Page 81 of American Royals
She had never been any good at disguising her feelings. There was something too immediate about her face, the way all her emotions played themselves out over her features like the shadows of clouds on water. She turned away, because she knew that if she kept looking at him, he would see exactly what she was thinking.
Teddy reached for a very old ring that had once belonged to Queen Thérèse, the only French-born queen America had ever had. It looked like Beatrice, classic and elegant: a simple solitaire diamond on a white-gold band. They both gasped as a ray of light hit the multifaceted stone, throwing up a glitter of dancing pinpoints that chased themselves over the walls of the vault.
“Looks like you know Beatrice pretty well.” Sam managed to sound almost normal, though she could feel her heart breaking all over again.
“Oh! That one is perfect,” cried out the queen, who had just reentered the vault. She hurried to pull Teddy into another hug, beaming, exclaiming her congratulations over and over.
No one noticed as Samantha slid the pink diamond off her finger and set it quietly back against the black velvet of the display case.
BEATRICE
“I can’t believe we’re doing your engagement interview!” Dave Dunleavy exclaimed in his booming television voice. Beatrice managed a tight smile in reply.
Dave had been the media’s senior royal correspondent since Beatrice was a child. He’d conducted all the major interviews in her life, from her very first one at age five—a joint interview with her father, when Dave had flashed silly cartoons on the teleprompter to make sure she smiled—to the very serious one she’d done on her eighteenth birthday. Beatrice had personally requested Dave for today’s live filming. Unsurprisingly, he’d jumped at the chance to introduce the world to America’s future king consort.
A small group of staff bustled around them, preparing this room—one of the smaller salons on the first floor—for the interview. A few doors down was the Media Briefing Hall, where the palace’s press secretary spoke to reporters each morning from behind a podium, addressing questions of policy or budget. But for these intimate, personal conversations, the royal family preferred a sitting room.
“Teddy, how are you feeling?” Dave glanced at Teddy, who was standing utterly still as an assistant pinned a small mic to his shirt.
“Nervous,” Teddy admitted. “America is going to make up their minds about me right now. Whatever they think about me after the next twenty minutes, that’s what they’ll think about me for the rest of their lives. So, you know, no pressure.”
“First impressions are important,” Dave agreed sagely, “but there’s no need to worry. Your relationship will speak for itself.”
Robert Standish moved to the side of the room, a Bluetooth headset tucked into his ear. He caught Beatrice’s eye and nodded, all business. Next to him stood Beatrice’s stand-in security, a Guard named Jake, who normally worked the palace entrance.
That was the only small blessing: Connor’s absence. Beatrice felt ashamed of her own cowardice, but she’d purposefully planned this interview on a Thursday because it was Connor’s day off. She didn’t want to see the look on his face as he watched her and Teddy playact this relationship in front of the entire world.
She had tried, so many times, to tell Connor about her engagement. But whenever she braced herself to share the news, she would see the look on his face—and the words would die on her lips. I’ll tell him tomorrow, she assured herself. Just one more night where he smiles at me like this, before it all falls apart.
This morning, Beatrice knew she couldn’t wait any longer; she had to tell him, or risk him finding out from the media. But when she’d reached across her bed for Connor, he was already gone.
“All right. Are you both ready?” Dave asked, taking a seat in the armchair across from them.
Beatrice settled next to Teddy on the couch, smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle from her pleated navy dress. Someone adjusted an overhead light, and she squinted into the sudden brightness. The room felt very warm. “I’m ready.”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Teddy echoed.
“Rolling,” the cameraman said softly, a few feet away.
Dave nodded. “What an honor it is, to get to speak to you both on such a joyous day. Princess Beatrice, would you like to be the one to personally share your news?”
Like the professional she was, Beatrice lifted her eyes to the camera and smiled. “I’m delighted to announce that Theodore Eaton and I are engaged. I proposed to him last week, and thankfully, he said yes.”
“I know I speak for America when I say how thrilled I am for you both,” Dave replied. “It’s clear from the looks on your faces that you’re very much in love.”
In love. Right. Beatrice glanced over at Teddy with what she hoped was a dewy-eyed smile.
At that very moment, the door at the back of the room opened, and a familiar tall figure stepped inside.
Time ground to a momentary halt.
No, Beatrice thought desperately. Connor wasn’t supposed to be here. This was all wrong.
Connor’s eyes met hers, then drifted to the enormous diamond on Beatrice’s finger, which suddenly felt impossibly heavy. She saw the rapid shifts of his expression, from bewilderment, to comprehension, to the devastating pain that followed.
She hated herself in that moment, for being the source of that pain.
“Tell us about your relationship, Beatrice. It seems like it’s been a whirlwind,” Dave went on. “How did you decide that you were ready to propose?”
