When he pulled away, he leant against me for a moment, breathing heavily.
“I have spent months trying to convince Father to let me go back,” he said and the tone wrenched my heart. “As much as a part of me wants to stay…”
There was a lot left unsaid there and all I could do was nod for a moment.
“I get it,” I finally said to him, looking him in the eye.
“Are you sure?” he entreated.
I nodded. “Yep. I’m pretty sure I do. I understand. We both of us have our obligations. You know I can’t ask you to give up the true parts of yourself and expect you to be happy.”
He closed his eyes as he leant against me and I think the expression on his face said more than either of us were willing to put into words.
When he came home it would be to announce his engagement to someone else.
We’d thought we had two more weeks together and now we had no more time.
But he had worked so hard for Rex to let him back into active service and I wasn’t going to even let him think I would ask him to stay home on my account now.
“You should go,” I said.
He nodded. “I know.”
“I’ll see you when you come back.”
“You will.”
He kissed me one last time and left. I tried not to let the sudden nigh overwhelming rush of sadness affect me as Gerta and Shelly came back in.
“Everything all right, my lady?” Gerta asked.
I nodded. “Yes. Fine.”
They both gave a short curtsey and went back to sorting out my things.
And I sat down on my small sofa and started Googling Gallyr. Not that it was the first time I’d Googled Gallyr, but I was specifically looking for Gallyrian history. Even more specifically, I was looking for political history.
I don’t know how far down the rabbit hole I fell, but Gerta and Shelly had come and gone and, when there was another knock on my door, I realised that there was no light around the edges of the curtains and my battery had dropped by over seventy percent.
“Kiddo?” Dad came in, frowning in concern.
“Yeah?”
“Everything okay?”
I nodded, suddenly worried that he knew more than he was supposed to. “Yeah. Why?”
“Dinner’s started. Usually you’re one of the first ones there.”
I smiled. “Sorry. I was…researching, I guess.”
“Researching what?” he asked, sitting beside me.
“Gallyr. History. Politics.”
“Your lessons with Mr Phipps not enough?” he laughed, putting an arm around me.
“No. They’re fine. I just…heard that Dmitri was going back down south with Nico and I got to thinking.”
“About what?”
I felt my cheeks heat. “About what might help the situation. I was trying to get a better handle on everything, have a better understanding of what came before. Not that someone like me would be able to fix it, I know.”
“And who is someone like you?”
I shrugged. “An accident-prone youngest daughter of a duke who didn’t even grow up here and manages to say and do the wrong thing constantly.”
“Kiddo, you’re amazing and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I rolled my eyes.
“Did you find one?”
“A what?”
“A solution.”
“I don’t think so. Short of going back to the last resolution.”
“Which was what?”
“Am I being tested now?”
Dad looked at me seriously. “If you’re going to act like you know things, then I’m going to check that you know things.”
“You don’t trust me now?”
“I want to see if you’re as good as you think you are.”
I nudged him with my shoulder. “Fine. The last solution to a problem like this was to add a whole bunch of people to the peerage.”
“And what did that do?”
“Successfully made less people angry with the crown.”
“And?”
“And made the people who were still angry more angry.”
Dad nodded. “Good. So that was a valid or invalid solution?”
I scoffed. “That’s too hard to answer simply.”
“Fine. What’s your answer, then?”
I waggled my head as I thought about it. “Well, the obvious answer is to say that it solved some issues and caused others.”
“What did it solve?”
“Am I getting credit for this test?”
Dad chuckled. “Maybe.”
I huffed. “It meant the crown had control over more people because the new lords could take on some of the commoners from others and make sure everyone was behaving. It just meant that there was more scrutiny and less places for people to hide any rebellious thoughts.”
“Keep going.”
I frowned at him. “There was a short enough influx of money and the feeling of things changing at the rebellion as a whole was quashed. For the time being.”
“Good. So Bronkala and his men are angry specifically about what?”
“Uh. Everything?”
Dad laughed. “Pretty much. At this point, they’re angry about anything and everything.”
“Am I wrong in thinking they’d rather be angry than find a solution?”
Dad looked at me weirdly.
“What?”
“Mitya said something similar once. I’m just surprised is all. Have you…spoken to him about it?”
I shrugged. “A little bit. I guess. Is that bad?”
“Not at all. When I say I’m surprised, I’m pleasantly surprised. You know I’m glad he’s opened up to you.”
And then some.
“On the subject of surprising, you’ve managed to retain a lot of this stuff.”
“I kind of enjoy it. It makes sense.”
“See. You should have done history at school. Your marks would have been even better.”
I smiled. “And Australia’s history is way shorter than lots of other’s.”
“You know you would have done more than just Australian history?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m just messing with you.”
“I know you’re going to take this the wrong way…” Dad started slowly.
“What?”
“When you finally put that application in, have you considered adding Communications or Media Relations as a preference?”
“Why would I want or need either of those?” I asked. But as I asked it, I knew the answer and nodded. “So I can take over from you?”
