by Emily Forbes
‘She can’t be.’
‘She is.’ Skye turned her tablet around so the screen was facing Cam.
There were links to articles about the royal family of Berggrun, but it was the photographs that caught his eye. Official photographs of the Prince and Princess and their three adult children. Two sons and a daughter. Despite the formal style of the picture and the outfits and the tiaras on the Princesses’ heads, there was no mistaking Viktoria.
Skye was right. Cam couldn’t deny it and, seeing the evidence, other things began to make more sense. Viktoria’s driver, her accommodation in the hotel’s penthouse suite, all the charity events she attended, even working for Prince Alfred. But there was one thing that didn’t make sense. ‘Why wouldn’t she have told me?’
‘I don’t know—you’d have to ask her that—but I thought you should know before you did something stupid.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like take her to dinner, sleep with her and then not call her again,’ Skye said. ‘You can’t do that to a princess.’
Too late, he thought. It seemed as though he’d already done something stupid.
Cam was at the base early in order to make some changes to the day’s arrangements. He had rostered himself on to staff the medical tent at the athletics stadium, but he knew he wasn’t in the right headspace to cope with what could potentially be a frantic day. He made some phone calls and swapped duties with one of the other doctors, which allowed him to remain on the base, supervising the medical staff who were in attendance for the archery. He assumed two things: one, that Viktoria would most likely be attending the high-profile athletics events and two, that there would be fewer injuries at the archery, which would give him time to think.
He needed to work out what he was going to do.
Should he pretend he didn’t know who she was and continue on as before? No. He couldn’t do that.
So what option did that leave him? To confront her and ask her why she hadn’t told him that she was royalty? But then what?
He couldn’t avoid her indefinitely and he couldn’t stay angry at her either. He was upset with himself for opening up to her, for sharing his feelings, only to find out there was so much she hadn’t shared with him, but he knew he would have to speak to her at some point; she deserved a chance to explain and he wanted answers. But he wanted to be on the front foot for that discussion. He knew he would see her tonight at the barbecue for the athletes that was being hosted by Prince Alfred. He couldn’t skip that event, so he needed to spend some time today figuring out what to say.
Viktoria was convinced that Cam was avoiding her. He had told her he would see her at the athletics stadium today, but she hadn’t seen him there and had later found out that he was at the archery. And now, even though she’d seen him at the barbecue, he hadn’t come near her.
She had tried several times to speak to him but every time she spotted him in the crowd he had moved elsewhere by the time she got near. He was definitely avoiding her, and she needed to know why.
She was talking to Mark, congratulating him on winning a medal in archery, when she saw Cam watching her. This was her chance to find out if there was a problem. She pinned him with her gaze, challenging him to walk away, but this time he didn’t move.
‘Are you avoiding me?’ She waited for him to deny it, to reassure her, but he was silent, confirming her fears. ‘Is this about Gemma?’ she asked.
‘Gemma?’
She had only come up with one reason why he would be avoiding her, and it was all to do with the photo she had seen of him with Gemma—the fact that he’d had a fiancée. That they hadn’t broken up through choice but because she had died. She was convinced he felt he had made a mistake bringing her to his house.
‘I wondered if you were sorry that you took me home. If you felt I was intruding on Gemma’s memory.’
‘No. It’s not about Gemma. And she never saw my house. I bought it after the incident.’
‘So, what is the matter?’
She saw him take in their surroundings. Everywhere they looked were soldiers and their families. ‘Not here. Let’s go somewhere quieter.’
He led her around to the side of the gym, towards the car park, where there was less chance of their conversation being overheard. ‘When were you planning on telling me?’ he asked once they were alone.
‘Telling you what?’
‘That you’re a princess.’
She had thought she had done something to upset him, or that he regretted telling her about Gemma. That their conversation last night had brought back memories that had been too much for him to handle. That he’d felt guilty about taking her home. As if perhaps he felt he was cheating on Gemma, or at least on her memory.
She had thought a lot of things, but she hadn’t suspected that he knew who she really was.
She was floored. Freddie had never betrayed her trust before. He’d always had her back. She knew he’d thought her unwise to keep her identity from Cam but she had never anticipated that he’d divulge her secret. And Cam was obviously upset.
Her stomach dropped and her heart was racing. How much damage had Freddie done?
‘Freddie told you?’
‘Freddie? Who the hell is Freddie?’
Viktoria frowned. ‘Prince Alfred. My cousin.’
‘Your cousin?’
Viktoria nodded. ‘You didn’t know?’
‘No.’
‘How did you find out then?’ She knew as she spoke that she sounded guilty. She sounded as if she’d been trying to hide the fact that she was royalty. Which she had. But for good reason. At least from her point of view, but, if the expression on Cam’s face was any indication, it looked as though he disagreed.
‘Skye told me. She thought she recognised you. It turns out she did, from cross-country eventing, but she found more than she’d bargained for. But she didn’t tell me you’re related to Prince Alfred.’
‘What does it matter?’
‘What does it matter? You’re a princess! There must be some sort of protocol, some rules, for dating a princess. I’m sure it’s not right to sleep with a princess on a second date. I never would have done that if I’d known who you are.’
