Chapter Six

The Press Turns Feral

THE DUNWIDDIE HERALD

ROWDY ROSAMUND GETS A RUDE AWAKENING

Princess Rosamund, now the crown prin-cess, hasn’t left the palace since she returned after her brother’s abdi-cation. Is she busy begging her brother to return so she doesn’t have to take on any true responsibility? Or is she afraid the people will call her out for the second-best option she really is?

Lorena winced as she skimmed the vicious article on her phone the next morning. The press had turned on Rosamund overnight. Will finding her a partner really help the people see her as trustworthy? Lorena slipped her phone into the pocket of her ballerina-pink dress. Regardless, I’ll do my best to make it happen. She deserves a chance.

Lorena stepped into her kitten heels, picked up the Rosamund binder, and made her way through the labyrinthine palace until she found Graeme. “Good morning. Would you know where I can find Princess Rosamund? I’m supposed to tag along with her today.”

He nodded. “Follow me.” He led her to the formal dining room and knocked on the closed door.

From inside came Queen Catriona’s imperious voice: “Enter.”

Graeme opened the door, and Lorena walked in, gripping her binder for comfort. The queen sat with regal posture at the head of the long table; Rosamund slouched in the first chair to her left.

The princess glanced over her shoulder to see who’d interrupted breakfast—and her brown eyes widened. She straightened. “Lorena!”

Lorena curtsied. “Good morning, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness.”

Beside her, Graeme bowed.

Catriona’s gaze lingered on him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He indicated Lorena. “She asked for the princess. I’m merely a guide.”

Rosamund beamed. “You asked for me?”

Lorena adjusted her grip on the binder. “Well, I’m supposed to follow you on your royal duties today. But I also had a question, if I could speak with you in private?”

“Anything you have to say—” Catriona started.

Rosamund shoved her chair back and stood. “Sure. Over here.” She touched Lorena’s elbow and guided her to the far corner of the dining room, out of earshot of her mother and Graeme. The skin-on-skin contact felt like shouting, felt too good to allow, and Lorena pulled away. “What’s up? Do I finally get to peek inside a binder?”

Despite herself, Lorena cracked a smile. “Not today. Still proprietary. Actually, I wanted to ask about your position on a vegan partner. I’d like to avoid another abdication over a minor issue that can be avoided in the first place.”

Rosamund grimaced. “Aye, let’s avoid that. I’m fine with dating a vegan. Make sure they’re okay with dating a nonvegan. I love a good steak.”

Lorena opened the binder and penned it in. “Duly noted. I’ll confirm with her.”

Rosamund drew nearer, not quite touching. Lorena ached to close the distance. “Anything else I can help you with? And I do mean anything. Breakfast is downright painful without my brother here to mediate between me and my mum.”

Letting out a rough breath, Lorena hugged her binder to her chest. “That’s tough. You have my sympathy. If you need an out…” She hesitated. “I could always use an extra set of eyes on my Date Plans binder.”

Rosamund’s brow furrowed. “I thought you said I’m not allowed to see those.”

Lorena gave her a meaningful look.

The light came on. “Oh!”

So cute. Lorena tried to suppress the smile tugging at her lips. She did not need the princess to know she found her adorable.

Rosamund trotted back to her mother. Lorena followed. “Mum, Lorena wants me to help her with some things.”

“In the middle of breakfast?” Catriona frowned.

“Aye.” Rosamund held up her hands. “It’s important detail work.”

Catriona looked over her daughter disdainfully. “Details aren’t your strong suit.”

Lorena sucked in a breath, her chest squeezing. Was this how Rosamund’s own mother treated her?

Rosamund scowled. “I’ll see you later for that hospital dedication.” She made a break for it.

Catriona grabbed her wrist, holding her in place. She lowered her voice, but Lorena still heard her. “If you allow yourself to become distracted by yet another pretty face—”

Rosamund tugged, but her mother held tight. “That’s not what’s happening,” she gritted out.

“Eyes on the prize. You need a partner who’ll build up your reputation. No fooling around with one of the few people who can make that happen for you.”

“I won’t.”

A long, deep stare. “Good.” This time, Catriona released her.

Rosamund rubbed her wrist. “Fine.” She turned to Lorena and mustered up a smile. “Lead the way. But I do have a public announcement here at eight and a dedication at ten. We leave at nine.”

“Not a problem.” Lorena wanted to help the princess forget her mother’s cold words, not that it was any of her business. “‘We’ still includes me, right? It’ll be good for me to see firsthand what you’re doing, what your life is like.”

Rosamund’s smile brightened. “Aye, that’s still the plan. I look forward to having you.”

Lorena and Rosamund exited the dining room and made their way to Lorena’s suite, which was perfectly organized and neat. The bed was made, all clothes put away, beauty supplies tucked into the appropriate drawers. Even the litter box was freshly cleaned and the cat toys piled in their woven basket. The only sign of life was the binders sitting in a perfect line on the corner table, each labeled along the spine.

Rosamund swiveled, baffled. “Do you actually live here? It’s…pristine.”

“Thank you.” Orderliness had been Lorena’s lifeline during the divorce, her only handhold to sanity, to normalcy.

Amado meowed from his seat on the chaise longue, his tail flicking in the air.

“‘I’m the most important thing in here. Give me pets.’” Lorena rubbed him from the head down the back.

Rosamund took a step away from the cat. “Will he bite me?”

What? Lorena wrinkled her nose. “No, he just wants attention. And treats.”

He yowled again at Rosamund.

