“I don’t understand. What’s happening?”
Calmly, but in a clipped voice, Keller says, “We’ve kept you here, at Harrogate, to offer you privacy as we helped you navigate through training so you could understand what to expect if you decide to stay here and take on this role. But now that your actual identity has been revealed, we won’t be able to give you the privacy of your decision. It’s going to be very public.”
“Especially here in Torskethorpe,” King Theo adds. “Your name was released a week ago, but there were only rumors, and we were able to squash them. But now that you’ve been exposed in your hometown, the public will be expecting to see you. To meet you.”
“This was what I was fucking worried about,” Keller says. “That’s not fair to her.”
I place my hand on a fuming Keller and say, “Thank you for protecting me, but I don’t believe there’s any way around this, correct? If they’re already publishing articles in Miami about this, it’s going to be all over. There’s no hiding, therefore, you should just introduce me.”
King Theo’s eyes light up. “Are you saying you’re going to fall in line for the crown?”
“No,” I say, causing everyone’s shoulders to deflate. “I’m not committing to anything. I think there’s a whole other side to this that I need to see before I can make that decision. And that means I have to leave Harrogate to do so.”
King Theo smiles. “You’re very smart, my girl. I believe you’re right, there’s a whole other part of this world you’ve yet to see.” He covers his mouth with his arm and coughs a few times. “Excuse me.”
“We need to control the narrative on this, though,” Keller says. “We can’t let the press control us. We control the situation.”
“I agree,” King Theo says.
“I say we spend a little more time here, in Harrogate,” Keller says. “Let me finish prepping her, and in the meantime, we can have Henrik prepare statements and a welcoming to the palace that is well-thought-out, rather than rushed. If we’re going to bring her to Strombly, we need to do it the right way.”
“Yes, that’s very wise,” King Theo says. “I shall have Henrik reach out to you immediately.”
“Don’t you think it’d be better to get her to Strombly right away?” Brimar asks. “If we stay here, we’re sitting ducks.”
“No one suspects we’re here, and if we continue to lie low, then we’ll be fine. We need to do this the right way,” Keller snaps back at Brimar, the tension in the room going from zero to one hundred in seconds.
“I agree with Keller,” King Theo says. “Let’s get our ducks in a row and then we’ll have a welcoming. Lilija, are you okay with that?”
“Yes, whatever works for everyone.”
King Theo focuses his attention on me and says, “I know this has been a whirlwind for you, and I truly wish I could’ve spent more time with you during your training, but I want you to know how much I truly appreciate you even considering your succession. At the end of this, even if your answer is no, I want you to know that I truly love you, my darling Lilija.”
My eyes well up and my lips tremble. “Darling . . .” I whisper. “That’s . . . that’s what my mom used to call me.”
King Theo’s eyes grow soft as he presses his hand to his chest. “Ah, that’s what I’d call my sweet Margret as well. I see the tradition carried on.”
“It did.” I smile. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, my darling,” he says. I want to ask him about Queen Katla. I want to ask if she thinks of me and wants to meet me, or if the reticence between mother and daughter will continue between grandmother and granddaughter. But I’m fearful his answer will be yes. So, I push down those feelings of rejection and go with something safer.
“When I arrive at Strombly, will you please show me the different embroidered pieces my mother made?”
“I’ll do something even greater than that. I shall show you her room, her treasured items, and the letters she sent me over the years.”
“Really?” I ask.
He nods. “Really.”
“Thank you.”
Keller places his hand on my thigh and says, “I’ll prepare Henrik.”
“Thank you,” King Theo says before we all say our goodbyes.
Once the laptop is shut, Brimar steps up, anger evident on his face. “You’re being reckless.” His boisterous voice snaps me out of the loving haze I was just in.