Page 19 of My Highland Fling
“What about the other staff?Have they received their pay?”
“Your parents consider them more critical to the day-to-day running of the palace.”
Gabrielle glanced at the ornate wall clock, barely quelling a sigh.“I should prepare for my speaking engagement.The charity organizers want me to arrive by half eleven and start speaking at five minutes to twelve.The lunch service will begin ten minutes after the hour.I suspect this won’t be much fun because it’s my first appearance since the papers published this story.”
“They don’t have facts.All they have is supposition.”
“Exactly,” Gabrielle said.“But did my parents ask me the specifics?No.They read the story and assumed the worst along with everyone else.”Gabrielle paced a circuit of her room before ceasing and turning to Tilly.“IfI had the freedom, I’d locate Ramsay and enjoy getting to know him better.”
“Seems fair,” Tilly said.“I believe your parents will be away for the evening.Your brothers are not at home.There is nothing to stop us from leaving the castle.No one to raise the alarm.”
Gabrielle straightened abruptly and squinted at Tilly, trying to read her expression despite the blast of the sun through the immense windows.“You think I should do a moonlit flit to the UK?”
“I’d like to visit my friends in Edinburgh,” Tilly said.“I haven’t seen them in ages.You can do whatever you wish.You’re an adult and don’t require a chaperone.”
“Then why did you stay?”Gabrielle asked.
Tilly smiled.“That’s easy, dear.You’re a lovely child.Considerate.You were happy to have me tag along, but unlike your parents and brothers, experience and bitterness haven’t dulled your shine.The charity work you undertake is important, and you enjoy helping those in need.You’re independent, cheerful, and work hard, which is more than I can say for your brothers and parents.”
Gabrielle relaxed her arched brows and wide eyes.“Tilly, let me mull this over.I’ll tell you of my decision when we get home.I suppose we should face the press.Let’s go.”Gabrielle picked up her phone, turned it to silent, and slipped it into the mauve and black clutch that matched her smart purple trouser suit.
The car ride to the hotel where the luncheon was taking place passed in silence, allowing Gabrielle to drift into daydreams of Ramsay.His quiet competence drew her.His confidence.He’d been gentle with her, yet fierce too.If she had to guess, she’d say he was honorable, but he also possessed a playful edge that she’d adored.He’d laughed and joked with his friends.Humor wasn’t typical at the palace since everyone tiptoed around her father’s temper.She scowled out the window.
Their driver pulled up outside the hotel entrance.
“The press is lurking,” Tilly said.
Lurking?To Gabrielle’s eye, they bore a bloodlust, much like vampires on the hunt.Or at least the fictional ones she’d seen on telly.Vampires weren’t real, but they’d look much like this if they were.She sucked in a fortifying breath.“Let’s do this.”
Gabrielle waited for the driver to open her door and slid out.Immediately, the noise and shouts battered her ears.She leaned back inside the vehicle.“Tilly, wait in the car until you can exit in safety.I don’t want you pushed and shoved or getting hurt.”
“Princess Gabrielle, what does the Swedish prince think about your cheating on him?”
“Where is your engagement ring?Is the wedding off?”
“What will you do now?Is there another wedding on the horizon?”
“Who is your mystery man?”
“Is he going to marry you?”
The reporters kept firing questions at her while the flash of cameras had her seeing stars.What was wrong with these people?And of all the times for her parents to economize on security.“Excuse me.Please let me inside.”
But the rabid pack ignored her pleas, and the charity organizers had to extract her from the melee.Ruffled, Gabrielle stumbled through her speech and didn’t do her best work.When it came time to depart, Gabrielle left via the kitchen, but the press was wise to this strategy and surrounded her, shouting yet more questions, battering her with noise.Thankfully, she’d sent Tilly back to the car earlier.If Tilly or an innocent bystander got hurt, it’d crush Gabrielle.
A policeman helped her reach her vehicle, and he barked orders when the press surrounded her car and banged on doors and windows.Gabrielle’s breathing turned choppy, and her hands shook.Maybe theywerevampires.She was pretty sure their eyes were glowing.What was wrong with them?They hadn’t behaved with this fervent interest when her brothers acted stupid.Not that she regretted her actions.If she had the time over, she’d still go to the hotel with Ramsay.
The policeman called for backup and helped her to escape the mass of bodies.Clammy sweat coated her skin, and her silk blouse clung to her torso.Her terror faded once she and Tilly drove through the palace gates.
She refused to face the press again and let them savage her.Her parents had told her she no longer needed security since she wasn’t marrying the prince.They’d save the cost and direct the money elsewhere.Tilly’s suggestion whispered like a siren lure.Gabrielle decided she’d do it.If her parents wouldn’t offer protection, she’d cancel her upcoming engagements and return to the UK.
She’d find Ramsay’s business card and ask—beg if she had to—him to spend private time with her.He could only say no.
After a discussion with Tilly, they fashioned a plan.They’d sneak out, get a ride to the airport with one of Tilly’s friends, and fly to Edinburgh.They purchased two tickets on the last flight out that night.
Gabrielle dressed in jeans and a T-shirt belonging to a maid.She slapped on a wig while Tilly dressed in her usual clothes and donned a hat.Then, they walked out of the palace with the workers ending their shift.Simple.
“Why didn’t I know it was this easy to exit the castle?”she murmured to Tilly.
