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“Do you have any idea why they’re focusing on Bekah?” Mrs. Vogel asked.

Thor glanced at Benjamin then shook his head. “To have a scapegoat? I don’t really know. She had nothing to do with what happened. From all accounts, it was an accident. Nothing else.”

“Is there something more going on?” Mr. Vogel raised the question. “Is there some reason why they want Bekah to... take the fall for his death? I don’t even know if that’s the right phrase.”

Josiah watched as his stepfather seemed to turn the idea over in his head, but Josiah suspected there was something more. “It’s possible, I guess.”

“But why?” Mrs. Vogel pressed.

Thor shrugged, but something told Josiah he likely knew more than he was letting on at the moment. It wouldn’t be surprising. Thor had contacts all over the world, but especially in the smaller countries whose royal families had been close friends over the years. They had close relationships with all of the Quad-Countries, Øyanord, the three countries of Belles Montagnes, Athmetis, and New Sargasso. Thor knew the security teams in all of them. If there was something to know, Thor knew it.

“Is there anything we can do now?” Bekah’s mother asked. “Or just wait to see what Athmetis does?”

“Wait,” Thor told her.

“Then why don’t we have some dinner? I’ve ordered a meal for the eight of us on the other veranda.” Katrín stood and waited for the rest to join them.

“I need to go change if we’re having dinner.” Bekah looked at Josiah. “I don’t know how to get to our room from here.”

Katrín put her arm around Bekah’s waist. “Nonsense. The rest of us are jealous we’re not as comfortable as you are. You’re the envy of our group.”

Bekah glanced back at Josiah again. He smiled and nodded.

But as the rest of them left, Josiah tilted his head toward Thor. Benjamin stayed behind as well.

Josiah crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his stepfather. “What aren’t you telling us?”

* * *

It wasn’tuntil they reached the other veranda that Bekah realized Josiah wasn’t with them. Neither were the king or her stepfather-in-law.

Odd.

Wasn’t it?

“Where are they?” her mother asked, looking around.

Bekah’s mother-in-law shrugged. “They may have had official business to discuss. We often don’t know. We’re not always privy to the information they are.”

“So you’ve learned to live with it?” her dad asked as he held a chair for her mom.

The former queen somehow indicated where everyone was supposed to sit without saying a word. Bekah took her seat facing the lake. Her parents were also on the side with the view. Interesting. Wouldn’t the higher-ranking royals have the better seats? It seemed Josiah would be at the head, at least if he sat next to her, but shouldn’t the king be there?

Or were they much less formal in private?

“Yes, you learn to live with it,” the former queen told them. “It’s not always fun, and sometimes you have dinner without your loved ones, but that’s a consequence of loving someone with so much responsibility. It comes with great privileges, like this home and view, but also with drawbacks.”

Things Bekah hadn’t thought through like most people would have before marrying into a royal family. At least she assumed those who married into a family like this would know ahead of time what they were getting into.

The current queen, and Bekah’s sister-in-law for the time being, set her napkin in her lap and reached for her fork. When Queen Mother Eliana did the same, Bekah and her parents followed suit. Apparently, they weren’t waiting for the others to join them before they started eating.

Sliding her napkin into her lap, she took a deep breath. She could do this.

The first bite of salad was everything a salad should be.

By the time she got to the third bite, Josiah, the king and Thor had joined them.

Conversation revolved around a number of topics, albeit nothing too serious. The lighthearted banter between Josiah and his brother seemed to make their mother smile more than Bekah would have expected. Maybe it wasn’t normal?