The Last in Line (The Royal Inheritance Series Book 1) (6 page)

“It doesn’t hurt to be careful, Ma’am.”

“You can call me, Renee.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

She smiled ruefully, surmising this wasn’t a battle she was going to win.

“All persons of importance are protected,” Roberts said. “All presidents, prime ministers and sovereigns. Celebrities and the wealthy are also. It is not unusual. The only reason why you don’t have a whole contingent of armed forces surrounding your building is because Mr. Chase and myself were charged with conducting our search quietly and inconspicuously.”

“You’re hardly inconspicuous in that getup and in this town,” she said.

“You would be surprised. Somebody asked me on the street if I could waive his parking ticket. The confused man thought I was the mayor.”

He got up to pour the tea while Renee stared out the window. “My whole life is going to change,” she said to herself.

“Indeed.”

Roberts set three cups on the table, not forgetting Chase, and waited politely while she blew on hers to cool it and then took a drink, before having a sip himself.

Renee mused out loud. “That means Cassandra will always have to be guarded. She’ll never have privacy ever again and that’s what she wants more than anything right now.” She felt miserable when she thought of the “Private Keep Out” sign on Cassandra’s door. Cassandra was almost a teenager and when she contrasted what was in store for her with the freedom that Renee had experienced at the same age, she shook her head. Then she remembered exactly how much freedom she’d had as a teenager and decided that maybe it was better that Cassandra would be closely watched after all. She wouldn’t be able to make the same mistakes that Renee had made if there was someone watching over her all of the time—a silver lining.

“Some people never seem to adjust to the lifestyle, even those born into it,” said Roberts. “There’s always someone watching.”

“Sounds terrible.”

“It’s not terrible, but it does require compromise from both the protectors and the protectees. The former Queen,”—he bowed his head briefly—“put up with it, but she also knew where to draw the line and let her guards know when they were being silly or over-officious in their efforts. Others, however, chafed under the watch. Princess Althena hated it from the time she was a child and was always doing her best to dodge her guardians. She was a little rascal.” Roberts smiled at the memory. “I’m sure you and your daughter will adjust just fine. There will be people there to help you. I will be there. I was the Queen’s private equerry and I will continue to assist the person of the monarch and guide you in royal life. ”

“Will you?” said Renee, amazed that she was comforted by the idea. There was something stalwart, if amusing, about Roberts. They drank their tea without any further conversation except an occasional “I wonder how Chase is getting on” from Roberts.

Chase returned out of breath a short time later.

“No sign of him. He could be anywhere: in the next apartment or on a bus to Mexico. It’s not safe for you here, Mrs. Krebs. We were already working on a tight deadline, but it just got sped up. Take only what you need to have with you: clothes, documents, important keepsakes. We’ll have some of our people pack up everything else for shipping over to the UK.”

“You mean we’re leaving tonight?” Renee asked, jumping to her feet.

“Tonight.”

Renee paced the length of the kitchen. There was one cigarette left in the cabinet. She considered pouncing for it.

“I haven’t even told Cassandra yet.”

“Tell me what, Mom?”

Everyone whirled around to see Cassandra opening the door.

“Who are these guys?” Cassandra looked from Chase, who was closer, to Roberts who got up from his chair and approached her with his hand outstretched. Cassandra shook his hand hesitantly.

“You must be Cassandra. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Roberts and that funny looking fellow is named Chase. We’re here from England to assist your mother.”

“You’re from England?” Her eyes were big. “That’s cool. Do you ride in double decker buses?”

“Every time I go to the movies,” said Roberts.

“You’re so lucky! I wish I could do that.”

“Maybe you can. Sooner than you think.”

Chase stepped forward. “That’s exactly what your mother wants to talk to you about. We’ll just be outside the door. Yell for us when you’re done, Mrs. Krebs.”

“You can bet there’ll be some yelling,” said Renee through gritted teeth. She stared bullets at Chase until he and Roberts had exited and closed the door behind him. Renee sighed and her shoulders sank. Everything was happening too fast.

“Mom, who are those weird guys and why do they keep saying you need to tell me something. Tell me what?” Cassandra grabbed the can of cola from the fridge and plopped into the chair Roberts had freshly vacated. It sprayed a bit when she opened it and she quickly tried to drink it before the liquid bubbled over.

Renee took a fortifying breath.

“Child.”

“Mother,” replied Cassandra. It was a game they played.

“You know how I always call you my princess?”

Cassandra rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, mom. I’m your princess. What do you want to tell me?”

“That’s it. You are a princess.”

