He shakes his head. “No, you’ll be at Lilija’s side now. I don’t matter as much as Lilija does. I need you to stay close to her to continue to help her through this transition. Henrik is wonderful, but he’s not you. If you resume your position with me, you’d be wasted. Your responsibility now is to guide Lilija.” When I look down, he adds, “This is not a demotion; it’s a promotion. She’s our future, and I’m the past. You need to keep moving forward.”
“I understand,” I say, connecting my eyes with his. And although I understand his words and his sentiment, I’m shocked. I haven’t believed I could have Lilly, and now...now that seems possible.Not only that, I’ll have even more capacity to serve this country I love. This man, who has treated me like a son, has given me a blessing beyond what I ever thought possible.Fuck.“I’ll do you proud, Theo.”
“I know you will. And you’ll also make your parents proud, Keller.”
I nod humbly. What can I say to that?
I excuse myself and go back into the drawing room, where Katla and Lilly are huddled over quite a few table runners. Lilly is speaking quietly, running her hand over the embroidery work, her expression in complete awe.
Being here in the palace makes our situation profoundly different. It puts things into perspective. We don’t have our safety bubble anymore. There are eyes and ears everywhere. And I can’t be as candid as I want to be with her. Now that we’re here, now that she said she’d take the throne, everything has changed.
She glances in my direction, and when she sees me, she gives me a wary smile, and it nearly splits me in half.She’s unsure. She’s questioning herself when she did nothing wrong. And as Theo said, she needs to know what she said is not to be punished, but commended.
I close the distance between us, making sure to approach cautiously in case they’re talking about anything sensitive, but when Katla invites me to the conversation, I know it’s safe.
“I was just showing Lilija Margret’s beautiful stitches.”
I walk up right next to Lilly, put my arm around her waist, and bring her in close to press a kiss to the top of her head. It’s my way of letting Lilly know everything is okay. Katla smiles warmly as I reach down and pick up one of the napkins. “She did exquisite work. With more practice, I believe Lilly will be just as good, if not better.”
Lovingly, Lilly looks up at me. “You think so?”
“I do.”
* * *
“Okay,”Lilly whispers at the dinner table. “The cod cakes were actually really good.”
I chuckle softly. “See, nothing to be scared of.”
“I will always be scared of fermented cod.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Theo asks as he brings a goblet of water to his lips.
“The cod cakes,” I answer as Lilly grips my thigh under the table, giving me a warning squeeze.
“Delicious, right, Lilija?”
“Very.” Lilly dabs her mouth with the corner of her napkin, just as I taught her. Before we walked into the dining room for dinner, she pulled me aside and asked me to review meal etiquette one more time. I told her she had nothing to worry about, but she wanted to impress King Theo. So, we had a quick crash course before entering the dining room. “The entire meal was great. Although, Brimar is quite the chef. He would bake fresh bread every day, and I couldn’t get enough of it.”
“Ah, yes, Brimar has made quite a few loaves for us,” Katla says. “Brilliant with his sourdough starter.”
“I think a part of this gut is from Brimar’s bread,” Theo says, patting his stomach. He’s unlike any king I know. Pretty sure the Queen of England wouldn’t be patting her belly at the dinner table. Theo yawns and says, “Excuse me. How rude of me. It’s been a long day. Didn’t get much sleep last night. I was nervous about meeting you, my darling.”
Lilly smiles shyly. “I barely got any sleep either, but I think I can confidently say the nerves are mostly gone. They’ll probably shake away with every day that goes by.”
“They will,” Theo says.
“Has Keller walked you through the itinerary?” Katla asks.
“I’m not sure Lilly even knows Keller’s new role,” Theo says.
“What new role?” Lilly asks, looking concerned.
“Keller will continue to be at your side. Even though he’s been my private secretary for years now, I know his work will be more valuable to you. I want you to be comfortable, and with Keller leading the way, I know you’ll be taken care of.”
“I will,” Lilly says, slipping her hand into mine under the table. “It’s surprised me how comfortable I’ve felt around Keller. Yes, I’ve depended on him to prepare me for this role. But personally, I feel so connected too.”
Katla smiles. “That’s so wonderful to hear. It’ll be a perfect match, then. So, that means tomorrow will go swimmingly. Keller will be giving you a tour of the palace and our everyday routine while Theo and I prepare for Friday.”
