Suddenly Royal
Page 71
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Alex received bows and thank-yous from everyone. They all seemed to be floating on a high, as if my coming home and Alex’s presence was something to celebrate. It weirded me out. Chadwick handed me some paper while the woman in charge spoke to someone offstage.
“This is a speech I wrote on the way here. I forgot to tell you about all this and I feel terrible.” He shook his head. “But we don’t have time for that right now. Look it over while Simone speaks. It’s short and sweet. I tried to channel you.”
“Sounds good.” I smiled at him, hoping he would understand that I wasn’t angry. Everyone makes mistakes.
I glanced at the speech and tried to memorize the highlights. There was no way I would be able to say it all verbatim. If I tried I’d get tongue-tied.
The reporters who had followed us from the palace set up beside the locals, all waiting to hear what I had to say. Or rather, what Chadwick had written for me to say. Alex’s voice brought my attention up from the notes and I realized he had left the chair next to me and was speaking to the crowd.
“I’m very pleased to be able to bring Samantha Rousseau home and I’m proud to say that she lives up to her family’s reputation. She is sensible, loyal, and intelligent. I have no doubt that Duchess Rousseau will fit in here with all of us. I’m very glad to be able to call her neighbor—and my friend. So, without further ado, I present Samantha, the Duchess of Rousseau, and the real reason we’re all here today.” Alex turned toward me and smiled.
Chadwick cleared his throat and I realized it was my turn to talk. I stood up slowly and brushed at my skirt. The three steps to the podium were the longest three steps of my life. Never before had I worried about tripping and falling so much. Alex held his hand out to me and I shook it in turn. When he pulled me in to kiss my cheeks, I felt my face flush and the sound of whispering and cameras clicking filled my ears.
“Relax,” Alex whispered in my ear. “Just keep it simple and be yourself.”
“Thanks.” He let go of my hand and took his seat while I was left to face the crowd. I had no way of judging how many people were actually standing in the village center watching me, but it felt like I was giving a State of the Union address. I squeezed the paper in my hand, the one I couldn’t remember anything from, and gave the crowd a smile.
“People use the word honored in award speeches, they talk about how grateful they are and humbled. Well, I’m not sure how to catalog today, but it feels as though I’ve won an award and I am all of those things: honored by your reception, humbled to be a part of such a wonderful legacy, and grateful that Her Majesty sent His Highness to find me.” I paused, trying to remember what else I was supposed to say, and was surprised by the applause. I looked over the crowd, stunned. “I’m going to keep this short because I hate to keep you all out in the cold—you might turn into Popsicles.” There were chuckles from the crowd. “Thank you so much for coming out here to meet me. I look forward to learning more about each and every one of you.” Very carefully, I said the words for “thank you” in Lilarian and silently prayed that I got it correct.
People stood up and clapped. I should have felt proud, but I just felt silly—like they were humoring me. I stepped away from the microphone and let Simone shake my hand. She turned toward the crowd, still holding my hand and motioned to me again while the crowd cheered. Not sure what to do, I waved with my free hand and smiled. When she let go, I moved to where the others had stood. They shook my hand like they hadn’t already been introduced to me and told me how happy they were that I was back. It was very surreal and I didn’t really understand why they were so excited. I was starting to think I never would understand.
People stopped me just off the stage. There was a lot of handshaking and smiling. So many names and faces I would never be able to keep up with. Through it all, Alex stayed by my side. He was a living, breathing wall of support. Every person that he spoke to felt at ease; the women swooned and the men felt important. By the time we got back in the car, I felt like I had seen a whole new side to Alex.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He settled into his seat and raised an eyebrow at me.
“Thinking.”
“About how incredibly sexy I am?” He turned to look at me with a smirk.
“How do you have room in your head for anything other than your ego?” I laughed. “And no, I was thinking that you make a really great prince.”
“Why is that?”
“You put people at ease and they still respect you.” I smiled. “You’re a natural.”
“I’ve had years of practice. You didn’t do so bad yourself.” He pulled at my coat pocket and retrieved the speech Chadwick had written. “Was that really what Chadwick told you to say?”
“I couldn’t remember it.” I winced.
“So you winged that?” Alex whistled in appreciation as he unfolded the paper. “Wow, this wasn’t bad either, but I think you nailed it.” He read over the paper quickly.
“It may have been the shortest speech in history.” I looked out the window as the car finally began to move.
“It was exactly what you needed to say.” He folded the paper and stuck it back in my pocket. “It’s exactly what the crowd wanted.”
