Mistress to the Prince (16 page)

Max pulled back and took a deep breath.  “Good night,
Tara
.  I’ll see you in the morning,” he said and stepped back so she could get into her car.

Tara
stepped carefully into her car and started the engine.  She had no idea how she got home that night. Her mind was completely centered on reliving that kiss and the way it made her feel. 

The rest of the week followed the same pattern.  Whenever
Tara
arrived at work, she was nervous and unsure of how to greet Max.  But each morning, he took control of the situation and greeted her professionally and casually, as if they didn’t have dinner with each other every night, ending the evening with a mind shattering kiss.  Work was the usual hectic pace but every once in a while, she caught herself staring at Max as he spoke or when others were talking to him.  On Thursday, he caught her staring in a meeting and winked at her. 
Tara
almost jumped out of her seat and could feel her face turning bright red as she lowered her head to continue taking notes on the current speaker. 

On Friday, she received a call from the queen’s secretary asking if
Tara
was free for lunch that day.  “Of course,”
Tara
replied. 
Even if she’d had plans already,
Tara
knew better than to tell the queen that she was unavai
la
ble. 

At the appointed hour of
twelve thirty
,
Tara
stepped into the conservatory and looked around.  She was expecting several other people to be in attendance.  But when only Queen Natasha smiled
and walking
toward
her,
Tara
had the sinking feeling that it would be only the two of them for lunch.  Tara knew what the conversation would be about and she wanted to run away, or stay and assure the queen that
Tara
had no aspirations to be the wife to her son. 
Tara
was sure that the queen would not approve of a working girl dating her son. 

“Good afternoon, Ms. Michaels,” Queen Natasha said.  “Thank you for joining me on such short notice.  Come on in and sit down,” she said. 

Tara
curtsied carefully, then walked further into the plant filled room.  “Please call me
Tara
, your majesty.”
  The room was rich with the smells
of flowers and the air was thic
k with the humidity.  It wasn’t bad though.  In fact, it was very relaxing to be surrounded by flowers and the smells of the earth.  There were even some birds chirping in the trees somewhere. 

“Thank you.  And you must call me Natasha, then.”

“Yes, your majesty,” she said and sat on the edge of the chair. 

The Queen laughed.  “Max warned me that you were a stickler for protocol.”

Tara
flushed.  “I’m sorry.  It just doesn’t feel right, using your first name.”

Queen Natasha
wave
d
Tara
’s concerns aside as if they were butterflies. 
“That’s okay.  You’ll get used to it,” she said and
nodded
to the waiter
, giving him permission
to start serving their lunch. 

The ladies waited in silence as the man rolled an elaborate tray into the room, then place the china on the immaculate linen table cloth set up in the center of the conservancy. 
When they were alone again, she turned to smile at
Tara
. “So tell me about yourself,” she said.

Tara
shrugged her shoulders.  “There isn’t much to tell.  I
’m twenty six
years old.  I went to
Harvard
Business
School
in the
United States
for my business degree.  I was immediately hired by th
e palace as a junior analyst.  I’ve basically worked for Prince Maximillian’s office since college but I’ve only been working directly for him for the past
two
years.”

The queen nodded attentively as they dined on baked salmon and crisp vegetables. “You seem to have moved through the ranks quickly.  The last person to fill your job was in his late forties and only lasted for two years before retiring out of exhaustion.”

Tara
laughed.  She’d heard the story several times.  “I’ve often suspected that story might be an exaggeration, but I’ll admit your son is a bit of a task master.”

The queen smiled but she shook her head. “It isn’t an exaggeration.  Max is heartless when it comes to preserving his causes or promoting one of his projects.”

“Yes, he’s dedicated to the people of
Cordova
.”

“Are you?”
the queen asked directly. 

Tara
nodded immediately and sincerely. 
“Absolutely.  My family dates back several generations and we fully support the monarchy.  They have been good for
Cordova
.”

The queen nodded, satisfied with
Tara
’s response. 
“I agree, although I’m not originally from
Cordova
.  So when I heard about this country that still maintained a monarchy, I was pretty horrified.  I thought of it as some archaic dictatorship that needed to be overthrown.”

Tara
almost choked on the bite she’d just put into her mouth. 
“Really?’
Tara
asked, shocked but genuinely interested. 
The queen’s words were basically treasonous but said with humor and a large dose of self-derision. 
“And now you’re the queen.  How did that happen?”

Queen Natasha smiled nostalgically.  “I met King Stephan.” 
No other explanation was offered.  It was as if meeting King Stephan answered all the questions and put the world into perspective. 

