Page 41 of Royally Rivalled

“I'm in 541.”

He hit the buttons for floors seven and five. The elevator began to roll down.

“He's a sensitive one,” I said. “But it was?—”

A grinding noise interrupted my words. The elevator jerked wildly. I began to fall, but Parker grabbed me. The elevator stopped with a groan—me hanging there in Parker's arms. I stared at him, momentarily unable to figure out what to do. He stared down with derision, or what I read as derision. I was trappedin an elevatorwith the world’s strangest pedant. Heaven help me!

twenty-seven

PARKER

“You alright?”I asked.

Feet barely on the floor, Astrid hung in my arms, eyes wide. She nodded slightly as if entranced.

“You don'tlookalright...”

“If I move, will we die?”

“No,” I stifled a laugh. “I think we may be stuck, but... we're not at risk of dying.”

She stood, pulling back slowly. She thought, then rushed to pull the alarm.

I braced and called, “Don’t! It will make a dreadful noise, and we'll have to hear it until they get us out. Use the emergency phone button. It will ring them.”

Nervous, Astrid rang the elevator people.

A person on the other end picked up. “Yeah?”

“Uh, hello?”

“Yes, ma’am? What?”

“Uh...” She panicked, unable to respond normally.

“I'm Princess Astrid of Neandia, and he's the Duke of Westnedge...”

I snickered.Thatwas what she thought of?

Yes, Astrid, give them our titles first. I am sure they will believe you and come to the rescue based on just that.

She wasn't inept, but shewashaving a breakdown—or a short circuit.

“Who, darlin'? Yer not makin' any sense nah,” the man said in a thick Glaswegian accent.

Astrid looked at me for advice. It dawned on me she couldn't understand anything he said. English was not her first language, and even to the English, Glasgow might as well be Babel. I stepped forward to talk into the box.

“We're trapped. There are two people...” I checked which floor we were on. “Between floors ten and eleven—going down if it matters?”

“Ya alright?”

“Yes. Quite well,” I answered.

“I'll send them to ya shortly.”

He hung up.

“What... was that person speaking English?” Astrid asked.

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