Bellamy’s lips twist. She hates being sidelined because of her pregnancy, but it is what it is. Currently, they don’t have a nanny for the children. After what happened with Charlotte two months ago, when she kidnapped and attempted to kill Bellamy, they’re extremely trigger-shy about hiring anyone else. Bellamy is already spent, and Emily and Althea have been helping as much as they can with the children, but now it seems they’re down another set of hands.
That’s going to be a problem, and everyone in here knows it.
“I don’t see how I’ll be able to do that,” Bellamy admits, and Sebastian scowls.
“We should work on hiring a new nanny.”
Bellamy’s eyes close, and she releases a heavy breath. “I…no. Not right now.”
Sebastian rests his hand on her belly. “We’re going to have to figure something out. The twins will be born before you know it.”
“Sebastian…”
“I know.” He leans over and kisses her hand. “It’s not what I want either, but you’re already struggling to keep up with Zayer and Sabrina.”
Bellamy’s eyes open, and once again, she’s resolute. “We’ll discuss this later. Let’s figure out how to help Emily first.”
“Emily has been reviewing current employees’ performance and considering who she’ll appoint to oversee the staff and take on the main family responsibilities.”
“Does she have any candidates in mind?” I ask, shifting my eggs around on my plate. “There was that one woman?—”
“That narrows it down,” Bellamy teases.
I chuck a tear of my toast at her. “You didn’t let me finish.”
“What was her name then?” she challenges.
“If I could remember, I would have used it.”
“So sad to be so quickly forgotten by the dashing Prince Rowan.”
I roll my eyes at her. “Har, har.”
Althea is unimpressed. “Honestly. These are the people living and working in your palace. You’d think you’d at least know their names. And you better not have done anything?—”
“I’m going to cut you off there, Aunt,” I say, my tone serious. “I’ve never done anything with one of our incredible staff.”
Bellamy holds up a hand. “All that aside, we should meet with Emily to discuss this together. All of us. If this person is to take over for Emily, that means they’ll be in our private quarters.”
Althea lifts her mug to her lips and takes a sip of coffee. “I agree, and Emily isn’t taking this lightly or without serious consideration. There are four people she’s narrowed it down to. One works on the family side but has never managed others and isn’t always thorough, and one works on the kitchen side, so they have never done much in the residences, and two are guest services attendants.”
That’s a fancy term for the person who takes care of the guest quarters as well as the guests themselves. Somewhat like a concierge service combined with housekeeping responsibilities. This is the largest palace in our country and has over seventy-five guest rooms alone, and none of those include the family’s primary quarters, which are located on the other side of the palace.
“And they’ve gone through the necessary background checks?”
Sebastian gets a raised eyebrow. “Of course, they have. They’re working in the palace. Javier was diligent.”
Sebastian and I exchange glances. Javier has doubled downon background checks after what happened with Charlotte and after my Ella broke into the wedding. Anyone who’s been hired since the wedding hasn’t only had background checks. They’ve also had full family reviews and extensive rounds of interviews.
I give him a shrug. If they’re good enough for Emily and Javier, that’s good enough for me, but I don’t have a wife who’s pregnant with my twins and three other children. Nor am I the king. I do think the Charlotte situation was an anomaly, and there was no way to know what her ulterior motive was or who her mother was, no matter how much digging we could have done.
He swivels back to Althea. “Yes. I think we’d like to discuss the candidates with Emily and meet with them. Just to make sure things continue as smoothly and seamlessly as they do with Emily in charge.”
“And what about what Emily needs from us?” Bellamy persists. “A hip replacement is no small thing. Will she be rehabbing here at the palace or elsewhere?”
“Here at the palace,” Sebastian insists before Althea can reply. “We’ll turn a ballroom or parlor on the main level into her temporary quarters. That way, she won’t have to bother with stairs.”
Bellamy touches his cheek. “I love that idea. I agree that if she’s comfortable, she should rehab here. Obviously, Sebastian will get her whatever she needs.”
