Not with Queen Louise. Not with Gill.
That stung.
Kat prided herself on being able to fix things, whether a problem or a sick animal. She had no way of making this situation better. That made her feel worthless. A way she hadn’t felt since she was younger and needed to know why her parents didn’t want her anymore.
She plopped onto an overstuffed yellow-and-gray striped reading chair where she had a perfect view of the tree and not as good of one of Gill.
Kat had no doubt the wedding would be wonderful, but her dream of a fabulous Christmas at the castle was disappearing faster than the dog biscuits they gave out to patients at the animal hospital.
On the twenty-fourth, Sophie and Bertrand would leave on their honeymoon. Kat had planned to stay here for Christmas and then fly home the next day. Now she wasn’t sure what she should do. The queen and Gill made Kat feel like an intruder. She might feel less unwelcome and alone spending Christmas in a hotel rather than here where she wasn’t welcome.
Gill sat on the couch next to her chair. “What are you thinking?”
She didn’t want to tell him because she didn’t want Sophie to know. Kat could check into a hotel after the newlyweds took off. Her friend would never have to know she hadn’t spent Christmas at the castle. She doubted the queen or Gill would mention her.
But Kat needed to reply now. Something safe and on topic. “That this is where you’re supposed to say ‘I told you so.’”
His smile widened, and once again, she had to admit he had a nice one. “No need because you admitted I was right.”
“You like that.”
“Of course.”
“Then you should know your call to Olga worked,” Kat said. “Sophie’s wedding diet is over, and she enjoyed every bite of her lunch.”
“What about you?” he asked.
“Delicious.” Her entrée had been incredible with spices she’d never considered combining. “Though I couldn’t pronounce many of the dishes.”
“That’s the Eastern European influence.”
Kat nodded. “Olga joined us for lunch and gave me a history lesson on food in Alistonia.”
His gaze softened. “That sounds like Olga.”
This was the opening Kat needed to find out more about his childhood. “Did you have a different nanny?”
“Yes. Freya was British and very proper.”
While Olga seemed warm and loving. That could explain a few of the differences between the two siblings.
“Was Freya with you long?” Kat asked.
“Until I was eight and went off to boarding school. After that, her services were no longer needed.”
Kat tried to picture a young boy being sent away to school. Home was a place to live, not where a child spent school vacations. “So young.”
Then again, she’d only been four when her parents left her with her grandparents, but at least she’d been with family, not paid faculty.
“That was the age my older brother went away to school.”
“You followed in his footsteps.”
“Tradition.” He spoke without emotion.
“That had to be difficult on you and your parents.”
“It was,” he admitted to her surprise. “My mother thought I wasn’t ready, but my father said she coddled me too much and it would be best for me to go away to school.”
