Chapter 28
I arrived for the appointment with Flora Merriweather slightly later than the time I said I would, but that was Spider’s fault. Spider and his new fan club. Somehow, his tail was now higher in the air.
He was hilarious, and I didn’t care one bit that we were late. In fact, I’d already resolved to take him for walks around the palace more often. Especially if the staff were going to treat him like a little prince.
I knocked, then opened the door to Flora’s office, and we went in. She was a one-woman show, so no receptionist, just her at her desk.
The sound of the door seemed to startle her. She jerked back, eyes wide behind reading glasses. Her dark blue hair was looped in a messy bun that had a pencil through it. She jumped to her feet.
And sneezed.
“Sorry about that.” She curtseyed. “Lovely to have you in, your highness.”
“Thanks. Are you allergic to cats, by any chance?”
She opened her mouth to answer and sneezed again. “Not that I’m aware of. Why?”
Before I could point out Spider, he jumped on her desk and meowed hello. So much for Spider being the best boy.
“Spider,” I whispered. “Get down from there.” He jumped to one of the chairs. He looked inappropriately pleased with himself. No doubt he’d thought she was about to adore him like the cleaners had.
I smiled at Flora even though I really wanted to give Spider the side-eye. “Sorry. He’s very curious.”
“It’s fine.” She sniffed and grabbed a tissue from the box on her desk. “I’m sure it’s not him. I’m probably just coming down with something.”
“Maybe I should take him home.”
“No, no. I can manage.” She sat back down. “I’m very pleased you’re here. Naming Day will be upon us before you know it, and I have had to make a lot of decisions. I hope everything meets with your approval. If not, some things can probably still be changed, but …” She shrugged.
I felt a little sideswiped by that. I sat, tucking the file holding the guest list next to me. “Have you been trying to meet with me?”
“No. I was under the impression you were too busy.”
“Well, I did just have a baby.” And planning the event was her job, but I didn’t say that out loud. “What do you need help with?”
From a desk drawer, she pulled out a thick binder and set it on her desk. She opened it and looked at the sheet of paper on top. “The flowers I’ve ordered are all white and blue.” She glanced up at me.
I nodded. “That sounds great.”
“Silver will be the accent.”
“Perfect.”
“The cake for the VIP guests is vanilla sponge with a vanilla and blueberry filling. Blueberry cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting will be distributed to the crowd.” Again, she looked at me.
She was leaning heavily into blue, but I honestly didn’t care. JJ was a boy, so it made sense and made decisions easier. “Fantastic. Sounds delicious.”
“I’ve only ordered twenty thousand cupcakes for distributing to the crowd, so it’s likely we’ll run out. I do have another bakery that’s said they can do an extra five thousand, if you think we’ll need them.”
“I’d ask Ezreal. I’m sure he has a better handle on the expected turnout than I do.”
She pulled the pencil from her bun and scribbled a note on the paper. “I will check with him then, thank you.”
She flipped that page over and started on a new one. “Music is all classical selections that have been traditionally used for Naming Day.”
I nodded. “Sounds good. Wouldn’t be a royal ceremony without some pomp and circumstance, right?”
“I, uh, suppose so.” She checked the paper again. “The Prince Consort’s family will be on one side of the dais, with your family on the other.”
“Fine with that.” Spider looked like he was getting bored. He was rolling around, showing off his tummy, and clearly trying to get my attention. I winked at him, the silly thing.
“The order of service will be as follows: The mayor will welcome everyone and give his introduction speech—”
“Is this the standard order of service?”
She looked up from the paper. “Yes.”
“Then it’s great. Seriously, you were hired to plan this event, and I trust you. Everything you’ve mentioned so far is just great. I do have a few questions, though.”
“Oh?”
“Anson and Lila Crowe, my in-laws, have a world-famous show that they perform in Las Vegas. Sell-out crowds, tickets impossible to get for months at a time, and I was thinking it would be nice if they could be a bigger part of the day. Maybe by having them do a little something? Or at least Anson. He’s an illusionist. A conjurer. Incredibly talented.”
She just looked at me. “What sort of thing did you have in mind?”
“I’d have to talk to him to see what he’d like to do, but I figured I’d better find out if the schedule allowed for something like that. So you’re saying there’s time for a little extra bit?”
“How long of a bit are we talking about?”
I didn’t want to limit Anson too much. “How about five to ten minutes?”
Flora frowned ever so slightly, then seemed to remember who was sitting across from her. “I’m sure that would be fine.”
“Great.”
Spider stood up, stretched his front legs up the seat of the chair, and extended his claws. “Spider, we do not scratch our nails on the upholstery.”
He was definitely trying to get more attention. I picked him up and put him on my lap, scratching under his chin to occupy him. I could feel the purring start up, so mission accomplished.
I kept scratching while I talked to her. “I need to add someone to the VIP guest list, as well. LeRoy Bonfitte and a plus-one. He’s the royal couturier. He’s made my dress for Naming Day—he made my wedding dress, too—and I’d like to make sure he has a good seat.”
She paged further through the binder before her.
I pulled out my file. “Which reminds me of my other question.” I was eager to test a theory. “I have a copy of the guest list right here.”
I put the open file on her desk and pointed to the redacted name. “Can you tell me who this is?”
