Katrín didn’t say anything as the presentation continued, but she could tell the group of four had impressed Benjamin and infuriated the PR team.
Because they were right about almost everything. The things they got wrong, they didn’t get very wrong, and could easily be adjusted.
The presentation ended and the lights came back up. Benjamin spoke to her. “What do you think, Katrín?”
She looked up, shocked that he’d ask in front of the others. “Pardon?”
That made him frown. “What are your thoughts about the presentation?”
Right. “Overall, I think it was excellent. There are a few minor things I’d change, but nothing of great consequence. For instance, I agree that the family should have a unified list of causes they support as a whole, but I think each person, or possibly couple or small subsection, should also have a list of their personal causes.”
Her husband appeared to be listening intently. “For instance?”
“The family as a whole may be interested in supporting research into childhood diseases in general, but, for me personally, the Wheels and Walkers to Wings Foundation is something I support in greater measure than the family likely would. In fact, I’m scheduled to attend their annual get-together tomorrow. I attended for many years until I came to work here, and my schedule conflicted.”
“What is it?”
“It’s the annual party for all of those in Akushla, and Eyjania as a whole, with spina bifida and their families to get together.”
He simply nodded, then turned to Harry. “Your thoughts?”
“We agree with the queen,” Harry told them. “However, we felt this was a good place to start. Though the family has monetarily supported many organizations over the years, when it comes to personal appearances, we thought it best to start smaller with a list of organizations the family as a whole already supports then branch out later as each individual or smaller subset chooses and vets organizations to support personally.”
Benjamin asked several more questions, once again impressing Katrín with his attention to detail and insight. As the meeting wrapped up, he pushed back to stand. Everyone else did as well.
“I think this is a great start.” He turned to the head of public relations. “I would like you to work with them to get the information they need to get the final, official versions put together. I want to see all of it before it’s approved and goes live.”
The head of PR bowed slightly. “Of course, sir.” He clearly didn’t relish following the instructions, but didn’t dare do otherwise.
Benjamin thanked his newest employees for their time, then turned to leave. Katrín, unsure of what she was actually supposed to do, followed in his wake. After rounding a couple of corners, he slowed to allow her to catch up.
“What did you really think?” he asked as he turned again, this time toward his office.
Katrín shrugged. “Just what I said. They did a good job. And Elise was right. It’s very annoying when you’re looking for the same information on related websites and it’s all in different places.”
“I can’t say that I’ve ever noticed, but I don’t do much searching online.” He pushed open the door to his office, and she followed him in. “What is this Wheels and Wings thing?”
“Wheels and Walkers to Wings,” she corrected him. “Many people with spina bifida can’t walk unassisted, and many, including my brother, can’t walk at all so use wheelchairs exclusively. Your Uncle Ben used arm crutches.”
Uncle Ben? His mother’s brother? She hadn’t talked about him in a very long time. He had spina bifida?
“Wings refers to death,” Katrín went on. “Some will live a long, full life, but many won’t.” She took a seat across his desk from him. “They help with acquiring assistive devices as well as end of life expenses when the time comes, especially for families of children.”
Benjamin leaned back in his chair. “I can see why this particular cause is important to you.”
She took a deep breath. “Would you like to come?”
He blinked a couple of times. “You want me to?”
“I think you’d enjoy yourself.” And it would be good for him to see some of the other side of things.
“When is it?”
“Tomorrow night.”
He flipped the page on his calendar. “Looks like I’m free. I would love to join you.” A slow smile crossed his face. “Perhaps we can have dinner here first?”
Katrín felt her face color. “I would like that, but they do serve dinner.”
His smile widened to a full-fledged grin. “It’s a date.”
The phone on his desk rang, preventing her from responding. Benjamin glanced at the display. “I need to take this privately. I’ll talk to you later?”
With a nod, Katrín left his office and returned to her suite. Rosalie would be there in a few minutes to go over her wardrobe for the trip to Islas del Sargasso the next week. Before the Queen Mother arrived earlier, Katrín had learned she’d be attending a summit for children’s causes among the four countries.
Alone.
Well, not alone, but the only member of the royal family in attendance.
Rosalie spent nearly an hour going over her options. Katrín still wasn’t completely satisfied, feeling that much of her wardrobe would still be better suited for the Queen Mother, but it was improving.
“You’ll be staying with Princess Astrid and Prince Jordan. You were supposed to stay with Prince Kensington and his wife, Princess Anabelle, who is Eyjanian by birth,” Rosalie told her.
“Even though it’s in Islas del Sargasso?”
“Yes. I’m not sure who made the arrangements, but that is what I’ve been told. Prince Kensington and Princess Annabelle decided not to attend given the recent birth of their son.”
Wasn’t Princess Anabelle the one Benjamin had sort of proposed to? She had a baby?