‘And that is exactly why I did not tell you. I just wanted to be treated like a normal person. I did not think you needed to know I am a princess. I like you and I wanted to know that you liked me, Viktoria. Not me, the princess.’
‘I don’t appreciate being lied to.’
‘I never lied to you.’
‘Maybe not, but you didn’t tell me the truth either,’ he said as he walked away.
She watched him go. She couldn’t make him stay and she didn’t know what else to say.
She could feel tears threatening. She shouldn’t be upset. She shouldn’t let him get to her, but it was too late. It hurt.
It shouldn’t matter. It was never going to be a long-term possibility, but it hurt her more than she expected to be cast aside like that.
She really liked him. She enjoyed his company. He was intelligent, handsome, great in bed. A little moody and guarded, but she had seen glimpses of what he would be like if he would let his guard down, enjoy himself, and she’d been looking forward to the next week.
Would she be able to make it up to him? Would he calm down, see reason? Would she be able to explain herself to him—to make him understand why it was important to her to keep that side of her life private—or would he walk away without a backward glance?
Freddie had been right. She should have told him who she was, but all that would have done was speed up the inevitable.
He didn’t want to date a princess.
She ducked into the gym and headed for the female toilets. She needed a moment to compose herself; she didn’t want anyone to see her cry.
She’d thought not telling him she
was a princess was the right thing to do. She’d thought it didn’t matter, but she was wrong. And he was right. She had lied by omission.
She would apologise. That was the right thing to do.
She took several deep breaths and blew her nose. She touched up her make-up, grateful that Brigitta had taught her a few tricks, and steeled herself to go back outside. To find him. To apologise.
She opened the door and almost collided with a woman coming the other way.
‘Pardon!’
The woman had a dog by her side and Viktoria realised it was Fiona with Leroy.
‘Bonjour, Fiona. How are you?’
Fiona looked up at the sound of her name, but Viktoria could see that she didn’t recognise her immediately. ‘It is me, Viktoria. We met in the gymnasium the other day.’
‘Oh, yes. Hi.’
Fiona looked a little pale, but her skin had a sheen that looked like she’d been sweating. She had one hand on Leroy’s head and Viktoria got the sense that the dog was anchoring Fiona rather than Fiona controlling the dog.
‘Are you all right?’ she asked.
‘I just needed to catch my breath. The crowd is bigger than I expected. I just need a quiet minute.’
Fiona lifted her other hand and steadied herself against the door jamb, but Viktoria could see her hand was shaking. Viktoria was concerned; Fiona didn’t look alright.
Viktoria frowned as Leroy began whining.
Fiona didn’t seem to notice the dog’s distress, which concerned Viktoria even more. ‘You should sit down and I will get you a drink of water,’ she offered. She was reluctant to leave her alone, but she didn’t know what to do. There was a chair in the vestibule just outside the bathroom door and Viktoria led Fiona to it. ‘I will not be long,’ she said as she went to find a water cooler.
She had taken less than three steps when Leroy’s whining morphed into frantic barking. Alarmed, Viktoria turned around and saw Fiona collapsed on the tiled floor. She was shaking uncontrollably, and Viktoria recognised the signs of a seizure.
She knew what was happening, but she wasn’t sure what to do. She needed to get help, but was it safe to leave her?
She moved the chair, concerned that Fiona would hit her head, before realising that she could still hit her head on the wall. Leroy was still barking furiously. Maybe someone would hear him and come to investigate, but she couldn’t take that chance. She needed to get help. She didn’t want to be responsible for Fiona. This was out of her area of expertise.
She knew the bathroom was empty. She had to go and find someone.
She left Fiona with Leroy. She knew the dog wouldn’t leave Fiona’s side.
She ran outside and scanned the crowd, looking for assistance. Looking for Cam.
He hadn’t got far. He was only a few metres away, talking to Sean and Lisa.
‘Campbell! Vite! Vite!’
Cam turned at the sound of her voice and Viktoria beckoned to him, waving her arm frantically. Fiona’s seizure had distracted her from her own problems and all she felt was relief at seeing Cam. Their issues were pushed to the back of her mind; she had far more pressing concerns.
Cam took a second or two before he started moving towards her and for a moment she wondered if he would ignore her.
But he didn’t. He couldn’t, she supposed. It was obvious something wasn’t right.
He hurried towards her, but she couldn’t wait. She ran to meet him. ‘Vite, vite,’ she said as she grabbed his hand. ‘Hurry. Fiona is having some sort of a seizure.’ She pulled him along with her, back to the gymnasium.
‘Fiona?’
Viktoria didn’t know her last name. She’d assumed Cam knew everyone. ‘She is competing in the rowing event. She has a service dog, Leroy,’ she said, giving him the only other identifying information she knew.
She could still hear Leroy barking as they entered the gym but as she pushed open the door into the ladies’ toilets and the dog saw them he quietened down, emitting a soft whine instead. He was pacing around Fiona, who was still convulsing on the hard floor.
