Chapter 33 #2
Oliver rubs his forehead. “What do you think he said?” His voice is weary.
Fear surges inside me at how tired Oliver sounds. And not just tired from the day he’s had.
“I’m guessing he didn’t break out the champagne and party poppers,” I say.
Oliver releases another deep breath. “Not exactly.”
There’s silence between us, but it’s full of all the things we don’t talk about.
“I better get some sleep,” Oliver says finally. “It’ll be another big day tomorrow. I’m sure at Prime Minister’s Questions, I’ll have to justify to the Conservatives every decision I made in the heat of the moment.”
“There’s no one I trust to run the country more than you, Oliver,” I say softly.
I get the feeling he needs to hear those words from me now.
Oliver stares at me through the screen.
“I love you.” And there’s something almost desperate in the way he says the words. Like he suspects there’s a time limit on saying them, that he won’t be saying them much longer. My mouth feels dry at the thought. I try to push that idea away and concentrate on the here and now.
“Right back at you,” I say.
A small smile flickers on Oliver’s face. But it disappears too quickly.
“Goodnight.”
And then he’s gone.
Leaving me only with a blank screen and an empty space on the pillow next to me.
Raymond comes into my office the next morning with a deep frown.
“Your uncle has done an interview this morning,” he says.
“Which uncle?”
“Albert.” Raymond says his name flatly, with no emotion. Only the disappointed droop in his mustache reminds me that for so many years, Raymond worked for my Uncle Albert, the former Prince of Wales.
“You should watch it,” he says.
So I watch it on my phone, my eyes growing wider and wider with horror.
Because train wreck doesn’t even come close to describing the interview. It’s a multi-carriage pile-up that has had an asteroid slam into it. A disaster of epic proportions.
Albert comes across as an entitled snob, practically sneering at the interviewer when he’s challenged on his illegal activity.
“My family has been ruling this country for hundreds of years. It is my birthright to lead this country. It’s preposterous that it’s been snatched away from me just because of a few minor indiscretions.
Personally, I feel the immunity to prosecution should apply to the whole royal family, not just the monarch. ”
I look up from the screen to stare at Raymond in horror.
“This isn’t good,” I say.
Raymond’s forehead is still marred by a deep crease. “No, it’s not,” he agrees.
“The Queen’s press office will handle the official response, but I’ve called Maudie in for a meeting about what we can do to try to stop the endless replays of the interview.”
I nod. “Okay.”
Maudie arrives, and she’s barely taken a seat when she says, “We need a distraction.”
“That’s exactly what I think,” Raymond says.
“Maybe another date with Rose,” Maudie says. “That will generate some positive attention for the monarchy.”
For a second, the room swirls around me.
I’m acutely aware of the beating of my heart just under where Oliver’s dog tags rest against my skin. It almost feels like the cool metal is burning my skin. Which is a scientific contradiction, I know.
“I don’t want to go on another date.” The words are out of me before I can stop them.
“It doesn’t have to be with Rose. If you didn’t have a connection with her, we can find someone else for you to date,” Maudie says.
“Although we don’t want headlines making him out to be some sort of lothario,” Raymond replies.
“But he shouldn’t pursue Rose if he’s not interested.”
“It’ll be a fine balance. We don’t want the papers painting him as a playboy. Especially given his father’s and brother’s reputations.”
Raymond and Maudie continue to talk about my romantic life while I sit there, thinking of Oliver. The way he looks at me. His lopsided smile. His deep laugh.
I can’t keep on denying Oliver. It feels like denying the existence of oxygen.
I take a deep breath. “I don’t want to go on any more dates, full stop.”
That gets both Raymond’s and Maudie’s attention.
“Why not?” Raymond demands to know.
“Because I’m…I have feelings for someone.”
I probably shouldn’t tell Raymond and Maudie I’m in love with Oliver before I say the actual words to him.
Raymond’s forehead creases. “You have feelings for someone? When have you had the chance to develop feelings for someone?”
“We’ve deliberately been keeping it under wraps.”
Raymond leans his head back on his chair and closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me that this woman is from an impeccable pedigree with absolutely no skeletons in her closet.”
“Uh…actually…um…it’s a guy.”
There’s dead silence around the table. It ticks on for a minute.
“It’s okay, we can work with that,” Maudie says finally.
Raymond snaps open his eyes and rounds on her. “What? What do you mean, ‘We can work with that?’”
Maudie shrugs. “The public is far more accepting of LGBTQ+ relationships now. We have a gay prime minister, after all.”
I swallow. Hard.
“Most are, but you’ve still got a minority of the public who are homophobic. This could be enough to tilt the public’s opinion about the monarchy,” Raymond counters. He whirls to look at me.