“She’s the one,” I told Ms. Mitchell as soon as Maggie had left.
“The one for what? For you to pursue? I think all women are ‘the one’ in that regard, Edward,” she said, frustrated. “Behave yourself from now on. I don’t want to see you acting up around any other attractive young women.”
“No, I obviously mean the one for the job,” I told her.
Ms. Mitchell eyed me. “She handled your ridiculousness quite well; I’ll give her that. Perhaps it is an indication that she’d be able to handle the children.”
Good, so she was at least in the running. I would have very much liked to see her again, not that I was going to tell Ms. Mitchell that. It would have been a guarantee for her not to get hired.
“I mean, do we really need to sit through the rest of the interviews at this point?” I asked.
“Of course, we do. We made these appointments, and we will finish them. It would be entirely rude to dismiss the rest of the applicants. Besides, there may very well be someone more qualified for the job here.”
That was what I was afraid of. I didn’t want to find someone more qualified for the job. I wanted Maggie to get the job.
“You know, she may not have known much about the royal family, but you can consider that a benefit, don’t you think?”
She seemed to consider this briefly before asking, “How so?”
“Well, a lot of these people have applied strictly because it’s a job with the royal family. Like you said earlier, they won’t hesitate to report to tabloids. You can be sure that Maggie never came into this interview with any intention to gossip about the family. She clearly has no ulterior motives.”
“Hmm, yes, I do suppose that’s true,” Ms. Mitchell acknowledged.
I could see it on her face—I’d made a good point and had got Maggie one step closer to the job.
3
Maggie
I looked up at the absolutely massive castle in front of me as I tried to process that this was where I’d now be working.
Nobody had been more surprised than me to hear that I’d gotten the job.
I was nearly in a state of shock when I’d answered the call. I was sitting down to dinner with my father, and I actually squealed in excitement when I hung up. I felt bad because I was sure I had startled him badly, but after I told him the reason for my excitement, he was jumping for joy with me.
Not literally, of course. Poor man couldn’t jump if his life depended on it right now. Internally, we were both jumping. That medical bill I’d received a few days prior felt less daunting with this new position.
The caregiver would now be with my father during all my work hours. It was a few hours more than she was used to coming, but I could supplement that now. All I had to do was manage to keep this job, and I’d have less stress to deal with.
Though, that might be easier said than done. It was still beyond me how I’d even gotten the job in the first place. I most definitely couldn’t have been the most qualified person to apply. And the way I had truly messed up answering about the details of the royal family… That was a disaster.
I’d done my research since then, of course. Abigail was ten-years-old, and Andrew was twelve. They apparently had an older brother, Edward, but I didn’t think it was relevant because I most definitely wouldn’t be tutoring him. He was in his twenties. I wondered a bit about the large age gap, but it wasn’t as if I’d ever get the chance to ask anyone about it.
The doorman waiting outside let me in with a smile.
“You must be Maggie,” he said. “May I see some ID?”
This threw me off at first, but of course they would need to see my ID. Couldn’t let any old person just waltz into the castle, could you?
Or, wait … was it called a castle? A palace? I was really out of my element with this whole royal thing. Apparently, I didn’t do as much research as I initially thought.
I walked inside and was greeted by Ms. Mitchell.
“Maggie, hello. Come along and follow me.” She was polite but always maintained her somewhat stern demeanor. I immediately felt like she was an authority figure. I could say that for sure.
“You are always going to be working with the children in this room. You are to be here and prepared to begin instructions before they finish with their classes for the day, which is at one pm. They have a very tight schedule but will have two hours with you each day. You will go over all the work they did with their teachers and then subsequently take them to their horseback riding lessons at the stables. During those lessons is when you will take your break. You will eat your dinner with the rest of the staff in the dining quarters. After that, you will meet directly with their teachers to discuss their work.”
“Wait, I meet with their teachers … every day? Here?” I asked. “Aren’t they, like, busy with other students?”
Ms. Mitchell laughed. “Well, no, of course not. They only work with Prince Andrew and Princess Abigail. They have no other students.”
I couldn’t help but think how lonely this sounded.
Many of my best memories were at public school growing up. Although, admittedly, there were plenty of awful memories too, particularly in middle school; but it was where I made all my friends. It was where I was happy to go when I was sick of my parents and sick of being at home.
What did Andrew and Abigail get to do when they wanted out of the house? They didn’t have even a semblance of a normal life.
I didn’t envy them that was for sure.
We walked up a long spiral staircase. It was gorgeous with beautiful red ornate carpet running down it. Though once we reached a certain height, it made me very queasy to look down at the tile of the foyer below. I’d never been a fan of heights.
We reached a room that had a square wooden table in the middle of it with one chair on one side and two chairs on the other. The walls were lined with bookshelves; I wasn’t even sure how many books were in this room. Surely it had to have been thousands. Would we really be accessing these books during our tutoring sessions? I didn’t ask.
“The prince and princess will be in shortly.” Ms., Mitchell smiled.
