Lady in Waiting Read online

  Samantha’s eyes flickered to mine in the rear-view mirror. A blush stained her cheeks. “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”

  Pursing my lips, I gave a shrug and gazed out of the window. “No reason.”

  It was a short drive to the MC Beach Club—situated in a swollen curve beside a white sandy beach and the cerulean blue sea. The club was utter luxury and only the finest would do. It was where I spent a lot of my time, playing ping-pong with Augustus and cooling myself in the pool.

  Once we’d arrived, Louisa scarpered off in the direction of the children’s pool. We followed after her, and Samantha smoothed down her blouse and checked her hair. Louisa’s swimming instructor stood by the poolside wearing tight speedos with a pale blue and white T-shirt. His head was covered by a swimming cap and goggles hung around his neck.

  “Freddie, Augustus,” he said with a nod as we approached. His gaze softened as it fell on our pretty nanny. “Samantha.”

  “Hello, Andre,” she said, a wide smile stretching across her lips.

  Augustus elbowed me in the side. “Let’s go, Freddie. I want to practise my back dive before this afternoon.”

  I nodded and bade farewell to my sister and nanny somewhat reluctantly. Samantha and Andre had been acting differently lately—coy and flirty, and I wanted to stay and watch the romance that they thought they were keeping hidden.

  The Olympic pool at the beach club was a sight to behold. Sparkling, crystal clear blue water twinkled in the sunlight and a high, proud diving board stretched into the sky. Sun loungers surrounded all sides of the pool, large and comfortable with umbrellas between each one, the area enclosed by the red-bricked buildings of the Beach Club. Tall palm trees swayed in the warm breeze, their leafy green prongs creating a soft whisper. The hills of Monaco were the backdrop to the pool, luxury homes dotted along the hillside, none more beautiful than Karl Lagerfeld’s white fairy-tale house. Further above were jagged, rocky cliff faces that stretched up to the pristine, cloudless sky.

  Augustus and I made a beeline for our member’s tent and after changing we snagged the loungers in front of the tent and draped our towels across them to claim ownership. Wasting no time, Augustus was straight up the ladder of the diving board to get in as much practise as he could before the events that afternoon.

  Every year, the Beach Club put on a fun day of sporting competitions for the children. Ranging from swimming and diving to beach volleyball and football, the activities were endless. All three of us enjoyed taking part—competing with our own age set as well as with each other. Whoever won the most events always got a treat of a curly ice cream cone from Mummy.

  I’d always been sporty and athletic and I took the competitions seriously. This year I was only taking part in the swimming events, leaving more opportunity for Augustus and Louisa to win.

  “Freddie!”

  I turned at the sound of Cornelia’s voice and saw my best friend rush towards me, a gleeful smile stretching across her face. “Morning! What’s going on?”

  I adored Cornelia, my beautiful friend. She had the palest blonde hair—it was practically silver in certain light—and the clearest blue eyes I had ever seen. We had been friends forever—well, since we’d been two and my family had moved to the warmer climate of the south of France. Cornelia was Dutch and I loved going to her house so we could explore the hills that surrounded her house in Eze.

  Cornelia slowed to a stop beside me. She grasped my forearms and practically hopped on the spot. “You won’t believe what has happened!” Cornelia took a deep breath, and I prepared for what seemed to be explosive news. “Okay, so, you know how I’ve sort of had a thing for Rupert?” she asked in a rush.

  My eyebrows shot up. Saying Cornelia ‘sort of’ had a thing for Rupert was like saying the planet ‘sort of’ had gravity. Rupert was tanned with sandy-blond hair and so handsome he had all the girls acting like blithering idiots when he was in the vicinity. I could appreciate his good looks, but I didn’t drool over him like Cornelia and our other friends. My taste in guys was pretty simple—tall, or the same height as me at the very least. Rupert was a good three inches shorter than me and therefore didn’t make it onto the list of guys I was interested in.

  “Oh, do you? I hadn’t noticed,” I teased my friend.

