When the auction ended, Jasper hastily signed some paperwork and arranged for their winnings to be delivered to Darnley Place later that day. While he was doing that, several people walked up to Mel and introduced themselves. They all seemed to know who she was—and they all seemed to want something.
One guy said he ran a fashion line and asked if she was interested in modeling. Before she could even answer, he gave her his card, saying, “One of the LePointe girls models for us, you know, and a couple of the Fontaines. But we’d love to have someone from the actual royal family in our ranks.”
One lady in charge of some charity foundation wondered if she would like to make a donation. Mel stammered out something polite about having to check with her dad first.
And then there was the guy who owned a newspaper. “I would be very interested in interviewing you for the Alaborn Star, Miss Novak. Just an informal conversation. A newcomer’s perspective on the inner workings of the royal family. I’d also be interested in taking a look at those letters you’ve just bought, if you’d be willing to arrange that . . .”
At this point, Jasper was finally done with the paperwork. “If you’re looking for your next front-page story, I suggest you look elsewhere,” he said to the newspaper owner with surprising firmness. Then he turned to Mel.
“Let’s get out of here . . .”
But then Sir Reginald’s voice boomed out behind them. “Jasper! May I have a word?”
Jasper and Mel both turned to see Sir Reginald glowering at them.
“Yes, Dad?” Jasper said, his voice cracking with nervousness. The confidence he’d shown when he brushed off the newspaper owner vanished instantly.
“I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to you, Jasper, that your grandmother sent me here specifically to buy those letters. I’d appreciate it if you would turn them over to me now.”
“Uh, sorry, did I miss something?” said Mel. “Last time I checked, I bought the letters.”
Sir Reginald ignored her. “They belong in our family vault, Jasper. They’re your grandfather’s private correspondence. Your mother would be mortified if her father’s personal life was splashed all over the tabloids.”
“Who said anything about tabloids?” Mel blurted out. “These people have been dead for ages, haven’t they? Why would gossip columnists care about their letters?”
Sir Reginald gave her a stony look. “Young lady, clearly you don’t understand the stature of the royal family. My wife’s father was not merely the Duke of Rotherham. He was a prince—the son of a king, and the brother of a queen. His life may be over, but it will always matter to the citizens of this country.”
Mel fought the urge to roll her eyes.
Sir Reginald turned back to Jasper. “It is crucial that those letters be kept out of public view, Jasper. To preserve your grandfather’s reputation and your mother’s peace of mind.”
“But—” Mel started to protest.
Sir Reginald cut her off. “This is absolutely none of your business, young lady. It is no one’s business.”
“Except yours and your wife’s? I’m not following your logic here.”
“Erm . . .” said Jasper.
“I’m not gonna sell these letters to a tabloid, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Mel went on. “I’m not gonna post excerpts on my social media. I just bought them because I’d like to have them—the same way Jasper bought that painting.”
Sir Reginald aimed a shocked look at Jasper. “She calls you Jasper?”
Was there anything that didn’t scandalize this guy? “You’re gonna have to excuse us,” Mel said. “We’re meeting my stepmother and sisters for lunch, and we don’t want to be late.”
***
Jasper didn’t say anything else until they’d left Swithby’s and gotten into the car. Then he burst out, “What were you thinking? That was incredibly embarrassing for me.”
“Embarrassing for you?” Mel echoed in disbelief. “You let your dad walk all over me.”
“It looked to me as if you were walking all over him.”
“Well, that makes me feel better.”
“It was highly inappropriate!”
“What, so you think I should’ve given him the letters?”
“That’s not what I said.” He looked away from her, glancing out the window at the street rolling by.
“Look, I’m sorry I bid more than I was supposed to,” said Mel. “But I don’t get why these letters are such a huge scandal. I mean, so your grandfather had a girlfriend before he got married. And then he stayed in touch with her after he was married. That’s kinda shady and not really fair to his wife, I guess, but it’s not like he was a serial killer or something.”
Jasper shook his head in exasperation. “It’s the fact that the woman he was involved with was Beatrice Allard, a well-known anti-monarchist journalist.”
“Is that supposed to clear things up for me?” asked Mel.
Jasper blinked at her a few times. “You do know that until fairly recently, Evonia was an absolute monarchy, with the ruler making all the governing decisions for the nation?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Well, Allard was one of the people who spoke out against that, especially in the articles she wrote. She believed the government should transition into a constitutional monarchy.”
“Meaning—”
“Meaning that instead of the king or queen making the laws, the government would be run by elected officials. She played a huge role in turning public opinion against the royal family and building support for a more democratic system.”
“Okay.” Mel shrugged. “Good for her.”
Jasper plowed on without seeming to hear her. “And my grandfather, Max, actually agreed with her. The country’s first parliament was formed after my grandfather convinced his father to give up his real powers as king. Since then, Evonia’s monarch has been just a figurehead. All the real power rests with parliament.”