“He’s a wonderful ruler,”
Tara
replied
diplomatically but unsure why just meeting the king would change such radical ideals in someone who appeared to be very self-assured.

Unfortunately, the queen didn’t elaborate but went on,
“I agree.  And so will Max some day.” 

“I think he’ll be one of the greatest,” she agreed.  Here it comes,
Tara
thought.  This is where she tells me that I’ll never be good enough to sit beside the future ruler of
Cordova
.

“What do you think about Lord Charlton?”
Queen Natasha
asked, completely switching the subject. 

Tara
was confused.  Wasn’t Queen Natasha
supposed to tell her that royals only marry royals?  Or at least someone of the aristocracy?  Where was the lecture?  Where was the superiority? 
Tara
didn’t understand.  She quickly thought about a diplomatic way of answering the queen’s questions despite her confusion. 

“I think Lord Charlton has a very nice mustache.”

The queen laughed openly.  “Yes.  I agree with you on that.  I imagine that he spends a great deal of time grooming it.  I think men consider facial hair a sign of virility,” she shook her head. 

Tara
smiled, feeling as if she’d just passed some sort of test. 
“A man’s true source of value comes from his intelligence and his compassion for fellow humans.  Not from his ability to procreate,”
Tara
said quietly.  She didn’t like Lord Charlton
but she didn’t want to say something bad about a man she didn’t know very well.  She’d only met him in a few meetings but
he
hadn’t struck her as very ethical. 
He seemed very sleazy and not very interesting.  The man was stuck on himself and the amount of power he wielded and did many things to ensure an increase of his power. 

“Very diplomatically said,”
the queen replied.  “What about Lord Marchum?”

Tara
looked away from the queen.  “I don’t like
Lord Marchum,” she said quiet
ly
, ignoring diplomacy in this one instance
. 

“
That sounds personal,” the queen replied.

Tara
wouldn’t look at the queen but also wouldn’t relent on her harsh opinion of the man. 
“Let’s just say I don’t like being alone with Lord Marchum.”
 
Tara
had made the mistake of assisting Lord Marchum one afternoon and had found herself alone with the man who had suddenly turned into an octopus with hands everywhere.  It had been difficult to escape from his clutches but after that,
Tara
had made sure she was never alone with him and kept her distance even in a crowd.  The man was a leach!

“So he’s made a pass at you as well,” the queen said, nodding her head.  “Me too, if you can believe it.”

Tara
’s eyes widened and she moved her gaze from the lovely orchid to the queen’s face.  “You too?  How dare he!”

“He dares,” the queen laughed.  “But we won’t tell anyone else.  I don’t want to witness my husband’s wrath if he ever finds out,” she said.

“If I find out what?” King Stephan asked as he walked into the conservatory.  He bent down and kissed his wife on the cheek then turned to smile at Tara who was now standing respectfully beside the table. 

“Good afternoon, your majesty,”
Tara
said, curtsying. 

“Good afternoon.  I’m sorry to interrupt your meal,” he said.  “I was only stopping by to see if you were going to be able to make it to the meeting this afternoon,” he said to the queen
, his eyes twinkling
.

Queen Natasha rolled her eyes.  “You know perfectly well that I’ll be there.  And I also know perfectly well why you interrupted us.  Now that you’ve accomplished your mission, please be off,” she said to the king.  “I still have more work to do.”

“Yes, my love.  Always grateful for your assistance in these matters.”  He turned to
Tara
. “It was a great pleasure to meet you, my dear.
  I look forward to many more
occasions
in the future.
”  With those words, the king left the conservatory, leaving a very confused Tara and a chuckling Natasha. 

“That man has never been very good at minding his own business,” she said.  “Now, where were we?”

“You were talking about Lord
Marchum
.”

“Oh yes
,” the queen nodded
. 
“
Well, since we’re both aware of his propensity
toward
vulgarity, let’s move on to something more interesting, shall we?”

“Of course,”
Tara
replied.

“I need your help with something,” she said.

“What’s that, your majesty?”

“I noticed how well you handled yourself at the ball last weekend and I was hoping to impose upon you again this weekend.  There’s another event that is very important and Max needs to be able to concentrate on talking with some very influential people.  Would you be able to attend with him and assist him with meeting and talking with these people?”

Tara
searched her mind in an effort to review Max’s calendar for the weekend.  She didn’t know of any important meetings he was attending.  In fact, she’d thought t
h
at his calendar tomorrow night was blocked off for a personal night. 
“Of course,”
Tara
said. “I’ve done that several times in the past.”

“No, you can’t be there in an official assistant’s position.  You’ll have to attend as his date,” she clarified.  “Max will need someone who can charm and be witty during the right moments.  I think you’ll fit into that role well.”