“One from the twenty-first century.”
Alex threw his head back and laughed. The sound drew the eyes of pedestrians and other people waiting on their cars. “Samantha, the century doesn’t dictate chivalry.”
“Of course it does. Women have proven to be just as capable as men.”
“Oh, I have no doubt you are quite capable.” His eyes raked over my body in a way that made me hot all over. “But I’m still not going to let you walk into a dark parking garage in the freezing weather when we know your car is already refusing to start. Let me see you home, and we’ll get your car to you tomorrow.”
“For the love of… Fine. I can take a cab.” My mind went over the contents of my purse. Maybe I could take a cab a couple of blocks to a coffee shop and call Jess and Bert.
“Samantha, I’m seeing you home. I want to make sure you get there safely.” His mouth pulled up into a cocky grin that was both irritating and sexy. “Besides, I can see the wheels spinning in your head. You’d likely take the taxi around the block and come back to work on your truck.”
“I wouldn’t…” An exasperated burst of laughter flew out of my mouth and I looked away from Alex and bit my lip. “Okay, you got me. I’ll let you take me home.”
“Thank you.” Alex reached down and captured my hand with a quick squeeze. “My chivalrous heart appreciates it.”
“I’d hate for you to lose sleep over my safety.” His thumb ran across my knuckles and I felt my heart rate increase.
“Agreed.” He leaned closer to me, the heat from his body warming my arm. “There are much more enjoyable ways of losing sleep.” He winked jauntily and looked toward the curb. “Our ride.”
The black limo pulled up to the hotel and the attendant opened the door for us. Alex led me to the car and I tried to not focus on the fact that he was still holding my fingers. I felt foolish sliding into the luxury car. The last time I had been in a limo was prom, a thousand years ago. My date had been drunk and thrown up on my dress. Not exactly good memories.
Alex slid into the seat and looked at me. I started to shift uncomfortably. “What?”
“Your address?” He smiled and I found myself flushing again.
“Oh.” I rattled off the street address and watched as Alex nodded at the driver. Once we pulled away from the curb, the driver closed the window between the front and back. I leaned into my seat and watched as the lights of the city flew by.
“Do you have a roommate? Or do you still live with your father?” Alex shifted in his seat. I found it odd that we were in this huge car and yet both sat on the smallest bench in the very rear. Should I have scooted around once I climbed in? Was there limo etiquette?
“Yes. Jess and I have lived together since our freshman year.” I snorted. “And her boyfriend Bert, he practically lives with us.”
“And your boyfriend?” Alex watched my face carefully.
“Did you really just ask if I had a boyfriend?” I laughed.
“Apparently not very smoothly.” He laughed. “Are you ducking the question?”
“No boyfriend. I don’t have time for that type of stuff.” Boyfriends required time and patience. Not to mention energy, and lately all that was spent on my degree or taking care of my father.
He hmm’d to himself for a minute and I felt one of my eyebrows rise in amusement.
“What?” I asked.
“Well, if the only thing holding you here is school and your father, then there’s hope you will come home with us. No bothersome boyfriend to worry about.” He leaned back comfortably, his eyes trained on my face. “Besides, you’ll be on all the men’s radar when you get there. Beautiful, American, intelligent, and funny. Not to mention your comic-book knowledge. I might have some competition.”
“Oh.” Had he just called me attractive? Competition for me? I should know better. He was just being friendly, trying to convince me to go. Alex couldn’t be interested in someone like me. I was light-years from the type of women he was probably used to. I wasn’t sophisticated or fashionable. Hell, I hadn’t even known what fork to use at dinner tonight.
“Why does it matter to you?” I hoped he didn’t hear the irritation in my voice. I was mainly upset with myself for being disappointed. “Is there something in it for you if I go to Lilaria?”
He ran a hand across his jaw, taking his time before answering. “I’m not sure. You’re intriguing.”
“What does that mean?” Intriguing? As in a possible pawn he could use? Intriguing ideas? “Look, if I go to Lilaria and take a seat on the council, I’m not going to side with you on things just because you told me I was from a long-lost line of royalty. So if you’re planning on using me for some political maneuvering, you’d be sorely disappointed.”
