Cinderella: Hired by the Prince

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE moment he swung back into the palace grounds affairs of State took over again. Ramón couldn’t stay to watch Philippe’s reaction to being back at the palace. He couldn’t stay to see that Consuela and Ernesto were treated right.

He couldn’t stay with Jenny.

‘We can do this. Go,’ Jenny told him and he had no choice. He went, to meeting upon interminable meeting. Once again he was forced to work until the small hours.

Finally, exhausted beyond belief, he made his way through the palace corridors towards his personal chambers. Once again he passed Jenny’s door-and he didn’t knock.

But then he reached the nursery. To his surprise, Manuel was standing outside the door, at attention. The footmen were posted at the top of the stairs. Had a change been ordered? But Manuel spoke before he could ask.

‘I’m not permitted to move,’ the man said, and it was as if a statue had come to life. ‘But the little boy and Señorina Bertin… I thought you wouldn’t wish them harm so I took it upon myself to stay here.’

‘Good idea.’ He hesitated, taking in the full context of what the man had said. Reaching the crux. ‘Señorina Bertin’s in there?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Manuel said and he opened the nursery door before Ramón could say he hadn’t meant to go in; he was only passing.

Only of course he had meant to go in. Just to check.

Manuel closed the door after him. The room was in darkness but the moon was full, the curtains weren’t drawn and he could see the outline of the bed against the windows. It was a truly vast bed for a small child. A ridiculous bed.

He moved silently across the room and looked down-and there were two mounds in the bed. A child-sized one, with a cat-shaped bump over his feet, and a Jenny-shaped one, and the Jenny-shaped one spoke.

‘You’re not a Hun?’ she whispered, and he blinked.

‘Pardon?’

‘Manuel’s saving us from the Huns. I thought you might have overpowered him and be about to…plunder and pillage. I’m very glad you’re not.’

‘I’m glad I’m not a Hun either,’ he said and smiled down at her, and he could feel her smile back, even if he couldn’t quite see it. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Shh. He’s only just gone back to sleep.’

He tugged a chair forward and sat, then leaned forward so he was inches away from Jenny’s face. Philippe was separated from them by Jenny’s body but he could see that her arm was around him. The sight made him feel…made him feel…

No. There were no words to describe it.

‘This is Consuela’s job,’ he managed.

‘She was here until midnight. The staff put Consuela and Ernesto into one of the state apartments, and it’s so grand it’s made Ernesto quiver. Ernesto seems more frightened than Philippe so I said I’d stay.’

She said she’d stay. With a little boy who was the same age as her Matty. In this room that he’d once slept in. He looked at her, at the way Philippe’s body was curved against hers, at the way she was holding him, and he felt things slither and change within him. Knots that had been around his heart for ever slipped away, undone, free.

‘Gianetta…’ he whispered and placed his fingers on her lips, wondering. If she’d found the courage to do this…

‘Shh,’ she said again. ‘He woke and he was a little upset. I don’t want him to wake again.’

‘But you soothed him.’

‘I told him the story of the whale. He loved it. I told him about his cousin, the hero, saviour of whales. Saviour of this country. We both thought it was pretty cool.’

‘Gianetta…’

‘Jenny. Your employee. And Manuel is out there.’

‘Manuel can go…’

‘Manuel can’t go,’ she said seriously. ‘Neither of us is sure where to take this. You need to sleep, Ramón.’

‘I want…’

‘I know,’ she said softly and she placed a finger on his lips in turn. ‘We both want. I can feel it, and it’s wonderful. But there’s things to think about for both of us. For now… Give me my self-respect and go to your own bedroom tonight.’ She smiled at him then and he was close enough to see a lovely loving smile that made his heart turn over. ‘Besides,’ she said. ‘Tonight I’m sleeping with Philippe. One man a night, my love. I have my reputation to think of.’

‘He’s not Matty,’ he said before he could stop himself.

‘Philippe’s not Matty, no.’