Dad smiled. “Well it’s a thought.”
“It’s an interesting thought.”
“Really?”
“Well, I mean there’s no guarantee I’ll seriously consider it. But as a thought, it is interesting.”
Dad laughed. “I know you want you to carve your own path, kiddo. And I’m all for that. You want to do Film Studies? Do Film Studies. I was just suggesting that maybe a different career path might suit you just as well.”
“If I promise to think about it, will you stop going on about it.”
“Promise.”
“Excellent.”
Dad kissed my head. “Come on. Let’s go and eat. I’m starving.”
“Did you miss lunch again?”
He nodded. “I did. But I didn’t forget dinner. So you don’t get to tell me off.”
I snorted. “Sure. Whatever, old man.”
He stood up and held his hands out to help me up. “Watch who you’re calling old man over there. You’re not getting any younger yourself.”
“Gee, thanks,” I giggled as he pulled me to standing.
“I’m just saying, kiddo. It’s all downhill from here.”
“Great pep talk, Dad. I feel hopeful and ready to take on whatever the world has to throw at me,” I t
old him sarcastically.
“Brilliant. That was definitely the intention.”
I just shook my head and followed him down to dinner. It was just him, me, Rex, Hilde and Kostin. Dmitri was gone and Lia had a date with Rupert.
“There you are!” Rex cried happily as I sat down.
“Sorry. I got totally distracted.”
“Oh?” he replied. “What with?”
“She’s been looking up our illustrious country’s history all afternoon apparently. Trying to come up with a solution to the unrest down south,” Dad answered for me.
“Ah.” Rex nodded. “Did you come up with anything? Lord knows we could do with a solution.” He gave me a paternal wink.
I shook my head. “Unfortunately not.”
“She doesn’t advocate adding Bronkala to the peerage.”
Rex grinned. “Wonderful. I’ll strike that off the list.” He gave me another wink and Hilde nudged him.
“Don’t tease her so. Any’s doing wonderfully well considering how recently she came home.” Hilde leant towards me. “Don’t let them pick on you, dear. I think it’s lovely how you’ve taken such an interest. I certainly would not have been half as interested in it at your age, and it was my birth country’s history.”
Dad and Rex defended their fatherly teasing while Hilde half-heartedly told them off and Kostin just smiled at me.
As I listened to them and ate, I thought about what Dad had said about me potentially taking after him. Aside from the fact that Dmitri would be the next king – married to Amanda with their stupidly beautiful children – it was something to think about. I wasn’t sure I could do what Dad did for Dmitri as king, but I could possibly help Dad out or something while Rex still reigned.
It seemed like a lot of Dad’s job was knowing about what had been done before and coming up with solutions to problems. That seemed like something I could do and a way in which I could do some good.
There was the small matter of whether a position like that was available in the Gallyrian royal court and if they’d have me. But nepotism seemed to be alive and well in most instances of royal life, so it would just be a matter of deciding if and what preference I’d put Media Studies or Communications down for.
Chapter Nine
I knew I needed to stop watching The Good Morning Show. I was totally aware it was drivel and neither Gunter nor Annelise actually had any idea what they were saying because they said what would bring them ratings. Of which I was another one because despite my better judgement I’d become totally addicted to it.
“It’s ten days to V-day, Annelise,” Gunter said as though everyone in the country must have forgotten. “What do we have for Crown Princess Watch today?”
“Well, Gunter. The first question we have to ask ourselves is why the crown prince left Albia,” Annelise replied.
“Do you think they had a falling out?” he asked her and, while I totally saw that they’d probably even rehearsed this conversation as opposed to just planning it, I was still enthralled.
“I see no other reason.”
“Except for the fact he wants to fight with his fellow countrymen,” I muttered and Gunter asked, “But which one do you think it was?” like it was a total scandal.
Pictures popped up on the screen behind them in the studio. There was Amanda looking regal and sophisticated on Dmitri’s arm at something I hadn’t attended. There was a cropped picture of Lia standing with Rupert at the exhibit opening. There was me with Nico, Georgie and Tilly at the orphanage fundraiser. There was a Miss Kira Dawson looking striking in something a runway model would wear – she was a runway model after all. And then Miss Lauren Holloway was hanging off the arm of her Army captain father.
It was obvious by the pictures the show’s producers had chosen who they were putting in the best light. Otherwise Lia and I wouldn’t have been in pictures with other men, Miss Dawson probably wouldn’t have had a picture that made her look like an alien wanting to go see Rex, and Miss Holloway wouldn’t have looked like such a sycophantic daddy’s girl.
“Now,” Annelise was saying, “for those of you new to Crown Princess Watch–”
“But as if anyone is,” Gunter added as an aside to the studio audience’s cheer and Annelise smiled.
“–Miss Dawson and Miss Holloway are unlikely contenders. The crown prince was linked to either of them over eighteen months ago at the latest.”
“But I do so like looking at them. Don’t you?” Gunter asked.