“And that’s exactly why we need you.” Alex chuckled. “Lord, you’re a feisty woman.”
I snorted and started to respond but was interrupted by my beeping cell phone. I pulled it out of the little clutch I was carrying and checked the text message. Jess was making sure I was okay, so I sent her a quick message letting her know I was on my way home. She replied that I shouldn’t text and drive. Little did she know I was in a limo.
Before I could put the phone back in my purse, Alex held his hand out. “May I?”
“Uh, sure.” Not sure if he needed to use the phone or if he was being nosy, I watched as he unlocked the screen and typed something quickly. He held the phone to his ear and nodded.
“Now you have my number.” He turned it off and handed it back to me. “If you need anything or have any questions, let me know. Anything at all.”
The limo pulled off the expressway and turned toward my neighborhood. “Thanks.”
As we pulled up to my little house, I grew nervous. I berated myself, because it wasn’t like this was a date. He wasn’t going to be looking for a good-night kiss.
“Well, this is me.” I nodded toward my little house and watched his reaction. Would he think my house was sad? Or would he think it funny that a long-lost line of royalty lived in such an old home? I liked our little place. It was ours. Well, not really ours. We rented it but had been there for three years. It was home.
“Lovely place.” Alex opened the door to the limo and held his hand out for me. His warm fingers wrapped around mine to help me before moving to the small of my back as we walked through the snow-covered grass. I knew it was a gentlemanly thing to do, to assist a woman walking through the snow, but it amused me. I didn’t need help walking through my own yard. In fact, I was the last person to cut the grass.
“It does look pretty cozy all covered in snow.” When we got to the front stoop I turned to look at Alex and smiled. I pulled the keys out of my purse and looked for the door key. “Thank you for making sure I got home safely.”
“Thank you for letting me keep my dignity.” Alex stepped closer and brushed some of the hair away from my face. My breath caught as he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. “It’s been… an honor to meet you, Samantha.”
I looked at him sharply to see if he was joking, mocking what I had said when we first met, but it brought our faces nose-to-nose. There was an amused glint in his eyes, but underneath that was something much warmer. We stood there, neither moving, only our breaths tangling in the cold air between our lips. Part of me demanded to move closer, to press my hungry mouth to his, while another part of me screamed to run for the hills. He shifted closer and I tilted my head up as his hand moved to cup my cheek.
The front door was pulled open in a rush of warm air, and I almost stumbled off the top step. Alex’s warm fingers closed around my elbow to help steady me. I turned to look into Jess’s wide eyes and smiled weakly.
“Sorry, I thought you were having trouble with your key again.” Jess swung her gaze from Alex to me and back. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You didn’t. Alex brought me home when my truck wouldn’t start.” I cleared my throat and turned to smile at the prince standing on my tiny front porch.
“My pleasure.” Alex winked at me before tipping his head to Jess. “You must be Jess.” Holding his hand out, I watched as my roommate looked at it like it was something unreal before slowly leaning out of the front door to shake it.
“Yes. Jess. I am. I mean, I am Jess. Um, nice to meet you.” Jess looked at me and then back at Alex. She yanked her hand away from him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hold your hand like some kind of crazy stalker. Boyfriend! Bert! My boyfriend is in the living room.”
My eyes grew wider with each word out of Jess’s mouth and I had to fight to not laugh out loud. I looked over Jess’s shoulder to see Bert staring at us with the same look of amusement.
“Right. This is my roommate, the not-stalker and that’s her boyfriend, Bert, back there.” Bert raised his hand in greeting.
“Nice to meet you both.” Alex looked back at me, and I could see the amusement rippling in the blues of his eyes. “I’ll be in touch, Samantha.”
“Sure.” I nodded my head, trying to make everything seem very businesslike. “I look forward to it.” My heart stopped. Had I really just added that? What was wrong with me?
“As do I.” His eyes held mine before he bowed his head and backed down the steps. I didn’t move as I watched him walk across the lawn and climb through the limo door, which the driver was holding open. Turning, I shooed Jess back into the house and closed the door behind me. I leaned against the heavy wood and kicked the heels off my feet.
