When we got back into the grand ballroom we made our way over to the bar for a drink. Devlin suggested this time I try the pomegranate champagne which was really just pomegranate juice mixed in with expensive champagne. It was good and I had just taken a sip when I saw a familiar face smiling back at me. Mistress Sophie ran up to me and gave me a hug hello.
“Did you just get here? I’ve been looking for you,” I asked her.
“No my baby girl, I’ve been here all night. I’ve just been busy chatting with the Prince. Have you had the chance to meet him yet?”
“No he’s had so many people around him all night. Wait, you know the Prince?”
“Sort of, our families know each other through business. Would you like an introduction?”
I turned to Devlin. “May we go meet him Master?”
“Sure,” he answered reluctantly. I held his hand and Mistress Sophie led us over through the small crowd that surrounded the Prince.
“Your Highness, this is my good friend Master D,” Mistress Sophie said to the Prince.
The Prince politely shook Devlin’s hand and then turned to me. “And who might this lovely lady be?”
“This is my Mary Elizabeth,” Devlin replied.
When I held my hand out to shake his, the Prince grabbed my hand and kissed it instead. “The beautiful Mary Elizabeth.”
I don’t know what came over me, but I suddenly felt playful.
“Amy, my name is Amy,” I corrected.
The Prince stepped back and just looked at me. Everyone around him just gasped. Apparently correcting the Prince when he makes a mistake isn’t allowed.
He started to apologize and I giggled. I stepped up, closing the distance between us and playfully put my hand on his arm. “I’m only teasing. My name is really Mary Elizabeth.”
The Prince looked at me in confusion.
“Everyone seemed to be so serious around you, I just thought you needed a laugh.”
Those who stood around him were notably quiet, all seeming to hold their breath, wondering what the Prince would do next. When he let out a big belly laugh, everyone relaxed.
“Miss Mary Elizabeth, I like you. Most people who meet me shy away from being themselves. They are afraid to do or say anything that thing think might offend me. You are a credit to your Master.”
I curtseyed. “Thank you, Your Highness. I don’t know what came over me. It’s just everyone was standing around being so serious, I just wanted to make you smile.”
The Prince turned to Devlin. “Have you had a chance to see the Salvador Dali?”
“No, not yet. Mary Elizabeth and I were headed up there when we ran into Mistress Sophie.”
Devlin and the Prince made small talk for a few more minutes before we parted ways and made our way up the marble stairs to see this thing they were talking about.
“Master, who or what is this Salvador Dali thing you and the Prince were talking about?”
“One of the members donated a $150,000 Salvador Dali painting.”
“Is he a member of your club?”
Devlin chuckled. “No my slave, Salvador Dali is a famous surrealist painter. He died years ago.”
“What does that mean Master?”
“Surrealism means beyond real or logical. You take real subjects and present them in a dreamlike way.”
I guess that kind of made sense. I didn’t really understand what it meant, but we had finally arrived at the painting and I got distracted by looking at it and trying to figure out what in the world made someone think the painting was worth $150,000. I most definitely am not a fine art connoisseur.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Mistress Sophie standing near the railing, looking over the balcony. I grabbed a new champagne as the waiter walked by and went to talk to her, leaving Devlin to speak to his friends about the merits of supporting the arts.
“What is that lovely fragrance you have on? That’s new right?” Mistress Sophie asked me.
“Master got it for me last week. It’s Flora by Gucci.”
“He does love spoiling you.”
I giggled. “Yes, he does. I’m very lucky to have him.”
I leaned over the railing to see what was down there. I noticed the Prince standing next to a large stone statue. It was big, much taller than him. From my height, I couldn’t tell what the statue was of, but the Prince looked rather interested in it. That was until he glanced up and seen me looking down at him.
I blushed, embarrassed that he caught me staring, but I didn’t look away. That was until I noticed his eyes grow larger, as if he was seeing something going on behind me. I heard a loud crunch and when I turned my head wondering what caused that horrified look on his face I seen Mistress Sophie reaching out for me, while at the same time her slave was holding her back.
The next thing I remember is being in the Prince’s arms and him smiling down at me and then nothing -- complete and utter blackness.
Chapter 18
When I finally came to I was in the hospital and my beloved Devlin was sitting in a chair next to my bed, holding my hand.
I opened my eyes and slowly took in my surroundings. On one side of the room was a bunch of machines that I found myself attached to. On the other side was Devlin and at the foot of my bed was Mistress Sophie pacing back and forth while her slave stood in the corner diligently, always by her side.
I squeezed Devlin’s hand just about the same time Mistress Sophie realized I was coming to. Devlin jumped out of his chair and told her to go get the nurse and let her know I was awake.
“Master, what happened?”
He learned down and kissed my forehead.
“There was an accident, my sweet. You are in the hospital. Do you remember any of it?”
Devlin helped me sit up in my bed and my hand immediately went to the bump on my forehead. It was throbbing. I thought about the party we had been at and tried to remember what happened.