“Umm, ok. Can I watch tv now?” Cassandra hopped off her stool.

“Cass, wait!” This was going to sound ridiculous no matter how she phrased it. “What if I told you that we had some famous relatives that died and left us some stuff?”

“What level of famous are we talking about? Barry, the mean homeless guy on 2nd street famous, or Elvis famous?”

“Elvis famous. Bigger than Elvis famous.”

“Right, mom. If we had relatives that were bigger than Elvis famous, don’t you think we’d know about it?”

Sometimes that child is too smart, thought Renee.

“Just forget about that for a minute and listen. We have some famous relatives who died and left us some stuff. A house, for instance.”

“Really? A house? I’ve always wanted a house. Does it have a tree house?” Cassandra’s face lit up at the idea of having her very own clubhouse in the trees.

“I don’t know, honey, but this isn’t just any house. It’s a palace. And not just one palace, but several palaces and mansions. Oh, and there’s horses. Would you like to learn to ride? I did rodeos when I was younger and I always wanted you to learn to ride, but horses are expensive. But now we have them. So do you?”

Cassandra stared at Renee as if the latter had sprouted a mustache.

“But mom, what kind of people have lots of palaces and stables? Kings and queens.”

“I knew you were a sharp kid. That’s exactly right: kings and queens. Remember that big explosion in England a few weeks ago that killed all those people, including the Queen? Well, it turns out we’re related and they need a new queen, so we’re up at bat.”

“That’s just nuts.”

It took several more minutes of convincing and Renee had to pull Roberts back inside so he could pull a picture of the queen from his wallet showing a younger him, with a darker haired queen and lots of children and youths. Eventually, Cassandra believed her mother, but her response was anything but cooperative.

“But I don’t want to go to England! All my friends are here. I don’t even speak English!”

“Truer words were never spoken,” Roberts said, but covered it with a cough.

Cassandra jumped over the back of the couch, ran to her room and slammed the door.

“Shut it, Jeeves,” snapped Renee. She rapped on Cassandra’s door with her knuckles.

“Listen up. You are a princess, but I’m not going to tolerate any princess behavior, do you hear me, Missy?”

Cassandra, her eyes rimmed in red, jerked her door open. “I hate you and I hate England. I wish those two weirdos had never shown up!”

“We’re moving to England to rule the country and that’s that. NOW GET PACKING.”

Cassandra slammed the door again and the force of it shook the apartment.

Renee stood there trembling, flexing her hands, and wondering if she should break the door down and spank Cassandra, something she hadn’t done since her daughter was six.

“I’ve seen worse than that from young royals, Ma’am,” said Roberts.

Renee snapped out of her paralysis and ran to the kitchen. She yanked open the cabinet and snatched the last cigarette from its hiding place. She had sworn that once this pack was gone, that would be it. No more. It seemed a lousy time to run out, but she needed this one. She lit it with a trembling hand and took a long drag by the open window to calm her nerves.

“Does it get better, Roberts?” she asked, tilting her head back in extreme weariness.

“Occasionally.”

“That’s better than nothing. I’ll take it.”

Chase, who had chosen silence as the better part of valor until then, spoke up. “Perhaps we can start gathering your things. We’ve got a plane on standby that is ready to go in an hour. A team can be here in the morning to do the rest.”

Renee was happy to have a distraction from Cassandra’s total meltdown, but found she couldn’t sort through what she needed to pack. Every item seemed precious to her. There were the boxes of Cassandra’s baby clothes that she knew she should give away, but couldn’t bring herself to because they reminded her of her sweet, tiny bundle and how, when she was born, Renee finally felt she had a family and a place in the world. There was a stack of birthday cards and drawings Cassandra had made in school. There was a photo album of her wedding day in sleeves too puffy to be fashionable now. She didn’t really want to take it, but knew it was important to remember the good times. Roots were important, she was discovering. She was deliberating over a bag of sweaters when Chase, who had been busy making a series of phone calls, came over.

“It’s almost time. Do you really need those? We can supplement whatever you need later.”

Renee began throwing clothes into a suitcase and in the end, took a box of personal documents and albums, a bag filled with a few of her favorite Cassandra items, and her father’s box. She could sort through the box later, but she felt it needed to remain with her.

Cassandra’s door creaked open. Two large duffel bags and a backpack stuffed to the point of bursting, lay at her feet. Her face was blotchy from crying, but she bent down to heave one of the duffel bags over her shoulder.

“Allow me,” said Chase gently and picked up both of the duffel bags in one hand as if they weighed nothing. “Will Her Majesty be alright pulling her own suitcase?” he said over his shoulder to Renee.