Jess stood there staring at me, her eyes the size of saucers. I sighed and shrugged out of my coat. “Go ahead and get it out of your system.”
“Prince Yummy brought you home.” Jess pointed a finger at me like I was in trouble. This was going to be bad.
“His Royal Highness, Prince Alex, brought me home.” I frowned at her. “You have to stop calling him that. It was stuck in my head all night.”
“His Royal Highness, Prince Alex of the Yummy, brought you home. In a limo.” Jess took a deep breath. “And you were about to kiss him. Right there. On our porch!”
“What? No. No I wasn’t.” I shook my head and dropped my coat on the rack before walking to the kitchen.
“I’m not blind, Sam. You were, like, this far apart!” She held her finger and thumb up so I could see the sliver of space between them. “You were going to kiss him!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s European. They kiss cheeks. That’s all.” I fixed a glass of water before hauling myself up onto the counter.
Bert followed us into the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe, his arms across his chest. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. Jess could jump to conclusions. She was brilliant, but I also knew that me being involved with Alex would be the stuff of her daydreams. Bert, however, was a practical guy with an eye for detail.
“Look, I met with the duchess and she brought Alex. When it was time to leave, the parking attendant said my car wouldn’t start, so Alex insisted on seeing me home.” I took a sip of water, trying to calm my nerves. I could still smell him—it was like he had permeated all my senses. “Some kind of princely chivalry. That’s all.”
“I’m not stupid, Sam. I know what I saw.” Jess smiled. “Prince Yummy likes you.”
I shook my head and hopped down from the counter. I needed to derail that thought process before it got out of hand.
“Even if he did, which he doesn’t, I’m not interested. You know me, Jess. A guy like that is nothing like what I want.”
“We usually need exactly what we think we don’t want.” Bert’s quiet voice filled the tiny kitchen and Jess nodded her head like a madwoman.
“Give me a break. Save your psycho mumbo jumbo for someone else.”
“What did they want to see you about, anyway?” Bert cocked his head to the side. “Are they donating money to the program?”
“No.” I let that rattle around in their heads for a minute. “Apparently I’m royalty.” You could’ve heard a pin drop because I was pretty sure they had both stopped breathing. “Go figure, right?” I refilled my water glass and squeezed past Bert’s giant frame before heading for my room.
“You know what the best part of my night was, though?” I stopped at my door and turned to look at Jess and Bert, who were both standing in the doorway staring at me with open mouths. “It was seeing Jess meet Prince Yummy in her giant college football jersey and fuzzy socks.”
“Oh my God.” Jess’s voice followed me as I walked into my room and I couldn’t help but snicker.
A Royal Hidden Among Us
—Minnesota Daily
Something beeped in my room and I groaned. I rolled over, thinking it was probably just the e-mail notification on my phone, but it beeped again. Without opening my eyes, I felt along the bedside table and grabbed my phone. Cracking open one eye, I read the messages.
Unknown: Don’t go outside.
Unknown: I’m sending someone to help.
Sitting up in bed, I rubbed the crusty mess out of my eyes and glared at the phone. Who the hell was telling me not to go outside? Who was sending someone to the house for me? I looked at the number again and my brain kicked into gear. I checked my outgoing calls, and sure enough, it was the same number. My heart rate picked up as I realized Alex was contacting me.
I swung my feet over the edge of my bed and gasped when my warm toes touched the cold hardwood. I slid into my slippers and opened my door. Sounds of the TV drifted to me from the living room, so I padded out to see who was awake. Jess was sitting on the couch, curled up under a blanket and staring at the TV with large eyes.
“What got you out of bed so early?” I sat down next to her and tugged some of the blanket over to cover my legs.
Jess just pointed at the TV. I looked at the bright screen through slitted eyes and gasped. “Why is there a picture of our house on the news?” A sinking feeling filled my gut. The next picture flashed onto the screen answered my question. It was me and Alex outside the Parallel, his hand on my shoulder. That was followed by a picture of him helping me put on my oversized coat. “Oh no. Oh no.”
“My mom texted me at five this morning.” Jess looked at me with large eyes. “I didn’t want to wake you up—I figured you’d need your sleep to deal with it.”
