“It’s fine, Thomas,” I tell him. “I’m all set.” I continue down the hallway and back into the private waiting room. It’s exactly as I left it, except that the Dawsons are nowhere to be found. I heave a sigh of relief I won’t have to face them again.

No one speaks as I enter the room.

I walk over to the corner where my father is seated. “I’m ready to leave now.”

He looks at me for a long moment, his expression downcast.

“I’m sorry, Papa,” I add quietly.

He nods slowly and then calls, “Richard?”

Richard appears at his side immediately.

“What are our options?” my father asks.

“It’s gotten even worse since we arrived. The hospital has been swarmed by the press,” he informs my father. “I have no way to get you out of here unseen. It will be a struggle to keep you safe, even with twelve men.”

“What about more men?”

“We don’t have any jurisdiction here. I can put in a call to the local police requesting they set up a barricade, but it will be just that, a request. There’s no guarantee they’ll comply.”

“Anyone else we can call?”

“The Duke offered to call a friend, the Sharks’ team owner. But, in my opinion, that won’t do anything at this point. Even if the owner wanted to help us himself, the team just hit a publicity gold mine, as far as they’re concerned. The coverage on this will be astronomical. It’s already a national story. There’s no way they’ll want to help us shut it down.”

“Make the call to the police,” my father instructs. “See if they’re feeling generous. And call the airport too; I want to be in the air within the hour.”

Richard nods and pulls out his phone.

I take a seat in one of the empty chairs, staring ahead. No one in the room speaks except for Richard, who mutters into his phone urgently. A couple minutes later, he hangs up.

“We’re leaving,” he announces. “Cars are outside.”

He turns to Lionel. “Are you and your family traveling back with the royal family?”

Lionel looks to Margaret. She shakes her head. “No, we’ll stay here for a few more days. Can someone bring us back to our house?”

Richard nods, then leads the way out of the waiting room into the hospital hallway. Our sudden appearance causes a wave of commotion, but Richard and the rest of the agents take it in stride, ushering us along quickly.

We emerge outside the hospital into a sea of flashes and clamoring. The agents form a ring around us, pushing through the crowd toward the waiting cars. I close my eyes as my name is called again and again.

“Princess Vivienne!”

“Over here, Princess!”

“Princess!”

“Are you involved with Jace Dawson, Princess?”

“How do you know Jace Dawson, Princess Vivienne?”

The calls are relentless as we hustle toward the waiting cars. As soon as we’re all loaded inside, the agents climb in as well. We peel away from the curb, leaving the calls from the press behind. Thomas ends up sitting next to me, and he gives me a series of concerned looks as we race along.