Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Fifty-Six

At the hotel in Lilongwe, Malawi, Harry and Meredith were getting ready for bed. Meredith was still moving slowly, but it was expected. Her head at least hurt less right now. Meredith climbed into bed with Harry right behind her. He curled his arms around his wife and planted a kiss on her cheek. Meredith felt her cheek go hot.

"Are you feeling better?" Harry whispered.

She nodded, feeling tiredness overcome her. Meredith had never minded hotel beds, whereas some people hated them. Especially in the top suites, it was hard to hate. The beds were so comfortable, and the sheets were always fresh. "How are you?" Meredith yawned.

"Can you stay awake for my story?"

"I can try." Rolling over, Meredith looked him in the eyes. "How are you?"

"Tired."

Meredith waited. "Is that it?"

"Yes." Harry laughed, and Meredith chuckled. "Should there be more?"

"I expected some story, not just 'tired.'"

"Okay." Harry inched closer to her. His hot breath flew across her skin. "I feel..." he kissed her on the lips and then down her neck. "I am..." His face hovered over hers and smiled mysteriously. When he went down for another kiss, Meredith pushed his lips back.

"How do you feel?"

That smile never left his face. "I am..."

"Yes?" Meredith shifted underneath him.

"I am—"

Meredith's cell phone began to ring, and both of them stopped. The duchess didn't receive many calls, unless it was from her father. While she talked occasionally to her friends, it was a more planned talk with Meredith's busy schedule and the time difference. "Don't," Harry groaned as Meredith slipped off the bed.

She grabbed her phone from her bag and looked at the screen. "It's Chloe." Like, it was Chloe from Scotland—that Chloe. Rachel was off married and having children; Chloe was still in college for art.

Harry sat up. "I didn't realize you and Chloe talked anymore."

"We text occasionally and Snapchat."

"Snapchat?"

"I'm down with the kids, Harry." Meredith held up her hand so he didn't speak as she answered Chloe's call. "Hey, Chloe. How are you?"

For a few minutes, Harry just listened to his wife's side of the conversation, and nothing gave it away that it was serious. In truth, Meredith didn't speak all that much besides a few questions. Chloe did most of the talking, and Harry imagined there was some dead air between them. His first thought was Rachel and that something happened to her or her baby, but he assumed Meredith was going to have more of a reaction; Harry had always liked Rachel—Chloe too! They were the first friends of Meredith, and she sure chose her friends wisely. Rachel and Chloe fully knew that Meredith Rogue dated Prince Harry, and they never said a thing to anyone.

"Yep. Are you good?" Meredith asked Chloe.

There was silence.

"I'm good too. Okay. I'll talk to you soon." Meredith ended the call and turned to her husband. "Chloe just told me Sofia from Scotland died." Sofia was one of Meredith's roommates when she was in Scotland. Sofia had been an odd duck to say the least with her staying out in the woods for days on end, pretending to be dead once and her overall personality.

Harry's face transformed. "Are you okay?" He didn't remember his wife liking Sofia all that much, but it was still a sudden death.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry for her family and all. I knew she loved her family and they loved her for how much she talked about them, but honestly, I didn't know Sofia that much besides her weirdness." Sofia had been a warning sign really, because she had warned Meredith about Jack Campbell and the whole thing to come.

Harry nodded. "Does Chloe know how Sofia died?"

The duchess had some outlandish ideas. "No." Meredith sat down on the bed beside her husband and sighed.

"Did you know Sofia well?" He knew the answer but thought it was polite to ask anyway.

"No. I never talked to her after Scotland. I didn't talk to her much in Scotland anyway. It's just a shock." It was a shock because Meredith had been thinking about Jack Campbell just yesterday, and while the thought had escaped her today, Sofia managed to pop up again.

Harry had the same idea. It was last year that Meredith had brought up Sofia to him, where Sofia was pretending to be dead in the woods in Scotland.

In the morning, the royal couple was in duty mode. Sofia was not on Meredith's mind as much as last night, even after Harry tried to distract his wife. The haunting Jack Campbell was still on Meredith's mind. In the morning, Harry woke Meredith up a minute before the alarm with a kiss, and she blinked away with a smile.

In Lilongwe, the royal couple first went to the Chongoni Rock Art Area. As UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was protected. The 127 sites in wooded hills of the Malawi plateau showcased rock art and paintings of the farming community of the late Stone Age and Iron Age periods. Some of the artwork depicted the hunter-gatherer community of the BaTwa community of the Stone Age and then farming community of Chewa during the Iron Age. The duke and duchess toured and hiked the lighter terrain. While the public didn't know about Meredith's concussion, the monarchy had shortened their trip to this stop in case there was a sudden problem. At least Meredith's head hurt a little less.

After lunch, the couple went to the Lilongwe Wildlife Center, which Meredith was sure by this time she had seen most of the different types of species in the world. This wildlife center was the only one in Malawi. There were around 200 rescued animals with the 180 hectares. Since opening in 2008, the wildlife centered had educated many people and rehabilitated many animals. Meredith and Harry toured the wildlife center with guides and were educated about the different species as well as the current challenges and dangers that animals faced, which included poaching to climate change.

The couple went back into the hotel, where Meredith was able to lay down for a few minutes with a pounding head. Harry joined her on the bed. Outside the door, the suite was in a flurry. These few minutes hadn't been originally planned, and Jessica was out there giving orders. Meredith and Harry needed to change soon. After a particular order from Jessica, Meredith started giggling.

"Do you think there will be a mutiny?" she asked.

Harry smirked. "I give it a few more days."

A knock came to the door and the relaxation was done. After being placed in front of the vanity, Meredith scrubbed off the makeup, and her face was painted again. There was always more expensive makeup, and that was put on for the nice dinners. It wasn't technically a state dinner, but Meredith wasn't sure what to call it. Harry wore a military uniform, and Meredith was placed in a dark navy that went along with Harry's uniform.

With the president and his wife, the duke and duchess went to the World War I Memorial. The Duke of Windsor laid a wreath at the base of the steps. The spire held a clock at the top in a white fashion while opposite was a man tipping his cap. Harry didn't turn his back as he backed away. A moment of silence hung in the air.

The president invited the duke and duchess back the presidential house. The National Dance Troupe, formerly the Kwacha Cultural Troupe, preformed for all of them. Traditional music and dance was important to Malawi's culture. The duke and duchess met with football stars from the team, and with basketball gaining popularity, they met some of those people too.

"I heard you played basketball when you were young," the president said. "Do you mind?" He held out a ball to her.

The perks of Meredith's nobility came from embarrassing moments. The last time she played basketball was high school, and she had never been good at it. Her father made her play basketball, and that was only because she was tall. She had six inches over the next girl growing up. She continued to wear her heels she dribbled the ball out with a hoop there. Cameras watched, and that only made Meredith more nervous. One of the basketball players offered help, but Meredith didn't take it. Shooting the ball, she made the basket. People applauded, and Meredith curtsied.

The ball was retrieved and a basketball player tried to hand it off to her. "Would you like to play?"

"I rather watch. Thank you, though," the duchess said graciously, and she returned to her seat.

The sun was already down by the time the airplane took off for Mozambique.