Cam brushed past Viktoria. She saw him check the time on his watch as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He swiped the password, dialled a number and handed it to her. ‘There’s an ambulance stationed on the base for the Games; I’ve just dialled them. When they answer, put them on speaker for me. Can you do that?’ he asked as he thrust the phone at her and knelt on the floor.
Viktoria nodded as she took the phone. She held it to her ear as she watched Cam get to work.
He unbuttoned his shirt and ripped it off, stripping down to the khaki T-shirt that moulded to his chest and arms. He bundled his shirt up and put it under Fiona’s head, protecting her from the cold, hard, unforgiving tiles.
He talked in a low, quiet voice. Viktoria wasn’t sure if he was talking to Fiona or the dog, but the dog calmed down. He stopped pacing and stood at Cam’s shoulder. He seemed to sense that Cam was trying to help.
Viktoria put the phone on speaker as the call was answered. She quickly explained what had happened before holding the phone towards Cam.
He sat back on his heels, keeping one eye on his watch as he spoke to the paramedics.
‘This is Dr Cam Hamilton. I’m with a female soldier who is having a seizure. We’re in the women’s toilets at the back of the gym.’
‘She sustained a serious head injury a year ago. No history of seizures that I know of, but this one has been going for several minutes.’
‘What do we do now?’ Viktoria asked when Cam finished his phone conversation.
‘We wait for the ambulance. There’s nothing else we can do.’
‘And when they come?’
‘She’ll need to go to hospital. We’ll need to run some tests to see if we can determine the cause of the seizure.’
‘I don’t know how you do this. This constant surge of adrenalin. Of drama.’
‘It’s not so dramatic when you’re trained to deal with it.’
The paramedics arrived as Fiona’s seizure finally abated. Within minutes they had loaded her onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. Cam had offered to take Leroy and follow them to the hospital. Viktoria wasn’t sure if that was really in his job description or whether it just gave him an excuse to get away from her.
She didn’t know and she wasn’t about to ask.
Viktoria had spent the morning watching the road cycling event. The course was spectacular; it began and ended at the Opera House but wound its way around the harbour and through the Botanic Gardens, which gave the spectators plenty of vantage points from which to watch the race. A large number of them had spread picnic blankets on the lawns of the gardens and were sitting in the spring sunshine cheering the cyclists on as they rode past.
Viktoria had been present at the start, taking photographs to upload to the social media pages, and while she’d kept an eye out for Cam, she’d stayed clear of the medical tent. She wasn’t sure if he was even working at the cycling today and, while she wanted to see him, she didn’t want to talk to him. She was afraid of what he might say.
She tried to focus on her job, but it was difficult to be enthusiastic when her brain was crowded with thoughts of Cam.
She still needed to apologise.
She wondered if he’d forgive her.
At the end of the day’s events, to distract herself from spending all her time thinking about Campbell and what she could have—or should have—done differently, Viktoria called in to the hospital to visit Fiona.
She was relieved, and a little surprised, to find her in her room looking perfectly well.
‘You are all right?’ she asked.
‘Apparently so,’ Fiona said.
‘Do you remember what happened?’
‘Not really. I was told I was lucky you were there, though. You made sure I got immediate att
ention, so thank you.’
‘I am glad I was able to be useful. Have you had a seizure before?’
‘No. Never.’
‘Do you know what caused it?’
Fiona shook her head. ‘I had some scans done today. The doctors think that when I had the accident in the Middle East I suffered a traumatic brain injury along with multiple fractures. The brain damage can manifest as seizures.’
‘What will happen now?’
‘I think the doctors will just monitor me. If it happens again or frequently, I might need medication but I’m already on several.’
‘And how are you feeling?’
‘I’m tired and I feel like I’ve got a massive hangover, but the doctors assure me that is normal,’ she said.
The door opened and one of the nurses came in and ushered Viktoria out with a brisk instruction. ‘The patient needs to rest.’
‘Bien sûr.’
Viktoria said goodbye to Fiona and headed for the lift. The doors opened and Cam stepped out, surprising her. She felt her knees wobble. She put her hand out, reaching for the wall to steady herself. ‘Campbell! Are you here to see Fiona?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you have a minute?’ Maybe this was her chance.
‘Not really.’ His eyes were guarded.
‘Please. It is important,’ she said, knowing she might not get another opportunity to apologise.
He sighed and took a step forward and she thought he was going to continue walking past her, but he inclined his head and said, ‘Follow me.’ He pushed open a door to a small lounge, which Viktoria realised was a waiting area for families of patients. She could only imagine the sorts of things they’d been told inside these four walls.
‘What is it?’ he asked as she followed him inside.
‘I owe you an apology.’
‘I don’t need an apology. I need an explanation,’ he said as he closed the door behind them. ‘Why didn’t you tell me who you are?’
‘I just wanted a chance to be anonymous. To be ordinary. All my life, people have wanted a part of me. They are fascinated by royalty, by the fame and fortune they assume is associated with it. I have never known who has wanted to get to know me and who has wanted to know the Princess. I am never sure who to trust.’