“I can’t wait to meet them,” I said.
Everything about this job had me nervous. I felt horribly out of place here, and I felt like everyone could tell I was a fraud. I was particularly afraid that the children were going to sense it. They’d see right through me. Maybe they’d even report back to their mother and tell her I wasn’t the right one to work with them.
I tried to hide my nervousness as we waited for the prince and princess to walk in. I didn’t want to look like I was entirely out of my element, though I definitely was. It was a weird feeling, to be afraid of kids so young, but I felt like they were superior to me. They were royalty!
When the prince and princess walked in, Ms. Mitchell spoke again.
“This is Prince Andrew, though he prefers Drew, and Princess Abigail. Children, this is Miss Maggie. She is to be your new tutor.”
Miss Maggie … it sounded so formal.
I gave a little bow. “Lovely to meet you, Your Royal Highnesses.”
I already sounded incredibly stupid.
They both chuckled a bit. Good… Glad I’d made a proper fool of myself already.
“She’s funny.” Abigail chuckled.
She was a cute little girl. She had curly brown hair that fell in large ringlets around her shoulders. It was like if Shirley Temple was brunette, not something you commonly saw these days.
“Glad I can entertain.” I smiled, as if I’d made a fool of myself on purpose. I most certainly didn’t.
“Yes, she is quite funny,” Ms. Mitchell agreed.
“You’re an American?” Drew asked, a little incredulous. “Will an American be able to properly teach us about European history?”
He had the same hair color as his sister, and it was properly styled in a part on the right side of his head.
“I’m very happy to hear you’re so interested in
European history,” I told them, “because I studied it for many years when I was going to university. I happened to go to university here in London, so I like to think I learned from the best.”
He smiled a bit, contented with that answer. I looked over to see Ms. Mitchell’s reaction and sensed she approved of our rapport so far.
“Alright, then. Now that we’ve had our introductions, let’s get straight to work. Maggie, I will be in with you to help tutor today. I have been tutoring the children for the past month after their last tutor quit.”
“Yeah, he couldn’t keep up,” Drew said, a little bitingly.
“Prince Drew,” Ms. Mitchell reprimanded, “we should not speak ill of those who are not here to defend themselves.”
“Not that he could defend himself…” Drew rolled his eyes, and Abigail chuckled.
Well, the pressure was now certainly on me to perform. It was clear that Drew was wise beyond his years, and he wasn’t going to be satisfied if it wasn’t obvious that I knew what I was talking about.
I’d been very studious in school, and I was a bookworm when I was his age. Hopefully I’d be up to the task.
I mostly watched as Ms. Mitchell went over everything the kids had been learning. Abigail found herself drifting off pretty often, but Drew was zoned in on her every word. I was sure I’d even caught Abigail doodling a few times, though I didn’t admonish her for it.
Two hours later, it was time for their riding lessons. Ms. Mitchell led me and the children out to the stables. It wouldn’t be hard to remember how to get to them—there was a long trail from the castle to the stables made out of paved stones.
I wished that I could catch a glimpse of the kids riding since I’d never ridden a horse myself, but Ms. Mitchell promptly took me back to the castle to show me where the dining quarters were. I resolved that when it was just me and the kids, I’d linger a little before I went to take my break.
There was only one person in the dining quarters when we entered. She was around my age, maybe a little older, with long blonde hair tied into a braid that fell down her back. She was in a traditional maid’s uniform—all black with a white collar and white buttons.
“Millie, this is Maggie,” Ms. Mitchell announced as we entered. “She is the new tutor. I was just showing her where the staff eats on their lunch and dinner breaks.”
She extended her hand to me. “Maggie, hello. So nice to see a new face around here.” She smiled warmly.
Something about her put me at ease. Everything and every person in this castle so far had felt so prim and proper. Millie was the first person who felt like she could be just another woman I ran into on the street.
Ms. Mitchell left me to eat, and I pulled out some of the snacks I’d had in my purse.
“You know, they have loads of food in the kitchen that we’re allowed access to, if you’d rather have that,” Millie told me as she watched me open the trail mix.
“Oh, no, I’m fine with this, but thank you,” I told her.
“So how did you end up with the tutoring job?” she asked as she took a bite of her salad. “I was surprised to hear the American accent.”
“Oh, well, to be honest, I’m not sure.” I laughed. “I really feel like I lucked into the position. When I left the interview, I thought for sure I had ruined the entire thing. Nobody was more surprised than me that they’d actually decided to hire me. Not that I’m not relieved, of course. I’m truly appreciative. I really needed this job.”
“It does pay well, doesn’t it?” she asked. “I never dreamt myself a maid as a little girl, but when I saw what they were willing to pay here, I applied straightaway. I can’t get paid better anywhere else without an education.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty much in the same boat,” I told her. “I had to quit school early when my dad got sick, so I never actually got my degree. I flew him out here because even with our medical insurance back home, it seemed like medical care would be cheaper here. Not that we get it for free like you guys, of course, but it’s still more affordable. I’m hoping this job will be enough to help cover those costs.”
