Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
So Magnus gave me the week off of work to try to make the funeral arrangements. I don’t even know how I did it. I’ve been so overcome with grief that my brain’s operating power has turned to a crawl. One moment I can push through like normal, and in the next I’m hit, going down, like a sledgehammer to the heart.
Somehow, though, with help from Lady Jane and Ottar, I managed to get her casket up there, the funeral being held tomorrow at the local cemetery.
Magnus and Ella wanted to attend the funeral with me. They said I’m like their family, and that my family is part of their family. But I didn’t want that. It would attract too much fuss. My grandmother was a simple woman, and she hated attention. She wasn’t particularly fond of the Norwegian royalty either, calling it all pomp and circumstance. So as much as I really appreciate that they wanted to come pay their respects, I know a media circus in that small village is the last thing anyone would want. Pretty sure Helge would haunt me if I did that.
So it’s just me. Luckily I’m going up by private jet, so I don’t have to deal with driving and the train (it’s about an eight-hour train ride from Oslo to Trondheim, then a few hours’ drive to the village from there). Perks of working for royalty.
I have my bag all packed, ready to go, Olaf waiting outside for me.
I say goodbye to Magnus and Ottar in the foyer (Ella, Lady Jane, and the boys are at the palace in Oslo with the king and queen), a somber affair.
And then James appears.
A duffel bag over his shoulder.
I blink at him, confused. I was hoping he’d see me off since he’s been such a support this last week, but I wasn’t sure where he was. Now he’s here, with a packed bag.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“I’m going with you,” he says to me.
I stare at him, mouth agape. Then I close it and look at Magnus, raising my brows. “Did you know about this?”
He nods. “I did. James asked. Said you probably needed protection, as well as the support of a friend.”
I look at James at the mention of friend, wondering if that’s what he truly is to me. But all I can feel is gratitude. I know I should tell James not to come, that I can handle it, that I’ll be fine.
But the truth is, I feel relief. Relief that I don’t have to go through this alone.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Okay,” I say softly.
James gives me a quick smile. “Come on, love. Let’s get going.”
He takes my bag from me and strides toward the doors.
I look back to Magnus and Ottar as if to say, You sure this is okay?
“He’ll take good care of you, I promise,” Magnus says. He sounds serious and looks grave, but with him I can never tell if there’s some not-so-hidden meaning behind his words.
I take it at face value, thank him profusely, then head off after James.
It’s another cloudy day here, with even the snow having lost some of its sheen, yet this is the brightest I’ve felt in a long time. I know I need to keep my wits about me, that going to Todalen with James might not be the best idea in hindsight, but at the moment I really don’t care. I’ll take anything that will distract me from the loss I feel inside, that missing piece of me that I don’t think will ever be whole again.
I get in the back seat of the VW, surprised to see James sitting beside Olaf. Putting distance between us.
“Thank you,” I tell him as the car pulls away and starts down the driveway.
James turns to look at me, an affectionate gleam in his eyes that makes my heart skip a few beats. God, the effect he has on me sometimes makes everything seem extra unfair. “You really thought I’d let you go to your grandmother’s funeral alone?”
I shrug, looking out the window. “Yes. I mean, you have your job here.”
“I do. But my job is to protect everyone, you included. There might be a nanny snatcher on the loose, and what would happen if I weren’t there to protect you?”
I laugh softly at nanny snatcher. “That’s true.”
“Magnus thought it was a good idea too,” he goes on. “Not just for protection, but because I’m your friend and you need a friend right now.”
I look to him, feeling grateful all over again. “Then I’m glad you’re my friend.” If I can’t have anything more from him, his friendship is still a pretty special thing to have.
The tiny private airfield isn’t too far from the estate, and soon we’re piling inside the royals’ private jet. It’s small, but it’s swanky, and even though I’ve been in it a few times, it feels completely different when it’s just me, James, the flight attendant, and the pilots. Like we’re some rich, jet-setting couple off on a luxurious vacation, not a lowly nanny and a bodyguard off to a funeral.