Page 1 of Royally Benevolent

PART ONE

RESTORATION

1

AN APPOINTMENT

ODETTE

It was an icy morning when I threw my leg over my bike and set off through Ville de Neandia’s quiet mid-morning traffic. Grieg, my beloved King Charles Spaniel, bundled in his little dog parka, sat in the front box of my beloved Dutch cargo bike. Cold be damned, I cycled out in the sunshine. As I passed the palace gates, I had donned a virtual cloak of anonymity.

A new bike highway greeted me as I entered the city centre. I passed mothers with children in prams and businessmen on their mobile phones. Delivery men dodged me as I raced, picking up steam downhill. Moving with confidence and speed brought me joy.

When I arrived, Grieg waited patiently as I locked up my bike. Trotting alongside, he sat—tail wagging—as I buzzed us into the waiting room. I sat reading with Grieg in my lap until Elisa appeared.

“Are you ready?” she asked cheerfully.

I nodded. Grieg trotted into her office, knowing the drill. I plopped onto a couch where I’d sat seemingly a million times. She brought me a cup of coffee. Most people didn’t have a therapist get them coffee, but most weren’t Elisa.

“How has the week been?” she asked.

“Cold,” I laughed. “And exhausting. I’ve been busy helping with the children’s choir and trying to get out as I can.”

“And how is that?”

“Good,” I answered. It occupies me well enough. I went riding with Ingrid, too. She’s returning to America and will be in the UK all summer. I’m so excited.”

“You’ll miss her.”

I nodded. “Of course. We are so close. But I still have Alex and… yeah. Astrid will be home soon for a dress fitting.”

“How long until the wedding now?”

“About six months,” I said.

“But it’s coming up?”

“Faster than you know.” I folded my hands in my lap. “Big royal wedding of a Princess to a British Duke. The stuff of dreams.”

In September, our sister Astrid would marry her long-time boyfriend Parker at the city’s lone non-Catholic cathedral. Parker and Astrid met as grad student rivals but were making it official.

“Something is up. You can tell me anything, Odette.”

I took a deep breath, looking at Grieg as he slept with his head on my foot. He could rest anywhere if he touched me. His love grounded me. Without him, I’d be lost.

“I… I saw Guy.”

“Oh. Okay. And how was that?”

“It was as good as it could be,” I answered. “He has a girlfriend. He’s fine.”

I’d been thinking about him all day—the man who broke me. I knew I needed to do the work, acknowledge the intrusive thoughts, and let it go, but I couldn’t. When I was at my most vulnerable, he tossed me aside.

Elisa nodded sympathetically. “And you, Odette?”

“I wish something would happen—anything.”

“The possibilities are endless, Odette. You are an old soul with all the advantages of a youthful body and opportunities. How are things coming with work?”

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