I laughed at him, glad we were getting along so well. It was a bit like having Jess with me. She had texted me to let me know I had been on the news. Apparently my landing had been streamed on live TV in the States. I had been horrified, but she seemed to have loved it. Said it felt like she had been there. My father had another chemo treatment today and I was feeling incredibly guilty for shopping while he went through that torture. Patricia had texted me to let me know he was fine and that they had watched me on the news.
I needed to call Dad soon and made a mental note to try later tonight. I wanted to hear his voice. I had been busy from the moment I set foot here, but I was still more than a little homesick.
Chapter Eighteen
Romantic Dinner or Friendly Get-Together?
—Lisa Talks
Once the sky began to darken, Chadwick started to hurry me along.
I rolled my eyes at him. “Do you want me to get new nightgowns or what? There’s a billion to choose from.”
“Yes. I got down on my knees this morning and prayed you would get rid of those hideous nightshirts, but we’re running out of time, ma’am.” He tapped his watch. “Prince Alex and Princess Catherine will be waiting for you, so just pick something.”
“All right, all right.” I grabbed several different colors of the one I was looking at and headed toward the clerk. “And stop calling me ma’am. You’re older than I am. Just call me Sam.”
“Sam?” He wrinkled his nose at me. “I don’t know.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just that Sam doesn’t really seem like the name of a duchess.” He looked at my face and backpedaled. “Not that there is anything wrong with Sam. What about Samantha?”
“Fine.” I shrugged. “Anything is better than ma’am.”
“Well, only in private of course. It would be highly inappropriate if I called you that in public.”
I ground my teeth. “Okay.”
“It’s not so bad.” He patted my arm.
The staff hadn’t batted an eye when I’d come through the door, but it made me feel awkward to buy anything like a nightie. What if it ended up on the news? The cameras and news vans had lowered in numbers the longer we shopped, but as soon as I left the store I ran into a crowd of people hollering my name. Chadwick put an arm around me while Becca made a path for us to the car.
I thought we were in the clear as we pulled away from the curb, but cars surrounded us almost immediately.
“What are they doing?” I leaned forward to look out the window. “This is dangerous!” I squeaked when a car swerved close to us around a corner. Our driver slammed the brakes and we skidded, just missing the curb.
“Sit back, Samantha.” Chadwick moved to make sure I was buckled in.
“This is cr—”
A light blue van slammed into the back of our car, making my teeth snap shut. Blood pooled in my mouth from where I nipped my tongue. I covered my lips with my hand and looked around wildly. Camera flashes blinded me as I tried to see just what had happened. A motorcycle stopped in front of our car and the person on the back snapped pictures through the front windshield.
“Are you okay?” Becca turned around in her seat.
“Yeah.” I nodded my head and tried to quell the nausea that was bubbling in my stomach. Adrenaline and anger ran through my body. Balling my hands into fists I glared out the window at the people still busy taking photographs.
“Can you get us out of here?” Chadwick asked.
“As soon as I have an opening.” The driver never took his hands off the steering wheel.
“Should we call the police?” I looked from Becca to Chadwick.
“Best to get out of here fast.” Becca shook her head.
My door handle made a loud noise as someone tried to open the door. I turned to check that it was locked and almost sighed in relief when I realized it was closed for sure. The driver took his foot off the brake and edged forward. I watched as he pushed the bike with the front fender and almost cheered when the motorcycle driver pulled away from us.
Our car shot forward and I felt like celebrating, but I still felt sick. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that someone had hit our car just to get a picture of me.
“It’ll calm down, Samantha. They just don’t know what to make of you.” Chadwick patted my arm.
“Are you kidding? They could have hurt us! They did hurt us! I bit the shit out of my tongue.” I waved my hand in the air. “All that for a picture of me? Me? Why?”
“You’re interesting and they make the most money by selling photos of interesting people.” Chadwick pursed his lips.
“I’m not interesting. I’m the same as every other person. I have to brush my teeth, use the bathroom, and take a bath, same as everyone else.”
“You also just found out that you’re the duchess to a huge estate in a foreign country.” He frowned. “I understand what you’re saying, and they shouldn’t behave the way they are, but it’s because you are interesting. Things will calm down.”
“Please don’t say eventually.” I shook my head. “Everyone keeps telling me that it will calm down eventually, but it just seems to be getting worse.”
“I know.” He frowned and looked out the window as we reached the palace gates.
The car deposited me and my bags at the main door while Chadwick basically pulled me into the palace. That was fine by me. I didn’t want to stay in that car another second.
Catherine and Alex were chatting near the entrance to a room. They were both wearing jeans and I felt incredibly overdressed. This was the first time I had seen Alex in jeans and I had to admit it might be my favorite view of him. His worried gaze found mine immediately.
“Are you okay?” He took a step toward me and stopped.
“Yeah. I’m okay.” I ran a hand through my hair but dropped it when I realized it was shaking. “It was pretty crazy.”
“We heard the bodyguards talking about it. That must’ve been scary.” Catherine shook her head. “I’m so sorry they’re hounding you like this.”
“Maybe when they figure out how boring I am, they’ll leave me alone.” I tried to make a joke, but it sounded a bit too hopeful.
“I’m sure it’s going to calm down.” Alex’s fingers opened and closed by his legs. He looked antsy. In fact he looked as shaken up as I felt.
“You went shopping without me!” Catherine glared at the bags someone carried in. I was grateful the subject change. I didn’t want to think about what had just happened.
“It was Chad’s fault. He made me do it.” I pointed at my assistant, who rolled his eyes at me.
“Trust me, there is still much more to do.” He lifted the bags. “I will take care of these, Samantha. Enjoy your night out with these two.” He gestured with a full hand toward Alex and Catherine. My heart froze. I’d almost forgotten I would have to go back out in that mess. “Don’t let them get you into any trouble, and call me if you need me when you get back.” He winked at me as he turned around so the others couldn’t see.