Mel studied Jasper’s face closely. “So you think that Max got on board with the constitutional monarchy thing because he was involved with Beatrice Allard, and she talked him into knocking his own family out of power?”
“Essentially,” said Jasper, looking pleased in spite of himself that she’d been following along so well. “Between you and me, I think my mother is still personally offended that her father embraced such progressive democratic ideals.”
“Why? It’s not like she’s that high in the line of succession, right? She never would’ve had a shot at becoming queen or anything.”
“Of course not. We’re miles away from inheriting the crown.”
“Then why should it matter to her that the queen doesn’t have any real power?”
Jasper sighed and shrugged. “She likes knowing she belongs at the top of an ancient social order. She’d prefer for the nation to be controlled by her relatives, not by strangers she’s never heard of who chose to put their names on a ballot.”
“So you’re saying she’s a control freak.”
“That’s a crude way of putting it.”
“But accurate?”
“Fairly.” Jasper let out a resigned sigh.
Mel desperately wanted to ask if this was why Lady Cecily had made Jasper break up with Mel’s mom. But she was afraid that would make Jasper uncomfortable again, right when he finally seemed to be opening up to her. The last thing she wanted was to ruin this moment—it may be the weirdest case of family bonding ever, but she would take what she could get.
***
They actually did meet Ro and the Js for lunch. Bellamy’s again. Mel was starting to wonder if this family had heard of any other restaurants.
“How was the auction?” Ro asked as Mel and Jasper joined her and the girls at the same table they’d sat at yesterday.
“We ran into Sir Reginald,” Mel said, “and I bought some old letters that my great-grandfather wrote to a lady he didn’t marry, and Sir Reginald had a tantrum about it.”
Ro’s hand flew to her mouth. “Heavens, the Allard letters?”
“Yep,” said Mel.
Ro looked from Mel to Jasper and back to Mel. Then she burst out laughing.
“It wasn’t amusing,” muttered Jasper, still looking mortified.
“It kinda was,” said Mel, shrugging.
“Well, congratulations, Mel,” said Ro. “If you’d like to get a better look at the letters, I can get you some gloves and the right kind of lighting . . .”
“I—sorry—gloves?” Mel said in confusion.
“You’ll want to avoid damaging them.”
Mel flushed. “I’ll be careful with them.”
“Oh, of course you will!” Ro said hastily. “It’s just that with any older document that has historic significance, it’s important to do everything possible to preserve it. You don’t want the natural oils from your hands seeping into the paper, or . . .”
“Ohhh,” said Mel, relieved that Ro hadn’t thought she was going to fold the letters into paper airplanes or something.
“I used to work in the archives at the National Museum,” Ro added. “So this is the sort of thing I’m trained to do.”
“Well then, sure, I’d love your help,” said Mel, even though she couldn’t quite believe she’d just agreed to spend even more time with her stepmother.
“How was the riding lesson, girls?” Jasper asked the Js. And just like that, the focus shifted away from Mel. As she watched him listen to his other daughters summarize their interactions with horses named Prudence and Delilah, Mel couldn’t help feeling jealous and a little confused. Jasper clearly knew how to act like a normal dad—asking questions, listening, even laughing when his kids said something clever or funny. Why didn’t he act like that with her? Why had they only talked about elderberry jam and the reputations of dead people?
After a while Jasper’s phone started buzzing. “Sorry, I’d better take this,” he muttered. “It’s the queen’s social secretary—probably calling about Mother’s birthday gift.”
As soon as he stepped away from the table, Joss looked at Mel. What insult is she about to drop on me now? Mel wondered.
“So when you say Grandfather had a tantrum,” Joss asked, “did his face get splotchy, or did he just give you the death glare?”
Feeling a mixture of shock and amusement, Mel replied, “Just the death glare. What does it take to make him splotchy-faced?”
“Joss,” said Ro sternly, “there’s no need to speak ill of your grandfather.”
“He got splotchy-faced when Dad told him about you,” Jess piped up, speaking to Mel. “He told Dad that since you were illegitimate you wouldn’t ever be able to inherit his title and that you and your mum were probably just trying to get your hands on the family money. Even though we don’t actually have that much money anymore.”
Joss opened her mouth to add something—probably her best guess at how much money was in her father’s bank account, knowing this kid. But Ro cut her off. “That’s enough, both of you. It’s very rude of you to say that sort of thing in front of Mel.”
“It was Grandfather who said it,” Jess protested. “We just repeated it.”
Mel jumped in. “Actually, I don’t mind—I appreciate that they’re being so honest with me.” She glanced at Ro. “And for the record, I’m not after anybody’s money, and neither is my mom.”
“We guessed that,” said Joss. “Because if you were, you’d probably be a lot more careful around Grandfather.”
It occurred to Mel that her half sisters weren’t trying to give her a hard time. They actually looked impressed with her. Speaking their minds might even be their way of showing they liked her. She would have to get used to that.