Rosalie left without answering the silent questions, but Katrín had nowhere else she needed to be. After finding some food in the kitchenette, she snuggled into a chair with her ereader and phone. A quick search showed that Princess Annabelle gave birth to a boy named Prince Jacob Clarence Edward a couple months earlier. picked a book at random. Short Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer took place in Texas and was the story of a marriage of convenience, something Katrín felt hit a little too close to home.
Without any word from Benjamin, she decided to get ready for bed. Slipping under the covers, she pulled them close around her and willed herself to sleep.
34
Benjamin wasn’t sure where Katrín had gone to and hadn’t seen her since his phone rang in his office hours earlier. She didn’t answer his calls, though he knew she hadn’t left the premises. Maybe she’d just gone to bed early. It had been a long couple of days, and if she was half as weary as Benjamin, she’d succumbed a while earlier.
A half-smile crossed his face as he entered his quarters. He found the idea of slipping into his bed next to her quite appealing.
But first he needed food and maybe a workout. The kitchen held some easy to prepare meals for nights like this when he needed something quick and simple.
No. Workout first. He didn’t do nearly as much as normal, but his mind and body weren’t capable of a full workout. He grabbed something light from the kitchen, using the passages to avoid his bedroom so he wouldn’t disturb his, presumably sleeping, wife.
Nearly ninety minutes after first arriving in his quarters, he used the passages again to get to his bathroom. The warm water of the shower soothed him to the point he didn’t want to get out, but eventually he did. Dressed in a pair of pajama pants, he crawled into what he guessed would be his side of the bed from then on.
When he reached for Katrín, though, Benjamin found the other side empty. He wanted to go find her, but found it too difficult to leave when his mind and body both said it was time for sleep.
Despite his exhaustion, sleep came only in fits and spurts, punctuated by nightmares of being
trapped and emerging to find a post-apocalyptic world void of his family, his few friends, and his wife.
By 4:30 he was wide awake and sitting in one of the chairs staring out the window looking over the city. Why hadn’t Katrín slept in here with him? Had he not made it clear that was his preference? Or did she not feel the same way?
Would he, if it weren’t for the anticipation of nightmares?
Finally, he sent for breakfast, though he wasn’t sure he’d eat much of it. By quarter to seven, he was in his office, looking over paperwork for a meeting with the Prime Minister later in the morning.
A little after eight, his mother breezed through the door connecting his office to hers.
“It’s past time, darling.”
He looked up to see her actually slouch in one of the chairs across from him. “Time for what?”
“That I move out of that fussy office and into one more suited for the Dowager Queen. Your wife needs that office.”
“I doubt Katrín wants it.”
His mother dismissed the thought. “No matter. It’s already been set in motion. Did I tell you I hired someone to cover for Clari while she’s on leave?”
Benjamin didn’t believe that for a minute. “You hired someone?”
“Fine. My chief of staff hired someone.” She shrugged and sat up, once more resembling the aristocrat he’d always known. “Katrín does not need to concern herself with it.”
“I’ll make sure she knows.”
His mother leaned forward and rested her arms on his desk. “You didn’t sleep well.”
It wasn’t a question, but when the former queen wanted an answer, you gave it anyway - even if you were the king. “No. I didn’t.”
“Is that why Katrín’s not down yet? You kept her awake with your tossing and turning?”
His chair nearly tipped over as he leaned all the way back. “I didn’t keep her up. She slept in the consort’s quarters last night. At least, I presume that’s where she was.”
Her frown deepened. “I know you two weren’t quite ready for marriage, but I thought things were better.”
“They were. They are, at least as far as I know. I avoided my bedroom so I wouldn’t bother her when I returned to my quarters last night. By the time I went to bed, I was exhausted. When I realized she wasn’t there, I didn’t have the energy to look for her.”
She pointed at him, something his mother rarely did. “You make the energy. I know there are two quarters for a reason, but the reality is you need to live with your wife. Even if you choose to sleep apart from time to time, or even often, it needs to be a choice you two make together. I slept in one of the other rooms when all of you were little, because your father worked so much harder than I did, and I refused to let nannies do the overnight shifts most of the time. I could get up with you, do all the things that need doing in the middle of the night, and go back to sleep without ever bothering your father. When he was sick, he snored like a freight train, so I would sleep in another room. But not just because.”
His mother rose from her seat. “Talk to her, Benji. She’s exactly what you need, and that means the two of you need to act married.”
With that she left the office as suddenly as she came.
Benjamin reached for his personal cell phone and called Katrín. She didn’t answer, but did text a moment later to say she was in a meeting. His brows pulled together as he checked her calendar for the day.
No meeting scheduled.
He had an hour before the Prime Minister arrived. Deciding to use that time to find Katrín and see if they could get some resolution, he left his office and asked Chamberlain if he knew where she was.
Chamberlain knew without looking that she was in the gardens, at the cottage her mother and brother would be moving into in a matter of days.
It wouldn’t take him long to get there, so he hurried, as much as a king ever does when it’s not an emergency, toward the outer door.
Time to find his wife and see if she would be honest with him about where they stood.
