Page 27 of Royal Catch
“Help!” I holler, leaping out of the sandbox. “We need a doctor!” I’m not sure if her arm is broken or dislocated. It’s probably better she’s unconscious with that kind of pain.
Albert appears from behind the shrubbery. “I’ve got it.” He pulls a phone from his pocket, urgently requests help, and then goes to Elizabeth’s side.
Francesca has left the sandbox, the box in her possession now, but Marguerite is on her back, wildly clawing for the box from behind. The other princesses stand next to Elizabeth, staring down at her and whispering.
Elizabeth has the help she needs, so I waste no time and rush to the front of Francesca to snag the box. She’s strong and puts up a good fight, but Marguerite is holding her back, and the box is mine. Yes!
I sprint back through the gardens, through the hallways of the palace, and straight upstairs to the safety of my room. I lock the door and barricade it with a chair jammed under the doorknob.
Finally, still breathing hard, my heart pounding, I open the box. Oh my God. It’s beautiful—a chain of glittering diamonds with a huge diamond pendant hanging from the center. This should be in a museum. The pendant alone would be enough to do right by Polly. With shaking hands, I lift the necklace from the box and put it on. I gaze down at the beauty of it and go to the vanity mirror to admire it more, imagining just for a moment that I really am a princess and I’m about to attend a royal ball.
The doorknob rattles harshly, startling me. Someone raps hard on the door. “Security,” a man’s voice barks. “Open the door.”
My heart leaps to my throat. Security is going to accuse me of stealing this necklace. It was all a setup to toss me in jail and throw away the key. The queen’s revenge for all my impertinence.
“Be right there!” I quickly take off the necklace and put it back in its box. Then I stuff it in the back of the vanity drawer, hiding the evidence.
“We’re breaking the door down!” the security man barks.
“I’ll open it!” I race to the door, drag the chair away, and unlock it. I jump back just in time as the door flies open and four security guards swarm into the room followed by the queen and Gabriel.
Security scours the room, tossing about my meager wardrobe as they empty dresser drawers and go through the closet. One of the guards finds the box in the vanity drawer. “Got it,” he says, and the team stands down.
Everyone watches as he opens the box and slams it shut. “It’s all here, Your Majesty.”
“Very well,” the queen says. “See that it gets to Francesca. You may go.” The security team leaves and she turns to me. “You didn’t solve the puzzle. This was a test of the mind not of the body.”
I hold my breath, waiting for the hammer to fall. What does the queen have against me? This prize wouldn’t have meant I was the one chosen for Gabriel. There are still six of us here, still more competing to do. And, dammit, Ineededthis.
The queen stares at me for a long moment. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
I silently seethe at the accusation in her tone. I didn’t do anything different than the other princesses. We were all grappling for the prize. I glance at Gabriel. He’s quiet, but he doesn’t look judgmental.
I address the queen in a civil tone. “Your Majesty, I haven’t been taught economic theory. Ask me anything practical and I could tell you a solution.”
“She used her wits to best the others,” Gabriel puts in, coming to my defense. It’s not true. I used my fighting instincts honed on years of defending myself from foster home bullies. He wants me to win. Does he actually want me for his wife now? The thought simultaneously elates me and terrifies me. He doesn’t know the real me. He doesn’t know it’s impossible.
The queen harrumphs. “She yanked the prize from the true winner like a playground bully.”
Gabriel fires back, “What about Francesca? She pulled Elizabeth’s shoulder right out of its socket. And Polly was the only one who stopped grappling for the prize to call for a doctor.”
The queen grimaces. “That was unfortunate. Marguerite lost a tooth too.” She slowly shakes her head before saying, “This didn’t go the way I envisioned. We will correct and carry on.” She leaves.
Gabriel mouthssorryto me and follows her out the door.
He’s on my side now. Somehow that means so much more than a diamond necklace. Tonight I’ll go to his room, and together we’ll make a plan to end this crazy competition to both of our benefits. If not, I’ll have to say goodbye.
My gut churns, my chest tight. Maybe goodbye is the only option. A future with Gabriel is a royal fantasy, and haven’t all of those been shattered?
Chapter Nine
Gabriel
I stare at the ceiling in my empty bed, wide-awake, stupidly hoping Polly will join me here. I’m torturing myself because I know I shouldn’t go after a virgin. If she comes to me on her own, then it would mean she wants this as much as I do, and I’d have nothing to feel guilty about. I want her badly, even knowing it cannot go any further. I can’t ask her to be my wife and destroy her spirit with the traditional kind of life she’s turned her back on in her own kingdom. Not to mention the fact that my mother has taken an intense dislike to her. She called frigging security on her!
I scrub a hand over my face. I had to leave Villroy entirely last night to avoid the temptation of Polly. I met up with one of my usual lovers in Paris for dinner, and that was where it ended. I couldn’t go through with it. Suddenly, beautiful sophisticated Katrina seemed too quiet, too coy, her blond hair too thin and lacking in curls. I wanted her to be Polly.
I headed straight home, formulating a plan. I thought if I set up today’s competition so that Polly could easily win a prize of some value, she’d be so overcome with gratitude for my help that we’d share a night together before she left. Yup. Thinking with my dick with predictably poor results.
