Chapter 40
A lexandra
I started at the message landing on my phone and jumped to read it.
Raphael: Okay if I share the full story with your da? He’s demanding answers. Happy to tell him no if you don’t want it.
A sob flew from my lips.
Alex: You’re still here? Of course you can share.
He might as well. Dad had already ordered two men locked up and would need to talk to the incoming police. I hugged my arms. Raphael hadn’t left me. Yet another reason to hate Sir Reginald.
Raphael: Where else would I be? Didn’t I tell you I wanted nothing other than to be around you?
He’d adapted the words he’d gifted to me in London. Upgraded us once again.
“Alexandra?”
I lifted my head to Sarah’s quiet enquiry.
Raphael’s team were in deep conversation across the entrance hall. From a relieved look Jackson shot me, Raphael had messaged him, too.
“Lunch,” Sarah decided. “Perkins has arranged for us to eat indoors. He is making a suggestion, which comes from your father, I believe, that you do not go outside for a little while.”
“Did he say why?”
“Something about long lenses and the right moment.”
She directed me into a dining room where a buffet was being laid out by more of my father’s staff. We took a plate each, though I wasn’t sure I could eat. Not until I had Raphael back with me. Sir Reginald had threatened him. I couldn’t get that out of my head.
“I’ll be staying here, you know,” Sarah informed me. “It suits me to be away from home, but I also wanted you to be reassured that your father is well taken care of. He asked, and I finally accepted.”
That…was good to hear. “You’re serious with him?”
“I always have been. My marriage has long been over. I stayed for my children, but I don’t think I’m helping them by being so on-hand now.”
“Will you marry my dad?”
“Gosh, no. Can you imagine what they’d dig up on me? How simply awful to be the subject of that attention.”
Sarah lifted a hand, and one of the waiting staff brought a bottle of wine and filled up her glass. I refused the same. It was barely noon, not that I was judging.
My father’s companion took a healthy sip. “You don’t have to do that either. Have your relationship, but don’t feed your man to the wolves. I like Raphael. Seems a steady and serious sort of boy. It would be a shame to see him shredded in the same way others have been. That can be wearying as an individual, let alone in a relationship where one party brings incomparable baggage.”
She was right, but sadness trickled through me. One day, I wanted to be married. Not in the way my cousin had been with a royal procession, crowds lining the streets, and a huge cathedral. But in a private ceremony like Daisy and Mia had described. Something personal and binding, with a moment where I got to tell the people who mattered about the man I loved and make promises and get them back in return.
I picked at my food until Perkins appeared beside me.
“The police are here, ma’am.”
“I’ll talk to them, and they can take the photographer away. I’d like a minute alone with Sir Reginald.”
Perkins raised a white eyebrow. “Someone else does, too.”
I cocked my head at him. “Why are you being so mysterious today?”
He didn’t answer but instead led me back into the wood-panelled hall.
In a side room, Ben was already deep in the debrief with the attending officers, sticking with me while I gave them my statement. The rest of the bodyguard team were absent, but I soon worked out why when they reappeared with Riss, Johnnie, and Will.
I didn’t even acknowledge them.
The photographer was escorted away, and in the midst of the fuss, I snuck down to the cellar and prowled on to the second cell.
Sir Reginald perched on a stone seat, his chin still held high.
I watched him through the bars. “Why did you do it? What was in it for you?”
“Any action I took was signed off by His Majesty King Philip. Is that what you want to hear? Whatever you think you’re doing now, it doesn’t change the fact that you cannot run from your responsibilities.”
“But if I return, you’ll step back those threats?”
His beady eyes trained on me. “Get back to work, and I’ll forget everything I discovered about Mr West. Likewise, your father can continue his indolent isolation here.”
“Raphael’s surname is Gordonson.”
“If you say so. The media might disagree when I talk to them. Make your choice, Alexandra.”
He’d print Raphael’s old name? To this point, my boyfriend still hadn’t been named in the press. Now I knew why. Sir Reginald was holding that string. I swallowed, hating the man beyond words.
A strident voice filled the narrow corridor. “You forget yourself, sir. Do not command my cousin in that way.”
I jumped. Sir Reginald leapt to his feet, the colour draining from him. He fell into a deep bow. Almost as quickly, I sank into a curtsy, my heart thumping.
King Philip left the cellar stairs exit and strode down the corridor. I hadn’t seen him since Christmas, and while he was tanned from the summer, he was a little thinner. His hair, the same shade as mine, had a greater peppering of grey at the temples. The man appeared exhausted.
Two figures were close behind him, my father, with Raphael helping him down.
I forgot all about the king and swept my gaze over Raphael with urgency.