I hadn’t realized how much I’d said until it was too late. I wasn’t sure why it was so easy to open up to Millie. She had a warmth about her. She felt like an old friend.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your dad. Will he be alright?”
“I hope so. He has cancer, unfortunately.” I smiled, trying to play off the situation. “He’s in good spirits, and he’s responding to treatment.”
“So glad to hear that. You’re so young to have to be taking care of your father that way. I can’t imagine how hard that would be.”
“It’s hard. He does make it easier by being such a ray of shining positivity. I’ve got to hand it to him for that. Don’t know how I’d stay so positive if I was in his position.”
As I continued to talk to Millie and eat my snacks, I started to feel less out of place here. I had a feeling I was going to actually enjoy this job, especially if I was able to make new friends along the way.
4
Edward
I strolled through the hallways of the palace mindlessly, bored and tired of waiting for the hours to tick by.
It was Maggie’s first day, and if I was being honest, I was just waiting for a moment to barge in on her.
She hadn’t left my mind since the interview. Which was strange because girls didn’t usually stay stuck in my brain all that long.
I felt like perhaps this was something I had to get out of my system. Like I’d seen her, I’d liked her, and now I’d need to pursue her to get her out of my head. That was how it often went for me. What could I say? I was a man who always loved the chase.
I knew I couldn’t barge in on my brother and sister’s tutoring lesson, of course. Ms. Mitchell would never allow it and would cast me out immediately. Although, even if she didn’t, I wouldn’t exactly want Abigail and Drew to see me flirting with their tutor.
Abigail and Drew were the only members of this family who still thought highly of me. All the adults knew better. They saw me as an irresponsible young man with no vision for his life. They were right about that.
Abigail and Drew still worshipped me, like little siblings often did. They saw me as their invincible big brother. I could do no wrong to them. I did my best to seem like I had it all together around them. They’d never seen me drunk or flirtatious. In their eyes, I actually was a responsible young adult. My mom didn’t have the heart to tell them otherwise.
At this point in the day, though, Abigail and Drew were most certainly with their riding instructor. Where would that leave Maggie at this exact moment?
I walked out to the stables and didn’t see her anywhere, though Abigail caught a glimpse of me and waved eagerly from her horse. I waved back and was pretty impressed with how good she had become. She was a natural.
Especially compared to Drew, who had always been a bit clumsy and likely always would be. It took him a long time to adjust to horseback riding, and I knew he still hated it.
Well, if Maggie wasn’t out at the stables with the kids that had to mean she was on her break. I went to the dining quarters, though I normally spent no time there.
Sure enough, she was there with one of our maids, Millie. It looked like another maid, Annabelle, was just pulling up a chair to sit when I got there.
I waltzed over confidently to them.
“Hello, ladies.” I smiled at Annabelle and Millie first because they were facing me. Maggie had her back turned to me, so I walked around the table and took a seat next to Millie so I was facing her.
Annabelle and Millie both straightened their spines, noticeably uncomfortable in my presence. I expected this. I was used to the staff’s demeanor becoming tense around me. Not that I was mean or rude to any of them or anything. I wasn’t at all strict or demanding. I personally couldn’t have cared less if they did or didn’t do their jobs.
Still, in their eyes, I’d always be one of the bosses. Nobody wanted t
o eat dinner with the boss.
“Oh, hello. Nice to see you again.” Maggie smiled casually. She hadn’t yet noticed the other’s discomfort.
Did this mean that she still hadn’t figured out who I was? Even after learning she was going to be working for the royals, did she not even do a cursory Google search?
No matter, though. Her obliviousness would only make flirting with her more fun.
“Yes, still here. I often am.” I smiled.
“What is it that you do for the royal family?” she asked, as she fished her hand into a bag of trail mix and pulled out a raisin.
Both Annabelle and Millie became even more uncomfortable at hearing this. Millie was first to excuse herself.
“Uh, I think I’m … done for now.” She grabbed her plate and stood.
“Yeah, me too.” Annabelle stood as well.
“Annabelle, you just sat down!” I teased.
She ignored this as she and Millie scurried away, leaving Maggie confused.
“Do they not like you or something?” she asked.
“Oh, I would assume they like me quite fine,” I told her, not extrapolating further. Her confusion was cute, and I was going to savor it.
“How are you liking the new job?” I asked.
“It’s very nice. Certainly, pays very well, though I’m sure you knew that.” She looked at me curiously. “How did someone as young as you manage to get a position with the royal family were you’re responsible for hiring on new people?”
“Oh, don’t worry yourself about that,” I brushed it off. “So, where in America are you from?”
“The west coast,” she answered, not giving more of an answer than that.
“What year did you move to London?”
She paused before answering. “Oh, am I still being interviewed for the position?” she asked. “I thought I’d already went through that process and done splendidly.”
I was impressed by her quick wit. I loved a clever woman. Though, of course, I would have to respond with some snark of my own.
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