Royally Schooled

by McKenna James

  “But it was all me!” I argued. “I pursued her! I went after her. You can’t fire her for that.”

  “That’s very honorable for you to try to take the blame,” Ms., Mitchell said, “but she made it very clear to me that she took as much interest in you as you took in her. You are both equally to blame.”

  “If we’re equally to blame, we should have equal consequences. I don’t have any consequences!” I said angrily.

  “Oh, Edward,” she said in frustration. “If you think you have no consequences, you are not paying attention to the media. You have a great many consequences, and I fear they are more serious than her being fired. Have you seen what they’re saying about you? You come off as a predator.”

  “I don’t care about that.” I slapped the desk with my hand. “I care about Maggie. I care that what I’ve done has hurt her.”

  “It’s what you both have done,” Ms. Mitchell reminded me. “I cannot help you, Edward. I will be the first to admit I am quite fond of Maggie. She was always a great tutor, but the queen insists she cannot continue to work here, and frankly, I agree with her.”

  “That’s absurd, Ms. Mitchell, and you know it,” I groaned. “All my life it’s been preached of the importance of finding my soul mate, a princess who would one day accept the throne as queen. Now that I’m confident I’ve found that in Maggie, you strip her from my life?”

  Ms. Mitchell looked at me curiously. “You actually care for this girl, don’t you?” she asked.

  “Yes, of course I do. Is it not obvious?” I threw my arms out wide, the frustration for the situation, my heart on my sleeve, both on full display.

  “It’s just that I’ve never seen you so up in arms over any woman before. It’s quite a shock.”

  “Well, I’m smitten. I really am. Head over heels in love with her. What more can I say?”

  She paused, seeming to think for a moment.

  “You know, the queen probably would not appreciate me giving you this advice, but…” she began hesitantly.

  “What? What is it? Please, Ms. Mitchell, I'm at your mercy,” I pleaded.

  “If you truly care for this girl, if you want to mitigate her pain, I would seek her out. You cannot give her the job back, but I do not believe the job will be the most important thing to her right now.”

  I was shocked that Ms. Mitchell was actually encouraging me to pursue Maggie.

  “Really? You think I should go to her?”

  “I absolutely do.”

  I smiled despite the awful situation.

  “Edward, never before have I seen you head-over-heels for a woman. This kind of affection, it’s rare. Take it from an old woman. You have to chase that feeling once it comes over you. So, go chase her while you still can.”

  I nodded. “Thank you, Ms. Mitchell.”

  “You’re absolutely welcome.”

  I tried calling Maggie as soon as I left the palace to let her know I was coming over right away. She didn’t answer, but I didn’t care. I was going to go whether she answered or not. I absolutely had to talk to her.

  I had my driver rush over. He wouldn’t speed for me, despite my best begging for him to do so, and every minute dragged on. Once her flat came into view, I was ready to jump out of the car.

  I ran across the grass and up to her door. I knocked on it impatiently, praying that she was here. She had to be, right? Where else would she be? She spent much of her time with her father.

  The door opened, and my heart pounded in my chest as I hoped to see her face. I didn’t see her face. I saw a man’s face.

  “Hello?” he said as he opened the door.

  “Hello, you must be Maggie’s father,” I said quickly, a little out of breath from running to the door.

  “Yes. And you are…? Wait.” He paused, and his eyes widened. “You’re … the prince?”

  “I am.” I smiled politely.

  “Oh my. Come in! Come in!” he said, and he took me by the arm. “I can’t believe the Prince of England is at my door. Please, make yourself at home. It’s not much, but I hope it’s comfortable.”

  I looked around the flat. It was simple but tastefully decorated. “I think it’s quite nice actually,” I said politely.

  This seemed to flatter him. “Ah, well, I take it you’re looking for Maggie, right? She’s just in her room. Let me go fetch her.”

  “Thank you very much,” I told him.

  He was bald and frail, but he seemed to be getting around alright. Maggie had described him as needing a lot of help, so I could only hope his mobility was a sign that his health was improving.

  I sat on their couch as I waited. It was quaint, and I actually quite liked it. Having always grown up in extravagance, I wasn’t used to this.

  It reminded me of the shows I used to watch as a child, sitcoms with entirely normal families. I used to be so jealous growing up, so desperate for an average house in a normal neighborhood. Most people would likely think that ridiculous, but luxury stops feeling luxurious when you’re constantly surrounded by it. At least, that was how it worked for me.

  I heard footsteps coming from down the hall, and I straightened up on the couch.

  Out came Maggie. Her eyes were red and puffy, she’d definitely been crying. It broke my heart to see her this way.

  “Maggie, I am truly sorry.”

  “For what?” she asked.

  This seemed like a weird question considering our circumstance.

  “For everything that’s happened, of course.”

  “You mean with me being outed as your lover and fired?” she questioned.

  “Yes,” I answered nervously.

  “That’s not what you should be sorry for.”

  She sat on an armchair across the way from me and stared on blankly.

  “Uh ... then I really haven’t a clue what I should be sorry for.”

  “I know about the hospital bill,” she answered seriously.

