Royal Ruse - Emma Lea Page 0,45

asked.

I nodded. “Yes. So right now it feels like it’s two o’clock in the morning, even though it’s only about nine in the morning at home.”

“You should go and nap,” Meredith said.

“I…uh…”

“Were you waiting for me to tell you it was all right to leave?” Meredith asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“I wasn’t sure of the protocol,” I replied. “I figured that if the queen wanted to chat with me, I would be required to stay and chat for as long as she wanted me to. Isn’t that a thing? I mean, I heard that no one can leave the Queen of England’s dinner table until she has finished eating and when she is finished everyone else has their plates taken away too, if they’re finished or not.” Oh, oops…jet lag was making me forget that I was supposed to be polite and gracious and royal. Maya would be appalled.

The queen laughed. “I so understand why Alyssa hated this for so long,” she murmured and then shook her head.

“Um, Alyssa?” I asked. I was already yawning and babbling in front of the queen, impertinent questions couldn’t make it much worse.

“Queen Alyssabeth of Merveille. I was part of her royal guard…Jamie and I both were. That’s how we met. My father is the Prime Minister of Merveille and my brother is a duke in the queen’s court. You will meet them eventually, especially when this little bean is born,” she said, resting her hand on the barely there baby bump.

“Oh, um, okay. I don’t think I’ve heard of Merveille,” I said hesitantly.

Meredith waved my comment away. “Few people have. Now, off you go, have a nap. Don’t bother coming down to dinner if you’re not up to it. Sleep for as long as you need and then tomorrow we can discuss your dissertation in a bit more detail. You’ll want to speak to Jamie?”

I nodded. “Yes, if he has the time. I’d also like to explore the island and talk to the people who lived through the occupation of the usurper.”

Meredith’s smile turned brittle. “Anastas,” she spat. “He has a lot to answer for and if we ever catch him, we will hold him to account.” She shook herself and her smile returned. “I’m sure Jamie will make time for you and your questions and feel free to interview whoever you like, I just ask that you be respectful and get consent. Not everyone is comfortable talking about that tragic time.”

“Of course,” I said, standing and trying my hand at another curtsey.

Meredith laughed. “Please never do that again,” she said. “You’re worse at curtseying than even me.”

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but I grinned. She wasn’t wrong about how bad I was and I would be forever grateful to never have to curtsey ever again in my life.

I left the room and took a deep breath. That went a hell of a lot better than I expected, and Meredith was nothing like what I’d prepared for.

I strode through the palace, trying not to get lost. It wasn’t easy to remember the way through the long corridors and too many archways. I finally found my suite but passed my door and knocked on Lucas’ door. I wanted to know how his first meeting with the king went. He would probably need to be talked off a ledge and hopefully he wasn’t already packing and making plans to leave. Not because I thought he would have made a mess of the meeting, but because I knew how his anxiety worked. If the choices were flight, fight, or freeze, then Lucas was fully in the flight camp.

I pushed the door open after knocking again. I didn’t know where his valet was, but I didn’t think Lucas would mind me coming unannounced into his room. I stepped into the suite and closed the door behind me. When I turned back to the sitting room, I saw the back of Lucas’ head as he sat on the couch.

“Hey, so how did it go?” I asked as I crossed the room.

He didn’t answer, and I frowned.

“Lucas?” I asked as I rounded the couch.

Lucas was sound asleep sitting up, a document folder open on his lap with rows and columns of numbers that I couldn’t make heads or tails of. I smiled. Maybe his meeting had gone well after all.

I folded the documents back into their file and moved it to the coffee table. I gently removed his glasses and sat them on top of the documents before I