Hand-Me-Down Princess (14 page)

“I know you’re not crazy about it. I’m not either. I know how trying my family can be. But at least it’s not just my immediate family.”

“It’s not?”

“Nope. My great-grandmother will be there. She’s always there unless she’s feeling poorly. My grandmother will be there, as well. Usually some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins are there. Occasionally, great-aunts or great-uncles and assorted progeny come as well.”

Great. In some ways, it would be better than just his immediate family. More people meant less undivided attention focused directly on her. More people also meant more potential interrogators.

She’d already heard the king’s mother wonder when they were going to have children, a statement Jessabelle knew she was supposed to overhear.

“I’ll be there,” Jessabelle assured him.

“I know you will.”

Opposite the large opening to the living area was the sole door into the dining room. It came from the offices where Malachi conducted business. She supposed she would be required to furnish and occupy the other one in the near future. It was the only direct connection between the offices and the living quarters. Two quick raps sounded on the door before it was opened by Malachi’s assistant.

“My apologies for disturbing your dinner, sir, but you have a phone call regarding a somewhat pressing matter.”

Prince Malachi wiped his mouth with his cloth napkin and tossed it on the table. “I will see you later this evening, Jessabelle. Thank you for not raising a fuss.”

And he left.

Jessabelle slumped back in her seat. Not raising a fuss? She had never raised a fuss about anything in her life. Not even when the king insisted on changing some of the funeral arrangements she’d made in accordance with her father’s last wishes. Nothing major. The order the songs were played. The kind of flowers on the stage. Little things, but it still annoyed her.

And she hadn’t said a thing. Not even to her husband. He probably wouldn’t be happy to know that either.

Pushing back from the table, she was grateful for the reprieve from his scrutiny. She rinsed her dish before putting it in the dishwasher herself. No need for anyone to know how little she’d actually eaten.

She found herself in the other bedroom and decided it was time to curl up in a chair with a good book. She’d never told anyone, not even her father, about her e-reader and the copious amounts of books on it. She’d taken the allowance her father had given her and saved up until she could buy an old one from one of her teachers. She put money onto a gift card to use online to buy the books. Without good internet access at the house, she had depended on free Wi-Fi at local libraries and coffee shops to download the books she wanted.

It became her escape into a world that didn’t require her to be social on any level, even with her only surviving family member. Instead, she chose to fight dragons, and settle the American West, and hopped aboard a seemingly doomed flight to Mars. Her reading taste, though limited to Inspirational or “clean” fiction, was surprisingly eclectic. With a blanket pulled around her to ward off the chill that came from a large stone building and a room with an unlit fireplace, she turned her e-reader on and decided, this time, she would go to small town USA. The Goose Harbor books were written by Jessica Keller, and the similarity in their names had first drawn Jessabelle to them. Once immersed, she found herself wishing it wasn’t a purely fictional town.

This time, though, the fictional Goose Harbor firefighter, no matter how fabulous he was, couldn’t hold Jessabelle’s attention. Instead, she found herself staring out the one window that didn’t have the curtains drawn. Before long, she didn’t fight it but let the weariness overtake her, and she slept.

Chapter 14

Malachi pinched the bridge of his nose. One more worry he didn’t need. “Fine. Put it on the calendar.” One more worthy charity. One more dinner. One more speech. One more
thing
he wasn’t passionate about.

The charities his family supported were all worthy ones, but that didn’t mean he was
excited
about any of them.

“Anything else this evening, sir?”

Malachi looked up to see Carson holding his now-closed notepad. “No. That’s it as far as I know.”

“Your suit is on the hook. There are three shirt and tie combinations for you to choose from.”

“Great.” Malachi stood and itched to stretch his back, but a prince didn’t stretch in front of others.

Carson turned his tablet back on and tapped a couple of times. “There are three dresses set out for the princess. They match your shirt and tie combinations. It would be best if the two of you coordinated.”

“I’ll discuss it with her.” If the dinner conversation was any indication, she would nod and do whatever he asked of her. Not what he wanted in a wife, but what he had for now.

Carson left using the outer door to the office suite. Malachi went straight to the dining room. It didn’t surprise him to see Jessabelle had cleaned up the meal. Though he’d reminded her repeatedly that palace staff were employed to do just that, she continued to do things herself. She never stood up to him, never said, “I’m fully capable of doing the dishes.” She just did them anyway when he wasn’t looking. Sometimes even after he went to get ready for bed, she’d come out and clean up.

The apartment was surprisingly dark. Only a couple of lights were on, just enough to see to get to their room. Malachi steeled himself before going in, knowing they would have to talk about clothes for tomorrow. His nervous anticipation turned to confusion when his wife was nowhere to be found. He pulled out his phone to call hers, but when it rang, he found it lying on her side table. It took him several minutes of wandering around and calling to her, but he finally found her asleep in a chair in another bedroom.

It confused him, but he’d realized she often freshened up in another room. He crouched at her side, smiling at the peaceful look on her face. He picked up the device on her lap and noticed it was a dedicated e-reader. He’d need to have the tech guys make sure it was safe. It likely hadn’t even occurred to his wife that she’d need to.

He set it on the side table and decided to carry her to bed. He lifted her easily into his arms and carried her into their room. She seemed to wake slightly as he set her down, but he couldn’t understand her murmurs. Instead, he pulled a quilt over her shoulders and let her rest. They could talk clothes in the morning.

But when Malachi woke, she was already gone, leaving a note on his side table. She needed to run an unspecified errand and would meet him in a couple of hours. All right. That could work. He checked the closet to see which dress she’d chosen only to realize all three were still hanging there.