He was okay. Though he’d messaged me, I’d still imagined the worst and panicked over not having him near.
My father passed me to join his nephew outside of the cell, then Perkins and two police officers followed, the latter gazing in awe at the king they were pursuing. Perkins unlocked the cell and ushered Sir Reginald out.
Raphael came to me. Unconcerned over who was looking on, he wrapped both arms around me, and I sank into the hug.
“I missed you,” I whispered only for him.
He kissed my hair. “Same. Your father and I get along fine, though, ye might like to know. We had a long chat, then his nephew arrived and that conversation got extended again.”
I took a shuddering breath.
Down the end of the hall, the king addressed his private secretary. “Sir Reginald Jessop, I entrusted you with the care of my household and my personal affairs. In turn, you lied and cheated out of greed. Can you deny it?”
“But, sir. You don’t understand. With all you were suffering, I did what was necessary,” Sir Reginald spluttered as he was put under arrest.
“Silence. The evidence against you is damning, and I have heard more than enough from the witnesses called in,” the king continued.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
Raphael put his mouth to my ear. “A conspiracy. His son, Jared, and Barrington Bray are co-owners of the bodyguard company, and it is failing. Their solution was to engineer high-profile action to generate business, which I believe is why they endangered ye. Jared messed with the team; Barrington sold your exploits to corporate partners to prove their company could manage even the most difficult client.”
I worked it over. It made sense why Jared never cared, even about being fired, as it was a farce. He was arrogant. Probably thought the work was beneath him considering his father’s position. Then Barrington had come all the way to Scotland to hunt me down. What had Jackson called it? Desperate? They were at risk of discovery or maybe bankruptcy. It made sense, at least partially.
Raphael went on, “Ben spoke to your other team member, Toni, who was happy to spill what he knew, then Riss crumpled and helped fill in the gaps. My team brought her, Will, and Johnnie in to stand in front of your father and cousin and explain themselves. They folded like a deck of cards. She’s guilty of taking a bribe, but she also regretted it and discovered the connection.”
“I’m glad to have it all out there, but he threatened you, though.”
I glared at Sir Reginald as he passed, his head hanging down. He didn’t look at us.
From behind, someone offered their opinion. “I may have an answer to that, if you’ll join me upstairs?”
It was the king, and there was no chance either of us would disagree.
Back in the entrance hall, King Philip switched his gaze between me and Raphael. “I owe you both an apology, but first, Alexandra, would you take a walk with me? I’m informed that a public appearance is required. Down to the gates and back should do it.”
On his arm, and feeling like I was in an alternate universe, I stepped out of the house. We strolled down the long gravel track that led to the main entrance where a hubbub of reporters and the public had gathered. King Philip chatted about his children while I stayed perfectly silent, letting the long lenses take their fill before we turned and walked back up.
“Thank you,” I managed at last when we reached the house.
The king released my arm. “It is the minimum owed, along with an explanation.”
Upstairs, in my father’s favourite drawing room, which had an expansive view down to the same gates that were now clearing of the crowds, I took a seat between Raphael and my dad and waited on the king to speak.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d sat down with any degree of privacy with my cousin. Probably never. He was always surrounded by hangers-on, or we were at a large-scale family event where he’d sit at the distant end of the table with fifty people between us. His packed calendar meant he flew from location to location, always in demand. It was why I hadn’t minded helping out over the summer.
My cousin rubbed the space between his eyes and sighed heavily. “I fear this is my fault. Earlier this year, I asked Sir Reginald to make suggestions for how we could expand the royal family’s visibility. I did not give him permission to act on any of his recommendations, however, nor did I check in with him. I have been distracted, which stems from another direction entirely. For that, I offer my apologies.”
“The source of your distraction, is that anything we can help with?” my father asked.
King Philip worked his jaw then answered. “I’m surprised you don’t know already. Enough of my household is aware, and secrets do not remain so long in the palace, probably because people like Sir Reginald barter in them. My hope is this particular matter will not become public knowledge.”
His gaze searched us.
Dad and I murmured a promise, but Raphael leaned in.
“I’m a stranger to ye, but I know well how family secrets have to be managed and how they have the power to destroy. Ye can be assured of my silence.”
King Philip took a deep inhale and nodded. “In March, not long after our fourth child was born, Helena informed me that she wanted a divorce. This was not from a lack of love, but from the pressure and intrusion from the press that was relentless. Every photograph of her analysed the natural strain of motherhood, and this last pregnancy had been her hardest. She couldn’t cope, and could not thrive as a parent or just simply as a woman, none of which, to my shame, I’d understood until she told me. My shock was all-encompassing. To this point, I’d celebrated how well she tolerated the constant invasion of our privacy, and it had made me complacent. I could not lose her.”