Cassandra’s eyes popped open at hearing her mother called “Her Majesty,” but Renee knew the correct thing to say was, “Yes, thank you, Mr. Chase.”

Cassandra followed Chase, wide eyed, down to where the taxi waited in the street. Renee lingered for a moment in the quiet apartment while Roberts waited at the door. She scribbled a note to Ray and included some papers for him that he needed to sign. She didn’t know if he would come back the next day or a month from now, but sealed the envelope and left it on the entry table where he would see it. With fear, but also excitement, she closed the door, pocketing the key as if to assure herself that she could always come back if she chose to.

Renee had never flown before, much less flown in a private jet. It was the only flight taking off from the small airport outside of Farland that mostly serviced crop dusters and personal hobby planes. Cassandra, despite her sullenness, couldn’t hide her excitement from her first plane ride and plastered her face against the window. Whether she kept it there for the whole of the trip, Renee didn’t know because as soon as they were airborne, Renee’s head lolled against her shoulder. The last two days—actually, it was the last three weeks of Ray walking out and her working double shifts—had been exhausting. She didn’t wake up until Chase gently shook her shoulder to tell her the plane was landing. Renee remained awake enough to let herself be led off the plane, into a waiting sedan, which drove through a maze of streets and buildings and lights, and finally to a hotel and an expansive bed—the largest she had ever seen. She barely had enough strength to crawl under the white comforter, still fully dressed, and glance at the clock before her eyes closed: 3:30 am.

Someone turned out the light and thought she heard Chase’s voice say a quiet, “Goodnight, Mrs. Krebs,” but it might have been a dream. She wished he would stop calling her that, she thought sleepily. It was her last thought for the next nine hours.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“WAKE UP!”

A body hurdled across the room and landed with a thud next to Renee’s head. Renee jerked awake and instinctively reached for the bat under the bed. It wasn’t there.

“Go away,” said Renee and buried her head back in the pillow. She’d been having an amazing dream. Someone had told her she was a queen and needed to move to England.

“Get up, Mom. It’s almost one o’clock, time for lunch. Roberts says no monarch since Charles II has ever been so crass as to sleep in until tea time.”

Renee moaned. It was true. The queen thing. There was a moment of panic and confusion before she realized she wasn’t at home. She wasn’t even in Texas. She untangled herself from sheets and a heavy blanket to find Cassandra bouncing next to her.

“You don’t even know what ‘crass’ means,” she said, hitting Cassandra with a pillow.

“Neither do you. Hurry up, I’m hungry! We’ll be in the restaurant downstairs.” Cassandra bounded off the bed and out of the hotel room.

Renee fell back onto her pillow and lay there a few more minutes, blinking at the ceiling. She didn’t know what was in store for her, but she had to lay out some ground rules. Such as, no flying her to strange cities without telling her which one she was in. And no calling her crass. Cassandra was right, she didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded like an insult. Suddenly, she sat bolt upright in bed and smacked herself in the head with her hand. She instantly reached for the phone and began dialing. There would likely be an enormous charge on her hotel bill for calling long distance, but she didn’t care.

“Farland’s Far Out Diner,” said a voice on the other end.

“Brenda?”

“Renee, is that you?”

“I’m so sorry that I forgot to call out of my shift today!”

“That’s fine, I got Gloria to cover for you. I know you’ve been out of sorts lately. Do you want to come in this evening? Jackie was talking about maybe leaving early—”

“Look, Brenda, I’m sorry for the short notice, but I’m not going to be able to come in today. In fact, I’m not going to be able to come in at all. I decided to take that…that family position I was telling you about.”

“Sugar, that’s great! When do you start? How about we go out to the movies tonight to celebrate, my treat, and you can tell me all about it? Gloria wanted to move into full-time anyhow, so it’ll work out fine as far as the diner’s concerned.”

Renee twisted the cord around her finger. “Well, I’m kind of already gone. They needed me to start quickly and there wasn’t time to tell anyone.” There was silence on the other end of the phone. Renee could hear the noise of the diner in the background: clattering plates, the buzz of conversation, the cha-ching of the cash register. “Hello? Are you there?”

“I’m sure going to miss you,” said Brenda with a heavy voice. “I think you’re doing the right thing. Sometimes you just got to get up and go with no looking back. Is my Casshopper with you?”

“Yeah, she’s with me.”

“Tell her not to forget her Aunt Brenda and that I’ll make her pancakes the way she likes them when she comes to visit. You probably don’t know when that is, do you?”

