“That was Aline.” Nicky’s voice was even. “Your interview was published this morning, as we expected.”
“And?” I wrapped my arms around myself, surprised to find I was shaking a bit.
“And as we also expected, it was completely focused on your work at Honey Bee and your ideas about sustainability and so on. Aline agreed that it was exactly as it had been presented to the Palace Press Office. Not one tantalizing or scandalizing morsel in it.”
I let out a long breath. “Good. Thatisgood, isn’t it? It’s what we said it would be.”
“As far as that goes, yes.” He hesitated. “But unfortunately, the story was noticed by several other newspapers, and they’ve chosen to spin it in a direction that doesn’t exactly paint you in a positive light.”
“What?” I frowned. “What could there possibly be in that interview that anyone would object to?”
Nicky sighed. “The buzz is that it’s too political for someone who’s about to marry into the Royal Family.The Daily Postran an article with commentary by an MP, a couple of restaurant owners and others—oh, remember Mr. Alloways? You met him last year at the Waste Not luncheon.”
I shuddered. “That day is not filled with happy memories for me.”
“Not for either of us.” Nicky lay back in the bed and circled my waist with his arm, nuzzling my side. “But we’ve gotten past that. The point is, Alloways was the very unpleasant gentleman who was sitting at our table and who argued with us that day. He and Mrs. Gummer are both on the National Council of Grocers, and they’ve been fighting all the progress we’ve made with Waste Not. At any rate, Alloways also commented on your interview. He claims that you have aspirations to revolutionize farming in the UK, that what you’re talking about would take farms away from families ... basically, he’s building monsters.”
“But would people believe that about me?” Panic began to rise in me. “I’d never do that. I don’t want to get involved in politics—I didn’t in the US, and I don’t plan to here. It’s clear that this is ridiculous, right?”
Nicky ran his hand over his hair, closing his eyes as he lay his head in my lap. “That’s what one would hope, but these things rarely go the way we’d like. People will say what they’re going to say. There’s nothing that we can do to stop it from happening.”
“Is that why Aline called?” Absently, I stroked the side of his face. “Because I’m in trouble, even though the interview was all business?”
“Eh.” Nicky’s jaw tightened, and I rubbed it gently until he relaxed. “Not in trouble. I think she just wanted you to be prepared for the questions that are likely to be thrown at you today when you go to work. The Palace isn’t going to issue a statement—at least, not right now. If things get really terrible ...” His voice drifted off, but I had a hunch about what he was going to say: if the questions and accusations got out of hand, then I’d have to deal with the repercussions.
And ... I curled my fingers around the sheet as something occurred to me. Nicky and I were scheduled to attend the opening of a new community garden in Tottenham with the Queen at the end of the week. I’d have to face Her Majesty, knowing that what I’d done might have embarrassed her. Even if that hadn’t been my intention, I’d flouted a rule that I knew existed, and why? What had I accomplished but to alienate the very people I was hoping to help?
“Nicky, I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to cause problems.”
“Darling, don’t.” Nicky caught my hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss into the palm. “You didn’t have bad intentions. You didn’t do this to draw attention to yourself. All of this—” He waved his hand. “All of it is a learning process. I was born into this life, just as my sisters were, and even so, we all make missteps. We’ve all said things or done things that we know must make our grandmother cringe. But she’s a very gracious woman, my granny is. She never holds anything against us.” His lips curled slightly. “Not for long, anyway.”
“I want to be the kind of person who uses this role, this opportunity, to make people’s lives better.” I drew lazy circles on the back of Nicky’s hand as it held mine loosely. “When we were at the ballet, and I met the people who Alex had helped through their grief, I realized that I can do so much more than I’d ever dreamed. I want to use whatever position I have to help others.”
“Of course, you do.” He flexed his hand, lacing our fingers. “I know that, and as the rest of the world gets to know you, they’ll see it, too. That’s one of the hardest aspects of what we do—of what we are. We’re not politicians; we don’t campaign for office, so we don’t get many opportunities to introduce ourselves to people. We’re not actors or other kinds of public figures who can take roles or go on talk shows to give others a glimpse into our minds. We just do what we can and keep on going, and we hope that eventually the people who matter understand a little about us. Or at least trust that we have honorable intentions.”
“I never really thought of it that way,” I mused. “It’s really a matter of putting our money where our mouths are, in a sense, isn’t it? It’s what we do, not what we say. So we have to make sure all of our actions are intentional and directed in the right way.”
“Granny would say that as long as we’re doing our duty and putting others first, everything works out.” Nicky rolled off my lap and sat up with a groan. “She’s a pretty wise lady as it turns out. And that reminds me that as much as I’d love to stay here and comfort you—” He winked to show me thatcomforthad an entirely lascivious meaning in his mind—“I need to get out of bed. I’m visiting an art school for underprivileged children with Daisy today on behalf of our mother. If I’m late, I’ll have my baby sister needling me and my mother’s disapproval, too.”
“I guess I should get ready to go into the office.” Even as I said it, I lay back down in the bed and snuggled beneath the covers. I was dreading facing the press and the inevitable questions and accusations I’d hear. “But maybe it would be a better idea to stay put today. You know, lay low until all the brouhaha fades away.”
“No such luck, Ky.” Nicky whipped the covers off me and gave my backside a smart smack. “Up you go. If I have to go out into the world, you do, too. Besides, hiding from the reporters only make them worse. They scent fear like blood, you know, and then they’re relentless. Go to work and give them that gorgeous smile that made me fall in love with you.”
“It was my smile?” I rolled off the bed and stood up. “Here I thought it was my sass. And of course, my ability to build a sand castle.”
“Let’s just say it was a combination of all of those things and even more.” Nicky sauntered toward the bathroom. “Try not to worry about today. Just be yourself, keep smiling and you’ll be amazing, as always.”
Unfortunately, the day was not quite as easy as Nicky had made it sound.
Harold drove me to work, as he had since Nicky and I had announced our engagement and I’d become a bona fide almost-royal. Although I usually sat in the front with him, today I rode in the backseat, my fingers gripping the edge of the seat and my stomach roiling with nerves.
“Nearly there, Ms. Duncan.” Harold glanced at me in the rearview mirror, and I saw the compassion in his eyes. “If you don’t mind me saying, you’re a bit quiet today. I hope you’re feeling well.”
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat. “Just particularly dreading running the gauntlet today.”
“Ah, yes. Well, Sophie’s there already, isn’t she? You won’t be alone. And try not to let their nonsense get to you. It’s all just noise, you know.”
“It’s one thing to know it and another to believe it when they’re yelling at you.” I twisted the handle of my purse. “Harold, do you remember when I landed in London almost two years ago and you picked me up at the airport? I was terrified that day. They were all around me and yelling and asking questions, flashbulbs going off ... I really thought I might pass out.”
