When did your romance begin?
Will you make a formal announcement?
They were worked up seeing me fall; they are now practically tripping over each other in their eagerness to get information out of me. The reporters push in like a line of advancing troops on a battlefield, microphones held out like lances, cameras driving forward like battering rams. The Queen’s Guard form a line to keep them at bay, their arms outstretched in a blockade as Alden turns and ushers me to the Rolls-Royce.
We pass Chloe, Simms, and Lady Morrell — all three of whom are wearing identical worried expressions as they take in the sight of me in Alden’s arms. My mind is such a tangled spool of panic and fatigue, I can barely conjure the will to keep my eyes open and my lungs pumping, let alone worry about the scandal we’ve just created on a city sidewalk.
That’s life as a Lancaster, I suppose.
Another day, another international incident.
No one in my entourage seems to know what to say. We sit in the back of the limousine in thick silence, not making eye contact or addressing the elephant in the room — the one sitting on my left ring finger.
We’re halfway back to the castle when I finally take a deep breath and attempt some levity.
“So. That could’ve gone better.”
“You think?” Chloe snorts, scrolling through her phone. “I’m going to have to do some serious damage control to keep #LoonyLancaster from trending.”
I groan. “Was it that bad? The panic attack?”
“No,” Alden insists.
“Yes,” Chloe says at the same time.
“Honestly, you were quite commanding up till that point,” Simms remarks dryly. “However, your speech soundbites may be overshadowed by your rather… untraditional exit.”
“I found you inspiring, Your Majesty,” Lady Morrell chimes in, trying to sound upbeat. “And, may I say, your outfit was simply perfect today — at least, until you got all that dirt and grease on it.”
“Brought down by a car backfiring,” I mutter, laughing dryly. “Sounds about right.”
“Oh, whatever.” Chloe waves away my words. “With any luck, all they’ll remember is what happenedafteryour little meltdown.” Her eyes slide from me to Alden and back again. “You do realize the entire world thinks the two of you are engaged now, don’t you?”
My stomach clenches. “Surely not.”
“Zoom in on our queen, scooped into the arms of a dashing blond hero in a time of great distress! Swept off into a waiting limousine!” Chloe snorts. “It’s practically fairy tale fodder. The press is going to take this and run with it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re already staking out the castle and speculating over potential wedding venues.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I snap. “We’ll put out a press release later today to clarify that Alden and I are nothing more than friends.”
Alden looks pointedly out his window, jaw clenched tightly. I try not to read too much into that, but my stomach flips once more.
Is he angry I want to correct public perception? Did he truly believe I would go along with a fake engagement, simply to distract the press?
“As I have said before, a royal wedding would do wonders to stabilize your position…” Lady Morrell trails off when I let out an angry grumble.
“Just drop it, please. No one is getting married. Not any time soon. And the press knows better than to assume I’m engaged simply because a friend stepped in to help me during a panic attack.”
I let my eyes wander to Alden. He’s gazing out the window with a curious amount of determination. I can’t decipher the tension in his profile any more than I can decode the unsettled feeling stirring to life inside my chest.
“Right, Alden?” I ask, my voice shakier than intended.
But he says nothing. He simply stares out his window at the world passing outside.
No one says a word for the rest of the ride back to the castle. But in the silence of the limousine, the disquiet of my heart seems to roar at an ever-increasing volume.
* * *
“As Germaniansacross the country head to the polls, the question of Parliamentary reform is on everyone’s minds. And yet, after this morning, there’s another question we all want the answer to: Is there a royal wedding in the near future?”