Suddenly Royal (17 page)

“
That’s not necessary. I’m sure he has more important things to take care of.”

Jess glared at me, her nose wrinkled and her mouth pressed into a firm line.

“
He was quite adamant.” Sarah smiled again before turning back to her notebook. “Chadwick is going to the Rousseau estate today to make sure everything is ready for your arrival. There has been a steward appointed to the lands while your family was away, so I’m expecting everything has been kept in good shape.”

“
What is the Stewards name?” I grabbed the grocery notepad off of the counter and looked in a drawer for a pen.

“
Stanley Wessex.” Sarah looked over her notes. “He is in his late fifties and has been in charge of the estate for the last twenty years. I’m sure he will be an extraordinary help when you take over.”

“
Or he’ll hate me for taking his job,” I muttered under my breath while scribbling down his name.

“
I’ve also set up a secure e-mail for you and arranged for a new cell phone.” She reached into the bag next to her and pulled out a white phone. She rattled off the new number while I quickly copied it down in my notes. “I’ve set it up so the monthly payments will be deducted from your primary account.”

“
Will I be able to use this worldwide?” I looked at the iPhone and frowned. I’d been an Android user for years.

“
Yes, ma’am. It’s a Lilarian number, so you will have to use the country code when calling a number in the States.” Sarah pulled out some more paperwork. “I e-mailed you the press release we sent out this morning—have you seen it yet?”

“
Yeah… That would be a no.” I frowned at her. Apparently I was going to have to start getting up at the butt crack of dawn to keep up with these people.

“
Well, here is a copy for you to look over. I also went ahead and sent a contingent to your father’s house. It’s likely there will be some reporters sniffing around for a story.” Sarah looked at me carefully. “Once they realize your father has cancer, I fear it will be a bigger story.”

“
I see.” And I did. The Cinderella comment from yesterday would be blown out of proportion when they found out my stepfather was sick. “How do I go about hiring people to stay with him?”

“
I’ll take care of that. How many do you think would be appropriate?” Sarah held her pen ready over her pad of paper and looked at me expectantly.

“
Um, two?” I swallowed. “So they can take turns and stuff, I guess?”

“
That sounds like a good plan. While he will likely have to deal with some of the media, it won’t be as much as you. Not to mention it should calm down once you leave the country.”

“
Heh.” I didn’t know what else to say, so looked over the press release. The queen had announced that after a long, thorough search, they had located one of the missing royal families in America. There was a quick bit about me, my schooling, and that I was returning to Lilaria to accept my title. It was brief and to the point. I approved.

“
Samantha, I think you’re going to have to leave the packing to me and Bert.” Jess crossed her legs in her chair and propped her chin on her hand.

“
What? I have to get this stuff over to Dad’s today. I leave tomorrow.”

“
Exactly. And you need to go shopping.”

“
What on Earth for? Toiletries? Travel soaps?”

“
Clothes, Sam. Clothes. You can’t meet the Queen of Lilaria in blue jeans.” She turned to look at Sarah. “Am I right? There has to be a dress code of some sort for that type of stuff.”

“
Yes. The reception at the palace will be black-tie formal. Your reinstatement will be white tie. And I’m sure that there will be other things that would require dresses or skirts.” Sarah didn’t look up from her notebook.

I stared at both of them. “Black tie? White tie?”

Jess sighed. “Black tie—you can get away with a fancy cocktail dress. White tie requires a long gown, gloves, jewels.”

“
Yes, for white-tie affairs you would need to wear one of your family diadems.” Sarah was still scribbling in her notebook.

“
Diadems. You mean tiaras? Crowns?” I shook my head. “My family has diadems.”

“
Diadems, never crowns.” Sarah looked up at me. “And yes. I believe you have several. I recall a painting of one with gorgeous emeralds.”

“
Emeralds.” I shook my head. I needed to stop repeating everything that was said to me. “Okay. So, shopping. And packing.” I started to think about how much money I could spend on a dress and then realized I had three other accounts to consider. “What time are we leaving in the morning?”

“
I’ll send a car for you at four.” Sarah closed her notebook. “There are several shops downtown that would have appropriate attire. When would you like to go?”

“
I guess now.” I looked around the kitchen, feeling lost.

“
Wear some comfortable shoes—we’re going to be busy.” Jess hopped out of her chair and scurried down the hall. I guess that meant she was going with me. Thank God for stylish roommates
.

How to Pick a Dress for the Ball

—
The Jolene Waters Show

After the third store I was ready to kill Jess and hide her body under a mountain of snow. Sarah seemed amused by Jess’s way of talking to me. Then again, it probably looked funny to everyone that saw me standing in front of a mirror in a giant monstrosity of a pink dress.

“
I will not wear this.” I glared at her. “I wouldn’t bury an enemy in this dress.”

