Page 59 of Royally Wed
As usual, her mother’s secretary and a palace guard were situated in the anteroom right outside the queen’s door. Before either of them had time to look up, Amelia charged past them and pushed the dooropen.
The queen was sitting on the corner of the floral sofa, facing a wingback chair where her brother Edward sat facing her with a stack of papers on his lap.
“Amelia? What are you doing here?” Edward frowned, then looked past her, where the queen’s assistant and the security officer were rushing through the door.
“I live here, remember? It’s our family home,” Amelia said with a heavy doseof sarcasm. When had the palace ever felt like an actual home?
The security officer came to an abrupt stop beside Amelia, and his gaze flitted back and forth between her and the queen, as if trying to work out whether or not he should arrest her. “Um.”
Amelia’s mum glared at her, and without breaking her gaze, dismissed the bodyguard. “Never mind, Peter. The princess must be facing a matterof life or death if she’s chosen to barge into my sitting room without warning.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and backed out of the room, closingthe door behind him.
The stiff smile on her mother’s face flattened into a straight line. “Amelia, have you lost your mind?”
She kind of felt like she had. Logically, she knew it wasn’t normal to feel numb like this. But it made things so much easier. “I’msorry, but I’ve just found something you need to see. Something important.”
Amelia hated herself for apologizing. She’d interrupted a meeting between her mother and her brother—they might be the current and future monarchs, but they were still her family.
“What is it, sis?” Edward asked. The gentleness in his tone made Amelia want to hug him.
“This.” She lifted the pocket watch by its slendergold chain. It spun a few circles.W and H. Forever. W and H. Forever.
Edward squinted. “Are you trying to hypnotize us? What’s with the watch?”
“It’s a gift to Holden from Lady Wentworth. I think it was inventoried with the wedding gifts by mistake.” She offered it to her mum. “Given the personal nature of the inscription.”
Her mother took it, ran her thumb over the intertwined initials, thenflipped it over to read the opposite side. For a flicker of a second, she froze. It was such a brief slip of composure that if Amelia had blinked at just the wrong moment, she would’ve missed it. “I’m not sure what you mean, Amelia.”
When she glanced up, her expression had returned to its placid, neutral state.
“You can’t be serious. It’s got their initials on it. And the wordforever. They’rehaving an affair,” Amelia said flatly.
“Nonsense.” The queen rolled her eyes.
Edward held out his hand. “Let me see it.”
She handed him the watch, while Amelia gaped at her. “Nonsense? Now who’s lost her mind?”
Edward shot her a warning glance. She was treading on the thinnest of ice now. Bursting into the room was one thing. Speaking to the monarch with disrespect was another. Amelia hadgotten into more than her fair share of trouble over the years, but she’d never spoken to her mother in such a way before. Not ever.
The corgis at her feet all swiveled their ears. Except Willow, who’d apparently grown bored with the drama. She let out a squeaky dog yawn and sauntered out of the room.
Amelia braced herself for the worst, but the queen patted the empty sofa cushion beside herand said, “Sit down, dear.”
Relief coursed through her.Finally. Her mum was going to be reasonable about this. Sympathetic, even. Of course she wouldn’t expect her to go through with the wedding now. What kind of mother would do that?
Amelia’s eyes locked with Edward’s as she lowered herself onto the couch. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen such an uncertain look on her brother’s face before.
Amelia’s mother took her hand, and she held her breath.This is it. I’m not going to have to marry Holden. She finally understands. The watch was a game-changer, just as she suspected.
The queen gave her hand a squeeze. Amelia tried toremember the last time her mother had treated her with such tenderness before, but she came up empty. “I know you’re stressed, Amelia.”
Amelia nodded. She wasbeyond stressed. She was on the verge of either some kind of catatonic episode or coming completely apart.
“But you must get ahold of yourself. It’s simply a case of cold feet. Perfectly ordinary.” The queen smiled. “But you’ll get through this.”
Cold feet?
