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Other than an internal celebratory fist pump, Dani didn’t respond. What could she say?
Me neither?
Marina pressed a button and a second later, a footman entered.
Dani almost groaned. Not another periodical-filled silver tray!
“We’re on the front page of every newspaper and tabloid that matters, but the headlines are all negative,” she spat. “We’re in the same position you were supposed to help us out of. I hope this isn’t an indication of how you run that business you’re so fond of?”
Dani resented the slight but clenched her jaw to keep a harsh retort back and said, “I know and I’m sorry.”
“Your apology is pointless. I want to know what happened.”
Now the queen of England was to be added to the list of people she had to answer to?
She knew what shewantedto say, but it wouldn’t do her any good to antagonize the queen before the state dinner. Afterward would be an entirely different story.
Dani swallowed. “With the event at the hospital, I was alerted at the last minute, and I didn’t read the dossier. Totally my fault. At the regatta, all I did was enjoy some music. I still don’t understand the problem there.”
“None of you ever do.” The queen pursed her lips. “What do you think happened to the other royal families? Why have we prospered while other great dynasties have fallen?”
Dani shrugged. In all her twenty-eight years, she’d never given any thought to royal dynasties until this moment.
“Humility.” Marina answered her own query. “We are here by the grace of the people. They have told us what they want from us,and we must listen. The monarchy depends on the support, acceptance, and, ultimately, the love of the working class.”
Again, Dani didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t a royal and this didn’t apply to her. Should she add it to her small talk arsenal?
“They don’t want us to be like them. They want us to be idealized versions of them. Talking politics, losing our temper, expressing ourselves through our dress, boogeying with a band—those are things regular people can do that members of this family cannot.”
“Why would anyone want to live that way?”
“That’s why ‘anyone’ doesn’t. This life requires duty and sacrifice, notions we instill into our children from birth. It’s only the unmitigated gall of people like you and this Samantha Banks who think they have what it takes when they weren’t born into it.”
If Dani had wanted to spend the afternoon being insulted by someone British, she’d have turned on BBC One or gotten her own stack of newspapers.
“Was there anything else?” she asked, feigning nonchalance while inside she seethed.
Marina’s nostrils flared but instead of the hostile response Dani expected, she sighed. “Your attendance won’t be required at the state dinner tomorrow.”
Dani froze, stunned by the queen’s declaration. “What?”
“You’re no longer of use to me.”
No!
Panic tightened her chest and she struggled to draw in a breath. “Your Majesty, please, I’m happy to participate.”
For the first time, the queen’s haughty demeanor faltered. Divots appeared between her brows. “I don’t understand. Jameson will be mollified. He never wanted you involved.”
“This isn’t about Jameson. It’s about me, and what I need.”
Interest sparked in her blue eyes. “And that is?”
Dani glanced around uneasily, reluctant to give this woman more ammunition against her. But what choice did she have? The state dinner wasn’t like a gala or a museum opening, where she could persuade Jameson to take her as a guest. If the queen didn’t want her to be there, she wouldn’t be allowed to attend.
And her last chance to save the deal with Genesis would be gone.
“The state dinner. I need to attend and be a part of it or I’ll lose a very important contract for my business.”
