“Stay right there and don’t lean over. Once we’re down you know what to do, like we explained,” Jeremy said as he gave me a friendly squeeze before he joined Will near the cliff. William’s eyes found mine one last time. He winked and I had to turn away to hide the smile. Either I was going crazy and imaging things, or there was something going on. And I wasn’t too confident in which one I would’ve preferred.
I really did not know how to handle these overwhelming emotions that had snuck up upon me in the last few days.
With my eyes pinned on the pair I held on tight to William’s suit jacket, snuggling down into it for perceived safety. Please don’t die, I chanted. He knows what he’s doing, quipped another side of me, the side that had confidence in the man I was charged with turning into a respectable prince.
I nodded to myself. He had this. Wouldn’t do it otherwise.
Then they were gone. From my position a ways back from the edge, but still able to see from the side, I watched them both hurtling towards the ground at an incredible speed.
My heart was in my throat, pounding like a big drum. It felt like my whole body was reverberating with the hard beat of my petrified heart.
Breathless, I wished for them both to pull their cords. To do something before they ended up as bloody smears on the ground.
When both parachutes went up, it was as if choir angels sang. I had the biggest smile on my face and tears streaming down my cheeks as a wide range of emotions jostled aside each other for the number one spot.
They floated effortlessly to the ground below, and finally they were safe. Prince William was back on solid ground again. My body felt wrung out over the few seconds of worry I’d had to endure. No wonder His Majesty was worried about his son. Watching something like this would tear anyone’s nerves up.
Straightening, I fished the keys out of my bag that Jeremy had handed to me earlier and climbed in the Land Rover, starting the engine so that I could manoeuvre the battered old 4x4 down the steep trail to where they had showed me to meet them.
The sun was starting to set in the distance, a beautiful palette of smeared bright pinks and vivid oranges as another day was ending. I finally got the Land Rover down the winding path and successfully parked it in the makeshift gravel parking lot as the guys walked up, their parachutes tucked in a roll in their hands. I climbed out of the driver’s side and watched as they stripped off the packs, winding up the parachutes to be repackaged later.
“What did you think, Sophie?” Jeremy asked.
“It was different, I’ll give you that.”
“It was fucking awesome you mean,” William replied, his hair windblown and his cheeks flushed. “I needed that, mate.”
“You need more than that, but we won’t go there right now,” Jeremy chuckled, sliding a glance over at me. “Hey Sophie, care to go for dinner tonight?”
My tongue felt suddenly thick, as if it didn’t belong to me, a strange lump of muscle in my mouth. I looked at Will’s handsome friend, and knew I should be flattered. After all it had been quite a while since someone had asked me out on a date. But it wouldn’t be right… he was Will’s friend.
“I, um…”
“Too late. She’s going with me, to dinner.”
My gaze shot to William as he stared at Jeremy, his jaw clenched. Jeremy held up his hands and gave me a wink. “Sorry, mate. I didn’t know she was taken.”
“I’m not!” I blurted out. William’s full concentration swung to me and I swallowed hard at the intense look, feeling those flutters in my stomach once more. “Well, I mean technically, I’m not taken.”
“You’re taken tonight,” William added with a sense of finality. Looked like I didn’t get a choice in the matter. He moved away and opened the latch on the off-road vehicle and threw his gear in the back. I didn’t say anything, surprised by the sudden change in tone the whole afternoon had taken on in a few short seconds. I climbed inside, in the rear, and clasped my hands together in my lap trying to figure him out. I didn’t understand why Will was being so… well, acting like a jealous boyfriend. We weren’t together, not even close. Even if hell did freeze over it still wouldn’t happen. We lived in two different dimensions, let alone worlds. I was his secretary, not his girlfriend.
The ride back was quiet, the sound of recent hits on the radio the only thing filling the silence. A few times Jeremy tried to lighten the mood, made a joke, but it fell on deaf and very preoccupied ears.
“Drop us off here, will you?” William asked before we reached the palace.
“Yeah mate, whatever,” Jeremy said, pulling over into a side street off Piccadilly. “Call me later.”
“Will do,” William replied curtly. But he stopped before climbing out and looked back at his friend. “Thanks again. I needed this.”
Jeremy’s nod was his reply. Over his shoulder he gave me a quick smile. I said my goodbyes and joined Will on the pavement. Jeremy drove away and Will produced a baseball cap from somewhere along with a pair of sunglasses. He put both on.
“Well, what now?” I said, taking in my surroundings. We were about a five to ten minute walk from the palace. “And why on earth are we walking back? It’s not exactly safe. Sir, say something,” I added when he remained quiet.
William shoved his hands in his pockets. “Sophie, I…”
“And what the hell was all that with Jeremy?” I rounded on him, finding my courage, placing my hands on my hips, unable to keep the fury at bay. He’d blatantly made his friend think that there was more to our relationship that there actually was; implying that I would step outside of the boundaries of an employee/employer relationship and jeopardise my career. But more than that I was angry at myself that there was a sliver of truth to it—a guilty conscience. My traitorous body betrayed me practically every time I looked at William.