“Who doesn’t?”
Honestly he was obviously only there to bring some stupidly sexist male stupidity to it all. The show was quite clearly aimed at women, probably middle-aged, undoubtedly rich, with nothing better to do in the morning than watch TV with a glass of bubbles in hand – exactly as Annelise and Gunter had.
I actually thought that Gunter had some good ideas sometimes. But mostly he seemed to be there to prompt Annelise’s information and add stupid comments designed to make you titter, ‘Oh, silly Gunter’. I felt sorry for him. But then he was probably making pretty decent money, particularly if their monopoly on the Marriage Watch front got them lifetime viewers.
“Our noble sisters are still the favourites,” Annelise continued as the pictures of Miss Dawson and Miss Holloway dramatically disappeared off the screen and the last three images grew to fill the space. “Despite both of them being seen out with new beaus of late.”
“Lady Malmont’s favourite charity, the Franciscan Children’s Home, had an excellent turnout last week,” Gunter said, nodding at the camera. “I do so like her.”
“But upstaged by her sister again.”
The picture of me grew to fill the whole screen and I winced at what a total disaster I looked. My legs were bent under me awkwardly, my shoes were in a haphazard pile on the floor, and I had that slight ‘I’d rather be anywhere but here’ look in my eyes even with the smile.
Gunter pouted. “Indeed. Lady Tatiana took the front page by storm again with those pictures of her and Prince Dominic with two of the orphanage’s charges.”
“It was apparently not even staged.”
“Practising for their own children do you think?”
Annelise giggled. “Well if Lady Tatiana was expecting Prince Dominic’s child, then I could see that being a reason for the crown prince to leave Albia.” She winked at the camera and I choked on my coffee.
“What?” I muttered to myself while I tried to dislodge coffee from my lungs.
No one else was even in the room but my cheeks went red and I felt a singular combination of anger and embarrassment.
“Oh, it’s more exciting than when the pictures of her tattoo were revealed!” Gunter said giddily.
“Of course, we probably wouldn’t have seen Lady Tatiana out with Lord Baker if she was expecting Prince Dominic’s child.”
“This is true. And they have been seen out in public three times in the space of a few weeks now. So can we assume that means the photographer merely found Lady Tatiana and Prince Dominic in such a perfect situation by simple chance?”
“Forget love triangle, ladies. We might have a love-square on our hands!” Annelise cried.
“Oh for God’s sake,” I said.
This is what they did, they asked questions like it was fact and then let their viewers fill in the gaps and assume there was a source for all this. How they got away with it was beyond me, but I supposed that was the way of the media. Who was I to matter if they basically slandered my name? Besides Lia was probably right, anyone who mattered would know it was nothing but gossip.
“Oh my God!” Lia burst into my room, interrupting Gunter and Annelise talking about Lia some more. “Did they actually just suggest you were having Nico’s baby?”
I laughed. “I thought it was drivel?”
Lia dropped beside me and grumbled, “It’s a little addictive, okay?”
I nudged her shoulder. “At least they mentioned the children’s ho
me by name.”
She paused in chewing her thumb. “This is true.”
“Shame they didn’t use the picture of Eric from–”
Lia whacked me quiet as Gunter and Annelise dramatically questioned whether Lia and I were out of the race for good and moved onto Amanda. “Sh. I want to hear what they say about her.”
“She’s their golden child,” I mumbled and she whacked me quiet again.
“Miss Schuller should be the favourite contender by far,” Annelise was saying and I waved my hand towards the screen.
“Well at least they have the balls to admit it.”
“Shut up!” Lia hissed.
“She should,” Gunter agreed and started ticking her qualities off on his fingers. “She hasn’t been linked to any other suitor in at least a year. She’s from old Gallyrian lineage. She’s style and class and refinement. She’s endorsed by the Marquise de Ronique of all people.”
“And let’s talk about how beautiful their son would look on a coin as our king!”
“Of course, because that’s all that matters,” Lia grumbled then looked at me. “Did you ever talk to him?”
I nodded. Now he was gone and it was over, I saw no reason to hide what had happened. “We talked. We kissed. We…” I winked at her and she gasped that perfect little ‘o’ with hand over mouth.
“No!” she breathed from behind her hand.
I nodded again, a smile growing on my face.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I shrugged. “I thought it would make it weird when he was still here, you know. Like if I kept it more a secret then it wouldn’t be so real and it would hurt less when it was over.”
“Does it hurt less?” Lia had obviously also worked out that he was unlikely to come back before he had to and announce his engagement to not me.
I looked at her. “You know? I’m not really sure. I don’t really know how much it would have hurt otherwise.”
“But it hurts?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Yes and no. If I think about it too much, yes. But most of the time I think it feels like it’s not over yet, if that makes sense?”
She nodded. “No. I get it. Like it’s not over until Amanda’s wearing the ring?”
“I think so.”
Lia sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Some Proposal (I'm No Princess Book 4) Page 7