Page 28 of Rivals
Maybe it was time she acted a bit more like Louise.
The rest of the lunch passed all too quickly. Beatrice knew she should get going; she’d planned on reading the Financial Committee’s report before they presented it this afternoon. But it was so much more fun here, listening to the rapid back-and-forth of conversation.
Louise and her friends had an extensive shared history. They had all gone to school together in Switzerland, referenced birthday parties and trips to Verbier and classmates they’d lost track of. They teased mercilessly:Remember when you stepped on a sea urchin at Livadia, and we had to use a fake name at the emergency room?orWhatever happened to your mom’sold assistant, the one who wore the creepy hats?It would have seemed off-putting and exclusive, except that Louise always paused to explain the inside joke, drawing Beatrice into the circle of their shared intimacy.
After a while she noticed that Louise was multitasking, swiping nonchalantly at her phone even as she chatted with the others. When Louise saw her looking over, she edged the phone toward Beatrice.
“What do you think, is he attractive?”
Princess Louise was on adating app? “You’re not seriously going to meet up with this guy, are you?” Beatrice blurted out.
“Why not? This conference is boring. And I doubt anyone would recognize me. Your people only care about theirownroyals. Which makes sense, since you’ve got enough drama for at least five families.” The way she spoke, it sounded oddly like a compliment.
“As if you’d really go out with a stranger.” Alexei turned to Beatrice. “Louise just likes to get on the apps for fun.”
“It’s not my fault they make the whole thing feel like a game!” Louise protested. Bharat reached eagerly for the phone so that he and Sirivannavari could study the screen.
“Ooh, I like him,” Siri said approvingly. “He’s got a total brooding-and-sensitive thing going on.”
Alexei shook his head. “If you’re bored, Louise, we should throw a party.”
She visibly perked up. “Good thinking—we should throw a party! After the next state dinner, at my place?” Louise offered, as if the guest cottage really did belong to her. She quickly began doling out orders to her friends. “Alexei, you can handle drinks, can’t you? Siri, you’re in charge of getting the word out.”
Sirivannavari nodded as solemnly as if she’d just been entrusted with the nuclear launch codes. “On it.”
“Bharat, you’re in charge of music. Whatever happened to that DJ we heard in Ibiza back in March? That was afantasticnight,” she added wistfully, and Alexei made a funny noise in the back of his throat.
“I’ll see if we can fly him here by then,” Bharat said, as if it was no big deal.
Beatrice stared down at the remains of her turkey sandwich, willing herself to look normal, but then Louise’s gaze landed on her. “You’re coming, aren’t you, Béatrice?”
The pinch of loneliness in her chest melted away. “I’d love to.”
“Perfect. Bring your fiancé. And your sister and her boyfriend! Marshall, right?”
Beatrice nodded. “We’ll be there.”
Louise flashed her a smile. Beatrice wondered, suddenly, if this lunch had been some sort of test—if Louise had wanted to see how Beatrice fit in with her group of friends.
If it was, then Beatrice had passed.
That evening, as she was getting dressed, Beatrice heard movement in Teddy’s room and hurried to open the connecting door. They still didn’t technically share a room, for propriety’s sake.
“Teddy! How was your day?”
“I was going to take the boat out.” He gestured to the windows, where the rain still pattered gently. “I ended up reading instead. There are a ton of old mystery novels in the library; did you know that?”
Teddy had taken the boat out every afternoon of the past week, so that now his fair skin had turned a golden tan from the sun. He had also started swimming laps in the downstairs pool, watched an entire TV series about Lord AlexanderHamilton, and started cooking—or at least he’d started making peanut-butter-and-banana smoothies every morning when Beatrice came back from her run. They were heavy on the peanut butter, which made them taste more like dessert than breakfast, but Beatrice wasn’t complaining.
Yet as much as he professed to enjoy his forced time off, Teddy was clearly growing restless. He was too smart to enjoy sitting around without stimulation, without any kind ofpurpose.
Things would get better once the League of Kings conference was over, Beatrice reminded herself. They would carve out a clear role for Teddy.
She took a step forward, trailing a hand over the doorframe. “I had lunch with Princess Louise and her friends today. You know, Bharat, Alexei, and Siri.” Beatrice felt a little silly using Sirivannavari’s nickname, but the rest of them all had.
Teddy gave her an encouraging smile. “That’s great, Bee. How was it?”
“I really liked them. Even though they’re all best friends, they made me feel included.”
