Chapter 16
Sixteen
FRIEDRICH
The head of house staff arrives every morning at five to begin her day.
After I got off the phone with Aurelia last night, I slipped down to her office in the basement to leave a note requesting a few staff be sent to Whitewood Estate to prepare for my arrival day after tomorrow.
It will take time to get the place ready for guests; the estate stays unoccupied most of the year and is our only residence not open for public tours. That’s part of why it’s my favorite.
Secluded in the mountains near Ardsbend, Whitewood Estate is seven hundred acres of wooded tranquility right in the middle of our island.
My family likes to make time to visit at least twice a year.
It’s where my siblings and I learned to ride, where Claus nearly broke his neck falling out of a tree, and where Father broke the news that his cancer had returned.
Maybe that’s not such a happy memory, but he chose to do it there because of what the place means to us.
It’s safety and freedom and peace. We could mourn and fret and console each other in a place that gave us comfort.
I have two surprises in store for Aurelia for our next date.
The first is the Estate itself, but the other will take a little more planning and would surely make my security team a little pissy.
I butter them up with coffee and pastries from my favorite Italian bakery in Old Town for the impromptu meeting I call.
More than just making a huge ask, I’m taking a few of them away from watching their Premier League football teams in their Boxing Day matches.
Perhaps coffee and sweets won’t be enough bribery.
I sleep fitfully the night before, and am awake far earlier than necessary. I decide to use the time for an extended run. It’s the perfect day for what I have planned, grey and overcast, but not foggy or raining, which would have thrown a wrench in the whole thing.
Brenton joins me as usual, and even though I take the pace up a few notches from our normal leisurely jog, the man stays right up with me.
He trained the same as I had when I joined the service, and he keeps his peak form going on daily runs with me.
It used to annoy me, having him on my heels all the time, but now it’s almost comforting.
Like when I’m trying to hash out my life or work through some kind of inner turmoil, I feel like I’m not going through it entirely alone, even if I don’t share my mind with him.
A text alert cuts through my usual news podcast, and my phone’s robotic voice announces a text from Mother. I’ll check it when I get back to my house.
Three laps around the sprawling park where my cottage sits takes us about an hour, and I’m feeling a bit pumped when we make it back to Rankten Cottage.
Brenton goes to shower; he’s picking up Aurelia so I don’t have to call on one of the palace chauffeurs on their day off.
I forgot about Mother’s text until I finish my own shower and check the time.
Mother:
Your father has been instructed by the physician to reduce his work load more. When are you planning to come to the palace next so you and he can work on updating your calendar?
Father is cutting his work back even more.
I run my hand down my face. He’s already stepped back so much.
I’m doing the Asia trip alone next month and hosting the Ambassador’s Ball in February without him.
I’ve taken over several weekly meetings and a few parliamentary duties as well.
How much more can he cut down? What has the doctor so concerned now?
I have something today but I can cancel. Is Father ok?
He says do not cancel. But asks that you come by tomorrow.
Don’t cancel should be more reassuring, but I know Father, and he’d have to be in a very dire situation if he admitted things were bad enough to warrant my immediate attention.
The man doesn’t let any of us in on how much he’s struggling.
After all, pride and stubbornness are a family trait.
I try to push down the growing concern; if he were really and truly that bad off, he wouldn’t be telling me to keep my plans for today.
Absolutely. Be there at 9
I make a cup of coffee, take it outside and down the lane to make final preparations and be ready for Aurelia when she arrives. I want to see her face when Brenton pulls up.
And I’m glad I do. Even through the tinted window, I can see her eyes pop as she and Brenton come up the drive. Brenton stops before me and jumps out, trying to get to Aurelia’s door before I do, but I wave him off.
“Your Highness,” she stammers as I offer my hand to help her out of the car. She stares wildly behind me, her words still a bit shaky. “What is going on?”
“What?” I fake a glance over my shoulder and turn back to her with a grin. “Oh, that. Did I forget to mention it to you?”