She adjusted her reading glasses and stared at the line I’d indicated. She said nothing for one long second, then looked up at me, blinked and said, “Holiday. Is there something I should know about that person?”
I took the file back. So much for my theory. “No, never mind. So can we find space for LeRoy and a guest?”
“I will have a look and see what I can do.”
“I’ll tell him it’s been taken care of then.” I wasn’t backing down on this. I hadn’t asked for any other guests, outside of Sin’s family, and they were a foregone conclusion. LeRoy was getting a seat. “And that’s for a plus-one, correct?”
She blinked and looked very much like she wanted to sigh. “Yes, your highness.”
“Great. Is there anything else you wanted to run by me?”
“Do you have any preferences for the menu for the Naming Day lunch?”
“The kitchen knows what I like. I’m sure they’ll come up with something fabulous. And as long as there’s plenty of desserts, it’ll be fine.” I was ready to get back to Sin and tell him what I’d found.
“What kind of desserts would you like?”
“I’m not picky. As long as there’s a good selection of things, everyone will be happy.
We’ll already have the cake, which is vanilla and blueberry, so we’ll need something chocolate, but I suppose the chocolatier will have all kinds of selections.
Cookies are always nice, maybe a variety of pies, and individual cups of mousse.
How about a cheesecake or two? Really, just let the kitchen do their thing. They’ve yet to disappoint me.”
She was jotting down notes. I gave her some leeway because she was new to this job and obviously wanted me to be happy and for the day to go well. She stopped to blow her nose. “Is there anything you don’t like?”
I had a thought. “I don’t know that carrot cake is my go-to in any situation, but that doesn’t mean someone wouldn’t like it.
Also, we are not fans of winterberry, although my mom likes it.
Oh! My husband loves doughnuts. He had his own shop, in case you didn’t know. So a doughnut selection would be fun.”
“Doughnuts,” she breathed out as she wrote that down, too.
While still petting Spider, I put my other hand on her desk. “Don’t stress about this too much, Flora. I’m sure it’s going to be a great day, and I can tell you’re putting a tremendous amount of effort into it, which I deeply appreciate.”
That got her to exhale. “Thank you. I am trying my best.”
“I see that.” I smiled warmly, wanting her to know I was not the enemy. I tucked my file under my arm, scooped Spider up to keep him contained, and got to my feet. “Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have other questions, but it seems to me you’re doing a bang-up job.”
She stood, finally looked pleased. “Thank you, your highness.”
“Bye now.” With that, I left, not releasing Spider until we were back in the hall. Since we were already in the working section of the palace, I decided to drop in on my dad and see how his day was going.
I was hoping to wear Spider out some more, too.
Mrs. Greenbaum gave us a big smile when we walked in. “Good afternoon, Princess.” She spotted Spider and gasped. “Is that a rare black snow leopard I see? Or is it the handsome Spider himself?”
I laughed. Yep, this had been a good decision. “That’s our Spider boy.”
He hopped onto her desk. She immediately started petting him and scratching his cheeks and telling him in baby talk how he was the handsomest cat she’d ever seen.
I dropped the leash and hooked my thumb toward my dad’s door. “Is he in?”
“He is,” Mrs. Greenbaum answered. “I’m sure he’d love to see you.”
“Thanks. You mind watching Spider? I won’t be long.”
She was now holding him like a baby, and he was making air biscuits. “I would love to watch him, wouldn’t I,” she cooed to him, shaking her head. “He’s just the sweetest, isn’t he?”
Spider’s pupils were moon-size. He was high on adoration and clearly in good hands.
Chuckling, I slipped into my dad’s office.
He was staring at some paperwork but smiled as soon as he saw me. “Hey, Jaynie. How’s it going?”
“Good. I just met with Flora Merriweather. Seems like everything’s on track for Naming Day.”
He set his paperwork aside. “That’s excellent.”
“What’s new with you?” I sat across from him. He had a dish of Jordan almonds on his desk. I snagged a small handful and popped one in my mouth, crunching down on it and savoring the sugar.
He sighed. “Regulation paperwork to read over, citizen suggestions to consider, figuring out a date to dedicate the new curling center, and taking your mom to the theater tonight, so I’m leaving early. There’s never enough time to get everything done.”
“Are you going to see that North Pole’s Got Talent show?”
His brow furrowed. “I don’t even know what that is. No, we’re going to see Luminara, the North Pole Orchestra’s aurora borealis show.”
“Oh, that sounds great. I should get Sin’s family tickets for that.
” The orchestra performed that show at the planetarium, utilizing the building’s amazing glass roof and laid-back seating that allowed guests to listen to the music and watch the incredible colors of the aurora borealis at the same time.
“No need for tickets, just use the royal box. It holds eight. Ask Mrs. Greenbaum. She’ll call and let them know you’re coming on whatever night you choose. I don’t know what the aurora’s like this year, but last year it was spectacular. Really magical.”
“Speaking of …” I took the file from under my arm and opened it, once again pointing out the redacted name. I didn’t know what this would mean for my theory, but it was worth asking. “What name do you see there?”
He glanced at the paper. “I don’t see a name. Just odd letters moving around.” He looked up at me. “What do you see?”
“The same thing.” That confirmed it for me. My theory had been totally wrong.