“Where are you from again?”
“You mean more specific than the United States?” Perry asked drily. “Seems like that’s all anyone hears, anyway.”
“Veronia is the center of the world, didn’t you know?” Cass retorted, tongue-in-cheek.
She laughed. “Yeah, I’m figuring that out as I go. I’m from Tennessee originally. Place called Billier. Tiny craphole of a town,” she added fondly.
“Do you miss it?”
“Hell, no. I lived in Boston ever since college. That’s where I met George, and,” she coughed, “how I met Edward.”
Cass pursed her lips. “I wondered how you’d met. You don’t seem like his regular kind of woman, but to be fair, Edward doesn’t have a regular kind of woman. Not for a long time. Knowing Marianne, I bet she was scared he was gay or something. It’s okay to be gay everywhere else, just not in the royal family.”
Her mocking tone had Perry’s eyes widening. “People seriously thought he was gay?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Probably not. To be honest, I just thought he’d been turned off women by the Ice Queen. And I don’t just mean his ex.”
Surprised by the cutting remark, Perry felt herself stiffening up in defense of her soon-to-be mother-in-law. “Marianne’s always been really kind to me.”
“She’s kind. To a fault,” Cass murmured softly. “Just to everyone else and not to her boys. But then I remember the old days, when she really did make a freezer look tropical.” Running a finger around the rim of the glass, she continued. “Things changed when Edward and George returned from…” She choked a little. “You know.”
“The kidnapping, I know.”
Cass kept her eyes down-turned. “Does Edward ever speak about it?”
“No. Not really.” Not since he’d told her of how the kidnappers had manipulated the boys’ hunger, anyway.
“I’m not surprised. He never did. It was all the chatter at court back when we were kids. I only know because I overheard my mother and father talking about it. She was friends with Marianne back then before she moved to Switzerland with her new husband.” She used the fancy silver tongs to plop a few sugar cubes into her teacup and, pouring herself some Darjeeling into the bone china, she followed that up by serving herself a scone, too.
“As far as I’m aware, no one knows what happened to the boys, not really. George was too young to figure it out, and I think Edward protected him from the men who took them. But Edward kept his mouth shut ever since.”
“Really?”
Cass nodded. “Really. I mean, look, Perry, I like you. I really do. And I think we could be friends, you know? So, I don’t say this to get you mad or upset or anything but… we used to be really close. All of us. Marcus and I with George, Edward, and Xavier… there were a few others too. Jessica LeSaux, she’s who I named my daughter after, but she died in a boat accident, and Jane Lewison was a friend for a long time before she became famous in Hollywood but…”
Jesus, talk about another world. Perry was about to merge not only with royalty but Hollywood royalty too!
“But what, Cass?” she asked warily, uncertain if she was about to be warned off or something. The other woman’s tone certainly didn’t sound friendly.
“But… I’ve known them a long time, that’s all. I know a lot about them. If I tell you something, I don’t want you to get jealous. That’s all.”
Perry blinked. “That’s all?”
Cass nodded. “Why? What did you think I was going to say?” she asked, buttering her scone before taking a huge and wonderfully indelicate bite from the sweet treat.
Sweet, baby Jesus. Had Perry stumbled upon an actual woman with the potential to be a friend and not a Stepford Wife-cum-Real Housewife of Veronia? One who ate honest-to-God calories and said too much when squiffy?
“I don’t know. I thought you were going to demand I treat Edward right or you’d go to the papers or something weird.”
Cass snorted out a chuckle then covered her mouth with her hand. “Well, I took that as a given.”
Her wry tone told Perry she was joking, and she let out a sharp laugh. “I think we’ll get on just great you and I, Cass.”
The older woman reached for her champagne flute and raised it over their afternoon tea. Perry picked up hers too, and touched brims with Cass’s.
“Here’s to the start of a new friendship,” Perry murmured softly.
“Hear, hear.”
