A Princess for Christmas - Jenny Holiday Page 0,89

afraid of insulting him.”

Shit. “Write me up a new one. I’ll sign it.” He contemplated asking her for the name of this dude, but checked the impulse. What was he going to do? Hunt him down vigilante-justice style?

“I don’t want you to. I just wanted to explain.”

“Princess, I appreciate the trust, but now I’m going to have to insist on signing one.” He had been thinking about the document as an affront to his pride, as a symbol of the gulf between them. He hadn’t been thinking of it from her point of view, about what she risked when she made herself vulnerable to men who might turn out to be dickheads.

“No,” she said decisively. “It’s good to reevaluate one’s habits periodically. Actions one performs by rote that may not . . . be serving one anymore.” He was ramping up to object again, but she cut him off. “Let’s find Gabby, shall we?”

Back at the castle, Frau Lehman reported that Gabby had enjoyed both skiing and horseback riding, that Mr. Benz had taken to his bed exhausted, and that she had escorted Gabby to the library to borrow a book, then tucked her into her room for a rest.

Except Gabby wasn’t in her room when Leo and Marie poked their heads in. “I bet she’s back in the library,” Leo had ventured, and yep. When they appeared, she sprang up from where she was sitting on an old-fashioned-looking sofa surrounded by haphazard piles of books. She was holding an equally old-fashioned-looking volume in her hands. “Oh my gosh, Leo! Look at this!” Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes bright with excitement.

“The Red Fairy Book,” he read aloud from the faded gold-leaf lettering on the battered cover. “Andrew Lang.”

“It’s in English, unlike a lot of the rest of the books in here, and it’s full of fairy tales I’ve never heard of!”

“Yes,” came a posh voice from behind them. Leo didn’t have to turn to know it was King Emil. He braced himself for a royal damper to be put on what had, so far, been an incredible day. “Remarkably,” the king drawled, “it turns out your Disney schlock isn’t the sum total of the world’s folklore.”

“Father,” Marie said.

Emil ignored his daughter and turned to Gabby. “Miss Ricci, I must ask you not to use my library if you’re going to treat its contents so carelessly.”

Leo sighed and turned back to his sister, the princess of clutter. On the one hand, he couldn’t really argue with the king. Gabby’s room at home was a complete sty. And that was saying something, because it wasn’t like Leo had the highest standards himself on the domestic front—it was another arena where he constantly felt he wasn’t keeping up.

“Oh!” Gabby turned red and started stacking books like she was on speed.

On the other hand, King Emil could go fuck himself.

Leo turned to say as much, but Marie had her father by the elbow and was in the process of yanking him out of the room.

Well. Okay then.

“He’s a royal jerkface,” Leo muttered as he helped Gabby put the books back on the shelves.

Gabby giggled, which had been his aim, but then said, quietly, “Frau Lehman said I could use the library.”

“Yes,” Leo said. “But did she say you could treat it like your own personal property and mess it up like this?”

“No. She said I could borrow one book and take it to my room, which I did . . . but then I came back.” She hung her head. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to, kiddo.” As much as he hated it.

Marie invited Mr. Benz to stay for cocktails and dinner. He was startled by her invitation but accepted, as she’d known he would. Instead of seeing it as an invitation he was free to refuse, he would regard it as his duty. She was using him, shamelessly, as she had that morning. It wasn’t something she normally did, and she vowed not to make a habit of it. But she hoped his presence might act as a buffer between her father and the Riccis. Not that Mr. Benz was known for his sparkling, upbeat personality, but she didn’t have a lot of options here. Anyway, he was often so wound up this time of year that it might have the side effect of doing him some good.

To her surprise, though, they didn’t really need him.

Gabby marched straight up to her father and said, “Your Majesty, I