“No,” said Renee, beginning to tear up herself. Brenda had been more than a boss for the last five years. She had been a real friend. She couldn’t imagine not being able to talk things over with her while they filled napkin dispensers and ketchup bottles.

“You take care of yourself. I’m always here if you need me,” said Brenda.

“Thanks. I’ll miss you and will try to keep in touch, but you’ll probably know what I’m doing.” Renee didn’t give Brenda a chance to figure out what that meant because she suddenly added, “Oh, and if you see that guy who was looking for me again, call the police immediately! He’s dangerous and the reason why I had to leave like I did. I love you, bye!” Renee hung up before she started sobbing on the phone. She sat morosely for a minute and then got up.

Where was she anyway?

She had been so tired the night before, she could have been in Tokyo for all she knew. She went to look out the window and gasped. The scene outside was familiar and immediately recognizable even though she had never been there before. New York City. Oh boy. She used to dream about visiting New York City. For several long moments she stared out the window taking in the enormity and densely packed beauty of the city. It was even more impressive than the sprawl of Dallas and nothing like the scrubby, big sky emptiness that her town was located in. She hurried through her shower and dug through her suitcase looking for something suitable. She had thrown everything in without giving any thought to it. She settled on jeans and a sweatshirt. She looked around for a key to the room, but saw only a plastic card with the room number on it on a table by the door. She pocketed it so as not to forget the room number, but didn’t find the key.

She found Cassandra and Roberts in the hotel restaurant going over a menu. Chase was nowhere to be seen.

“The spinach and artichoke soufflé here is world renowned,” Roberts was saying. “You can’t go wrong with that, but the foi gras with bulger wheat crackers should also be delicious. Oh look, it comes with a side of braised carrots!”

“Don’t they have macaroni and cheese?” asked Cassandra.

“I haven’t heard of that, is it an Italian dish?”

“Umm, I think so. But the box is in English.”

Roberts looked skeptical, but motioned for the waiter to come over and ordered macaroni and cheese for Cassandra and himself, with extra grated cheese on his dish. The waiter raised an eyebrow. “Excellent choice.”

Renee walked up to the table and Roberts immediately stood to pull out a chair for her.

“Please sit,” she said when Roberts appeared to have no inclination to do so. He nodded his head and took his seat again. The waiter appeared incredulous.

“We were just ordering, Ma’am,” said Roberts.

Renee quickly glanced at the menu. She wasn’t sure what language it was in and there were no pictures.

“Steak,” she said, handing back the menu. “Well done. With a side of corn on the cob and biscuits. And iced tea please.”

The waiter rolled his eyes and left, muttering something under his breath about hick tourists.

“So what’s on the schedule for today?” she said and stifled a yawn.

“A spot of shopping is in order. Perhaps a visit to a salon as well.”

“Shopping? I don’t have any money,” said Renee quickly.

Roberts patted his breast pocket. “Never you fear, Ma’am. We have a little walking around money, if you will. You didn’t think we’d allow you to be introduced to your subjects dressed in your track suit, did you?”

Renee stared down at her Rodeo Daze 1998 sweatshirt. He had a point. The waiter returned with glasses of water for all and an iced tea that he set in front of Renee with little bowls of sugar and lemon slices. A tiny matching pair of silver tongs and a spoon rested in them.

“Fancy,” she whistled through her teeth. “Where’s Chase?”

“I believe he’s speaking to the Prime Minister.”

Renee nearly dropped her lemon wedge. “You’re joking.”

“No Ma’am. The government has been intimately involved in this process. Everything is top secret, of course. The country is still in mourning and everyone agreed that it would look vulgar if we announced a search for the heir before the bodies of the royal family were even in the ground.” He sipped his tea. “You really ought to learn to drink hot tea. It’s barbaric over ice.”

Renee was grappling with something. “You mean no one in all of Great Britain knows that there will be another queen…or king?”

“I’m sure it’s crossed everyone’s minds, but the shock of losing the royal family as well as so many others all at once…the funeral arrangements alone were all-engrossing. I didn’t sleep for four days straight and then fell asleep in one of the caskets we had picked out. I was asked to lie in it to see if it would be a good fit for the Duke of York since we are the same height, and dropped off right to sleep since it was the first time I had laid my head down since that awful day.” He bowed his head and he looked grieved. He looked up and his voice was brighter. “Those prank players let me lie in that casket for five hours and when I awoke I was all alone in a dark room full of caskets. I nearly had a heart attack right there and then the Duke of York would have had to find another one for himself.”

