Chapter 12

12:45 p.m. Wednesday

"Are you freakin' kidding me?" Elizabeth asked as she continued to look from her phone – where a picture of Evan Duffield was on the screen – to Andy Drayton.

She held up a finger to stop his answer as she shifted to a different Web page. Her eyes raced down the screen and her mouth opened involuntarily.

"Oh my Lord," she said. "Andy, do you know what this means? Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I didn't know about this until Sunday afternoon," Andy said, answering the last question first. "Yes, I know what it means – to me, at least. And no, I'm not freakin' kidding you."

"This is... ," she started only to close her mouth and try again. "This means..."

"It means nothing," Andy supplied. "I've never met him and I've only spoken to him on the phone two or three times. He dated my mother in college and asked her to get married. She said no for reasons I don't have time to get into right now and a he returned to England. A few weeks later, she found out I was on the way. Not a single thing has changed from Saturday when I didn't know to today when I do. OK?"

Elizabeth was shaking her head.

"Andy, think about this for a minute," she said. "Look, I did something last night that I should probably tell you about. I sat down and looked at my scholarships and my budget. I realized that if I take a work study, I can turn down $4,000 in outside money. I went through and made some calls to see who would get the money next. The ones that would go to you, I've decided to let go."

"Why would you do that?!" Andy asked as tilted his head back to look at the sky.

"Because of what you told me yesterday," Elizabeth replied. "I thought it about it all day and it bothered me. You were right about the extracurricular activities. Why should being a cheerleader or student council president count more than working to support your family? I couldn't think of a single reason that I should have the money ahead of you."

"You deserve those scholarships," Andy cut in. "That's why. You worked just as hard as I did. When I was dating Erin, I saw how hard you practice. I also understand that being student government president is a lot bigger deal than doing manual labor in a warehouse. Elizabeth, I understood all of the ramifications when I made my decision. I did not go into things with my eyes shut. The things I didn't understand, the guidance counselors told me."

"I'm not giving it all back," Elizabeth admitted. "I would but then I would be on the hook for student loans. I've read too many horror stories about those over the past few years."

"I could have gone that route, too," Andy told her. "I could have taken loans out but I didn't for many of the same reasons you aren't. I don't want to scratch my way out of where I am right now only to find myself back there when I finish college and have to return to the minimum-wage job I have now. My father doesn't affect any of this."

"But he could pay your way to Stanford," Elizabeth pointed out. She saw Andy shaking his head. "Even if you don't want his help, just the knowledge would probably compel the university to find a way for you to attend. I'm sure they could find some cash lying around somewhere to ensure the son of an English aristocrat graces their university with his presence."

"It's a little late in the game for that," Andy said. "I only have until Monday to let Stanford know if I'm coming or not."

He was surprised that it didn't bother him to use his father's name in that way. The thought of taking money from Evan wasn't high on Andy's list of priorities.

"You should call them today," Elizabeth told him. "Or better yet, maybe Regan could call them."

"Let's leave Regan out of this," Andy said with a sigh.

"Is that what the call was about?" Elizabeth wondered. She didn't become the conduit of all information at Eisenhower High School by shying away from the tough questions.

"Sort of," Andy said. He looked around to make sure no one could hear him. "Rita found out. I guess she had some PI digging around in Mom's past looking for dirt. Now, Regan says her mom has set her mind on ensuring that I don't break free from the leash."

"You could do worse," Elizabeth said with a shrug. "Jesus, can you imagine what Erin would do if she found this out? No, never mind. In her mind, that guy from 'Vampire Hunters' is royalty."

She nudged Andy on the hip with her elbow.

"I'll call Stanford if you want me to," she offered. "I can have even have Paul mention something to his history professor."

"Let me think about it," Andy said. "If I decide to go this route, I'll make the call myself."

"I still can't believe it," Elizabeth said, elbowing Andy again. "To think I've known a princeling for most of my life. What is your actual title?"

"I don't have a title," Andy said through clenched teeth.

"Royal pain," Elizabeth joked.

"Royal bastard is more like it," Andy said, shaking his head.

"Sorry," Elizabeth replied. Her dark face pinked slightly in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it," Andy said. He related the story of how his grandmother taught him the word as they walked to class.

