The door opened and Kevin popped his head in the room. “Pardon the interruption, Monsieur Beaumont, but Anya needs to be prepped for her meeting with the Japanese ambassador in the morning.”
Was Beaumont disappointed to hear this news? Au contraire, he grinned as if he’d just been awarded the Légion d'honneur. “Naturellement! Please, take her.” He started pushing me out the door before I had a chance to grab my stuff. Once I was out of the room I swear I could hear him singing a snatch of the Hallelujah Chorus.
After I pretty much had the door slammed in my face, I immediately started questioning Kevin. There was only one reason why he’d interrupt my French lesson. He had found another secret passageway. “Where are we going?” I asked over and over again, but he would only reply, “You’ll love it. Trust me.”
We eventually stopped right in front of an empty wall. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where the triggering mechanism might be, and I could hear Kevin snickering next to me as I looked.
“All right” I said, finally giving up. “Where’s the magic button?”
Kevin shook his head. “Nope, you’re not giving up. You have to find it.”
I groaned in exasperation. “Well, can you at least give me a hint?”
Kevin sighed and replied, “Fine. It’s the stone next to your left hand. See how it’s different?”
I looked down and the stone was easy to spot; it had a different texture and color than the stones around it. But it was only slightly different; you really had to squint to notice. I pushed it in the stone to hear the sound of a click, like a door unlocking, only moments later. But I couldn’t see the entrance until Kevin pulled back a tapestry on the opposite wall, revealing a hidden passageway. “You first,” he said with a challenging grin.
I sighed and grabbed the flashlight from his hand before stepping into the dark.
“All right, no funny business while we’re here,” I warned Kevin, knowing quite well that he would seize the first opportunity to scare me.
I felt his hand on my shoulder as he passed me. Then once he was in front of me, he grabbed the flashlight, then grabbed my hand and led me down the hall. “There, now I can’t scare you,” he said with a laugh, but it didn’t sound like his normal, easy-going laugh. It sounded nervous.
I shook it off as we neared a small wooden door that looked more elegant than the others. Kevin looked at me to make sure I was properly attentive, and only then did he open the door. I was shocked to see a bright light come streaming through the doorway. I shielded my eyes as I walked in and gasped at the room Kevin had found.
It was a huge open area, bigger than the dining hall. I was standing on the upper level of the room, and to my left and right were stairs curving down to the lower level. The walls were all stone except the one facing outside. That wall was floor-to-ceiling glass windows and nothing else. I walked down the stairs as if in a trance and I looked around the room. It was an absolutely beautiful antique of a room, so simple and elegant. All it needed was a few comfortable chairs and it would make a wonderful sitting room.
“So what do you think?” Kevin asked as he walked up beside me.
“I love it!” I sighed, still taking it in.
“I thought you would.” he replied, sounding pleased with himself. We stood there for a moment or two in silence before Kevin piped up, “So what are we going to name it?”
I thought about it for a little bit before suddenly blurting out, “La Salle en Verre.”
Kevin looked at me dumbfounded.
“It means ‘The Glass Room’ in French…” I began to explain, and then it hit me. “Oh my… How did I know that? I know French!” I started jumping up and down. “I know French!”
And, of course, Kevin just stood there laughing. I swatted him like pesky fly until he quit laughing at me, then we discussed what we should do with this room. He agreed with my idea of a sitting room, and I made him promise to come here with me on the next full moon. I thought that it would look wonderful, the light of the moon shining in the windows.
Once we made our way back to the hallway, Kevin pulled me aside and quickly said, “Look, maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone about that room. I mean, we wouldn’t want LaGard going in there and deciding to make it into a suite for Lynette.”
He had a valid point. I nodded and said suddenly, “What time is it?” I looked at my watch to answer my own question. “Oh no!” It was four-fifteen. “I’m going to be late for Anatomy.”
He just brushed it off. “Get going, then. I’ll treat you to ice cream in the kitchen late tonight.”
