Page 53 of Once Upon a Royal Summer
Lemons to Lemonade
“Excuse me, Your Royal Highness.”
A uniformed footman bustled into the room, and Lacey nearly dropped the heavy ceremonial sword right on Henry’s foot.
“Yes?” Henry removed his hand from Lacey’s cheek, but kept his feet planted right where he stood, within kissing distance—which was a perfectly valid unit of measurement, thank you very much.
“Princess Caitriona is waiting for you at the stables,” the footman said.
Where had he come from, anyway? Did the palace have hidden passageways? It was like he’d materialized out of thin air.
“Right.” Henry nodded. “Her riding lesson.” He glanced at his watch and winced.
“Go.” Lacey waved a hand, and again the sword wobbled in her grasp. Henry gently took it from her and placed it back on the special display shelf where he’d gotten it. “You two need to practice for the parade.”
Henry angled his head toward her. “You’ll be all right on your own for a while?”
“Of course. Don’t be silly. There’s plenty to do around here,” Lacey said.
Henry turned his attention back to the footman, still standing by like a royal chaperone. “Could you please escort Miss Pope back to her suite?”
This was a relief, since Lacey’s room was clear on the other side of the castle. She wasn’t sure she could’ve found it on her own, and she was low-key terrified of bumping into the queen somewhere.
Although, maybe they could’ve bonded somehow. Had a nice little chat.
Yeah, because we have so much to talk about.
Henry reached and gave Lacey’s hand a squeeze before heading off in one direction, while she and the footman exited from a door on the opposite end of the room.
“Are you enjoying your stay in Bella-Moritz?” he asked as they traversed their way through the maze of gilded hallways and narrow banquet halls, toward the palace living quarters.
“Very much,” Lacey said.
They walked past a wide window that overlooked a large building made entirely of glass, shimmering beneath the Mediterranean sun.
Lacey’s steps slowed. “Oh, is that the greenhouse?”
“Yes. Would you like to take a look?”
She nodded. “I’d love to.”
The footman led her to a hidden doorway that blended in perfectly with the silk-covered walls of the hallway. They stepped outside, and the soft hush of the palace was replaced with the birdsong and roar of the ocean in the distance. A cobblestone path wound its way through lush greenery toward the greenhouse, sparkling like cut crystal beneath the late afternoon sun.
As soon as she walked inside the tall glass building, Lacey understood why Queen Elloise had been worried about the lack of blossoms. In any ordinary home or park, the greenhouse would’ve been spectacular, but after seeing how the rest of the principality was practically blanketed with flowers, the contents of Her Majesty’s greenhouse did seem a little…underwhelming. It had obviously been lovingly tended to, with baskets of lush ferns and dripping ivy hanging from the ceiling and a little waterfall area in the center, surrounded by moss-covered stones.
Lacey especially liked how the plants weren’t arranged in neat rows, but spaced throughout the area in little nooks, or staged in vignettes, decorated wheelbarrows, and wicker rocking chairs with floral chintz cushions. Her favorite part of the greenhouse was a pond, scattered with lily pads, that looked like something out of a Monet painting. Still, everything was so green, while everyplace else in Bella-Moritz was all dressed up in bright, blooming color.
Lacey was still thinking about it half an hour later when she was back in her room, trying to convince Miss Marie to leave Rose’s blanket fort intact. First, Rose would be seriously bummed if she came back and found it gone. Second, Lacey hadn’t had a chance to rectify the tiny chocolate problem, and she didn’t want Miss Marie to find it and decide Lacey was a plague on the house of Chevalier and recommend the queen banish her from the kingdom until the end of time. A little dramatic, probably, but anything seemed possible in this place.
“As you wish,” Miss Marie said, and ran a feather duster over the windowsill.
Lacey watched her quick-moving hands, and then her gaze snagged on the lemon grove beyond the glistening glass window. “Miss Marie.” She moved closer and saw a family with two young children strolling among the lemon trees. The kids each had a basket slung over an arm, filled to the brim with ripe, yellow fruit. “Can anyone pick lemons from the orchard?”
“Of course. The royal lemon grove is part of the public park space of Bella-Moritz,” Marie said. Her feather duster stilled. “Would you like me to go gather some lemons for you?”
“No, thank you. I can do that, but is there any way you could get me a dozen or so nice, flat plates and a dish of sugar cubes? Maybe a few spools of wire, if it’s not too much trouble?” Lacey pressed her palms together, like the prayer hands emoji.
“Yes, Miss Pope. If that’s really what you want.” Marie hugged her feather duster to her chest and tilted her head. “But can I ask what for? I don’t believe I’ve ever had a guest in the palace ask me for wire before.”
