When we arrive in the boardroom, all but four chairs at the long, wooden table are filled. King Winston, the Princess Dowager, Prince Arthur, and Princess Tessa, as well as all of their senior advisers, are already sitting with cups of tea and small plates of scones and fruit in front of them. On the large screen mounted to the wall, I see my family already patched in via Zoom. Arabella and I make our apologies for being late, then take our seats next to each other at the end of the table.
Phillip Crawford stands and clears his throat. "Good morning. I'm Phillip Crawford, head advisor to King Winston. I'd like to welcome you all today as we embark on the exciting journey of matrimony for Princess Arabella and Mr. Banks.” He pauses for a split second to give me a slightly disappointed once-over, then continues. “If everyone could please open the royal wedding handbook, we'll get started discussing the events surrounding the big day, as well as the wedding itinerary. I trust each of you has had a chance to read this over in full and familiarize yourself with expectations as well as the flow of the order of events. Before we get started, does anyone have any questions about the contents of the package?"
"I do," Rosy says, causing my heart to drop down to my bottom.
Phillip looks at the screen from above the top rims of his glasses. "And you would be?"
"Rosy Brown. I've known William since he was seven years old. I love him and his siblings like I would my own children. Now, I noticed that everything seems to have been determined already, including the location. What we would like to propose is that, for once, the royal family holds a wedding somewhere other than Avonia — in one of your other Commonwealth countries, as a way to bridge the royal family’s presence in the outer realm." She gives a satisfied smile to the camera, but next to her, Harrison is covering his face with one hand.
Phillip folds his arms. “I'm assuming you intend to hold the event at the Paradise Bay Resort so that your family can profit off of the nuptials?"
"No, that’s okay," Harrison interjects, holding up one hand. "Thanks to Rosy here for always thinking of our family, but honestly, we have absolutely no desire to profit off of my brother's wedding."
Rosy mutters something that sounds a lot like ‘Yes, we do,’ to him. "Why shouldtheybe the only ones to profit?"
Damn. My entire head feels hot with shame and I stumble over my words. "It's fine, it's totally fine. Let's just not worry about holding the wedding at the resort. Obviously, it needs to be held here in Valcourt for logistical reasons, and nobody is going to profit off anything, so let's just move on to the first item, okay?"
Rosy’s head snaps back. "But Cuddle Bear, think of how beautiful it would be? A beach wedding followed by the two of you sailing off on Matilda into the sunset?”
Phillip answers for me. "Yes, as romantic as that sounds, we have strict protocols to follow and there is no way we could even handle security for that many dignitaries in a foreign country. So, the resort is off the table and we really must forge on. His Majesty has an extremely full schedule today and therefore we will need to wrap this up in short order."
"So, you're not even going to consider it, King Winston?" Rosy asks.
The king sits right up and looks at the screen. "Umm…I think…our advisory team is more able to discuss logistics."
"Who exactly makes the decisions around there? Because it seems as though that tall, skinny guy is the one in charge."
Oh no, no, no, no, no. Do not question the king!My entire body is hot with shame and I feel sweat pool above my top lip.
"Err…" King Winston starts, but I cut him off (which is a risky move, believe me).
"Rosy," I plead. "I should have discussed this with you earlier. The logistics of having a thousand or so guests fly to the Benavente Islands seem rather difficult. Besides, the media would skewer us for the unnecessary expenses, not to mention the carbon emissions for hosting the wedding in such a remote location."
Arabella leans forward. "But, Rosy, I promise we’ll find some way to honour your homeland and promote the resort."
“Out of the question. Royals don’t promote hotels,” Phillip quips. “Just like they shouldn’t be selling shoes or laundry soap. Now, we really must move on to the guest list.”
Arabella glares at him, then smiles at the screen. "Rosy, Will and I are going to call you later so we can work something out, okay? As to the date, we definitely need to avoid the busy season in the Caribbean."
"Thank you, Arabella," Harrison says with a smile. “Truthfully, it will be quite challenging to leave here anytime between November and the end of March."
“Which is whytheyshould comehere,” Rosy mutters.
"As difficult as I’m sure running a resort is, running a kingdom is also a rather large undertaking,” Phillip sneers. “But since November through April are not times that are conducive to drawing a crowd, we can agree to strike them from the options. Anyone else? Prince Arthur? Princess Tessa?"
Tessa speaks up. "I honestly have no preference whatsoever other than a gentle request to give me enough time to lose the baby weight again."
Arthur gives her a sideways glance and I can tell by the look on his face he's about to say it isn't pregnancy weight this time, but the glare she gives him causes him to think better of it. Good choice, buddy.
Arthur turns to Phillip and says, “You’ve got my schedule. There’s nothing I need to add, but back to this Cuddle Bear thing…there’s a story there I absolutely must hear.”
My face flames again but I give him a nod and a grin that says ‘good one’ to show I can take a ribbing. I take a look at the agenda and see we’re still on item one of thirty-nine. Arabella leans into my ear and whispers, “I say we elope.”
I stifle a laugh, then grin at her, even though I wish she meant it. “Deal.”
Chapter 6
Sometimes Water Under the Bridge Just Sits There All Stagnant and Stinky…
