B008AZB1XW EBOK by Monique Martin Read Free Book Online Page B

his gun and regained his composure with a haughty flourish.
    “It’s all right!” Jack yelled above the din. When the bodyguards shifted their attention to him, he added, “ Il s’agissait d’un accident. Sa chaussure. Erreur . False alarm. It’s all right!”
    That seemed to instantly deflate the interest of the crowd, but the effect wasn’t so immediate on the men with the big guns. Elizabeth kept her eyes trained on the men and their guns, mostly the guns.
    “Elizabeth!” That was Simon’s voice. He was somewhere in the crowd, but she didn’t dare look away.
    Two of the men with shotguns stepped forward and crowded Elizabeth into the wall. One of them grabbed her arm. “You will come with us.”
    Jack quickly stepped between them and eased the man’s hand off her arm. “It was an accident. We’re very sorry, your majesty. Il s’agissait d’un accident. Please accept our apologies. Unë jam i keq.”
    Elizabeth’s stomach did a half-gainer. Your majesty? Of course. She’d managed to trip a king.
    The bodyguards glared at them both. His majesty said something to them in a language Elizabeth didn’t recognize — it sounded like a mixture of Russian, Greek and somewhere in the Middle East — and the two men stepped back making room for the king.
    Jack bowed deeply at the waist. “Your Majesty,” he said and gave Elizabeth a good sharp jab in the ribs. “Your Majesty.”
    She curtseyed quickly and kept her eyes deferentially glued to the floor. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’m really, really sorry.” She’d been in London for less than an hour and she’d already insulted a king and had guns pulled on her. Simon was never going to let her forget this one.
    Jack said something in French to the men. They frowned in unison. He pointed toward her shoe that had skittered across the floor and come to rest at the edge of the gathered crowd.
    Simon finally pushed his way through the crowd just as Jack pointed to her shoe. He knelt down and picked it up. Cautiously he brought it back to Elizabeth. “What have you done?” he said under his breath.
    Jack continued to explain in French and eventually the king narrowed his eyes and then huffed out an indignant breath. Jack spoke very quickly. One year of high school French wasn’t helping Elizabeth very much, but apparently, Simon could understand and something Jack said made him swallow a laugh.
    The king arched his back and tugged at the end of his perfectly waxed mustache, but listened with growing interest. He wasn’t exactly warming up, but whatever Jack said brought out the gentleman in him and some sort of agreement was reached. The king regarded her briefly. His foppish outfit and ridiculous frown faded away and she saw the sincere man beneath. The human connection flickered and died and the supreme ruler returned. He gave her a perfunctory bow, waved his hand at his entourage and then continued on his way as though nothing had happened.
    Jack waited until the king and his retinue were out of earshot before turning to Elizabeth and Simon. He stuck out his hand. “You must be Simon. I’m Jack.”
    Simon warily shook his hand. “Would someone like to tell me what in God’s name just happened?” He turned to Elizabeth and held out the offending shoe.
    Elizabeth took it sheepishly. “It slipped.” She held onto Simon’s shoulder for balance while she slipped her shoe back on. “Who was that I almost killed and who almost killed me?”
    “The King of Albania,” Jack said. “He’s wound a little tight, but after a few dozen assassination attempts, I would be too.”
    Elizabeth went cold. She was lucky he hadn’t shot her, or had her shot, or imprisoned in some Albanian castle. Did Albania have castles? Where was Albania anyway?
    “Are you all right?” Simon asked.
    “I’m okay, just the first time I’ve tripped a king.” She exhaled at the thought.
    Jack laughed. “You made quite an impression.”
    “She always does,” Simon said.