Chapter 19
A lexandra
Dresses on a rail were whisked into the room, followed by a stylist and a tailor. They paid no attention to Raphael, but he was all I could see as he stepped out. All I could think about while I tried on the row of sparkling dresses by British designers.
I needed to pick two—one for the gala in two days and another for a banquet in the palace which I could barely think about without nausea. For the latter, I had to give a speech and couldn’t imagine causing a bird-related distraction to get out of it.
I settled on an emerald-green satin gown for the gala. It would pop against the venue’s red seats and pair well with my dark hair. For the banquet, I let the stylist pick out a formal cream mermaid dress with a modest hemline. I could barely look at it without dread. I even confessed it to the two women, earning grim smiles of understanding.
The next day was the same.
I didn’t have to leave the palace, but the meetings went on and on for the whole day, leaving me exhausted.
When the last was done, I holed up in my room and hid from the world.
Something niggled at me.
Dori hadn’t messaged or returned my call. I couldn’t think of the last time we’d gone this long without contact. I’d texted him again this morning, but no reply had come.
Concern had built steadily through the day.
A best friend hunt was in order. I told him so in a text.
Alex: If you aren’t answering me, I can only assume you’re having a good time. Am going to stalk you to find out just how good.
Yet his socials gave me nothing.
He’d posted nothing new and hadn’t been tagged anywhere. That was unusual for my social butterfly friend who delighted in finding me or him online and refreshed his feed more than was healthy.
I clicked through to his liked posts, finally finding something new.
My pulse skipped. Dori had liked a post for the engagement party of a beautiful couple, posted two days ago. I squinted at the caption under the stunning Lake Como picture.
The happy couple-to-be, Elsie Sale and Victor Vance.
The woman’s name was familiar, though I’d never met her. I mused over it, trying to make sense of the mystery. Her profile told me that she was a musician and her guy was an influencer with a huge following. His page was full of videos and pictures about the relationship amongst brand deals, including a video of his proposal which had millions of views. In contrast, her page was dedicated to her music only.
If Dori knew either of them, he hadn’t mentioned it to me.
Nor had this helped me work out where he was hiding. Frustrated, I climbed from my cosy den and slipped on a pair of ballet slippers. I did my best thinking while moving, so I left my apartment to prowl the palace.
After hours, the centuries-old building had a completely different feel to it. Gone were the bustling staff and countless summer tourists, replaced by shadows and spooky long corridors. As a child, I’d only stayed here when my family needed to be in London, but I’d done the same and roamed at night.
It freaked me out back then. At least now I was no longer scared of any ghosts.
I meandered through the hall to the formal staircase and descended. The ground floor might still have staff hanging around, and I found my feet delivering me to the state rooms on the first floor.
Security wouldn’t be far, essential as there were paintings by grand masters and other valuables on display, but I was allowed to be here. It was even more fun to give them the slip.
I ignored the picture gallery to enter one of the wide receiving rooms.
A plush carpet muted my footsteps.
Above me, rows of chandeliers glimmered, though none were lit, and an enormous marble fireplace gaped to the side. I padded through patches of light from the tall windows, passing rows of chairs amid gleaming columns. I stepped in and out of the light as I wandered, trying to centre myself but also knowing exactly what had brought me here.
Ahead were double doors to the banquet hall where, in three days, I had to stand in front of dignitaries and speak on behalf of my family. Of all the events Sir Reginald had lined up for me, that one felt like a trial by fire.
That was what I wanted. To look at the space and imagine myself there. To try to picture how I would handle the formalities and the moment I had to rise and address the room. Damn. I wouldn’t be able to. The dread I’d felt upstairs returned tenfold. I couldn’t move from the spot.
My phone buzzed in my shorts pocket.
I yanked it out, and my heart skipped a beat. Raphael had sent a picture of himself standing in front of a helicopter. Except in the shot, it was daylight, and night had long fallen.
Three dots showed he was typing.
Raphael: Look what you made me do.
A laugh flew from my lips, and I wrote a reply.
Alex: Did I stress you out so much you flew away? By the way, I love that you can do that.
Raphael: I need to get you in my passenger seat so you can watch me in action.