“Alex texted me.” I held up my phone for her to see.
“He’s sending someone here? That’s good.”
“Why is that good?”
“How do you think the news station got a picture of our house?” Jess cocked her head to the side.
“You’re kidding.” I turned and looked at the closed blinds. “They’re really sitting out there still?”
“Three news stations.” Jess nodded. “Bert checked earlier.”
“Three news stations?” Part of me wanted to go peek out the window, but the saner part of me just wanted to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head. “Where is Bert?”
“Back in bed. He has a class in a couple of hours.”
I groaned. I had classes to teach today and Dr. Geller wasn’t going to be back until tomorrow. “Oh, today is going to suck.”
“What are you going to tell Prince Yumm—”
“Don’t call him that!” I slapped her arm. “What if you see him again and that accidently slips out?”
“Well, he’s already seen me in my nightshirt—it can’t get much more embarrassing.” I glared at her and she rolled her eyes. “Fine. What are you going to tell Prince Alex? He saved you from opening the door to some media-type person while still in your bathrobe.”
“It’s his fault I’m in this mess.”
“No it isn’t—it’s his aunt’s. Or more importantly, it’s whoever sold those pictures fault.” Jess scooted down into the couch cushions and glared at me. “You should blame them. He was just watching out for you.”
“You’re right. I’m going back to that restaurant and tearing the hostess a new one. It had to have been her. Lousy tramp.” I glared at the headline scrolling under the pictures. “You’ve got to be kidding. A Royal Hidden Among Us? That’s the best they could do? Why does it even matter?”
“Um, hello? Because nothing cool happens here and Alex is a serious hottie. He’s only the most eligible bachelor in the world.” There was no arguing about Alex’s hottie status, so I focused on something else.
“Why are they acting like I knew I was a royal? Do they just report whatever they want without checking facts?”
“It’s like a big game of Telephone. One station reports something with a tiny fact wrong. Then the next station just reports what they reported. The next one reports what the second station reported, but draws conclusions that aren’t right, and so on and so on.” Jess shrugged, the blanket falling off her shoulders.
“That’s terrible. And scary.” I looked back at the TV. “Not to mention it pisses me off.”
Jess stared at me. “You know, you haven’t said much about it. About being royal.”
“That’s because I came home, went to sleep, and woke up to people watching my house like Elvis had come back from the dead.” Jess just stared at me. I leaned my head back against the cushion and sighed. “Fine, I don’t know what to say. I mean, I have no proof, really. It’s not like I can ask my mom.” My throat tightened and I had to pause. “They seemed pretty convinced and I can’t imagine they would have come to me if they weren’t sure. It’s… a lot to take in. They want me to go back with them.”
“Go back with them?” Jess sat up a little. “Wow.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to do it.”
“Are you crazy? Of course you’re going! You have to!” Jess stared at me like I was losing my mind. “You need to know more about your family. And imagine what all you could do as a royal.”
“I have school and my dad.” I shook my head. “I have a life here, and they want me to just drop it and become someone else.”
“That’s stupid. You’d still be Sam! Take your dad with you. I’ve always heard they have great healthcare over there. I mean, it’s not perfect, but Lilaria is one of the leaders in new healthcare treatments.”
I sighed. Did everyone know about their healthcare but me? “Yeah, they told me. I need to talk to Dad. I don’t know if he’s even up for that trip.”
“How did your family end up in the States? I mean, you had no idea you were royalty.”
“Apparently we defected when there was an uprising. Our family was a target, so they left in the middle of the night with no word and went into hiding.” I shrugged. “They left everything, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. You know my great grandfather was a gambler, so I guess it’s no surprise we have no money left. What upsets me the most is the fact that Mom never told me.”
“Maybe she didn’t know.”
“I’ll never find out.” I looked back at the TV and grimaced. They were using my school ID photo. Oh, bad-hair days. “I guess I need to get dressed if someone is on their way here.”
“You better text Prince Charming back too.”
“Would you stop with the nicknames?” I stood up and stretched.
“No way. I’m having too much fun.”
