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The king guffaws. “I think you underestimate the fickleness of our audience. And of our son. He’s not serious about the American. He couldn’t possibly be. Did you hear the way she addressed us as ‘y’all’? Dreadful.”
“She is trying,” my mother comes back with.
I’ve heard enough. “Fickle? Is that what you call anyone who strays from your perfectly orchestrated plans?”
Everyone in the party whirls around to face me. The color drains from the queen’s face. “Oh, dear. Torben. I meant to have the chance to explain things to you before you heard the wrong information.”
“What wrong information? The fact that you won’t be making my engagement announcement tomorrow, despite me jumping through every hoop? After doing everything the crown has ever asked me to do?”
My father shrugs. “Yes, that’s about the long and short of it.”
“Father, you were the one who insisted I move back into the palace to carry out your silly plan from the beginning. Why are you backtracking now?”
“I presume you’ve spent enough time with the silly American to know precisely why she does not suit you.”
I think I know what he’s getting at. But I want him to say it.
“Hailey is the best person I’ve ever met. She loves her family, and she’s already taking pains to learn everything about my family, though I’m starting to wonder why.”
“Dollar signs,” my father spits out, taking a step forward. “That’s why she’s so enamored with you and with all of us. It’s as simple as that.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Tell me where she’s from again? From a trailer park, yes?”
“It’s called a double-wide manufactured home. Not that it matters.”
“And she attended school where?”
“Beckley High School, Class of 2012.”
“Her degrees are in what? How many languages does she speak?”
“She can crochet, fish, hunt, garden, care for animals, and catch crawfish with her bare hands.”
My mother lights up. “She sounds perfect for your brother, Sig. Now, if they get married, she’s more than welcome to live in the palace, and there’s no worry that they’ll rise to the thrones, especially once you and Kala—“
I have never once shouted at my mother. For all her obliviousness, she means well. And she’s raised me with patience, which is far from what my father ever contributed to my upbringing.
And yet, I lose my ever-loving mind, as Hailey would say. “You are both unbelievable snobs! And completely delusional if you think I’m ever going to marry someone you chose.” I thrust my pointer finger at my father because he’s the manipulator behind all this.
The brewer has backed away to tend to his fermentation tanks. Wise man. Father takes a step toward me and points to the sky. “Aha! There it is. Someone I chose. That’s why you can’t stand the idea of courting a perfectly suitable, beautiful, educated, well-spoken woman who understands the demands of her role. Someone who doesn’t require a minute of training. Someone who doesn’t mistake the house staff for royalty.”
“Yes, Father. I didn’t want to choose someone already chosen for me. I didn’t want to go on chaperoned dates. I didn’t want every pair of eyes watching me my whole life to be looking over my shoulder when I chose my bride, too. As for being suitable, there’s no one else more suitable for me. She’s not perfect, and I wouldn’t want her to be. Because neither am I.”
While my mother wrings her hands, my father blusters, “The announcement is tomorrow. I want you to take a day to think. Really think hard about what you are doing. Think about how hard you’ve worked to prepare yourself for a greater role in the family. Think about what you lose if you go through with it.”
“What do I have to lose, Father?”
“Every decision you make has repercussions. Your disappearance alone has had me rethinking whether you’re ready to step into my shoes in Parliament.”
I am frozen to the spot. It’s a low blow.
“Think carefully, son.”
Oh, I’ll think about it.
But I won’t spend a second questioning whether I should marry her.
