Stellan
Acouple of days later, it is clear that word of my relationship with Margot has gotten to the press. Normally I am not bothered by a few reporters that might turn up here and there. But they’ve been growing in number over the last few days, showing up at every event I have, elbowing each other in order to get to within earshot of me.
“Prince Stellan! Is Margot your lover?”
“Stellan! Stellan! Will you marry her?”
“Will the wedding be soon?”
I ignore them as I get out of the back of the limo and hurry into the palace. Looking back at the swarm of reporters and paparazzi, I’m nearly blinded by a flashbulb going off to the right of the palace doorway.
Shaking my head to clear my vision, I turn and trot inside the darkened palace. Running up the grand staircase, I make my way down the echoing hallway to my living room.
When I open the door to find Margot wiping away a tear and trying to hide that she’s been crying, I feel myheart twist in my chest. She sniffles and sits up straighter in the hard backed chair by the table, running her hand over her black cotton dress.
“Haj,” she greets me.
My heart twists again. She’s trying to learn Danish for me.
“Haj,” I say, walking over and giving her a hug. “I am guessing that you saw the reporters?”
Margot wipes at her face bashfully. “Yeah. I was going to go out to meet the personal shopper you suggested for me… but I couldn’t even manage to leave the palace.”
She sucks in a deep breath. “It’s especially hard because I don’t even have any answers for them.”
I pull away, shaking my head. “That isn’t anything I can help with, Margot.”
Pulling out the chair opposite her, I sit down and glance out the window. She wrinkles her nose delicately.
“I know,” she says. “I was just… telling you how I feel.”
I drum my fingertips on the table. When I speak, my words come out sharper than I intended. “The prime minister came to see me today. He asked about you. How do you think I felt, telling him I don’t have any more answers about our current predicament than you?”
I can actually hear her inhale. She narrows her eyes at me. “I’m sorry that you are feeling the pressure. It must be terrible to feel like you don’t have much control of things.”
I shoot her a glare. “It’s not that hard to make up your mind, Margot. You either want me, and can accept all that comes along with me… or you can’t.”
She ducks her head, her jaw tensing. “You make it sound so easy.”
I grind my teeth. “It might not be easy for you. For me, there was never a choice. I didn’t get that kind of freedom.”
She shoots to her feet, pacing over to the window. “Yes. I know that you had a hard childhood, Stellan. Just like you know that mine wasn’t any easier.” She hisses out a breath. “I feel like we could go around and around in circles over this for a thousand more years.”
I try to take a calming breath. “We’re out of time, Margot. I think you know that.”
She leans against the window, scrunching up her face. “I just need more time.”
“Time for what?” I ask, raising my hands. “What will a few more days get you that you don’t already have?”
“I don’t know,” she says mournfully, her gaze still fixed on something out the window. “Clarity?”
I try a different tack. “When I came in here, you were crying.”
Margot glances at me, uncertain. “So?”
“So… you had one run in with the press. And you… you cracked under the pressure! Not even very much pressure, I might add.” I pin her with my gaze. “If that’s the way you handle a tense moment, I worry about you being able to handle the everyday scrutinies that accompany royal life. Like… if you can’t cope with this, how are you going to handle it when the paparazzi find out that we’re engaged? How are you going to deal with being pregnant?”
Margot’s eyes go wide. Her retort is immediate and biting. “I don’t know, Stellan! This is all new to me! I can’t fathom how I’ll deal with anything, let alone being pregnant with your child!”
