot at Bea, but you grabbed Bea and took the bullets instead of her,” Holly said.

  Everything started to flood back to her. Grabbing Bea to the ground, the hot pain as the bullets entered her body. Lang and the others pulling Bea and George away from the scene. Cammy cradling her, while shots were fired again.

  “Did they get him?”

  “Yes. He’s gone, and Garrett is in custody,” Holly said.

  Quincy nodded. “I heard you shouting for me,” Quincy said.

  Holly used a tissue to wipe away her tears. “They wouldn’t let me through. I struggled and shouted, and eventually Cammy saw me and waved me over. I was more scared than I ever have been in my life. I held you till help arrived, and I warned you that if you died, I would kill you.”

  Quincy laughed and groaned in pain. “Don’t make me laugh.”

  “Don’t ever try and die. I’ve just found you.” Holly kissed her hand.

  “Hey, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, if I can help it. I love you, Holly.”

  “I love you, Stompy.” Holly stood and kissed her. “The Queen is outside waiting to see you. I better go and get her.”

  Holly left and George came in by herself. Quincy bowed her head. George smiled. “Any excuse for a lie down, eh?”

  “Your Majesty, I would get up if I could.”

  George sat down beside her bed. “You had us all very worried, Captain.”

  “How long have I been out?” Quincy had never thought to ask Holly. She had assumed it was only hours.

  “A week,” George replied.

  “Bloody hell.”

  “How do you feel?” George asked
.

  Every part of Quincy hurt. “Oh, you know. No more than a forced march through the Highlands in the driving rain.”

  George smiled. Quincy knew the Queen knew she was putting a brave face on the situation. Then the Queen looked serious. “Lang would like to see you too. He’s very sorry he didn’t listen to you.”

  “That’s okay. Garrett did make it look as if I’d lost my marbles.”

  “Quincy, I cannot begin to tell you how much I am in your debt. I—”

  “You don’t have to thank me, ma’am,” Quincy said.

  “No, I do. When Queen Rozala lost her father and brother, I thought if tragedy like that touched my family, it would be me who was the target. I knew Bea would be distraught, but she would have Teddy, and Theo, to get her through. But I never, ever thought Bea would be the target. If she had died—” Tears came to the stoic Queen’s eyes.

  Quincy had never seen such emotion from George before. “Ma’am—”

  “No,” George said. “I have to finish. If I lost Bea, my world would fall into tatters. I really don’t know how I would go on. She’s my strength, you see.”

  George looked down at her own clasped hands for a second and said, “Nobody knows this, Quincy. Not even my brother Theo. When my father died, and I was thrust into this life of service, I fell apart inside. I would turn up to events, put on my best smile, and gulp down my pain over my father’s death, and the enormity of inheriting the crown far too early. I thought I’d have years and years before duty called.”

  In all the years she had known George, she had never heard her talk about her emotions before. Maybe she wasn’t the only officer who struggled.

  George continued, “I would gulp it down so much that I started to have panic attacks. When Bea met me, she recognized them and helped me through them. For some reason I trusted her to see my vulnerability. She’s my rock and keeps me balanced, so that when I go out into the world, I can appear to be strong and together. Bea is my strength, and without her I—Well, you can imagine.”

  “That’s why you asked for me, didn’t you?” Quincy said. “You knew what demons I was fighting and you understood them.”

  George clasped her hand. “We military people don’t talk as much as we probably should, but I think we all understand each other’s demons. I only wish I hadn’t bowed to pressure and made you stay away from the park. If you hadn’t gotten there, I would have been lost.”

  “Don’t think about that. I got there. I wasn’t going to let anyone take Queen Beatrice away from you. You gave me a second chance, George. I was facing losing my commission. You knew that, but you gave me this chance, and I met someone who has made me want to share my feelings and my life for the first time.”

  George smiled and sat forward. “My wife the matchmaker was right.”

  “What?” Quincy was confused.

  George sat back and crossed her legs. “Bea thought she saw a spark of something between you and engineered the rooms, and generally tried to play cupid.”

  Quincy shook her head and smiled. She could see it all now. The rooms suddenly next to each other, the encouragement at every turn.

  “Please thank the Queen Consort for me,” Quincy said.

  “You can tell her yourself. She’ll be along to see you this evening. But one thing, Captain,” George said seriously.

  Quincy furrowed her brows. “What?”

  “Wounded or not, I’ll kick your backside from here to Buck House, if you let what’s in here”—George pointed to her head—“interfere with what’s in here.” She then pointed at Quincy’s chest. “That young woman has only left this hospital to go back to the hotel to shower and change. She’s slept here and hardly eaten, and she took some very interesting calls from the admiral, all because she loves you.”

  Quincy couldn’t quite believe she was worthy of such love and dedication. God only knew what the admiral thought of Holly. They would be like matter and antimatter.

  The Queen stood and fastened her suit jacket. “I don’t know what goes on between you and Holly when you’re alone, Quincy, but I suspect she is the only one you let see the pain, the uncertainty, the fear, just as I do Bea. She deserves all of you.”