“I don’t know. I remember talking to Mistress Sophie. She liked my Gucci perfume.”
As Mistress Sophie walked back into the room I remembered seeing her face as I was falling and her slave holding on to her to keep her from falling too. Soon after Mistress Sophie returned the doctor came in to check on me. Mistress Sophie and her slave went outside while the doctor was with me but Devlin stayed.
The doctor examined me thoroughly. He read over my chart and then gave us the good news.
“Looks like you had a nasty little fall but all of your tests came back clean.”
He flipped through a few more pages on his chart. “No concussion, that’s good. That bump on your head will no doubt cause you some pain over the next few days but we’ll give you something for that. It will probably make you tired so no driving or operating heavy machinery.
“As far as the other injuries go, you might want to consider increasing your vitamin C intake, maybe drink an extra glass of orange juice each morning with your breakfast. It will help the contusions heal quicker.”
I blushed when I realized he was talking about the red markings on my butt from where Devlin had been spanking me.
“You may also want to try eating more leafy vegetables.”
I giggled. “Okay thank you doctor. I will.”
The doctor continued reading my chart and making notes. “Doctor, when do you think I’ll be able to go home?”
“I just signed your release. I’ll hand it over to the nurses after this. They will take some time to get all of your discharge papers but you’ll be free to go then.”
When the doctor left the room Mistress Sophie and her slave came back in.
“How long was I out Master?”
“Not long. They gave you something when we arrived, so they could run their tests on your head and that may have been part of the reason you were out so long.”
“How do you feel?” Mistress Sophie asked.
“Tired. Confused. I don’t know. I still can’t believe all of this. How did I fall?”
Mistress Sophie looked to Devlin who nodded his head as if he was telling her it was okay to give me the story.
“Someone behind us tripped and fell over, landing on the railing that you were leaning on. When it broke he fell and so did you. The Prince was in the right place at the right time and caught you.”
“I can’t believe it. How about the other guy, is he okay?”
“I think I heard he had a broken arm or leg or something. He’ll be fine though.”
Before we could finish our conversation there was a knock on the door and then a policeman came into my room.
“May we help you with something officer?” Devlin asked.
“I just need to get a statement from Miss Seabrook.”
“Please, call me Elizabeth.”
“Okay Miss Elizabeth, why don’t you tell me what you remember about your fall?”
I looked to Devlin, nervous to speak openly with the police officer. Devlin smiled down at me and nodded his head as if it were okay to speak, so I did.
“I don’t know what you mean. How far back should I go?”
“Well, let’s start with the beginning. What was the event you were attending tonight?”
“My boyfriend Devlin and I went to a party. It was a social gathering to honor the Prince’s visit.”
“Do you know what he was doing here in Texas?”
“No I don’t know. I’m sorry.” I looked to Devlin to see if he could answer. “Devlin do you know?”
The officer however interrupted before he could answer.
“Don’t worry Miss Seabrook. We have everyone else’s statements already. I just want to see what you know and how things went from your point of view. It’s okay if you are aren’t sure.”
“Then no, I’m sorry but I don’t know why he is here. I just assumed some oil business or something.”
“Was this the first time you’ve ever met the Prince?”
“Yes. Prior to meeting him tonight, I didn’t know who he was. I don’t even know what country he’s a Prince of. All I know is that it’s somewhere in the Middle East.”
“And when you were at this social gathering, what did you do? Please take me through what you remember. Try and specifically think of anyone you might have seen or anything that stands out in your mind.”
“When we first came in I noticed a lady wearing a long red dress. I recognized it immediately from the Prada contour collection. I was on their website last week and seen it up there. It was bright red but because the fabric was so sheer it made it look more faded, you know what I mean?”
“I don’t, but that’s okay. Think carefully about the other people at the party. Did anyone else stand out to you?”
I thought about it for a moment.
“Just say the first thing that comes to mind.”
“Oh yes, there was something that stood out to me. Before we went up the stairs we went over to the table where they were serving drinks and there was this girl standing there in metallic Jimmy Choo’s. They were so amazing”
Mistress Sophie chimed in. “I seen those. I know exactly who you mean.”
The police officer just sighed.
“Did anything else stick out to you during the course of the night that perhaps wasn’t fashion related?”
“I’m sorry. I could tell you that two different ladies had the exact same Chanel dress on but in different colors and styled with different accessories but still, I knew it was the same dress. I could tell you that someone there, a really tall blonde lady had on a dress from the Marc Jacob collection from a year or so ago. It was from the show that Kendall Jenner walked the runway with no eyebrows. But if you want to know something other than what people wore that night, I just don’t know if I can be of much help.”
“Did you see the man who fell onto the railing?”
“No. I was looking down at this stone statue when he fell. I didn’t seem him before or after.”
“Was this the statue that fell on the Prince and put him in the coma?”
“What? What do you mean? The Prince is in a coma?”
I looked to Devlin for an explanation and then back to the police officer.
