A Royal Entanglement: The Young Royals Book 2 (9 page)

“Father, mother.
 
You summoned me?” I made myself comfortable in an armchair and smoothed my shirt and pants before looking up at them.

My father had the bearing of a monarch from years past, King Richard came to mind when I looked at him.
 
He still had all of his hair and sported a rather healthy beard, both with a tinge of equal parts red and grey threaded throughout the brown.
 
My mother also held herself with a type of poise that seemed inherent in those of royal birth.
 
A true red-head, she lightened it with subtle blonde highlights and wore it much in the fashion of Margaret Thatcher held in place with enough hairspray to threaten the ozone layer.

My father got up from his desk and walked over to join us on the sofas.
 
This must be serious if they were going to double-team me.

“Have you spoken to the Queen today?” my father asked.

“No, why?” I was suspicious.
 
I know my father had been meeting with the Queen leading up to the coronation, but I wasn’t privy to the details.
 
I assumed it was him lending her his support.

He sighed and sat back.
 
“She’s asked me to take on the role of Prime Minister.”

I was stunned, but not entirely shocked.
 
My father was the Speaker of the House in Parliament and had taken on the interim role as Head of State during the recent upheaval in our politics.
 
The previous Prime Minister and many of the higher ranked Ministers had been stood down, some charged, in response to a corruption scandal that had resulted in Alyssa being kidnapped.
 
Parliament was still unstable and now that the Queen had ascended and been crowned, she would, of course, be looking to stabilise the government.
 
Charles Bingham, Duke of Monterey, was the obvious choice.

“Okay,” I said with a nod and an exhalation, “So what will happen now.”

“I will need you to take over Monticorp sooner than expected,” he said.

“And you will need a wife,” Caroline Bingham added decisively.
 
“I have a list of eligible—”

“Really, mother?” I asked with a roll of my eyes.
 
She had been trying to set me up from the moment I set foot back in the country six months ago.
 
I had nothing against the institution of marriage, and I knew one day that I would need to take a wife and provide heirs, but I was no-where near ready for that level of commitment.

“Frédéric you have sown your wild oats for long enough,” she said, brooking no argument, “It is time for you to settle down.”

“Maybe,” I said, throwing her a bone, “But I don’t need my mother setting me up.
 
We don’t need a marriage of alliance, it’s not the Dark Ages.”

“That may be so,” she said, offended, “But I will not have my son marry some common trollop, how would that look to the rest of the Peers?
 
At least have a look at the women on the list.
 
They are ranked in order of suitability.” She handed me a handwritten list, her precise cursive listing each eligible woman, their rank, title and a brief description.
 
If it wasn’t my life, it would’ve been humorous.
 
I folded the list and slid it into my shirt pocket with a small shake of my head.
 
Dayne would get a laugh out of it at the very least.

Her job done, my mother stood, prompting my father and I to do the same, and proffered her cheek to me for a kiss before leaving the office.
 
I turned to my father, but he was already back around the other side of his desk, back at work.
 
I’d been dismissed.

I paced the Rose Room as I waited for Freddie.
 
I’d tried to relax throughout the day, going back to my bed and planned reading, but my mind had wandered and I’d given up the book before too long.
 
I’d tried going for a ride, but even my dappled mare couldn’t rid me of the restlessness that I felt.
 
I’d lied to Bradley in order to get him to back off, but I had to wonder if I’d only given him a challenge he couldn’t walk away from.

Although Bradley was not tenacious, he didn’t walk away from a competition.
 
I’d seen for myself when he’d lost interest in a business deal only to have it reignited when another company came along.
 
His attention was easily swayed when something was too easy or too hard - an absolute yes or an absolute no - but when a third party was involved, he took to it with relish.

I’d panicked and made a mistake, forgetting this little bit of information about him and now I seemed to have made my situation even more tenuous.
 
Marriage to another man would be the only way to dissuade him, or a drawn out courtship at least, long enough for him to get bored.
 
But there was no way I would marry a man just to rid myself of Bradley.
 
Hopefully after a week or so of me not budging, and turning down every one of his attempts to win me back, would be enough to bore him into giving up the chase.

The door opened and Freddie strode in looking every inch the Earl of Avonlea right down to his polished wingtips.
 