Heat swirled in my veins. It was like he had a hotline to my nervous system.
Alex: Where have you gone?
Raphael: I’m back already. It was just a little air time.
Relief chased the desire. Thank heck he hadn’t left. I knew he would eventually. Though I barely knew the man, unhappiness tied a surprising knot in my gut at how I wouldn’t see him for much longer.
Creeping to the side of the room, I tucked onto one of the uncomfortable seats, hiding in the darkness.
Alex: I’d ask if you needed a copilot, but I’m horrible with directions.
Raphael: Remind me never to get in a car with you behind the wheel.
Alex: No problem there, I can’t drive.
He sent back an emoji of a shocked face.
Seconds later, he called me. I took a shuddering breath and answered, my greeting overly loud in the silent mausoleum of the state room.
“How is it possible that one of the most famous women in the country has never had a driving lesson?”
He was outside somewhere, the sound of traffic in the background of the call.
“Bold of you to assume I’ve never had a lesson. I’ve had many. Still failed my test three times.”
Silence held the other end of the line. I clucked my tongue.
“Go ahead. You can laugh at me.”
“I never would. It’s a hard test.”
I could hear the smile in his voice. “I bet you passed first time.”
“Aye, but I was seventeen and in need because of where I live. Nothing beats the confidence of cocky teenagers. Can’t ye get a pass for being a princess?”
“I wish. If anything, I think it made the test guys more evil.”
He laughed again. “Are ye feeling any better? Dress picked out?”
I couldn’t talk about the clothes. It made me imagine myself in the banquet room, and the panic threatened to take over me again. “You fixed me with your hot water bottle. I was just stalking Dori online as he still hasn’t showed.”
Down the line, keys rattled and a door clicked, Raphael returning home by the sounds of it. “Strange. Are ye worried about him?”
My gut tightened. Raphael hadn’t dismissed me out of hand like I’d done with myself. Then again, he was the one with experience of looking after others. I could barely do that with myself.
“Dori is meant to be my date for the gala tomorrow night. By now, he’d normally be sending me pictures of tuxedos or critiquing the guest list and planning on who he wanted to hook up with or persuade to go to a club with us after. To hear nothing at all is weird.”
“One second while I get to my room and we’ll talk it through.”
I listened as Raphael greeted someone, then stairs drummed and another door shut.
“Is that some kind of bodyguard accommodation?” I sat taller. “Are you in the palace?”
If he was here, I wanted to see him.
“No, princess. About half a mile from ye.”
Why did I love the way he called me princess? Like it wasn’t my designation but someone dainty and special to him.
Raphael continued, “Will is downstairs. Johnnie and Riss don’t seem to sleep here, but there are other palace staff in various flats, too.” A mattress creaked, and Raphael continued. “Tell me about Dori. How do ye know each other?”
“Sure you have time for this?”
“Didn’t I tell ye I have nothing to do in the city but wait on ye? Plus I called your number. Talk to me or I’ll go mad with boredom.”
I worked through my history of meeting Dori. “Both of us went to boarding school in Switzerland. Separate single-sex ones, that is. The schools are in the same town, so after hours and on weekends, the girls and boys would mix. There’s something uniquely punishing about being sent so far from home, so the kids bonded, fought, and flirted with this edge of desperation. He and I were best friends from the start.”
“Did ye date?” There was a funny tone to his voice.
“Each other? Never. We have exactly zero romantic chemistry, probably because we’re related through my father’s line. Second cousins, I think. I adore him, but it’s like he’s my favourite brother, if I ever had siblings.”
“Sure he feels the same?”
“I am. Why?”
“The last time ye mentioned him, he came up with a nickname for me. I’m naw exactly his favourite person. I wondered if he’s jealous and that might be why he’s ghosting ye.”
Hot Bodyguard , that was Dori’s name for Raphael. I stared at the pilot picture open on my screen and shivered. “I see your logic, but I’m ninety-nine percent certain he’s in love with someone else. He has been for a while, though he’s never told me who.”
“How do ye know? I’m not questioning it, just trying to get through the facts.”
