Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Scottie
It wasn’t often Scottie regretted her decisions, but the moment she dropped her bag Sunday afternoon on the floor of her Hearts Bend living room, she wished she were back at Hadsby Castle.
Falling face-first onto her sofa—the glorious, custom-designed B & B Italian Bellini with its post-World War II design—jet lag, along with the weight of her decision, pushed her deep into the cushions. But she was here now. Time to resolve the regret.
Kate had been shocked by the Midlands Faire uprising, but also remarkably pragmatic.
“What did you think, love? You’d join the House of Blue without controversy? Well, I carry much of the blame. I didn’t prepare you. I selfishly thought only of myself.”
Yes, she had thought she could join the Family without controversy.
“Why do the people hate me?”
“They don’t hate you,” Kate had said in that loving-queen-yet-motherly way. “They hate anyone who’s not them. They see you as a threat to their plans of toppling the monarchy. We’ve endured such threats for centuries. Trust me, love. More people love you than hate you.”
Kate supported Scottie’s wish to go home and arranged for her to fly on Royal One. But she’d made one last plea.
“Will you return for the ball? Please, Scottie.”
“Of course. And thank you, Kate.”
They’d shared a loving, slightly teary goodbye, and Scottie had flown home Saturday evening.
Still sprawled on the couch, she waited for the relief to wash over her.
Instead, she wondered how Kate was feeling and whether Michael had stayed at Hadsby or gone back to the palace.
When he helped her onto the plane, he’d bent toward her as if to kiss her cheek.
She’d lifted her face to meet him, but he caught himself and stepped back.
“Hello?” Shug’s voice echoed from the back door.
“In here.”
Scottie sat up as her grandmother appeared through the sunlit kitchen, looking as if she’d just left Sunday lunch with the after-church crowd, and set two grocery bags on the island.
“I thought we’d make cookies.” Shug joined her on the couch and gave her an affectionate tap on the leg. “I’ve seen the news. Are you running away?”
“You’ve seen the news and that’s your question?” Scottie shoved to her feet, fighting a fog of jet lag. “I was caught in a crazed frenzy, Shug. It was terrifying. No, I’m not running away, but I am taking a break.”
“I’m sure it was terrifying, but that’s no reason to run. You only fuel their engines.”
“You sound like Michael.”
“Michael? The handsome man who follows you everywhere?” Shug made a funny face. “I’m on Instagram now.”
“Yes, Michael Cross. My equerry and protection officer.”
“My darling granddaughter, you can deal with people who don’t like you. You’ve been managing that your whole life.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, this girl or that one who didn’t invite you to her party. Or when you made varsity basketball as a freshman and came home crying because all the girls hated you.”
“They did hate me.” Scottie crossed her arms. This was not the memory lane she wanted to travel. “And teen-girl angst is not in the same league as a riotous mob.”
“No, but small trials train us for big ones. When we got down to brass tacks, those girls thought you hated them. You pushed them away before they could push you.”
“How do you have such a great memory? You’re old. You’re supposed to forget things.”
Shug gave Scottie’s shoulder a slight swat. “Watch it, whippersnapper, I know where you sleep. Lucky for you, I don’t forget things. Do you remember how we solved that problem?”
“We had a party and invited everyone.”
“And?”
“Okay, Shug, I get it. We became good friends and as a team, unstoppable.”
“You won a state championship, but more important, you girls are friends to this day, I believe.”
“Yes. And so my life is here, not over there with people I can’t invite to a party.
Shug, they chanted ‘No more Americans. Go home, Scottie O’Shay!
’ I was conflicted when I first arrived, thinking I should’ve stayed with Kate, but now I’m glad to be home.
” Scottie headed for the kitchen. “Are we making cookies before jet lag knocks me out?”
Baking always grounded her after she came off the road—or when one of the clothing lines had taken all her wit and strength to launch.
“I’m never going to be a real royal anyway. Lady Royal is a courtesy title. Kate can bring me along because I’m her daughter, but there’s nothing binding me to the House of Blue. My kingdom is O’Shay.”
“Are you going back?” Shug joined her in the kitchen, unpacking eggs, milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips.
“I am. I promised Kate I’d be there for the Rose Ball. One of the royal jets is coming for me next Saturday. I do love spending time with her, Shug. She’s fighting GBS, but there are days the virus wins.”
Scottie retrieved the mixer and a couple of bowls.
