Page 15 of Royally Rivalled

Ashleigh

How are you? I hope you’re not dead.

Me

Nope. Alive. In London.

Ashleigh

Oh, really! Want to take me to dinner?

I chuckled. She assumed I could get her in somewhere good. Although, if I texted Niall, I could probably swing it.

Me

Fine, give me a list and I will see what I can do. Don’t you have a show?

Ashleigh

A matinee this morning. I am hungry. I could eat.

Me

Let me see what sticks.

Ashleigh’s list included several posh places Niall couldn’t dream of landing at and one Japanese place that sounded good. Thankfully, the early start didn’t hurt. I rarely missed home in Devon, but I did enjoy spending time with my youngest sister. Given the age gap, we weren’t incredibly close, but I didn’t mind catching up.

She met me at the restaurant with a big hug.

“I am so famished!”

“Good, we have endless possibilities and can pick and choose whatever rolls we want.”

“Yay!”

“Since when do you like sushi?”

“Sinceforever,Parker.”

I figured it was about her posh friends at the ballet company, but she said nothing more. She grew cultured and much less childlike since moving to London. I was proud of her for sticking with it in a rough industry but worried she’d lose that pure, sweet side in the turmoil. Carolyn lost herself completely running with the social set. She now demanded a bigger allowance all the time as if money had fallen from the sky. Mother only encouraged it. Dad wasn’t cheap, but he wasreasonable. The women of the family respected his word more than mine. I didn’t want to be cruel, but I needed to find a sensible balance between lighting money on fire at every whim and being a miserable asshole.

“How are you?” I asked. “Generally?”

“I’m happy. My course is going well. I am dancingloads. I cannot wait for Christmas. You? Making progress on whatever you do?”

“I am preparing for the start of classes and finishing up summer work.”

She looked bored.

“Parker, I know you are older and wiser, but do you ever worry about what happens after?”

“What do you mean? After what?”

“You say you will graduate. What happens after that?”

I swallowed hard, wanting to avoid the topic. I didn’t want to think about the next steps. I knew what my responsibilities were, as Mother always said. I knew what I had to do to remain in her good graces and the eyes of society. The problem was that I wasn’t my father and didn’t want to run the estate.

“I try not to think about it.”

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