‘But… Jenny, doesn’t that tear you in two?’

‘I thought it would,’ she said on a note of wonder. ‘But now… He fits exactly under my arm. He’s not Matty but it’s as if Matty has made a place for him. It feels right.’

‘Jenny…’

‘Go to bed, Ramón,’ she said simply. ‘We all have a lot of thinking to do this night.’

He left and she was alone in the dark with a sleeping child. She’d given her heart, she thought. She’d given it to both of them, just like that.

What if they didn’t want it?

It was theirs, she thought, like it or not.

Bebe stirred and wriggled and padded his way up the bed to check she was still breathing, that she’d still react if he kneaded his paws on the bedcover.

‘Okay, I can learn to love you, too,’ she told the little cat. ‘As long as your claws don’t get all the way through the quilt.’ Satisfied, Bebe slumped down on the coverlet across her breast and went back to sleep, leaving her with her thoughts.

‘They have to want me,’ she whispered in the dark. ‘Oh, they have to want me or I’m in such big trouble.’

And in the royal bedchamber, the apartment of the Crown Prince of Cepheus, there was no sleep at all.

Once upon a time a child had slept alone in this palace and known terror. Now the man lay alone in his palace and knew peace.

He woke and he knew, but he couldn’t do a thing about it.

It’d take him a week, Señor Rodriguez told him, this signing, signing and more signing. He had to formally accept the role of Crown Prince before he could begin to delegate, so from dawn his time was not his own.

‘I need two hours this afternoon,’ he growled to his lawyer as he saw his packed diary. ‘You’ve scheduled me an hour for lunch. Take fifteen minutes from each delegation; that gives me another hour, so between one and three is mine.’

‘I’ve already started organising it,’ his lawyer told him. ‘We all want you to have time with the child.’

‘All?’

‘I believe the staff have been missing him,’ the lawyer said primly. ‘It seems there are undercurrents neither the Princess Sofía nor I guessed.’

He didn’t say more, but they agreed a message would be sent to Jenny and to Philippe that he’d spend the early afternoon with them. Then Ramón put his head down and worked.

He finished just before one. He’d have finished earlier only someone dared ask a question. Was he aware there were up to fifty students in each class in the local schools, and didn’t he agree this was so urgent it had to be remedied right now?

He did agree. How could he put his own desire to be with Jenny and Philippe before the welfare of so many other children? Señor Rodriguez disappeared, leaving Ramón to listen and think and agree to meet about the issue again tomorrow. Finally he was free to walk out, to find the whereabouts of Philippe…and of Jenny.

‘They’re by the pool, Your Highness.’ It was the maid who normally brought in his coffee and, to his astonishment, she smiled as she bobbed her normal curtsy. ‘It’s so good to have him back sir. There’s refreshments being served now. If you’d like to have your lunch with them…’

Bemused, he strolled out the vast palace doors into the gardens overlooking the sea.

There was a party happening by the pool, and the perfection of the scene before him was marred. Or not marred, he corrected himself. Just changed.

The landscape to the sea had been moulded to create a series of rock pools and waterfalls tumbling down towards the sea. Shade umbrellas and luxurious cream beach loungers were discreetly placed among semi-tropical foliage, blending unobtrusively into the magical garden setting.

Now, however… At the biggest rock pool chairs and tables had been hauled forward to make a circle. There were balloons attached around every umbrella. This wasn’t tasteful at all, he thought with wry amusement. The balloons were all colours and sizes, as though some had been blown up by men with good lungs, and some had been blown up by a five-year-old. They were attached to the umbrellas by red ribbons, with vast crimson bows under each bunch.

And there were sea dragons floating in the rock pool. Huge plastic sea dragons, red, green and pink, with sparkly tiaras. Sea dragons with tiaras? What on earth…?

Jenny was in the water, and so was Philippe and so was…Sofía? They were on a sea dragon apiece, kicking their way across the water, seemingly racing. Sofía was wearing neck to knee swimmers and she was winning, whooping her elderly lungs out with excitement.