Katrín looked up from the blueprints laid out on the table. “Hi.” She curtsied, sort of. More of a barely-there dip of her hips to pretend she was following protocol. Besides, no one in the cottage should know she hadn’t seen him yet today.
“Hello.” Benjamin smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
When had she gotten to know him well enough to know his smile was even capable of reaching his eyes? Everyone she’d ever known thought he was perpetually grumpy.
She turned back to the contractor who was overseeing the renovations and making sure as much of the house as possible was accessible to her brother. After pointing out one more thing, Katrín turned and walked toward Benjamin.
He offered her his arm, but she clasped her hands in front of her as they walked down the steps.
“I missed you last night,” he said quietly.
“You missed me or you had nightmares and think you wouldn’t have if I’d been there?” She tried to make it sound like an actual question without the hints of snark she wanted to inject it with.
He hesitated, and she gave him credit for at least pretending to think it over. “Both, if I’m being honest. I like having you there with me, and not just because the nightmares seemed less intense.”
“Fair enough.”
“There’s something else you need to know. I figured that, given your response to your quarters being moved, I’d let you know about this one ahead of time.”
She stopped and tried to control the anger building. “Are you moving all of my things into your quarters?”
He shook his head. “I could have them moved, but I wouldn’t do it myself anyway. Even if I planned to, I wouldn’t without discussing it with you first. This is something my mother put into motion. She’s leaving the queen’s office and having your office moved there. Her orders.”
“Understood.”
“You don’t mind?”
“It doesn’t matter if I mind.” At least he’d told her ahead of time so she wouldn’t be arrested.
“No,” he said slowly as they started up the stairs to the palace itself. “But I would like for you to be comfortable with it.”
“I’ll be fine.” Katrín knew she had to be, at least for a while longer, but this whole thing had gotten way too real in the last couple of weeks. She took a deep breath as he opened the door for her. Why didn’t this side have a doorman? Because it only went to the garden? “We’ll need to leave about six tonight, unless you want to be one of the first ones there.”
“Why would we want to arrive early? Usually I get somewhere as the event begins.”
Of course he did. “Because this event isn’t about you. It’s about the kids, mostly, but also the adults with spina bifida. If we get there early, we can wait inside and greet everyone as they arrive. They would think that’s pretty awesome to have the king waiting for them.”
She glanced up to see a thoughtful look on his face. “What time would we need to be there?”
“Probably 5:30 to be safe. Doors open at 5:45 and the event officially kicks off at 6:30.” Would he go for it?
“Let me check my schedule. I’m not sure I can be gone that early.” He looked at his watch. “I have a meeting in ten minutes, but wanted to talk to you first, at least briefly.”
Katrín gave him a tight smile. “Go on. I have some things I need to do, too. Let me know about later.”
He nodded as he walked backward toward his office. “I’ll have Chamberlain let your assistant know.” With a small wave, he walked away.
Her assistant? She had one? It had been mentioned before but Rosalie was the closest she’d come. Or did he mean Elise?
The rest of the day was spent learning more queen-ish things. Elise let her know Benjamin expected to be able to leave in time to be the first ones there.
Katrín walked out of the dressing room, ready to go, though she knew Benjamin wouldn’t be for another ten or fifteen minutes.
/> The piano caught her eye. It had been ages since she played, even with the gorgeous instrument available to her whenever she wanted.
Sitting on the bench, she tucked one foot slightly back under it and reached the other toward the petals as she lifted the lid.
First one note, then another, followed by a third. She deliberately chose a slow song that wouldn’t require her to be too warmed up or well-practiced. When she finished, another song came to her. She played a hymn her grandmother loved, followed by Allen’s favorite.
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling
Calling for you and for me
See on the portals He’s waiting and watching
Watching for you and for me
She played the whole thing, every verse, singing softly each time she reached the refrain.
Come home, come ho-ome
Ye who are weary come ho-o-ome
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Calling “oh, sinner, come home.”
“That’s gorgeous.”
Startled, Katrín clanged on the keys and turned to see Benjamin watching her from the doorway. “You scared me.”
He pushed off and walked toward her. “I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to listen for a few minutes. I had no idea you had such a lovely singing voice, too.”
“It’s okay. Allen’s is better. He may sing something tonight.”
Benjamin held out a hand to help her up. “Then I look forward to hearing him.”
She took his hand and stood. “Are you ready?”
He tucked her hand into his elbow. “I am. I’m looking forward to this.”
“Me, too.” She always did. This year, conflicting emotions filled her. The event itself excited her but being the king’s wife meant she’d be treated differently, even if he wasn’t coming with her or planning to greet every guest.
In less than twenty minutes, they pulled up outside a decent hotel, but likely one Benjamin had never been to before. It was a nice venue, but not royalty nice.
A member of the security team opened the car door for them. Benjamin climbed out then turned to help her. Only a few members of the media waited. They both smiled and waved. Benjamin made a comment about how the night wasn’t about him, but about the guests on their way.
The Indentured Queen Page 27
