The Heir and the Spare (5 page)

Spots blurred my vision as I followed the group toward a fancy restaurant. Every part of me wanted to shrink away from the blinding flashbulbs. I focused ahead on the shimmering crystal chandeliers visible through the large glass panel doors.

“Just lovely; Jax must've tipped them off. Daft cow, loves to see her face in the rag mags,” Suzy whispered near the entrance.

The doors closed behind us, shutting out the shouts of the press. A pianist played a soft, slow tune to our left. It was pretty, but mournful, a strange choice for a restaurant.

Still seeing spots, I stopped with the group as the maître d' approached us. He bowed and fawned over Edmund.

I can't imagine people treating me like that.
Just watching it felt weird. Then again, growing up with it, he must be used to it.

“Is the rest of our party here?” Edmund asked.

“Right this way, Your Highness.” He led us to a table tucked in an alcove of floor-to-ceiling windows. It was a giant fishbowl. Outside, people surrounded the windows, snapping pictures.

I so don't belong here.

“Edmund, darling.” A tall, lithe woman stood and walked around the table.

Is that Jax?

She had long, thin, blond hair and very white teeth. I never trusted people with overly bleached teeth. Everything about her exuded artificiality, from the warm greeting she gave Edmund to the color of her hair. She reminded me of a robot—just going through the motions.

“Everyone made it.
Fabulous
.” She smiled, but it looked far from sincere. Her eyes scanned our faces and paused when they fell on me, her mouth a thin line.

Oh boy, she already doesn't like me.

She came forward and extended a bony hand to me. “I don't think we've met. I'm
Lady
Jacqueline.”

It's the title.
Something in the way she said "lady" made things click together in my brain.
That's why they want them together.

“Evangeline Gray.” I took her cold, limp hand and attempted to shake it.

“Pleasure.” She raised a perfectly plucked brow and gave me a thorough head-to-toe appraisal. “Shall we sit? We may need more chairs. I didn't expect you'd all want to come.” Her laughter sounded hollow.

Edmund and Jax flanked Preston and Kelsey, who sat across from me. This Kelsey chick never smiled. Okay, that's not entirely true. She smiled at Edmund and Jax. The rest of us weren't on her radar.

Preston looked uncomfortable. He sat stiffly, his jaw set. Kelsey pursed her lips and scrutinized him. Raising her eyebrows, she gave Jax a look I interpreted to say:
Really? This is the best you can bring me?

Caroline and Marissa separated Edmund and me. The few times I caught his eye he smiled, causing a churning sensation to spark inside me. I was grateful no one could read my thoughts or knew what I was feeling. Particularly his watchdog wannabe princess, whose eyes were on me nonstop. It seriously creeped me out.

The tension at the table was palpable. Even the staff seemed to feel it. Our waiter looked rattled. A thin sheen of sweat was noticeable on his upper lip, poor guy.

“I don't drink tap water.” Jax scowled, pushing away the water glass our waiter had placed in front of her.

“It's Evian, ma'am,” the waiter, whom I pegged around our age, answered.

“Take it away.
Now
,” she ordered.

With a nod he picked up the glass and excused himself to check on our order.

“What a little prat,” Jax huffed under her breath. But she was smiling, always smiling. She had to; there were cameras watching.

During dinner Preston kept looking at Caroline and me. Several times he mouthed,
save me
. Thank goodness his back was to the windows. His date spent the evening ignoring him. After the initial hello, they didn't speak at all.

Before the dessert course I excused myself to find the ladies' room. I giggled when I walked in. There were mini crystal chandeliers in the loo.
What am I doing here? This isn't me.
Shaking my head, I went into a stall.

When I finished, I opened my door and found myself staring at Jax's reflection. She was reapplying her lipstick but her eyes were fixed on me. She watched as I washed my hands, her face expressionless.

“So are you liking England? Making friends?” The lid of her lipstick went on with a snap.

“I am.” I met her glaring eyes in the mirror as I rinsed off the soap bubbles.