I searched my mind. “He told me he’d met a girl, but it had to be secret. This was almost a year ago. The breakup affected him big time, but I saw rather than heard about that as he wouldn’t say a word. He spills secrets like they’re going out of fashion, but for her, he kept it to himself.”
“Secret suggesting she’s famous?”
Halfway to starting an answer, I stalled, stuck on what I’d discovered with my online stalking. “You could be right. Which is making me join the dots to him liking a post with a celebrity in it earlier. It was her engagement party. I think it said the party had taken place in Italy. I might be reaching, but I’ve got nothing else to go on.”
“Gut instinct shouldn’t be ignored. Have ye ever booked a flight for him?”
“That’s random. I have, but why?” We’d country-hopped regularly throughout our teens, catching cheap flights between cities and party locations.
“Got his passport number? I can track it for ye. If he’s in Italy, that’s an answer.”
My jaw dropped. “You can do that?”
“We monitor known risks that way.”
I jumped to my notes and found Dori’s passport details then sent them to Raphael. “This feels very illegal.”
“It is. Got a problem with that?”
I smothered a laugh. “No. If I don’t criminally cyber stalk my best friend, do I even care about him?”
“Exactly.” There was a pause, then he came back. “I’ve sent off the request. Should have information tomorrow.”
I exhaled, feeling lighter than I had all day. A silence drew out between me and Raphael. We’d kissed. Not just a quick peck, but a full-body experience built up of overwhelming need.
I could still feel the press of my bodyguard’s lips.
I really wanted to talk about it.
“You kissed me.”
His voice returned low. “Seem to remember your hands in my hair, princess.”
I was right back there in the scene with his dark, silky hair between my fingers and his hard body crushed against mine.
“Are ye in bed?”
“I wish I was.”
“Where are ye?”
I stared down the banquet hall’s double doors. “Facing off with demons in the belly of the palace.”
A click came from the other end of the wide-open space, and I jerked up with a rushed intake of breath.
“What’s wrong?” Raphael asked.
I scanned the darkness and whispered, “I think someone’s here.”
“Where exactly?”
“One of the state rooms.” Cautiously, I stood, peering into the shadows. Nothing moved, yet something had definitely made a sound. It had been a door opening, I was certain.
Raphael’s voice returned with greater surety. “This is going to sound crazy, but do me a favour, and go back to your apartment.”
He’d told me he was worried about someone selling information on me. I hadn’t paid that any mind. Maybe I should have.
“Okay,” I breathed.
“Move quickly and stay on the line.”
As silently as I could, I left my position and crept along the wall, keeping to the thick shadows I’d hidden myself in. The tall windows on the opposite wall let in enough light to see by, but also for me to be seen.
A creak came from behind me.
I bolted to a side door that opened onto the broad corridor outside, but as I wrenched on the handle, it wouldn’t give. Locked.
I cursed under my breath and kept going, glancing over my shoulder. Still, I could see no one, but I could sense somebody behind me.
Passing the fireplace, I dove at the next door. It was also locked.
I let out a whimper, my senses going wild. Whirling around, I stared into the dark. “Who’s there?”
No reply came. No one lurched from the depths of the room. Even so, the hair on my neck stood on end.
Again, I picked up my feet, my breathing speeding up. At the head of the room, I rattled the handle to the banquet room. This one gave, and I fell through with barely contained relief.
“What’s happening? Only answer if ye can do so safely,” Raphael said.
“I’m in the next room along. All the other doors were locked.”
“I don’t know if that’s typical or not. Get back to a main thoroughfare. If ye can’t, trigger an alarm. Bring security down.”
Rapid movement sounded his end. Then his next words brought a burst of relief to my frightened heart.
“I’m on my way.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
It wasn’t like me to be scared, but I’d got myself well and truly creeped out by my midnight escapade. Raphael was right, I should get security. But that would mean they’d escort me to my rooms. I wouldn’t get to see him.
I backed up from the doors then spun around and took in the room. The banquet hall was huge, with a minstrels’ gallery overlooking three long rows of tables. I’d eaten here many times and had seen two kings give speeches. Never once had I experienced any regret that my father was the second-born son. I had no aspirations to be monarch.
