Life in the Palace (Prince Harry #5)

Chapter Nine

By the next morning, Meredith was ready to return to her father's home. They took a drive through the small University of Wisconsin-Superior campus. She recognized the old residence halls; somehow, the old building, where she was a resident assistant, was still standing. It really didn't seem possible. The whole university wasn't more than a block. Summer students and students who stayed for summer lounged around some played in the grass. Others were taking classes.

"Do you miss it?" Harry asked. He had taken a gap year before going into the military. University hadn't been for him. He hated school-- besides gym class-- when he was in; another three or four years was probably torture to him.

"Some things," she admitted. "Friends were like family. I miss being able to take naps during the day." She missed it more than ever now. "I miss classes and learning something new every day. I miss the teachers-- they are amazing." Meredith looked to the dormitories. "I miss working." She even missed the events on the tour, which were hectic. "Do you ever regret not going to college?"

Harry didn't think about it. "Nope."

Meredith looked over at him.

Politely, he pretended to reconsider. "It wasn't for me, I knew that. I hope, though, that our child goes to uni. I know how fortunate I am to have had the choice because if the military didn't work out, I could've fallen back on the being prince-- and I did." He chuckled. "Not everyone gets the choice or chance to go."

Meredith agreed.

It was her family that helped pay for college. She worked two jobs, but even then, it was an expensive thing. Having known where she was going to end up, she didn't know how much a college degree helped her. Still, she probably wasn't going to meet Prince Harry if she hadn't gone to college, which led her to a study abroad in Scotland. The rest was history.

"What degree would've been helpful for a duchess?" Meredith asked.

"Wills has a degree in geography--"

"He's got to keep an eye on the Commonwealth," she joked.

Harry chuckled. "Cath has a degree in art." The words settled for a second. "Actually, that was how they met originally. They were in class together. Wills was getting a degree in art history."

"I guess you can do that when you're going to be king."

He loved his brother, but Harry wasn't able to contain his roar of laughter. "He thought it would be useful."

"He would've ended up in human resources." If Meredith hadn't married Prince Harry, then also she was going to be in human resources.

After the trip down memory lane, Meredith and Harry took the two-and-a-half hour drive back down to the Twin Cities metro area. Harry drove halfway with Meredith controlling the music. She tried to compromise with him and find something they were both able to enjoy, but Harry just told her to listen to whatever. It was somewhat of a regret. When they were halfway, they switched at a truck stop, and Meredith drove the rest with herself controlling the music. She did well with the city driving. This wasn't the London-driving that Harry was used to because city driving here were the freeways that went through and around with lots of on- and off-ramps.

They returned home in the afternoon. The dogs were there to greet them, and Meredith was ready for a nap. However, she didn't haul herself upstairs like Harry hauled the suitcase. Instead, she grabbed the dog leashes and Harry, and they went for a walk around the neighborhood.

School was out for the summer, and the kids of the neighborhood were happy for their freedom. The twelve weeks were going to fly by fast. Harry kept his head down with now everyone around. The neighbors knew who lived there once and that her father still lived there. Some of them cared; most of them didn't. Royalty and nobility didn't affect them.

Halfway through the walk, Meredith was ready to turn back. The heat was getting to her because she hated it, and exhaustion was making her drag her feet. Harry offered to carry her back to the house, but she gave a look. There was no way in hell that was happening. They walked back.

At the house, Meredith shed her shoes and ran into the living room, dropping herself onto the couch. The dogs jumped up too, and Meredith giggled as they tried to kiss her. Harry, who didn't want to admit that he was also tired, dropped onto comfy chair.

"Now what?" he asked.

"We sleep." The dogs settled next to her as she yawned. She knew that if she sleep now, then she was going to have a problem sleeping later. But her whole sleep schedule was messed up anyway.

Within a few minutes, she was out like a light. Harry didn't fall asleep, waiting until nighttime, but when the time came, he got up and started making dinner. Usually, Meredith's father made dinner-- mostly because he loved cooking. Harry wasn't that bad of a cook, though he was rusty. There hadn't been a lot of time for personal cooking while on tour.

Pulling things out of the cabinets, Harry had to look up a few recipes but finally found one that was going to work. Even though Meredith was sleeping in the room next to the kitchen, she managed to sleep through it all. The dogs danced under Harry's feet, wanting to be fed scraps. Glancing around, Harry whispered, "Don't tell anyone." Both of the dogs got a thin strip of meat.

Meredith's father returned home, and Harry was almost done cooking. When it was time for dinner, Harry tasked himself with waking Meredith up, and she was not impressed.

"No," she groaned.

"Food," Harry said. "You love food."

That was true. Meredith peeked out from under her eyelashes. "What kind of food?" She sniffed the air.

At dinner, Meredith wasn't fully awake, but she ate Harry's food without hesitation. Her father had praise for Harry's food, and he made large hand motions to explain how much he loved it. Harry didn't catch it all and Meredith was only half translating-- but Harry thought it was positive because her father was smiling.

"Meredith," her father said to get her attention, and she looked up. He signed, "I sold the house. I have it until the end of the month, which is after you leave. When you go back to London, take everything you want. If you don't, it's going to charity."

Meredith looked at her father in shock. Harry looked between the two, not fully understanding. While her father had mentioned it before, it felt different now. "Why?" Meredith signed.

"I have no need for this much space. It's just Emmie, Izzie and me," he referred to the dogs. "Let someone else grow up here, like you did."

It still felt wrong. This had been her home since forever. London was London, but she always thought she was able to come back here. Her father was kicking her out; he was leaving. This had been his home for over twenty years, but he knew it was time to move on. This was what happened. Meredith had moved on, but now, it seemed impossible to do so.

Swallowing the food roughly, Meredith just nodded an agreement, knowing there was nothing she was able to do about it.