“It’s a date!” I yelled as I started to run back the way we came. Wait a minute, I thought, That didn’t come out the way I… He couldn’t possibly think I meant…
Chapter 15
Curveball
It was a good week of pure, dreary, mindless work before I got a break. LaGard finally caved and gave me a day to myself. So I stayed in my pajamas that morning, grabbed an apple from the kitchen, and made my way to the library. I hadn’t gotten a lot of reading done and I was determined to do that today.
Although there was a huge selection of books in the shelves around me, I had brought about ten books of my own. They consisted of the classics, such as Emma, The House of Seven Gables and The Catcher in the Rye, and the not-so classics, like all the Harry Potters, the whole Twilight saga, and the Gossip Girl series. I had just dipped into reading Emma when I heard the door open.
I tried not to look up and be more interested in my book than anything else. After all, it was my day off. However my plan didn’t work when I heard a familiar voice sneer, “Well, aren’t we the little scholar.”
I sighed and replied without looking up, “Look, it’s not my fault you can’t read. You don’t have to be jealous.”
He laughed and said, “Hey, I came here to tell you LaGard wants to talk to you.”
I groaned and slammed my book down. “Great. Is it or is it not my day off?”
Kevin shrugged. “Look, just come with me, okay? He told me it was important.”
“I’m going to charge him two days off for this,” I grumbled. I followed Kevin out the door, not expecting anything remotely like what LaGard had in store for me.
* * *
“Betrothed?!” I screeched.
Kevin sat in the chair next to me and looked every bit as shocked as I’m sure I did. Terrence looked uncomfortable, like he just wanted to leave. Barnes and Antonio just stood there trying to look pokerfaced as good bodyguards should, but nevertheless I could tell they were just as surprised. And there was LaGard at his desk, smiling his weird little grin, like he had just won the Powerball Lottery.
“Oui,” he responded. “You are betrothed. It was in your parents’ will. You cannot go against it. It was set up before either of you could walk.” He pulled out a manila folder and began looking at the contents within it. “His name is Michael Godard, and he is the future Duke of Newcastle. He is also my nephew. He is arriving in about two hours, so you need to go and get ready.”
I sat there for another second, and then words started spewing out:
“You can’t be serious?! This is ridiculous! You can’t just set up two people who’ve never met and tell them to get married. This isn’t the Medieval Ages. This is the twenty-first century!”
I was panting with rage. LaGard just leaned back in his swivel chair and once again flashed his little grin. I wanted to wind up and smack it off his face.
“Oui, you are right.” Was he really thinking of calling it off? “That is why Michael is coming. He will be staying here. And over time you will grow to like each other.” He could tell I was still raging, so he leaned over his desk and tried one more time to explain it to me. “Look, we are not telling you that you have to get married the minute he walks through the door. What I am saying, however, is that you will eventually get married.” He stood up suddenly and crossed his hands over his chest. “Whether you like it or not.” He checked his watch. “You’
d best be leaving. You have to get ready.”
* * *
Reluctantly I went up to my room and got into a dress that LaGard had picked out for me. It was a little red dress with petticoats and a little red sun hat to match. Really? Once I put it on, I was immediately reminded of a classic Fifties’ mother, like from Leave it to Beaver. All I needed was a pie.
As I made my way down the staircase to the entrance, I caught up with Kevin, who apparently also had to show up to meet the man of my nightmares. He laughed out loud when he saw my outfit.
“Wow. What the hell are you wearing? You look like Mrs. Cleaver.” He leaned over and tapped the top of my head. “By the way, nice hat.”
“Ugh! Can we just hurry this up?” I said, swiping his hand away. “I still have my day off and I want to finish the rest of that book.”
“Finish it? Didn’t you just start it?”
I shrugged. “Well, I’ve already read it before, so I can just skip over the parts that I already know are boring.”
Kevin put his hands up in protest and stepped in front of me. “Wait, you’re re-reading a book? That’s ridiculous. I mean, only dorks do that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, then, I’m a dork. Which apparently is unappealing to you, so sue me.”
