“Yes, of course.” He sighed. “But Ms. Duncan, again if you’ll forgive me saying it, you’ve come a long way since then. You’re not the same young woman you were that day. Now when you walk into the office every day, you do it with your head held high. You don’t let them bother you.”
He slowed the car although we were a few blocks from the Honey Bee Juices building. “If you’d like, I can drive you around to the back of the office, and you can go in the back door.”
I hesitated. I knew full well what Harold was doing; he was giving me an out, a way to avoid a confrontation with the media. I could sneak in the back and be up to my own safe office before anyone knew any differently.
But he was also challenging me not to take the out, and although maybe I shouldn’t have cared what our policeman thought of me, I did. Harold was more than just our trusted security man; he was someone I’d known since my first visit to England. He’d seen me at my high points and my lows. I’d never forget that the day Nicky and I had fought, and I’d left Kensington Palace in tears, it was Harold who’d rescued me. He’d driven me to the airport then without asking any questions or making comments. He’d been my lifesaver. I didn’t want to disappoint him now.
“No, thanks,” I answered him finally. “You can drop me off at front as usual, please. I’m not going to have anyone say I’m a coward, at least.”
Harold didn’t say anything—he merely nodded—but I was sure I saw a glint of pride in his eyes.
When we came to a stop again, Harold jumped out to open my door, but we were surrounded before he could do it. The car rocked as reporters crowded to be as close as they could be. My heart began to pound, and for the first time since that day at the airport two years ago, I was truly afraid.
Then Harold was there, muscling through the crowd, pushing reporters out of the way. I spotted Sophie’s face—furious and worried at the same time—as she shoved photographers back. She caught Harold’s arm and murmured into his ear. I wondered if she was directing him to take me back to the Palace or to call for back up security.
I recognized some of the reporters whose faces were pressed up against the glass windows of the car, but others were new to me. They held out their enormous cameras and clicked madly, not worrying about what they were capturing. They all wanted the quintessential photo of Kyra Duncan, soon to be royal, cowering in the backseat.
And suddenly, the fear vanished and was replaced by a healthy dose of mad. I reached for the handle and opened the door, throwing my weight against it to make room for me to emerge. Harold and Sophie had cleared enough of a path that I managed to swing the door open wide and even remembered to keep my knees together as I got out of the car.
“Kyra! What do you say about the accusations that you’re getting too political?”
“Kyra, is it true you want to eliminate all traditional farms? Do you plan to meet with the secretary of DEFRA to discuss your ideas and concerns?”
“Was the Queen angry with you, Kyra? Did you get a good ticking off?”
I wished I could turn around and answer them all: No, I wasn’t trying to be political. No, I didn’t want to eliminate anyone’s farms, let alone family businesses. I had no plans to meet with any secretary of anything, unless it was in my role at Honey Bee Juices. And as for whether Her Majesty was angry with me, well, that was anyone’s guess. The closest I’d gotten to punishment was the smack on the bottom from Nicky this morning, and that was far from being a deterrent.
“Please! Make way for Ms. Duncan, she’s just trying to get to work.” Sophie walked a little way in front of me, her arms out to either side. “Come on now, be reasonable. You all know she has no comment. Just get out of the way.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Garrett Smith, resplendent in his long hair and multiple tattoos, standing at the back of the throng. He was watching Sophie fight for space, a frown between his eyes. I wondered if he was second-guessing the interview and article now that his girlfriend was on the front lines, dealing with the aftermath.
It seemed as though it took me hours to get into the building, but once I made it, the silence compared to the cacophony outside was lovely. I stood for a moment, my eyes closed as I sucked in deep breaths.
“Kyra, are you all right?” Sophie touched my arm. “That was brutal. I’m so sorry. I feel as though this whole mess is my fault. I never thought—well, I should have anticipated this kind of backlash. But I didn’t, and you’re the one bearing the brunt of it.”
“Don’t blame yourself. I’m a big girl, and I’m the one who made the decision to do the interview.” I managed a smile. “And yes, I’m fine. I don’t necessarily want to go through something like that again, though. I hope something else happens and they all lose interest in me.”
“They will,” Sophie promised. “Someone else will do something that’s truly outrageous, and you’ll be old news. This isn’t that big a story, in the long run. Just let it run its course, and then everything will go back to normal.”
To my shock, Sophie’s prediction turned out to be eerily accurate.
I’d just finished lunch at my desk when my telephone rang. I saw that it was Nicky on the other end, and I assumed he was calling to check on me. Smiling, I answered.
“Never fear, I’m alive. I survived.”
“Good.” He sounded stressed, his voice strained. “Others of us might not be so lucky.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“It’s Daisy.” Nicky’s words were clipped. “She didn’t show up for our visit to the school today. As it turned out ... she eloped.”
My mouth dropped open. “Shewhat?”
Nicky let out a long breath. “She eloped. Ran away to Gretna Green. She outmaneuvered her police protection and ran off with ... well, we’re not entirely clear on who she married, my adorable baby sister.”
“Oh, my God, Nicky.” I dropped my head back. “What happened?”
“I don’t know all the details. I’d just arrived at the school when Ansel, my policeman, got the message. Right after that, Alex texted me. I had to go ahead with the visit to the school without Daisy, giving her apologies to everyone.” He paused. “I’m furious with her.”