The smile on Perry’s face more than made up for the whirlwind morning Edward had endured in order to make this happen.
He was tired, a little cranky, and a lot hungry.
Not just for food, either.
But when she saw the car waiting outside the hotel for her, he watched her distracted expression turned focused as she peered into the windscreen to ascertain the driver’s identity.
Her grin bloomed wider when she saw it was him, and God help him, his heart tightened in response.
Such an honest reaction was more than he ever expected anymore. In a world of intrigue and lies, where deception was a cold, but the most common of bedfellows, such earnestness wasn’t seen often. Nor was it usually appreciated.
But Edward appreciated it.
Perry’s candor was so utterly refreshing that some days, it was like sitting in the desert, thinking you’d seen a mirage, then discovering that you’d just fallen into Lake Titicaca by happy accident.
As she approached the vehicle, he reached over and opened the door for her. When he did, Xavier murmured from the backseat, “Why, Edward, I think you have a crush.”
He shot his cousin a quelling glance, but stayed silent until Perry hopped into the passenger vehicle.
She was still beaming as she turned to him and murmured, “I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“What about me?”
Her surprised shriek had both men chuckling, and she turned to scowl at Xavier. But the scowl quickly turned into a rueful smile. “You’re not supposed to make me jump.”
“Why not? Where does it say that in the small print?” he teased, and, sitting forward, he cocked his cheek to the side in expectation.
She bit her lip, shot Edward a look, then murmured, “Can I?”
Her hesitance hurt him. Not just because she was being cautious when he could sense she had no desire to be; it was the need for caution itself that upset him.
This was his life. The goldfish bowl hadn’t changed, but he was seeing the new parameters since her arrival in his world.
And he didn’t like it.
Hence today’s visit.
He cleared his throat. “Xavier’s an old friend in public, Perry. A part of my close family too. You can greet him.”
“That means you can kiss my cheek but not my mouth. And don’t slip me the tongue, not unless you want to start a riot.”
Xavier’s dry tone had Edward smothering a laugh, but Perry didn’t smother anything. She chuckled, leaned between the seats, and pressed a kiss to Xavier’s cheek. “Just because I can’t, doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about it.”
Her husky tone had Edward’s cock hardening, and he was already fighting his self-control.
Today had been… wearisome.
There was no other way to describe it.
He needed some space from the palace, he needed some space from the government, and he needed some privacy.
Just for a short while. Some normalcy.
Well, as normal as it got for a royal, anyway.
With a deep sigh, she sank back into her seat. But he quirked a brow at her. “No greeting for me?”
Her eyes flared. “You probably couldn’t handle my greeting.” She darted her gaze to the street ahead. A doorman was trying desperately not to look into the windscreen from the hotel’s entrance, and pedestrians were also trying to ascertain the owner of the sleek Bentley.
He’d learned a long time ago, back in the folly of his youth, that the sports cars he loved inspired only more avid curiosity from the
public. Sleek and more sedate sedans caused less of a thrill, but still caused a stir.
Especially as his car was armored like a damn tank.
It was the only compromise he’d been able to earn from his father.
Either he had to have a driver and guard ride with him, or he drove the civilian equivalent of a tank.
In his opinion, this caused more of a stir than a regular Bentley. After all, people were well aware that this vehicle was different, and different inspired inquisitiveness. But, privacy was what he’d wanted, and privacy was what he had.
Of a variation.
Perry swallowed thickly as she leaned into him. Her lips brushed his in a soft, innocent touch, but it was the way she breathed out as she kissed him that fired his blood.
She stayed there, her lips touching his, no further caress to entice them...but that spoke of her need. Her hands came up to his shoulders, and the tips dug through his fine linen shirt until he felt her nails prick his skin.
“Jesus, that has to be the most innocently carnal kiss I’ve ever seen,” Xavier said huskily, breaking into the moment.
Edward knew what he meant. How could such a delicate kiss be so dangerous? Perry, that’s how. She somehow made the innocuous seem tempting.