  Wait; that was what she was mad about? I thought she’d be thrilled!

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “I’m not a charity case, Edward. I can fend for myself. That was a really big gesture you made, and I don’t think you considered how it was going to make me feel.”

  “I don’t think you’re a charity case at all! Maggie, I didn’t do it to provide you charity.”

  “So why did you do it? Because to me it feels like maybe it was some kind of bribe. Like you wanted to thank me for all the sex or—"

  “Woah, woah, woah! Let’s slow down here. I absolutely wasn’t trying to manipulate you. I didn't pay off the hospital bills in trade for sex. Maggie, I did it because I am in love with you, and the thought of you struggling with hospital bills while also taking care of your father was breaking my heart. You were already doing so much, and I didn’t think you deserved to have anything else on your plate, especially when I could’ve taken care of it easily.”

  She was quiet as she processed this, so I continued.

  “Look, I can see why you were upset. Yes, I should have asked. I definitely shouldn’t have done it without your consent first. I didn’t think it through. I honestly thought you’d be relieved to have one less thing to worry about. In my slight defense, I was concussed at the time.”

  “Really? You decided when you had the concussion?”

  “Actually, that is why I got concussed in the first place. While playing polo, I couldn't get you out of my mind. I’d battled with myself about if this was real—if you were the one. No other woman sparks emotion in me like you do.” She swiped away at a tear and struggled to find her breath. “I decided the very moment I was whopped upside the head, effectively resulting in the concussion. Even as I lay in the grass, dizzy and barely coming to, I couldn’t get you out of my head. I decided right then to pay the hospital bills, and I called my lawyer the next day.”

  “But why?” she asked, puzzled.

  “I ... I don’t think I understand the question. Isn’t it obvious?”

&n
bsp; “No, it’s not obvious to me at all. It’s the exact opposite of obvious. Why would you care so much about what I’m going through? Why would the woman you’re sleeping with be that important to you? We were nothing more but a fling. Friends with benefits.”

  “Is that all you think you are?! The woman I’m sleeping with?!” I was appalled.

  “Aren’t I?”

  “Maggie, you are so much more than that to me. I am in love with you. Simply put. I can’t even explain how much. You’ve become a best friend to me.”

  Finally, for the first time today, a small smile formed on her face.

  She quickly forced it away.

  “You’re in love with me?” She seemed stunned beyond belief.

  I grabbed her cheeks and kissed her breathless. “Yes, woman. You’re maddening.”

  “Maybe I overreacted about the hospital bill. I do forgive you for that, and I do appreciate it... But—"

  “You don’t forgive me for word getting out about us?” I finished for her.

  “What? No. That wasn’t what I was going to say at all. In fact, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t your fault.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “How can that be? I was the one who was careless. You were constantly saying we should be more discrete.”

  “Yes, well, all that aside, I’m still the reason word of our situation got out.”

  “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Well, uh, I may have been really mad at you when I found out about the hospital bill, so I vented to Millie about it, and I accidentally said too much. I never explicitly said we had done anything together, but she figured it out.”

  “You’re sure she was the one to leak it?”

  “Yep, I called her afterward, and she confirmed it.”

  I could feel my face flush with anger.

  “How dare she?! I’m going to have her fired promptly. And to think, she acted like your friend!”

  “No, no, please don’t do that,” Maggie instantly begged.

  I couldn’t understand why.

  “You just said that she outed us?”

  “I know. On the phone, she sounded pretty desperate and apologetic, although she attempted to justify her actions as if that made everything better. She did it because she was stressed about money and, well, I can definitely understand that. If you fire her, she will only be more stressed.”

  I never ceased to be amazed by Maggie’s compassion. She was truly an amazing being.

  “That’s incredibly kind of you.”

  She shrugged. “I just don’t see why anyone should experience any more pain because of what has happened. What’s done is done. I just want to move forward.”

  “Okay, so, if you’re not mad at me about the hospital bill and you’re not mad at Millie… What are you mad at?” I asked.

  “I’m not at all.”

  “But there was a but. You said you forgave me ‘but?’”

  “Right. I forgive you, but we can’t be together.”

  “What?! But why?”

  “Because as fun as this fling is between us, Edward, I’m not the kind of girl who can have a fling and not get attached. I wanted to end things a long time ago for that reason, but I couldn’t pluck up the courage to do it. Well, now I’m doing it. I can’t keep sleeping with you without wanting something more.”

  “So then… Why can’t we have something more? I just told you I love you, Maggie. Why are you complicating things?” I asked. That was what I wanted after all.

  “You know why, Edward. We could never be together in this world. Who am I? I’m a total nobody. I’m not the kind of woman you can date. You need to date someone higher up in society. Someone who can live up to being a princess.”

  “You absolutely live up to being a princess, Maggie.”

  She blushed. “Edward, you know what I mean. I’m not the woman for you long term. You could never marry someone like me. It wouldn’t be right. So let’s end this before it hurts too much.”

  “No, Maggie. You deserve to see your worth, and you’re worth it all to me,” I argued.

