Chapter 1 - Goodnight Sweet Prince / 1

London, 1924

The young boy hid in his wardrobe and waited for his nanny to come fetch him for tea. He knew that his mother wouldn't appreciate his little prank, but then, she probably knew where he was. This thought brought a tear to his eye as he remembered seeing her laid out at her wake only last year. His nanny said that she was in a better place--with God in Heaven. The night of the funeral, he had crawled into bed and slept with his father.

The boy heard his little sister call out from the nursery. He also heard the nanny talking to her. "And where has your brother gone? Is he in his room? We'll go and look for him, then."

He prepared to jump out at them as they walked through the connecting door. His sister toddled towards the wardrobe and tried to open it. "Go away," he said to her in his mind. "Go away."

"Come away from there. We don't want you messin' with your brother's clothes. He's

probably off dreamin' somewhere." The nanny picked up the girl and prepared to go.

"BOO!" he cried as he jumped out of the wardrobe. His sister clapped her hands and

laughed. After her initial surprise, the nanny joined in. "I fooled you, didn't I? For a minute, I thought Anne was going to give me away."

"Come, now, Your Highness, it's time for tea. Your father may join us today."

Prince James Stuart of England watched as the nanny placed Anne in her highchair and gave her some juice. She then poured James a small cup of tea and gave him a pastry. She then poured a cup for herself.

"You said Father would join us."

"I said maybe. He's a very busy man. It's hard work to run a country."

"I'll run this country someday. I'll do a good job, too."

"I'm sure you will," said a male voice.

James turned around. "Father!" He pushed out his chair and turned to him.

King James III picked up his son and gave him a hug. "So how's my boy today?"

"I'm fine." His father put him down. "I scared Maggie by jumping out of my wardrobe at her." His father laughed.

Maggie stood and poured the King's tea and handed it to him as he sat down by his

daughter's chair. "Thank you, Maggie." He took a sip. "How have they been today?"

"Very good, Your Majesty. I was planning on taking them for a walk in the garden after tea now that the rain has stopped."

"An excellent idea. I'm going to be engaged in a conference this afternoon and will need some quiet. Also, on your way out, tell Mary to set another place for dinner. My brother will be staying."

"Yes, sir." She wiped away the jelly that had gathered around Anne's mouth then took her out of the chair.

James wiped his face and hands on his napkin. What's the conf'rence about, Father?"

"There are some people in the country that don't want me to be king anymore."

"Can they do that?"

"It's happened before to our family because of religious differences."

"Why don't they want you to be king?"

"I'm not really sure. That's what the conference is for." He rubbed James' hair. "Now go with Maggie and behave yourself."

"Yes, Father." James ran outside with Maggie and Anne.

...----------------...

James noticed all the cars pulling into the courtyard and realized that his father's conference was beginning. He saw that Maggie was on the other side of the garden trying to keep Anne from eating the flowers, so he hid in the bushes right below the study window. He heard his father greet the visitors. "Charles, how bad is it?" his father asked as soon as everyone was settled.

"Very bad," a young man's voice answered. James recognized it as his uncle's. "The

Saxe-Coburgs of the old Hanover line have changed their name to Windsor and are pushing to regain the throne. The eldest, Edward, has quite a following that could prove dangerous. There was a demonstration early this week that drew a large crowd of supporters. I'm worried that we may not be able to hold them back."

James heard Maggie calling him and didn't want his father to know he had been

eavesdropping so he cautiously ran to her.

"And where were you? It's time for your evening lesson."

...----------------...

As the time passed, James forgot the conversation he had overheard. He very rarely saw his father and spent more time with Maggie and Anne. Three months later, in May 1925, there was a tension in the palace and James' temper was not untouched. He continuously got into arguments with Maggie and ran off to be alone.

One time he hid in a corner of the garden by the wall. In trying to release his anger, he began to throw pebbles against the wall. He stopped when he heard harsh voices coming from the other side. "Windsor is ready to take over the throne and rid us of the Frugal Scot."

"When will he be ready to move?"

"I don't know, but soon." The men walked away.

The name of Windsor brought back what his uncle had said about the Saxe-Coburgs wanting to regain the throne. He had to tell someone what he had heard.

He ran back into the palace. "Maggie! Maggie!" He found her in the nursery with Anne. "I've got to tell you something!"

"You've come back to apologize," said Maggie.

"No, it's more important than that!"

