Page 25 of Ascending
She didn’t have any money in hand to give him a tip.
“Can I tip you later? I–”
“Not necessary, Ma’am.” He nodded and headed back down the hallway.
Palmer closed the door and walked back over to the bed. The box was plain and white. It did have a small card inside an envelope on the top, though. She pulled it out and read it to herself.
“In case you decide to stay for a few extra days. Stay warm.”
It was signed with only a letter. It was the letter E. Palmer opened the box and saw a very nice, warm-looking pair of long underwear, along with a pair of thick gloves and a matching scarf and hat. The Queen had given her some winter gear to keep her warm. Palmer couldn’t help but smile as she sat down on the bed, but the smile disappeared when she realized she had no way of thanking Elizabeth. The Queen was a master at dodging questions she didn’t want to answer, including the one Palmer had asked about the potential for a follow-up interview. It wasn’t like Palmer could call her. She could call or email Rebecca and ask her to pass along the message, but it wasn’t the same. Just then, her room phone rang.
“Hello?” she asked, assuming it was maybe the front desk confirming the package had been delivered.
“Palmer?”
“This is–” Palmer recognized that voice. “Elizabeth?”
“Yes,” she replied, chuckling a bit. “I’m sorry to be calling so late.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s not too late.”
“It is for me, I’m afraid. I’ve suddenly turned into the oldest twenty-five-year-old I know, but I have to be up early tomorrow, so it’s early to bed for me tonight.”
“I’m glad you called,” Palmer admitted. “I just got your gift.”
“I know. I had the driver wait to make sure.”
“I was going to email Rebecca and ask her to send you my thanks.”
“Does that mean you’ll be staying in St.Rais long enough toneedthem?”
“To be honest, I didn’t exactly get much out of our interview today.” She leaned back against the pillows. “I wasn’t able to get to a lot of my questions.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I just enjoyed talking to you. Is that okay for me to say?”
“It is if that’s how you feel,” Elizabeth replied.
“I’ve been staring at my computer screen, trying to figure out what to write. That rarely happens to me.”
“Writer’s block?”
“Yeah.”
“Would it help if we continued our conversation?”
“Now?”
“I was thinking tomorrow,” Elizabeth replied. “I have some time tomorrow afternoon.”
Palmer sat up and said, “If you have time, yes. It would be great to continue the interview.”
“Can you come to the palace around five?”
“Morning or night?” Palmer checked.
“Evening, Miss Honeycutt. I wouldn’t ask you to deal with the four in the morning cold of a St. Rais winter just to get here by five.”