Finally he nodded. ‘Agreed.’
‘And I can keep on stone-walling with Bert?’
That wasn’t as easy. ‘That’ll raise eyebrows. Princesses don’t stone-wall.’
‘This one does,’ she told him. ‘Or it’s no deal. I’ll be your part-time princess and you can be my part-time prince. But from eight to four, it’s off with the tiara and on with the overalls. You can lock the gates so there’s nobody to see me do it, apart from Bert and the guys. Bert already knows what the deal is. He’ll keep his mouth shut and the men think I’m eccentric anyway.’
‘You can’t keep stone-walling,’ he said faintly, looking again at her hands. ‘You can’t want to.’
‘I can and I do.’ She leaned forward, trying to make him understand. ‘Alastair, will you continue to be an architect as well as a prince?’
That was different. ‘Yes, but-’
‘But nothing. I’ve spent years learning how to stone-wall. I’m good at what I do and it took years of negotiating before I got Bert to employ me. He’s giving me the chance of being a master waller. I’m not about to give that chance up now.’
‘With the money you’ll earn, you won’t need to be a master waller.’
‘Like you won’t need to be an architect. But you won’t stop.’
‘But-’
Penny-Rose shook her head, refusing to be swayed. ‘But nothing. There’s no negotiating on this one. I can use your money for the kids’ education, and I can’t tell you how much of a relief that will be, but afterwards I’ll put what remains into a nice little pension plan for when my fingers get too feeble to wiggle copestones.’
‘It’ll be some pension plan.’
‘And very nice it’ll be, too.’ She chuckled, and her green eyes met his and held. ‘You are serious about all this?’
There was only one reply to that. Alastair had no choice. ‘I am serious.’
‘But…you do have reservations?’
And he had to be truthful again. ‘I do.’
‘Well, so have I,’ she told him. ‘But if the choice is for Michael not to go to university and for your villagers to lose their homes, I think we could give it a crack, don’t you?’
There was a moment’s pause. The thing hung in the air between them-a weighty decision, to be made one way or another right now. Because, marriage of convenience or not, they both knew this decision would change their lives for ever.
But he couldn’t step back now. Not when so much was at stake.
‘I believe we can give it a crack,’ he said at last, and finally he allowed himself to relax. He smiled. ‘After dessert, of course. Can I interest you in Pierre’s excellent raspberry souffle?’
‘You can indeed,’ she said cordially. ‘And then let’s plan how we intend to get married.’
CHAPTER FOUR
IT WAS amazing how quickly, once a decision had been made, that plans were set in concrete. Before she could change her mind, Alastair told Marguerite and Belle, and Penny-Rose was left to tell Bert.
‘One wisecrack about romance and you’re dead,’ she told her boss. ‘It’s a marriage of convenience for a year, but the world-and the team-has to think it’s indefinite. You know why I’m doing it, and it was you who made me listen to the man. So you can just shut up and support me. Or else.’
Bert did. Surprisingly, he met her decision with wholehearted approval, and proceeded to tell the men- confidentially-that Penny-Rose was taking a step up in the world. He didn’t tell them about the time frame, but he did tell them everything else.
The men sat in stunned silence while they took it in.
And then they wholeheartedly approved! In the time they’d worked with her, the team had become extraordinarily fond of their ‘Penny-Rose’, and in their opinion her stroke of good fortune couldn’t have happened to anyone nicer.
But they couldn’t understand why she was still sorting rocks as if nothing had happened.
‘I’m not royal yet,’ she retorted. ‘And even when I’m married, I’ll still be me.’ Still Penny-Rose, she thought. Not Rose yet. ‘I’m better off out here.’
Out of the publicity, she meant. Here, in the secluded castle grounds, working alongside her friends, she was shielded from media hype. She could concentrate on what she was good at and block out her increasing nervousness.
She could also block out her siblings’ reactions. Which was tricky.
Because she couldn’t tell them it was a business arrangement which would last only for a year. They felt so indebted to her already… If they knew she was doing this for them, she’d have a mass educational walk-out, which was the last thing she wanted.
So she told Heather the bare facts and left her sister to fill in the gaps as best she could. Which Heather did, with relish.
‘That’s just fantastic.’ Heather could hardly believe it. ‘Oh, Penny-Rose, I always knew you’d marry someone special. A real live prince? Is he fabulous?’
‘I guess you could call him fabulous,’ she said cautiously, and Heather chuckled.
‘He’d have to be if you’ve decided to marry him. I know what you think of marriage.’ She hesitated and Penny- Rose could hear her uncertainty down the line. ‘What does he call you? Penelope?’
‘Rose.’
‘Even though he knows you’re called Penelope?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’ll be Princess Rose?’
‘I guess so.’ She took a deep breath. ‘He says…he says he won’t call me Penny-Rose because I’m worth much more.’ She didn’t add that the way he called her Rose made her feel odd-like he was deliberately distancing himself from who she really was.
But Heather loved it. ‘Then he is special,’ Heather said soundly. ‘And…’ Penny-Rose could imagine her sister’s glee on the other end of the line. ‘Is he very rich?’
‘Um, yes.’
‘Specialler and specialler.’
Penny-Rose grinned. ‘Specialler… Is that good grammar?’
‘Always the big sister. Leave my grammar alone. When do we get to meet him?’
‘The wedding’s in six weeks. Alastair will send you plane tickets, if you can come.’
There was a squeal of delight from the other end of the phone. ‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘Oh…’ A long sigh of pure pleasure. ‘Try and keep us away. Can we be bridesmaids?’
‘I’m not having bridesmaids.’
‘Princesses always have bridesmaids.’
‘Not this one.’
‘But…’ There was a slight pause. ‘It is going to be a royal wedding-right?’
There was only one answer to that. ‘Yes.’
‘Fabulous.’ Another sigh, then… ‘Help, we don’t have anything to wear.’
This had already been discussed. ‘Alastair’s sending you a cheque,’ she told her sister. ‘So…so you can get something wonderful to wear.’ When she revealed how much the cheque would be for, there was a moment’s silence.
‘Is this guy for real?’
‘Yes.’
‘Does he have any brothers?’
That brought another grin. ‘No.’
