Wednesday morning, I get dressed for school, wishing I had something other than jeans and T-shirts to wear. Everyone knows I’m a princess now, and I’d like to look like one. Of course, my grandmother would tell me that it’s not the clothes we wear that make us who we are, but how we act. Finally, I can act like a princess again. I’m actually looking forward to going to school.
When I get down to breakfast, there are boxes of cereal on the table, and Georgie and Mam are deep in conversation with Henri. They all look up when I enter, and I know they were talking about me, though I can’t imagine what the issue is. I’m up and dressed and ready for school, and I’m not giving anyone any attitude.
I pick up a box of cereal and prepare to pour some into a bowl.
“You are not going to school today,” Henri says.
I put the box down, bowl still empty, and look at the three of them. Mam, as is often the case these days, looks slightly shell-shocked. Henri looks grim and determined, but it’s Georgie’s face that worries me. She is pale, and there is a hint of fear in her eyes that I don’t like at all.
“Why? What happened?” I ask. “Is it because the reporters know where we are?”
“It’s because we’ve had death threats against Georgiana,” Henri says.
Mam gets up and walks out of the kitchen without a word.
“Death threats?” I’m glad I didn’t pour the cereal. I’m not hungry any more.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Georgie says, false bravado in her voice. “I mean, just someone trying to scare me.”
“Is it working?” I ask.
“Of course not,” Georgie says and forces a laugh so I’ll believe her. I don’t.
“Well, it scares me,” I say.
“It scares me as well,” Henri says. “I cannot protect the three of you if you are not all in the same place. I must insist you stay home today. Besides, there are still news vans outside hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal family. It is better if we do not give them more to talk about.”
“Oh.” I don’t argue with him. There are plenty of things to fight about, and being allowed to go to a school I don’t like that much isn’t really one of them. “What kind of threats?” I ask.
“The kind is not important,” Henri says.
We’ve had death threats against us before. Usually, what happens is that we are kept under tight security at the palace for about a week or so until the threat has been neutralized. That’s how they always word it. “The threat has been neutralized.” I’m not stupid, though. I know it means that a team of investigators and police and whoever else Pap has at his disposal, which is pretty much everyone in the kingdom, has done mountains of work to find and arrest the person who made the threat. All we have is Henri. What can he do except not let us go out? That won’t neutralize anything. We’ll be prisoners here as effectively as if someone else had actually taken us prisoner.
“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” Georgie says. “Just someone who wants to feel important by making threats. A big bully. That is all.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with the coup?” I ask, skeptical.
“Impossible to say,” Henri says. He gets up and pours himself more coffee. “But I will keep you safe. I assure you.”
“So, what are we going to do all day?” I ask. “Just hide out in here?”
It turns out that’s exactly what we end up doing. The townhouse is small; there’s no getting away from everyone. By lunchtime, the last of the news vans have given up, and I’ve watched all the cat videos I can stand. I want to be back at the palace. I want to be in the palace gardens, where there are acres to roam without any danger at all. There is a swing in a huge maple tree, and I could swing and marvel at the changing colors of the leaves. That’s where I want to be right now.
I’m so bored I wish I had fought to be allowed to go to school.
As a special lunch treat, Henri makes meat and cheese rolls like we eat at home, but the cheese doesn’t taste right, and it only makes me wish even harder that I was back in Colsteinburg and everything was as it should be.
“What do you think is going on at home?” I ask. “Do you think Pap is okay?”
Mam gets up from the table and walks to the window, not even glancing my way. Georgie takes a deep breath but doesn’t really follow it up with anything. I look at Henri, and he hesitates before meeting my eye.
“It’s very hard to know.”
“But if something really bad happened, we would know, right? I mean, no news is good news and all that.” No one answers me. I push my plate away, no longer the least bit hungry. I need to find out what’s going on at home.
I run upstairs. If something really bad had happened, of course we would know about it. If he were dead or had abdicated, it would be all over the news. If we haven’t heard anything, it’s because he’s still plotting his strategy; that has to be the answer. But just to be sure, I pull out my tablet and search for him. Maybe there is an answer out there if we look hard enough.