“That's just great.” She looked at me like I was a threat she needed to neutralize.

Am I a threat?

“Listen, Evangeline, before you get any ideas, here's some advice.” She spun to face me, leaned over, and placed a hand on my arm. Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Stay away from Edmund. Is that clear? He's mine.
Mine
. And his family would
never
approve of you.” Her fingernails dug into my arm.

“Are you serious?”
Is she really threatening me?
This felt like a scene from a bad '80s movie. I chuckled, which only infuriated her more.

“Just keep your hands off. Got it?” She punctuated every word by poking a finger into my shoulder.

Bitch.

“No. Get
your
hands off. Got it?” I wrenched my arm from her grasp. Grabbing a fluffy towel, I dried my hands, then shoved it at her. “Don't ever touch me again.” With that, I left the bathroom.

I had no intention of staying away from Edmund.
If that's what she wants, she'll have to threaten him.

I stopped before rounding the corner to our little display tank. Taking a deep breath, I attempted to compose myself. Jax had me frazzled.

Suzy gave me a questioning look as I sat beside her. Shaking my head, I mouthed
later
. She nodded, but I knew she was dying to hear what had just gone down.

The rest of the evening, any glance I gave Jax was met with a look that said,
I'd bitch slap you if Edmund weren't around
. Caroline and Suzy kept glancing back and forth from Jax to me. No doubt they were picking up on the hatred being sent my way, too.

I struggled to not look at Edmund. And I actually did pretty well, for a few minutes anyway. When I broke down and peeked in his direction he was already watching me. Having caught my eye, his eyebrows pulled down and I thought he might be trying to see if I was okay.

Unsure how to respond, I turned to Caroline. Avoidance was my only option.

A ripple of relief went around the table as dinner ended. Preston looked like he'd just gotten a reprieve from the electric chair. Edmund blew out a breath and tossed down a credit card. I didn't want to think what this miserable evening had cost.

On the way out, Jax pushed ahead of me so she could exit first. Just outside the doors she spun and said, “I'm so glad we had our talk. I do hope we're on the same page.”

“Same page?” I laughed. “How can we be? We're in two different books.”

The photographers still snapped away. I followed her cue and kept my face friendly.

Jax whipped around and huffed to Edmund's side. Leaning up on her tiptoes, she kissed him passionately on the mouth.

Edmund's eyes went wide as he grasped her shoulders. Before he could push her away, she pulled back, a satisfied smirk on her lips.

Marking your territory?

With a pointed look at me, she hopped into her little red sports car and tore away from the curb. The Wicked Witch's theme song
played inside my head.

“I think she likes me,” I said to Suzy and Marissa; both burst into laughter.

“What's so funny?” Edmund asked, wiping his sleeve across his lips and coming to stand by Preston.

I half-smiled. “Just girl stuff.”

Jax was going to be livid when she found out Edmund and I were going to London together next weekend.
Good.

“That's a big clock.” I craned my head back, trying to take it all in.

Edmund laughed. “Yup, it sure is. It should chime in a few minutes,” he said glancing at his watch.

I'm actually standing in front of Big Ben. How awesome is this?
The scene from Peter Pan, where the kids soar through the night sky in front of it, flickered in my memory. Mom couldn't have sent me to a better place for my second quest. Well, having Edmund tagging along made it infinitely more amazing.

I pulled out my phone and snapped some pictures. A shot of Edmund looking up at the tower may have been added to my favorites file.

“I can actually see a bit of this from my room at the palace.”

Laughter burst from my lips. “Must be rough.” I leaned and nudged his shoulder. How strange, to think I had a friend who lived in a palace.

Edmund surveyed the surrounding area. We'd managed to make a run for it and lost the paparazzi on the Underground. He warned me they'd find us again.

His bodyguards were nearby. I turned my head and saw them, standing and watching . . . always watching. Here in the city, they didn't attempt to blend in.

I jumped as Big Ben sounded the hour.

“Told you.” Edmund looked down at me.