“Thanks.” I met his eyes and bit my lip. Would it be wrong to take what I wanted? Would it be worth it if I let myself give in? The more time I spent with him, the harder it was to fight my attraction to him.
“This is a speech I wrote on the way here. I forgot to tell you about all this and I feel terrible.” He shook his head. “But we don’t have time for that right now. Look it over while Simone speaks. It’s short and sweet. I tried to channel you.”
“Sounds good.” I smiled at him, hoping he would understand that I wasn’t angry. Everyone makes mistakes.
I glanced at the speech and tried to memorize the highlights. There was no way I would be able to say it all verbatim. If I tried I’d get tongue-tied.
The reporters who had followed us from the palace set up beside the locals, all waiting to hear what I had to say. Or rather, what Chadwick had written for me to say. Alex’s voice brought my attention up from the notes and I realized he had left the chair next to me and was speaking to the crowd.
“I’m very pleased to be able to bring Samantha Rousseau home and I’m proud to say that she lives up to her family’s reputation. She is sensible, loyal, and intelligent. I have no doubt that Duchess Rousseau will fit in here with all of us. I’m very glad to be able to call her neighbor—and my friend. So, without further ado, I present Samantha, the Duchess of Rousseau, and the real reason we’re all here today.” Alex turned toward me and smiled.
Chadwick cleared his throat and I realized it was my turn to talk. I stood up slowly and brushed at my skirt. The three steps to the podium were the longest three steps of my life. Never before had I worried about tripping and falling so much. Alex held his hand out to me and I shook it in turn. When he pulled me in to kiss my cheeks, I felt my face flush and the sound of whispering and cameras clicking filled my ears.
“Relax,” Alex whispered in my ear. “Just keep it simple and be yourself.”
“Thanks.” He let go of my hand and took his seat while I was left to face the crowd. I had no way of judging how many people were actually standing in the village center watching me, but it felt like I was giving a State of the Union address. I squeezed the paper in my hand, the one I couldn’t remember anything from, and gave the crowd a smile.
“People use the word honored in award speeches, they talk about how grateful they are and humbled. Well, I’m not sure how to catalog today, but it feels as though I’ve won an award and I am all of those things: honored by your reception, humbled to be a part of such a wonderful legacy, and grateful that Her Majesty sent His Highness to find me.” I paused, trying to remember what else I was supposed to say, and was surprised by the applause. I looked over the crowd, stunned. “I’m going to keep this short because I hate to keep you all out in the cold—you might turn into Popsicles.” There were chuckles from the crowd. “Thank you so much for coming out here to meet me. I look forward to learning more about each and every one of you.” Very carefully, I said the words for “thank you” in Lilarian and silently prayed that I got it correct.
People stood up and clapped. I should have felt proud, but I just felt silly—like they were humoring me. I stepped away from the microphone and let Simone shake my hand. She turned toward the crowd, still holding my hand and motioned to me again while the crowd cheered. Not sure what to do, I waved with my free hand and smiled. When she let go, I moved to where the others had stood. They shook my hand like they hadn’t already been introduced to me and told me how happy they were that I was back. It was very surreal and I didn’t really understand why they were so excited. I was starting to think I never would understand.
People stopped me just off the stage. There was a lot of handshaking and smiling. So many names and faces I would never be able to keep up with. Through it all, Alex stayed by my side. He was a living, breathing wall of support. Every person that he spoke to felt at ease; the women swooned and the men felt important. By the time we got back in the car, I felt like I had seen a whole new side to Alex.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He settled into his seat and raised an eyebrow at me.
“Thinking.”
“About how incredibly sexy I am?” He turned to look at me with a smirk.
“How do you have room in your head for anything other than your ego?” I laughed. “And no, I was thinking that you make a really great prince.”
“Why is that?”
“You put people at ease and they still respect you.” I smiled. “You’re a natural.”
“I’ve had years of practice. You didn’t do so bad yourself.” He pulled at my coat pocket and retrieved the speech Chadwick had written. “Was that really what Chadwick told you to say?”
“I couldn’t remember it.” I winced.
“So you winged that?” Alex whistled in appreciation as he unfolded the paper. “Wow, this wasn’t bad either, but I think you nailed it.” He read over the paper quickly.
“It may have been the shortest speech in history.” I looked out the window as the car finally began to move.
“It was exactly what you needed to say.” He folded the paper and stuck it back in my pocket. “It’s exactly what the crowd wanted.”
“Thanks.” I met his eyes and bit my lip. Would it be wrong to take what I wanted? Would it be worth it if I let myself give in? The more time I spent with him, the harder it was to fight my attraction to him.
