Page 27 of Falling for the Queen Mother

"I'll be right there, ma'am."

"Thank you."

Nathaniel exited the room. "Is everything all right?"

She twirled her finger for him to turn around. "Let me make sure your microphone isn't on." Using her nail, she flipped the switch to the off position and disconnected the wire leading from the battery pack to the microphone itself.

"What's going on?" He kept his voice low.

"I don't know. Obviously, she's been told something different or is lying about what she knows. Paul is on his way. I also contacted Frederick. I don't want to start this interview until we know more about what's going on." Her mind raced through various scenarios, but none of them made any sense to her.

Before the other two men arrived, Janice followed them into the hallway. "Is everything all right, Your Majesty?"

"We need to clarify a few things, that's all." She smiled the best she could.

Janice looked from one to the other. "Did the two of you not elope?"

"I'd prefer not to discuss it at this time." Before she even finished the sentence, Frederick came around the corner followed closely by Paul.

The reporter curtsied and greeted both men. Alaina knew she'd met Frederick many times and, as senior palace correspondent, had worked with Paul for years.

Frederick stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. "Can you tell me exactly what you were told about this interview?"

"Just that there was going to be an announcement by the palace this afternoon. I was given the opportunity to do the interview this morning and keep it under wraps until it airs later. This morning, I was told the Queen Mother and Mr. Dougherty eloped earlier this week. That's all." Janice looked from one to the other. "I swear. What's going on?"

Frederick looked at Paul who shook his head.

"I don't know, sir. You were involved or copied on all conversations." He was scrolling through something on his tablet. "The last message I have is from yesterday and confirms that Ms. Baker has been briefed on the details, that we'll give her a copy of the press release right before the interview, and that she's seen the photos."

Janice looked from one to the other. "What photos?"

Alaina decided she wasn't trying to deceive them. She really didn't know what was going on.

Frederick and Paul moved off to the side for a moment and whispered then returned.

"Please remove all of your microphones and power packs and come with me." Paul snapped the cover of his tablet closed.

Janice immediately detached the microphone from her jacket and unplugged it from the power pack then worked the wire free and handed the whole thing to Paul. Alaina and Nathaniel did the same thing.

Paul left the hardware sitting on a small table in the hall. They followed Frederick to another office nearby. This one belonged to a junior member of some staff or other. Frederick asked the young woman to give them a few moments in her office.

"Sir, I think it would be better if we went to my office," Paul interjected as he seemed to realize Frederick intended to have the conversation here.

Frederick hesitated then nodded and apologized to the staff member for the interruption.

Alaina knew a big part of the reason why Paul wanted to move the meeting had to do with recordings. Not everything in the palace was on camera or audio recording, but his office was one of the places where recordings were always made.

She suspected Janice knew that as well.

A few moments later, they were in the conference room next to Paul's actual office. He turned on the large monitor now connected to his tablet.

In seconds, the picture Alaina hadn't seen yet appeared on the screen. There they were, curled under a blanket on the balcony outside of Nathaniel's guest quarters.

"What exactly am I looking at?" Janice squinted toward the screen. "Is that Queen Alaina? And Mr. Dougherty? I wouldn't know that's him if I didn't already suspect it."

"Mr. Dougherty is here on a visit at the request of the king and Madeleine Woodward Middleton. He's looking at an artifact on their behalf."

That had to be close enough to the truth for the moment.