“Mrs.Johansdotter went on theMorning Show, blaming you for her fall.”
Scottie halted, one hand on the stair rail, eyes wide.“Shewhat?”
“Blamed it on you.She claims your presence incited the mob.”
“I see.”Scottie peered toward the light falling through the Grand Foyer’s transom.“I suppose you agree with her.”
“I’ve concluded people are responsible for their own actions.Nevertheless, steel yourself.You’ve begun your time in Lauchtenland with a blooming bang.You’ve rocketed the people into a conversation—those for the House of Blue, those against.It’s a stirring debate and has been for some time.”He touched her arm gently.“Be honest with yourself, miss.If last night proved—”
“Too much?”Her blue eyes searched his.“You want me to abandon the queen when she’s trying to right a thirty-eight-year old wrong?What about supporting her with the family away?And her battle with GBS?ThereasonI’m here is to stand by her when she needs me.Not run from something like last night.That’s just noise.A distraction.In all my days, she could never reach out, say she needed me.Now she does, Michael.Which goes well beyond me tucking and turning tail when something goes wrong.”Her certainty settled like stone.“I’m staying.What can they do to me in eight short weeks?”
She held his gaze one second, then two, as if waiting.Then Choko appeared at the foot of the stairs.
“We’re ready for you in the Gold Salon, miss.”
“Thank you.”With a final glance at Michael, Scottie started down the stairs.“Got to pick an outfit for the Garden Party, but if you’re lucky, I’ll show you the secret passageway before I go home.”
“Be still my heart,” Michael said, hand slapped to his chest.
But as he watched her go, he resisted the urge to chase after her.“Go home, Lady Royal, now.Please.”
What could they do to her in eight weeks?Plenty.
Lady Royal, if you only knew.
* * *
Scottie
If she’d known she’d walk into the Garden Party under a cloud of scandal and scuttlebutt, she’d never have run off that night by herself.
Over the past three days, the quay incident had become its own legend.Memes and AI fakes of Scottie saving Mrs.Johansdotter flooded pro-royal feeds.The anti-monarch side pushed fabrications of Scottie inciting the mob and shoving mother and child over the edge.
Talk shows debated over it, replaying one grungy, dark clip after another, worse than sports commentators reviewing plays after a game.
Dad texted then called.“What’s going on?Penny keeps forwarding posts.Did someone try to push you from the Dalholm quay?That’s got to be a hundred feet.”
“More like forty, Dad, depending on the tide.”
“Scottie, if you want to come home—”
“Hello, who are you and what happened to my ‘never quit’ father?I’m fine.”She ran down the details with her dad just like she would at O’Shay, keeping to the main points.Avoiding emotional rabbit trails.“I’m staying,” she concluded.“Kate needs me.”In the end, that was all that mattered.Her mother needed her.
The final days up to the Garden Party were a struggle.Wednesday, Kate could barely drink her tea.Even so, she insisted Scottie walk with her to the old portico by Whistlecrag Bluff.She had to turn back before they left the castle’s shadow.That evening, Scottie dined alone while Kate slept.
She resolved to be diligent at Friday’s Garden Party—to stay close to Kate.She’d promised John and Gus, who phoned often to check on their mother.The appeal of being a part of their inner circle—of being a sibling—was intoxicating.
Aunt Arabella and Sir William, their daughter, Rachel, and several cousins were coming to the party.The queen and her half-royal daughter could not manage three thousand guests alone.
So, with a dose of courage and a taste of trepidation, on the eighth of May Scottie dressed for herofficialdebut as Lady Royal Blue, daughter of the Queen of Lauchtenland.at the Hadsby Castle Garden Party.
“Miss, which clutch do you prefer?”Choko set five designer clutches on the dressing-room island.“Might I recommend the gold?”
Scottie considered, then nodded.The gold, with matching hardware, suited her outfit.It was by a local designer in the Midlands.Eloise Bright of Eloise Ltd.
“She’s very hip with the young people,” Choko said.“I believe she’ll be at the Garden Party.”
Scottie wasn’t a “clutch” girl, but she’d listened to Kate’s lesson on using the small bag to avoid unwanted handshakes—or as a barrier.Even to communicate to Michael if she felt trapped.
