Christmas in London by Anita Hughes

Author:Anita Hughes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Chapter Ten

KATE STOOD ON THE STEPS of Buckingham Palace and marveled at the wide columns and guards in red-and-black uniforms. The iron gates were inscribed with a gold insignia and even in winter, the gardens were more beautiful than she imagined.

She couldn’t afford another trip to Harvey Nichols, so she wore the same floral satin gown she wore to The Nutcracker. Her hair was pulled into a loose chignon and she had splurged on a bottle of jasmine perfume.

Trevor was the last person who would comment on her dress; he used to wear the same blue shirt every day at St Andrews. Then why was she nervous, like when she brought her prom dress home and it looked different than at the department store?

Of course she was anxious: she was attending a reception at Buckingham Palace! She would see the rooms that seemed as make believe as illustrations in a children’s book: the Music Room where the royal christenings were held and the Picture Gallery filled with paintings from the Royal Collection.

It was more than that. All day there was a fluttering in her stomach, as if the cream on her scone was slightly off. She kept checking her phone to see if Trevor called. When he texted and said he was detained and would meet her at Buckingham Palace, she was a little disappointed.

She couldn’t have feelings for Trevor; they lived on different continents. But they had similar interests and he was so easy to talk to. And she couldn’t ignore the new frisson between them; it was like an electric current.

It couldn’t go further than a kiss. She meant what she said to Louisa: nothing was more important than friendship. If she and Trevor could repair their friendship after all this time, it would be foolish to jeopardize it.

A man strode toward her and she recognized Trevor’s sandy-colored hair and broad shoulders. He wore a white dinner jacket and black slacks.

“There you are.” Trevor approached her. “I was afraid you might have trouble getting through the gate.”

“The cabdriver gave my name to the guard and I thought he’d send me away,” Kate admitted. “But he waved me right in.”

“Buckingham Palace is the royal family’s personal residence, and they are allowed guests,” he said. “The only difference is they have to be cleared by British intelligence.”

“Was I really investigated by the MI-Five so I could attend a Christmas reception?” Kate laughed.

Trevor took her arm and smiled. “If you were, we’ll never know.”

A courtier led them down a red-carpeted hallway flanked by wide pillars. There were marble sculptures and a pair of Chinese vases that were a gift to King George V from the Emperor of China.

They passed a ballroom that was big enough to hold a concert and the Blue Drawing Room decorated with cobalt silk wallpaper. The Grand Staircase had gold filigree railings and portraits behind gilt frames.

“It’s like the descriptions in a Russian novel,” Kate breathed. “How can one place hold so many treasures?”

“The State Rooms were built in 1820 for King George IV,” Trevor said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.