Hand-Me-Down Princess (28 page)

“The only reason I ask is that one of our most promising up and coming security team members had his house burn down the other day. They are planning to rebuild, but don’t know where they’re going to live in the meantime. There’s room in the staff quarters at the palace, but this just occurred to me.”

The staff quarters in the palace weren’t anything to sneeze at, but Jessabelle wouldn’t have wanted to live there with anyone but herself. She’d feel too claustrophobic. And so she nodded. It would make her feel like she was contributing something to the security of her father’s house.

“Then let’s get them to move these things, and I’ll get it set up.”

Jessabelle nodded and stood to the side as the men moved the box and trunk. They came back a minute later and moved the wardrobe away from the wall so they could wrap it securely. No reason for it to be damaged on the trip.

They turned it for better access and Jessabelle saw the back for the first time. “Stop!” What was that? She walked over and found a manila envelope, stuffed full, taped to the back.

“What is it?” Malachi stood next to her.

Gently working the aged tape off the back of the wardrobe, she focused only on her task. When it popped loose, she turned it over.

Jessabelle’s Adoption

She looked up at Malachi, tears blurring her vision. “I guess it’s time to find out more about where I came from.”

Chapter 27

The packet lay on the seat between Malachi and his wife, but the weight of it threatened to stifle the very air they breathed.

“Do you suppose it says who my birth parents are?” Jessabelle posed the question as they drove through Erres toward the palace.

“It might.” He didn’t want her to get her hopes up. Either the information wouldn’t be there, or she might not like what she found out. Either one was a real possibility.

“Will you read it for me when we get home?” Her hands twisted in her lap, her knuckles white.

“Of course.” He reached over and gently pried her hands apart, linking his fingers with one. “I know it’s easy for me to say, but try to relax. Stressing about it won’t do you any good.”

“I know, but I can’t help it.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “It is what it is, whether I know about it or not.”

“True,” Malachi conceded. “But once you know, there’s no going back.”

She nodded and continued staring out the window. The gates opened in front of them, and they wound their way up the hill to the side of the palace. Once in the courtyard, Jessabelle didn’t wait for anyone to open her door after the car came to a stop. Instead, she opened it herself and started for the door to the stairs to their apartment.

Malachi grabbed the envelope and followed her. He caught up before she entered her code into the keypad by the apartment door. Of course, she punched in the privacy code.

“I’m going to make cookie dough,” she told him. “Will you look and see what’s in there?”

“Of course.” He watched her go into the kitchen before going into his office. Once there, he opened the envelope and slid the papers onto his desk. Twenty minutes later, he’d gleaned almost all he could from them. For as much paper as there was, most of it didn’t say anything of consequence.

He went back into the apartment to find Jessabelle seated in her favorite chair in their room, looking out over the mountains beyond. “I thought you were making cookies.”

She held up a spoon. “Nope. Just cookie dough.” Another bite, and then, “Did you find out anything?”

He sat down on the couch near her. “Not really. A lot of the information was a duplicate of what you already have. Your parents’ health records and adoption application, things like that.”

“So what did you learn?”

How to tell her? “I found out you’re the biological daughter of a powerful man and his mistress. That’s all I could find out. It looks like you were born in Ravenzario, though, not Mevendia like we thought. Your official birth certificate says you were born in Erres and lists your adoptive parents. It’s not uncommon to have birth certificates reissued like that after an adoption, but it is a bit odd to change the date or location of your birth.”

She looked over at him, spoon dangling from her mouth. “The date was changed?”

“I’m not sure. I need to look more closely,” he answered honestly. It looked to him like it was, but he didn’t know for sure. “Listen, I contacted Jamison Genealogy a while ago, and I have all the information if you’d like for them to look into it. I filled out the paperwork but waited to tell you until it seemed like you were ready. We’d need to update it a bit, but we could have them start immediately.”

It took a minute, but she nodded. “I think that’s a good plan. Where do I sign?”

“I’ll get it in a minute. There’s something else we haven’t talked about recently.”

“What’s that?”

“Moving to the States to attend university.”

“Right.” Another bite of cookie dough. “I don’t think I want to right now. It’s too much. Maybe in six months or a year, we can reevaluate.”

Part of Malachi wanted to take her and run. The rest of him valued the wisdom in her decision. Too much change could be too stressful, and he’d let her decide how much was too much.

“Did your father have that meeting?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I would imagine so, but I haven’t heard for certain.”

“Would he tell you about it?”

“Not likely. If I hear anything, it’ll be through the grapevine.”

“Is the family just sort of ignoring the whole thing officially?”

“Yes. If you get any questions about it, just say you have no knowledge of anything or no comment. No comment is probably better.”

“I can handle that.”

Malachi reached out to brush back her hair. “You should have lunch with Mrs. Padovano. Maybe she knows more or if she looked through those papers, she might see something we missed.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll call her.”

“Or have your assistant set it up. Have you picked one yet?” He needed to give her a gentle nudge. Yvette mentioned it to him. She adored both Melinda and Belinda and missed them working with her full-time.

She sighed. “No. Stefan sent me a couple of names that he highly recommended. I just need to meet with them and make it official. I’ll see if I can do that tomorrow.”

Malachi chuckled. “Stefan won’t recommend anyone he doesn’t trust with your hair. He’s very particular.”

“So I gathered. I have another appointment with him this week.” She shifted until he could see her face. “I thought it shouldn’t matter what I did with my hair and make-up, and I guess on one level it doesn’t. But when my hair and make-up are done, I feel better about myself and more confident. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but that’s the way I feel.”

