Даниэла Стил - Royal

“On horseback preferably. You can always join the circus if you’re bored.”

“Thank you,” she said primly.

“Just don’t get yourself killed in those second-rate amateur races in Australia. Be careful, Annie. I know you won’t be, but I’ll worry about you.”

“No, you won’t.” She laughed at him. “You’ll be too busy giving parties to think about me.”

He looked serious when he answered. “That’s not true. I think about you a lot. And I do worry about you. You need someone to take care of you.”

“No, I don’t,” she said stubbornly, jutting out her chin. “I’m tougher than I look.”

“And more vulnerable and innocent than you think. I don’t want anyone taking advantage of you.” He felt protective of her, which was new for him.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. He remembered all too easily how terrified he had been when he thought she was dead when she fell off the horse during their second race. They had never raced again. She was like his little sister now. She was unfamiliar with the world she had been catapulted into, and the people in it, who would have liked to take advantage of her in countless ways. Anthony was well versed with that world, she wasn’t.

“Just be careful.” They went to his room after dinner that night, for the first time. But she knew she had nothing to fear from him now. He wasn’t a masher, there were more than enough women who were desperate for him, and they had genuinely become friends.

He poured her a short glass of gin, and she made a face when she drank it. He drank a malt whiskey, neat, and they sat talking for a while, and then she got up to leave.

“We got a new horse today. I’m exercising him tomorrow to get a feeling for him,” she said as she stood up. “I’m going to miss this place.”

“They should hire you. You’re better than any of the trainers they’ve got.” He meant it, and walked her to the door, and she looked up at him with a smile. She seemed so tiny standing in front of him as she looked into his eyes, and for the first time, he wanted desperately to kiss her, but didn’t dare. There was a long awkward moment as she looked up at him and felt something too. She thought it was the gin, but he knew it wasn’t the whiskey, it was her. But the last thing he needed was a royal princess, and to have his life run by the queen and the Crown and the cabinet, who would have to give their permission for every move he made if they ever got serious. He couldn’t think of anything worse or more restrictive. He liked being a free man. He bent down toward Annie then, and kissed her gently on the cheek, with greater tenderness than she had expected, or he had intended to show her. He wanted desperately to put his arms around her, but resisted the urge, and she scampered back to her room with a wave and closed the door.

“No!” he said to himself out loud as he closed his own door. “Never! Don’t be ridiculous. She’s a child.” But she wasn’t a child, she was a woman, and there was something so damn enchanting about her. He poured himself another whiskey, and lay down on his bed and fell asleep. He woke when he heard her leave for the stables at six o’clock the next morning, right on schedule. But he had come to his senses by then, and the moment had passed.

He left for London that morning to start his new job, and two weeks later, as she packed to leave, Annie had two surprises. One from Lord Hatton, and the other from the queen.

Lord Hatton offered her a job at the queen’s stables as an assistant trainer, and she was thrilled. He asked what her plans were, and she said she was traveling for the next few weeks. He invited her to return when she got back, and move into the trainers’ quarters and start her job. He was as pleased as she was, and delighted when she accepted, and he said the queen would be too.

The second surprise she got in a letter from the queen’s secretary. Her Majesty wanted Her Royal Highness to be the first to know. Mr. Jonathan Baker was to be knighted. The queen had several discretionary titles that were in her gift, and knighted certain subjects when she deemed it appropriate. For being responsible for returning Her Royal Highness Anne Louise to her royal family, and asking for nothing in return, but doing it merely for honorable reasons, the queen was proposing to knight him at the end of October, as Sir Jonathan Baker. Annie was even more excited about that, and couldn’t wait to tell him when she got home to Kent that night. She was staying with him and the boys for a few days before leaving for Australia for three weeks, to see if she could ride in any of the amateur races open to women there, even as a substitute. Annie had always wanted to go there and try out.

She waited until the end of dinner that night to tell him the big news about his knighthood. The boys were restless and wanted to leave the table, but she told them to wait. Jonathan stared at her when she told him he was going to be knighted, and he had tears in his eyes.

“ Sir Jonathan? Are you joking?” She handed him the letter from the queen’s secretary. “But I didn’t do anything,” he protested. “At first I was afraid they might put me in jail when I tried to reach the queen,” he smiled.

“You did everything, Papa. You found a way to reach the queen. None of this would have happened if you’d stayed silent or lost your nerve. I have two families now, thanks to you, and I’m a princess.” She told him about the job at the stables too. Something wonderful had happened for both of them. She was to be paid a salary for her work, and was pleased. And she didn’t need an apartment in London now.

“What are you doing in Australia?” He always worried about her.

“Just looking around,” she said. He didn’t believe her.

“Don’t do anything foolish.”

“I won’t. And I’ll be back in time for your ceremony.” The twins had been impressed too.

When he told John Markham the next day, he responded with a promotion and a raise. He invented a fancy new title for him, since he was already stable master, and the raise was appropriate. Jonathan had promised to invite him to the ceremony too. And Annie learned while she was home that Annabelle Markham had a new secretary and Jonathan had just started dating her. The twins said she was very nice, and good-looking. Annie was happy for him. He deserved it. He had done so much for her, and always had. He was going to bring his new date to the knighting ceremony too. He still got tears in his eyes whenever he thought about it. He had never expected anything like it to happen to him. He was going to be a knight!

—

Annie left for Sydney after a week at home. She only stayed two weeks in the end, and was disappointed in the amateur races. She thought they were poorly organized and unprofessional. She was able to sign up for two of them and didn’t like her mount in either case. The women were rough and the organizers seemed crude to her. It wasn’t what she had hoped for, and she was happy to come home, although she thought the country was interesting.

She was happy to be back in England, and had dinner with Anthony when she returned. He was having one of his first events in the new job that weekend, and wanted her to come. It was to introduce a well-known American into British social circles. He’d rented a fabulous house in Mayfair for the weekend to give the party.

“I feel a bit like a pimp doing this kind of thing,” Anthony admitted to her. “These guys want to meet women, mostly hookers in the end, and be seen with respectable women. I draw the line at drugs, but they expect me to do everything for them. And they’re powerful men. They don’t take no for an answer. Will you come?” he asked her hopefully.