“If you’ll excuse us,” Isabella announced as she lifted Rothy from his highchair. In seconds, the nanny was at her side helping Alice from her highchair. Before leaving the dining room, Princess Isabella laid her hand on my shoulder. “Could I bother you to help me?”
I blinked as her question registered.
I’d told the people outside Annabella Castle that I’d speak to the king. The problem was I had no idea what to say or anything about the tariffs. Isabella was giving me a chance to learn.
“Yes, of course,” I said, standing and placing my napkin on the table near the bottom of my plate. It was the unspoken signal telling the staff that I was done and wouldn’t return to eat what remained.
“Lucille,” Queen Anne said, “you don’t want to miss cake.”
The food churned in my stomach. Tucking one foot behind the other, I curtsied. “Your Majesty, I welcome the chance to spend time with Rothy and Alice.”
Her smile bloomed. “Isabella is a wonderful mother. She can teach you many things.”
“If you will excuse me,” I said with a bow to both the king and queen and turned to leave.
“Lucille.”
I turned back at the boisterous address from King Theodore. “Your Grace.”
His smile dimmed. “I was told you’d be heading back to Monovia tonight.”
“Yes.”
“What is the rush?”
There wasn’t a rush. It was the order of my husband. I wasn’t supposed to be here, and he wanted me gone as soon as possible. “I have matters there,” I said, hoping my vague answer would be satisfactory.
“I think it would be better if you stayed here at the palace in Molave.” His dark eyes were clear as he added, “Would you consider staying on for a few days?”
My cheeks rose as I bowed my head. “Yes, sir. If that is your wish.”
“It is.”
King Theodore didn’t need to ask me to stay. He simply could declare it, and yet he hadn’t. Roman shouldn’t be upset. Disobeying a direct order from the king would be grounds for reprimand. Staying would mean I obeyed.
By the time I caught up with Princess Isabella, the nanny, and children, they were on their way up the grand staircase. The walls that reached up twenty meters were filled with portraits from generations of the Godfrey monarchy. I stilled on the stairway, my attention on a portrait of King Theodore, Queen Anne, and Roman and Isabella when young.
Roman resembled his father.
Would our son?
Would we have a son?
“Lucille,” Isabella called.
“Coming.”
The apartments where Isabella and Francis resided in the palace had been refurbished, turning what had been a study into a nursery large enough for both children. There was even a small attached room where the nanny slept.
This wasn’t my first time in the nursery, but as I entered, I was struck with the light colors and lack of formality that most of the rooms within the palace contained. Isabella helped Rothy ready for a bath as the nanny placed Alice in a circular contraption that played music as Alice bounced. When the nanny disappeared to draw Prince Rothy’s bath, I went to Alice, crouching down and talking to the young child. Her light hair was down to her shoulders, long for her age from what I’d been told.
Her little legs had rolls as she bounced and giggled.
“Do you mind staying with Alice?” Isabella asked. “Once Rothy is bathed, we can speak privately.”
“I don’t mind at all.”
I was not well-versed in young children; however, it was not difficult to sense that as time passed, Alice’s discontentment with her surroundings grew. When neither Isabella nor the nanny appeared, I spoke to the infant princess.
“I can pick you up if you’d like.”
Her eyes squinted as she fussed.
Lifting her below her arms, I brought her to my shoulder, and she immediately quieted.
With one hand behind her head and the other arm holding her to me, I swayed and sang a song I recalled from my childhood. The words to Hush, Little Baby came back without thought as I quietly sang. Alice’s posture relaxed as she lay her head on my shoulder.
“You’re a natural,” Isabella said, coming in behind me.
I spun around with a smile. “She’s precious. I don’t know how you don’t hold her every minute.”
“Let me take her.”
Nodding, I handed over my niece.
After Alice was lying in the crib, Isabella smiled my direction. “Come to my apartments. Francis will stay downstairs with Papa and Mum and give a moment.”
“Rothy?” I asked.
“Lady Sherry will put him to bed. He’s exhausted and as you might hear, not exactly princely at the moment.”
I grinned. I had heard a few noises from the direction of the bath that didn’t sound joyous.
Soon, we were together in the parlor of Isabella and Francis’s apartments. As we sat, I had the realization that as was the case at Annabella Castle, Roman’s and my private apartments had a shared parlor connecting our bedchambers. The celebratory meal rolled in my stomach.
My old apprehensions were back. Whatever had occurred earlier this evening no longer gave me confidence in our next meeting, the one where I would inform him that I was staying in Molave City, king’s orders.
“Wine?” Isabella asked as she poured red wine into a stemmed goblet.
“No.” My confrontation with Roman would be precarious enough without him smelling wine on my breath. A woman who was trying to conceive didn’t consume alcohol.
Taking her glass, Isabella sat on one of the long sofas. “What does it mean, you’ve been sheltered?”
“I realized recently that I was not able to access information about Molave. My phone, tablet, and laptop have been restricted.”
Isabella’s eyes widened. “Why? As a member of the royal family, you must stay informed.”
“Only if my assistance or opinion was desired.”
“Roman needs to get over himself. He’s been making a mess of things, and now with the tariffs, he’s upsetting our people. Maybe he wants to protect you.”
I looked down at my hands in my lap and back to Isabella. “Thank you for talking to me. No one else is willing to tell me what’s happening.” I shrugged. “They’ve probably been forbidden.”
She set her glass on the table and leaned forward. “No one has forbidden me nor will they. I’ve spoken to Mum, but not Papa.”
“What has Queen Anne said?”
“The Firm is concerned. Mum thinks Roman is perfectly suited for his current and future role. The remainder of the Firm is less certain.”
“And what can they do?” I asked.
“They called him here to Molave City in hopes of curtailing some of his” —she brought her lips together— “his offenses. From what Mum said, Roman has been in long meetings with Mrs. Drake as well as other royal officials and members of Parliament. They’re worried that he will say or do something that could jeopardize the country.”
I shook my head. “I know nothing of this.”
“Surely, Roman explained why he was absent from Annabella Castle.”
“We rarely talk.”
Isabella’s gaze narrowed. “Heirs?”