Vidal didn’t blink. “She does.”
He had time to do it right. “You’re going to hate this idea…”
Chapter 13
Meredith
He didn’t call. The trip he’d taken was over. Along with the hateful looking colonel, he’d done a press conference. Watching the replay of it on her laptop, all she’d seen was the exhaustion in his eyes. The normal deep tan of his skin held a grayish cast. Maybe no one else saw it, but she noticed.
So, he’s probably sleeping, which is good. He’ll call later.It wasn’t as though he hadn’t called her at all over the intervening three days. She’d merely not let him have any real say. Dominating those conversations and cutting them short proved to be one of the most difficult tasks she’d ever undertaken. Shewantedto hear about him and his day, but Kate made a valid point.
His mother made a similar one over the tea they’d shared. All of her children, she’d stated, were raised to lead, making it as natural as breathing for them to make decisions for those around them. The key, according to his mother, was to allow the appearance of control while not ceding actual control.
Frankly, the complexity created quite a bit of a headache.
Royal games were not her forte. Her phone buzzed as Gencome opened the door to the Mackenzie building. Escapingthe frosty temperature and stepping inside, she paused to pull off her gloves and dig her phone out. Kate’s name flashed at the top of the screen and the message made Meredith smile.Stay strong. His security checked in. He’s fine.
Having contact with Sebastian’s family and friends definitely changed the interminability of the waiting. Today’s lecture was her last for the semester. End of semester finals were scheduled for the rest of the week, then she would head to Los Angeles for the holidays. Her security already cleared the trip—hersecurity. The thought was extremely odd.
Her boots clicked lightly against the tiled floors. In addition to Gencome, her security detail included the driver who’d brought them over from the hotel and two other men who would be present during her lecture. She’d argued against the number initially, but Vidal explained in crisp terms how every man in his place provided support for other members of her detail. Gencome’s sole purpose was her protection. The additional detail would help protect her students.
Stripping off her coat, she tried to organize her thoughts. Overwhelming worry drowned out rational thinking and she really didn’t need students already aching to be away for the holidays to scent blood in the water. She set her bag on the desk and headed for the white board.
A handful of students had already trickled in, but her lecture didn’t begin for another ten minutes so the majority wouldn’t arrive for at least another twelve. Marker in hand, she considered what problem to write. Hell, she couldn’t quite recall whether this was the advanced or the basic class—it was an eight in the morning lecture. It must be the freshman and sophomore mathematical theory course.
Still puzzling through the source of the problem, it took her a moment to recognize a problem was already on the board. Backing up a step, she stared at the series of letters strung acrosslike so much gibberish and, above them, an equation–a cipher. The handwriting wasn’t hers or Dr. Millner’s, who used the lecture hall on the day before she did. A post it was stuck to the side of the board readingdo not erase.
“Hey, Dr. Blake.” The freshman’s greeting pulled her attention from the problem. He held out a sheet of paper to her. A second followed him, then a third. She hadn’t assigned homework, but every page bore a problem—and a solution.
Torn between the board and the pages, a sudden uptick in the room’s volume had her looking at the seats. Nearly every single one was full. Seventy-five students all suddenly deciding to arrive for lecture early was unusual enough. To have them do it on the last week of classes? Simply unheard of. But still more students were coming in, their boisterousness muting as they crossed into the room. Gencome took a spot right next to her and the other two guards stood between her and the standing room only lecture hall.
“Dr. Blake, is that a cipher problem?” an unfamiliar man with red hair inquired from the front row.
“I think it’s change rhythm,” another voice shouted.
“Maybe it’s game theory.”
Once those hardy souls began the speculation, an avalanche of suggestions echoed through the room. Still more than a bit flummoxed, Meredith’s gaze zeroed onto the equation on the first sheet of paper. Definitely a cipher, a substitution cipher. The equation worked out to be the number thirteen. Walking over to her desk, she eyed the noisy hall and frowned.
Silence fell.
“Thank you,” she told them. “At no point this semester has this type of behavior been acceptable. While I don’t have the roster in front of me, I see far more students than are registered for this class. Somyclass will share last week’s problem with you. Work on it while I decipher your prank.”
Amusement rippled through the hall, and Meredith glanced down at the first sheet of paper. The substitution cipher worked out to—Once upon a time…?
The second sheet was another substitution cipher, only it used the number seven.There lived the loneliest prince…
Tears filled her eyes, and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Blinking rapidly, she flipped to the third page. The equation worked out to be a five.…lonely, that is, until he met you…
On the fourth.…the woman he wanted to make his princess, but pride, and stubborn determination got in the way.
On the fifth.You see, this prince only ever wanted to give you your dreams, it was his privilege and honor to try and make them all come true.
On the sixth.He forgot the most important part of making dreams come true…
There was no seventh piece of paper and Meredith pivoted to face the board. It showed a more complicated cipher than all the others—wait, no it wasn’t. A hush filled the room behind her, as if every student held their breath.
It was a Caesar cipher. The solution was three.
