American Royals
Robert Standish moved to the side of the room, a Bluetooth headset tucked into his ear. He caught Beatrice’s eye and nodded, all business. Next to him stood Beatrice’s standin security, a Guard named Jake, who normally worked the palace entrance.
That was the only small blessing: Connor’s absence. Beatrice felt ashamed of her own cowardice, but she’d purposefully planned this interview on a Thursday because it was Connor’s day off. She didn’t want to see the look on his face as he watched her and Teddy playact this relationship in front of the entire world.
She had tried, so many times, to tell Connor about her engagement. But whenever she braced herself to share the news, she would see the look on his face—and the words would die on her lips. I’ll tell him tomorrow, she assured herself. Just one more night where he smiles at me like this, before it all falls apart.
This morning, Beatrice knew she couldn’t wait any longer; she had to tell him, or risk him finding out from the media. But when she’d reached across her bed for Connor, he was already gone.
“All right. Are you both ready?” Dave asked, taking a seat in the armchair across from them.
Beatrice settled next to Teddy on the couch, smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle from her pleated navy dress. Someone adjusted an overhead light, and she squinted into the sudden brightness. The room felt very warm. “I’m ready.”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Teddy echoed.
“Rolling,” the cameraman said softly, a few feet away.
Dave nodded. “What an honor it is, to get to speak to you both on such a joyous day. Princess Beatrice, would you like to be the one to personally share your news?”
Like the professional she was, Beatrice lifted her eyes to the camera and smiled. “I’m delighted to announce that Theodore Eaton and I are engaged. I proposed to him last week, and thankfully, he said yes.”
“I know I speak for America when I say how thrilled I am for you both,” Dave replied. “It’s clear from the looks on your faces that you’re very much in love.”
In love. Right. Beatrice glanced over at Teddy with what she hoped was a dewy-eyed smile.
At that very moment, the door at the back of the room opened, and a familiar tall figure stepped inside.
Time ground to a momentary halt.
No, Beatrice thought desperately. Connor wasn’t supposed to be here. This was all wrong.
Connor’s eyes met hers, then drifted to the enormous diamond on Beatrice’s finger, which suddenly felt impossibly heavy. She saw the rapid shifts of his expression, from bewilderment, to comprehension, to the devastating pain that followed.
She hated herself in that moment, for being the source of that pain.
“Tell us about your relationship, Beatrice. It seems like it’s been a whirlwind,” Dave went on. “How did you decide that you were ready to propose?”
Not for nothing had Beatrice lived her entire life in the spotlight. Her smile never wavered.
“As my mom always told me, when you know, you know,” she replied, without missing a beat. “I knew right away that Teddy was someone I could see myself marrying.” In a way, it was the truth. She had met Teddy for the specific purpose of finding a future husband.
Teddy reached for her hand, interlacing their fingers on the couch between them.
Connor took a sharp intake of breath at the gesture and slipped out of the room. Beatrice wished she could look over, but she didn’t dare. She just kept on smiling.
Teddy must have sensed her sudden panic, because he leaned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially. The cameras obediently swiveled toward him.
“My first impression was slightly different,” he confessed to Dave. “To be honest, I thought Beatrice didn’t like me, because she refused to dance with me. Not that I blamed her,” he added, with that disarming smile that revealed his twin dimples. “She’s so far out of my league, I assumed I didn’t stand a chance.”
“She wouldn’t dance with you!” Dave seized eagerly on this tidbit. “Why not?”
The attention of the room veered back toward Beatrice, but by now she had regained her composure. She let her eyes meet Teddy’s in a single instant of gratitude. He may not have known why she was upset, but he’d done his best to cover for her all the same.
“I know, my mistake,” she said lightly. “Luckily for me, I have a lifetime of dancing with Teddy to make up for it.” She saw from Dave’s beaming expression that she’d said the right thing.
She could do this, Beatrice reminded herself, squeezing Teddy’s hand for reassurance. She could sit before these cameras and spin her life into the fairy-tale romance America craved. She could smile until the bitter end, no matter what it cost, because she was a Washington and she had been trained to smile through anything. Even through her own heartbreak.
After the interview, Robert asked Beatrice and Teddy if they wouldn’t mind doing a walkabout—stepping outside and greeting the waiting crowds. Apparently most of the capital had been watching their broadcast and had already flooded the streets to congratulate them.
Teddy looked to Beatrice for confirmation. “All right,” she said, her throat hoarse. She kept glancing around in search of Connor, but didn’t see him.
People jostled behind the palace’s iron gates, waving miniature American flags, shouting Beatrice’s and Teddy’s names. The moment they appeared on the front steps, the decibel level soared even higher.