Someone sniffed beside me and I realized the store owner was watching us. Apparently she didn’t think much of my style choices, either. The fact was that I was incredibly nervous about meeting a queen, parliament, and a bunch of royals. The thought of trying to walk in this dress while meeting a queen, parliament, and a bunch of royals made me hyperventilate.

“
It’s gorgeous! You look like you could be in a magazine.” Jess fluffed the skirt a little more. I stared at her until she finally sighed. “Fine. Let’s try something a little more boring.”

“
Good idea.” I stepped off the little platform and gathered up the skirt in my arms. Jess followed close behind so she could help me undo the four thousand little buttons along the back.

“
You know, this is a huge moment. Your chance to make a big statement.” Jess looked at me seriously. “You need to go in there, large and proud. Don’t let them treat you like the dirty cousin from America. Show ’em you’re someone to contend with.”

“
You make this sound like high school.” I wiggled out of the dress and helped her put it back on the hanger, which promptly bowed in the middle, struggling to support the weight of the dress.

“
I’m serious. You need to go in there and let them know you’re Samantha Effing Rousseau. You’re gorgeous, you’re brilliant, and you won’t take any shit.” Jess stood up and looked at me. “They need to know that right away.”

I thought about what she was saying. First impressions were important. If I would dress up to give a speech at a bird convention, there was no reason I shouldn’t dress up for a meeting with the queen. I turned and looked at the next dress on the rack and contemplated it.

“
Okay.”

“
Okay?”

“
Okay, but we need to make the right statement. No froufrou stuff.” I pushed the hangers aside and met Jess’s eyes in the mirror.

“
I know just the dress.” She ran out of the little room and I stood there contemplating what I was doing. I hated that I was making these decisions. I felt like I was doing this blind. And the worst part was there were people standing outside the store with cameras, trying to see what I was buying.

When Jess came back she and held up a dress, I knew she had nailed it on the head. It was simple but elegant. Sexy but discreet: simple cap sleeves with an A-line skirt, the black material shining softly in the dressing room lights. There was a simple black belt that added a little something extra and gave it even more personality. I ran my hands over the gown and almost squealed in delight. There were pockets.

“
You’ve been saving this one.” I turned my eyes to Jess and glared at her. “You made me try on those God-awful dresses, knowing full well I would hate them. And this was in the store the whole time!”

“
So you like it?” Jess smiled from ear to ear.

“
You sneaky bitch! That last dress was torture!” I held my hand out for the hanger and she laughed.

“
It worked, didn’t it? I could have brought a trash bag in here and you would have been excited.” Jess helped me pull the dress up and work the hidden zipper.

When I turned around to look in the mirror, I froze. The dress fit perfectly, which was lucky considering there wasn’t time for alterations. Jess did something to my hair, twisting it up off my neck in a messy bun that countered the streamlined look of the dress.

“
Understated elegance.” Jess nodded her head like she had designed the dress herself.

“
It’s perfect.” I turned so I could see the back of the dress.

“
Let’s go show the others.” Jess swung the door open and motioned for me to go out first. I had to pick the skirt up to walk, but with heels it would be perfect. Outside, the curtains had been pulled over the large front windows and Sarah was waiting in a chair, her notebook in her lap. She looked up and a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

“
Oh, you look lovely.”

I stepped onto the little block in front of the mirror and looked at myself. It was silly, but I suddenly felt royal. I guess that was the magic of a beautiful dress. The shop owner brought over a pair of black high heels in my size. I slipped them on and looked again at the mirror. They were the perfect height. The skirt no longer hung too low, but they weren’t so high I couldn’t walk.

A phone beeped and I looked around to see who it belonged to, but no one moved to answer it. The phone beeped again and I looked at the shop owner, but she shook her head. I stepped down from the pedestal and walked over to my bag. I picked up the new phone and looked at the screen.

“
Who has this number?” There were two text messages.

“
The duchess and the prince, Jess, and your father.” Sarah looked back through her notebook. “And your security detail.”

651-555-1212:
How is the dress shopping going?

I grabbed my other phone and checked to make sure it really was Alex’s number before replying.

ME:
I hate it, but I found one.

Alex:
Send me a picture.

ME:
Nope.

Alex:
Then send me a picture without the dress.

ME:
Pervert.

Alex:
You have no idea.

I laughed and turned the phone off. When I looked up, I realized everyone was staring at me. “What?”

“
Who was that?” Jess asked, her eyes amused.

“
Alex.” I cleared my throat and turned back to the shop owner. “I’d like to get this one. Do you have anything else made by this designer?”

“
As a matter of fact, I do.” The shop owner’s eyes lit up and I realized I hadn’t thought to ask the price. I tried to see the tag under my arm, but there were no numbers—never a good sign. I looked back at the mirror and decided that at this point, it didn’t matter. I was getting the dress.