Bloody Royal Prints (30 page)

She'd had several more meetings with Kathy Mann. Heyward and Bob Brinkley, Kathy's husband, joined them once. Coleman didn't like Kathy's husband—he was arrogant and patronizing—but Kathy looked at him worshipfully. She seemed to think every word he said was precious. Heyward didn't like him either, and turned him and the money issues over to Hicks, his number-one “go-to” assistant, who settled all the financial issues about
Cottage & Castle
. He undoubtedly put Brinkley in his place.

Her meetings with Kathy alone were productive and fun. Coleman was confident their venture would succeed, and Kathy and she were becoming friends.

There had been tears on the pillow over Tony, and memories of their delicious days of adventure, beauty, and love. Was she in love with Tony? She asked herself every day. She was, but it didn't matter: She couldn't marry him. She would always remember him. She couldn't imagine she would ever meet a man as attractive as Tony. But she had to forget Tony, and get on with her life.

Tuesday morning, May, London

Heyward was in the library thinking about Coleman. He'd have enjoyed seeing his sister a duchess, and he'd never met a man he liked better than Tony, but they were not a match. Coleman could never live the life required of the woman who married Tony, and Tony could only live the life laid out for him in England. He feared that Tony had been seriously hurt. He wasn't worried about Coleman. In time, she would recover.

The phone rang. He glanced at the number, and answered it. He paled, and hung up a few minutes later. What terrible news. He couldn't reach Coleman—she was on the plane to New York. He had to alert Rachel, but first he touched the intercom to summon Mrs. Carter, who appeared immediately.

“I must leave for New York as soon as possible,” he said. “Please pack for me—you'll know what I'll need. Get me on a BA flight tonight, leaving around six or seven, and alert the New York staff.”

“Is anything wrong?” she asked.

“Yes, some bad news. But it needn't worry you. Thank you for asking,” Heyward said.

Bloody Royal Prints
, covering many topics, was a difficult book to write. A number of people contributed to it. Without their help, it never would have been completed. My thanks to Clair Lamb; Erin Mitchell; our friends at the British Museum who helped arrange our visit to the Windsor Castle Print Room; Elisabeth Norton and Judy Rudoe, who helped with food and restaurant information; and all our English friends, who discussed with me a variety of topics, from where to buy a hat to protecting a dog from dognappers. Most of all, thanks to Dave, both for saving my sanity when the refrigerator went crazy and for being Coleman's and my companion at all the places we visited. And Dave, many thanks for arranging the nightingale!

Copyright © 2015 by Reba White Williams.

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

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TYRUS BOOKS

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Hardcover ISBN 10: 1-4405-8548-2

Hardcover ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8548-7

Paperback ISBN 10: 1-4405-8545-8

Paperback ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8545-6

eISBN 10: 1-4405-8546-6

eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8546-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Williams, Reba.

Bloody royal prints / Reba White Williams.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-4405-8548-7 (hc) -- ISBN 1-4405-8548-2 (hc) -- ISBN 978-1-4405-8545-6 (pb) -- ISBN 1-4405-8545-8 (pb) -- ISBN 978-1-4405-8546-3 (ebook) -- ISBN 1-4405-8546-6 (ebook)

I. Title.

PS3623.I5594B58 2015

813'.6--dc23

2014048190

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and F+W Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

Cover design by Stephanie Hannus.

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