Thank goodness they couldn't see through the dark-tinted windows to watch her try to control her panic.
Tirith had insisted this event couldn't be cancelled. Tirith would understand Maggie’s fear. If it could have been cancelled, it would have been. Because as important as her sister had insisted it was, Maggie wasn't sure she could go through with it.
Behind the knot of people on the sidewalk, a green lawn was populated with colorfully-dressed patrons. A huge white tent had been erected at the back of the property. And flanking the lawn on both sides would be the carefully-tended gardens.
A garden party.
Nothing to be terrified of.
Unless you were Maggie.
"Just go," she muttered under her breath.
"Your highness?" the driver questioned politely. His gaze flashed to her in the rearview mirror.
He probably thought she was nuts.
He'd be right. She was crazy to have agreed to this.
"Do you want me to go?" he asked.
Yes!
But she answered, "No," on a sigh.
She got out, not waiting for him to come around and open her door. The midmorning heat hit her in the face like a torch. She forced her wobbly legs to carry her onto the sidewalk.
Thank goodness she'd opted for flats again.
Immediately, the knot of people surrounded her.
"Your highness."
"This way—"
She tried to keep her focus on the people, but her vision blurred at the edges. She started to sweat.
"Could I have a glass of water?" she asked no one in particular, but a man peeled off from the group, presumably to find it for her.
She was going to faint. She was going to embarrass herself. Tirith. The entire royal family.
She gasped, reaching out—
And Luc was there beside her, his arm sweeping around her waist.
"Thank you all for your attentiveness to the princess, but if you don't mind, I have to borrow her to say a private hello."
He left the innuendo right out there and received several chuckles even as he swept her away.
She would've been outraged if she’d had any energy for it. As it was, she couldn't catch her breath. Each inhale was a shallow burst of air that did nothing to fill her lungs.
He held her closely to his side, carrying most of her weight across the lawn. To where?
"Stay with me," he murmured into the hair just above her ear.
What else was she to do? She'd lost motor power over her entire body. Black spots danced in her vision.
And then they followed a flagstone path several paces into a secluded hedgerow. A lovely old tree with a gnarled trunk overhead provided a canopy of shade.