There was more, he thought, stunned. Señor Rodriguez was sitting by the edge of the pool, wearing shorts, his skinny frame a testament to a life spent at his desk. He was cheering Sofía at full roar. As were Consuela and Ernesto, yelling their lungs out for their foster son. ‘Go, Philippe, go!’

There were also servants, all in their ridiculous uniforms, but each of them was yelling as loudly as everyone else. And another woman was cheering too, a woman who looked vaguely familiar. And then he recognised her. Perpetua. Carlos’s wife! What the…?

He didn’t have time to take it all in. Sofía reached the wall by a full length of sea dragon. Philippe came second and Jenny fell off her dragon from laughing.

It felt crazy. It was a palace transformed into something else entirely. He watched as Philippe turned anxiously to find Jenny. She surfaced, still laughing, she hugged him and his heart twisted and he forgot about everything, everyone else.

She saw him. She waved and then staggered-holding Philippe with one arm was a skill yet to be mastered. ‘Welcome to our pool party, Your Highness,’ she called. ‘Have you come to try our sausage rolls?’

‘Sausage rolls,’ he said faintly, and looked at the table where there was enough food for a small army.

‘Your chefs have never heard of sausage rolls,’ she said, clambering up the pool steps with Philippe in her arms and grinning as Sofía staggered out as well, still clutching her sea dragon. ‘Philippe and I had to teach them. And we have fairy bread and lamingtons, and tacos and tortillas and strawberries and éclairs-and I love this place. Philippe does too, don’t you Philippe? We’ve decided it’s the best place to visit in the world.’

Visit. He stood and watched as woman and child disappeared under vast towels and he thought…visit.

‘Oh, and we invited Perpetua,’ Jenny said from under her towel, motioning in the general direction of the pallid little lady standing uncertainly under the nearest umbrella. Perpetua gave him a shy, scared smile. ‘You know Carlos’s wife? And Carlos, too.’

‘And Carlos, too?’ he demanded. Perpetua’s smile slipped.

‘I told him to come,’ she whispered. ‘When Gianetta invited us. He said he would. He just has to…he’s been making silly threats that he doesn’t mean. He wants to apologise.’ Her voice was almost pleading. ‘He’d never hurt…’

And maybe he wouldn’t, Ramón thought. For Carlos was approaching them now, escorted by palace footmen. The footmen were walking really close. Really close.

‘He’s not going to hurt anyone,’ Perpetua whispered. ‘He’s just been silly. I was so pleased when Gianetta rang. He needs a chance to explain.’

‘Explain what?’ Ramón said and Perpetua fell silent, waiting for Carlos himself to answer.

Ramón’s gaze flew to Jenny. She met his gaze full on. She’d set this up, he thought.

One of the maids had taken over rubbing Philippe dry. The maid was laughing and scolding, making Philippe smile back. She was a servant he’d thought lacked emotion.

Had the servants turned to ice through mistreatment and fear?

What else had fear done?

He looked again at Carlos, a big, stupid man who for a few short weeks, while Ramón couldn’t be found, had thought the throne was his. For the dream to be snatched away must have shattered his world.

Maybe stupid threats could be treated as they deserved, Ramón thought, feeling suddenly extraordinarily light-headed. And if threats weren’t there…

‘We invited both Carlos and Perpetua,’ Jenny was saying. ‘Because of Philippe. Philippe says Perpetua’s always been nice to him.’

‘He’s a sweetheart,’ Perpetua said stoutly, becoming braver. ‘I worried about him whenever I stayed here.’

‘You used to stay in the palace?’ Ramón asked, surprised again. What had Señor Rodriguez told him? Perpetua was a nice enough woman, intelligent, trained as a grade school teacher, but always made to feel inferior to Carlos’s royal relatives.