I flipped her the bird on my way back to my room but she just laughed. We’d known each other for too long for it to be anything other than a joke. When I closed my door, I looked at the phone in my hand. Quickly, before I overthought it, I texted him.
Me: Thank you for the heads up. I probably would have walked right out into a reporter.
Immediately my phone dinged back.
Unknown: I should have been ready for this, I’m sorry. Duvall is on his way with your truck. Please be careful today.
I frowned. Why would I need to be careful? And I couldn’t imagine having to second-guess my every move, trying to figure out how it would be perceived by everyone. I set the phone down on the dresser and grabbed some clothes out of my closet. I hesitated for a minute, wondering if I should worry about what I was wearing, but decided to stick with my normal stuff. It would be stupid to get all dressed up when I would most likely be cleaning cages later. Besides, maybe if I acted like there was nothing different people would leave me alone.
I grabbed my favorite jeans and a plaid shirt and pulled my hair up into a ponytail before taking a minute to text my dad and let him know I would be over after school to talk about something. I’d call, but he often slept late. Grabbing my bag and shoes, I headed for the living room. Bert was sitting on the couch, eating a bowl of cereal.
“Hey. Would you mind giving me a ride to school? I’m not sure if my truck is up for it.”
“Sure.” Bert looked away from the television. “Are you worried about people giving you a hard time?”
“Nah. I guess they might ask questions, but it’s not really a big deal.”
“You don’t think it’s a big deal?”
I shrugged and sat down next to him. As I was lacing up my work boots I heard a knock on our front door. I started to go for it, but Bert stopped me.
“Let me get it.” Bert walked over to the door and peered out the curved window at the top before opening it a little ways. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Duvall. His Highness sent me for Lady Rousseau.”
Bert turned to look over his shoulder at me. “Were you expecting a Duvall, Lady Rousseau?”
I rolled my eyes. “Please see him in, Sir Bert.”
Bert stepped back and Duvall entered our tiny home. He was wearing his black suit and the little earpiece again. He walked directly toward me and produced my keys and two file folders.
“Good morning, Lady Rousseau. The duchess sent this for you to look through. She thought you might have more questions about your family. And Prince Alex sent the other folder.”
“Good morning.” I murmured the words as I immediately thumbed through the smaller folder from Alex. It was articles about the healthcare in their country, reports about chemo and cancer drugs that weren’t available in the States. Had he put this together himself? Or had he asked someone else to do it? Did it even matter? No matter how you cut it, he had sent me information he knew would make me want to go.
Everyone was watching me as I flipped through the folder, so I cleared my throat and closed the file. “Thank you for bringing these and my truck. I guess I’ll get it fixed later.”
“I believe the starter was broken. His Highness had it towed to a shop last night and fixed early this morning.”
“Oh.” I would have fixed it myself—paying for a garage was out of the question. I’d have to borrow money to pay it off. “Who should I pay for the repairs?”
“Prince Alex has already handled all the repairs, my lady.”
“What? And stop calling me that.” I frowned at him. “Please. I’m just Samantha.”
“As you wish.” Duvall nodded his head. “When is your first class?”
“Um, in an hour. Why?” I could feel my eyebrows drawing together. Could I have a moment to breathe? I was still processing the fact that Alex had paid for the repairs.
“I wanted to let the team know when we were leaving.” Duvall walked a couple of steps away and spoke into his shirt sleeve. Literally, into the cuff of his shirt sleeve the way the Secret Service does.
“Excuse me?” I stood up. “What do you mean we?”
“The duchess has sent a detail to stay with you. She’s worried you will run into problems with the way your media has attacked this story.” Duvall folded his hands in front of him. “I have a team of six if you include me and three cars.”
“What story? There is no story!” Three cars? Just for me to go to school? I put my hands on my hips and saw Bert trying to edge out of the room. “Bert! You’re a psych major. Don’t you agree that if I act like there is nothing going on, other people will behave that way too?”
“Well,” he said. His face looked a bit panicked. “I’m not sure this is the same thing as pretending like you’re fine after a breakup. This could have repercussions for your safety.”
“What are you talking about? I work with birds. They don’t give a crap if I’m royalty!” Too much change, happening too fast. I hadn’t even talked to my dad yet. Oh God—Dad.