  “Edward…”

  “Maggie, I am not going to let you go. I can’t. I don’t care if people don’t think you’re the kind of woman who should become princess. I don’t care what anyone thinks because the only opinion that matters to me is yours. I want to be true to myself. I don’t want to be what people expect me to be. Being true to myself means being with you.”

  She looked up at me expectantly. “Do you really mean that? You really want to be with me?”

  “Absolutely!” I slid over on the couch so I could reach out and grab her hand. “Maggie, I may not be able to make them hire you back at the palace, but I can certainly let the world know that you’re my girlfriend. If you agree to be that is.”

  A grin broke out on her face as she nodded furiously.

  “Yes, yes, of course I’ll be your girlfriend!” she chimed.

  It was music to my ears.

  I leaned in and kissed her passionately. Except not too passionately because I was painfully aware that her father could walk in at any moment.

  “So, I’m in the official girlfriend role, huh?” she asked.

  “Sure are.”

  “Does that come with a t-shirt or something? ‘I went to the palace and all I got was this lousy boyfriend?’”

  I had to laugh. “I can have one made, if you want.”

  “Yes, I’d like that,” she joked.

  I loved that she was lightening the mood. It put me at ease once again.

  “Have you two love birds patched things up?” I looked up to find Maggie’s dad standing in the hallway. So he must have heard about us in the news as well.

  “Uh … yeah, actually, we have.” Maggie stood. “Dad, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Edward.”

  I loved the way she said that. It was so casual. In that moment, I didn’t feel like the Prince of England. I felt like any average guy meeting his girlfriend’s father. I adored the fact that Maggie gave me a sense of normalcy that I had never had before.

  “Well, lovely to meet you, Edward.”

  He extended his hand for me to shake, and I shook it proudly.

  Maggie looked absolutely delighted.

  “I’m going to grab us some drinks. I think this calls for a celebration,” she said as she scurried off to the kitchen, leaving me and her father alone.

  Just like any average guy meeting his girlfriend’s father, I was suddenly a bit intimidated.

  He was nice enough. He took a seat next to me on the couch.

  “Sir, I know that this is going to come off as … a little premature,” I began to say to him, “but there is something I want to ask you.” I didn’t know when I might get the opportunity to be alone with him again, and I had to capitalize on it.

  “Yes?” he asked.

  “I was wondering if I could get your blessing to propose to your daughter, when the time is right?”

  His eyes widened. “You want to marry her?”

  “I do, with all my heart. I know it’s early, but there is never going to be a woman out there for me who isn’t Maggie. She's made me feel whole from the moment she entered my life, and I can’t imagine my world without her in it.”

  He looked at me seriously. “You really love her, huh?”

  “With every piece of myself.”

  He nodded slowly. “You have my blessing, but you have to promise me one thing.”

  “What? Anything,” I responded.

  “You have to take care of my girl. She’s a special one. She hasn’t let the world make her hard. Being with you means experiencing a lot of negativity from the world. You must protect her from all that.”

  “I promise. I will care for her above all else. She will forevermore be my biggest priority.”

  He smiled. “Then yes, you can certainly ask my daughter to marry you.”

  Chapter 19

  Maggie

  Both my father and I were glued to the television screen
as we waited for Edward’s press conference to start.

  Frankly, I had no idea what Edward was going to say. He hadn’t detailed it for me. He only teased me that I had to tune in to find out.

  The past week with him had been absolutely amazing, a dream come true. Some mornings, I still woke up and wondered if it was all a dream. Surely, I couldn’t be the girlfriend of the Prince of England?

  I was.

  It was a lot to adjust to in my mind. After the initial excitement wore off, I had to deal with all the nervousness of what people were going to think. Particularly, I was worried about the opinion of the Queen. I knew that she was quite hard on Edward and had high expectations, and it didn’t seem that I would fit her standards.

  According to Edward, though, she was really understanding about the situation. He explained to her that he cared for me deeply and that it was a serious relationship, and she acquiesced. She even asked to meet with me yesterday evening which was stressful, but ultimately it ended up going very well. We had tea, and she asked me about my life. I think she really liked me.

  I was relieved to have Edward tell me about how Ms. Mitchell responded to learning he cared for me. Apparently, she encouraged him to seek me out. I’d always be grateful to her for that. Not that Edward wouldn’t have sought me out on his own. I believed nothing would’ve kept him from announcing his true feelings for me.

  I was still upset that I lost my job, but frankly, being with Edward eased that pain considerably. Now that I was with him, I knew that I’d always be part of Drew and Abigail’s life. In fact, if we ever did get married (fingers crossed) I’d become their sister-in-law.

  They say when you marry someone, you marry their whole family. Well, despite not wanting to be in the spotlight, this was one family I was really happy to marry into.

  I was getting ahead of myself, though. I couldn’t be sure that Edward and I would end up marrying. We barely started dating! We were a long way off from that.

  Still, it was hard for me to imagine ever ending up with anybody else. Edward was amazing. He was all I'd ever wanted. I’d be heartbroken if we ever had to end things.

  Suddenly, the press conference came on the screen, and I was on the edge of my seat.