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“See what?” Elizabeth asked.

“How good you are at being Queen.”

“I’ve been Queen for a few weeks. It’s impossible to evaluate that.”

“Hey, look at me for a second, please,” Palmer requested.

Elizabeth turned to her.

“It’s true that it hasn’t been long, but I’ve spent a lot of time with you since this horrible thing happened to your family, Lizzy. It was yourfamily. For some people, it was their King or their Prince, but for you, it was your father and your brothers. It was your sisters-in-law and your niece and nephew. It was the people you loved most in the world, and they were taken from you. You’re forgetting that I’ve interviewed people on the street. I talked to people on your staff. Iknowwho you are, Elizabeth. I know you’re an amazing Queen. I know you care about your people when some of them don’t even want you to. And I know you love your sister more than life, and you’d do anything to protect her, including pushing her away when you need her most because it could keep her safe. I know you put her happiness above your own, just like you do with everyone else. I know your staff loves you. They know how much you appreciate and care for them because it shows, and they love you, Elizabeth. I know you could have just given up after what happened. They know it, too. They know you could have abdicated, phoned it in, or just disappeared, and you haven’t.” She took Elizabeth’s hand in her own and squeezed it. “You are so strong. When I was assigned this story, I did a lot of research on this place. I found out that St.Rais is a martyr in theRoman Catholic church. She was the daughter of a Christian priest living inEgypt. You probably know all this, butIonly recently discovered it. When she was twelve, she was sent to live in a monastery. One day, when there was widespread persecution of Christians, she went to awellfor water with other nuns. Walking there, they noticed a ship with a group of nuns, monks, and other Christians in chains, being abused by someone with a name I cannotpronounce.” Palmer laughed a little. “Rais screamed at the abusers and told them to kill her, too, if they were killing Christians. They took her prisoner. She was one of the first to die. When the unpronounceable-name guy yelled something about spitting on the Christian God, Rais had stepped up and spat in that guy’s face. She literally spat in his face. She was tortured and beheaded for standing up for her people; people who just wanted to worship their God in peace.”

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve heard that story,” Elizabeth said softly.

“I think you need to hear it now, then. Your country was named after this woman for a reason, Elizabeth. She was a strong woman, who fought for what she believed in, and you’re doing the same thing now. You believe in this monarchy for this country, and you’ve taken on the burden of your new role. You say you weren’t raised for this, but I think your mom and dad knew exactly what they were doing with their children, raising the four of you. They knew Martin could be King, and they probably understood Alexander would never be able to do it. Victoria wouldn’t be a good Queen. Butyou, you, Elizabeth, you will be anamazingQueen. Your parents knew that, and they gave you exactly what you needed to be able to do this job.”

Elizabeth’s eyes welled with tears.

“Thank you,” she said. “I really needed to hear that.”

“I’ll say it any time you need it, okay?” Palmer replied.

“Even when you’re back in New York and you’ve forgotten all about this place and your time here?” Elizabeth asked, wiping the fallen tears from her cheeks.

“How could I ever forget this place or my time here? How could I ever forget you, Elizabeth?” Palmer entwined their fingers. “I’ll never forget any of this.”

“I won’t, either,” Elizabeth said.

CHAPTER 20

Palmer would equate staying in Elizabeth’s house to staying in an Airbnb. Someone lived in the house normally, so it was comfortable and cozy, but that someonewasn’tPalmer, so it was a little strange to be staying there alone. Elizabeth had arranged for the fire to be lit prior to Palmer’s arrival and for the security guards to introduce themselves immediately after. Palmer had first gone into the kitchen to check her food and beverage options. Finding everything more than satisfactory, she went into Elizabeth’s bedroom for the first time.Thatwas the strangest part.

Elizabeth’s room was small. The bed looked modest and comfortable despite its size, but sleeping in it would be weird. Maybe she’d just sleep on the sofa. No, she couldn’t do that. The sofa was more love seat than sofa, and Palmer was five foot seven. She’d have to sleep in the fetal position and right next to the fireplace, which would burn her up. The bed would have to do. Her bag was placed just inside the bedroom door. She made her way to the living room, where she stared at the intimidating number of books. She walked by the bookshelves, trying to discern any kind of organization system, but not being able to find one, she figured she could pull a book down and put it back later. Even if she placed it incorrectly, Elizabeth wouldn’t likely notice.

Palmer grabbed two books on physics. One seemed like an introduction, which would be more her speed. The other had a lot of pictures. Maybe that would help. After flipping through the pages of both and not retaining anything, Palmer gave up, put them back, and grabbed a novel she hadn’t read. She’d been a big reader as a kid, but once she’d gotten a job, reading for pleasure had been something she’d had to either do without or do with very little of and only when she could get it. She opened to the first page of the book, and something fell out. Worried she’d messed up a bookmark for Elizabeth, she reached down into her lap and discovered it wasn’t a bookmark; it was a picture. She stared at the image of Elizabeth and her friend, Teagan. Teagan was kissing Elizabeth’s cheek. Elizabeth looked happy. It seemed like it had been taken a few years prior. Palmer closed her eyes at the thought that Elizabeth would never see her best friend again. Then, she slid the photo into the back of the book, planning to read at least the first chapter and decide whether or not to continue, but on the page under the title and author, Palmer found handwriting.

When I read this, I thought of you and me.

Love, T

Palmer read the title again and then went to the back of the book to read the description.

“When love is forbidden between them, will they find a way through space and time to be together?”Palmer read the last line of it out loud to herself. “What the…”

She stood up, placed the book back on the shelf, and paced the living room. Not finding an answer to an unasked question in there, she went into the bedroom again to pull out her laptop and get some work done and then search for something to watch on Netflix. Then, Palmer noticed two more pictures. One was on a small shelf on the wall opposite the bed. It was again, of Teagan and Elizabeth. The way Elizabeth was staring at her friend made Palmer’s stomach rumble. The other picture was on the tiny bedside table and was again of the two friends.

“Friends?” Palmer asked herself.

They had to be friends and only friends. Teagan was married to Elizabeth’s brother, for crying out loud. There’s no way they’d have an affair. There was no way Elizabeth was gay or bi or anything other than ramrod straight. She was a Princess. She was going to marry her Prince and will now marry a man and make him her King Consort, the first one in this country. That was the plan. What Palmer was seeing in the pictures and reading into some writing in a book was her own wishful thinking that Elizabeth could or would ever fall in love with a woman. Well, Palmer didn’t care about her falling in love withanywoman. One woman, though, would be nice.

“I cannot feel this way,” she told herself.

She rushed into the bathroom, turned on the shower, threw off her clothes, and climbed into the still freezing cold water. She screamed, not being able to handle the cold for long, and rushed out, reaching for a towel on the rack to bundle herself up in. She couldnotbe falling in love with a Queen.

???

“How are you sleeping at the house?” Elizabeth asked two days later. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to phone or check on you. Things have been hectic here.”

“It’s okay,” Palmer said. “I’ve been sleeping great, and everyone’s bent over backwards to take care of little old me. Security has come in twice a day to make sure the fire is still going; like I can’t toss a log on the thing to keep it lit.”