“That’s not true, Sam. You teach a lecture hall full of people who will know their teaching assistant is in the headlines. Not to mention the people who make the drops at the center.” Bert frowned and shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t blame you for wanting it all to just fade away, but right now it isn’t going to.”
“Samantha, we will be as unobtrusive as possible.” Duvall’s calm voice did not make me feel any less frustrated.
“I don’t like this.” The thought was so loud in my head it escaped my mouth. I pointed at Duvall and frowned. “You do as I say. Stay out of the way and try to not be conspicuous.”
“Of course.” Duvall spoke into his shirt sleeve again and I fought the urge to laugh. There was no way Duvall could be inconspicuous. “I have a car waiting at the curb, but you should be prepared that the number of reporters and journalist outside has grown since I arrived.”
“How many?” I could hear voices from outside and felt my heart rate pick up.
“They’re still coming.”
I groaned and looked around the room for my coat before shoving the files into my bag. “Then let’s get this over with now, before even more arrive. I guess I don’t need that ride after all, Bert.”
“Call me if you need me.” He saluted me with his spoon and I smiled at him.
“Samantha, they may shout questions at you. It’s up to you if you want to answer them, but I would suggest that you not. If you do, they will push for more and more.” Duvall looked at me seriously.
“Keep your head down and smile. Nothing too big, just a small smile,” Bert said from his seat. “You don’t want to frown, because you’re probably going to be photographed.”
“Oh, God.” I tightened my hand on the strap to my bag.
“Ready?” Duvall put his hand on the door knob.
I nodded my head and forced a smile. Cold air blew into the house and I followed Duvall out into the craziness.
Press Denied Access to Campus
—WXCV Dale Gordon
The lights from video equipment and the flashing of cameras blinded me. Duvall put his hand on my elbow as we walked down the stairs. People hollered my name, screamed questions, and waved their hands to try to draw my attention. I kept my gaze down, not wanting to make eye contact, and forced myself to continue smiling.
As soon as I saw the car come into my line of downturned vision, I was relieved. The trek from the front of my house to the car had been the longest walk of my life. Duvall opened the back door for me, letting me slide into the car before he took the front passenger seat.
“They are likely to follow us, my lady. I wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t want them to see until we are ahead of them.” Duvall looked back at me with serious eyes. He had put on sunglasses and for some reason it made me want to giggle.
“Okay.” I pulled on my seat belt and slid my bag next to me. “I thought you were going to call me Sam.”
“In private. In public we must maintain courtesy.” He turned back to the front and nodded at the driver. “This is Parker. If I’m not with you, Parker will be.”
“Hi.” I smiled at the face in the rearview mirror.
“Nice to meet you, Duchess Rousseau.” He nodded his head at me. He was close in age to Duvall, with gray streaks in the hair at his temples.
“Technically, I haven’t gone through any ceremonies. I’m just Samantha.”
“Ceremonies are only a formality. You were born a duchess.”
I took a deep breath and looked out the window. I tried to not look behind us, not wanting pictures of me staring out a rear window to end up on the news. A car similar to the one we were in had taken the lead and I was pretty sure another had followed us.
“Do you think they’ll follow us to the school?”
“It’s likely, though the dean was notified and promised they would not be welcome on campus.”
“The dean?” My heart stopped. Who had called the dean?
“It’s a common courtesy to let the staff know when there may be an issue with media. Plus the duchess is visiting a couple of the programs while in town.”
“Oh.” It wasn’t a long ride to my school. We had rented a house nearby. As if he could read my mind, Parker pulled into the parking lot for the Natural Sciences building.
Parker pulled the car up to the curb and Duvall hopped out immediately. He opened my door and I slid out. A man exited the car in front and a woman from the car behind us. They each took up a place behind me as I walked to the office. Duvall didn’t take the time to introduce us as we hurried out of the cold. The people in the news vans and cars were all scurrying to try to follow us. We entered the building quickly and I flashed my student ID to the security guard. He waved us through and I took everyone up a flight of stairs to the floor with the offices.
