Royal(62)
“His father is my new boss. He just gave me a job as an assistant trainer at the stables.”
“Excellent.” They talked for a few more minutes and hung up. The call didn’t really surprise her. She knew that Anthony had a reputation as a playboy in London, but he was harmless, and there was no romance between them. They were just friends. He sent her red roses to thank her for coming to the party, which was very nice of him.
After that she turned her attention to the ceremony for her stepfather. The queen did it herself at Buckingham Palace in a small receiving room. It was all very official, with a saber she used to tap him on each shoulder and declare him a knight of the British Empire, and he would be known as Sir Jonathan Baker hereafter. Tears rolled down his cheeks as she pronounced it, and Annie cried too, and was so proud of him. The boys had new suits, their first, for the occasion, and Jonathan did too and looked very proper. His mother was there and was bursting with pride, and she was happy to see Annie. It made Annie miss Lucy too, who would have been ecstatic at the knighting ceremony. The Markhams attended, and the woman Jonathan was dating, who was very polite and nice to Annie, and seemed very smitten with him. There were several officials and the lord chamberlain of the queen’s household and her secretary. A round of champagne was served, and then Jonathan treated his family and the Markhams to dinner at Rules, the oldest restaurant in London. At Annie’s request, Anthony arranged to have them go to Annabel’s to dance afterward. It was a perfect evening. Annie couldn’t help thinking how her life had changed in a short time. Her stepfather was a knight now, and she was a royal princess. The headwaiters and manager at Annabel’s fawned over her, and she danced with Jonathan. He smiled at her, and she called him Sir Jonathan, and he called her Your Royal Highness…but whatever the titles, she knew she would always be just Annie to him, and the daughter of his heart, which was the best part.
Chapter 15
At the end of October, Annie returned from Kent to the queen’s stables to start her job as assistant trainer. She’d been staying with Jonathan and the boys and enjoyed it. It felt almost like old times, except for Lucy’s absence. Annie still missed her.
As a trainer, she had more responsibilities than she’d had as an intern, and was assigned to the three barns on a rotating schedule. She learned a great deal about their breeding program, which she discussed with Jonathan whenever she visited with them. The process of selection of matching up the horses to be bred was fascinating, and as much art as science. Lord Hatton consulted with the queen about almost every choice.
Annie loved her job, although it was all-consuming and she had no time for anything else. She didn’t mind.
In November, she received the queen’s invitation to spend Christmas with them at Sandringham, which meant that she couldn’t spend it with Jonathan and the twins if she accepted, but he understood, and thought she should spend it with her royal family this year. She was sorry not to be with him in Kent, but Christmas with her royal aunts, uncle, cousins, and grandmother, was appealing too. She didn’t know who else would be there, but had the impression it was only family. And this time, she would have to buy some clothes. The only proper dress she had was the one she had bought for Anthony’s party for the Texas oilman. She was sorry she didn’t have the tiara to wear with it again. It had been the perfect look, and she smiled when she thought of it. It seemed particularly appropriate because people were always comparing her to her own mother and Queen Victoria, since both of them had also been small. The rest of the family seemed to take after the German side and were much taller than she. All of Queen Alexandra’s sons were tall like their father, and the queen was tall too.
Sandringham was in Norfolk, much closer to London than Balmoral Castle, and it was where the royal family usually spent Christmas. She shopped for some dresses, most of them black or navy, and a deep red velvet one for Christmas Eve. She bought gifts for everyone when she had a day off. She bought Jonathan a beautiful set of antique leather-bound books and a pinball machine for the twins, which was delivered the morning of Christmas Eve. When she called, Jonathan said they had gone nuts and invited all their friends from school to come over and play.
And she had sent a beautiful warm black coat to Jonathan’s mother, her other grandmother. She had seen too little of her since going to work at the royal stables, but she wrote to her whenever she had time. Her new allowance enabled her to make generous gifts to all of them, and she was sorry not to see them over Christmas. She knew they understood that she had new responsibilities now, and two families. It was going to be her first royal Christmas.
Annie was shown to a beautiful bedroom at Sandringham when she arrived, and several footmen carried her bags and all her packages to her room. She was directing them about where to put everything when a familiar face walked past her room, and she saw Anthony Hatton standing in the doorway, smiling at her. His father was there too, and she remembered that the Hattons spent Christmas with the queen’s family every year. She was embarrassed not to have brought something for him. She had given Lord Hatton a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne before she left the stables. She was genuinely surprised to see Anthony. She hadn’t seen him since his party for the oilman. They had both been busy with their new jobs.
“I hoped I’d see you here.” He smiled at her as he crossed the room to kiss her. “I meant to call you, but my life has been insane. The PR firm I’m working for has really taken off. I’ve been running parties for them every week with a list of VIP clients an arm long. What about you? Is my father working your tail off?”