Page 34 of All the Gossip from Paris (Royal Fashion #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

New Years Eve.

It had been quite a few years since Sophie had last been in Paris for New Years Eve. It was odd to be dressed in thick woolen leggings and a warm winter coat. She could admit to missing her bikini, along with the flowy sun dress she liked to wear over the top.

But if she’d been in the Caribbean this year, she wouldn’t have had this precious time with Liam.

These days with him had come to mean more than she had anticipated they might.

After her misstep with the bracelet, then him giving her such a thoughtful gift, they had somehow managed to find their feet.

They’d spent the days after Christmas pouring over recipe books in the kitchen. Cooking up a storm.

The only thing which surpassed Liam’s skill when it came to making delicious food was his mastery of lovemaking. Sophie had lost count of the hours he’d kept her awake. Night after night he brought her to earth shattering climax after earth shattering climax. He was insatiable. And so damn good.

This morning, she was utterly exhausted. She’d kicked Liam out of bed in the early hours. Told him to go join Ryan as he took Rollo for his morning walk. It was important that Ryan and Liam got to spend this time together. Soon travel and a new baby would keep them both busy, and worlds apart.

The second the bedroom door closed, Sophie rolled over and went back to sleep. An hour and a half later, she finally flung back the blankets, and headed for the shower.

Dried and dressed, she wandered down to the kitchen in search of coffee. Pushing open the door, she spied Camille standing in front of the coffee machine. Her sister had her back to her. But from the way Camille was hunched over, Sophie feared something was wrong.

The baby?

Camille had a cell phone to her ear. Her other hand was resting on top of her head, a clump of pale blonde hair clutched tightly in her fingers. When she let out a sob of distress Sophie’s blood turned to ice.

Something terrible had happened.

“We will be ready within the hour. Is there anything you need us to bring from home?” asked Camille, her voice raw with emotion.

Sophie hurried to her sister’s side. Her worst fears were confirmed when she caught sight of the tears which rolled freely down Camille’s face.

Camille gave a brief nod of acknowledgement. “Hang on one second, Mama. Sophie’s just arrived.”

She moved the phone away from her ear. “It’s Papa. He had an accident on the ski slopes late yesterday. He’s in hospital.”

Oh god.

“How bad?” asked Sophie.

Camille’s bottom lip quivered. “Bad. He’s been medevacked to the main hospital in Lausanne.

They are going to operate later today. He’s broken some bones, and there are internal injuries as well.

Mama has organized a helicopter to fly us to Lausanne.

It will be here at ten o’clock. Can you please go pack a bag? ”

“Yes, but first I’ll go find Ryan and Liam. They will need to come.”

As Camille went back to talking to their mother on the phone, Sophie headed for the door. “This is Papa. He is made of sturdy stuff,” she muttered to herself.

Racing out of the chateau, she made for the winding path which led down to the river.

Sophie checked her phone. There were several missed calls from her mother. Marina had tried to call her as well as getting in touch with Camille.

She hit dial on Liam’s number, but hung up as soon as she caught sight of him and Ryan. They were making their way back to the house. “Thank god.”

Rollo came bounding up to her, shaking the mud from his shaggy hair. Sophie bent and gave him a friendly ruffle behind the ears. “Bonjour Rollo. Quel beau garcon.” She wanted to savor this moment of normalcy before the long emotional day which loomed ahead of them.

Rising to her feet, Sophie took a hold of Rollo’s collar. They were flying to Switzerland within the next hour. She’d have to take Rollo to the home of one of the staff who lived permanently on the Royal estate. Ask them to look after the family’s beloved pet until she returned.

“Papa has been badly injured in a skiing accident. We have to fly to Switzerland this morning. We may need to stay for a few days,” she said.

Her words were spoken in a calm and even voice. Beneath her steady exterior Sophie’s heart was racing. Thoughts of an uncertain future kept whirling around in her head.

Please don’t let the last words I said to my father have been those spoken in anger and disappointment.

The confidence in Liam’s stride as he made his way to her, gave Sophie a welcome sense of reassurance. That as long as he was with her, everything would be alright. “How badly injured is Francois?” he asked.

Camille now appeared. “It’s not good. Mama says he was cut off by an inexperienced skier who had no business being on a black run at night.

Papa landed badly. That shouldn’t have been too much of a problem, but the snow in that part of the resort was still patchy.

