We could hear the security guard telling the reporters they weren’t allowed in the building as we climbed. When we got to the office I shared with several other graduate students, I sighed in relief. I turned and looked at the three people in suits.

“Samantha, this is Terrance Ross.” Duvall nodded at the man. He was tall with a shaved head. I held my hand out to shake. His palm engulfed mine and his smile was very formal.

“A pleasure to meet you, Duchess.”

“Sam or Samantha.” I sighed when Duvall cleared his throat. “At least when we’re alone, please.”

“And this is Rebecca Meyers.” The woman was younger than both of the men. Probably close to my age. She was wearing slacks and a button-up shirt under her winter jacket. Her blond hair was trimmed into a pixie cut that suited her face and friendly smile.

“Nice to meet you.” She shook my hand firmly. “Please, call me Becca.”

“Nice to meet you, Becca.” I looked over my shoulder at the door and saw the shadows of my co-workers leaning toward the door. “Well, might as well let you meet the idiots I work with.”

“I heard that.” Mary’s voice hollered from the other side of the door as the shadows cleared out of the way.

I opened the door to find Mary and two other graduate students staring at us. I moved aside so the others could come in and waved in their direction. “Guys, meet the suits. Suits, meet my co-workers.”

“Are you really a princess?” Mary leaned forward. “And please tell me we’re going to meet the prince.”

“What? No.” I set my bag down on my desk and opened it to find my notes for the next class. “And no.”

“But you’re royalty, right? Your face was all over the news this morning.” She reached over and turned the monitor of the guy next to her so we could see they were watching a live stream from one of the local stations.

“Turn that off!” I walked over and hit the monitor button.

“Geez, you can’t blame us for being curious! We’ve known you for years and you never told us.” Mary crossed her arms. I ground my teeth and counted to five before answering. Mary was not my favorite person in the program.

“I didn’t tell anyone. Because I didn’t know.” I frowned at everyone. “C’mon, guys. Don’t be weird. I’m the same ol’ Sam. I just have a royal ancestor.”

“Leave her alone, guys. We’ve all shoveled crap with her and spent hours studying manuals.” David, one of the doctoral students, said from the back of the room. I let my breath out in relief. David was a good guy and the others listened to him. I smiled at him and he nodded in return. “We’ve all got enough to focus on.”

I looked over at Duvall and lowered my voice. “Could you guys wait outside?”

“When is your class?” His accent drew the attention of some the closer people.

“About thirty minutes.”

“Very well. I’ll wait outside with Ross. Meyers will stay with you. She tends to blend in and make people less uncomfortable.”

“Why can’t you all go?” I hissed the words between my teeth.

“Lady Rousseau, someone will be with you at all times in public. I must follow the duchess’s instructions.” His face was impassive and I knew our whispering was making everyone even more curious so I gave in.

“Fine. Becca stays. Everyone else goes.” He started to say something so I cut him off. “Becca stays and everyone else hangs out in the background. No flying-V formations or people circling me like a mama bear protecting her cub when I go anywhere.”

“Yes, my lady.” Duvall bowed his head before exiting the room.

“I’m going to do a few things before I leave. Intro to Wildlife isn’t for thirty minutes and it’s in this building, so won’t take but a minute to get to.” I jerked my head toward my desk.

“Sounds good to me.” One thing I had noticed right away was Becca had an American accent. A Southern accent, to be exact, and it made everything feel a little less foreign and crazy.

I dragged a chair next to my desk for her and pulled out some papers, thumbing through my notes for today’s lecture, but my attention kept being pulled to the manila folders. I opened the one Rose had sent and studied the first few pages of notes. There were copies of birth certificates, a ship manifesto, and a few deeds for property in New York. Then I found the family tree. It was very generic-looking, no picture of a tree or fancy calligraphy. Just a chart, listing descendants. I traced down the lines until I found my mother’s name. There had been other branches but they had all ended in one fashion or another. A blank space was next to my mother with a line that led down to my full name.

Tracing the line down to me, I looked at my name and frowned. Samantha Ellen Frances Rousseau. I’d always hated having four names. It seemed so silly growing up. Everyone else had managed with just three. I flipped through some more of the paperwork, looking for anything that caught my eye or seemed familiar. Copies of my mother’s thesis and first write-up in a journal made me smile. She had been a brilliant scientist.

I looked up at the clock and decided I had enough time to look quickly through the other folder. The noise in the office soothed my nerves. The clicking of someone typing, the whispers of Mary as she flirted with David. David telling her to hush. It was nice to have a little normal for a few minutes.

Alex’s folder had several paper-clipped articles from medicine journals about homeopathic solutions for cancer and dealing with chemo along with information about a new drug that seemed to be helping ease the pain of some cancer patients without affecting their quality of life. The articles were fascinating and I felt hope swelling in my heart. Maybe jumping the pond wouldn’t be so bad. Especially if I was able to help Dad. Or at least make him more comfortable.