“Oh, I need to talk to Dad. There’s a designer—a clothier, really—who’d love to partner with us to make bespoke women’s outfits to match some of our menswear.
It’d be a real boost to her business. But even if that doesn’t work, I could invest in her. ”
“I see.” Shug arranged the ingredients on the counter. “You’ve not talked to your dad about O’Shay recently?”
“No, why? He’s not shutting it down on me, is he?” Scottie laughed and popped a handful of chocolate and peanut butter chips into her mouth. “I Zoomed into a meeting on Wednesday, but we agreed if I was going to do this thing with Kate, I needed to be all in, not worried about work.”
“Seems wise. But before you invest in this clothier, talk to your dad.” Shug retrieved her oversize bag and her big book of recipes.
“By the way, we’re gathering at our place tomorrow for a cookout and dip in the pool with Remi and her sons.
Then on Saturday some of the family want to have a cookout before you go so don’t make plans. ”
Scottie stilled. “Does it seem weird to see him with someone? To see him in love?”
Shug sighed sweetly. “A little. But it’s his time, Scottie. And he’s happy.”
“Everything’s changing,” Scottie said quietly.
“Do you remember the first summer we sent you to camp?” Shug asked, handing her an apron. “You were ten or eleven, I believe.”
“I thought you were sending me away forever.” She was still in touch with a few of the girls from cabin sixteen.
“You called after two weeks begging to come home. You didn’t get along with the other girls. Hmm, I’m seeing a pattern.”
“Hush. But y’all didn’t let me come home.”
“All it took was you adjusting to a world where you had to share. As I recall, two weeks later you didn’t want camp to end.”
“The moral of this story is—” Scottie searched the drawers for scissors to open the flour bag.
“Think of your time in Lauchtenland as camp. What can you learn from it? How can you grow? Adversity is one of life’s greatest gifts if we allow it to do its work. How could you turn the tide in your favor? Win over the people. I’ve seen you do it so many times, Scottie. It’s your superpower.”
“I’ll still have people chanting for me to go home. ‘No more Americans in the House of Blue.’ That MP, Hamish Fickle—he’s got a grudge against the royal family.”
“Do they know why?”
“They don’t ask questions, Shug. They try to live above it all.”
“Then if you’re not a legal member of the Blues, you ask. See if you can help. Resolve this issue.” Shug dumped two cups of flour into a bowl, sending a white cloud into the air.
Scottie regarded her grandmother, who was not smiling but completely serious. “Shug, the world needs more people like you. But their politics are nothing like ours. This MP Hamish Fickle is not interested in hearing from me. He seems determined to end the monarchy.”
“That’s small thinking, Scottie. You don’t know the answer until you ask. Back in the day, your grandpa had a sales rep who constantly stirred up trouble. Fritz wanted to fire him, but he was one of our best salesmen. Lots of experience. He gave us good notes on our designs.”
“What’d Fritz do?” Scottie cracked two eggs into the bowl.
“He decided to be that man’s friend. Took him to lunch without the rest of the fellas. Called him up when we faced an important decision. Then one day, he took his shot. ‘What’s troubling you, Martin?’ And the man told him.”
“What was it?”
“On the surface, it was something about our commission structure. However, deep down, Martin was hurting. Nothing to do with O’Shay.
Fritz made changes to the way we paid commissions, and Martin started calling your grandpa just to talk.
He became our champion. Landed accounts no one else dared touch.
He clocked thirty years with O’Shay. Our Martin leather belts are named after him. ”
“He’s that Martin?”
“Yes. And because of your grandpa’s kindness, Martin righted what was wrong inside. When he died, four hundred people crowded into the church to say goodbye.”
“So you think Hamish Fickle is my Martin?” It was a stretch. She barely knew the man. He didn’t work for her. They had no personal beefs, other than her Blue blood. She didn’t know Lauchtenland ways or culture well.
“I think you have a shot with this fella if you care to take it. Take a page from your grandfather’s book.”
“It’s not that simple, Shug. For one, my Martin is a member of parliament.
Two, I can’t go around the Chamber Office, the House of Blue, and the Privy Council to have tea with the man.
I’d be seen as involving myself in politics, which could blow up in my face and cause the Family all sorts of problems.”
“Who said anything about politics? And my darling granddaughter, what do you think every state dinner or royal ball is about?” Shug leaned close. “Politics. Now, let’s bake cookies.”