“Thanks, Chadwick.”
“We don’t have to go out.” Alex watched me carefully, a small tic running along his jaw.
I thought about it for a minute. I didn’t want to go out. I wanted to curl up somewhere quiet and hide. But I also didn’t want to stop living just because some nutso person wanted my picture.
“I’ll call for extra security,” Cathy offered. “If you want. Or we can try again another day.”
“No. Let’s go.” I was glad my voice sounded so sure, because the rest of me wasn’t. “Mind if I run and change? These shoes are killing me.” My feet were screaming in agony. I’d throw them away if I could forget how much they had cost.
“Of course.” Alex leaned against the wall and tucked his hands into his coat.
“I’ll be quick.” I hurried down the hallway in the direction of my room, only to stop and look around, confused. I looked back behind me and Catherine was smiling. Alex pointed to the right, so I nodded my head and took that hall.
Chadwick was standing at my door and held up one of my new sweaters.
“Be careful tonight.”
“I will.” I blew him a kiss as I took it out of his hand ducked into the room. I changed quickly, pulling my hair down from the clip I had been wearing and grabbing my scarf. I threw my necessities into my pockets and headed back to the others. The entire walk back I chanted in my head: I can do this. I will have fun. I can do this. I will have fun. I didn’t want the media to stop me from seeing my new country.
By the time I got there, my stomach was growling and Catherine laughed. “I think someone needs dinner.”
“I haven’t eaten since noon.” I winced.
“We can fix that. Do you have a preference?” Alex opened the door for us and I shook my head. I noticed there was a second car behind us, containing several bodyguards.
“I’d settle for a peanut butter sandwich at this point.”
“We can do better than that,” Catherine said as we climbed into the car.
“What do you have in mind, Cathy?” Alex sat next to me, his leg brushing mine.
“How about that little place you like in the South District?” Cathy poked at his stomach. “The one with all the greasy burgers.”
“I don’t know. I just got back from the States, I’m not sure these will measure up. Why not get some local food?” Alex turned to look at me.
“Sounds good.”
Cathy gave the name of the restaurant to the driver and we headed into town. Reporters followed us as soon as we left the palace gates. Cathy shook her head, but I could see how tense Alex was next to me.
“What’s the big deal? We’re just going to dinner.” I frowned. Maybe we should have just stayed at the palace. Ordered pizza or something.
“They’re hoping to catch an embarrassing shot.” Alex sighed. “It’s their livelihood.”
“Like ketchup on our chin?” I was trying to lift some of the dreariness that had settled over the car.
“Like us stumbling drunk out of a bar.” Catherine shook her head. “Like we would ever do that.”
“It happens.” Alex frowned at her. “Kyle is often photographed acting like a baboon at nightclubs.”
“Kyle just likes to have a good time.” Cathy looked out the windows. “Look, Samantha! There’s the Rousseau monument!”
I looked out the window surprised. “Really?”
“Yes. Your family fought off a northern invasion and gave the capital enough time to rally troops.” Alex looked out the window with me as we drove past the large statue. A man rode a rearing horse, sword held high.
“How about that.” I felt a little bubble of pride in my chest. My family had faced down invaders.
“Just down the road here is the Lilarian library. There are paintings of some of the earliest families inside. You should go visit them when you have time.” Cathy was proving to be an excellent guide. “Oh! And that’s the Sverelle Bridge. Our mother’s family is responsible for it being here. It’s one of the few that survived the Nazis occupation.”
“Wow.” And I meant it. There was intense pride in her voice for the work of their family and that of their country, and I understood. This was their home and they could literally trace their ancestors back to massive historical moments or places. It gave the history a life, a face.
We pulled up to a small family style restaurant situated between two buildings. There was faint music spilling out of the door, and I could smell food as soon as Duvall opened the car door. The press were on us immediately and I felt my hackles rise. I was trying to get used to the idea, but they certainly weren’t giving me any adjustment time. Alex opened the door for us and a tall thin man greeted us inside.
“Your Highnesses, Duchess. A pleasure to see you.” He bowed to us.
“We’ve been coming here since we were kids, Luca. Why are you suddenly bowing?” Cathy pulled her coat off and hung it on a rack near the door. A few of the patrons inside turned to look at us, but for the most part seemed more interested in their food.
“Ah, but this is Duchess Rousseau’s first visit!” Luca smiled widely. He motioned us to follow him, and he sat at us at a booth in the back. It was far from the little window at the front and I knew he was used to dealing with public figures.
“You’re going to love this place.” Cathy smiled at me over the table. She pushed a menu at me. “I already know what I want.”
Alex eyed the booth for a minute before taking a seat next to his sister. I was relieved. Sitting next to him in the car had been difficult enough. It’s amazing the little things you notice about someone when you have the hot’s for them. Like the way he smells or how long his legs are compared to mine. Then there are the other things, like wondering how his hands would feel running over my skin. Things I wouldn’t think about sitting next to just anyone, but here I was thinking about them and trying to pretend that I wasn’t.
I opened the menu and looked over the selections. I frowned when I realized it was in Lilarian. There weren’t even any pictures to help me pick. I looked up at my companions and Alex was watching me with shrewd eyes.
“Need help?”
“A translator would be nice.” I winced and laid down the open menu on the table. “I have no idea where to begin. I want to try something new.”
“I hadn’t thought about that. You don’t speak Lilarian, do you?” Cathy shook her head. “You need a teacher.”
“I have a teacher.” I raised my eyebrow at Alex. “I won one in a bet.”
“Really?” Cathy looked at her brother. “You lost at something?”