Sandringham?”
He glanced down at her, and a smile spread over his face. Was he smiling because of how she looked in her hat? She knew she shouldn’t have put this thing on.
“At a nearby hotel,” he said. “I’ve stayed in one of the rooms in the house once before, and never again. That was the most uncomfortable few days in my life.”
She laughed at the look of reminiscent horror on his face.
“Why? What was so terrible about it?”
He held up a hand.
“You feel how cold it is right here, outside, walking into the wind? That’s how cold it is inside that house at night when you’re trying to sleep. It was built in the 1800s, there’s no central heating, and every window somehow has at least four drafts in it, even though that doesn’t make sense. I knew all of that going in, of course, but I didn’t understand what it would feel like. I even brought an extra blanket, but I should have brought an entire tauntaun to cut open and get in the middle of.”
When she laughed, he shook his head.
“Oh, I’m not done. It’s worse during the holidays, because the whole family comes for Christmas, so any staff who has to be up here—and even some of the family members—get assigned to old servants’ quarters. And one thing that people really did not care about when building homes in the 1800s was the comfort of their servants.” He led her into a small parking lot. “Now, I stay in a nice, small hotel in town, where the woman who owns it loves the royal family and therefore treats me with an overwhelming amount of respect because I work for the Queen. Normally, I hate that, but for a hotel, it’s ideal. I’m never bothered when I don’t want to be, the temperature in my room is always perfect, and I can get meals whenever I want, which is all I need from a hotel.”
He unlocked his car and smiled at her.
“How are you enjoying your stay at Sycamore Cottage? Other than Julia’s delicious food, of course.”
She laughed.
“You can’t separate those two things—I’m sure I’ll be talking about Julia’s delicious food for years to come. She made ham and cheese croissants for breakfast today—just because! I had one warm out of the oven.” She could still taste that first flaky, savory, buttery bite. “But everything has been lovely—the Duke and Duchess are very kind, and it’s a quite comfortable house. If only I didn’t have jet lag, this trip would be perfect so far.” She laughed. “But at least I can text my family and friends back home in the middle of the night.”
When they got into his car, he flicked on the heated seats on her side.
“Ah, but you’re on vacation,” he said. “You can supplement those middle-of-the-night wake-ups with a nice afternoon nap. I’ll get you back just in time for it.”
She grinned at him.
“First the nap, then more tea and more of Julia’s treats—I could get used to this kind of vacation.”
Malcolm drove off the estate and toward the town. He suddenly realized he was actually alone with Vivian for the first time—every other time he’d seen her, they’d been surrounded by the many visible and invisible people who lived and worked on the Sandringham Estate. But now they were off the estate and alone in his car. It felt freeing.
“There’s a pub right in town that’s perfect on a chilly day like today, if that’s okay with you.”
She nodded.
“That sounds wonderful. Though I may need a translator. You have all sorts of food here in England that I’ve never heard of in California.”
He laughed.
“Separated by a common language indeed,” he said. “But yes, I’ll be happy to translate for you if needed, though there will absolutely be some recognizable things like fish and chips and chicken pie on the menu.”
She turned to him and pursed her lips together.
“Chicken . . . pot pie?”
He bit his lip.
“Maybe not so recognizable after all!”
She took her gloves off and tucked them into her pocket.
“Well, this could be a very educational lunch.”
They walked into the pub a few minutes later and were quickly seated at a small, round table by the fire. The chairs were positioned close to each other, both facing the fire. The table was just snug enough that their arms almost touched.
Vivian took off that knit hat that had made him smile and tucked it into her purse. Her hair went every which way; he