Page 16 of The Heir Apparent
“That makes sense,” I said.
“But here’s the issue,” he said, leaning forward in his fussy gold chair and crossing his legs. He was wearing the same silkargyle socks Papa had favoured. “I think Mummy would be more comfortable if Amira weren’t here.”
I crossed my own legs and leaned forward, placing my chin in my hands. “Is that right?”
“She doesn’t really know her well, and I think it can be rather overwhelming when you’re grieving your son and grandson to be somewhat… subsumed in someone else’s grief. I just think it’s best if she’s surrounded by the people she’s actually close to.”
It was a clever ruse—I had to give it to him. He could jettison both of us out of here, install himself as the Queen’s favourite, and then tell the tabloids he was her pillar of strength. If I refused, he’d tell them we were two layabout princesses overstaying our welcome with a grieving sovereign.
“Fine,” I said. “We’ll go to Amira and Louis’s apartment.”
He clasped his hands together, the way men always do when they’ve won the conversation, and grinned. “Superb. Gosh, it’s nice to have you back here, Lexi. The girls are going to be thrilled to see you. I don’t think they even got to speak to you before you slipped out of Louis and Amira’s wedding.”
I gave him an insincere smile. Demelza and Birdie had arrived at the wedding in dresses so ridiculous they instantly became internet memes. Demelza’s dress had been composed entirely of hyperrealistic silk butterflies. Meanwhile, Twitter had branded Birdie’s frilly ombré pink frock “labia chic.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to see them either,” I said.
I left him to his plate of pastries. Striding down the hall with my heart thudding, I understood why Mum and Papa had left every engagement that involved Richard with their jaws set and their knuckles white. It took me a moment to realise that Mary was trailing behind me, her leather binder pressed to her chest.
“Were you waiting for me, Mary?” I asked.
She broke into a trot until she reached my side. “Yes, ma’am. I just wanted to see if I could be of any assistance.”
I realised I was deploying my hospital rounds stride. But it felt too good to stop. Maids, looking slightly alarmed, ceased theirdusting and polishing and bobbed their heads as we stalked past. The palace’s old floors buckled and sagged under our feet.
“The Dowager Duchess of Somerset and I need to move to her apartment at Cumberland Palace, probably tonight,” I said.
“Yes, ma’am, I was informed early this morning. Your things are being moved as we speak.”
Abruptly, I stopped, the anger sliding out of me and something heavier taking its place. Richard had never been going to give me the option to stay. His staff must have been making calls, arranging for me to be kicked out while I was still asleep in my childhood bed. I had the impulse to call Louis, who always knew how to handle the family. Then I remembered I would never speak to Louis again. With Mum, the cruelty of this one-two punch of absence still wounded me. It had been twelve years, and every time I heard a juicy piece of gossip or helped set a particularly grisly fracture, my first inclination was to tell her about it.
It occurred to me then that they were all gone. Father, mother, brother. We had once stood together in our snowsuits and goggles and posed as the ideal family. But they lived short lives. The last things they felt were fear and pain. And now I was all alone.
I went to the nearest window, but all I could see were trees.
“Are you alright, ma’am?” Mary asked.
“I don’t know how to do this,” I said. She was silent and I turned from the window to look at her. “Before… you said you were looking forward to working for me. I’m sorry, but I’m not planning to stay. I’ve got a life to get back to in Australia, so I’m only here for a few weeks at most.”
She looked crestfallen. “I see.”
“I’m sorry. But I’m telling you this because I like you and hopefully this gives you time to find another job. I’m not sure what they’ll do with the Wolseley staff.”
She nodded and pushed her glasses up her nose.
“I understand,” she said. “I’d be happy to assist you as longas you’re here, though. You’ll need help with the funeral preparations. You haven’t been here for such a long time—it might be useful having someone who knows the ropes.”
I smiled. Palace aides I’d known my entire life had stopped speaking to me the moment I moved to Australia. When I was still returning home every Christmas, they would turn on their heels and flee if they saw me walking down the halls.
“Mary, this is a complicated place, and I know I’m not exactly… popular here. If you want to stay working at the palace, your chances are better if you’re not seen hanging around me.”
A row of stern-faced servants passed us, curtsying as they went. We were silent until they were safely down the hall. Mary looked up to meet my eyes. That smile of hers was back.
“I’m not very popular here either. Everyone thinks I have funny ideas. So perhaps it’s fitting that we go out together.”
In Louis’s room, I found Amira smoking by an open window.
“Have you heard the news?” I asked, flopping on the bed. “We’ve both been evicted. Can I crash at your place at Cumberland? Or do you think you’ll go stay with your parents?”