  Quincy smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m sick of running from my feelings and my demons. Besides, my demons have no chance against Holly. She’d scare them to death.”

  George laughed. “Very true.” She patted her shoulder and said, “Thank you again for risking your life and going through all this pain for my wife.”

  “It’s my honour to, Your Majesty,” Quincy said with absolute sincerity.

  “You can be sure I’m going to thank you in a very special way.”

  Quincy’s heart sank. “You know I don’t like fuss, ma’am.”

  George just winked at her and said, “Bea will be in later.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Holly waved off Lali and Cammy at the front door to her building and shut the door. Two months of rehabilitation in America were behind Quincy and Holly, and they could finally return home to Britain. Cammy and Lali volunteered to pick them up from the airport and help Quin get back to Holly’s flat with the bags and suitcases. Quin was better, but she was still in recovery and banned from lifting anything heavy, much to her annoyance.

  They had agreed that while she was recovering, Quincy would stay at Holly’s flat so she could look after her, and then they would talk about what came next in their relationship. That was what Holly was worried about, as she shut the door and walked back up the stairs to her flat.

  “What now?” Holly sighed.

  She and Quin weren’t a normal couple. They hadn’t dated or done any of the normal things new couples would do. They were thrown together in the royal court, fell in love, and then Quincy was nearly taken from her by the bullets of a jealous, vicious ex-marine.

  Holly had been through hell waiting to see if Quincy would survive, then had lived every day at the hospital while she was rehabilitated. Would things be different here at home? Would what they shared in the bubble of the royal court work in their real everyday lives? Holly wanted it to more than anything, but Quincy had never been in a relationship, and she had been really quiet on the plane trip home. Maybe this would all be too much for her?

  Holly trudged upstairs to the front door of her flat. She’d left Quincy in her small kitchen and when she walked in, she found Quincy leaning against the countertop, rubbing her side.

  “Are you in pain? You’re meant to be sitting down,” Holly said.

  “I’m fine and I’m sick of sitting down,” Quincy said.

  There was an atmosphere between them, and Holly couldn’t work it out. She had put up with a few bad tempers while she helped Quincy with her rehab at the hospital, but this felt different.

  She doesn’t want to be here.

  “Sit down and I’ll put the kettle on,” Holly said.

  “Holly—”

  “Just please sit,” Holly said a little sharply.

  Holly went to make the tea. She heard Quincy sigh and do as she was told.

  “It’ll be time for your pain medication in ten minutes. I’ll get you tea, then your meds, then—”

  “Holly, you’re fussing,” Quincy said calmly.

  “I’m not.” Holly slammed the teacup down.

  Quincy rubbed her forehead. She didn’t want to be constantly reminded of her injuries. She wanted to be the strong woman Holly had fallen in love with. That was if Holly still loved her. In the few days before they’d left the hospital and on the journey home, Holly had been different. She had been taking care of her perfectly, but her kisses had been chaste and not like a lover’s.

  Maybe Holly had changed her mind? If the tension in the kitchen was anything to go by, then there was something wrong, and Quincy wanted to know what but was terrified of the answer.

  “Holly? Please come and sit down. I want to talk to you.”

  Holly came and flopped down in the chair. “What?”

&nb
sp; “Normally it’s you who wants to talk. There’s something wrong, and I want to know what,” Quincy said.

  Holly nervously tapped her fingers on the table.

  “Do you not want me here?” Quincy said.

  Holly looked up at her quickly. “Are you insane? I love you and I’ve just found you. Of course I do.”

  Quincy reached across the table and took her hand. “What is it, then?”

  Holly sighed. “I’m worried this isn’t what you want. I mean, we’ve never been domestic before. How do you know you won’t feel suffocated? This is just a small one-bedroom rented flat, and you’ve lived in barracks all your life.”

  Quincy let out a sigh of relief. All the dreams and plans she had made before leaving the States could still come true.

  She took a breath and remembered what Queen Georgina had said. Holly had stood by her and deserved all of her.

  “Holly, I’ve never had a home. I went from boarding school to the marines, then to my regiment. Now I’ve found you, a love I never thought I’d have, and I don’t want to miss a thing.”

  “What are you saying?” Holly asked.

  “I’d like to have a home with you. I’d like us to buy a house together. A place we can make a home.”

  “Really?” Holly jumped up in shock and excitement and rushed over and sat on her lap. “You would?”

  Quincy felt her side ache but wasn’t going to let Holly know. She wrapped her arms around her. “Yes, I want that more than anything,” Quincy said.

  Holly kissed her with passion for the first time in months and lit a fire that had been smouldering in her since she’d recovered.

  Holly pulled back and looked at her quizzically. “Why were you so tense on our way home then?”

  “That wasn’t tense, just nervous maybe about something else,” Quincy said.

  Holly screwed up her face. “What?”

  “Well, I want to live with you, but as you always say I follow rules and regulations and I’m old-fashioned. Reach into my pocket.”