“I don’t know,” Mellie answered. “I mean, her father does have money tied up in a lot of investments, but I don’t see her being a part of that. She’s an influencer at best; I don’t think she has the business acumen to use the press to her advantage in that kind of way.”
“They didn’t seem like they were up to anything malicious when I showed them upstairs. They were laughing andhuddled over his computer when I took some pastries up to them a little bit ago,” Cora said. “They could just be friends.” She shrugged.
Adelaide, Mellie, and I shared a glance and smiled.Bless her sweet, naive heart.Cora said her goodbyes and went back to work.
“I think that girl would believe you if you said the sky was orange,” I mused.
We finished our meals, the girls regaling me with stories of growing up in Wexstone while we ate. As I savored the last few bites of my cranberry scone, I glanced at the time. “My car is on the way; I’m going to go wait outside. I’ve had so much fun today. I really needed this,” I said to the girls as I gathered my things.
“I’ll walk out with you, I need to go stop by my office,” Mel said. She and Adelaide stood and shrugged into their coats.
As we walked toward the door, a long, bony hand grasped my arm. I looked down to find that the hand belonged to an elderly woman sitting with three of her friends at a table covered in yarn and books. Jacob stepped forward, ready to intervene, but I held up my free hand, indicating for him to wait for a moment.
“You’re the American girl who is here for Prince Oliver, right?” the woman asked, still grasping my arm.
“I am. I’m Birdie, and this is Adelaide and Mellie,” I smiled at the woman and her friends.
“I’m Hilda. This is Polly.” She released my arm as she gestured to the white-haired woman next to her who was busy casting green yarn onto her knitting needles.
The red-haired woman across the table waved. “I’m Mildred and this is my partner, Ida.”
“I really loved that purple dress you wore on the first night,” Ida said, pointing toAdelaide.
Adelaide smiled. “Thank you!”
“So, you gals are in the inner circle now that you’re courting the prince. Why do you think Prince Xavier abdicated?” Hilda asked.
Adelaide, Mellie and I looked at each other, not knowing what to say. I definitely wasn’t in the “inner circle”—I barely knew Oliver, let alone Xavier.
Polly swatted at Hilda’s arm. “Hilda, you know they wouldn’t tell you even if they did know. They probably signed so many contracts and agreements going into this. Don’t pester those girls with your nosy questions!”
“Fine. I’m just saying, my niece’s neighbor works at the palace, andshesaid she heard from one of the butlers that he abdicated because he’s gay and didn’t think he would be able to produce heirs.”
“I call bullshit on that,” Polly yelled. “You know well enough that these days that’s not a reason to abdicate. There are plenty of ways to make a family.” Mildred reached over to pat the top of Polly’s hand. “That’s just nasty gossip.”
“I didn’t say I agreed! I’m just telling you what she told me. Calm your britches,” Hilda retorted, waving her off.
I could see Mel stiffen as the conversation continued, clearly uncomfortable.
“I think that he did something illegal and that if he takes the throne, it will all be uncovered and the royal family will no longer be able to exist and the entire country will collapse,” Ida said.
Mildred rolled her eyes and let out a huff. “Dear, you’re reading too many mystery books again.”
Ida looked at her with a playful grin. “You’re the one that said you wanted to read something other than smut in our book club.”
I saw the corner of Jacob’s mouth quirk upward and tookthe opportunity to change the topic of conversation. As much as I believed what Oliver had told me—that Xavier abdicated because he wasn’t ready to give up his partying lifestyle—I also wasn’t sure Xavier owed the public a reason. Wexstone was thriving and would continue to do so. It didn’t seem to be their business what his personal reasons were.
“Is that what you ladies are doing here? Book club?” I motioned to the books peeking out from underneath the yarn.
“It is! We come here for a book club and stay for lunch and to knit,” Mildred answered, digging out a book from under the pile of yarn.
“Oh, I love reading,” Adelaide gushed. “My book club only likes to read thrillers and I had to stop going because I was too on edge. I live alone and one time I was in the shower when my dad stopped by unexpectedly to drop off some supplies for my classroom. I was so freaked out that I came out of the bedroom and hit him in the face with my paddle brush.” She laughed. “I decided then that it was time I found a new club that reads romance or fantasy or self-help.”
Polly looked over the rim of her cat-eye glasses at Adelaide. “You look like you’d be a good fighter. You’ll need that when you become queen.”
Adelaide’s face flushed red as she smiled politely at the sweet, white-haired woman.
Hilda leaned over, muttering loudly to Polly, “Don’t let that red-haired bitch hear you say that.”