What I find are lots of people with opinions. Some people still back the monarchy, but they are drowned out by the opposition. More than once, I see Pap referred to as a playboy, a dilettante, or a pretty boy, but that doesn’t make sense. Pap is a dedicated family man and so in love with Mam that the thought of him having an affair is absolutely laughable.
Georgie walks into the bedroom we share.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“What’s a dilettante?” I ask her, ignoring her question. I’m not okay, and we both know it.
She sits on the bed next to me. “An amateur, I think.”
“Why would people call Pap an amateur? Because he hasn’t been king long?”
“Because people think he’s just playing at it, that he doesn’t really want to be king.”
“Of course he wants to be king,” I say.
Georgie doesn’t answer right away.
“He does want to be king, right?” I persist.
“I think he wasn’t quite ready for Grandpa to die so soon. He thought he’d have more time before he had all the responsibility.”
If that’s all it was, we all thought that. Who thought after King Franz lived into his nineties that King George would die when he was only in his sixties? No one was ready for Pap to have to take over, but that is no reason for a coup. That’s simply a reason to give him a chance.
“And why would they call him a playboy?” I ask. “Do they think he would cheat on Mam? Because he wouldn’t, and you better not tell me he would.”
“Of course he wouldn’t,” Georgie says. “I think they mean he likes to party and have fun. They’re trying to make Orcutt seem like the serious one and Pap seem unfit.”
“But they’re lying,” I say. “We can’t let them get away with lying like that.”
“You don’t understand,” Georgie says.
I jump up from the bed. “I’m tired of people telling me I don’t understand. If people would take the time to explain it to me, I would. I’m not an idiot, you know.” I take a deep breath. “I’m going out.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Georgie asks in a way that sounds very much like Mademoiselle Colette or the headmistress at school.
“Out.” I repeat. “I can’t stand being cooped up any longer.”
“You can’t,” Georgie says. “Henri wants us to stay in.”
“I don’t care,” I say. “I need to get out.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“I’ll be gone ten minutes tops. I just need to get out of the house.” I don’t give her a chance to respond. I rush down the stairs and step outside. I feel like I’m making a daring escape from prison or something, but all I’m doing is going for a walk.
I probably have three minutes before Henri comes after me. I don’t care. It’s freedom.
I walk fast, not caring where I’m going, just trying to give myself more of a head start over Henri.
Pap a dilettante? An amateur? A playboy? That is not who Pap is, not even a little. Why can’t people see Pap the way I see him? Maybe they can! All I need to do is film more videos and tell them.
I’ve walked to the school, which wasn’t my plan, but it isn’t really surprising considering it’s the only place in town I’ve been so far. I check my watch. Classes will get out soon. It’s quiet and peaceful here, but that will change in a few minutes. I sit on the brick steps, warm from the afternoon sun, to film my video.
“Hallo, Prinzessin Fredericka here. When King George died, my father, even in his sorrow, was thinking of Colsteinburg. ‘May God grant me the wisdom and strength to rule as wisely as those who came before me.’ That’s what he said. He loves Colsteinburg. We all do. Prost!”
I upload the video. I’ll have to make more. I can share favorite memories of Pap, let people see what he’s like as a father. I’m sure I can convince them to all love him as much as I do, if they’ll only listen. Right now, I’d better move on. I don’t want to find myself in the middle of a crowd when the school bell rings. I may have escaped from Henri temporarily, but then again, that means I don’t have any security, and even though the death threat was against Georgie, that doesn’t mean I’m in the clear. I know better than to take unnecessary risks.
When I stand, I find myself face to face with a stranger. He is medium height and weight, wearing jeans and a green polo shirt. His goatee is the only thing that might set him apart from anyone else. I let out a startled squeak and take a step backwards as my heart beats double-time.
I never should have left the safety of the townhouse. Now I’m going to be murdered here on the school steps, and Georgie will never forgive me.