But regardless I kept on giving him a hard time. “I can’t believe this. What were you thinking? We are not together.”
“Guess you don’t want to go to dinner then?”
“Ugh!” I started to walk away but then he put a halting hand on my arm.
“Look, I know,” he sighed. “I lied okay? I’m not proud of it. But I didn’t want you to go out with Jeremy.”
I tilted my head to look at him. “Why ever not? He seems nice enough. I could do a whole lot worse!”
I needed to know the answer. Why would he care about whom I would and would not date? It wasn’t like I was going to actually go to dinner with his best mate after all. I didn’t know him, and there felt like there was a bit of a conflict of interest.
William sucked in a breath, as if trying to build up the courage to say what he needed to. Another glance at him and I was taken aback by the sadness in his eyes.
“Tell me? You can trust me. Remember, I’m on your side.”
“Because… bloody hell, tonight is the night Frederick and I always had dinner together and I don’t want to do it alone again.”
My chest started to ache at his heartfelt reason. Of course, how could I have been so stupid? I should’ve been able to connect the dots. Frederick liked to block out his Monday evenings. Though he never told me what he had planned and I’d respected his privacy.
Now I was torn between wrapping Frederick’s twin brother in a hug and crying because I could see the loss and hurt plain to see on his face. And I suddenly realised his need to skip the afternoon events; Frederick’s events. Will required one hell of a distraction.
“I’m so sorry, Sir,” I said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “I didn’t know.”
William let out a small laugh, running a hand through his hair roughly then put his cap back on. “Yeah well we kept it pretty quiet, especially if we fancied shaking our security detail. But it was nice, you know? Just the two of us. Acting like normal ordinary brothers, forgetting who we were for an evening every so often.”
“Well,” I said, giving his forearm a reassuring squeeze. “Admittedly, I’m a lousy replacement and as long as we don’t
start drowning ourselves in whisky again, I would love to have dinner with you.”
Some of the sadness faded from his eyes and he said, “So I guess a strip club is out of the question then?”
My mouth dropped open before he chuckled. “I’m kidding.”
I shut my mouth and dropped my hand from his arm. “Of course you were. They don’t serve food in strip clubs.” Not that I had ever been in one before.
“Oh you wanna bet? Some of the best have these great sushi parties, where you eat right off—”
“And that ends that conversation! I won’t be able to look at another California roll the same way ever again,” I said and began towards the palace. As we walked it gave me time to think. I would have never expected William to have an acute vulnerable side to him. He came off all cock-sure and confident, yet under those hardened layers there was a softness to him. And the thought of him hurting right then drove a knife through my heart. He was vastly different than I had expected, much more down to earth, and funny too. He made me smile.
No! I wasn’t going to go down that dangerous path.
I could not get start thinking like that. The last thing I needed was to get involved with my boss.
“You know, Sophie Mortimer,” he said, and I gave him a weary sidelong glance at the sound of my full name. “I’m beginning to think you’re not so bad.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re trying to butter me up for something.”
He motioned drawing a cross over his heart. “Promise you, I’m not. Just wanted to thank you for today.”
“You’re welcome, Sir. All work and no play makes William a dull boy, right?” I said, repeating his little quip.
“Exactly. Speaking of which, give me two seconds—I have an idea.” He stopped and pulled out his phone, dialled and barked a couple of instructions. A few minutes later a town car with dark tinted windows pulled up right beside us.
Will held open the car door for me. “Well, come on. Get in. Or are you just going stand there?”
“Where are we going?” I asked and stepped closer, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body as he waited for me to pass and get in the car.
“Trust me. You’ll love it,” William replied.
Thirteen
William
My reaction when Jeremy had asked Sophie out to dinner had admittedly been overblown. I was a complete and utter arse. But I couldn’t help it.
Jeremy was a good mate, the best actually, and he would treat Sophie with the upmost respect, like a queen even. But the thought of him laying his hands on her, kissing her, had sent a nasty jealous streak shooting down my spine. I couldn’t help the reaction. I had all but claimed Sophie as my own.
I walked into the tight entryway and half-turned to watch Sophie enter behind me before the door swung shut and we were encased in darkness momentarily. I hid a sneaky grin as she moved closer to me, her breasts grazing my back in the small space, giving me a devil of a time. My attention wavered. What would that same motion feel like if we were both stark naked?
“Um is this one of those black out dining options?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Because I thought you at least got to see the menu first.”
I laughed as we waited, glad she was with me. “No, it takes a minute or two for them to open the other door.”
I hadn’t lied about the significance of the evenings Frederick and I had shared. And the thought of going to the restaurant we frequented often, alone, hadn’t appealed to me. The pain was still too raw, too fresh to face something like that. And if anyone could make it go away, it was the cheeky woman next to me.
The door finally opened, shedding soft light into the small space we had been sandwiched in and I stepped into the hallway, motioning for Sophie to follow me. It had been years ago that I’d first found the place, a private dining club that wasn’t nearly as expensive as some of the others around London and thankfully not as ritzy. Which helped keep it under the radar. I could come and eat in relative peace, without reporters following me in or being pestered by other diners. Though during my visits I had seen my fair share of movie stars and occasional model.