“That we’re going on a helicopter ride today?” she squeaks. “No, I don’t think you said anything of the sort.”
I shrug. “Must have slipped my mind.” The shock on her face has me nearly wheezing with laughter. “Have you ever been in a helicopter before?”
Aurelia shakes her head, her mouth still hanging slightly open.
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” I hadn’t taken that into consideration when making these plans. Christ, I hope not because that’s going to make the rest of this a little more complicated.
“No, but, Prince Friedrich—”
“Still can’t call me, Fritz, huh?”
“I don’t know, I just…” Her eyes dart from me to the helicopter sitting in the field behind us and back a few times.
“Why don’t I show you around a bit? Give you a quick look inside and go over some safety stuff.”
She nods, and I take her hand, feeling that familiar warmth her soft, delicate hand always sends through me. I lead her to the bird I’ve procured for the day, one of the palace’s several aircraft options.
Aurelia’s eyes dart around the busy cockpit while I talk her through helicopter flight, giving her some ideas on what to expect. I hand her a helmet with an attached headset and take another for myself, gesturing for her to take the seat next to the pilot position.
“Shouldn’t we be sitting in the back?” she asks.
“Nope.” I pull my helmet on, and she’s still studying me.
“Is Brenton going to be the one flying this thing?”
“Now, Aurelia, why would I put you up here to be next to Brenton?”
I climb into the seat next to her, in front of all the controls.
They feel good in my hands; it’s been several months since I sat in a cockpit, but sitting here again is like a homecoming.
I miss this. That shocked expression is back on Aurelia’s face, and it’s just so adorable.
It makes it hard for me to not lean over and kiss it right off of her, but then we’d never get going.
My protection officer hops in the back and straps himself in as I do final checks.
I switch on the microphone in my helmet as I start the engine, and the rotors roar to life.
Aurelia does the same. She fiddles with the seat belts, and I chuckle, reaching over to help her buckle in.
I hear her breath catch as I adjust the straps over her chest and not so accidentally graze a breast. My heart jumps a little, and the jasmine scent of her hair washes over me as I suck in a calming breath of my own.
Back in my own seat, I try to get my mind and heart back under control—no distractions in the cockpit.
My hands back on the controls, I feel a different sort of excitement rush through my body.
“I didn’t know your military training translated to civilian aircraft, too.” Her voice is loud in my ears.
“No need to shout, these headsets are quite sensitive.” She gives me a sheepish smile, and I shoot her a little wink for reassurance. “And it’s true this is a bit different from what I flew in the RAC, but I learned on this first when my training date kept getting pushed back.”
Aurelia nods, and as the lurch of takeoff shudders through the cabin, her knuckles go white on the seat.
She’s doing that thing with her lip again, and blood that’s needed by my brain starts to rush to other places.
I start my mantra in my head, reciting the first Psalm to stifle the burning desire to put my hands all over her so I can put all my focus into flying this bird.
She’s quiet as I take her over the city, the hustle of the capital like ants in a colony below us, silent and methodical.
It doesn’t take long for Aurelia to peel her hands from her grip on the seat and drop her shoulders.
I wish I could see her face as we leave the city proper and move out over the lush green land the surrounds it, but she’s turned away, face as close to the window as the helmet will allow.
This is my favorite view, the world laid out below me in all its verdant beauty, and I’m like an eagle, soaring above, proud and regal as I survey my kingdom.
If I’m reading her body language correctly, she’s just as enraptured.
It makes my chest swell with affection and a little pride.
Any man can drive his date to a beautiful location, but how many can give her this?
“This is… incredible,” she breathes as we follow the Ardsmure River towards the looming mountains. “Everything feels so small and yet so alive from up here. And like, nothing at all matters except pure, natural beauty.”
I find it a little hard to breathe because it’s exactly how I feel, and this woman is speaking from my soul.
I want to share all my favorite things with her, knowing now that she would appreciate them just as I do.
There’s a tingle of anticipation as I start to descend as we approach the mountains.
She’s getting a taste of some of my most precious joys today.