  Cornelia huffed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, so maybe I like him a little bit more than that. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is…he asked me if I wanted to take a walk along the beach this evening! Oh, Freddie, doesn’t it sound so romantic? Do you think he will try to kiss me?”

  I couldn’t help but smile at Cornelia’s enthusiasm. “Very. What are you going to wear?”

  “I was thinking about my new pink bikini and white cover-up. What do you think?”

  “I think you’ll look gorgeous no matter what you wear.”

  My answer must have been the right one, as Cornelia’s smile widened even more. She dropped down onto my lounger and hugged her knees. It seemed swimming was going to be postponed for a while.

  “The only trouble is, if we really hit things off, it’s the end of summer and we won’t see each other for such a long time. Do you think he’ll write to me while we’re off at school?”

  “He had better, or he’ll have me to answer to,” I said.

  Cornelia sighed and leaned back against the lounger. “I can picture us now—staying up late and writing letters by torchlight under the sheets so we don’t get caught.”

  Smothering a giggle with my hand, I sat beside her. “You’re such a romantic.”

  She laughed and nudged me with her foot. “You will be too once you meet someone. Will you help me get ready later? I’m so nervous already, I’ll never be able to put my makeup on with shaking hands.”

  “Of course, what are best friends for?” I asked.

  “Freddie, you are the absolute best.” Cornelia jumped to her feet, startling me. “But now I need to be distracted for the rest of the day. Last one to finish five lengths buys the ice cream?”

  “Hmm…” I pondered, tapping my chin. At the last second I vaulted to my feet and darted towards the pool. “You’re on!”

  “Frederica, you cheat!” Cornelia cursed as she started after me.

  The cool water sluiced over my body as I dived into the pool. I cut through the water like I was born to it, or was, at the very least, part-mermaid. My height, along with slim build and athletic body, made me unbeatable in the water. Cornelia knew it, but she didn’t care. We raced all the time for fun and her goal in life was to truly beat me in a race.

  After the first few lengths, I slowed my pace and allowed Cornelia to begin to catch me up. On the last length I faked a cramp and let her zoom past me and tap the edge of the pool, declaring herself the winner.

  Cornelia hoisted herself out of the pool and stood dripping wet. “You can make mine a double cone for the un-sportsmanlike conduct!”

  I threw my head back and laughed before climbing out of the water. Slinging my arm around Cornelia’s shoulders, I steered her towards the vendor. “I’ll even spring for a Snickers, too.”

  She giggled and wrapped her arm around my waist. “This is why we’re friends.”

  For the rest of the morning, I alternated between lazing on the loungers with Cornelia and dipping in and out of the pool to cool off. We watched Augustus practise his dives and cheered him when he landed a perfect one.

  Samantha came with Louisa to collect Augustus and me for lunch. After getting changed, we met Mummy at the Oasis Restaurant where we had hamburgers and French fries dripping in sauce. Louisa couldn’t stop talking about how well she had done with her instructor that morning, and bragged about all the events she would win that afternoon.

  As soon as we were finished eating, Augustus and I left the others to play a few games of ping-pong and escape the afternoon heat. He beat me five games to three! Our peace didn’t last long, and we were soon discovered by Louisa and subsequently ordered to the poolside to watch her race.


  The rest of the day was a blur of swimming races, dives, beach games and a little bit of healthy competition. When we weren’t competing, Augustus and I would join Mummy and Samantha in cheering on our little sister.

  We waited for her front crawl race to start, and one particularly nasty girl—whose older sister had always had it in for me too—distracted Louisa right before the horn sounded to start the race. Louisa stumbled on her starting block before sloppily diving into the water.

  A hot rush of anger coursed through my veins. Stupid girl…who does she think she is? This was all meant to be harmless fun, with a dose of friendly competition, but still harmless fun. I hated anyone picking on my little sister, even if she did drive me to distraction with regular occurrence. But God help anyone who tried to pick on her…wrath of Big Sister and all that. Poor Lou…she’d spit feathers if she lost.

  She tried her best, but that rocky start ruined the race for her, and she came in fifth place. Louisa walked over to us, her narrow shoulders slumped and her forehead wrinkled in a disgruntled frown.