"Then I shan't listen to you until you apologize."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

"You don't mean it. I want you to go to your room until you do."

"But, Maggie--"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but you must be taught a lesson."

James stayed in his room until he was called for dinner. During the meal, he didn't say a word. Maggie tried to get him to speak, but he was too angry with her. After the meal, he went back up to his room and worked on his lessons before he fell asleep.

...----------------...

His uncle leaning over him awakened him later that night. "C'mon, Jamie, you have to get up."

James sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What is it, Uncle Charles? What time is it?"

"Don't worry about that, just get dressed quickly and quietly. I'm going to dress Anne. When you're done, come to her room." He went through the door to the nursery.

James dressed slowly because he wasn't fully awake. He didn't even ask "why" because he was in a dream-state. He sat on his bed and to tie his shoes and almost fell back to sleep. He walked to his window and was amazed at how different London looked in the dark. He opened the window and listened to the quiet that enveloped the city.

His uncle came in with Anne in his arms. "Get away from the window!" he said in a harsh whisper. James did so. "Are you done? Let me see. Good, let's go. Quietly, down the servants' stairs." James thought this unusual and pretended he was a spy in an adventure and had to sneak past the enemy.

Once outside, Charles took the lead with Anne bundled in his arms and James trotting closely behind him. In the fresh air, James' mind cleared and he began to ask questions. "Why are we leaving? Are we going to see Father?"

"No, he won't be where we're going but he told me to take you."

"Is that Windsor man behind it?"

Charles was surprised. "How did you hear about him?"

"When you had that conf'rence in Father's study. I hid in the bushes outside the window and heard you mention him. Today, after I had a fight with Maggie, I hid in the garden by the wall and I heard two men talk about him and say that they would be rid of the 'Frugal Scot' soon. What did they mean by that?"

"I'm not quite sure," Charles lied. "We'll soon be at our destination then you can get some more sleep. When you wake up, I'll tell you what happened."

James barely remembered when they reached their destination, but all he knew was that it was an ocean liner. His uncle said something to the man at the ticket office, and they boarded. Charles laid Anne in the middle of the bed then helped James change. The boy fell asleep with no trouble.

...----------------...

When James awoke the next morning, he heard seagulls calling and saw round little windows. He then remembered that he was on a ship and that last night wasn't a dream. His sister and uncle were already up and he could hear them in the bathroom. He changed his clothes then knocked on the bathroom door. "Come in, Jamie," his uncle said. "I was waiting for you to get up." James saw that he had shaved off his mustache. Charles noticed his expression. I had to shave it. It's time I told you why we left London. Your father asked me to take the two of you away. Things were becoming hard in England and he wanted you to be safe."

"Will he join us later?" James asked.

"He said he would try and join us as soon as he could." Charles knelt by James and held him by the shoulders. "We have to go by different names. We don't want anyone to know we're here. My name will be John Taylor and you will be my nephew Steven Taylor and Anne will be my niece Sara Taylor. You must remember to answer to your new name and to call me Uncle John. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Uncle John," James/Steven answered.

"Good. Let's go to breakfast."

...----------------...

James began to get used to being called "Steven"--it seemed almost natural. Anne responded to "Sara" only after a few days. Uncle Charles/John helped him with his lessons and the captain even let him onto the bridge. There was no one his age on the ship, mainly recently married or elderly couples. Some of those couples let him sit with them and play cards or join in a game of shuffleboard. They also had a soft spot for Anne and her big brown eyes. Everyone called them "darling little Sara" and "polite gentlemanly Steven".

After playing cards with an elderly couple named Collins, James/Steven and Anne/Sara went to the dining room to meet their uncle and saw that he was not alone. A woman was sitting with him. Anne ran over and gave him a hug. "Where have you two been? Enjoying yourselves?"

"Steven was playing cards. I watched." James was glad that she remembered to call him by the right name.

"This is Stephanie Blake. She is from Connecticut. Where is that, Steven?"

"The area of America they call New England," James responded out of reflex. He looked at the woman. She seemed quite pretty. She had dark brown--almost black--hair and hazel eyes. She was close to the same as his uncle who seemed to like her. "What's it like?" he asked.

"It's wonderful. Lots of trees, lakes, ponds, and especially, fresh air."

"She has invited us to visit her there if we want. What do you think?"

"I'd like to," said James.

"Me, too," said Anne.

"That settles it," replied Stephanie with a smile.

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