Royal - Danielle Steel Page 0,86
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