We could hear the security guard telling the reporters they weren’t allowed in the building as we climbed. When we got to the office I shared with several other graduate students, I sighed in relief. I turned and looked at the three people in suits.
“Samantha, this is Terrance Ross.” Duvall nodded at the man. He was tall with a shaved head. I held my hand out to shake. His palm engulfed mine and his smile was very formal.
“A pleasure to meet you, Duchess.”
“Sam or Samantha.” I sighed when Duvall cleared his throat. “At least when we’re alone, please.”
“And this is Rebecca Meyers.” The woman was younger than both of the men. Probably close to my age. She was wearing slacks and a button-up shirt under her winter jacket. Her blond hair was trimmed into a pixie cut that suited her face and friendly smile.
“Nice to meet you.” She shook my hand firmly. “Please, call me Becca.”
“Nice to meet you, Becca.” I looked over my shoulder at the door and saw the shadows of my co-workers leaning toward the door. “Well, might as well let you meet the idiots I work with.”
“I heard that.” Mary’s voice hollered from the other side of the door as the shadows cleared out of the way.
I opened the door to find Mary and two other graduate students staring at us. I moved aside so the others could come in and waved in their direction. “Guys, meet the suits. Suits, meet my co-workers.”
“Are you really a princess?” Mary leaned forward. “And please tell me we’re going to meet the prince.”
“What? No.” I set my bag down on my desk and opened it to find my notes for the next class. “And no.”
“But you’re royalty, right? Your face was all over the news this morning.” She reached over and turned the monitor of the guy next to her so we could see they were watching a live stream from one of the local stations.
“Turn that off!” I walked over and hit the monitor button.
“Geez, you can’t blame us for being curious! We’ve known you for years and you never told us.” Mary crossed her arms. I ground my teeth and counted to five before answering. Mary was not my favorite person in the program.
“I didn’t tell anyone. Because I didn’t know.” I frowned at everyone. “C’mon, guys. Don’t be weird. I’m the same ol’ Sam. I just have a royal ancestor.”
“Leave her alone, guys. We’ve all shoveled crap with her and spent hours studying manuals.” David, one of the doctoral students, said from the back of the room. I let my breath out in relief. David was a good guy and the others listened to him. I smiled at him and he nodded in return. “We’ve all got enough to focus on.”
I looked over at Duvall and lowered my voice. “Could you guys wait outside?”
“When is your class?” His accent drew the attention of some the closer people.
“About thirty minutes.”
“Very well. I’ll wait outside with Ross. Meyers will stay with you. She tends to blend in and make people less uncomfortable.”
“Why can’t you all go?” I hissed the words between my teeth.
“Lady Rousseau, someone will be with you at all times in public. I must follow the duchess’s instructions.” His face was impassive and I knew our whispering was making everyone even more curious so I gave in.
“Fine. Becca stays. Everyone else goes.” He started to say something so I cut him off. “Becca stays and everyone else hangs out in the background. No flying-V formations or people circling me like a mama bear protecting her cub when I go anywhere.”
“Yes, my lady.” Duvall bowed his head before exiting the room.
“I’m going to do a few things before I leave. Intro to Wildlife isn’t for thirty minutes and it’s in this building, so won’t take but a minute to get to.” I jerked my head toward my desk.
“Sounds good to me.” One thing I had noticed right away was Becca had an American accent. A Southern accent, to be exact, and it made everything feel a little less foreign and crazy.
I dragged a chair next to my desk for her and pulled out some papers, thumbing through my notes for today’s lecture, but my attention kept being pulled to the manila folders. I opened the one Rose had sent and studied the first few pages of notes. There were copies of birth certificates, a ship manifesto, and a few deeds for property in New York. Then I found the family tree. It was very generic-looking, no picture of a tree or fancy calligraphy. Just a chart, listing descendants. I traced down the lines until I found my mother’s name. There had been other branches but they had all ended in one fashion or another. A blank space was next to my mother with a line that led down to my full name.
Tracing the line down to me, I looked at my name and frowned. Samantha Ellen Frances Rousseau. I’d always hated having four names. It seemed so silly growing up. Everyone else had managed with just three. I flipped through some more of the paperwork, looking for anything that caught my eye or seemed familiar. Copies of my mother’s thesis and first write-up in a journal made me smile. She had been a brilliant scientist.