He called Carson to see if she was planning to return to the palace and change or if he needed to resort to plan B. Then they needed to come up with plan B.

After a quick shower and even faster breakfast, he spent some time in the office. His father was pressuring him to have an actual career using his business degree. Malachi wanted to, but he hadn’t found the right project yet.

At ten-thirty, he arrived at the Mevendian History Museum praying everything would go as well as his father hoped. Lizbeth wasn’t scheduled to attend, so it couldn’t go any worse than that last one.

Malachi waved to the bystanders as he walked into the building. A text from Carson said Jessabelle would be arriving in a few minutes so he decided to wait in the anteroom nearest the door.

“Prince Malachi!”

Malachi turned to see an old school friend walking his way. “Robert.” They shook hands. “It is good to see you.”

“You, too. Is your wife here?” Robert looked around. “I was told she would be.”

“She’s on her way.”

“Did you really not even meet her until she walked down the aisle?”

“You know the law.” Everyone did.

“It doesn’t say you can’t meet the girl. It doesn’t even say you can’t basically arrange your own marriage.”

“Yeah. Well.” And that was all he had to say about that.

“It’s going well then?” Robert pressed.

“Very. As long as no one asks her to speak when she’s not ready.” He shot a sideways glare at his friend. Robert hadn’t been the one to ask her to speak, but he’d been part of the decision making process.

Robert held up his hands in surrender. “Hey! I said we should wait, and none of us could have known how badly it would go.”

From what he’d heard, Malachi knew Robert told the truth, but he also knew Robert hadn’t pushed very hard to wait on Malachi and Lizbeth.

“Sir?” Malachi looked to see one of the doormen waiting expectantly. “Your wife has arrived.”

“Thank you.” He tugged first on one cuff then the other, straightening his shirt sleeves as he walked toward the door. The gathered crowd started yelling at him. Nothing specific, nothing mean, just the general noise there always was when he walked the red carpet, as it were. He waved at them again, reaching the curb just as Jessabelle’s car did. He opened the door and held out a hand. She grasped it, and he helped balance her as she stood.

He breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. She wasn’t wearing one of the outfits that had been chosen, but the one she did wear was completely acceptable. They took about four steps then he stopped her and let go of her hand. With one arm wrapped around her waist, he turned her slightly toward the rope line across the way. “Just take a deep breath and wave for a minute.”

The rise and fall of her chest under his arm told him she was trying her best. He waved while turning to whisper to her. “You can do this.”

Calls for a kiss came from the crowd so he did what he’d done after the wedding and kissed the side of her head. The cries increased, but instead of responding to them, he used his arm to turn Jessabelle back towards the door. They walked through the doors, and he felt her shoulders slump then straighten again when she realized there were already other people waiting inside.

“I’m proud of you,” he said softly. “You’re doing great.”

She didn’t respond, and he knew she’d rather be anywhere else. Malachi stayed close to her side while they walked through the room, talking with the other guests.

Whenever he dropped his arm, he could sense her tense up so as they walked to the next group of guests, he positioned himself on the other side. His left arm now stayed around her back, leaving his right free to shake hands.

Robert walked up with an older couple in tow. “Prince Malachi, have you ever met my parents?”

Malachi smiled. “I don’t believe so.” He shook hands with Robert’s father and leaned in to kiss his mother’s cheek. “It’s a pleasure.”

Mrs. Padovano didn’t completely ignore him, but close enough. She reached for Jessabelle and gave her a big hug. “I am so very glad to see you again, Your Highness. You look beautiful.”

* * *

Beautiful?

Jessabelle could hardly believe her ears, so much that she barely registered the “again” from the other woman.

Or her arms as they wound their way around the other woman and held on tight. Had she’d ever been hugged like this? Since her mother died, only a time or two by Malachi, but that’s it. After what seemed to be an eternity, she felt something flood through her. Her shoulders relaxed, and she released a deep breath.

Mrs. Padovano finally released her but took her hands as she stepped back. “You do look lovely today, Your Highness.”

The incongruity stuck her. After marrying Malachi, she’d quickly learned the royal family was treated with deference. She’d known that all along, but being on the receiving end was a bit odd. And no one ever hugged a royal family member without invitation, much less held both hands all while using a formal address.

“Thank you,” she finally managed to murmur, still not really believing the woman’s words.

Mrs. Padovano smiled and pulled her away from the three men. “How are you, dear?”

Jessabelle knew what she had to say, no matter the truth. “I’m well.”

The older woman chuckled. “Oh, sweetheart, I know how you must hurt.”

“Pardon?”

“I know what it’s like to lose your last parent and right on top of such life turmoil, good or bad, it’s an awful lot to deal with.”

“I miss him,” she admitted, but that was as far as she would go with someone she didn’t know well. She’d barely told Malachi more.

They continued to walk slowly in a lightly populated area of the reception room. “I knew your mother, you know. I even burped you a few times when you were little.”

Jessabelle stopped walking. “Pardon?”

Mrs. Padovano turned and smiled, tears filling her eyes. “Your mother was one of my dear friends. We grew up together in Montevaro and both moved here to attend university. She met your father. I met my husband. They stayed here in Erres, while we moved back to Montevaro to help my ailing father. We lived there until Robert was just a few years old. Your mother died a few weeks after we returned.” She reached out and brushed a strand of hair off Jessabelle’s forehead. “She would be so proud of you, you know. Braving your fears. Being a poised, confident woman on the outside even though you’d rather be anywhere else on the inside. It’ll come. Eventually.”