Next in Line (William Warwick, #5)(19)

‘The person who had the job before Ross,’ explained Beth.

‘Does the Princess have a police car like mine?’ asked Peter, winding it up again.

‘Sure does,’ said Ross, ‘and I sit in the front passenger seat, while the Princess sits in the back with her lady-in-waiting.’

‘What’s a lady-in-waiting?’ asked Jojo as she picked up a window and checked the picture on the lid. It didn’t help that the palace had seven hundred and sixty windows.

‘Someone who accompanies the Princess whenever she attends an official function,’ Ross explained. ‘Usually a close friend.’

‘I’d like to be a lady-in-waiting,’ said Artemisia.

‘What about protocol?’ said Beth with a wry smile. ‘Did they teach you how to behave in front of a member of the Royal Family?’

‘You bow from the neck, not the waist, while making sure you always address them by their correct title,’ said Ross looking up, ‘and you must never ask a member of the Royal Family a question.’

‘That must make for a one-sided conversation,’ suggested Beth.

‘How would I address the Queen if I met her in the street?’ asked Jojo.

‘You would curtsey, not bow, and address her as “Your Majesty”,’ said Ross as Artemisia fixed an archway into the front of the palace.

‘What about Arti’s friend, Princess Diana?’

‘“Your Royal Highness”, when you first meet her, then “ma’am” during any further conversation, and “Your Royal Highness” again when the conversation ends and she moves on.’

‘Good morning, Your Royal Highness,’ said Artemisia as she stood up and curtsied.

‘But surely if you’re a friend like Arti,’ said Jojo, ‘you can call her Diana?’

‘Certainly not,’ said Ross, with mock horror. ‘Not even her lady-in-waiting addresses her by her Christian name.’

‘Then who does?’ asked Beth.

‘Other members of the Royal Family and close friends, but then only in private.’

‘And do the same rules apply for the Queen?’ asked Beth. ‘Does anyone call her Elizabeth?’

‘I suspect only the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and the Duke of Edinburgh, who all call her “Lilibet”, but not in public.’

‘Do they also bow and curtsey?’

‘On state occasions, yes, and I’m told first thing in the morning and last thing at night.’

‘I’ll bet the Duke of Edinburgh doesn’t bow before he climbs into bed,’ said Beth.

‘They have separate bedrooms,’ said Ross, looking across at Artemisia and Jojo, who were continuing to build their palace. He was delighted to see how well his daughter had settled in, and that she was clearly now accepted as a member of the family.

Ross got up off the floor as Peter practised reversing his police car and turning a half circle before speeding away. ‘I can’t begin to thank you enough,’ Ross said as Beth handed him a glass of mulled wine.

‘We love her as if she were our own,’ said Beth. ‘So don’t even think about taking her away.’

‘Not much chance of that happening while I’m working for Diana,’ said Ross.

‘Princess Diana!’ said Artemisia firmly.

Beth laughed. ‘Why don’t you two catch up,’ she said, turning to William, ‘while I go and check on the turkey, because it sure won’t cook itself.’

Ross fell into the chair next to William and immediately asked, ‘Has Booth Watson raised his head above the parapet while I’ve been away?’

‘Not enough for me to take a potshot,’ admitted William, while offering Ross a mock toast. ‘However, we do know he’s been holding legal meetings with his client at Belmarsh every Friday morning for the past few weeks. In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if he’s decided not to take us on.’

‘Why wouldn’t he,’ said Ross, ‘when he’s got nothing to lose?’

‘Perhaps he has got something to lose,’ came back William. ‘Because I’m not altogether convinced Faulkner even knows his prized art collection is no longer hanging on the walls of his home in Spain, but is now stored in a warehouse near Gatwick airport.’

‘Which would confirm,’ suggested Ross, ‘that Booth Watson didn’t realize Faulkner was still alive when he set off for England in his yacht. Although that’s hardly slam dunk.’

‘Until you add the fact that Faulkner’s home in Spain was put on the market at around that time, and has since been taken off.’

‘What’s he up to?’ mused Ross.

‘I suspect that, like us, he’d be quite happy to see his client remain in jail for a very long time. While the cat’s away …’

‘I can’t make up my mind which one of them is the bigger crook.’

‘A close-run thing,’ suggested William, ‘but we’ll find out soon enough when the case comes to court.’

‘Meanwhile, what has the home team been up to in my absence?’

‘Preparing themselves for what I suspect will be a bruising encounter with Superintendent Milner and his cronies, once they discover what our real purpose is.’