Chapter 30 Royal Ambush
Royal Ambush
Rose
Ididn’t expect Queen Natalie to appear in the drawing room. Confused, I’d looked at my Mum for advice. What was going on?
“Is this a royal ambush. Because you can try—”
“Rose, sit. Let’s have tea,” The Queen beckoned.
“Your Majesty, I don’t—”
“Oh, stop it. I have been Auntie since the day you were bloody well born. Sit,” Natalie said.
I sat by the Queen. Mum sat to my right.
“So, your life has changed, hasn’t it? I heard ages ago. I also told Olav to tell you several weeks back. He’s a bloody coward. I thought Kiersten might beat him if he didn’t say something.”
“I… I’m reeling.”
Natalie squeezed my hand. “One day, my twin brother told me he was leaving. My father was stuck with me as the heir. And while you could say, ‘well, that’s just the risk’ it was still terrible. I had a life before your Uncle Ed.”
She poured a cup of coffee efficiently and handed it over.
“I gave up the man I loved for familial duty, darling. I also gained so much. Life is a journey and the more we ask why, the more frustrated we become.”
“You gave up a man?”
“He didn’t want to be in the spotlight. We’d always talked about it.
His name was Carson. He was older and career Air Force and he had a teenager.
When it happened—when I found out—I knew it was the end.
If I’d asked him, he might have said yes.
He loved me dearly. I loved him and his daughter.
I still adore that girl. But… it wasn’t right. So, I let it go.”
“And I picked her up,” Mum said sweetly. “And she did the same because George left me for Patrick.”
“How could we have known just how much our lives would change—for good—with George’s decision to remove himself and marry Patrick, Luce?”
“We hated it at the time. We cursed it. But I’d never have married the man who always loved me. You’d never have ended up back in Ed’s life. Now, Rose, can you imagine it differently? If it wasn’t for this scene change, I’d never have you or your siblings. I couldn’t imagine it!”
“I couldn’t, either,” I said. “You and Daddy are—”
“Perfect. Meant-to-be,” Natalie said. “As you are for Lars, Rose. Did you ever see yourself falling for your brother’s friend during a yacht race?”
“God, no!” I giggled. “But life is wild.”
“And this is just part of it.”
I looked over to see Sanne closing the door behind her. “Apologies, but… Rose… I wanted to tell you something. I’m not here to lobby for Lars. I just… I wanted to share something.”
“Okay,” I said.
She sat across from me. “Rose, when Natalie and Ed thought they couldn’t have a baby, I had a newborn and Paul found out Keir was going to be the heir.”
“And he was—for years,” Natalie said. “This was well before your time.”
“But I had to sit with that. I felt trapped,” Sanne continued. “Even though I loved him to bits. And then I lost him years later, and you know what?”
“What?” I asked.
“The only thing I regretted was I didn’t have him longer. Even if my sons had been the heirs Natalie and Ed didn’t have… I would have been okay. In the end, Paul put boundaries in place. I had to trust him.”
“And we helped,” Natalie said. “We always stepped in. Ed and I realized we had to protect those kids like our own. I suspect Cici and Isak are still reeling—as we were—but they will do the same.”
“Cici will be glad to speak to you about this someday soon. I know it,” Sanne said.
“And it’s not selfish to ask for what you need.
You’re like me… you’re a people-pleaser.
That must go by the wayside once you have kids.
That bit? It will be easy. Even if your asks aren’t always popular, you will know what is right. ”
“My brain is a mess. I trust Lars, but… I cannot visualize it.”
“Now is the time to talk with Lars,” Sanne said. “And… I think that can be arranged somehow.”
There was a knock.
“Yes?” Natalie called instinctively.
“It’s me,” Lars said. “I come in peace.”
Everyone deferred to me.
“Come in!” I replied.
Lars entered, nervously wringing his hands. “I… I wanted to ask you, Rose, would you like to go on an adventure—one to Bod?? You said you want to see nordlys. I cannot show them to you down here. It would be… calm.”
“How? That’s like nine hours,” I said.
“Keir is gonna fly us up and back,” Lars said. “It’s just an idea.”
“Just us?” I asked.
“Just us. No distractions. We can discuss everything and… you can come to a decision about what happens next.”
“Go,” Mum urged. “Go.”
“But the veil and the cake—”
“What about the veil? Natalie asked.
“It’s nothing. We will figure it all out, honey,” Sanne said. “Go!”