Page 4 of A Royal Obligation
Jules followed Charlotte across the room and waited behind her as she relayed the message to her parents. They nodded at Jules as they made their way to the building’s entrance. Jules followed a few steps behind and then walked around them to stand with the crowd that had assembled. Men and women from all across Findorra had gathered together for the monumental opening of their first children’s center. News reporters were also among those in attendance.
Jules bit her bottom lip to hold in her excitement as the duke, duchess, and Lady Charlotte made their way out of the building to stand under the awning.
Duke Vincent Croft, Charlotte’s father, cleared his throat to gain the crowd’s attention and then motioned to his daughter to begin her speech.
“Welcome, everyone. Thank you all so much for joining us today for the grand opening of the Findorra Children’s Center. We have seen how hard the people of Findorra work. And we have seen the need for a place to support your children. For those reasons, we dedicate this building to all of you, the hardworking people of our lovely country. I would like to also acknowledge our sincere appreciation for the woman who was the brains behind this project: Juliette Smith.” Charlotte found Jules in the crowd and smiled at her.
“You have made this center what it is. Your countless hours of work and passion for the children of our country have not gone unnoticed. Thank you.”
Jules blushed and meekly returned the smile.
“We will now perform the ribbon cutting ceremony, and a tour of the children’s center will be offered afterwards for anyone wishing to see the space.” Charlotte and her family posed for the reporters’ photographs and then the duke cut the bright red ribbon draped across the entryway while the crowd cheered.
“On behalf of the country of Findorra, we thank you for taking time out of your day to join us for this grand opening.” Charlotte and her parents waved at the crowd and headed to their waiting car.
Charlotte took a detour to where Jules was standing. “Are you coming with us? We’re going to head back to our estate to celebrate.”
Jules shook her head. “I was planning on hanging out around here for a bit. You know I could watch the children run around here for hours. Besides, parents might have questions and I would be more than willing to answer them.”
“You’ll come later tonight then?”
“Yes, I’ll stop by later. Probably right after dinner. Thank you again for this.” She gestured around. “And thank you for the opportunity to continue to work with you. I won’t let you down!” Jules waved goodbye as Charlotte headed to join her parents, who were already in their white sedan.
She headed back into the children’s center and smiled softly as she dodged a group of kids playing tag in the lobby. Her heart felt like it was going to burst open as she saw parents walking around on the tour, their eyes filled with awe. She closed her eyes and listened to the children’s giggles already floating through the air. Jules leaned against the wall and sighed contentedly. Her job here was complete.
Jules stayed at the children’s center longer than she anticipated, so she didn’t arrive at the Albury Estate until the sun was starting to set.
She pressed the call button on the gate.
“Name and purpose?” a strong male voice asked.
“Hi, this is Jules Smith. I am here to meet with Lady Charlotte.”
She heard papers shuffling before he answered, “You may enter.”
The gate opened and she drove up the long driveway to the beautiful house before her. Well,housewasn’t exactly the correct term. Their estate was a mansion. She admired the Georgian architecture and the tall pillars along the front that gave it an air of royalty. Some ivy climbed up the tan exterior that aged it yet made it all the more beautiful.
Jules drove around the circular fountain in front of the property and went to park her old but trusty Toyota Corolla when an attendant came to her car door, motioning for her to step out.
“Your keys, ma’am?” He held out his hand.
She looked at his hand with a quizzical expression on her face.
“I’m here to park your car.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Here you go.” She handed her keys over and gave him her thanks then walked to the house’s main entrance. Before she could even knock, the solid, six-paneled front door opened and a butler let her in.
Jules looked around in awe. In all their time developing the children’s center, she had never set foot inside Charlotte’s house. The butler led her throughout the grand estate, and she took in her surroundings along the way.
The whole interior of the house had white wainscoting. The top half of the walls were a light gray and covered with beautiful pieces of antique artwork. The walls led into dark mosaic ceramic floor tiles that sparkled when the fading sunlight hit them just right through the large windows.
The butler turned and they continued through a hall with family portraits hung on the walls. She assumed each portrait was of a royal family who had lived there in the past, and walking through them made her think of her own family. Jules examined the perfectly unlined faces in the portraits and thought about the laugh lines on her parents’ faces that deepened when they made dinner together every night. She would prefer to have those same laugh lines over a perfect, stoic face any day. A small pang of sadness filled her heart at the reminder of her latest relationship and how his smile never reached his eyes the way her father’s did whenever he looked at her mother.
The butler stopped in front of an elaborate door, pulling her from her thoughts. “The duke and his family are in here. They are expecting you.”
Jules gave her thanks to the man as he nodded at her and walked back the way they had come. She raised her hand to knock on the door but stopped mid-motion when she heard raised voices coming from behind it.
“I needn’t remind you that you must get married by the time you turn thirty to receive your inheritance, Charlotte. You are twenty-nine. You have under a year remaining.” A loud, manly voice echoed from the room.