But my insider knowledge gave me an advantage if there really was someone prowling after me.
As quickly as I could, I made my way to the back of the room where a hidden set of spiral stairs led up to the minstrels’ gallery. At the railing, I crouched, watching the room for anyone creeping in after.
“I’ve hidden,” I told Raphael down the phone. “If someone’s watching me, I want to see them.”
His boot steps drummed on the pavement. “I’m a couple of minutes out. I need to find ye when I get there.”
“You know the staircase I told you to climb for my apartment? If you pass that and keep going, there’s a long hall at the end. It goes all the way under the state rooms. Wait at the end. I’ll come down when you get here.”
Then I waited, listening to Raphael run through the city and with my gaze glued to the space below.
Nothing moved. No further sounds came.
By degrees, my heart rate slowed to normal, and my panic eased. Not my fear, though. That was just as high. I couldn’t work out why.
“I’m here,” Raphael told me. “I got through. Come down or I’ll come find ye.”
“I’m coming.”
I rose from my crouch, holding the railing, and gave one last look to the room before crossing to the rear of the gallery. From here, a narrow staircase went down two flights, all the way to where Raphael would be waiting. I opened the door and peered into the gloom. No light. God.
I activated my phone torch and went to close the door behind me.
The unmistakable rattle of a handle echoed through the banquet hall. I squeaked and dove down the stairs, descending quicker than I should. At the bottom, I held my breath and turned the door handle, half expecting it to be locked.
Thankfully it gave. I burst out to find Raphael pacing the hall.
He twisted then ran for me. I flew at him.
It shouldn’t have been so natural falling into his embrace, but it was. Just like when we’d danced as teenagers. Just like when we’d kissed earlier. One big protective arm curled around my back, with the other hand, he cupped my head, using his body to protect mine.
“It’s okay. I’m here.”
I’d never felt so safe. I hid my face in his broad chest and fought to get a hold of my emotions.
Raphael brushed the hair from my eyes. “You’re shaking.”
“I can’t believe you ran all the way here. I don’t even know if someone was following me. It was probably just a security guard,” I babbled.
His watchful gaze claimed mine. “Ye called out a challenge. They didn’t answer.”
He was right. Any security guard would have replied to my shout.
I gave a jerky nod. “I should tell someone. I want to go back upstairs first.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Linking his hand with mine, Raphael guided me along the hall and to the back stairs. We ran up them and to my rooms. He didn’t let go of me the whole way.
Inside, he locked the door at our backs. “Make the call.”
I clutched my phone with the torch still activated.
“Wait.”
He watched me. “Why?”
I stepped into his space, palmed his rough cheek, and kissed him. Everything fell away. My fear, the palace we’d just run through. Only him.
Yet too quickly, I had to end it.
“When they come up here to talk to me, there will be a fuss. You’ll have to leave when they do. Someone will probably patrol the floor all night. I just had to?—”
He touched his forehead to mine. “Never justify kissing me. And don’t apologise for bringing me here either.”
My heart missed a beat. “Because it’s your job?”
“No, princess. Because I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Everything next happened too fast. I called security, sending them scurrying. A lead officer and two burly guards came to my door, and I explained Raphael’s presence by saying he’d been on the phone to talk about tomorrow’s work. Luckily, no one blinked an eye, but the protocols for a potential intruder went into full effect.
Raphael left, escorted out as the palace went into lockdown.
I took myself to bed, and while I should probably have been worrying about a search underway or a stranger being found, all I focused on was a lone text that came in from my bodyguard.
Raphael: Here whenever you need me.
T he following morning was busy with meetings. I had a couple of hours free in the afternoon, but half of that was chewed up with the head of palace security debriefing me on what they’d found.
No intruder had been detected.
There had been no breach of the perimeter that they could discover. Many people had been present in the building, and he gently suggested that I could have encountered someone going about their job, or that creaking old buildings could be spooky at night.
Maybe he was right, but I felt like a scolded child.
This evening, I’d be in my emerald gown with a gala to attend. Hair and make-up on point and a smile at the ready. I anticipated it with the sense that something was wrong, and nothing I did could make it go away.