  But I knew my sister, and not only was she angry at having lost—she was hurt at having been sabotaged. Her eyes were downcast as she wrapped her towel around herself.

  “Never mind, Lou,” I said. “Girls like that never really win.”

  Louisa nodded but didn’t seem cheered up by my reassurance. Carefully, so she didn’t get her clothes soaked, Mummy hugged her wet little body and kissed her damp cheek. Louisa’s age group were finished in the pool, and it was time for the older boys’ diving event. We moved closer to the diving boards, and watched as Augustus climbed up to the middle one.

  I bent down to put myself at Louisa’s ear level. “Do you want to borrow my new eye shadow? I’ll help you do your makeup before we go out for dinner tomorrow night?”

  Louisa eyed me cautiously, as though I could be trying to trick her. “What about your green top, too? The one with the little stitched on daisies?”

  Oh, she was an opportunistic little madam. But at least she was asking. Usually she just stole my clothes and pleaded ignorance when I questioned where they had gone. “Sure.”

  Her sullen face brightened and a wide smile took over her lips. “Thanks, Freddie!”

  It made me wonder if she’d been faking being so upset. Like I said, opportunistic.

  We trudged back to Samantha’s car, all of our movements sluggish. It had been a long but fantastic day. Without an argument, Louisa took her place in the back seat. She had cheered up immensely after she’d swindled me.

  Augustus had won most of his events and recapped them all for us, as though we hadn’t all been there. Nevertheless, it had been great fun to cheer our friends and family on, and the air was alive with excitement.

  After dinner, I showered and changed into fresh shorts and a vest top then rode my bicycle to Cornelia’s house. It only took me around ten minutes, and I had travelled the route so often I could probably have done it blindfolded. The housekeeper showed me into the house and I made my way to Cornelia’s bedroom. Cornelia and I had grown up in each other’s house and knew them like the backs of our hands.

  I found Cornelia amongst such a mess I honestly thought for a moment that their house had been burgled. She whirled around as I entered her room, a pair of shorts clenched in one hand, a sundress in the other.

  “Are you all right?” I asked, swallowing a laugh.

  “Don’t laugh at me, Freddie!” Cornelia cried. “I’m lost— I don’t know what to wear. What if I dress up and I look silly? What if I don’t and I look silly? What if we go swimming and I haven’t worn my swimsuit under my clothes? What if we don’t go swimming and I look silly that I’ve worn my swimsuit under my clothes?”

  Stepping forward, I clasped Cornelia’s arms. “Cornelia, firstly, breathe. Secondly, why are you getting so worked up? How long have we both lived here? You know what to wear to go to the beach.”

  Cornelia searched my eyes for a long second. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I should wear what I’d always wear to the beach. And I should definitely have my swimsuit on underneath. Right?”

  “Right. But because it’s a date, maybe a little more effort than you would usually put in?” I suggested.

  Cornelia nodded frantically. “Yes, of course. Will you help me pick some things out?”

  I dropped my eyes to the catastrophic mess of clothes on the floor. “Sure. How long do we have until you’re meeting Rupert?”

  Cornelia checked her watch. “An hour.”

  God… “Okay. We’d best get cracking then!”

  We sorted through the clothes explosion on Cornelia’s floor and found the perfect outfit for her, consisting of a pink bikini with multi-coloured geometric shapes and a form-fitting black cover-up. She wore new jewelled sandals and kept her makeup light. I helped Cornelia style her hair in loose, relaxed waves to give the impression that she hadn’t gone to too much effort. Fashion had always come easily to me. I was naturally good at picking outfits and I adored dressing my friends and myself up.

  The overall effect had Cornelia looking like a knockout—Rupert wouldn’t know what had hit him!

  I walked Cornelia towards the beach, pushing my bicycle along beside us. We parted ways before we got too close—heaven forbid Rupert should see that Cornelia had brought reinforcements, or was nervous enough to need her friend to escort her to her date.

  Cornelia released a shaky breath then flashed me a smile that wobbled at the edges.

  My heart went out to my friend and I wrapped my arms around her in a fierce hug. “Have a brilliant time.”

