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“Don’t let my annoying little sister get in your way, David,” Elizabeth said, smiling still at Victoria.
“Can I marry your sister?” David finally asked, giving up on the formalities.
“Of course, you can. If Victoria wants to be your wife, you have my blessing.” She turned to look at Victoria, who was smiling at her, likely, future husband. “And Dad would have given you his blessing, too.”
“You think so? DavidisBritish.”
“He wouldn’t have held that against him once he saw how happy David makes you,” Elizabeth replied.
“Thank you,” Victoria said softly.
“I’m happy for you both,” Elizabeth replied.
“Now, David and I will talk more later about us, but don’t think I’m letting you off the hook for the whole reporter-in-your-bed thing this morning.”
“It’s not nearly as scandalous as you’ve been led to believe. We simply fell asleep,” Elizabeth said.
“In the same bed, Lizzy?”
“Yes, we were talking. After what happened to you, Palmer and I were talking, and I fell asleep. That’s all there is to it.”
“In the old servant’s quarters that we never use anymore?”
“Yes. I told her to sleep there since our plans had gotten ruined by the attack on you and David. When I couldn’t sleep, I went in, and we talked. Then, I fell asleep, and we woke up to shouting because Rebecca thought something had happened to me.”
“Thatisless scandalous than I’d been led to believe.” Victoria shrugged a shoulder dismissively. “Disappointing.”
“What exactly did you think happened?” Elizabeth asked, laughing at her sister’s reaction.
“Nothing specific. I just worry about you, given the entire reason she’s here is to get a story out of you about our family.”
“Actually, as I told Rebecca earlier, that’s not the case. Had that been the case, she would have left last night. She stayed because we’re becoming friends.”
“You’re becoming friends with a reporter?” Victoria asked. “Is that wise? Maybe any other time, it would’ve been fine, but with what’s going on right now… I just worry about you, Lizzy.”
“I’m fine.” Elizabeth took a long drink of her wine. “Besides, she’ll be leaving soon anyway. Palmer has a life to get back to that doesn’t include me.” She swallowed hard, and not just because of the wine.
“Does that bother you?” Victoria asked.
“Bother me?”
“You’re becoming friends with her, and she’s leaving.”
“I assume we’ll stay in touch,” Elizabeth replied. “Ihopewe do anyway.”
“What happens if she really was just in it for the story? Or, if it’s too hard to keep in touch with the time difference, your work, and hers when she gets home?”
Elizabeth didn’t like thinking about that. Although, she probablyshouldstart thinking about it. Palmer would be leaving. It might be in a day, a week, or a month, but she would be going back to New York, and Elizabeth would find herself alone again in a country that, apparently, no longer wanted her or her role, and with only a younger sister who was about to be married. Victoria would be starting a life with David, living in Coburn Cottage, not the palace. She’d be safe there, which was important, but it also made Elizabeth feel even lonelier than she thought possible.
CHAPTER 18
Palmer had spent much of the day working on her piece. It was the piece that wouldn’t be sent to her editor, but she still worked. She found it enjoyable to type out how she’d spent her time with the Queen thus far, even changing from referring to Elizabeth by title in what she was writing to using her actual name. Shedidowe her office an update, though, so she also typed up a quick email and sent it off to her editor. She had several pages of a rough draft ready to go, and she had spent much of her time combing through it to ensure she wouldn’t be violating Elizabeth’s trust with anything she’d typed already. Their friendship was far more important to Palmer now than the story or any acclaim that may come from it one day.
The email that had come not from work but from her ex-girlfriend, though, had been surprising. That was what currently occupied Palmer’s thoughts as she sat on the uncomfortable bed in her hotel room, sipping lukewarm, overly acidic coffee from the in-room machine. Anna was asking for another chance. She missed Palmer. She loved Palmer. She was ready to stop the open relationship and commit. Palmer rolled her eyes at Anna’s antics. One day, they were happy. They were in love. They were planning a future together. The next, Anna was telling her she wanted to see other people. When Palmer had agreed reluctantly, Anna ended up finding someone else. They ended their relationship. Now, Anna wanted to commit? It was too much to deal with and not at all something Palmer was interested in.
It should tell Palmer something that after breaking up with a woman she’d once thought about sharing her life with, she had hardly thought about Anna at all. It was true that she was in another country, pursuing a story, and that things would’ve probably been different if she was in her studio apartment staring at the photo of the two of them next to her bed or going through the box of stuff Anna had left along with her key. Even so, Palmer found her mind, as well as her heart, constantly drawn to another woman.
She needed to stop this. She couldn’t be feeling this way. Elizabeth was a Queen. But even if she wasn’t… Even if Palmer had met Elizabeth under a different circumstance while on this trip, they’d still be headed in different directions. Palmer’s was home to New York. She’d never been against long-distance relationships on principle, but she also wasn’t looking for one and wanted a girlfriend she could be with more often than not. Palmer shook her head then and laughed. As if Elizabeth, the Queen of St.Rais, would ever be hergirlfriend.
