Chapter Six: Mary's Workout

"I know she's in trouble," Mary said, frowning. She threw another fierce punch at the Thai pad held by the young trainer, a look of determination coming into her face. "I just know it!"

"Is that why you were crying just now?" Jamil Khan never dreamed he'd be talking to a member of England's royal family in such intimate surroundings. When he walked into the exercise room at the spa, he'd merely expected to work out. Instead he found himself blocking kicks and punches thrown by an angry girl. "Why do you care so much what happens to Queen Jane? She is only your stepmother, and you have known her for how long?"

"I haven't known her long, maybe a year." Mary lowered her guard, tired and out of breath after her workout. "Jane isn't like that other woman . . . I mean, the woman my father was married to before. She's not selfish. She cares about more than clothes and being photographed and having my father buy her presents."

"She cares about you," Jamil said quietly. He put down the heavy pads he'd been using to block the princess' punches and kicks.

Mary nodded. "You and your father, you know all about Jane, don't you? You knew her before she met the king." The young princess looked the handsome boy in the eye. "Do you know where she went this afternoon?"

"I don't know anything," Jamil Khan muttered. It was always the same. He was rich, he was smart, but at the end of the day he was a boy with a brown skin that the English felt they could use, either as a punching bag or a source of gossip. The beautiful and courageous princess with the lovely pale skin and womanly well-rounded figure was no different from the rest.

"But your father trusts you with everything, doesn't he? You're his number one assistant, that's what he said the other day." Mary frowned just as her royal father might have done.

"Yes, my father trusts me." Jamil Khan's soft voice was sharper than usual. Then he looked away as though ashamed. "You should go now, Princess Mary. I have to put away the equipment."

Mary was angry, but she couldn't help feeling sorry for Jamil Khan. He worked so hard for his father, and he did jobs only a servant would have done in her father's palace. Maybe that was just the way of his people. But she didn't understand why he didn't want to help her. Was he afraid of getting into trouble? Or did he just hate her for being a member of the royal family? She was still trying to puzzle it all out when her stepmother's limousine pulled up in front of the expensive spa.

"Well, don't just stand there, silly girl! Get in!" Queen Jane was only teasing, but the king's young and beautiful new wife was looking very cheerful after her mysterious errand. The time away seemed to have lifted some sort of burden from her shoulders.

"You had a good time," Mary said, looking up at her stepmother as the two of them were driving home together.

"I had a lovely time," Jane replied, looking very prim and cool and leaning back against the soft cushions inside the luxury limousine.

"But it was something you don't want father to know about?" Mary blushed, and squirmed on the deep, soft cushions. "I won't tell, I promise! I remember how you helped me when I had too much to drink and was almost sick in the royal gardens."

"You look as though you're ready to be sick right now." Jane laughed and then after a moment she grew serious, placing her cool white hand firmly on her step-daughter's burning cheek. "Mary, my love, I am your stepmother. I am here to protect you and care for you. It is not your job to protect me."

"Yes, Mum. It's just that you've been so kind to me and I . . ." Mary saw from the look in her stepmother's eyes that she was not to pry any further. Anger surged in her, but it was quickly drowned by a feeling of exhaustion and a trace of guilt. What right did a girl like her have to meddle in the queen's private business? Mary was still learning to be a royal, struggling to mind her manners and look and act the part in public. But Jane was good at it. She was always perfect in whatever she did. Mary on the other hand felt that she was always making a mess of things. And all at once she found herself fighting to hold back tears.

"There, there, my love." Queen Jane slid an arm around her stepdaughter's shoulder. "It's easy to feel blue about the world when you're tired. And you're not the only one who's ready to crash." Jane yawned, sounding sleepy in the darkened limousine. "It's been a busy day for both of us. Did you enjoy your workout?"

"Mm." Mary didn't want to talk about Jamil Khan. Leaning her head on Jane's shoulder, she gazed out at the rainy night, watching the heavy drops splash and splatter against the windows. Little by little her eyes grew heavy too, until at last she closed them with a sigh and slept. The queen and her stepdaughter were both sleeping soundly when the posh royal limousine turned off the highway and onto a rarely used side road.