I looked up at the clock and decided I had enough time to look quickly through the other folder. The noise in the office soothed my nerves. The clicking of someone typing, the whispers of Mary as she flirted with David. David telling her to hush. It was nice to have a little normal for a few minutes.
Alex’s folder had several paper-clipped articles from medicine journals about homeopathic solutions for cancer and dealing with chemo along with information about a new drug that seemed to be helping ease the pain of some cancer patients without affecting their quality of life. The articles were fascinating and I felt hope swelling in my heart. Maybe jumping the pond wouldn’t be so bad. Especially if I was able to help Dad. Or at least make him more comfortable.
In the very back of the folder was a note in slanted text and a sticky note with a website address. Apparently this was a link to a doctor that worked strictly with patients suffering from prostate cancer. Alex wrote that the doctor lived in the UK and might be persuaded to give my father an in-depth examination.
Becca cleared her throat and I looked over to where she was sitting.
“Your class starts in five minutes.”
“What?” I looked at the clock on my desk and frowned. The time had flown by. I grabbed my stuff and put it in my bag before jerking my head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
The lecture hall was on the other side of the building, so we took the back stairs. I hesitated just inside the door when I saw all the people in the room. Almost every seat was taken, which was unusual for such an early class. Duvall looked at me with a blank face from near the stage and I wondered what was running through his mind because I sure as hell didn’t know what to think. My fingers tightened on the strap of my bag and I walked forward purposefully. Fake it ’til you make it would be my motto of the day. The room quieted except for a few whispers.
I set my bag down and turned toward the room. My eyes picked out familiar faces amongst a hundred or more that I had never seen before. “It makes my heart all types of bubbly to see so many people excited about the chapter on ornithology.” A faint ripple of amusement spread through the room. “For those of you that didn’t wake up this morning with a newfound love of birds, open your books to chapter twelve.”
I pulled my notes out and grabbed a dry erase marker. While the true students rifled through their bags, I quickly outlined some key points on the whiteboard. I turned back to the class and swallowed. I’d never spoken to this many people before and it was intimidating.
Hopping onto the small desk on the stage, I decided to focus on what I was supposed to be talking about and forget that most of these people had only come to stare at me. “Who can define a bird?”
A young undergrad’s hand shot into the air. I couldn’t remember her name, but I tended to refer to her as Hermione in my head. I nodded at her.
“An animal whose body is covered in feathers and forelimbs that modified into wings.” She smiled proudly.
“Yes, but that isn’t all that defines a bird. Anyone else?” I looked around the room. Someone I didn’t recognize raised their hand and I waited a beat before nodding for them to speak.
“Are you really a princess?”
“All little girls are princesses, didn’t you know that?” My heart sped up in my chest and I narrowed my eyes. Titters erupted around the classroom and I sat down on the top of the desk. “Now, who can tell me about birds?”
One of the male students raised his hand and I pointed in his direction. “They all have scaly legs, a beak with no teeth, and bear their young in a hard-shelled egg.”
“Good.” I jumped up and scribbled the definition on the board. “Does anyone have any idea how many types of birds there are in the world?”
There were more people with their hands raised when I turned back around. I tried to pick someone I recognized from the class, hoping they would stay on topic.
“Danni?” I looked at a small blonde.
“Five thousand?” I almost couldn’t hear her tiny voice.
“Nope. Who else?” I pointed at a boy with a skullcap on.
“Four thousand, five hundred and seventy two.” He smiled when people turned to look at him.
“Not even close.” I glared around the room. “C’mon, guys. You’re supposed to read the chapter ahead of time.”
Someone in the back raised their hand, but I couldn’t see their face. Reluctantly I pointed that direction.
“Over ten thousand, four hundred.” Alex’s voice easily filled the room and I felt my face flush. My heart sped up and just his voice made me shiver. He was here, watching me? Some of the students turned around to look at him, the sound of his accent drawing their attention. A loud rustle filled the hall as people realized the Prince of Lilaria was among them.