Crowns & Chaos

thirteen

I tried in vain to hold back a yawn as I poured myself a cup of coffee. The official courting notice had hit the press yesterday night, and I was getting flooded with messages on Instagram and Facebook and Lisa was asking for another interview and I was supposed to meet with Peter later today for lunch and photo ops and it was too early for my brain to be functioning. 

"Good morning, my lovely daughter," my dad sang as he entered the kitchen. 

I glowered at him. 

"You're looking awfully chipper this morning."

"Yes, well there's lots to do. We're leaving for Wilton tomorrow."

My mom followed him into the kitchen, looking far more similar to my disgruntled sleepiness than to my dad's happy attitude. 

"Are you quite sure you don't want to come? We're gonna miss you."

I smiled at her, sitting down at the table. We'd talked, and we'd all agreed that my staying here was the best plan for now. 

"It's only a few hours drive. I'll visit lots. Besides, I'm an adult, and Peter is here and I wanna look for work."

"Have you met Ron yet?" Dad asked. 

"Is that the guy Anders was gonna send over for me?"

Dad nodded. 

"He's ex-military, has three grown-up daughters, and he and his husband live down near Greenwich park. So obviously he won't be here at night, but he'll shadow you anytime you're out in public. We've set up outdoor security cameras and motion sensors, and you'll have a few guys watching the house when you're here."

"Wow. So you really checked overkill right off the list, huh?"

He narrowed his eyes. 

"Don't get cheeky with me young lady. You have a name and a fortune attached to you, not to mention the fact that you're dating the prince of England. I hope that boy doesn't try any funny stuff, either, or he'll have me to deal with."

I rolled my eyes.

"First of all, he asked you before he talked to me about it, so relax Mr vigilante man. Second, I'm almost 23. I'm fully capable of making my own romantic decisions."

"Fine. Whatever. Point is, don't be trying to ditch Ron or sneak away or something stupid, okay?"

"I promise that I won't."

"Theodore said he's sending Ron over now."

We had just finished eating breakfast when the doorbell rang.

Mom opened it to see a tall, buff looking guy. He looked more terrifying than Anders and was probably at least six and a half feet tall. I hid slightly behind my mother. 

"Hi! You must be Ronald?"

"Please, call me Ron, my lady."

His voice was actually quite soft, not as harsh as I was expecting. He stepped over the threshold and his eyes landed on me. 

"Miss Evangeline, a pleasure to meet you."

He actually gave me a small bow. I stared at him as he stood up, towering over my five foot five body.

"Hi, Ron," I said quietly, a little stunned. 

He chuckled at my stunned face, and I wondered vaguely how far he could throw me if he tried.

"Evie, don't you have to leave soon?" Mom asked. 

I jumped up realizing why Ron had probably laughed. I was wearing a Tinkerbell t-shirt and matching pyjama shorts.

"Yes, okay. Um... I'm gonna go change, and then we can go?" I directed the last part of my question at Ron, still feeling awkward. Thankfully, he smiled. 

"I'll wait here."

I dashed upstairs, into my grandma's room.  I had been slowly moving my stuff in there because it had more space and a nicer closet. Plus, I was basically wearing her clothes all the time anyway. 

The weather was beginning to warm up, but it was perpetually cloudy here, so I settled on some brown flare legged dress pants and black heeled boots. I pulled on one of my own looser sweaters, a white one that tucked nicely into the pants. I was going for a casual but elegant look, and I was hoping I wasn't severely underdressed.

I brushed my teeth and put on some makeup before tying half my hair up in a loose updo and leaving the rest of it over my shoulders.

Five minutes later, I had my purse, phone and sunglasses on, and was ready to roll. 

I climbed down the stairs, where Ron was waiting to escort me to the car. I got in the backseat and he got in the front.

The restaurant we were going to was about a fifteen-minute drive, so I settled back in the seat, twitching my fingers nervously. After about a minute or so, I broke the silence. 

"Hey Ron, so when I get nervous I talk a lot. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about you so I can distract myself? Are you even allowed to give away that information? Sorry, I don't wanna-"

"If you don't mind me interrupting, Lady Evangeline, you're welcome to ask questions. Please remember to breathe."

I heaved in a breath before continuing. 

"Cool. Okay... Are you married?"

"Yes, to my husband Trevor. We've been together for nearly 30 years."

"Woah. That's amazing. Obviously, stop me if I'm crossing private life boundaries, but I also heard you have kids?"

He smiled at me. 

"Lady Evangeline, I'm going to be getting to know your private life quite intimately. We can talk about my family a little too. And yes, I have three daughters. They're all grown, a little older than you. Elsie is married to a man named Joel, she lives in Bristol. She's a teacher at an elementary school there. Mariah has twins with her partner Alex. They both work in conservation, and Johanna is working overseas as a journalist."

"Wow, they sound incredible."

"They are. And while I'd love to gush about my wonderful husband and beautiful daughters for hours on end, I'm afraid we are almost to the restaurant."

I inhaled sharply. I don't know why I was so nervous. None of this was real, but the sweat on my palms and shaky heartbeat felt pretty real to me. 

Ron pulled into the private parking area.  

"Are you alright, Lady Evangeline?"

"You can just call me Evangeline, honestly. I don't really care. And to be honest with you Ron, I'm freaking out a little. Do I look okay?"

He twisted in his chair. 

"I'll be completely honest with you, Trevor is good with hair, not me, but..." he trailed off, reaching out and fixing a piece that was hanging over my eyes.

"Better?"

"You look great."

"Thanks, Ron. Try not to let me fall on my face out there, okay?"

He chuckled as he got out of the car. He opened my door and helped me stand up. 

"I'll do my best."