Murder Most Royal — читать онлайн бесплатно полностью

Her shoes were modest ballet flats. She missed her normal uniform of pencil skirt and heels. This dress had the advantage of being quick to put on, though. At Sandringham, you had to learn the art of the rapid change.

‘How do I look?’ she asked.

Henry, who was busy doing up the buttons of his sexy dress uniform, glanced up to give her the once-over.

‘Like a very expensive nun.’

She sighed. ‘Is that a good thing?’

She was learning, once again, about the shifting tides at Sandringham. Normally there was a clear distinction between senior household staff and their royal bosses.

It was old-fashioned and hierarchical and to start with it made Rozie feel uncomfortable, but it kept things simple. However, on days like today, when the Queen was throwing a small drinks party and there were too many guests for the family to entertain easily, it became a question of all hands on deck. Many of the junior royals had already left to visit other family and friends, so Rozie and Henry would be expected to make small talk with the guests who might otherwise feel left out. She hadn’t felt this nervous in months.

‘Just put on a high voice and say, “And what do you do?”’ Henry suggested with a smirk. ‘Tell them . . .’ he did the voice again ‘. . . “I’ve just shagged Her Majesty’s assistant equerry and he was very good in bed.’

She shot him a look.

‘It’s a Sandringham tradition,’ he protested.

‘What, shagging equerries?’

‘Shagging people you can’t keep your hands off. What do you think the guest lodges in the grounds were for?’

‘Guests of the shoot?’

‘Mistresses.

Mistresses who could shoot were ideal.’

‘I wonder what they think of me,’ Rozie mused. ‘At my lodgings, I mean. Constantly not turning up for breakfast.’

‘I wouldn’t worry about it. What happens at Sandringham stays at Sandringham. Are you ready?’

Today’s pre-lunch drinks was one the Queen had been slightly dreading, not helped by the lingering effects of her cold. It was a chance to see friends and neighbours, but it was difficult to know what to say when one of these had recently lost his beloved wife and his estranged, dismembered cousin was in the news.

The Queen wanted to show her support to Lord Mundy, but she was more of a doer than an orator, and she was never quite sure what to say.

Charles, much to his credit, had intuited something of the sort and offered to postpone his trip to Scotland for Hogmanay, so he could be at her side for their visit. He had been a big fan of Lee’s, too.