Suddenly Royal
Page 56
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I signed my dreams away with angry strokes. Throwing the pen down, I got up and went to sleep with tears in my eyes.
Chapter Nineteen
Getting Frisky at the Zoo
—The Daily Gossip
The next morning I put on slacks and a nice shirt. Breakfast was brought up early and Chadwick wasn’t far behind. He came in carrying a newspaper and clipboard. He sat down with me while I ate and looked through notes for the day.
“I’ve barely set foot in this country and people are asking me for interviews and to come to openings.” I set the newspaper down and took another sip of my coffee. “I’m used to cutting up mice and tracking birds. Shaking hands and taking pictures with strangers is not something I’m accustomed to.”
“That can’t be true.” Chadwick looked at me over his paper. “I’m sure you shook people’s hands in America. You’re not completely uncivilized over there.”
I threw one of the raisins from my muffin at him and laughed when he blocked it with the paper. “You know what I mean. I’m just ready to go see my house and learn more about the area I’m going to be spending my time in. I feel like I’m winging everything. I don’t like that.”
“I get it, Samantha. I do. And we’re heading out to your family estate at the end of the week.” Chadwick frowned. “But the reality is that this is your life.”
I set my muffin down and looked away out the window. He was right, but that didn’t make all this craziness any better.
“I’m scheduling only the important things. I’ve turned down a hundred meetings.” He looked sad, so I tried to smile. I felt a little guilty for being so difficult. “That’s just pathetic.”
“I’m trying here.” I gave up and glared at him instead.
“That’s better. I like it when you’re all saucy.” He winked at me before going back to his paper.
By the time I finished my muffin and coffee, we were moving out of my room and toward the car. Chadwick went over the schedule for the day and he gave me a quick rundown of the people I’d be meeting.
“So, the zoo keeper that requested me to come out is American?” I smiled at the man who opened the door. Becca was standing next to the car, talking to one of the other suits.
“Yes. He is relatively new to the position.” Chadwick held my purse while I climbed into the car. “I think he’s excited you’re a wildlife biologist and I thought you might prefer this to the luncheon planning the garden fund-raiser.”
“Nailed it.”
“Of course.” He flipped through the paperwork while I tried to ignore the cars that followed us as soon as we pulled out of the gate.
The zoo was a little ways out of the city center and I really enjoyed getting to see some of the scenery. It was a heavily forested area with a lot of hills. As we exited the highway, I could see the sign for the zoological gardens, thankfully written in English as well as Lilarian. I really needed to spend more time learning the language, but I would probably try to find a real teacher. I still hadn’t figured out what it was that Alex had whispered in my ear. I had tried online translators, but I must not be spelling it right, because all I ever got was gibberish. Something about a hamster—and I was pretty sure he hadn’t been talking about a hamster.
We pulled right up to the gate and were ushered through after a few pictures were taken in front of the signs. It was a pretty zoo: lots of plants, trees, and decent-sized enclosures. An attractive man a few years older than me met us just inside. He walked straight up to me and held out his hand.
“Duchess, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jeremy.”
“Nice to meet you, Jeremy. Thank you for inviting me out here.” I shook his hand and noted the calluses. He wasn’t someone to sit back and let everyone else do all the work.
“Thank you for coming! We’re honored that you accepted our invitation. I know you haven’t been in the country very long.” He motioned for us to walk, so I fell in step beside him. My detail kept a close proximity, but I did my best to ignore them.
“Not very long.” I nodded my head. “But I have a weakness for animals.”
“I was hoping so.” He smiled at me and I realized he would likely be someone that would have made my heart flutter before Alex. My stomach clenched. Before Alex.
“So, why did you invite me out here?” I bit my lip. I wasn’t very good at doing the political dance around things.
“Straightforward. I like that.” He touched my shoulder, leading me toward an aviary. “A few reasons, actually. One, I figured you would enjoy seeing the zoo since you’re a wildlife biologist. Two, I was hoping to meet America’s Duchess.” He winked at me and I felt my face heat. I really hated being called that.
We walked through the large aviary while he pointed out some of the species they had managed to obtain. It was an impressive enclosure with a large array of birds that I hadn’t seen in person before. I stopped to admire one of the waterfalls in the habitat and he stopped with me. There was a tile mosaic at the bottom that glistened under the water.
“I designed the enclosure when I first arrived about three years ago.”
I didn’t blame him for being proud—it was a beautiful and efficient building. “I like the way you have the feed dishes dispersed. Very natural-looking.”
“Thank you.” He held his hand out to help me from my kneeling position by the water. “I spent a lot of time studying some of the ones in the larger zoos. I really wanted people to feel like they were observing the birds out in the wild. This design is what got me my position.”
