Everything to Nothing (45 page)

‘You’ll look
amazing too silly!’

‘I hope
so.’

‘Well, I’m
going to finish getting ready. I’ll see you upstairs at five to
six.’

‘Sounds good!
This is going to be a great night. Do you know where we are going
to yet?’

‘No. He won’t
tell me.’

‘Well if we
need gowns like this I’m sure it is going to be amazing!’

Michelle
skipped out of Sally’s cabin into her own cabin and when she
entered she could not help stopping to stare at the ball gown. She
thought to herself that she had never, and would never again, wear
anything so perfect. Picking up the gown, she slid into it and then
turned to contemplate herself in the mirror.

Her hair had
been left to fall naturally, however it had been lightly curled
into ringlets. The beautician had only applied the lightest of
makeup to her face. Her most striking feature was her lips which
had been coated in a deep red gloss that matched her dress to
perfection. The gown curved over her large chest which was being
pushed up to form a delightful large cleavage and cascaded down her
body, flowing out to cover the bulges on her stomach and hips. To
finish off her appearance she wore a pair of new black Prada shoes
that had been supplied with the gown which added a few inches to
her height. She was very happy with the way she looked, but she
also knew that as soon as she was stood beside Sally she would feel
inadequate and plain next to her perfect friend.

*

A short time
later, Mr. Gallagher stepped off his yacht and held out his hand to
help the young women step off the gangway. With a woman on each
side of him linking an arm each, they walked the short distance to
where the limousine was parked. While they walked a few people
stopped to look at the three people, each of them laughing and
joking as they walked along. A few passing tourists took
photographs and as their cameras zoomed in to focus on their faces
they were disappointed to see that they were not anyone famous.

When they
neared the limousine, the chauffeur opened the rear door for them
and they entered the vehicle. Sinking down into the luxurious
leather seats, Mr. Gallagher reached to the cool box and poured
them all a glass of champagne from the cold bottle of Krug.

Sedately the
limousine cruised through the streets of the Principality until the
large car came to a brief stop. Through the window Sally could see
police and guards checking the limousine and the underside of the
vehicle for any kind of explosive device. Quickly they were waved
through and shortly after they stopped again where the chauffeur
exited the car and opened one of the passenger doors.

Michelle was
sat next to this door so she exited first. As soon as she placed a
leg out of the car she was instantly dazzled by the flashes from
cameras. Blinking, she stepped onto the red carpet and stood up.
Instantly the cameras stopped as the journalists realised it was
not anyone famous, and then they started again as Mr. Gallagher
stepped out of the car. Once again most of the cameras stopped, but
a few of them recognised him and carried on taking pictures. With a
wave to the crowd he reached back into the limousine and took the
hand of his daughter.

As she stepped
out of the car the cameras clicked and stopped. Then the
photographers, upon realising how beautiful this unknown woman was,
like a ripple through them the cameras started again. Flash after
flash dazzled the three of them, and then one of the photographers
who had recognised Mr. Gallagher realised that this stunning young
woman must be his elusive only daughter. ‘Miss Gallagher!’

Surprised,
Sally turned towards the man who had called her name, and was
instantly dazzled as the flash went off. Taking up the cry of her
name, more of the photographers struggled to catch her attention
for that special photograph where she was looking directly into
their lens.

‘Miss
Gallagher!’

‘Please Miss
Gallagher!

‘This way Miss
Gallagher!’

With plenty of
smiles, they stayed there for a few more moments, Sally responding
to as many of the cries of her name as possible by turning this way
and that way. Slowly her father started to edge them away from the
front line of camera men, towards the gap between the two phalanxes
of photographers. Still they called her name as they walked along
the red carpet, but now she ignored them, eager to get away from
the limelight that she did not wish for. She speeded up, and both
of them took the hint, quickly following her to clear the group of
photographers.

After clearing
the gathering of journalists they were able to view for the first
time their intended destination. Michelle let out a small whistle
through her teeth. ‘Is that what I think it is? That’s the Prince’s
Palace. Oh my Sally, we’re going into a Palace!’