A breeze ruffled his wavy hair. I was tempted to reach up and smooth it off his forehead. Instead, I met his eyes with a grin. “Awesome.”

“I've got a bit of trivia you might not know.” Edmund leaned against the railing with his back to the massive tower.

“Lay it on me.” I looked into his face, loving that he knew these little tidbits.

He smiled, pointed up at the clock, and said, “This isn't Big Ben.”

“It's not?” I looked up at the clock, skeptical. “Sure looks like all the photos I've ever seen of it.”

“It's actually Elizabeth Tower.”

I stared up, confused. “Then why is it called Big Ben?”

“Because Big Ben is the name of the largest bell of the five up there.”

“Huh, that's pretty cool.” The corners of my lips curled up. “Do they all have names?”

“No, it's just four quarter bells and Big Ben. I don't know how the nickname started or why it stuck, but it did.”

I glanced up, smiling. “Well, I like it. Who knows, maybe it wouldn't be as famous if it didn't have the nickname.”

“Big Ben does have a nice ring to it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Good one.”

He chuckled. “You ready to go check out the Houses of Parliament?”

“Let's go.” I nodded as he pushed himself off the fence.

Around the corner and into Westminster Palace we went. Inside the large hall, I stopped to take it in. Stone walls, vaulted ceilings, marble floors, and statues everywhere. With the addition of paintings, this trend repeated in most of the rooms we visited.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” Edmund's voice echoed as he stood beside me and looked up to the coffered ceiling.

“Very.”

We spent the morning wandering around, admiring the art and architecture. I jumped when Edmund grabbed my hand. “Let's go to the archives.”

I looked down at our fingers threaded together as he guided me down a long hallway.
He's holding my hand.
It was warm and strong. I liked the way it felt in mine.

He released my hand at the door. I kept a smile plastered on my face so he wouldn't see my disappointment.

Victoria Tower was opposite the building from Big Ben. Inside was a room dedicated to all the bills and acts Parliament had passed. There were displays with lists of current titled aristocrats and their predecessors. Large signs detailed the historical facts of the building and England.

I walked around the room one way, Edmund the other. We met up at the list of nobles. I stood next to him. He was so close our shoulders touched. The warmth from his body seeped into mine. It felt wonderful. I looked through the list, lingering to stay near him.

Don't move away. Stay.

“Lawrence Prescott, that's Lauren's family.” Edmund turned his head to look at me as he pointed.

“Lauren?”

“My sister-in-law, Philip's wife.”

“Gotcha, that Lauren.” My cheeks warmed. I turned back to the list. “Do you know most of these people?”

“A good deal of them, yes. Let's see.” He used a finger to scan through the names. “The Chamberlains are good friends of my parents. And here's Jax's family, the Prices.”

I continued scanning as he pointed out names. My eyes paused at Maxwell Elliot. Wasn't Elliot Mom's maiden name?
Or was it Elliott? I think it was double Ts.
Oh look, there's a Gray. And a Fitzgerald
.
I snapped a picture and sent it to Abby.

“The Bunburys are related to Preston.” Edmund pointed at another name.

“Is Preston's family titled?”

“No, but they have a lot of money.
New
money.”

Turning toward him, I asked, “As opposed to?”

“Old money,” he said, chuckling.

I wasn't seeing why it mattered. “I take it there's some distinction between the two I should know.”

“There's nothing worse to the Old Money set than New Money coming in, well . . . unless it's their own.” He sniffed. “The Old come from generation after generation of family members passing down their familial legacy. They don't like to see the New waltz in. They think they're after their titles and land.”

“Are they?”

“Occasionally, I suppose, but it's not common these days.”

“So then why would Jax have wanted to set her friend up with Preston?”

He blew out a breath. “With her it could be just about anything. It's probably just an excuse to get together, or she's thinking she'll get closer to me if our best mates started dating. I've never understood her.”

A door behind us slammed shut. Edmund and I both turned. A greasy-haired man leered and started snapping pictures.

Edmund gave me a look and I knew we were done. I followed as he walked outside and hailed a cab.