Samantha
I was not even awake when the phone rang. Knowing it was Harry, I picked it up and mumbled an incomprehensible greeting.
He laughed in my ear. "You're still asleep."
"Not quite. Not really."
"Then let's go on FaceTime so I can see you all snuggled up in bed," he said.
I groaned and rolled over, imagining what I probably looked like, my hair all fuzzy. "I don't think so."
"I like the way you look in the morning," he protested. "Besides, I'll be seeing a lot more of you, in bed and out of it, very soon."
That woke me up a bit. "How soon?"
"As soon as you are ready to come back to London and join me, which I hope is in the next few days."
Now I sat up. "You met with the lawyers. Barristers. Whatever you call them."
"I did. And I am happy to say that the Queen has announced that Meg and I are no longer engaged. I'm free. We're free."
"She did? How did the meeting go? Was Meg nice about it?"
"No. But neither were we, really." He laughed. "You can read about it after we hang up. I'll give you all the details when you get back. Take as much time as you need, but the Queen really wants to meet you. You can phone Colin to make all the arrangements."
My stomach started to flutter at the thought of meeting the Queen. Harry was no longer engaged and we were free to begin seeing each other, discreetly. I knew that as soon as I got back to London my education on How To Become A Royal would begin in earnest.
"You're awfully quiet," Harry said. "Having second thoughts?"
"No," I answered quickly. "Just trying to get used to thinking of myself as a future Royal—or a secret one, for the moment."
"Well, it won't be a secret for much longer. My father is pushing the Queen to let us marry soon. Within a few months. I think they are both hoping to get me married off quickly so the scandal will die down. But the Queen wants to meet you first."
"You mean she wants to see if I get the royal seal of approval," I said.
"You will," Harry said. "She'll like you. Don't worry about it."
"I'm trying not to worry about it," I said.
"Don't. It will be fine." Dropping his voice, he said, "So when can I expect you?"
"Wednesday?" I said thoughtfully. "I just need time to get things settled here before I leave. I get to leave the bodyguards behind, right?"
Harry clicked his tongue, and I imagined him shaking his head. "Afraid not. I'll tell Colin to have one of them accompany you back here, and then you'll be assigned new ones once you're here."
I groaned.
"You'll get used to it," Harry said. "It's all part of your new life. Our new life together."
It felt much different to be flying back into London. When I left, I felt like I was running away—away from the media, the personal attacks, the rabid fans. It still felt like I was on the run, but now I had a destination—my new life with Harry. It came at the price of my old life, for the most part, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.
The flight was uneventful but I was too excited to sleep. Instead I passed the time working on new designs in my sketchbook—appropriate royal-wear for myself. I was going to need a new wardrobe very soon.
I'd read all about the official break-up while I was still in Vancouver. The palace-approved stories were, for the most part, short and devoid of details. The rest of the media made up for their brevity with salacious stories, theories, and wild imaginings, along with a few stories I suspected had been planted by sources close to Harry.
I was surprised at how quickly the media turned on Meg. Just a few months ago everything was all about this lovely fairytale relationship, and now it was Meg's Heartless Betrayal! Harry Dodges A Bullet! and 10 Signs the Royal Breakup Was Inevitable!
So far there had not been too much in the media about me, except my place as Sign #1: Harry's Secret Girl on the list of why the breakup was inevitable. Once I was back in London, I knew it was only a matter of time before the focus was back on me—but this time, I hoped it would be more positive.
Duncan met me at the airport and escorted me to the car, carrying my bags. I didn't have as much with me as I did when I left London, simply because I knew most of my clothes were not suitable. I did ship a few boxes of personal belongings back, along with my sewing machines and serger.
We reached the car and Duncan popped open the trunk—the boot, I corrected myself—and Duncan said, "He's waiting for you inside."
I yanked open the door and dived inside, sliding across the seat for a kiss. "I didn't expect this."
"I want to be with you when we come home together for the first time," Harry said.
"It still doesn't feel real," I admitted, taking his hand.
"Maybe now that we will be living together it will begin to feel more real," he said, as we sped off towards Nottingham Cottage. "I'm looking forward to spending time with you just relaxing and hanging out, when the time is ours to do with as we like. However—"
I sighed. "There's always a however with you, isn't there?"
"Usually," he agreed with a kiss. "However, I am working, so I won't be available all the time. And you will be busy too."
"I will?"
He nodded. "Eugenie has kindly offered to give you a crash course on acting like a royal. If you're interested."
I smiled. "Well, I have to learn it somewhere, I guess. Better Eugenie than some stuffy old lady-in-waiting."
Harry laughed. "I agree. And I'm sure Catherine will be happy to help you out as well later on. She's due to give birth in a few weeks, so she's not feeling her best right now. Give her a few months. Although we'll probably pop over to meet them soon."
"We will?" I asked. "I mean...we're not officially together yet, are we?"
"Officially, not really. But there's no need for us to keep our relationship such a big secret anymore. Granny thinks that it would be good for us to wait a few weeks before we are seen in public, and I agree. Besides, it'll give you time to get used to everything and get settled in. Work on your wardrobe if you want. I'm sure Eugenie can recommend a personal shopper or stylist to help you out, if you want."
"And I'll want to visit Drizzle every day," I reminded him.
"Of course. I'm having Driz moved to Windsor today," Harry told me.
"Why Windsor?" I asked.
"You'll have more privacy there. I won't worry about you facing off against the media so much. And besides, there are lots of lovely places you can exercise Driz."
"Only walking on the lead line for now," I said, "but the vet thinks she'll be ready to ride in another month. No galloping for her for a long time, but going slow and easy will be fine."
"Randa's doing an amazing job with the mare," Harry said. "Since I can't employ you as a groom any more—for obvious reasons—what would you think of offering Randa the job? If Driz approves, of course."
I smiled. "I'm glad you brought it up before I had to ask you. Yes. Let's offer the job to Randa. At the same salary you were paying me."
Harry leaned towards me, making me wish we were closer to our destination. "You can ask me anything," he whispered. "No secrets between us now, okay?"
"Only the secret that we're already married," I whispered back.
"Here's to hoping that's not a secret we need to keep very much longer," Harry replied.
"Agreed."