  Cornelia nodded and hugged me back. “I will. Thanks for your help, Freddie.”

  “Anytime,” I said, pulling away. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

  She nodded again then turned around to walk to the beach.

  I took my time cycling home. The sun had begun to set, still casting rays of warmth, the breeze coming off the ocean carrying with it that salty fresh scent. The day was drawing to a close but that didn’t mean that life was slowing down. The impressive vocal range of Whitney Houston danced through the air from the Sporting Club and the rich and famous residents of Monaco were beginning to hit the nightlife.

  Aston Martins, Rolls Royces and Jaguars were just a selection of the cars that passed me, taking their occupants to the Monte Carlo Casino for a night of decadence and gambling. I had read somewhere that our avenue was the most expensive street in the entire world, and it was easy to see why just by the cars that drove along it.

  It wouldn’t be long before I had to bid farewell to my home here again. It was a bittersweet feeling, like it always was. School this year would be extra exciting, but it never got easier saying goodbye to my family. Not to mention the sun. Swapping the south of France for Kent took some getting used to.

  During my last days in Monaco, I always tried to soak every last piece of it in. The warmth, the floral and coastal scents, the ice cream…the shopping. I wouldn’t return for many months, maybe not even until the following summer. I wanted to absorb all that I could while I still could, enough that would last me during the long separation, and to warm me during cold, rainy nights in England.

  One of my neighbour’s cats sunned itself on the wall surrounding the enormous apartment building we lived in. Our home was a house within the building, and we occupied the entire first two floors including the gardens.

  I slowed to a stop in front of the cat. I stroked its glossy ginger fur, smiling as it pushed into my touch and rubbed its face against my hand.

  I scratched the cat’s cheeks. “Keep out of the garden, all right? I won’t be around much longer to check the traps.”

  The cat, oblivious to my concern, purred.

  I could only hope the message would somehow translate. Or that Daddy’s next warning shot was a good distance away from my furry friends.

  The next morning I awoke, thankfully not to the dulcet tones of an air rifle, b
ut to Duke pushing his wet nose into my hand. I rolled over to peer into the big brown eyes of the spaniel. He whined low in his throat and shuffled closer to me on the bed. I stroked his silky soft head, and his tail thumped against the mattress in response.

  “Morning, Duke,” I said through a yawn.

  Duke gave a yip of excitement, happy that I was now officially awake, and stood up on his short legs.

  I yawned again, but so wide it almost split my face in half. “All right, all right. I’m getting up.”

  Usually Samantha or Aimee walked Duke in the mornings, but every so often he chose me, my brother or sister to do the honours. Perhaps he sensed our imminent departure and wanted as much attention from us as he could get.

  After rolling out of bed, I pulled on my shorts and vest top from the night before and shoved my feet into a pair of flip flops. Duke barked at my ankles as I tied my long hair up into a messy ponytail.

  I scrubbed the last of the sleep dust out of my eyes when Duke and I left the house to stroll down Avenue Princesse Grace. It seemed the rest of the world was still in bed. The air was tranquil, already holding the promise of another hot day in paradise. Birdsong broke the silence. A gentle breeze carried the sweet scent of honeysuckle from a nearby garden and the refreshing aroma of the ocean.

  A couple whizzed past me on their bicycles. They trilled their bicycle bells and waved. Duke yipped at the noise and pulled on his lead to give chase. Little dog syndrome at play once again. Heaven forbid the small creature didn’t defend me from the dangers of cyclists.

  When we returned to the house, my stomach grumbled for my breakfast and luckily for me, Aimee was in the kitchen. She was slicing a grapefruit and arranging it on a plate. The kitchen was filled with the scent of fresh fruit and pancakes. It was a Felton tradition to have a special breakfast before we all went our separate ways. We were leaving first thing the next morning, so there would be no time for a heavy breakfast then.

  I unclipped Duke’s lead and he made a beeline for Aimee’s feet. He stood up on his hind legs to beg her for a piece of whatever she was preparing. The dog was too clever for his own good—he knew Aimee was always preparing something.