Which is where
they headed to, passing the security guards who waved them under an
archway into the courtyard at the front of the Palace. Upon
entering the haven of the courtyard Mr. Gallagher turned and
studied them both. ‘You both okay? That was a bit intense. Sorry, I
thought there may be a bit of paparazzi, but nothing like
that!’

‘It’s okay dad,
don’t worry. You okay Michelle?’

‘Yeah, I might
get my sight back in a minute!’ They all laughed at Michelle’s joke
as they continued to walk across the courtyard towards the
entrance.

‘Right, ladies,
stop walking for a moment. In a moment, as you can see, we are
going to enter the Palace. We are here as guests of Prince Albert
the Second of Monaco himself. In a moment you are going to meet
him. He knows me, so he’ll address me by my first name. I’ve met
him before, so I will refer to him as Sir. You must refer to him on
introduction as Your Serene Highness. If he likes you, he’ll say
you can address him as Sir. If he really likes you he’ll allow you
to address him as Albert, although I’ve only ever heard him say
that once and that was to your mum Sally. Shake his hand, give a
slight curtsey and simply say ‘‘It is an honour to meet you Your
Serene Highness’’’

‘Oh goody, a
prince!’ exclaimed Michelle.

‘Don’t get too
excited, he’s round about my age! Do everything as I say and you’ll
be fine. He’s quite relaxed when you get to know him, but he cannot
stand not having the proper respect shown to him in public.’

‘Okay dad,
we’ve got it. Can we go in?’

‘Of course.
Shall we?’ He offered an arm to each lady which they took, and he
led them to the entrance of the Palace.

*

‘Ladies and
gentlemen, Mr.,’ the microphone crackled as the announcer stated
his first name, ‘Gallagher accompanied by Miss Sally Gallagher and
Miss Michelle Walmesley.’ And then they were introduced to the
Prince. ‘Please may I introduce you to His Serene Highness Albert
the Second, Prince of Monaco.’

‘Mr. Gallagher.
So good to see you again.’

Taking the
Prince’s hand in a firm handshake he replied, ‘Sir, it is a real
honour to be invited into your Palace.’

‘It is my
pleasure.’

‘May I
introduce my daughter Sally, and her friend Michelle?’

Michelle
stepped forward first and gave a small curtsey. ‘Your Serene
Highness. It is an honour to meet you.’ He nodded and smiled at her
and the smile turned into a positive beam when his eyes met Sally’s
sparkling emerald eyes.

‘You Serene
Highness. It is a pleasure to meet you,’ and she also gave a small
curtsey.

‘I thought for
a moment that an apparition of your mother approached me. Please, I
insist, call me Albert.’

‘Of course,
erm, Albert. Thank you for inviting us into your home.’

He gave a light
laugh. ‘It is more of a tourist destination and government building
than home now Sally, but it is a pleasure to have you here. I must
attend to my other guests, but I insist you save a dance for me
later this evening.’

‘Again, it
would be an honour Albert.’ Sally gave him his best smile, which
unknowing to her made his heart skip a beat. With another pair of
curtseys and a shallow bow, they walked away from the Prince
through the throng of fellow guests.

‘Well, you both
made an impression on him to say the least!’

‘I think you
could marry a Prince if you wanted to Sally!’

‘Don’t be
silly. He only liked me because I reminded him of my mother. I’m
sure he won’t even remember my name by ten tonight.’

‘I doubt that
very much.’

Mr. Gallagher
distracted them by placing a glass of champagne into their hands,
and then he led them through the guests, stopping every now and
then to speak to people he recognised. All the men, even if they
were stood next to their own stunning wife, could not take their
eyes off Sally. Some of them tried to take her away from her
father’s side, asking her whether they wanted to come onto the
balcony and look at the view, or if she wanted a tour through the
State Apartments which they had exclusive access to. To each and
every offer, Sally politely declined and stayed close to her
father’s side.