Her sensuality streamed from every pore until it dosed the very air he breathed.
When she started to move away, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I have a surprise for you.”
“You do?” she whispered throatily. “Does it involve a bed?”
“It involves several, actually.”
Edward growled at Xavier’s interruption. “Don’t spoil the surprise.”
“Hey, I’m the one that came up with it.”
Edward snorted. “I’m sure Perry will thank you for it later.”
She bit her lip and kept her gaze swept down as she retreated to her seat. “I’m sure gratitude can be expressed far more comfortably when we’re not being gaped at by hotel staff.”
Edward saw another doorman had appeared, and a man in tails with a bright cravat that spoke of a concierge service.
He blew out an irritated breath and wished that, like the passenger windows, the windscreen could be tinted too. But hell, a man had to see to drive. Though the reasoning made sense, it didn’t make it any less irritating.
Grumbling, he started the engine and headed out into the busy flow of Madela traffic.
Like any cosmopolitan capital city, it was busy twenty-four hours a day. Like its neighboring Mediterranean countries, there were lags when the city dozed for an afternoon nap. This traditional time was when he and Xavier had collected Perry from the hotel.
As such, heading out of Madela and toward Brixan took far less time than he’d originally anticipated, and before he knew it, they were on the open road to the countryside with Perry chattering happily away at his side.
“You sound like you and Cass got on well,” he commented upon hearing her discuss Cass’s opinion on Veronia after having lived in the USA for so long.
“We did, actually. I’d like to get to know her better, let’s put it that way.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged.” He cut Xavier a look in his rearview mirror. “It would be a good friendship to cultivate, wouldn’t it, Xav?”
“It would? Why?” Perry demanded suspiciously.
“Cass is a court favorite thanks to her lineage, and you’ll be needing a lady-in-waiting of your own.”
Perry pulled a face. “Why would she want to be that? She has three kids. That’s enough ‘waiting’ in my mind.”
“Because it’s an honor,” Xavier chided, but he was amused. His grin was barely concealed at Perry’s total lack of understanding. “Jesus, trying to make Americans understand royalty is surprisingly difficult. We don’t have to make sense for it to be a way of life.”
She huffed. “That’s very inefficient.”
“You’ll need your own Guardian of the Keys, Perry,” Edward pointed out softly. “They’re your allies.”
She frowned. “Hang on a minute. Your mother chose hers from her friends? But they’re battleaxes.”
Her astonishment had both of them chuckling. Xavier was the first to point out, “And Marianne isn’t?”
Her scowl puckered her brow. “I wouldn’t have said so, no.”
“Mother’s tough in her own way.”
She shot him a look. “Cass said she’s cold.”
“Cass’s tendency for brutal honesty hasn’t died a death, it would seem.” He grimaced.
“You didn’t deny it.”
“What’s to deny?” he asked, shrugging. “It’s the truth. Mother was never very demonstrative when George and I were growing up. If we wanted affection, Tanta Lisetta was where we went.”
Xavier smiled broadly. “Mother was a pain, but she knew how to dole out tea and sympathy, didn’t she?”
Perry turned in her seat, putting her back to the glorious rippling fields ahead of her, as well as the Mediterranean to her left.
“Marianne’s always been kind to me.”
“She’s softening in her old age. Plus, she probably never thought Edward would marry again,” he retorted wryly, but Edward’s shoulders stiffened. Of course, Xavier noticed. He clapped him on the back and murmured, “You and I both know it.”
Perry shot them both considering looks. “You’d have had to have married, surely?”
Edward’s nostrils flared. “Do we have to talk about this? I am getting married now. To you. There are no ‘what ifs’ anymore.”
Her grin was cheeky. “Yes. I’m well aware of that. As were all the waiters and staff in the hotel.”
“Princess Bride in the making,” Xavier joked. “You’ll get sick of it by…”
“Last week?” she mocked, snorting. “I’m not exactly a fan of all the attention, but I guess it has its place.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Edward asked, curiosity urging him.
