Royal Holiday - Jasmine Guillory Page 0,6
you a tour of the estate. Unless you had other plans for this morning?”
She shook her head again.
“I didn’t, and I’d love a tour, but are you sure you have time? Your . . . boss doesn’t need you?”
He reached for a napkin and wrapped up two more scones.
“We meet in the mornings; she rarely goes off schedule.”
Julia smiled at Vivian.
“Ms. Forest, lunch is at one o’clock, but feel free to drop in if you need another snack in the meantime, though one of those scones in my good napkin had better be for you.”
Malcolm lifted his hands, one of which was holding on to the napkin-wrapped scones.
“Both of them can be for her if she wants! Ms. Forest is from California; she isn’t used to the damp air here. She’ll need something to warm her up.”
Julia laughed and turned away from him. She pressed some button in the corner of the room.
“Gregory, can you please bring Ms. Forest’s coat to the kitchen? Thank you.”
Thirty seconds later, her driver from the night before delivered her coat and scarf to the kitchen.
“Are you ready, Ms. Forest?” Hot Chocolate / Malcolm Hudson asked.
She’d just come downstairs for coffee, and now she was going on a tour around Sandringham with the Queen’s Private Secretary? Who happened to be a really attractive black man? England was treating her well so far.
“Lead the way,” she said.
Chapter Two
Malcolm had no idea what had prompted him to offer Vivian Forest a tour of Sandringham. This would ruin his well-planned morning. He didn’t give people tours, and he didn’t even know much about the Sandringham Estate. But something about Vivian’s smile had made him want to talk to her for longer than it took to eat his scones.
Plus, he’d been feeling strangely restless this week. Maybe it was because he was here at Sandringham, instead of at home in London, and had been forced out of his normal routine, but he’d been fighting off boredom. Which was ridiculous, just on the face of it—he was only up here because Parliament was being anything but boring right now—but for some reason, he’d needed something to break the pattern he felt stuck in. That feeling was what had made him walk over to Sycamore Cottage this morning, so he supposed playing tour guide was his punishment for his restlessness.
He glanced over at Vivian and laughed to himself. Vivian Forest, with her bright smile, glowing skin, and curvy body, looked like a reward, not a punishment. He didn’t know what he’d been rewarded for, but he was grateful, nonetheless. He made a mental note to say yes to the next thing the Duchess’s office asked him for.
Vivian wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck when they stepped outside.
“Cold, Ms. Forest?” he asked.
She laughed.
“Very, but I’m enjoying it. I rarely go anywhere colder than Northern California at this time of year, so it’s fun to experience actual winter. I’m glad my daughter made me buy this coat, though.”
He smiled at her pink cheeks and wide eyes as she looked around at the trees surrounding them, some still holding on to their leaves.
“Oh, but that brings up one more thing.” She stopped and turned to him. “I don’t want to be the rude American, and I’m trying to follow all of these English customs, but . . . please, call me Vivian. I haven’t been called Ms. Forest this much since Maddie was in school.”
Malcolm laughed. This attitude of hers was why he’d smiled as soon as Vivian had walked into the kitchen, and why he’d invited her on this tour of the estate. He’d been both surprised and delighted by her demeanor when she’d walked in. Almost all guests of the royal family fell into one of two categories: either they were full of themselves and their own consequence, and felt the need to demand things from the staff at all hours of the day just to get what they felt they deserved, or they were overcome with all of the grandeur and refused to ask the staff for anything, even though that made it impossible for the staff to do their jobs.
Vivian, however, was different. She had such a strong and joyful sense of self when she walked into the kitchen. She was neither demanding nor bashful; just friendly and inquisitive and smiling.
“It will be my pleasure, Vivian. And I’m Malcolm, by the way.”
She smiled.
“Hi, Malcolm, nice to meet you, and thank you for humoring me. And thank you for picking