Marrying the Rebel Prince: Your invitation to the most uplifting romantic royal wedding of 2018!. Janet Gover
come.’
‘That’s horrid.’ The words were out before she could stop them. Lauren sensed Courtauld almost flinch. His Royal Highness, however, just raised one eyebrow. That made Lauren even angrier.
‘You know nothing about those kids. And their lives and how important something like this might be to them. A bright moment in an otherwise difficult life. Maybe it’s a glimpse of something they only ever dreamed about. Those photos mean something to them, although if they could hear you now, they probably wouldn’t be so proud of them. Those kids deserve better treatment. Being rich and royal doesn’t excuse you from behaving well. Quite the reverse. If we are supposed to consider you to be so much better than the rest of us, you should at least have better manners than we do.’
Something flickered in the prince’s deep blue eyes. Was it anger or shame? Lauren hoped it was the latter, but she seriously doubted it. Shame was not an emotion common to people who lived in palaces.
‘Well, Miss Phelps, you don’t mince words.’ The prince sauntered over to the leather sofa, and propped himself casually against one end. ‘You know, in the past my forefathers wouldn’t have taken such an attack lightly. Why, my namesake once had a servant executed for not much more than that. Isn’t that so, Courtauld?’
‘I believe one of the Archduke Nicolas’s servants was executed in 1687.’ Courtauld allowed no taint of emotion to colour his voice. ‘The crime was treason, sir. Perhaps a little more serious.’
‘Quite. Well, what recourse is open to me in this day and age, Courtauld, should I feel myself put out by Miss Phelps’s comments?’
‘The Royal Courts of Justice are ready to serve as always, Your Highness, but I doubt they would consider the matter too grave.’
‘What a pity.’
Throughout the exchange, Prince Nicolas had not for one instant taken his eyes from Lauren’s face. She was quivering, with suppressed rage and mortification. He might be a prince, but she didn’t take this sort of thing from anyone. She gathered the remnants of her pride to her, like thin and battered armour.
‘If you are quite finished, Your Royal Highness, perhaps you could call someone to show me out. I will give you no further need for your executioner.’
To her surprise, the prince started to laugh.
‘Miss Phelps, if you are as eager to paint my portrait as you are to argue with me, we no doubt have an interesting time ahead of us.’
‘You still want me to paint you?’ Lauren was astounded.
‘I certainly do. More than ever.’
Lauren had no answer. He mind was racing, trying to understand what had just happened. Had she made the prince her enemy, or her friend? She was still trying to decide when he rose gracefully to his feet and glanced at his watch.
‘I’m afraid I must leave now. Other duties. And before I attend to them, I must take time to learn about the people I shall be meeting.’ His lips twitched with a hint of mischief. ‘Courtauld will show you out. Please tell him what arrangements he needs to make for your studio.’
‘My studio?’ Lauren had no idea what he was talking about.
‘I imagine you will need to spend a certain amount of time observing me, doing preliminary sketches. That sort of thing?’
Lauren nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
‘Then it will be much easier on all of us if we find you a studio here in the palace. Somewhere close to my own rooms, I think.’
‘Yes. Yes … of course,’ Lauren stammered.
‘Good. That’s settled. It’s been a great pleasure. Miss Phelps.’ One long stride and he was next to her. He reached down to take her hand. ‘A very great pleasure, indeed.’
Her hand felt very small as he took it. Lauren was very conscious of the warmth of his hand, and the promise of great strength in his firm but gentle grasp. She raised her eyes to meet his, and felt a curious sensation stir in her chest. After a long, long moment, he released her hand and turned away. Pausing to collect jacket and tie, he moved quickly to the other door. He opened it, and passed through. Almost. He paused for one second, and turned back to where Lauren was standing, still too confused to move.
‘By the way, Miss Phelps, I do like your hair. The stripes are interesting and the blue suits you. It brings out the colour of your eyes.’
Then he was gone.
‘You didn’t really say that?’
‘Yes I did,’ Lauren almost wailed, and dropped her forehead onto the wooden tabletop with a distinct thud. ‘Ow!’ Just another small pain to add to the many she had endured since she walked through the palace gates yesterday.
To her surprise, Maria laughed gaily. Lauren lifted her head from the table and glared at her friend. ‘How can you laugh?’
‘How can I not laugh?’ Maria chuckled as she held out a cup of steaming coffee. ‘Here, drink this.’ She settled into the seat opposite Lauren. ‘It can’t possibly be as bad as you say. He did invite you back.’
‘Yes, that’s the worst part!’
‘Of course it is. Being offered a lot of money to paint a portrait that will make your career. Shocking. I don’t know how you can even consider it!’
Lauren looked up at her friend’s face. Maria’s brown eyes were alight with laughter. She felt a weight slowly lift from her shoulders, and grinned back. ‘Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Maria pushed a tub of fruit yoghurt and a spoon across the table. ‘Now tell me, what’s he really like? Is he as handsome as he looks on TV?’
‘Oh yes, and then some.’ Lauren dipped her spoon into the creamy yoghurt. ‘But …’
‘But what?’ Her friend prompted her.
‘He’s everything I thought he would be – rich and spoiled and arrogant and rude.’
‘I hope you didn’t start that,’ Maria said.
‘Start what?’
‘Don’t play innocent with me. You know what I mean. Tell me you didn’t get all socialist on his rather lovely arse.’
‘But he’s just proved that I’m right!’ Lauren was determined not to be distracted by thoughts of the royal rear end. ‘He sits up there is his fancy palace, paid for by our taxes. All he has to do in return is be nice to a few schoolchildren and get his photo taken. He can’t even be bothered to do that well. If he was that bad at a real job, he’d be fired in an instant. But we can’t fire him, because he was born into …’
‘Enough.’ Maria held her hands up in mock surrender. ‘There’s no need to storm the barricades. I get it.’
‘Sorry,’ Lauren said. ‘I do get carried away sometimes, I know. But it’s just not right for him to think he’s better than everyone else, just because of the family he was born into. A person should be judged by their own actions, not by the circumstances of their birth.’
Lauren believed that with all her heart. She had to, because it was the only way she could believe in herself.
‘You did say you needed the money.’
‘I know,’ Lauren said, her shoulders sagging. ‘And I do. He has a wonderful face that’ll be a real challenge to paint, but I might prefer his less pretty relatives if they were better behaved.’
‘Maybe he was having a bad day.’
‘Does someone in his position ever have a bad day? Even if he did, it doesn’t excuse him,’ Lauren declared. ‘He’s