“It means I know how much Veronia earns from having a royal family. This is all part and parcel of it.” She pursed her lips. “I don’t have to like it, but I can endure it.”
But how long could she endure it?
She hadn’t been raised to be a princess. Worse still, she hadn’t been raised to be a queen.
He swallowed back the nerves he felt at the prospect of her… what? Leaving him because she couldn’t cope with her new role? Would she do that to him? To George? To Xavier?
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Her hand, so soft and delicate, slid onto his lap. It wasn’t a sexual touch, but an affectionate one.
“He’s worrying. When he looks constipated, he’s worried.”
Xavier’s blasé tone had Edward letting out an irritated hiss. “Remind me again why I brought you along?”
“Because he’s so pretty,” Perry mocked, shooting Xavier a dark glance that, Edward was half-amused to note, was loaded with warning. “Why are you worried, Edward?” she asked quietly.
“Because there will come a day when you can’t endure it. It never goes away, Perry. Ever. This life is a constant. It’s a duty.”
“I can handle duty,” she retorted. “I grew up on a farm.”
Silence fell in the car, then Xavier broke it by hooting out a laugh. “What the hell does one have to do with the other? We don’t milk many cows in the castle, Perry. It would kind of ruin our image.”
She glowered at him. “Shut up, you. I just mean, you have duties to attend to and if you don’t, one, the animals will die. Two, your business will burn to dust. I understand duty, guys. Even worse than being a royal is being a scientist. The Earth is my major responsibility. At least as a crown princess and then a queen, I’ll get Parliament to listen to me about the dams. “
Xavier’s ears pricked at that. “They refused to listen again?”
“The so-called Environmental Agency that’s so un—environmental it’s a joke, rejected it. Said the country can’t afford to rebuild.”
“We can’t afford not to rebuild e
ither,” Xavier retorted. “I know someone in the agency. Let me speak to them.”
Interest piqued, Edward cocked a brow. “Who do you know in the EA?”
“Laurenne Jonquil.”
Perry’s eyes narrowed. “You know that stuck-up bitch?”
Xavier cleared his throat. “I was friends with her brother at school.”
“She means biblically,” Edward put in, ever helpful. When Xavier grunted, Edward just smiled.
Sometimes, it was nice shoving the shoe on the other foot.
The remainder of the twenty-minute journey took place with Xavier and Perry bickering, and Edward chuckling here and there. One thing he enjoyed about Perry was her ability to make him smile.
He’d been called a stick in the mud before now. Stoic to the point of tedious, and that was exactly how he preferred it.
While stoic, he was at least in control. It was when he was lost control that the problems started.
Growing agitated at the thought that the one woman with whom he could be out of control was his future wife, because there was a vein of trust blossoming between them, he ran a hand through his hair. Perturbed to notice that his fingers were shaking, he clenched them into a fist.
Perry’s nature invited him to be true to himself, and he hadn’t been that for a very long time. It was disconcerting to realize that he didn’t know who he was anymore. That he’d have to relearn himself before Perry could truly have all of him.
“Anyway, where are we going?” she demanded, after asking if Laurenne Jonquil’s bite was worse than her bark.
“We’re going to Grosvenor House.” Edward cut her an amused look. “Apparently, our residence after we wed.”
She licked her lips. “I can explain that.” To Xavier, she hissed, “You told him? I was waiting for the right moment.”
“Of course I did. There’s protocol. That manor house hasn’t been lived in for close to five years. It will need a lot of work done on it before it’s ready for staff.”
“I don’t want staff,” she said on a groan. “I want an empty house.”
“You can’t, Perry. That’s not the role you’re going to be playing. Whether you live at the palace or at the manor, there will be events you’ll have to host. At home or at Masonbrook. The place needs staff and it needs some care before it’s livable once more because, knowing Edward, he’s let it go to rack and ruin.”
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