He hit a rock. The doctors are talking about him spending weeks in hospital.

Possibly not being able to fly home before late January. ”

She met Sophie’s gaze. “Which means there will have to be some changes to the January Haute Couture show. Papa wants to talk to you before he goes into surgery.”

Haute Couture Week had slipped her mind entirely. Now it loomed large. If Francois was out of action, surely, they would cancel the show. And if they did, the impact on the family business would be enormous.

But what if he doesn’t want to cancel. What if he wants me to take over?

She’d made her pitch to be given more responsibility. But he’d said no. In the aftermath of his accident, had Francois finally seen reason?

I won’t fail you, Papa.

Ryan took hold of Camille’s hand. “Let’s go pack a bag. I’ll cancel our dinner reservations in Paris for tonight. It’s New Years Eve. They should be able to fill our table without any problem. What do we need to do about travel arrangements?”

Camille had been right when she’d said her husband was the master of organization. The second a problem had presented itself, Ryan had moved into solution mode.

“Mama has already got a helicopter booked to come here and pick us up. We just need our passports, and some personal items,” said Camille.

It was a little after nine o’clock. The helicopter was due here at ten, which meant they had roughly forty minutes to get ready. Sophie took the dog’s leash from Ryan, and clipped it to Rollo’s collar. “I’ll go take him to the groundskeeper then come back and grab a few things.”

Turning to Liam, she asked, “You are coming with us, aren’t you?” They might have been spending their days and nights together, but she didn’t want to presume.

“Of course I’m coming. I want to be there for you, Sophie.”

Her heart swelled with gratitude. Tears clouded her sight. Thank heavens for Liam. She couldn’t imagine facing this without him.

* * *

The eighty minute helicopter flight from the chateau to the Swiss city of Lausanne was the longest flight of Sophie’s life. Every minute seemed to last an eternity.

What if Papa doesn’t recover from the surgery? Or if he does but he’s not able to keep working. That would be the end for him.

Fears of what lay ahead kept rolling around in her head. The only reason she didn’t completely lose her mind was because Liam never let go of her hand.

“So is Mount Blanc the highest mountain in the Swiss Alps?” he asked.

“No. Mount Blanc isn’t even in Switzerland,” she replied squeezing Liam’s hand tighter. “It’s on the border of France and Italy. People do make that mistake.”

She wasn’t a fool. Liam’s question had little to do with him having never been to Switzerland, and everything to do with keeping her from freaking out.

When the helicopter finally landed at Lausanne Airport, a car was waiting for them.

Sophie kept hold of Liam’s hand for the fifteen minute trip to Lausanne University hospital.

The moment they were able to talk alone, she would apologize for having tortured his poor fingers for the better part of two hours.

Once inside the hospital they took the elevator to the fifth floor. As they entered the waiting room, her younger brother éliott rose from a chair. Camille promptly burst into tears. She dashed to him, and flung her arms around their brother.

“Hey, good to see you were able to get here so quick. I’d just stepped off the plane at Charles de Gaulle when I got the call,” he explained.

“Where’s Mama?” asked Sophie.

“In with the surgeon. They want to operate as soon as possible. Papa was adamant he spoke to you before they put him under the knife. Something about ensuring the succession of his creative name. Or whatever. But I think it might just be the pain killers talking.”

éliott had never shown the slightest bit of interest in any part of the Royal family business—rather he was content to spend his father’s money and travel the world following the Formula One motor racing calendar.

In between seasons, he lived the life of a billionaire bachelor.

If one member of the entire international Royal family had a charmed existence, it was him.

He pointed toward a nearby hallway. “Mama said to tell you to come through as soon as you arrived. Third door on the right.”

Camille went to step in that direction, but éliott held her back. “Papa wants to talk to Sophie before he goes into surgery. Only Sophie.”

“Just how badly hurt is he?” demanded Camille. The pain of their father’s rejection was clear in her strained voice.

éliott sighed. “I only saw him for a minute or two myself. He took one look at me, and said he couldn’t deal with any of my shit today. I am, as always, a deep disappointment to him.”

Sophie dropped her travel bag onto a chair, then shrugged out of her coat. She took off her scarf, and lay it on top. The sooner she spoke to Francois the quicker he would be going under the surgeon’s knife. And then hopefully her father would be on the long road to recovery.