Her Christmas Prince (Love in the Keys) (15 page)

CHAPTER
13

December
26
^th
,
Boxing Day

Apparently
it was a slow news day, because news of Prince Henry and his commoner
had reached Europe before Prince Henry himself did. He arrived at
the palace very late in the evening on Boxing Day and went straight
to his quarters. Mitchell, the butler, advised him his parents had
already retired, but they'd appreciate his attendance at breakfast.
That probably wasn't good.

Henry
showered, put on his pajamas, and then checked the time. Still mid
afternoon in Florida. He took a chance and called Callie. She
picked up after the second ring.

“
Hello?”

“
Hello
yourself.”

“
Oh,
Henry. It's so good to hear your voice. Did you get home all
right?” Callie had had a restless night, worried that he'd run
into trouble.

“
Not
a bother. The good thing about travelling on Christmas Day is that
almost no one else is. I got a flight no problem and Tom was great
at making the way for me.” Callie was glad to hear it. Tom
was an amazing friend;
they
were both lucky to have him.

“
Any
fallout at home?” Callie had wondered how the king and queen
would react to Henry's brush with the paparazzi.

“
Not
yet. But I've only just arrived and it's late here. My presence has
been requested for breakfast.”

“
Oh.
That sounds not good.”

“
We'll
see. Anyhow, more importantly how are you? Are you holding up OK?”
Henry knew the paparazzi could be relentless when they were on the
trail of a story.

“
I'm
fine. The family were troopers. Despite being offered bribes, no
one said anything to anyone. They even tried to get Pastor Ed to
give an interview! I've been pretty much camped out here since last
night, when my friend Clint drove me home. He's a police officer.
Lucky for me, the entire police department are customers of mine, and
they've been awfully helpful.”

Well,
that was a relief to Henry. He knew this was going to have a
negative impact on Callie and her family and was grateful they were
the upstanding people they were.

“
Please
thank everyone for me. And apologize.” Henry paused. “There
is one more thing you should be prepared for. Apparently there was
a guy following us around the last few days and he's sold the
pictures to a big magazine. They'll be out Friday.” Callie
was silent.

“
Callie?”

“
Yes,
I heard you. Good to know. Forewarned is forearmed, right?”

“
Right.”

“
OK,
well, you should probably get some rest. Let me know how it goes
with your parents.”

“
I
will. Callie, thanks for everything. And just for record ...”

“
Yes?”

“
I
don't regret any of this, only that it ended sooner than I'd hoped.”

“
Goodnight,
Henry. God bless.”

“
You,
too.”

Henry
felt infinitely better for having spoken to Callie. Just hearing her
voice calmed him. It was really extraordinary. He went to sleep,
feeling confident that he was a lucky man.

When
Callie hung up with Henry, she let out a big sigh. She wasn't sure
she'd ever hear from him again, and she was beside herself after
hearing his voice. It was so good to hear his voice. It was barely
24 hours since he'd left and she felt a deep loneliness without him
and knowing there was no possibility of seeing him anytime soon.

She
was truly thankful that the people of Sunnyside Key had closed ranks
to protect her and Henry. There was power in the kind of
relationships formed in a small town, and a bond that stood up. For
that, she was grateful.

And
truthfully, holing up at home wasn't so terrible. She was catching up
on all the shows she hadn't watched on her TiVo and getting to the
stack of novels that had been waiting to be read for a while.

The
phone rang and she checked the call display. Thank goodness for call
display. It was Erin.

“
Hey.”

“
Hey,
just checking to see how you're holding up. I hear it's a bit crazy
there.” That was an understatement.

“
Holding
up. Henry just called, he made it home safely.”

“
Well,
that's a relief. Did you have a chance to talk? About things?”

“
No,
he was tired. It was late there.” Erin could hear the
wistfulness in her friend's voice.

“
Well,
at least he called. That's good. It'll all blow over.”

“
I
hope you're right, Erin.”

“
How
did your parents take the big revelation that Henry was a prince?”

“
Actually,
better than I expected. He was amazing on Christmas day. They all
liked him. Even my Uncle Kenny.” Erin laughed. Uncle Kenny
didn't like too many people.

“
How
did the pies go over?”

“
You
know, I'm not sure. Clint came over and snuck me out before dessert
so
I missed pie and the Jesus
cake and everything.”

“
There's
something else you should know. A photographer was following us
around the last few days and the pictures are going to show up in a
magazine on Friday.” Callie waited for the news to sink in.

“
That's
lousy.”

“
Yup.
Hey, I'm going to go if that's OK. I really appreciate you checking
up on me, but I think I could use some ice cream.” Ice cream
could cure a multitude of woes.

“
Good
plan, girl. You take care, and call me day or night if you need me.
I'll be home in two days.”

“
Thanks,
Erin. Drive safe.”

Callie
hung up the phone and thought maybe she'd take a nap. She hadn't
slept well and it was catching up to her. And that's exactly what
she did.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

December
27
^th
(in Laurenia)

Henry
made his way down the long wood panelled hallway towards the palace
breakfast room. Breakfast was promptly at half eight, and he didn't
want to be tardy.

