“Your Majesty,” Creed says, bowing. I mirror his greeting and movement.
“Heading somewhere?” she asks, holding her head high, her shoulders squared, posture exuding the same distinction and poise one would associate with her title.
“I…,” I stammer, unsure what to tell her.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re not planning on attending the dinner tonight?”
I look at her with an unwavering gaze. “It was just brought to my attention that I have somewhere far more important to be right now.”
She pinches her lips, her dark, analytical gaze tracing over me. I expect her to argue that there’s no place more important than being here and serving the Crown.
“It’s about time you pulled that enormous head out of your arse.”
Creed laughs, but quickly covers it with a cough.
I’m stunned. This is a woman who’s always followed every etiquette rule and royal protocol to the T, never straying for so much as a second.
“You are planning on going to America to patch things up with Nora. Yes?” she says when I don’t immediately respond.
“Well… Yes.”
“Then what are you doing still standing here?”
“You want me to go?”
She huffs. “Of course I do.”
“But you don’t even like her.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh, I like her fine. Truth be told, I didn’t at first. It’s always been unheard of for someone in your position to marry an outsider. And for love, no less. But I must admit, the girl certainly grew on me, especially when I tried to pay her off to walk away and she told me to shove it.”
“You did what?” I blink repeatedly, not sure what surprises me more. That Nora told my grandmother to shove it, or that my grandmother attempted to bribe her to get her to leave. Actually, now that I think about it, neither should shock me.
“It was simply a test. I needed to make sure she wanted this. That she wasn’t just after you for your title. When she told me to shove it, and up my ass, no less,” she says, emphasizing the word in an American accent, “I knew she had the backbone required to survive in this life. Not to mention quite a sense of humor.”
“Sense of humor?”
The ghost of a smile plays on her thin lips. “No one has ever spoken to me in such a disrespectful way as your fiancée has. Not only did she tell me to shove it, she also stormed off, but not before stopping to curtsey.”
I bark out a laugh, able to picture Nora doing that with striking clarity. It’s one of the things that drew me to her from the beginning — her somewhat twisted and irreverent way of doing things to make a point.
“But last week, you encouraged her to leave,” I argue, confused. “Made her think there was no other option. Why are you changing your mind now?” I wave my hand toward the large windows to my right. “Is it because the so-called circus has finally moved on?”
She pulls her brows together in contemplation, then says, “Walk with me for a minute, Gabriel.”
When she offers me her elbow, I loop my arm through it. Creed nods, retreating to my old room to give us privacy. We walk together in silence for several minutes, the only sound that of her evening dress rustling with her steps.
“Watching your grandfather in his role as crown prince, then king, I’ve learned quite a bit. One of the things that stuck out in my mind is that part of being an effective ruler is knowing when you’re wrong and being able to admit your mistakes. When that interview aired and I heard that woman talk about Nora, I knew she was full of shite, pardon my language.”
“Trust me. I understand how difficult controlling your language can be when talking about her mother.”
She smiles, then faces forward once more. “The problem with being groomed almost from birth to hopefully marry someone of royal blood is that we’re not trained to think for ourselves. Once you enter this life, we’re told what to do. If someone were to ask why these rules are in place, they’d say—”
“That’s how it’s always been.”
“Precisely.”
We walk in silence, heading in the opposite direction than we need to be. Or at least my grandmother needs to be. For the first time in a long time, I know where my place is. And it’s not here.
“These past few days, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the game of chess I played with Nora. She’s quite a good player. For an amateur, of course.”
“Of course.”
“As you know, I’ve always loved chess. When I was a little girl, I would watch my brothers and father play. I’d asked to learn several times, but my father refused to teach me. Refused to allow me anywhere near the board. Told me it wasn’t something for girls, especially girls of noble background. I was supposed to study piano, practice my needlework, learn different languages. Things like that to make myself more ‘marketable’ to a husband.”
“It’s so antiquated, like something you’d hear about in the 1800s, not the twentieth century,” I remark, glancing at the centuries-old portraits of the royal family eavesdropping on our conversation.
“This was the 40s and 50s, so gender stereotypes were still happily embraced, particularly in upper-class society. When I asked why, I’m sure you can guess the response I was given.”
“Because that’s the way it’s always been,” I say in an even voice with a hint of annoyance.
“Precisely. But that didn’t stop me from learning about the game in other ways. After everyone went to bed at night, I snuck into my father’s study and read the books he had on chess. Learned about strategy. About different techniques. But since my father didn’t want me to play, I was never able to practice.” She stops walking and faces me. “When I married your grandfather and he shared his enthusiasm for chess with me, I was finally able to put everything I’d read into practice. But do you know what I learned?”
“What’s that?”
“That you can study theory, can study past games, can study openings, mid-games, and end games until your eyes bleed, but there’s always a move you don’t foresee. Some things you can’t prepare for. So yes, when that interview broke and I foresaw the potential ramifications to not only you, but also the monarchy if you were to come forward with the truth of that accident, I did what all the books tell you to do. Protect your king at all costs. I failed to take into account what many chess masters say is infinitely more important than knowing the mechanics of chess, what makes the greats who they are.”
“And what’s that?”
She places her hand on my cheek. “Intuition, my dear boy. Some of the greatest chess matches of all time would have turned out differently if the players only went by the book. If they made their moves because that’s how it’s always been.” She gives me a knowing look as she pulls back.
“By protecting the king…,” she begins, looping her arm through mine again as we stroll through the palace, “what I really did was protect an antiquated way of life that is becoming more and more irrelevant. Looking back at how you and Nora bloomed as a couple made me finally realize that. You two had the courage to question the establishment when they told you to do something simply because that’s how it’s always been done. You went against the rules and principles. And people loved you for it. When you sit down with Carly Hart, I have no doubt you’ll have the same unwavering support.” She turns, grabbing both my hands in hers. “You will always have mine. Both of you. I apologize it took me so long.”