The hallway opened to a large long room, walls made of thick unfinished stone, with small alcoves carved into the lengths. It always reminded me of an old-fashioned wine cellar. Each one of the alcoves held a small private space where diners could enjoy their meal without being overlooked directly and without any interruptions. There was even a curtain to pull over the opening if there was a need to really hide from everyone.
“Where are we?” she asked as I walked us to my booth, the one that my membership held just for me whenever I wanted.
“It doesn’t have a name,” I said as I explained about the semi-secret dining club. I held back the heavy velvet curtain and motioned for her to slide in. “I did say I’d take you to dinner. See, not a slippery pole in sight, so let your guard down for just a little while. Trust me?”
She gave me a look, her eyebrows twitching, but slid into her seat along the booth. I hooked the curtain on the nail, a signal that someone was occupying the booth before taking up my own seat across from her. The booth curved around the table and normally I sat in the middle of it so I could see out, but tonight I stayed put near the edge not wanting to make Sophie uncomfortable. I had done that enough already with my damn proclamations.
“This is all so mysterious. Are there places like this all over London?”
“You, betcha. You wouldn’t believe how many secret and private clubs there are tucked away in old buildings with only a single nondescript door as an entranceway.”
A waiter dressed in a pair of dark trousers and a black shirt came by and dropped off my usual pitcher of ale on the table and a few plates filled with appetisers; a cheese board and some charcuterie.
Once he was gone, I was about to tuck in when I noticed Sophie eyeing me suspiciously. “Did you set this up before hand?” she asked.
I shook my head. “It’s part of the ambience of the place. You come in, you sit down, and they have your lists of preferences already to go. No ordering, no trying to make up your mind. No stress. They do that, the chef combines your choices depending on what he’s got and what’s fresh. Wait, you’re not allergic to anything are you?”
“Nope, I was just wondering, is all.”
She still looked as if she mistrusted me but started picking at the cheese, popping small bite-sized pieces into her mouth. I poured us both mugs of ale and was about to take a sip when Sophie stopped me.
She had her own mug in her hand, bringing it close to mine. “To Frederick, loved but never forgotten.”
I nodded and rose my mug, a lump suddenly making itself known in my throat. “To Frederick.” I took a long gulp of the frosty liquid, attempting to wash down all the emotions I had about the night.
“So,” Sophie started after taking a sip of her own ale. “Tell me how you got started with the cliff diving thing. Whatever possessed you to do it?”
I settled back. “Don’t you know I’ve always been the daredevil of the family, jumping off literally anything I could find? I did this charity parachute jump once—”
“Jumping out of planes?” she said as her eyes widened.
“Yup. And it all started from there. You have to do tons of them before you can really start with the base-jumping. And that’s also how I met Jeremy. Then of course after that I couldn’t stop. We egged each other on. It’s all his fault, and he’s proud of that fact. But we’ve jumped in some pretty spectacular places, places you wouldn’t normally see otherwise on a regular tourist trail,” I finished.
“But why?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, the thrill of it all maybe? There’s nothing like the rush you feel as you’re hurtling towards the ground at an insane speed. And the only difference between life and death is the cord at your elbow.”
Sophie wrinkled her nose. “I’d much prefer a safe day at a fairground, eating all the
candy floss I could to get the same type of rush.”
I laughed, feeling myself relax. “I’ll have to try and see if that has the same effect for me.”
She looked at her drink for a moment. Only a few shuffles of others in the restaurant could be heard as we sat in comfortable silence.
“Can I ask you another question?”
I leaned back, draining my mug in one big gulp. “Sure.”
“If you could get out of being in line for the throne, would you?”
That was a loaded question. “You mean when the time came, abdicate and let Robert taken on the mantle?”
She nodded.
“There was a time I would have said yes without hesitation,” I finally said after a moment. I’d hated the fact that I was a member of the royal family and glad in some respect that it would’ve taken something drastic before the spotlight properly shined upon the second heir. But then that day had come and turned everything upside down.
“And now?” she asked, her eyes on me. “What’s changed?”
I stared back into the depths of her eyes, seeing a different person now than the one I’d judged so harshly on that first day we’d met. What did she want to hear? She had so much hope that I could take on this role, that I could be Rick, perhaps even better. No one had ever had such hope in me before and I didn’t know how to handle it. I was hurtling into the unknown.
“I’m not sure,” I said slowly, thinking of the letter in my jacket pocket. “What do you think?”
She slowly smiled. “You already know what I think.”
“Why does it matter so much to you, Sophie?”
Sophie reached for the pitcher of ale, topping hers off then doing the same to mine before replying. “My mum was a private secretary too. And it’s all I know how to do, other than waitressing at a pub, which is probably what I would be doing if I didn’t have a plan, or this position. Don’t you see? Your actions directly impact my life. It sounds selfish, but it’s not just me that this matters to. There’s a whole country out there that would, in a way, be affected. They’re counting on you. But they also believe in you. We have all these traditions and it sounds mad, I know, but we need them and we need the stability…”
Royal Master Page 12
