The Windsor Knot Read Online Free PDF

wake up screaming just as the explosion began. The fact that Charles’s sister had spent years in a mental institution did nothing for his peace of mind. Nor did his parents’ patronizing attitude toward his work. He thought his parents’ hospitality, and his own ability to endure it, might last until the end of the summer.
    He welcomed his cousin Elizabeth’s forthcoming wedding as a diversion for the rest of the family. Perhaps everyone would become so occupied in meddling in
her
business that they would have less time to bother Charles. The sooner this occurred the better, he thought, and to that end he continued spreading the news about Elizabeth’s wedding to all the relatives he could find.
    His next stop was a pine-paneled study in the back of the house, decorated with ship models and a framed photograph of Tom Clancy. There William Chandler, affectionately known to his daughters’ children as Captain Grandfather, kept himself busy with matters maritime. The old gentleman was seated at his keyhole desk, immersed in the latest edition of
Jane’s Fighting Ships
.
    “Captain Grandfather!”
    The old man looked up, frowning at the interruption. His displeasure with his eldest grandson had been clear for some time now, and he had taken to leaving Coast Guard brochures near Charles’s place at the dinner table. “Well, what is it?”
    Charles endeavored to look enthusiastic. “Have you heard the news? Elizabeth is getting married!”
    The response was a sour look. “What does that mean?” Captain Grandfather demanded. “Tired of graduate school, is she? I wish just
one
of my grandchildren would have the gumption …”
    Charles stood silently through the tirade, trying to think of something else.
    “And who’s the groom, pray? I suppose she told him about the inheritance.”
    A look of wonder illuminated Charles’s unexceptional features. He had completely forgotten about the inheritance.
       Ian Dawson was still in the garden, reading one of his brother’s science magazines when Cameron returned, decidedly paler than when he left.
    “What’s the matter with you?” asked Ian. “You’re looking rather peculiar. More so than usual, I mean.”
    “I’m getting married,” said Cameron.
    “Yes, I know.”
    “I mean
soon.”
    Ian burst out laughing. “Let me guess! In time for the Royal Garden Party.”
    Cameron nodded. “July first.”
    “Well, congratulations and all that,” said Ian, still grinning. “I take it this is voluntary.”
    “Yes, of course. But sudden.”
    “Well, I hope it achieves its aim. Did you get up with the Fettes fiend who landed you in this mess?”
    “Yes. Fortunately he was in his office. I explained to him that I was getting married before the event and would like to bring my bride.”
    “Not telling him how suddenly this wedding had been arranged, I hope?”
    “No. He’d have laughed himself into fits.”
    “And did he promise to get her in?”
    “Well, he dithered a bit, but in the end he said he would take care of it. I rather implied that the mistake in omitting her had been
his
fault.”
    Ian grinned. “You snake!”
    “Well it’s all his fault, anyway, isn’t it?” said Cameron obstinately. “That will teach him.”
       Tartan bridesmaids dresses … wrote Elizabeth at the top of a sheet labeled WEDDING . “I suppose you can get plaids in something other than wool,” she mused aloud. “But if not, let them sweat.”
    For the remainder of the day, Elizabeth had been of very little use to the anthropology department. After Cameron’s phone call, she had tossed the technical journal into a heap of ungraded papers and departed for the library in search of more salient topics for scholarly research. She returned to her office several hours later, staggering under a load of books with titles like
Love and Marriage Among the Royal Family; Elizabeth II: A Life; Royal Etiquette;
and
Backstairs at the Palace: or What the Butler Saw
. Now back at her desk