She looked nervously to Lorena, who pulled the bag of cat treats out of a drawer. “Here. Give him a few of these, and you’ll be his new best friend.”

Rosamund hesitantly took the bag and tossed a handful of treats onto the chaise. Amado gobbled them up, purring. This sound did not reassure her. “Is he growling? What is that?”

Lorena laughed. “He’s purring. He’s happy. Haven’t you ever been around a cat before?”

“No.” The princess crossed her arms defensively. “It’s not my fault. We’re a dog family.”

Lorena eased her tone, held up her hands. “Hey, it’s fine. Dogs are cool.” She didn’t want the princess to take offense.

“Iver is the best.” Rosamund leaned against the doorway to the bedroom. “Have you met him yet? I don’t remember.”

“Yes, he was with you during your intake interview. Very cute.” The little cairn terrier had been almost as incessant as Rosamund herself, but he was cute, Lorena had to admit. “Anyway, I don’t really need you to do anything. You can sit down, relax.”

Rosamund strolled over to the sofa and lounged on it. She crooked a finger for Lorena to join her. Awareness prickled over Lorena’s skin. None of her other clients had ever affected her this way. She eased onto the armchair instead of the sofa, and disappointment flickered in Rosamund’s pretty brown eyes.

“So what’s on the agenda for today?” Lorena asked from a safe distance.

Rosamund ticked off her appointments on her manicured fingers. “Hospital dedication, welcoming some visiting German dignitaries, and a public announcement about how I’m honored to be the crown princess, Ìovoria is my number one priority, so on, so forth. That one’s first, actually.” She grimaced. “The press is going to eat me alive.”

Second-best option. Lorena’s heart ached. She flexed her hand against the impulse to twine her fingers through Rosamund’s to reassure her. “Maybe it won’t be as bad as you think.”

Rosamund arched an eyebrow. “I’ve read what the papers are saying about me. The names they’re calling me. I have no reason to think they’ll be any kinder to my face.”

Lorena sank back into her chair, biting the inside of her cheek. She wanted to help, to fix the problem, but what could she do? Just her job. “Well, I’ll be there with you for all of it. If that’s any consolation.” Not that they knew each other very well yet, but she was an ally, if one of little consequence.

They walked together to the front step of the palace, where the press had gathered to hear Rosamund’s introductory speech. When the reporters saw the princess and started to clamor, Lorena pulled her aside. “You’ve got this,” she whispered.

Rosamund managed a thin smile. “Thanks.”

“I’m right here. Don’t forget.”

She nodded, then stepped up to the microphone, her hands trembling as she smoothed the front of her dress. Off to the side, Lorena hugged herself and sent up a silent prayer Rosamund could get through this in peace.

Rosamund cleared her throat. “Beloved people of Ìovoria…”

Someone snickered.

She swallowed hard. “Thank you for, erm, having me here today—”

“Show us your tits!” a man shouted from the street.

Lorena glowered at him.

Rosamund hardened, her trembling disappearing into tenseness. She started again, and this time, her glare dared anyone to interrupt her. “I’d thank you all for your kind words of welcome, but I haven’t heard any yet. Despite that, I’m honored to be the crown princess of this beautiful country. I know this change in the line of succession was unexpected—for all of you and for me—but I want you to know I take this position seriously. That’s the first thing I want to say as crown princess. Ìovoria is my number one priority.” She tossed her head. “I’ll take questions now, but the first disrespectful thing someone asks me, I will leave this podium, and I won’t return.”

The press hesitated, whispered amongst themselves, before a young woman in the middle of the crowd tentatively raised her hand. “Your Royal Highness—”

Please don’t let her fuck this up for Rosamund.

“—how did it feel when you first learned of your new position?”

A real question?

Astonishment flashed across Rosamund’s face before she composed herself. “I was surprised. Nervous. It’s a big deal. I want to do a good job.”

Murmurs of assent rippled through the crowd.

Rosamund glanced at Lorena, as if for affirmation. Lorena smiled and shot her a surreptitious thumbs-up.

The princess’s lips curved, and she returned her attention to the press. “Anyone else?”

“Do you feel prepared for this position?” another member of the press asked.

Rosamund hesitated, then declared, “Yes. I received the same training as my brother.” But she’d hesitated, and they smelled blood. They shouted new questions, harsher ones, all speaking over each other.

“Are you afraid you might drag this country into the ground?”

“Did you beg your brother not to abdicate?”

“Have you considered stepping down yourself so someone qualified can rule?”

Rosamund stepped away from the microphone. “Aaaand there it is,” she muttered. She motioned for Lorena to join her, and together, they walked inside the palace without looking back once.

“You did great,” Lorena offered once they were down the hall. “I know it’s all a lot, but you made it through your first press announcement.”

The princess scoffed. “Did you hear them? They think I’m a joke. I’m going to drag the country into the ground.”

“And you’re going to show them they’re wrong.”

Not meeting Lorena’s gaze, Rosamund twisted her fingers.

“You are. Say it.”

“I’m going to show them they’re wrong.” It was quiet and halfhearted, but she said it.

“There you go.” Lorena smiled encouragingly at her. “Now, next, you have a hospital dedication, right? Would it help if we practiced your speech for that?”

“Maybe.” Rosamund dug her hospital speech outline out of her pocket.

Lorena coached her through a few repetitions, clapping at the end of each one. Together, they worked it into something the princess was happy with, and though the crowd was full of titters and whispers, the speech went off without a hitch.

“Thanks,” Rosamund whispered to Lorena on their way out.

Lorena felt the odd urge to take Rosamund’s hand.

What the hell?