He gave her a gentle smile. “I would imagine most people feel that way. When they feel they look good or lose those few pounds, or wear clothes they love and look good on them, they feel better and more confident.” He hesitated, then went on. “But
Mia Belle
, there’s something I’ve had to learn over the years. My intrinsic value as a human being doesn’t come from who my parents are or the fact that my job title is Prince of Mevendia.”

She watched him, interested, but not speaking.

“My value as a human being comes from being a child of the King. Not my father, but my Heavenly Father. Your value doesn’t come in the title of princess you received on our wedding day. You have value because you are a child of the King. Your worth
has
to come from Him, not in your title or status here on earth.”

A tear streaked down her cheek. “I know that, I believe that on some level, but it’s hard to take that truth and really live it.”

“It’s something I struggle with all the time,” he told her honestly. “There have been a lot of times when this royalty thing has gone to my head, but every time God finds a way to humble me.” A smile found it’s way onto his face. “Did you see the video of me that played over and over and over a couple years ago? The one where I tripped and fell over nothing?”

She replied with a small smile of her own. “I remember it. I felt bad for you.”

“I’d been too big for my britches, I think the saying goes. I was a Prince of Mevendia. I was important because of who my parents were. Through some quirk of genetic happenstance, I was born with a silver spoon. Tripping like that, having it all over the news, that was God’s way of reminding me I put my pants on one leg at a time like everyone else.”

Jessabelle snickered, but covered her mouth with her hand.

“What?”

“It just hit me. When firefighters go out on a call, they put their pants on both legs at a time, don’t they?”

It struck Malachi as funny, too, and they both laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks. He held his hands out to her and helped her up, pulling her into his arms and holding her to his chest. “You’re beautiful and valuable because of who you are inside,
Mia Belle
. Because God redeemed you and called you His own. You are a joint heir with Christ. That’s why you’re valuable. Not because of a title you received when we married or because of who your birth parents might be.”

She looked up at him, her eyes soft. “I know. But it helps having you here to remind me.”

He couldn’t help himself. Malachi kissed his wife and forgot all of the reasons why he shouldn’t want to do so much more.

* * *

Three days later, Jessabelle woke up alone. Malachi had an early meeting, and she’d known that, but she missed him. A look at her schedule let her know she had an interview with both a stylist and an assistant recommended by Stefan. She was to meet both of them in the small salon on the other side of the palace. She arrived without doing anything to get ready except brush her hair and pulling on an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Stefan’s presence filled the whole room, but both of the young women with him seemed at ease, a good sign.

He spread his arms wide when he saw her. “Ah! Your Royal Highness!” After a slight bow, he greeted her with a kiss to each cheek. “It is finally time for you to select your own staff. May I introduce Emily Nester and Debra Marshon?”

Jessabelle smiled and shook their hands after they each gave a small curtsy. After Malachi’s words last night, she realized more than ever it could go to her head and vowed it wouldn’t. In just a few minutes, Debra had begun work on her hair with only the barest instructions of what kind of event she was preparing for.

In less than half an hour, her hair and make-up were done. Stefan voiced his approval, while Jessabelle just smiled and nodded. She still barely recognized herself in the mirror.

The four of them returned to Jessabelle’s apartment. A decent chunk of her wardrobe had been moved into the sitting area. While Debra looked through them, deciding what options she would give Jessabelle for this event, Jessabelle talked with Emily. Stefan did more to guide the conversation than Jessabelle did, but he knew the right questions to ask, and she found herself trusting his judgment. She also knew, to make it this far, both young ladies would have undergone rigorous background checks.

Before long, Debbie as she’d insisted Jessabelle call her, had selected a total of nine outfits. There were three different events, all requiring different attire. Her make-up would be touched up between, but it was best to get moving on the clothes now.

Or so she was told.

Stefan, as well as recent arrivals Belinda and Melinda, all praised Debbie’s choices. Jessabelle was inclined to agree, though she asked Debbie to explain the rationale behind the suggestions. Satisfied with the answers, she picked her first choice for each event as well as a second choice in case of a mishap with the first one.

After texting with Malachi for just a moment-he encouraged her to hire them, but only if she truly felt comfortable with them-she gave them the good news. That was a weight off her shoulders. It was a reminder that she was supposed to be touring a new library the next day and would need to leave early to travel to another city. In the afternoon, she would be at an elementary school planting a garden in the other city, before meeting Malachi for a formal dinner. All four women would be accompanying her for the next few days while Belinda and Melinda helped train Emily and Debbie on the assorted things they’d need to know to do their jobs properly.

It would be quite an entourage, though Jessabelle knew they would stay out of sight for the most part. She took her e-reader with her since she was alone in the back seat of the limo.

The head librarian was a lovely woman, if a bit uptight. Jessabelle supposed that could be because of her own presence, though she tried to put the woman at ease. Her own butterflies churned at a frenetic pace. She would be required to give an address for the second time, but this would be to a much smaller group of people, ones she would have spent time with prior to marrying Malachi. The other one had been to the upper crust, a group she still wasn’t comfortable with.

This time, thank God, the speech went off without a hitch. She was whisked to a local hotel where she ate a quick lunch, changed clothes, and had her hair and make-up fixed. This time, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore jeans and a button-down shirt with boots that were supposed to be work boots but likely cost more than her entire wardrobe until just a few months earlier. Before long, they were back on the road, this time to an elementary school where she would help plant a garden with the students.