He wore a charcoal three piece suit, that had to’ve been bespoke, a crisp white shirt and dove grey tie.

“I feel under-dressed,” I said looking down at my cashmere sweater and soft wool slacks.

His eyes flared as he looked me over and a small smile tipped the side of his mouth causing an uncomfortable fluttering in my stomach.

“You look as gorgeous as ever, Alex,” he said coming towards me and placing a soft kiss on my cheek.

Our relationship had apparently crossed over into one of familiarity rather than close acquaintances and business associates, and I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it.
 
Although, he had stepped in to protect me from a PR nightmare by intercepting Bradley before the press could get hold of the story and for that I was grateful.

I indicated that he should take a seat and stepped over to the trolley of liquor that I’d had brought in earlier.

“Drink?”

He nodded, “Armagnac,” he said.

I poured us both a glass and handed his to him before taking my seat opposite.
 
I crossed my legs and swirled the amber liquid in my glass while I thought of a way to start the conversation.

“I spent the morning with Bradley,” he said, watching me carefully.
 
“Interesting guy.”

I chuckled and shook my head lightly, “You don’t like him.”

He shrugged and sipped, his eyes not leaving mine.
 
“I’ve dealt with plenty of guys like him in my business dealings.
 
Seen one, you’ve seen them all.”

“Thank you Freddie,” I said, my voice soft.
 
“Thank you for taking care of him so that he didn’t interrupt the coronation and for keeping an eye on him today.
 
The last thing the Queen needs is my personal life to become front page fodder.”

He didn’t answer straight away and I felt his eyes bore into me like he could see into my very soul.
 
It was unnerving to be under his intense inspection, I’d only ever had a glancing touch of it.

“Did he happen to mention to you how he found you?” Freddie asked, the moment gone.

I shook my head, “No.
 
He did ask me to go back to him though.”

“He still wants you to marry him.”
 
It wasn’t a question which led me to believe that Freddie knew why Bradley was here.

“Yes,” I replied, “But I told him no.
 
I walked away from the wedding because I couldn’t see myself living that life.
 
I have no intention of going back to it.”

Freddie’s posture seemed to relax slightly as he shifted in his seat and took another sip from his glass.
 
“How did he take that?”

“He’s still here, isn’t he.” I replied resignedly.

“Yes,” Freddie replied, “And my question is why?
 
If you told him no, then why is he currently holed up in a guest suite in my parent’s estate.”

Was Freddie angry with me?
 
It was hard to tell, but his words had been sharp.
 
Did he really think I’d want to return to America and become the wife of a man like Bradley Corsair?

“I may have said something that I shouldn’t have,” I admitted, not able to look into his eyes.
 
Instead I watched his jaw tighten and his lips thin.

“What did you tell him Alex,” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

“I told him I was seeing someone,” I said, finally looking up into his eyes.

Said eyes widened in surprise and the tension that a minute ago had tightened his body, melted away.
 
He raised his eyebrows, “Really?”

“It was a mistake,” I rushed on, “It was a stupid thing to say and it was like waving a red rag in front of a bull.
 
I may have been able to get him to leave if I’d shown complete disinterest in him, but now that he thinks there’s someone else, he’ll take it as a challenge.”

Freddie smiled a predatory smile at me and sipped his drink.
 
I had to swallow and wet my suddenly dry lips at his look.

“And who were you going to tell him was your ‘someone’?” he asked.
 
His voice was casual, but his gaze was anything but.

“I—I, uh, wasn’t going to name names,” I stuttered, suddenly flustered by him.

He placed his glass on a side table and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and causing me to flinch with his abrupt movement.

“I have a proposition for you Lady Alexandra.”

The jump to formal address surprised me.

“And what is that Lord Frédéric?” I asked, pulling myself back from the brink of melting into a puddle.

“I think we should date.”

I jumped to my feet, “What!”

He settled back in his chair and wove his hands together, making a steeple with his index fingers and resting them on his lips as he watched me thoughtfully.

“It’s not that hideous a concept is it Alex?” he asked, amused by my reaction.

“N-n-no,” I stammered, sinking back down onto my chair and taking a fortifying sip of my brandy.

“It has the benefit of killing two birds with one stone,” he went on.