“Perfect.” He beamed. “Absolutely brilliant. English is my mother tongue as well.” He peered closely at her. “But I detect an accent. Are you by any chance a Yank?”
“Guilty as charged. And you sound British to me.”
“Right-o.” He grinned. “I am Phillip Winchester the Third. And who may I ask are you?”
“I am Meredith Cardwell the first.” She grinned and stuck out her hand. “Honored to make your acquaintance, Mr. Winchester.”
“Not as honored as I am. Please, call me Phil.” He winked at Kat as he continued to hold Meredith’s hand. “I thought the princess here was to be my only youthful companion. Well, and the prince too, of course.” He tipped his head to where Mishka was trapped in a conversation with his grandmother and the other couples. Although she wasn’t responsible for his courtlymanners, she felt proud to see him behaving in a way befitting a prince.
“What, may I ask, allows us your lovely presence tonight? A friend of Prince Spencer’s perhaps?” He still held her hand gently.
“Well, yes, I’m sort of a friend of Prince Spencer’s family.” She winked at Kat. “I’m the governess to his charming children.”
Phillip’s brows arched as if this wasn’t the answer he’d expected, but he smiled. Still holding her fingertips, he lifted her hand and kissed it. “I’m pleased that you graced us with your charming company tonight.”
She blushed and hoped he hadn’t misread her friendliness, but continuing to smile, she extracted her hand from his. “I didn’t have much choice since the queen insisted. Speaking of that.” She nudged Kat. “I think your grandmother is summoning you.” With a fixed smile, Meredith nodded at the queen. “Better not keep her waiting, Princess Katerina.”
Kat rolled her eyes, and Meredith suppressed a laugh. “Remember your new confidence,” she whispered. “Don’t prove me wrong, Princess.”
Kat brightened, and putting a spring in her step, went over to the queen and the elderly couple.
Seeing that Phil had not been scared off by her admission, Meredith glanced around then lowered her voice. “May I ask what connection you are to the royal family? As you may imagine, I don’t know anyone here, other than the royal family.”
“My paternal grandparents are the elderly couple visiting with the queen. Earl Phillip Winchester the first and Countess Alexandra. The other couple would be my illustrious parents, Phillip the second and Margaret. And that woman shamelessly flirting with Prince Spencer is my older sister Astrid.” He lowered his voice even more. “Sheis why we are here. The queen is matchmaking for the prince. And my family couldn’t be morepleased. They’ve been hoping to get Astrid settled for a decade, and it was no secret she was one of the candidates for the prince, but Astrid has been extremely finicky.” He chuckled. “Although it seems she is quite taken with Prince Spencer.”
“Indeed.”
“Astrid is ten years older than me, and my grandparents are worried she’s about to become a spinster.” He laughed. “Both families are hoping for a wedding. You see, my grandparents were friends of Prince Spencer’s parents and quite involved in the match between him and the late princess.” He grimly shook his head. “Sad loss that was.”
“It’s been hard on the children.”
“I’ve heard the queen has been interviewing new wife possibilities for a couple of years, but the prince has not shown much interest. Can’t say I blame him, I’ve seen some of the candidates. The theory is they were saving the best for last, meaning Astrid.”
“Well, your sister is certainly beautiful.” Meredith’s fixed smile was starting to ache slightly. This could be a long evening.
“Looks are only skin deep,” he whispered.
“Oh?” Concern for Mishka and Kat came over her. “Does your sister like children?”
“Roasted or fried?” He laughed. “Sorry, poor joke.”
She lowered her voice. “She doesn’t care for children?”
“I’m sure she could tolerate them well enough.” He smiled slyly. “Especially with the right governess on hand. Although I doubt she’d concede to a pretty one like you.” He chuckled. “If the prince goes for Astrid, you will likely kiss your employment goodbye.”
“It’s only a temporary position. In fact, if the queen had her way, I’m sure I’d be gone by now.” Maybe before the evening was over. She watched a servant walk by with a tray of beverages.
“Makes me wish I had children. I’d hire you myself.” Phil chuckled as he picked up a glass for her and another for himself. As they sipped their drinks, he questioned her about a myriad of things. Grateful for his company to distract her from watching Spencer, who had his back toward her, she attempted to be charmingly congenial and interesting.
A bell chimed, and the group was informed that dinner was served. As she followed the others to the formal dining room, Phil took her arm, acting as if she too were royalty. She knew he was just playing, but she appreciated his attentiveness. And throughout the meal, where he and she were seated at the end of the table, away from those with heftier titles, Phil acted as her charming dinner date, introducing her to his family without mentioning her position. Instead, he called her a friend of the family from America and even told them about her two-year stint helping children in Papua New Guinea. Perhaps he painted her a bit too charitably, but she was grateful. And unless she was imagining it, Spencer was watching with interest. Was his mother-in-law right? Was he too interested in the nanny? Or perhaps just curious.
26
After a dinner that went better than Meredith had anticipated, the queen led the group back into the previous room for after-dinner drinks. But before long she announced it was time for the children to go to bed. She locked eyes with Meredith, as if to make it clear she was excused as well.
“I’ve enjoyed your company,” she told Phil before motioning to the children. “Say your goodnights,” she quietly told them, not that they needed her direction. While they politely told the adults goodnight, Phil tried to entice Meredith to stick around for the remainder of the evening, but as Mishka and Kat stopped in front of their grandmother, Meredith reminded the friendly young man of her nanny responsibilities. Her eyes were on the queen as the older woman bent to kiss her grandchildren’s foreheads, pausing to tenderly touch their cheeks with genuine affection. In that moment, Meredith saw the woman in a slightly different light. What a responsibility it must be to be queen.
Mishka hurried directly to Meredith, linking his arm into hers with a big smile. “Now we can read my book,” he whispered. Shenodded as Kat joined them, and holding her head high with a royal child on each arm, they made their exit.
