Page 51 of Trapped with the Undercover Prince

“Certainly, Your Highness.” John left, and Zar followed him out.

“I need to pick up some clean clothes,” he muttered as he walked to his own suite. The door was closed, so he tapped on it lightly and went inside. Brigette wasn’t in the sitting room, but the door leading into the bedroom was almost completely ajar.

He walked over and could hear voices coming from within. He knocked on the doorframe. “Anna? Brigette?”

“Come in, Zar,” his sister called.

The two women were sitting on the bed, talking. Anna looked like she’d just woken up with her hair mussed and in the same clothes that she’d been wearing at the hospital.

He studied her face, looking for signs of tiredness or discomfort. “How are you feeling?”

“Mostly awake,” she replied with a small smile. “I slept like the dead.”

“I’m glad.” He glanced at his sister, hoping she’d get the hint and leave.

Brigette ignored him, got off the bed, and said to Anna, “Come with me, and I’ll show you to a guest suite where you can shower. I’ll find you some clothes to wear.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can wear this and go shopping on my own. Or maybe someone turned in my backpack? I have a bunch of new stuff in it.”

“Anything in your bag is going to be damaged by fire and smoke. Please allow us to replace them.”

“The clothes in my bag were the replacement clothes your brother already bought me,” she said with a blush sweeping up her cheeks. “I can’t let you and your family buy me any more stuff.”

“Why not?” Brigette asked in her usual brisk manner.

Anna’s answer was just as quick. “Because your charity would be of better use helping someone who needs it. I do not.”

Brigette stared at her. “You don’t need gifts?”

Anna shrugged. “Nope.”

“How about some free pancakes?” Zar asked. “They should be ready by the time you’re dressed.

Anna’s eyes lit up. “Those I’ll take. I’m starving.” She slid out of the bed and looked at Brigette. “On second thought, where did you say that shower was?”

Brigette, now recovered from her surprise, led Anna away.

Anna grinned on her way past him and rubbed her hands together. “Pancakes.” She said the word like most people would say I won the lottery.

It made him laugh.

He went into his bathroom, chuckling and eager to see how Anna handled his other sisters and his mother.

Fifteen minutes later, he waited for Anna and Brigette to arrive at the not-so-formal dining room where the royal family took most of their meals. Gabby and Estelle were already there, but his mother and grandmother hadn’t arrived yet.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have brought Anna here? If he’d taken her to one of the boutique hotels in the city, she wouldn’t be subjected to the close scrutiny his family was about to inflict on her.

Then again, public scrutiny was worse in its own way.

Feminine laughter floated into the room from the hallway, and it wasn’t Anna’s laugh.

“Is that...Brigette?” Gabby asked, her tone surprised.

“Yes,” Zar said. Another peal of laughter had him smiling. “She sounds like she’s having a good morning.”

Gabby and Estelle exchanged a look, and Zar wanted to shake his head. Brigette was softer on the inside than his sisters were giving her credit for.

A moment later, Brigette and Anna entered the room.

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