“I’m sorry ma’am I didn’t realize you didn’t know.”
Devlin rubbed my arm soothingly. “It’s okay Mary Elizabeth. We’ll talk about it later. Please continue officer, the nurse will be back soon with her discharge papers and we want to get her out of here and back home.”
“Okay, Miss Seabrook, I mean Elizabeth,” the office corrected himself. “Did you have any personal interaction with the Prince during the party?”
“Devlin and I spoke to him briefly. He was always surrounded by so many people. As I’m sure you can imagine, everyone wanted a minute of his time. I mean how often do you get to meet a real life Prince?”
“What did you speak about?”
“It was nothing really. We said hello and then he talked to Devlin about some fancy painting and then that was really it.”
“And you are sure nothing during the entire night stuck out in your mind as unusual or out of place?”
“There was a lady with his group almost the entire time. She had on this crazy looking Emilio Pucci dress.”
“What was so crazy about her dress?”
“Oh well it wasn’t the dress per say. It was … well, Emilio Pucci is known for these insane patterns. Her dress was white and had the crazy patterns but it wasn’t colorful like normal, the patterns were outlined in silver and the sleeves had this cool fringe. I don’t know. I guess it stuck out in my mind because normally he has such bold prints and this dress was so classy. Not that his stuff isn’t normally classy. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. I wouldn’t have even known it was by Emilio Pucci if I hadn’t overheard someone else mention it.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay, Miss Seabrook. That’s very nice, but I meant anything that wasn’t fashion related.”
“Well …. No. Fashion is what sticks out to me. If someone is in a great dress or some fabulous shoes, that I’m going to notice. But put a man with a gun next to someone’s head and I probably wouldn’t even have realized it. I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear but it’s the truth. I can’t help it. I’m a girl so I notice girly things.”
The officer was clearly annoyed but continued with his line of questioning.
“According to several eye witness accounts, when the Prince caught you in his arms he appears to have lost his footing. He began to fall backwards, which is when you banged your head on the stone statue. You both fell to the ground and he covered you with his body to protect you from further harm and that’s when the statue came down on him, knocking him out. Is that how you would describe the events as well?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I don’t remember what happened. I don’t remember falling at all. I remember landing in the Prince’s arms and him smiling down at me and that’s it. The next thing I remember is waking up here in the hospital. The doctor said I may remember little things in the next day or two but other than that I can’t help you.”
The police officer handed his card to me and after glancing down at it, I gave it to Devlin.
“Okay Miss Seabrook, thank you for your time. If you happen to remember anything that you think might be of importance please call the number on my card.”
Mistress Sophie showed the officer out of the room while Devlin fluffed my pillow to make me more comfortable.
When she returned she had a huge smile on her face, trying her best to hold back a laugh.
“Okay Miss thing, when did you become such a fashion expert?”
I grinned, knowing I was completely busted.
“What gave me away?”
“You and I both know there was nobody there in a red Prada dress.”
I giggled.
“I admit, when the police showed up and started speaking with you before your Master and I had a chance to go over some things with you, I was a little nervous but you my dea
r were amazing. I couldn’t have been more impressed. Where in the world did you come up with such a great misdirection like that?”
“When I worked at Ashworth and Kent we had a client who had to come in because her parents were making some adjustments to her trust. Their family wealth had increased considerably so they were going to put more money into her trust. Instead of being grateful or helpful in any way she just sat there going on and on about fashion and Prada this and Donna Karen that. Everyone was so annoyed with her. She was absolutely the worst client I ever had to deal with. I just channeled her and that way I could answer and seem helpful without actually saying anything useful.”
Devlin leaned down and kissed my forehead. “You are brilliant my sweet.”
“What do you think is taking so long with my discharge Master? Do you think something is wrong?”
“No of course not. They are probably just busy. I’ll go to the nurse’s station and see what I can find while Mistress Sophie helps you get dressed.”
I jumped out of bed and hurried to get dressed while Devlin went to find one of the nurses.
“Okay let’s go,” I said to a stunned Mistress Sophie.
“What do you mean baby girl?”
“I need you to help me to go see the Prince. I need to see him. I need to know that he’s okay.”
“There is no way we can get in to see him, he’s in intensive care. They only let immediate family in to see patients in that ward.”
“Then you can help me sneak in. Please Mistress Sophie. I can’t do it without you.”
She sighed. “Fine. But if we get caught it’s all on you.”
We quickly but discreetly made our way over to the ICU and found the Prince’s two guards distracted by flirting with the nurses. Mistress Sophie went up to speak to them, while her slave’s big body blocked their view and I snuck into the room behind him.
Once inside I found the Prince hooked up to all kinds of machinery. I held his hand and began to cry. I couldn’t believe he was in a coma and it was all my fault. He was like this because he tried to save me.
Dark Romance Novel - Submission + Taken + 1 Mystery books Bundle Set (A Dark Romance Series Novel) Page 16
