Princess Tessa:
The prince and me.
Phillip Crawford:
This is highly unusual, Your Highness.
Prince Arthur:
Yes, well that may be so, but we have every intention of being more hands-on than the previous royal generation, so we won’t be needing a night nanny at all, because...we’ll be up in the night with the baby. Several times a night, probably.
Princess Tessa:
Yes, because the important thing is that the baby knows her parents will always be there to attend to her every need, no matter the hour. In order for her to bond properly with us, we can’t have several different people thrown into the mix so she never knows who she’s getting.
Phillip Crawford:
Princess Tessa, while I understand your trepidation, I assure you the nannies will be carefully vetted professionals trained in early childhood development, as well as be fluent in several languages, and able to help the young heir get a head start on his or her education.
Dylan Sinclair (quietly):
Just make sure they’re not too pretty.
Princess Tessa (directing question to Dylan Sinclair):
Pardon me?
Dylan Sinclair:
Err...Nothing.
Princess Tessa:
You said something about making sure the nannies aren’t too pretty.
Dylan Sinclair:
From a PR perspective, having beautiful, young nannies can be cause for speculation. I’m sure Your Highness would rather avoid that.
Prince Arthur:
We can hardly put that in the job ad, now can we? Nanny needed. Young and beautiful women need not apply (he then laughs).
Dylan Sinclair:
Of course not, Prince Arthur; however,off the record, I’d suggest you take my advice on this.
Phillip Crawford:
This entire meeting is on the record. We’ve got a stenographer sitting at the end of the table.
Princess Tessa:
I’d like to put it on the record that I trust my husband completely and I have absolutely no concern about his loyalty and devotion to me.
Prince Arthur:
Thank you, Tess. And may I say, I feel exactly the same way. If you want to hire attractive, young nannies, I’m perfectly fine with that (he laughs again, then quickly stops when no one joins him).
