Page 101 of The Prince of New York

I had no idea what had gotten into the woman, but if she wanted to take me into her custody, I was not at all going to protest. As such, I held my hands up. “I do not resist, nor do I ask for a reduced sentence at this time.”

Ethan’s mother burst into laughter, claimed a hug from Will, and headed for the door. “I’m going to go check on things in the kitchen, warn the staff Ian’s fever has started, and otherwise make preparations. Close all doors you do not want the brat going through and be prepared to explain what a door is.”

Zach’s eyes widened. “You needed someone to explain what a door is, Ian?”

Later, when we were in private, I would thank the RPS agent for using my name and remembering me rather than my rank. “It was really bad, Zach. I wandered over to the picnic table looking for salmon. But yes, someone had to explain how doors worked to me first. It was rather shameful, but Melody figured out what may be a core cause of the problem.”

“God bless her,” he replied. “What is the issue?”

Madelyn’s gun beeped, and she checked the result. “101.3,” she reported. “Terry, what temperature is the cut off for taking him to the hospital?”

“They have a full service clinic in the palace, and there are doctors on hand. Unless he needs an operation, he won’t have to go to the hospital. They’re rigged for fevers and things like that. They only send the royals over when they aren’t sure what’s wrong or if they want to run an MRI,” Terry replied. “I asked after we sent Rachel to the hospital for testing. Gunshot wounds are treated at the hospital due to the high risk of an operation being needed.”

“Oh, that’s good. They took him to the hospital in New York, so I wondered.”

“Nobody plays around with concussions, and they have equipment in hospitals the palace clinics lack,” the RPS agent replied, and he smiled at Madelyn. “Try not to worry. If your gun reports at 102.5 or higher, hit and hold the alarm button I gave you. When it beeps three times, you’ll know the RPS has been alerted, and you’ll be tracked down. They know you have a list of reasons to press the button, and we’re going with safe rather than sorry, so if you’re at all concerned, use your button.”

“Nice. You get a button. I just get a hard time and told to take care of myself.” While I didn’t particularly feel fevered, at least yet, I pouted at Terry in the hopes of making everyone laugh. “Why can’t I have a button?”

“You would use it for fun,” he replied in a solemn tone. “Honestly, I wanted to give you a button, but we came to the conclusion that once the fever hits in earnest, you won’t have enough common sense to actually press it if needed. Just stay somewhat sensible until after you’re fed.”

Zach regarded Madelyn with a solemn expression. “Do not be surprised if he gets chilled and seeks out someone or something warm.”

Without missing a beat, she pointed in the bedroom, which Sika and Tumen had claimed as theirs. “The leopards are in bed waiting for him. Apparently, my cats are traitors, and they are in bed waiting for him, too. I’m planning on catching a nap on the chair in the bedroom, as he cannot be left unattended. Hewillgo on a wander if I take my eyes off him.”

Rather than tell her I’d rather if she went on a wander with me to somewhere private, I kept my mouth shut. I could only hope I would continue to keep my mouth shut once I went from coherent to a menace. “To my shame, I’m pretty sure if you tell me there is honeyed salmon in the garden, I will sit and wait in the garden until someone feeds me.”

Madelyn giggled. “Having seen how happy you become when you’re fed honeyed salmon, I will try that tactic and hope they feed me some, too. I hadn’t known fish could actually be good before trying it.”

“Can I have my crutches back yet?”

“No.”

I laughed at the immediacy of her reply. “Can I at least use the bathroom before we go for dinner?”

“That is permissible, and we can wait for you to hobble around before dinner for such activities, but you may not attempt to take a nap with the cats. I’m onto you. If I let you into the bedroom or anywhere near the cats, you will try to sleep with them.” She pointed at the suite’s second bathroom, located closer to the door. “You may use that bathroom, as it does not lead you to temptation.”

Then, to make it clear she ruled the suite, she went back to work setting up her art station, which she intended to use after dinner so she could keep an eye on me. The discovery of the fancy watercolors had evoked wonder. As the RPS had gotten me the same set and had put our names on them, she understood one was hers to do with as she pleased.

As she liked to do, she picked up her new set, holding the box as though it were made of gold rather than wood. “Is this really mine, Ian?”

I smiled at the wonder in her voice. “I asked them to get that specific one for you, and I asked for things for dummies for me. I’m going to have trouble enough coloring between the lines, so I don’t know why they got me one. I’m blaming Terry. He’s excessive.”

My sister’s agent snickered. “If you didn’t want us buying items to enrich your personal life, you would not have asked us to do extra shopping on your behalf. Please don’t mind Ian, Madelyn. He realized he had forgotten something he’d wanted for himself, asked if we could swing by the store and get it, and he gave us instructions to acquire the best we could get for you, as he assumed your hobby is not casual and he knows nothing about painting outside of admiring art and being fascinated by those who paint where he can watch. He does know enough about painting supplies to have an awareness of price versus quality, so he took us off our spending leashes for the venture. He wanted the best for you, and he didn’t particularly care what it costs.”

“I’ll just melt some more metal I get for cheap to pay for it. I’m going to do that to buy a new painting. It’s been a while since I’ve purchased a new painting. If I’m extra lucky, the girls will like museums, and I will get to do dad things I’m actually skilled at. I’m just going to require adult supervision, because once I get started, I really get started.”

The door into the hallway, which had been left open, proved to be a peril, as the sickeningly familiar sound of my sister clearing her throat warned me not all was well.

Shit. I regarded Madelyn with wide eyes. “Please save me.”

Rather than save me, Madelyn bowed to my sister. “I have kept him contained so he couldn’t run away, Your Majesty.”

Rachel swept into the room, went to Madelyn, and kissed her cheeks. “Wonderful job, and thank you. Thank you for covering for me, Terry.”

“You’re welcome. How was your flight?”

“Fortunately uneventful, but the plane phone rang and notified me of trouble on the way. I was almost on that same plane, Terry. Do you know what would have happened if I had ended up on that plane? There would have been a corpse made mid flight, I would have traumatized everyone, and nothing would have been good. And yes, this counted as an allowed emergency, so I got approval to fly. Staying at home would have stressed me far more than coming here.”

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