“What’s Friday?” Lilly asks.
“Your first public appearance,” Theo says. “We’ve held off the public as much as we could, but they are anxious to meet you, and I believe if we wait much longer, they’ll become antsy and think something is wrong.”
“Oh, wow, okay,” Lilly says, taking a deep breath.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be there, and so will Keller, who’s been working on the welcoming with Henrik.”
“You’ll be fine,” I reassure her.
“You will,” Theo says as he pushes his chair away from the table. “Now, I must get to bed for fear of passing out at the dinner table. Face first into the dinner plate isn’t very kingly.” He stands, and so does everyone else at the table. Theo walks over to Lilly and me, one hand on each of our shoulders. “Go to bed, get some sleep. I’ll see you two tomorrow.”
Before Theo takes Katla’s hand, she leans in to stroke Lilly’s cheek. “I’m so thankful you’re here with us, Lilija. Sweet dreams, darling,” she says, causing Lilly’s eyes to well.
“Thank you. I am, too,” Lilly replies.
Then Theo and Katla walk out of the dining room, leaving me with Lilly. “Want me to show you to your room?”
“Yes, please,” she whispers. “I must get out of these heels, or I might die.”
I chuckle. “You’ll get used to them.”
“Says the man in the comfortable shoes.”
“Who says these are comfortable?”
“How about this, we trade shoes and then make a decision?”
“Nice try,” I say as I press my hand to the small of her back and guide her toward the stairwell. “So, how has your first half day been?” I ask.
“Overwhelming,” she answers as we head up the sweeping staircase. We pass by quite a few staff who bow or curtsy, and I can feel Lilly’s discomfort with the gesture. She smiles gracefully, and when we finally reach her room, I open the door for her and let her step in first.
“Oh, wow,” she says as I shut the door behind us. “This is... this is opulent.”
That’s an easy way to put it. The walls are covered in a cream damask wallpaper, the windows are shrouded in yards and yards of green velvet fabric, and the four-poster, gilded bed, which takes up a good portion of the space, is decorated in purple and green velvet bedding. The creaky wood floors are covered in Persian-style rugs, and the ceilings are adorned with intricate carvings. A decadent chandelier hangs from the center of it all, casting a dim light throughout the space.
“You have the option to change things if you want, if it’s too much for you,” I say, watching her examine the intricacies of the décor.
“It’s not that, it’s just... sort of unbelievable.” She chuckles. “Like this is the stuff you see in movies, not in real life. Like... Keller, there’s a chandelier in my room, a legit chandelier.”
“Yes, well, all the rooms are like this.”
“Even yours?”
That makes me laugh. “My room is in the servant quarters, remember? My room isn’t even half this size, nor is there velvet material anywhere.”
“What’s it like, then?”
“Well, it has a double bed, thankfully. A braided rug on the floor that my mum and I made together, one of the few things that weren’t destroyed in the fire, and pictures of everything important to me. A desk where I journal, a dresser for my clothes, and that’s pretty much it. I don’t require a lot.”
“It sounds nice.”
“It does the job.” I sigh and then gesture toward a door on the left. “That’s your en suite bathroom. Everything you need is in there. And the dressers and closet are full of your clothes as well as shoes. Your lady’s maid will come by tomorrow morning to wake you up and help you with anything you need. Her name is Runa. She was prepping your suite today but had a family emergency, so that’s why she’s not here right now.”
“Oh no, is everything okay?”
“Yes, she just needed to leave to help her mum. She’s excited to meet you, however. And if you need anything before Runa returns, there’s a phone on your night table. You just need to pick it up and someone will answer. Okay?”
She nods.