Chapter Nineteen
Getting Frisky at the Zoo
—The Daily Gossip
The next morning I put on slacks and a nice shirt. Breakfast was brought up early and Chadwick wasn’t far behind. He came in carrying a newspaper and clipboard. He sat down with me while I ate and looked through notes for the day.
“I’ve barely set foot in this country and people are asking me for interviews and to come to openings.” I set the newspaper down and took another sip of my coffee. “I’m used to cutting up mice and tracking birds. Shaking hands and taking pictures with strangers is not something I’m accustomed to.”
“That can’t be true.” Chadwick looked at me over his paper. “I’m sure you shook people’s hands in America. You’re not completely uncivilized over there.”
I threw one of the raisins from my muffin at him and laughed when he blocked it with the paper. “You know what I mean. I’m just ready to go see my house and learn more about the area I’m going to be spending my time in. I feel like I’m winging everything. I don’t like that.”
“I get it, Samantha. I do. And we’re heading out to your family estate at the end of the week.” Chadwick frowned. “But the reality is that this is your life.”
I set my muffin down and looked away out the window. He was right, but that didn’t make all this craziness any better.
“I’m scheduling only the important things. I’ve turned down a hundred meetings.” He looked sad, so I tried to smile. I felt a little guilty for being so difficult. “That’s just pathetic.”
“I’m trying here.” I gave up and glared at him instead.
“That’s better. I like it when you’re all saucy.” He winked at me before going back to his paper.
By the time I finished my muffin and coffee, we were moving out of my room and toward the car. Chadwick went over the schedule for the day and he gave me a quick rundown of the people I’d be meeting.
“So, the zoo keeper that requested me to come out is American?” I smiled at the man who opened the door. Becca was standing next to the car, talking to one of the other suits.
“Yes. He is relatively new to the position.” Chadwick held my purse while I climbed into the car. “I think he’s excited you’re a wildlife biologist and I thought you might prefer this to the luncheon planning the garden fund-raiser.”
“Nailed it.”
“Of course.” He flipped through the paperwork while I tried to ignore the cars that followed us as soon as we pulled out of the gate.
The zoo was a little ways out of the city center and I really enjoyed getting to see some of the scenery. It was a heavily forested area with a lot of hills. As we exited the highway, I could see the sign for the zoological gardens, thankfully written in English as well as Lilarian. I really needed to spend more time learning the language, but I would probably try to find a real teacher. I still hadn’t figured out what it was that Alex had whispered in my ear. I had tried online translators, but I must not be spelling it right, because all I ever got was gibberish. Something about a hamster—and I was pretty sure he hadn’t been talking about a hamster.
We pulled right up to the gate and were ushered through after a few pictures were taken in front of the signs. It was a pretty zoo: lots of plants, trees, and decent-sized enclosures. An attractive man a few years older than me met us just inside. He walked straight up to me and held out his hand.
“Duchess, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jeremy.”
“Nice to meet you, Jeremy. Thank you for inviting me out here.” I shook his hand and noted the calluses. He wasn’t someone to sit back and let everyone else do all the work.
“Thank you for coming! We’re honored that you accepted our invitation. I know you haven’t been in the country very long.” He motioned for us to walk, so I fell in step beside him. My detail kept a close proximity, but I did my best to ignore them.
“Not very long.” I nodded my head. “But I have a weakness for animals.”
“I was hoping so.” He smiled at me and I realized he would likely be someone that would have made my heart flutter before Alex. My stomach clenched. Before Alex.
“So, why did you invite me out here?” I bit my lip. I wasn’t very good at doing the political dance around things.
“Straightforward. I like that.” He touched my shoulder, leading me toward an aviary. “A few reasons, actually. One, I figured you would enjoy seeing the zoo since you’re a wildlife biologist. Two, I was hoping to meet America’s Duchess.” He winked at me and I felt my face heat. I really hated being called that.
We walked through the large aviary while he pointed out some of the species they had managed to obtain. It was an impressive enclosure with a large array of birds that I hadn’t seen in person before. I stopped to admire one of the waterfalls in the habitat and he stopped with me. There was a tile mosaic at the bottom that glistened under the water.
“I designed the enclosure when I first arrived about three years ago.”
I didn’t blame him for being proud—it was a beautiful and efficient building. “I like the way you have the feed dishes dispersed. Very natural-looking.”
“Thank you.” He held his hand out to help me from my kneeling position by the water. “I spent a lot of time studying some of the ones in the larger zoos. I really wanted people to feel like they were observing the birds out in the wild. This design is what got me my position.”
