Theo stood out in the courtyard surveying the scene. The sun was beaming down as the team of gardeners worked to trim the rose bushes that lined the immaculate lawn. A temporary wooden stage was being erected at the rear of the courtyard as was a gazebo near the front on the left. Theo had ordered what felt like a million fairy lights to be strung all around the various structures. They would arrive tomorrow if everything was running on schedule, which, as far as he was aware, it was.

It was still bizarre to him that he’d been given a company card and free rein on the fundraiser’s budget, within reason. Theo checked all his purchases with Jemima on the events team, but so far, she had approved everything.

He’d signed the contract with the catering company and made all the food selections. With Peggy’s help, he was pretty sure he’d got the tone right. This wasn’t the sort of crowd who would appreciate chicken goujons with barbeque sauce. At least, not at a ball. Theo was starting to realise there was more of a disparity between public and private life for higher society.

He had the wine selection down to a shortlist, but James had mentioned he would like to make the final decisions together tomorrow. Quintin had let him know that James was out for most of the day, but knowing they had plans tomorrow made Theo happy.

He tried not to get too excited by that. It was just business, after all. But the idea of James and him working side by side filled his heart with joy.

In all honesty, Theo would have expected James to treat him like a dirty little secret. His bit of stuff to be kept in the shadows. But as he’d left Theo’s room that morning, James really hadn’t made Theo feel like that. Theo couldn’t help but hope that as long as they kept their hands off each other in public, their relationship could continue to flourish both inside the bedroom as well as out.

James trusted and respected Theo. It didn’t mean this thing they had between them could go on any longer than Theo initially assumed. Once the ball was over, he fully expected that they would go their separate ways. As much as that might pain him, Theo had to accept that. But for a few days at least, he really hoped James would keep treating him like a person, not a fuck buddy. An equal.

“It appears you have everything under control, Mr Glass,” a cool voice drawled from behind Theo, making him startle. Theo turned to see a tall, slender man with a thin moustache and calculating eyes at his shoulder. He looked down at Theo in amusement.

Theo glanced around, but he couldn’t see any of the castle’s senior staff in sight. “I’m sorry, can I help you?” he said, probably a bit too abrasively. He didn’t like being crept up on and mocked by strangers, though.

The slender man quirked an eyebrow. He clasped his hands behind his back, his well-tailored suit riding up slightly. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said. He spoke softly, so Theo had to strain to catch every word over the carpenters’ banging. “My name is Ignatius Bellamy-Walters. I am Her Majesty’s Private Secretary.”

Theo shifted his weight from foot to foot. Was the Queen here?

“Oh, cool,” he said, not really sure how he was supposed to respond. “So you make her appointments and write her emails and stuff?” He couldn’t really see the Queen logging on to her laptop and chatting with the President of France. But maybe he was mistaken?

Mr Bellamy-Walters did not look amused anymore. “The Private Secretary to the Sovereign is the senior operational member of the Royal Household,” he said dryly. He didn’t look at Theo when he spoke. Rather, he swept his gaze over the proceedings in the courtyard and wrinkled his nose. “I am Her Majesty’s liaison between the government and the Commonwealth. I also handle security and public relations.” He rocked back and forth on his heels. “I must apologise for not introducing myself sooner. I have been in touch with Ms Portescue, however. She assures me that, so far, the event is running surprisingly well.”

Theo narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, no worries, mate,” he said. Reading between the lines, Theo couldn’t help but feel Mr Bellamy-Walters didn’t think Theo was worth talking to until now. Like he was bound to fail. What had changed, Theo wasn’t sure.

Bellamy-Walters clicked his fingers at a passing gardener. “Excuse me,” he said. “What are you doing there?”

“Uhh…” said the young man, looking at the bag of manure in his arms. He was covered in dirt from rummaging around under the rose bushes. “Putting this on the flowers?”

“This is Carlos. He’s working with the ground team,” Theo said. He smiled at Bellamy-Walters, but inside he was ticked the hell off. What was his problem? “They’ve been doing a proper good job sorting out the garden.”

Bellamy-Walters narrowed his eyes at Theo. No doubt he was the sort who thought because Theo had a strong Essex accent, that made him dumb as shit. But Bellamy-Walters said nothing to him, simply turning back to Carlos. “Make sure you do not enter the residence again in that state,” he said curtly. “That goes for anyone else as well. We are not on a farm.”

“Yes, Sir,” Carlos said before scurrying away.

Theo frowned at Bellamy-Walters. “I think they know what they’re doing.”

Bellamy-Walters hummed and raised an eyebrow. “You won’t need to bother His Highness, Prince James, anymore with trivial matters. Or at all, I should imagine,” he said to Theo, although he was scanning the courtyard again, no doubt looking for more hard-working people to pick on. “You can speak directly to me.”

Theo blinked. He didn’t like the sound of that. “But this is his project, isn’t it?” Bellamy-Walters still wasn’t looking at him.

“His Highness doesn’t have time to galivant around planning parties,” Bellamy-Walters said cheerfully. “That’s why he hired you, at least I presume. He didn’t run the appointment by anyone beforehand. Ordinarily, there is a heavy vetting process before anyone can work for the Royal Household.”

“Oh,” Theo said, biting his lip. He hoped James wasn’t in trouble. “Well, I’m only here on a temporary contract. I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

“Indeed,” said Bellamy-Walters as if he couldn’t wait.

“Um, so, did James send you?” Theo asked.

Bellamy-Walters smirked. “I act in the interest of the Crown,” he said cryptically. “I go where I’m needed.”

“Sure,” said Theo, losing patience. “Well, don’t you worry. Everything’s ticking along just fine here.”

