A Royal Engagement: The Young Royals Book 1 (21 page)

"Lys," his voice was urgent and I felt him jostling me.

I cracked an eye open, "Hmm?"

"You can't go back to sleep," he said, but that didn't make sense because I knew I was already sleeping.

"Is okay," I slurred, the words feeling like cotton in my mouth, "Jus' need to close my eyes for..."

"No, Lys," he jostled me again, "You need to stay awake."

"I'm sleepy," I murmured, closing my eyes again.

I felt the warmth of his body press alongside mine and realised how cold I was.
 
I snuggled into him and sighed.

"You feel good," I whispered.

"God, Lys," he groaned, "Stay with me sweetheart, don't go back to sleep."

I giggled, "You're silly.
 
I'm already asleep."

"Come on, Lys," he said as I felt his strong arms gather me to him and then lift me from the ground.

I frowned as my body hurt and my head spun, the sudden movement causing nausea to roil in my gut.

"Ow," I hissed.

"God, sorry," he murmured before pressing his warm lips against my temple.

I felt the motion of him walking while he carried me and I grabbed his wet shirt in my fists to steady myself.
 
I began to think that maybe this wasn't a dream at all.

"What were you doing out here, Lys?" he asked as he kept moving forward.

"Don't...remember," I replied, my head beginning to pound painfully.
 
"What happened?"

"I have no idea," he said and I felt him put me down.
 
"Do you think you can sit up and hold on to me."

"I'll try," I said as he manoeuvred me so I was sitting astride his ATV.
 
He slid in front of me and pulled my arms around his waist tightly.

"Hold on," he said as he started the engine.

I gripped his shirt in my fists and bit my lip as we bounced along.
 
It was raining and I shivered with the cold.
 
Will's back was hard and warm and I pressed into it in order to steal some of his heat.
 
My teeth began to chatter and I moaned against the pain in my body as I was we hit bump after bump.

I still didn't know what had happened, I couldn't remember how I'd gotten to be in the middle of the rain.
 
I didn't even know where I was.
 
The only thing that made sense was the man who I now clung to desperately.

The ATV slowed and we entered a barn.
 
The comforting smell of hay and the brush of warmth on my chilled skin was welcome.
 
Will parked the four-wheeler and gently unclasped my hands from around his waist.
 
He slid off the bike, not letting go of my hands and, when he was standing, he slid his arms around my waist and under my knees and picked me up like I weighed nothing.

He walked out of the barn and jogged through the rain until we reached his house.
 
He climbed the stairs and shouldered the door open and I was hit with the heat of a well tended kitchen fire.
 
The shock of the warmth startled me into uncontrollable shaking and Will held me closer, whispering comforting sounds in my ear.

"Will?
 
Is that you."

The female voice sounded familiar but in my barely conscious state, I couldn't place it.

"Oh, God, is that the Princess?"

"Georgie, grab some towels, will you," Will said gruffly as he sat on a chair and held me in his lap.

"Of course," Georgie said as she scurried away.

"I don't understand," I stammered through my chattering teeth, "What happened to me?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," he said as he rubbed my back with a strong hand.
 
"What's the last thing you remember?"

I tried to think back to the last thing that was clear in my abused brain, but everything was scrambled.
 
I didn't know what was real or a dream.

"Here, Will," Georgie said, saving me from answering, "Let me get her out of these wet clothes and warmed up.
 
Why don't you call the palace and let them know she's here."

I could feel Will tense before reluctantly letting me go.
 
He stood and then sat me down on the chair.
 
He squatted in front of me and framed my face with his big palms.
 
He stared into my eyes for a moment before leaning forward to place a soft kiss on my forehead.
 
I let my eyes close with his touch, but then he was gone and I was left with Georgie.

"Here, let me help you out of those wet clothes," Georgina said, kneeling beside me and handing me a fluffy towel.

"Thank you," I replied, through my still chattering teeth.

Together we wrangled the wet clothes from my body and she handed me some clean, dry,
warm
, sweats.
 
I pulled them on thankfully and she wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and urged me closer to the fire.

As I began to thaw out, I gazed around the room.
 
We were in the kitchen and it was so very different from the one in the Palace.
 
I hadn't been to the Pemberton Estate since I was a little girl and I doubted very much that I had ever been in the kitchen.
 
It was a large room with a slate tiled floor, a monstrous wooden island bench that wore the scars of time like badges of honour, gleaming copper pots hanging from the ceiling and the huge fireplace that I now sat practically on top of.
 
It also had the modern conveniences, fridge, gas range, microwave, but held true to it's period features.
 
And it was dark, apart from the flickering light of the fire.

Georgina filled a large black kettle with water and then hung it over the heat of the fire.

"The storm knocked the power out," she said apologetically, "But I can make tea and maybe heat some soup if you're hungry."

I nodded, "Tea sounds wonderful," I replied.

We sat in silence and watched the flames, their hypnotising dance calming my nerves as they heated my frozen body.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"After seven," she replied and I gasped.
 
How long had I been missing?
 
The palace must be going crazy.

"I need to get to a phone, I need to let everyone know I'm okay," I said, struggling to get up.

Two large, warm hands settled on my shoulders, halting my progress.

"Take it easy, Princess," he said, "The phone lines are down, probably knocked out by a tree, and I'm pretty sure I saw lightening hit the closest cell tower, so they're out as well.
 
Once I've warmed up a bit, I'll head out and go over to let the palace know where you are."

"It's too dangerous, Will," Georgina pleaded with her brother.

I finally took in the raging storm outside.
 
The wind howled and the thunder peeled and it sounded like hail was hitting the tiled roof of the portico outside.

"You can't go out in this," I croaked, my throat feeling like I'd swallowed razor blades.

