Page 15 of Queen Takes King
She came to us and offered her hand to Shara. “Thank you, again, for your business, Ms.Isador.”
“Thank you for delivering everything,Ms…?
“Catherine Chambers, ma’am. We had everything cleaned and pressed, so you can wear right away. And if there’s anything more I cando…”
“Actually, there is,” Gina said. She gave a look at Shara that to me said sit, be comfortable, don’t stand for thiswoman.
So I took her elbow and guided her back down to the couch. She sat more easily, so the food had helped bring some of her physical strengthback.
“We’d like to know what else you told the reporters, so we can brace for any publicity that Ms. Isador may have to deal with. She’s very shy and doesn’t like to be in the publicspotlight.”
Catherine blushed and wrung her hands. “I’m so sorry. I just got caught up in the excitement and drama. I only said we’d had an unusual visitor, and I hinted that I thought you might be royalty. I never gave them your name or address. Definitelynoneof your personalinformation.”
Shara’s shoulders relaxed and she leaned against me morefully.
Gina smiled more kindly at the woman. “That’s a relief. The last thing we want is a bunch of reporters hounding Ms. Isador, or she’ll quite honestly go back home overseas and not return herpatronage.”
The threat was so gently done it took the woman a few moments to realize. “Of course. It was a blunder on my part that won’t happen again. If I can do anything to be ofservice—”
The other Blood pushed in the carts as she said that and I gave Daire a warning nudge through the bond before he could growl at thewoman.
“The silver dress I wore out of the store yesterday,” Shara said, leaning forward. “Do you happen to know if you have another the samesize?”
“I’m sure we do. Do you need it exchanged? Was something wrong withit?”
She floundered a moment, remembering how we’d damaged it. A beautiful soft pink flooded her cheeks and the woman’s eyes flared and then shesmiled.
“No worries, I’m sure we have another. I’ll check when I get back to thestore.”
“Thank you. When you get a new shipment in, let me know. I’m sure the guys would love to drag me out shoppingagain.”
Gina offered her business card and the woman dug in her purse to find the credit card receipt for Shara to sign. She gulped and looked up at Gina in a bit of a panic at thenumber.
:One dress in Paris could cost that much. It’s truly nothing:I whispered through herbond.
:It’s a year’s worth of cleaning jobs for me.:Though she signed with a flourish and passed the receipt back.:And if all this needs to be drycleaned…:
My rock troll took that moment to surge inside me. My spine popped and my muscled bulged with the effort of holding him in.:You worry. About nothing. Dry cleaning is beneath my queen’snotice.:
:Somehow I don’t see Daire or the Templar knight dragging my clothes to the drycleaners.:
I didn’t have to make an order. Guillaume already scanned the racks and quickly picked a fluffy cream-colored sweater and butter-soft glitzed out jeans that managed to look worn and comfortable while still being brand new and classy. Stripping off the plastic, he knelt on one knee before Shara and offered the clothes to her over his arm as grandly as if he’d drawn his family sword to display for her. “If these aren’t acceptable, perhaps Daire has bettertaste.”
His tone said he found that highlyunlikely.
“Hey,” Daire grumped. “I picked it all out in the first place. Rik’s taste is all inhis…”
“Daire.” I didn’t put much power behind his name, but the word still rumbled through theroom.
“Are you really a queen?” The woman blurtedout.
She stepped closer to Shara and I went on high alert. I flexed my left hand, ready to throttle her, but didn’t remove my right arm from around my queen’s shoulders, in case I needed to get her to safety in a hurry. Guillaume didn’t stand, but shifted slightly so he was angled toward the threat, a glint of silver in his hand. Daire crouched, ready topounce.
“Oh, no,” Shara laughed uneasily, glancing at Gina. “Notreally.”
Another step. Her hand in her coat pocket.:Weapon?:I asked Guillaume, since he was slightlycloser.
:Doesn’t smell like metal, gun or knife.:He paused, breathing again.:It smells like…Shara.:
