A Very Merry Princess. Susan Mallery
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MIGHT HAVE a few complaints about her princess lifestyle but how she traveled on official business was not one of them. She arrived at the private airport before Rida, then inspected the large stall that had been set up in her father’s Boeing 757. A luxurious seating area and private cabins took up the front of the plane, but the rear had been converted to the aviation equivalent of a horse stable.
Thick mats under a generous layer of wood pellets would provide cushioned comfort for the horse. The water trough would sway with any movement, keeping splashing to a minimum. She had a couple of rubber trash cans with lids and the equipment she needed to take care of any bathroom issues.
Although the 757 offered every comfort imaginable, Bethany would stay in the back with her horse. She had a comfortable chair and her e-reader, which were all she needed. Rida had been taken on a couple of short flights to get him used to the experience, but he’d never been in the air as long as he would be today. Her job was to keep him calm and safe. As she’d been a part of his life since the day he was born, just having her around quieted him.
She walked down the long ramp and waited for the entourage that would signal Rida’s arrival. She’d already checked that everything necessary for his move to the States was on board. She was bringing her own hay, straw, pellets, blankets. The list went on. His new home would be unfamiliar, but everything that surrounded him would be known. She’d even arranged for fifty gallons of El Baharian water to accompany them so he could get used to the new California water slowly.
She supposed there were those who would say she was being ridiculous—that he was just a horse and would be fine. But he was more than that to her. Not only was it her job to take care of him, she loved him and she would miss him when he was gone.
A truck and horse trailer pulled up to the plane and behind it, a gleaming black Rolls-Royce with royal flags flying. Bethany might adore her equine charge, but she also understood her place in the world order. She walked over to the car and waited while her father stepped out.
“I thought we’d said our goodbyes at the palace,” she told him. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you once again.”
King Malik smiled. “I could not bear for the daughter of my heart to leave without us having a few more minutes together.”
“And?”
“I’m checking on you. I sense something is wrong. Tell me what it is.”
Every now and then her father surprised her by being emotionally perceptive. Not a traditional characteristic in a male ruling monarch. Imperious, yes. Decisive, sure. But aware of the ebb and flow of his daughter’s emotions? Why now?
“Dad, I’m totally fine.”
“Of course you are. Would you prefer someone else to go with Rida in your place?”
“What? And leave him in the hands of a stranger? I don’t think so.”
“I doubt any of the groomsmen at the royal stable would be considered strangers,” her father said gently. “Is it that you will miss your brothers?”
Of course she would miss her brothers. They were sixteen, fourteen and twelve, and she adored them. Being a big sister was a lot more fun than she would have thought.
“I will miss all my family,” she murmured, glancing at the horse trailer. “Dad, we really have to get going.”
Her father stayed where he was. “They’ll wait.”
Right. Because, hey, it was his plane.
“Daughter of my heart, I know there have been difficulties as you have found your way to adulthood,” King Malik began. “Unexpected pitfalls.”
Bethany stifled a groan. She so didn’t want to have this conversation. Not now. Not again.
The unexpected pitfalls, as he’d called them, had been a series of hideous events that had left her feeling exposed and incredibly betrayed.
At fourteen, Bethany had been sent to a Swiss boarding school populated by the daughters of presidents, prime ministers and kings. She’d loved her studies and had made plenty of friends. Missing her family had been a drag, but she’d handled it.
At a coed dance with a neighboring school, she’d met a boy. It had been an innocent flirtation, completely age appropriate, and the night had ended with her first kiss. Only a frenemy had found out and had written all about it in an underground school blog. Someone leaked the blog to the European press and the story had grown into a scandal of sex parties and drugs.
Bethany had been humiliated. Her parents had offered her the chance to return to El Bahar and she’d taken it. Private tutors and her love of learning had meant she’d finished high school only two years later. She’d gone to college in Tennessee. Older and wiser, she’d been exceptionally careful about dating.
She’d fallen for a sweet guy—a slightly nerdy engineering major. They’d taken things slow. When they’d finally become lovers, he’d secretly taken pictures and sold them to a tabloid. While there hadn’t been actual frontal nudity, there’d been no confusing what—and who—was in the pictures. The headline—I Deflowered a Princess—had added to the clarity of the moment.
Once again a devastated Bethany had retreated to the safety of the palace walls. Her father had threatened to hunt down the young man in question and throw him in the dungeon while deciding which of several horrible ways to punish him. Her normally even-tempered mother had agreed. When Bethany surfaced from the shame, she’d been more concerned about what she was doing wrong.
Other people managed to grow up in the limelight without so much as a misstep. Was it because she was just some kid from Riverside, California? Was there a whole “to the manor born” thing she was missing? Regardless of the reason, she’d accepted that she had to be even more careful. She’d withdrawn from much of what the world considered ordinary life. She could trust her family and the people in the palace and her horses. Everyone else—not so much.
Which was why she would travel as plain Beth Smith and not tell anyone in Happily Inc who she really was. While she helped Rida get settled, she would experience living as a normal, happy young woman before returning to the safety of the palace once again.
Now she looked at her father. “Dad, it’s not the pitfalls. It’s that you sold Rida. He’s wonderful. Fast and smart, with perfect form. He would have been a wonderful addition to our breeding program.”
“Yes, he would have been. However, in my stable every horse is perfection. He would have been one of many and I believe he deserves more. He deserves to be special. In America he will have a chance to fulfill his potential—to find out all he is meant to be.”
She narrowed her gaze. “We are still talking about the horse, right?”
Her father smiled. “Of course. What else?”
He had a point—it wasn’t as if she was staying in Happily Inc. Once Rida was settled, she would be returning home. In time for Christmas, as she’d promised her mother.
She hugged her father. “I’ll be okay, Dad.”
He held on tight for a second before letting her go. “You know how to get in touch with me if you need anything. If necessary, the El Baharian Air Force is at your disposal.”
“I’m going to pretend you never said that.”
Her father chuckled, then got back in his car and was whisked away.
With the royal distraction gone, Bethany turned her attention to the horse trailer. She helped unfasten the latches, then spoke softly to the huge, solid black horse.
“Hey, big guy. How are you feeling? Ready for an adventure? I think we should check out this little town called Happily Inc. It’s supposed to be really nice this time of year. What do you say?”
She walked into the trailer and untied Rida, then guided him down the ramp. She gave him a couple of minutes to adjust to being outside, before