‘A lot,’ Perpetua said, becoming braver. ‘Carlos liked being here. Philippe and I became friends, didn’t we, sweetheart. But then Carlos said some silly things.’ Her gaze met her husband’s. ‘I used to believe…well, I’m a royal wife and a royal wife stays silent. But Gianetta says that’s ridiculous. So I’m not staying silent any longer. You’re sorry, aren’t you, dear?’

Was he? Ramón watched Carlos, sweating slightly in a suit that was a bit too tight, struggling to come to terms with this new order, and he even felt a bit sorry for him.

‘I shouldn’t have said it,’ Carlos managed.

‘You said you’d kill…’

‘You know how it is.’ Carlos was almost pleading. ‘I mean…heat of the moment. I was only saying…you know, wild stuff. What I’d do if you didn’t look after the country…that sort of thing. It got blown up. You didn’t take it seriously. Please tell me you didn’t take it seriously.’

Was that it? Ramón thought, relief running through him in waves. History had created fear-not fear for himself but fear for family. His family.

A family he could now build. In time…

And with that thought came another. He wasn’t alone.

Delegation. Why not start now?

‘Perpetua, you used to be a grade teacher,’ he said, speaking slowly but thinking fast, thinking back to the meeting he’d just attended. ‘Do you know the conditions in our schools?’

‘Of course I do,’ Perpetua said, confused. ‘I mean, I haven’t taught for twenty years-Carlos doesn’t like me to-but I have friends who are still teachers. They have such a hard time…’

‘Tomorrow morning I’m meeting with a deputation to see what can be done about the overcrowding in our classrooms,’ he said. ‘Would you like to join us?’

‘Me?’ she gasped.

‘I need help,’ he said simply. ‘And Carlos… How can you help?’

There was stunned silence. Even Philippe, who was wrapped in a towel and was now wrapping himself around a sausage roll stopped mid-bite and stared. This man who’d made blustering threats to kill…

How can you help?

Jenny moved then, inconspicuously slipping to his side. She stood close and she took his hand, as if she realized just how big it was. Just how important this request was.

Defusing threats to create a future.

Refusing to stand alone for one moment longer.

‘I can’t…’ Carlos managed at last. ‘There’s nothing.’

‘Yes, dear, there is.’ Perpetua had found her voice, and she, too, slipped to stand beside her man. ‘Sports. Carlos loves them, loves watching them, but there’s never been enough money to train our teenagers. And the football stadium’s falling down.’

‘You like football?’ Ramón asked.

‘Football,’ Philippe said, lighting up.

‘I…’

‘You could give me reports on sports facilities,’ Ramón said, thinking fast, trying to figure out something meaningful that the man could do. ‘Tell me what needs to be done. Put in your recommendations. I don’t know this country. You do. I need help on the ground. So what do we have here? Assistant to the Crown for Education. Assistant to the Crown for Sport.’

‘And I’ll be Assistant to the Crown for New Uniforms for The Staff,’ Sofía said happily. ‘I’d like to help with that.’

‘I can help with floating,’ Philippe said gamely. ‘But can I help with football, too?’

‘And Gianetta?’ Perpetua said, looking anxious. ‘What about Jenny?’

‘I need to figure that out,’ Ramón said softly, holding his love close, his world suddenly settling in a way that was leaving him stunned. ‘In private.’

Philippe had finished his sausage roll now, and he carried the loaded tray over to his big cousin.

‘Would you like to eat one?’ he asked. ‘And then will you teach me to float some more?’

‘Of course I will,’ he said. ‘On one condition.’

Philippe looked confused, as well he might.

No matter. Sometimes a prince simply had to allocate priorities, and this was definitely that time. He tugged Jenny tighter, then, audience or not, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a swift possessive kiss. It was a kiss that said he was pushed for time. He knew he couldn’t take this further, not here, not now, but there was more where that came from.

‘My condition to you all,’ he said softly, kissing her once more, a long lingering kiss that said, pushed for time or not, this was what he wanted most in the world, ‘is that Señor Rodriguez changes my diary. This night is mine.’