When
he entered the room, his parents were both seated. He wished both
his parents a good morning,
kissed
his mother's cheek, shook hands with his father, and then took his
place at the table. Within seconds of sitting, his breakfast
appeared before him, a hearty vegetable omelette and rye toast. It
looked surprisingly good, and Henry realized he was hungry. Coffee
and grapefruit juice completed the meal. Once everything had been
served, the houseman discreetly retreated and closed the door to the
room.

Henry
kept eating until one of his parents spoke. His father began.

“
Did
you enjoy your vacation, son?” This was not the question Henry
was expecting.

“
Yes,
sir, I did. It was great to catch up with Tom, and to relax.”
His father nodded. His mother was unresponsive.

“
And
we're lead to believe you
met
a young lady?” His mother's interest perked up.

“
Yes,
I did. Her name is Calista. But most people call her Callie.”

“
And
how did you meet her, exactly?”

“
She's
a friend of Tom's, actually. They were at kindergarten together.”
Her father nodded approval.

“
I
see. Well, he must know her well then.”

“
What
are you asking, father?”

“
Please
don't take this the wrong way, son, but is there anything about this
girl that will cause the family embarrassment? I'm not judging, just
asking.” Henry was livid. Did his father think he'd been
sleeping with some tramp while on holiday?

“
I'm
not sure what you're suggesting father, but no. Callie may be one of
the finest people I've ever met. She goes to church, she's very
close to her family, and she has a heart as big as Florida. S
he's
always doing things to help others.” And I resent the
implication otherwise, he thought in his head, but did not verbalize.

His
mother was taking note of the conversation but not saying anything.
Unusual. In some ways, Milly and Queen Olivia were quite similar.

“
Henry,
I'm curious. Did she know you were a prince?” Olivia had to
be sure she wasn't some gold digger. But her gut told her Callie
wasn't. She'd never heard her son speak of a woman in this manner,
so proudly, so fiercely. Perhaps he'd finally found someone worthy
to love. She'd do some investigating.

“
No,
mother. Not ‘til the press turned up on her parents' lawn.”

“
Well,
I must say, by all accounts she has handled herself with a tremendous
amount of decorum given the circumstances. Especially for someone
who isn't used to being in the public eye.” This was high
praise from his mother. Interesting again. Henry nodded in
agreement.

They
finished breakfast in silence, his father perusing the newspaper and
his mother reading letters that needed to be answered. Henry
excused himself and made his way back up to his quarters. Breakfast
had not gone at all like he'd expected.

After
he'd left the room, King Rupert looked at his wife. “Could it
be, at last?”

“
I
do believe so, my dear. I do believe our baby has finally fallen in
love.” King Rupert took his wife's hand and squeezed it. This
was a day they'd waited for for a long long time.

When
the houseman entered again, Queen Olivia asked for Biggs. Within
moments, he appeared at the doorway of breakfast room.

“
Please
come in.” The Queen beckoned him. He bowed and entered.

“
You
asked to see me, Your Highness?”

“
I
did. I'd like to ask for your discretion in the conversation we're
about to have. Can you promise me that?”

“
Of
course, ma'am. How can I be of assistance?” Biggs waited for
her reply.

“
Biggs,
you've been with our family for many years. We trust you implicitly.
And I'm asking for your honest opinion of Henry's young lady. Is
there anything you think we should be aware of?”

Biggs
paused for a moment, then replied. “Ma'am, we did a background
check while in Florida and I can honestly say that the lady is
exemplary in every way. She runs her own business, a cafe, and does
a lot of charity work. She has a large family that is very close,
and attends church weekly. Everything we discovered was only
positive.” The Queen looked quite relieved. “And if I
might just add one more thing, ma'am ...”

“
Of
course, Biggs. Rest assured anything you say to us will remain
confidential, “ assured the King.

“
I
was only going to comment that I've known Prince Henry for some time
now, and seen him grow up into a fine young man. I have no doubt
that his friend Thomas was a big part of that, and his military
service. He's considerate, intelligent, responsible. But he's not a
terribly happy man. And for the first time that I've seen, Prince
Henry seemed truly happy. This girl
makes him happy.”

Henry's
parents considered Biggs comments. “We appreciate your
candour, Biggs. We greatly value your insight. That's all for now,
thank you.”

“
Very
good, ma'am.” Biggs exited and returned to the security
office. He was confident he had done his best for Prince Henry;
the rest would be up to him now.

Henry
looked at the time and wondered if it was too late in Florida to call
Callie. He thought so. He tried to busy himself with the
correspondence waiting in his 'in' basket but nothing held his
attention so he eventually gave up.

There
was a knock on his door. “Come in.”

Henry's
oldest brother, Prince George, came in. “Hello, brother. How
are you? Happy Christmas.” In all the fuss over Callie, he'd
forgotten to wish his parents a Merry Christmas. And their gifts
were in his bag, back in Florida with Tom.