Her Royal Highness (Royals #2)(14)

“Saks did,” Perry said. “I have never chosen to be at Gregorstoun, and I want that noted for the record. And possibly engraved on my headstone.”

Rolling her eyes, Saks leans down and says to me, “Perry has been moaning about this place since he was twelve, so I decided I’d come and see what all the fuss was about.” Then she flips her long dark hair over one shoulder. “Besides, if it’s good enough for a princess, it’s certainly good enough for me.”

She leans in closer, lowering her voice. “Princess Flora is here,” she says in a stage whisper. “As in the Princess Flora.”

“Right, not the other, off-brand one,” I joke. “Do they give her some kind of special tower room or something?”

Sakshi wrinkles her nose. “You haven’t seen her? She’s supposed to be rooming on your floor.”

I shake my head. “I have seen no princesses,” I say, and then . . .

No.

My mouth dry, I ask, “Do either of you have a phone? So you can show me her picture?”

Perry shakes his head, but Saks looks around before reaching into the waistband of her skirt and pulling out a rose-gold iPhone.

“Saks, it’s supposed to stay in your room—you’re going to get in trouble,” Perry says, but Sakshi just holds up one finger, clicking on her phone with the other.

“Here she is,” she says. “Shopping in New Town, wearing a truly fabulous coat.”

Before she even turns the phone to me, I know, but it’s still a shock to the system to see the picture and clearly recognize Princess Flora.

My roommate.





When Princess Flora joins Gregorstoun this autumn, she’ll be the first female royal to do so in the school’s hundred-year history. However, Flora won’t be alone in making her mark as part of Gregorstoun’s first female class! Let’s have a look at some of the other aristocratic ladies who are heading to the Highlands this year.


Lady Elisabeth Graham: Youngest daughter of the Earl of Dumfries, Lady Elisabeth recently celebrated her twelfth birthday by renting out the entire Edinburgh Zoo for the weekend. Like her mother, the Countess of Dumfries, Lady Elisabeth is quite the equestrian, and we hear she’s greatly looking forward to honing her skills at Gregorstoun.


The Honourable Caroline McPherson: Miss McPherson is the daughter of the Viscount Dunrobbin, and like Princess Flora, she will be completing her final year of secondary school at Gregorstoun. Another thing Miss McPherson has in common with Princess Flora: She was briefly linked romantically to Prince Sebastian’s best friend, Miles Montgomery.


Lady Sakshi Worthington: As the daughter of the Duke of Alcott, Lady Sakshi is second only to the princess herself in terms of rank. Her mother is noted philanthropist and socialite Ishani Virk, whose wedding to the duke was one of the grandest in recent memory. We’re told Lady Sakshi has inherited her mother’s flair for entertaining, as well as her interest in charity work.


(“Ladies of Gregorstoun,” from Prattle)





CHAPTER 9





“You seriously didn’t know you were rooming with the princess?” Sakshi asks as we sit on an uncomfortable sofa in what’s called “the east drawing room.” There’s a buffet table against the back wall that has a bunch of china teacups and saucers, plus tiers of cakes and cookies, but I’m definitely not hungry right now. I did take the cucumber sandwich Saks offered me from her plate, but I’m mostly just crumbling it into a napkin.

“I seriously didn’t,” I tell Sakshi now in a low voice. “But honestly, that seems like the kind of thing someone should’ve told me? I mean, I got about five thousand emails about what kind of socks to buy, but I didn’t get a ‘hi, you’re living with royalty’ heads-up?”

I don’t add that I’m here on scholarship, and for all I know, insulting the royal family is automatic grounds for getting all that sweet, sweet school cash yanked back.

God, why did I choose this one time in my entire life to be snotty to someone?

Perry is perched on a rickety-looking chair he dragged over from the side of the room, and he leans closer, his bony elbows on his knees. “It would make sense for them to do it on purpose,” he says. “To pair her up with someone who’s not technically a subject.” He shrugs his narrow shoulders. “It’s a good idea, really. Makes things less awkward.”

I remember calling the princess Veruca Salt and rolling my eyes at her.

“I . . . may have already made it a little awkward,” I confess. “Although she wasn’t exactly the picture of princessy refinement, so it’s not completely my fault. I think.”

Sakshi’s and Perry’s eyes go wide, and Sakshi grabs my hand. “Okay, tell me everything immediately.”

We sit there on the sofa while I pick at my sandwich some more, visions of being stripped of my fancy new uniform on the first day circling my brain, and fill them in on my first meeting with Her Royal Pain. When I get to the Veruca Salt bit, Perry actually hoots.

“Oh my lord, I would’ve given anything to see her face when you said that.”

“It’s going to be okay, isn’t it?” I ask, crumpling up my crumb-filled napkin. “I mean, they’re not going to—”