“Another thing for me to remember. Let’s see what you can do with twenty minutes left to prepare for dinner. Don’t think the tumbled hotel look you passed off to me will do in this case. Semi-formal – like those gorgeous summer dresses you’ve been wearing this week and your hair pulled back in combs. Sitting next to you, I’ll be lucky if I can manage to eat a bite.”
She slapped him. “Get out of here or I’ll never be ready.” He planted a quick peck on her cheek before he dashed for the door. “I’ll send Jasmine for you. I want to be surprised when you walk in the dining room.”
The door shut leaving Megan alone again, her upside down world somehow finding a balance-act between her domain and his. It was too late for her heart to turn back. She’d fallen hopelessly in love with the Prince of Edstrom Isle.
The evening transferred from dining to family room without a hitch. The girls talked non stop about the Christmas tree and Suzanne filled everyone in on the news in town.
“It was such fun dodging the media. James is so good at it. But we did get cornered once and I stated that the royal family were treating their guests wonderfully and all was in preparation for the Prince’s Induction.” She looked at the Queen. “That was okay to say, right?”
“Fine, Suzanne. You’ve surpassed my expectations. I thought all Americans spouted their mouths freely.” If that was a jab at Megan, she chose to ignore it.
“Did you get the snow in the can?” Jasmine asked.
“We did. All set to spray it on tonight after supper unless your mother has other plans,” said Suzanne.
“No plans. Let’s see if my daughters prefer a frozen white Christmas or a hot tropical one.”
“I vote for tropical with the look of cold,” Megan said. “Although, as a child, the after-dinner activity was to sled down the slippery slopes close to our home. The exercise tended to wear off the heaviness of all that food at lunch.”
“But then you all came back to feast on dessert tossing that weight-loss program out the window.” Suzanne said, her laughter ringing through the air and refreshing Megan’s spirit.
“I remember. Those were fun times.”
“Suzanne, did you always celebrate the holiday meal with the Fairchild’s?” asked James.
“After my folks died, they took me in. Meg and I are inseparable and blood sisters.”
The Queen broached the subject under dispute. “And what do you think of Megan and Prince Ryannaus dating.” She asked Suzanne but cast her son a look of mock humor.
“Super excited! She loves the guy. Who am I to interfere?” That got a smile out of Ryan but it was extinguished in his mother’s next breath.
“A good friend might, if she suspected the match wasn’t right.” The Queen Mother was on a roll.
Megan groaned inwardly: Here they go again.
“Not for me to say. They’re both grown ups and she signs my paycheck so I know where to draw the line.” She laughed, oblivious to the new tension in the room. “Besides, Ms. Claus, the ultimate matchmaker, does not make mistakes and she sent us here. Two lonely hearts waiting to be united. So romantic.” Everyone at the table was amused, except the Queen.
“Shall we go destroy another tradition and test out the snowy touch on the royal tree?” said the Queen Mother, standing to her feet.
Ryan scraped the chair on the bare floor and shot up. “It’s just a Christmas tree, Mum, same decor everyone in the world places in their home this time of year.” He reached for Megan’s hand and she took it timidly.
Megan could hear the anger in his voice and hated that his annoyance stemmed from his feelings for her. They led the party from the dining room, with Suzanne and James waiting to follow the Queen in the rear. The children ran to the tree. “Look, Mum, the tree is finished and beautiful, just like always.”
“It is. You did a fine job helping the staff get it just right.”
Jasmine grabbed Megan’s hand and started to point out all the memories trinkets that adorned the tree. “And this one Papa gave me last year. A pair of skates. We have artificial ice at Tames Park in the village and we’d often sneak there after they closed to the public. He’d spin me and Eramosa round and round. He loved talking about the cold wintry Christmases when he visited other countries, but Mum not so much.”
Everyone in the room, including the Queen, took a turn spraying the end of branches with the white snow. The girls giggled at each modification, and when completed, they all stood back and surveyed the changes to the traditional family tree.
Queen Mum broke the silence. “Impressive. It actually makes me think of Julius – he loved the atmosphere the icy touches on foliage created in a landscape. It’s a wonder he never brought the can of magic snow home before.” She looked at Megan and smiled. “Thank you for the suggestion and the comforting memory of my husband.”
Megan offered a slight curtsy and the woman turned to her children. “Now, come give Mum a hug before I retire. I have a feeling my dreams will be more of a jolly nature tonight.”
Megan’s time with Ryan was interrupted over the next few days as preparations for the Coronation on Saturday fast approached. At times she sat at the back and watched rehearsals like a fly on the wall expecting the shadow of a swatter to come smacking down on her commoner backside at any minute. Other times she walked the grounds with Suzanne and listened to her fairy-tale love story with James. But her favorite time had been decorating the wee tree Ryan