The car came to collect her just before sunset. She was dressed again as Gianetta, in a long diaphanous dress made of the finest layers of silk and chiffon with the diamonds at her throat. Two maids and Sofía and Consuela and Perpetua had clucked over her to distraction. Sofía had added a diamond bracelet of her own, and had wept a little.

‘Oh, my dear, you’re so beautiful,’ she’d said mistily. ‘Do you think he’ll propose?’

Jenny hadn’t answered. She couldn’t. She was torn between laughter and tears.

Ramón’s kisses had promised everything, but nothing had been said. Mistress to a Crown Prince? Wife?

Dared she think wife?

How could she think anything? After a fast floating lesson Ramón had been swept away yet again on his interminable business and she’d been left only with his demand.

‘A car will come for you at seven. Be ready.’

She was ready, but she was daring to think nothing.

Finally, at seven the car came and Señor Rodriguez handed her into the limousine with care and with pride. The reverberations from this afternoon were being felt all around the country, and the lawyer couldn’t stop smiling.

‘Where’s Ramón?’ she managed.

‘Waiting for you,’ the lawyer said, sounding inscrutable until he added, ‘How could any man not?’

So she was driven in state, alone, with only a chauffeur for company. The great white limousine was driven slowly through the city, out along the coast road, up onto a distant headland where it drew to a halt.

Two uniformed footmen met her, Manuel and Luis, trying desperately to be straight-faced. There was a footpath leading from where the car pulled in to park, winding through a narrow section of overgrown cliff. Manuel and Luis led her silently along the path, emerged into a clearing, then slipped silently back into the shadows. Leaving her to face what was before her.

And what was before her made her gasp. A headland looking out all over the moonlit Mediterranean. A table for two. Crisp white linen. Two cushioned chairs with high, high backs, draped all in white velvet, each leg fastened with crimson ties.

Silverware, crystal, a candelabrum magnificent enough to take her breath away.

Soft music coming from behind a slight rise. Real music. There were real musicians somewhere behind the trees.

Champagne on ice.

And then Ramón stepped from the shadows, Ramón in full ceremonial, Ramón looking more handsome than any man she’d met.

The sound of frogs came from beneath the music behind him. Her frog prince?

‘If I kiss you, will you join your friends, the frogs?’ she whispered before she could help herself and he laughed and came towards her and took her hands in his.

‘No kissing,’ he said tenderly. ‘Not yet.’

‘What…?’ She could barely speak. ‘What are we waiting for?’

‘This,’ he said and went down on bended knee.

She closed her eyes. This couldn’t be happening.

This was happening.

‘This should wait until after dinner,’ he said softly, ‘but it’s been burning a hole in my pocket for three hours now.’ And, without more words, he lifted a crimson velvet box and held it open. A diamond ring lay in solitary splendour, a diamond so wonderful…so amazing…

‘Is it real?’ she gasped and he chuckled.

‘That’s Jenny speaking. I think we need Gianetta to give us the right sense of decorum.’

Gianetta. She took a deep breath and fought for composure. She could do this.

‘Sire, you do me honour.’

‘That’s more like it,’ he said and his dark eyes gleamed with love and with laughter. ‘So, Gianetta, Jenny, my love, my sailor, my cook extraordinaire, my heart…I give you my love. The past has made us solitary, but it’s up to both of us to move forward. To leave solitude and pain behind. You’ve shown me courage, and I trust that I can match it. So Gianetta, my dearest love, if I promise to love you, cherish you, honour you, for as long as we both shall live, will you do me the honour of taking my hand in marriage?’

She looked down into his loving eyes. Then she paused for a moment, taking time to gaze around her, at the night, at the stars, the accoutrements of royalty, at the lights of Cepheus glowing around them. Knowing also there was a little boy waiting as well.

Her family. Her love, starting now.

‘I believe I will,’ she said gently and, before he could respond, she dropped to her own knees and she took his hands in hers.

‘Yes, my love and my prince, I believe I will.’