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“Then, you don’t know for sure that she couldn’t return your feelings.”
“Lillian, I’m Queen now.”
“So?”
“So, things are already on shaky ground as is. If I come out, people are–”
“Screw other people, Elin! This isn’t about them or about the country. I’ve seen you with Ingrid. Why do you think I insisted I keep Katrin?”
“Huh?”
“I was hoping you’d tell Markus to go fuck himself, and you’d keep Ingrid as your secretary, but you boggled that. Now, she’s in a basement office somewhere by the kitchens, with some entry-level staffer sitting across from her. Way to show the woman you love how you feel, by the way. Then, I insisted she join us in Balmoral because I was hoping a more relaxed environment might get you to loosen up and tell the woman how you feel.”
“You invited her to–”
“Get you laid, yes.” Lillian rolled her eyes. “And for you to tell her you love her. Probably morethatthan the getting laid thing, but those two sometimes go together, so I was hoping you’d tell her, and then you two would figure the rest out.”
“You think she might actually…”
“Like you? Yeah, I do.” Lillian placed her cup on the table in front of them. “It doesn’t matter what I think, though. Elin, you have to realize that even if Iamright, she’s not going to say anything to you about it. You have to take the lead here.You’rethe Queen. She’s technically in your employ, which means she’s not going to tell you how she feels first.”
“And if I tell her, she could sue me for sexual harassment,” Elin reminded her sister.
“Well, don’t harass her. Just tell her you like her. If she says she’s not into that, you say, ‘no harm, no foul,’ and you move on.”
“I sort of tried to maybe ask her to spend time with me the day after the announcement.”
“Yousortofmaybetried to?” Lillian teased. “What does that even mean, Elin?”
“I had a few minutes between meetings, and Ingrid stopped by to thank me for something. I asked her if she wanted to have a drink that evening or maybe a late dinner. I think I messed it up, and it sounded too formal; I don’t know. She makes me so nervous.” Elin shook her head. “It’s hard to speak in coherent sentences around her sometimes.”
“I’ve seen you do that with her.”
“About work, yes. Personal things have been a struggle at times. It just takes me a while to settle in and get going. By the time I do, we usually get interrupted, or I have to go.”
“What was she thanking you for?”
“Huh?”
“You said she stopped by to thank you.”
“Her office. I saw it and thought it was pretty terrible, so I’m having it redone for her.”
“Oh, Elin. You’ve got it bad,” Lillian said.
“I know.” She sighed. “But it really was old and outdated. It had hardly any light.”
“Is it done yet?”
“The office? I don’t know. Why?”
“You should use that as an excuse.”
“To what? See her?”
“Why not? Besides, you’re not happy with Markus anyway. I can tell. He keeps getting in your way, doesn’t he?”
“He worked with Dad for a million years, and Steven still does. I think they’re talking more to Dad than to me. It’s like he’s just relaying Dad’s messages to me or something.”
