Page 19 of Next in Line

‘Then who does?’ asked Beth.

‘Other members of the Royal Family and close friends, but then only in private.’

‘And do the same rules apply for the Queen?’ asked Beth. ‘Does anyone call her Elizabeth?’

‘I suspect only the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and the Duke of Edinburgh, who all call her “Lilibet”, but not in public.’

‘Do they also bow and curtsey?’

‘On state occasions, yes, and I’m told first thing in the morning and last thing at night.’

‘I’ll bet the Duke of Edinburgh doesn’t bow before he climbs into bed,’ said Beth.

‘They have separate bedrooms,’ said Ross, looking across at Artemisia and Jojo, who were continuing to build their palace. He was delighted to see how well his daughter had settled in,and that she was clearly now accepted as a member of the family.

Ross got up off the floor as Peter practised reversing his police car and turning a half circle before speeding away. ‘I can’t begin to thank you enough,’ Ross said as Beth handed him a glass of mulled wine.

‘We love her as if she were our own,’ said Beth. ‘So don’t even think about taking her away.’

‘Not much chance of that happening while I’m working for Diana,’ said Ross.

‘Princess Diana!’ said Artemisia firmly.

Beth laughed. ‘Why don’t you two catch up,’ she said, turning to William, ‘while I go and check on the turkey, because it sure won’t cook itself.’

Ross fell into the chair next to William and immediately asked, ‘Has Booth Watson raised his head above the parapet while I’ve been away?’

‘Not enough for me to take a potshot,’ admitted William, while offering Ross a mock toast. ‘However, we do know he’s been holding legal meetings with his client at Belmarsh every Friday morning for the past few weeks. In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if he’s decided not to take us on.’

‘Why wouldn’t he,’ said Ross, ‘when he’s got nothing to lose?’

‘Perhaps he has got something to lose,’ came back William. ‘Because I’m not altogether convinced Faulkner even knows his prized art collection is no longer hanging on the walls of his home in Spain, but is now stored in a warehouse near Gatwick airport.’

‘Which would confirm,’ suggested Ross, ‘that Booth Watson didn’t realize Faulkner was still alive when he set off for England in his yacht. Although that’s hardly slam dunk.’

‘Until you add the fact that Faulkner’s home in Spain was put on the market at around that time, and has since been taken off.’

‘What’s he up to?’ mused Ross.

‘I suspect that, like us, he’d be quite happy to see his client remain in jail for a very long time. While the cat’s away …’

‘I can’t make up my mind which one of them is the bigger crook.’

‘A close-run thing,’ suggested William, ‘but we’ll find out soon enough when the case comes to court.’

‘Meanwhile, what has the home team been up to in my absence?’

‘Preparing themselves for what I suspect will be a bruising encounter with Superintendent Milner and his cronies, once they discover what our real purpose is.’

‘When’s the opening round taking place?’

‘Rebecca and I report to Buckingham Gate next Tuesday, while Jackie and Paul will be checking into Windsor Castle at the same time.’

‘I can’t believe either of you will receive a particularly warm welcome, and that may not be the least of your problems.’ Ross lowered his voice, ‘I received a private briefing last week about a possible terrorist attack on a member of the Royal Family.’

William nodded. ‘Commander Holbrooke’s been in regular touch with the Hawk and, following Lockerbie, I can assure you that anyone who lands at Heathrow in possession of a Libyan passport spends several hours being questioned before they reach the baggage hall, and the majority of them are sent back home on the first available flight.’

‘That should please the Hawk, if not the liberal left,’ commented Ross. ‘And how is the old curmudgeon, dare Iask?’ he said as Jojo slotted a double door into place, and began clapping.

---