“No, I don’t mean… I don’t think that dorks are…unappealing.” Stuttering was a sign that Kevin was uncomfortable in the situation. I was starting to enjoy his discomfort. “I actually dated many dorks. I mean you’re not a dork, you’re just really smart and I have nothing against intelligent people, which is good because people like you solve problems in the world, and I’m just digging a hole for myself, aren’t I?”
I nodded. “A big one.”
He sighed before responding, “Where I was going with this is… I don’t think dorks are unappealing, but your new guy might. So if you really don’t want to marry him…”
I saw where he was going with this but I didn’t want to hear it. “Kevin, you don’t get it. LaGard showed me the paperwork. It’s like an iron-clad contract. I’m no lawyer, but it looks pretty tight to me.” I sighed. “And it’s annoying because I’m probably going to end up with some old geezer who’ll die in like a month anyway.” Kevin snickered. “It’s not funny!” I hissed. “This is a serious matter. It’s my life.”
And then the two doors that opened onto the entranceway were in front of me. Ugh, I thought as I pushed them open. And just as it had been on the day I arrived, the palace staff was lined up in front of the door, awaiting the palace’s new arrival. Kevin nudged me towards Terrence and LaGard, and then took his place in line.
I stood next to Terrence as LaGard was lecturing the staff about their behavior.
“I know this is going to be hard,” Terrence whispered into my ear, “but it will all work out in the end, my dear. You have nothing to fear.”
Terrence was one of the nicest people here, but I really didn’t want to spin this arranged marriage business at the moment. “And you know this how?” I asked him. “Was your wife picked out for you?”
Terrence brushed off my acidic tone and responded without missing a beat. “Actually, she was, and we were married for forty-five wonderful years. That is, until death took her from me.” His eyes began to tear up, and I immediately regretted my challenging tone, so I gave him a hug. I’m not a huge fan of hugging, but I could tell it was all Terrence needed at that moment.
After the awkward embrace, LaGard came over and made sure that our little line was just as sharp-looking as the palace staff’s. Then he gave us a lecture about how we should try not to say anything rude or obnoxious, as if it was our natural impulse we hadn’t yet learned to curb. I noticed he was staring straight at me when he was listing all of the things not to do. And all I kept thinking to myself was, I’m not that embarrassing, am I?
My thoughts were cut short by the two large entrance doors opening. A bright wedge of blinding daylight shone into the entranceway and I saw the outline of a small little man, who must have been the doorman, Donnie. Next to him was a taller man, who was helping him carry the luggage. Once the doors were shut and my eyes adjusted, I saw Donnie and the man who was soon to be my husband. And now I didn’t have single complaint.
Michael was a tall man, around six-foot-four, I guessed, and about twenty-four to twenty-five years old. He had dark brown, almost chocolate hair. And it was apparent that he went to the gym a lot, because you could see his biceps straining out of his fitted grey sweatshirt. He was kind, too, helping Donnie, who was struggling with the suitcases. He flashed a perfect smile and laughed at some joke that only Donnie could tell. Could he get anymore perfect?
“Ah, Uncle!” he called, waving to LaGard as he made his way over with some suitcases, an English accent pouring out of his lips. That’s it! He was perfect, no way around it. Not even the Greek heroes could compete with Michael right now.
Once he made it over to our little group he introduced himself first to Terrence and then went over to LaGard and shared an embrace. LaGard then led him down the line and as they came closer to where I was standing, I was afraid he was going to take one look at me and refuse any engagement. But I was wrong. Michael flashed his already legendary smile and said, “Ah, so this is the princess. Hello, it’s a pleasure meeting you.” He dipped into a deep bow, gently took my hand and gave it a peck.
I could feel my cheeks turning a deep color of red. He was so handsome and I didn’t know how to respond to this kind of gallantry, so I let out a little giggle and said hello. I must have gazed into his dark brown eyes for… how long was it? I don’t know, but it seemed like forever. Then LaGard, in typical fashion, broke the spell by making one of his ill-timed interruptions.