Emotion rolled over his tightly controlled facade, and I felt the recoil in a wave of sadness. They were divorcing. That was the tragedy of a century. Their love had been everything. My inspiration and childish dream. For that to have been destroyed by others was horrible.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
King Philip tried to smile. “Not all is lost. I have spent the past five months in desperate search of a solution. With time, therapy, and significant change, I’m very glad to say Helena has given me a second chance. She will be withdrawing from public life for some time with my approval. It can be forever, if she prefers. The press can do with that what they like. I see the damage that happens when we try to lead them, but far worse, the damage that can be done to individuals if we indulge them.”
I hated what the queen consort had suffered. The king, too. If Sir Reginald knew some part of this, or suspected it, no wonder he was so desperate to keep another member of the family in the headlines.
A memory hit me. Back weeks ago when we’d spoken, the private secretary had reacted when I’d asked if there was anything the matter. He’d picked on me as a solution to his son’s problems and the king’s. What an asshole move, but at least now I understood. The queen consort’s news would go live eventually, and my drunken, or drugged, exploits would’ve been the perfect foil.
The king settled his gaze on me. “I apologise for what Sir Reginald attempted in order to distract the press from my side of the family. It was unthinkable and not done with my approval. I would never have ordered that, and the threats he made about defunding your father’s living are meritless.”
Dad huffed. “I could’ve told her that. I have never taken from the family coffers. Nor were you ever a burden, daughter.”
I gave them both a tight smile.
The king turned to Raphael. “I understand a threat was made against you, which must have been a deeply unpleasant way to familiarise yourself with our family. I have spoken to Sir Reginald’s team. They researched you and discovered a name change via restricted deed poll records. Not normally accessible to most, but the word of the king goes a long way, and Sir Reginald abused that in order to do his digging. Beyond that, he did not go. I can assure you of that team’s discretion ongoing.”
Which meant they didn’t know about his father. I wilted. Raphael’s hand claimed mine.
“Thank ye for the explanation, Your Royal Highness,” he said.
“Philip, please. My uncle informs me that you will join the family in due course. I’m glad we haven’t put you off.”
I glared at my father whose eyes gleamed at the tease. Raphael half crushed my fingers.
King Philip braced his hands on his knees. “I’ll take my leave now. Alfred, thank you for contacting me and allowing me to put right what my office got so badly wrong. Alexandra, I’ll no doubt see you at Christmas. Raphael, I appreciate your understanding. Next time we meet will be under better circumstances, I am sure.”
We all stood as King Philip did. He walked to the door which magically opened, Perkins and other courtiers waiting just outside and armed guards visible beyond them.
Raphael ran an arm around me. “Did that really just happen?”
I shook my head in bewilderment. Sir Reginald and the photographer were in the hands of the police, Barrington’s team in tatters, and the threats to us were over. The mysteries had been solved.
An idea jumped into my mind, and I took a breath. “Philip, one more thing,” I called, then I came back to Raphael. “I want to ask him a favour, but it means sharing information on you. Is that okay?”
Raphael’s dark eyebrows merged, but he nodded, that trust right there in his eyes.
I ran for the door. Outside, the king had paused. He lifted a greying eyebrow at me, and we stepped into a quiet space in the hall.
“The threat Sir Reginald made to Raphael was to use his birth name as blackmail, though he didn’t know the impact that would have. Raphael’s father is a dangerous man. A criminal. Raphael escaped him with his brother and younger sister, but he believes that one day the father might come after them. Now I’m on the scene…”
I chewed my lip, wondering what the heck I was asking.
My cousin tilted his head. “Did you know that Helena’s uncle is in a maximum security prison?”
My lips parted. That gossip had never hit the tabloids.
“Like this father of Raphael’s, he was an unsavoury element who threatened his niece after she became associated with me. We ignored and monitored, then one day he came to Ossington Palace. Armed.”
I clapped my hand to my mouth.
“It turns out he’d hurt and made threats against a lot of people and was poised to sell his story to the highest bidder. His idea of storming the palace was to get the attention of the press. Unfortunately for him, he’d also left explosives in his car which blew up outside an embassy, with no injuries aside from a hole in the road, I’m glad to say, and neatly branding him a terrorist. He’s now safely tucked away at my pleasure in prison and unable to menace anyone else.”
The king’s people had done that, I was almost certain if I read between the lines. Sir Reginald’s actions weren’t in isolation.
The king smiled at me. “If this father who does not deserve the name comes calling, let me know. I’m sure we can arrange similar for him.”
He exited, taking the noise and fuss with him.
Raphael found me. “All okay?”
“Can you take me home now?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”