Once again, Elizabeth put her mind into making sure Andy could go to Stanford if he wanted.

5:30 p.m. Wednesday

"What are you doing here?" Regan asked irritably.

"I'm your mother," Rita answered with a smile. "I'm permitted to visit you whenever I want. I thought I might check you out so we can talk in private. I have some interesting news."

"Did you make another billion by overcharging the government for some contract?" Regan asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about Andy Drayton," Rita said. She had tried to direct her daughter out of the dormitory but Regan had shaken Rita's hand off her arm.

"I do not want to discuss my personal life with you," Regan declared – in a voice that was much too loud for Rita's liking.

"That's part of what I want to talk to you about," Rita said in the voice she used for schmoozing politicians. "I wanted to apologize for trying to butt into your romance. Can we please go outside? I don't want everyone in the world to hear our discussion."

"Andy is going to call me in a few minutes," Regan said. "We have a lot of plans to make before this weekend. Do you know he found a date for my roommate just because I asked him to?"

"That was kind of him," Rita said.

"I thought you were in D.C.," Regan accused.

"Well, I tried to get in touch with you all day," Rita told her. "When you didn't answer your cell phone I decided to fly out to talk to you in person. The airport is only half an hour from here."

"Did it occur to you that I didn't answer my phone because I have nothing to say to you?" Regan inquired. Her mother surprised her by laughing.

"Yes," Rita admitted. "That's why I flew out. I'm a little more difficult to dismiss face-to-face. There is an ice cream shop just up the road. Why don't we go up there? You can talk to Andy for a few minutes and then we can have a cone and chat for a bit."

"I have homework," Regan tried.

"So you planned to push Andy off the phone so you can do your history project?" Rita asked with a knowing look. "You won't start your homework until after the phones go away. I know you at least that well."

"Fine," Regan said with a sigh. "I need to talk to Ruth for a minute and then we can go."

Rita stood as Regan walked over to Ruth DeLancy.

"She tracked you down?" Ruth asked incredulously. "I thought you said she was out of town."

"She was in D.C.," Regan said wearily.

"I'm not sure what she found out about Andy but it must be something huge!" Ruth noted.

"It's something I already knew," Regan said. "Look, it's not going to be a secret for long. Andy's father is ... well, he's someone important."

"And your mother wants to use that to gain the upper hand in negotiations or something?" Ruth wondered. It was how her father would act.

"Probably," Regan admitted with a glance over her shoulder. "The thing is, crap. Andy's descended from British royalty. His father is the Earl of Smithfield."

"Holy shit!" Ruth said a little too loudly. "You realize that his father might think he's too good for you now? Wouldn't that be funny?"

"No!" Regan said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, crap," Ruth said. "That came out all wrong. I didn't mean funny as in 'ha-ha.' I meant funny as in, you know, ironic. You could really yank your mother's chain with that one."

"You don't really think that could happen, do you?" Regan asked.

Ruth shrugged.

"I've never met either of them," she said. "From what you've told me, I don't think Andy is that type. You never know about his dad, though. I think an earl is pretty high up in the aristocracy."

"Below only a duke, I think," Regan said. "Anyway, don't forget to call Chris tonight. I have a feeling my mother is going to keep me out for a while."

Ruth craned her head around to look at Rita Riley again.

"I don't know," Ruth said. "She's already checked her phone three times. Maybe she's on a tight schedule and can only fit 'Mothering' in for 15 or 20 minutes."

Regan laughed at her newfound friend.

"Maybe she'll get an important call and have to fly back immediately," Regan said. "At least I'll get an ice cream cone out of the deal."

Regan sat across from her mother, drinking a milkshake through a straw. Her mother had not gotten ice cream – and she'd checked her phone four more times.

"So what are you really doing here?" Regan asked. She had decided in the car that she wasn't going to make things easy for her mother. She decided to pretend that she had no idea in the world why Rita would take time out of her busy schedule to fly to California for a visit.

"It's just what I told you," Rita replied. "I wanted to let you know that I understand that you'll soon be 18 and that you can make your own decisions. If you want to date Andy Drayton, I won't interfere."

"Uh-huh," Regan said dubiously. "You flew 3,000 miles to tell me that? I'm calling bullshit."

"Regan," Rita rebuked. "A young lady doesn't talk like that."