Renee looked at him with understanding. “You didn’t sleep, you buried your queen and then you immediately went out searching for a new person to take her place. This must all be really hard on you.”

Roberts rearranged his sorrowful face into an expression of pique.

“I am simply doing my job, Ma’am. I’ve always served the royal family in one way or another, and I always will.”

Before Renee could respond to this noble sentiment, Chase strode into the restaurant. His face lit up when he caught sight of the three of them and he dodged around tables to reach them. Seeing him reminded Renee of the issue that was troubling her. Chase took a chair between her and Roberts.

“Did you have a nice talk with the Prime Minister?” she asked casually.

“Yes, everyone is very eager to meet you.”

The waiter brought the plates of macaroni and cheese, and Renee’s steak, but left before Chase could put in an order. Cassandra eagerly dug into her plate of macaroni, but Roberts just stared at the bright orange pasta in the bowl before him. Just like he had ordered, there was extra grated cheddar on top.

“Come on, Roberts, it tastes good,” encouraged Cassandra as she shoved another spoonful into her mouth.

“Doubtful.” He tentatively scooped up a spoonful of the pasta and nibbled a single one off the end of the spoon. “A culinary triumph,” he said and laid the spoon down.

Chase, however, was looking at it with interest. “Do you mind?” he asked.

“Be my guest. I’m sure they serve this in every dining establishment in Tottenham,” said Roberts and pushed the bowl away.

“Snob,” said Chase and pulled the bowl to him. He dug in with gusto. “Delicious!” he said and it was some moments before there was conversation again. Renee wondered who would reach the bottom first, Cassandra or Chase. It appeared to be a dead heat. Renee cut off a small piece of steak. It was good, but couldn’t compare to good Texan barbecue. She chewed slowly, waiting for Chase to come up for air. He washed it all down with Roberts’s untouched glass of water and leaned back, full and sated.

“Good idea, kid,” he said and reached over the table to ruffle Cassandra’s hair. She beamed.

“So the Prime Minister…” Renee prompted.

“What? Oh, right. Everyone is over the moon that you accepted.”

“Who is everyone?” she asked.

“The government. The shadow cabinet is filled in too, of course, but so far everyone is doing a good job of keeping it hush hush. I think I’m ready for dessert,” he said.

“But that’s just the thing—how is the country going to feel when you
unveil
me? Are you just going to spring it on them? Pull the curtain back and say ‘Surprise, here’s your new queen and oh, by the way, she’s an American who doesn’t even know the name of the prime minister’?”

“It’s Neville Rufus,” supplied Roberts. “About as likable as a porcupine. I don’t know what is planned for your ‘unveiling,’ but I think we have a few weeks before it happens. After all, you’ve got to get situated and brought up to speed on British history, society, royal etiquette. Don’t worry about being American—the former royal family was as German as sauerkraut, but the country soon forgot that and by the time Cassandra is queen—”

“Really? AWESOME!” said Cassandra.

Renee looked at her daughter and felt weak. She was regretting her decision more and more every minute.

“Princesses don’t shout in restaurants,” said Roberts. “By the time Cassandra is queen, she will be so thoroughly English she won’t remember how many stars are in the American flag.”

“It depends on if they let in Puerto Rico,” said Cassandra and dove into her food again.

Chase leaned forward across the table. “No one is going to riot. You are the heir and the populace has always accepted the heir.”

“Well,” said Roberts, “except for that time when Edward II had a red hot iron thrust up his backside.” Roberts looked up to find Chase, Renee and Cassandra staring at him in open-mouthed silence. “What?” he said.

“That was a long time ago,” said Chase to Renee, while he glared at Roberts. He turned back to Renee. “Besides, you’re from Texas. You probably have more guns than the entire criminal population of Glasgow so you could hold off the rampaging hordes if it came to that.”

Renee let the subject drop, but she was certain that it would come up again. She didn’t feel that she was a good representative of anybody unless it was down-on-their-luck single moms with no formal education. She’d have that constituency sewn up.

The rest of the day was devoted to shopping. Renee was reluctant to buy anything more than a couple of blouses and a skirt, but Roberts insisted that her wardrobe needed “supplementing.” She discovered that his definition of supplementing meant replacing her wardrobe several times over entirely. Cassandra had apparently dropped her resentment at being dragged to New York because she was the one now pulling Renee by the hand into boutique clothing shops. Roberts was surprisingly enthusiastic about sorting through the racks and picking out items. He brought an armful of his selections to Renee who was waiting by the dressing room, feeling like an imposter.