“Well, Michael, why don’t you come with me and I’ll introduce you to your new staff.” He then started strolling down the line, expecting us to follow like lap dogs, I suppose.
Michael turned and glanced at me and then outstretched his arm for me to latch onto. I hesitated a split-second, perhaps because I didn’t want to seem too eager, or maybe because I wasn’t sure of the proper etiquette in these matters. He caught my hesitation and wasn’t put out by it a bit; instead he laughed, and honestly, it sounded like a melody played by the angels.
As we followed LaGard down the line to introduce the staff, Michael couldn’t have been more pleasant. He smiled to everyone and shook each person’s hand, addressing them by their names and thanking them for being here and so on. I couldn’t help but smile, he was that wonderful. After we reached Kevin, who was the last in line, LaGard dismissed everyone except for Antonio, Barnes and Donnie. Kevin decided to stay in case Donnie couldn’t handle the luggage by himself.
However I wasn’t paying attention. I was more involved in the conversation with Michael, and how I was going to give him a tour of the castle once he got settled in his room. Then LaGard said something that totally got my attention.
“Oui, all of Michael’s belongings will be going to Anya’s room.” Pause. “Non, I don’t care where you put them.”
I stopped my conversation with Michael mid-sentence, flashed him the “wait one minute” finger, and then quickly walked over to LaGard and the rest of them.
“Excuse me, Monsieur, but did I hear you say that Michael’s things will be going into my bedroom?”
LaGard didn’t even look up from his paper that he was suddenly very into. “Hm? Yes, he’ll be staying in your room with you.”
I took a deep breath before asking, “Why? Have we run out of rooms in the palace?” This was quickly becoming an uncomfortable conversation.
“You will be sharing a bed. What did you expect?” LaGard snapped. Apparently he had a short fuse today.
“I expect to be consulted about these matters,” I said evenly. I tried to word this very well. I was dancing on the comfort line. “And if you had consulted me, I would have told you that I won’t share a bed with someone I just met all of two minutes ago.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Uncle,”
Michael said, suddenly standing next to me as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “My goodness, we’ve just met. It’s not like we need to produce heirs anytime soon.”
I couldn’t believe he just said that. He just jumped over the comfort line and was doing a little dance on the other side. “Produce heirs? Wait what? Okay, we’re done talking about…this. Have him stay in another room until we know each other a little better, how’s that?”
LaGard pondered on this thought for a moment before nodding.
“Fine, I don’t care. Barnes, Antonio, Donnie, bring those bags up to the royal guest room, please.” And with a brush of his hand he shooed them off.
Michael told me that he was going to help Donnie, Barnes, and Antonio with his luggage and suggested that maybe I would give him a tour of the castle afterwards. Then he ran off.
I sighed as I watched my perfect man make his way down the hall, when I heard a throat being cleared behind me. I turned to see Kevin there, smiling and on the verge of laughter. I shook my head and hid behind my hands before asking, “How much did you hear?”
His smile grew a little larger when he replied, “Enough to understand that you hate it when people talk about sex.”
The minute he said that word I could feel my body tensing up. It was just such an uncomfortable subject to discuss in front of people you don’t even know. Kevin again started laughing.
“It’s really not funny. You think I want to discuss things like that in front of LaGard? NO!” I sighed. “And the fact that Michael said ‘producing heirs’ didn’t help either.”
“Oh so that’s what he calls it…ow!” My foot had somehow made its way onto Kevin’s foot rather forcefully--one might even have thought I had stomped on it--and he was now hopping on the other foot.
“What, did I do that? Clumsy me. Oh, would you look at the time.” I smiled pleasantly and added, “Talk to you later?”
A groan of pain escaped from Kevin’s mouth and I took that as a yes.
Chapter 16
Acknowledgements
God Save the Queen Page 9
