Chapter 33

The items that Nicholas had ordered had been delivered, and he busied himself trying to arrange them before Mary woke up. He had also ordered a new bag and was currently folding the new items into it. If he had his way, he would have thrown away her former bag, along with all the clothes in it. But he let it go, wanting to give her the choice.

Nicholas had laid up some of the new clothing he had gotten for her on the bed next to where she was sleeping. He looked at his wrist; the Apple Watch Ultra had the short hand at 10 and the long one at 8. He looked at Mary, a little worried. She had to wake up on time to enjoy all that he had planned for the day.

The telephone rang shortly, and he hurried to pick it up before it would wake up his wife. Nicholas answered the phone, replying in rushed tones. But it was still loud enough to wake Mary up from her deep slumber, and she stirred on the bed.

"Nicholas?" Mary turned to face him, squinting her eyes as they failed to focus on the princely