“We’ll see,” Bellamy-Walters replied. “I expect a complete security report on my desk by this afternoon,” Bellamy-Walters said with a sniff. “And a full list of staff and guests attending on Saturday night no later than Thursday afternoon. I trust that won’t be an issue.”

“Oh,” Theo said, frowning. “I won’t have a complete list until…” He trailed off as he realised Bellamy-Walters had already turned on his heel and was walking back inside the castle. “…Friday. You bellend,” Theo muttered.

Fuck. He hadn’t finalised either of those reports yet. He wouldn’t be able to get the guest list together until they had all the RSVPs and the security contractors were still completing their assessment.

Was this guy messing with Theo, setting him tasks he knew were impossible to deliver on time?

Right, well, if that was the case, Theo wasn’t going to be bullied that easily. He knew he’d been handed this job by James, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t earned the position. He’d seen The Devil Wears Prada. He was going to Anne Hathaway the shit out of this guy. He immediately got his phone out to call Jemima to push ahead with the RSVPs. Then he would contact the private security team and ensure their plans were close to completion.

Once he’d done that, he would go through his checklist and see what else he could move ahead on. If he could be pre-emptive, then this prick wouldn’t have a chance to trip him up.

What was his problem, anyway? Didn’t he think Theo could do this properly? It wasn’t like Theo was working in a vacuum. He had plenty of regular staff beside him keeping him in check. Was it that Bellamy-Walters didn’t like Theo because he was some commoner from Essex?

Or because he was gay?

Theo stopped before he dialled Jemima’s number. Did this guy suspect about James? Or worse, about James and himself? Theo got the impression that would be very bad if he did. James would probably get a telling off, but Theo could be blacklisted from the charity sector and events industry if someone that powerful decided they didn’t like him.

More to the point, Theo might never get to see James again. Not just after the ball. If Bellamy-Walters was going to be breathing down Theo’s neck, would he and James be able to have dinner tonight? Would James be able to spend the night again?

Theo was distressed at how that made his chest ache already. Bollocks. This was bad. If the thought of letting James go already hurt that much, what would it be like in a week’s time?

Before he knew what he was doing, Theo hit call on a different number.

“Come on,” he muttered to himself as he wandered into a shady corner of the courtyard, away from the carpenters and gardeners. “Come on, come on.”

After several rings, Theo’s heart leapt as the line clicked on the other end. “Hello?”

“Nan?”

“Oh, Theo!” his nan cried in delight. “It’s so nice to hear from you. How’s it all going?”

Theo was horrified that his lip wobbled. “It’s good,” he made himself say.

His nan huffed on the other end of the call. “What’s wrong? Come on, you tell your old nan.”

“Nothing, I’m just being an idiot. Having a moment.” He sniffed and turned towards the stone wall of the castle. “There’s a lot to do and it all has to happen so fast and there’s only so many hours in the day-”

“Theo,” his nan interrupted firmly. “Take a breath. You’re doing a bang-up job, sweetheart.”

“You don’t know that,” Theo mumbled and rubbed his nose. He felt sheepish now he was complaining out loud.

His nan tutted. “Yes, I do. Unless the building is on fire?”

Theo chuckled. “No,” he admitted.

“Then everything will work out fine,” his nan assured him. “You’re just getting in a tizzy because you care. It’s good you care. Means you’re doing all right.”

Theo sighed and sniffed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “I just…Nan, I want this to succeed so badly.”

“It will,” his nan told him. “You’re a bloody hard worker, Theo. You know your onions. Prince James obviously saw that in you to trust you with this. How is he? Is he still just as handsome? We’re old friends, now, don’t you know,” she added with a chuckle.

Theo knew he should deny any acknowledgement that he found James attractive. But this was his nan. He had to talk to someone about how he was feeling, even if he couldn’t be totally honest.

“Um, yeah,” he said, scuffing his new Converse over the loose gravel path. “He’s pretty handsome.”

His nan was quiet for a moment. “Does he think you’re handsome, too, Theo?” she asked in all seriousness.

Theo bit his lip. No one was anywhere near him. And his nan knew how to keep a secret when it counted. “Uh, maybe,” he said. “We’ve, um, been spending quite a bit of time together. He took me out on a rowboat and then we had dinner…” He trailed off. He sounded pathetic to his own ears.

But his nan gave a little gasp. “Oh, Theo. That’s so lovely. I knew he was a nice boy.”

“Nan,” Theo said, rubbing his eyes. “He’s a prince. Like, a literal, actual prince.”

“I’m well aware of that,” she said, clicking her tongue.

Theo groaned. “Then I shouldn’t get my hopes up, should I?”

“Theodore Glass,” his nan said sternly. “You are my only grandson and one of the best young men in this whole bloody world. Don’t you dare sell yourself short. If you boys like each other, it’s that simple. Don’t you let nobody tell you different. Or I’ll clap ‘em round the ear.”

Theo laughed properly, letting his head drop back and releasing some of the tension. “You’re right, I suppose,” he said, grinning to himself.

She was, though. Theo knew he could do his job. He just couldn’t let some uppity toff undermine him and he definitely had to stick to his promise to stop second-guessing himself. And as for James…

Theo liked him. A lot. If James wanted to keep seeing him, even if it was only for a few days, Theo wasn’t going to say no.

“I’m always right,” his nan said with a chuckle. “Now, get on with you. I’m a busy woman, you know!”

Theo laughed. “I do. Thanks, Nan. You’re the best. Love you.”

“Love you, too, dear.”

Theo ended the call with a renewed sense of vigour. Sod Mr Bellamy-Fucking-Walters. Theo was going to do this for James and for himself. He would go above and beyond to jump through any hoop and make this fundraiser the best it could be.

And then, if he and James wanted to spend more time together, it was nobody’s business but theirs.