After mingling
and networking their way through the crowd, Mr. Gallagher spent
quite some time chatting to another man who was trying to persuade
him to invest in their new computer system. Quickly the ladies grew
bored with the conversation so they wandered away from him and took
up position next to a large ornate stained glass window. Almost
instantly they were approached by two men who were old enough to be
their fathers. Politely Sally and Michelle chatted to them until
Sally asked Michelle did she know where their boyfriends were.
Thankfully the two men took the hint. They chatted amongst
themselves for a few moments until mid-sentence Sally stopped
speaking.

‘What’s up?’
Michelle asked.

‘Oh my
word.’

‘What’s up
honey?’

‘I suppose I
should have guessed he would be here.’

‘Who?’ asked
Michelle again, looking around.

‘The guy.
Behind you. Over your left shoulder. Tall. Dark.’

Michelle slowly
turned and looked across the room to where two men were stood, both
of them were indeed tall, dark and very handsome. ‘Crikey! They
both look gorgeous from here! Who are they?’

‘The one on the
right as you look is his friend. The one on the left is Mo.’

‘Mo? I’ve never
heard you talk about a Mo before. Who is he?’

‘Crown Prince
Sheikh Mohammed.’

‘He’s a prince?
You know a prince?’

‘I know lots of
princes.’

‘Is he
rich?’

‘He makes daddy
look like a pauper.’

‘Crikey! You
don’t seem too happy to see him?’

‘I’m not. Let’s
just say we didn’t depart from each other on the best of
terms.’

‘Why? What
happened?’

‘Shit! He’s
noticed me. Double shit. He’s coming over.

For the next
few moments Sally and Michelle watched the two men walk over to
them, watched as the women they walked past turned to look at
them.

‘Miss
Gallagher. It is a pleasure to see you again.’ The Prince held out
his hand which Sally accepted.

‘Prince
Mohammed. An honour to meet you again. May I introduce my friend,
Michelle Walmesley.’

He took her
hand and lightly shook it. ‘Miss Walmesley, a pleasure.’

‘The pleasure
is all mine Your Highness.’

‘Please, Mo is
fine. Miss Gallagher, I believe you’ll remember my friend Ashraf.’
Sally smiled politely but neither of them offered a hand to shake.
‘Okay, this is slightly awkward. As an icebreaker, can I offer you
both some champagne?’

‘No we’re fine
thanks Mo. How’s your partner?’ With a flush of his cheeks the
Prince stated she was fine. ‘Well shame you weren’t single last
year then maybe this meeting wouldn’t be so… awkward.’ For a moment
there was some feet shuffling and more awkwardness. ‘Come Michelle,
I need to powder my nose. Nice to see you again Your Highness.’
Without waiting for a reply, Sally brushed past the Crown Prince
and walked quickly towards the toilets, throwing open the door.

‘Sally! You
can’t speak, and treat, a Prince like that!’

‘Well he
shouldn’t have treated me like he did last year. And as for the
sleazeball Ashraf…’ Sally placed her fingers in her mouth and made
a retching noise.

‘What on Earth
happened?’

‘Ohhh, last
year. We were at his palace in his country, sorry, one of his many
palaces. I was single, and he told me he was. He’s quite a few
years older than me, than us, and me being the naïve daughter of a
billionaire I fell for him, big time. He swept me off my feet. I
was due to leave with daddy, but I begged the Prince to let me stay
at the palace with him. I stayed there for a month. Every day we
went sailing in his yachts, swimming in private coves, staying on
his private islands out in the Gulf. He treated me, well, he
treated me like a princess.’

‘Last year?
Last summer?’

‘Yes.’

‘You told me
you were away with your dad on business, keeping him company?!’

‘Sorry, that
was a lie.’

‘I’d say! I
thought you told me everything?!’

‘Usually I do
honey, but not about last summer. He’s the first and only guy to
see me naked and I was very content on the last night we were
together for him to take my virginity. On the penultimate night
though, I heard a commotion coming from along the corridor, towards
the Prince’s room. It sounded very heated, and apart from staff, I
didn’t think there was anyone else staying in the palace apart from
us. So I put my gown on and walked quietly towards his room. His
door was open and I stood in the doorway watching another woman
throw ornaments, books, anything that came to hand, at the Prince,
to which he casually batted them away with a pillow.’