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“You’re probably right. It’s late.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Palmer asked, hopeful.

“Yes. And Palmer?”

“Yeah?”

“You can save this number and use it if you’d like.”

“I’d like that,” Palmer said, smiling.

CHAPTER 19

“We don’t have an extradition treaty with them, Ma’am,” Albert told her. “If we want him back on our soil, we can’t risk him leaving St. Rais.”

“Where is he now? Why can’t we find him?” Elizabeth asked the Prime Minister.

“We believe he has a small faction of loyal supporters in the northeast.”

“And he’s staying with one of them?”

“He’s likely moving from place to place so as not to get caught. We can only search places lawfully, which means we have to have cause to enter homes if we don’t have permission. We could ask Parliament to issue a temporary order to allow us to search without cause.”

“No, that would only give the anti-monarchists another reason to hate the monarchy. As much as I want this man and all of his followers responsible caught, I won’t break the law in doing so.”

“If you’ll permit me, Ma’am; I wanted to say that you are an honorable woman. You will make a good Queen for this country.”

“Thank you, but I’m not so sure.” Elizabeth sighed.

“I worked with your father, Ma’am, and you’re quite on par. He was also raised andtrainedto be King. You had to take this role on under unimaginable circumstances and with very little guidance or help. It’s interrupted your life, and you haven’t faltered. That’s quite impressive in my book.”

“Well, thank you, but it’s still early.”

“Shall we talk about the coronation?” Albert offered.

“Yes,” she said.

“The ceremony itself is simple. It should take under five minutes. Your speech will be given to you by tomorrow for your review and approval. I will speak before you, and my speech will also be given to you for you to review, but I’ve already included words regarding my faith in you and in the monarchy as both strong and relevant today.”

“Thank you.”

“Rebecca will go over more specific details with you, and you’ll rehearse the processional in a few days. Security is already hard at work at the cathedral, ensuring your safety as well as the safety of everyone else attending. There will be people outside and on the road leading up to the building. Security will review anything you need to know with you, but they’ve already cordoned off the areas and ensured people will not be in close proximity to the building or the road.”

“That’s sad that that has to be done.”

“It will be a no-frills ceremony, per your request.”

“It’s appropriate,” she said.

“There are a few matters of State we should discuss as well,” Albert added.

???

By one in the afternoon, Elizabeth was exhausted. She’d had five meetings already and had another few to go after lunch, but lunch was the one thing she was actually looking forward to. Palmer was scheduled to arrive any minute, and Elizabeth couldn’t wait to see her. Talking to Palmer for hours last night had allowed her to have a restful night’s sleep. In fact, the past two nights had been the best sleep she’d gotten since before she’d lost her family.

“Your Majesty, Miss Palmer Honeycutt has arrived,” Jenny announced, opening the door to Elizabeth’s sitting room.

“Thank you, Jenny. Send her in.”