"I have to let them know you're okay and that you're here," he said sitting down beside me.
 
"Why wasn't someone with you?
 
Where is your security detail?"

I rubbed my aching head.
 
Whenever I tried to remember what happened, pain lanced through my brain.
 
"I don't know.
 
I can't remember anything about today."

The fire began to hiss and spit as the kettle boiled and sent hot water onto the coals beneath.
 
Georgina grabbed some thick pot holders and removed the kettle from the heat and took it over to the big island bench.
 
She poured the steaming water into a big teapot and waited for it to brew.

"Is it just the two of you here," I asked, curious about this family who I had lost touch with over the years.

"I sent everyone home when the storm reports started coming in," Will said, rubbing his hand through his damp hair.
 
He had changed out of his wet clothes and wore faded denim jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt that skimmed his torso almost like a second skin.

"How did you find me?" I blurted out, "How did you even know to look for me?"

"I didn't," he said, "I was checking on my cows, making sure they were all under shelter when I found you lying in the paddock."

"I was in your paddock?" I asked.

He nodded and then cursed under his breath, "I thought you were dead," he said harshly, "Your lips were practically blue and your skin was so pale.
 
I saw the blood in your hair and I near had a heart attack."

"I'm bleeding," I whispered in horror as my hand went to the tender place on my head.

"Not now," he said, reassuringly, "But you were."

Georgina placed a warm mug of tea in my hands and I sipped it gingerly.
 
The hot, sweet and spicy chai scolded my tongue, but felt so wonderfully warm as it burned down my throat that I didn't care.
 
Will took his own mug from his sister and then she sat down next to us with one of her own.

"Was there any damage to any of the buildings?" Georgina asked before taking a tentative sip from her mug.

Will shook his head, "No, it seems we were lucky.
 
All the repairs to the out buildings have held and the generator has kicked in over in the factory, so we're good."

"You have a generator?" I asked dumbly.

Georgina snorted, "To look after his precious cheese," she smirked.

He sighed and shook his head, "I know, I know," he said patiently but with a smile for his sister, "I'll get around to fixing up this place when I have a spare minute."

She smiled, "It's okay," she said, "I don't mind that we live in only five rooms of this massive thirty room monstrosity.
 
Less for me to clean."

"Like you do any cleaning," he laughed.

The easy banter between the siblings had a comforting effect on me.
 
Jacob and I had had a similar relationship, although not as close as Will and Georgina obviously were.
 
I sat quietly and sipped my tea, letting it and the company soothe me.
 
My eyes started to droop and I leaned my head to the side to rest it on Will's shoulder.
 
I was so tired and now that I had thawed out and felt warm and snug, weariness tugged at me.

I felt the, now empty, mug being pulled from my fingers and I let it go easily and then I was being lifted by strong arms and I burrowed into the strong chest that held me.
 
With a sigh, I drifted off into the welcoming darkness.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was in a dark room.
 
A fire flickered in a hearth across the room, but it was the low, banked ember type fire rather than the roaring one that had been in the kitchen.
 
I lay on a leather couch that was soft and cushioned my aching body.
 
I was covered with a fluffy crocheted blanket and my head rested on something harder than a pillow but softer than a rock.
 
I looked up to see Will above me, his head leaned back against the sofa, exposing his long neck, and his eyes closed.
 
My head was in his lap and I had the overwhelming desire to snuggle back into it and fall back asleep.

But the silence of the night was suddenly loud in my ears.
 
The storm had passed and I needed to get home.
 
I couldn't imagine what Benjamin and Meredith and the rest of them must be thinking.
 
They would have no idea where I was and there would be panic - controlled panic, but panic none the less.

I tried to sit up, but the blinding pain in my head caused me to gasp and freeze.
 
I felt one of Will's arms tighten around my waist and the other one gently stroke through my hair.

"Shh, Princess," he whispered, "Take it easy.
 
You've got a nasty bump on your head."

"The storm's gone," I croaked, my throat on fire, "I have to get home."

"It's okay," he said, his voice rough with sleep, "They know you're here, they know you're safe."

I relaxed back down into the couch and breathed through the pain in my head.
 
Will continued to stroke his fingers through my hair and it felt wonderful.
 
I closed my eyes and relished the decadent feeling of it.

"Thank you Will," I murmured.

"For what?" he asked softly.

"For taking care of me."

He chuckled and the sound rumbled through me causing my stomach to flop and my insides to warm.

"It has been my pleasure, Lys," he whispered.

I loved hearing my nickname fall from his lips in his husky, sleep ravaged voice.
 
Being here with him in the dark, surrounded by his strength and his warmth made me feel safe and I relaxed even more into the softness of the couch.

"Do you remember anything from yesterday?" he asked softly, his fingers still playing with my hair.

"No," I replied.

"Well, it seems you had a bad day in Parliament and then had a fight with Wicks."

I groaned as pain speared through my brain, but the memory of the day came back in a flash.
 
I swore and scrunched my eyes shut.

Will's hand stilled in my hair, "Did he hurt you?" he asked, and I could tell that his jaw was clenched tight.

"No," I said and I felt the tension in him relax, "Not physically anyway."

He exhaled sharply, but his fingers resumed their stroking through my hair.

"Parliament won't approve my ascension unless I'm married and sign over my role as Head of State to my husband," I said, feeling again the hurt and anger of the previous day.

"Then they're idiots," he said.

I huffed out a laugh at his immediate response.

"What?" he asked.

I smiled, "You're the only one to think so," I said.

"Merveille needs someone like you," he said, "We've been stagnating too long in a cesspool of nepotism and backroom handshakes.
 
If something doesn't change soon, we are going to lose everything that is great about our country."