Page 47 of Appointing

“And why would I want to turn that down?”

“Queens don’t give commencement speeches, Elin,” her mother replied.

“But what if Iwantto? It’s a great school. I enjoyed my time there.”

“We’ll walk in before you now. Remember, when you walk into the room, they’ll be announcing you as Queen for the first time. It’s important to–”

“Your Majesty,” Steven said when he entered the room unannounced.

Elin looked at her father, as she was used to, and her mother cleared her throat.

“Oh,” Elin uttered. “Yes?”

“The dressers would like to get you ready for the guests. They have a few last-minute adjustments they need to make.”

“To what?” she asked.

“Your crown, Ma’am,” he replied.

Elin gulped.

???

It wasn’t a crown, exactly – she’d wear that for the first time on her consecration – but itwasa tiara; a new one that was larger than the ones she’d worn as Princess. Even her mother hadn’t worn this one. It had been made for Queen Victoria and hadn’t been worn by another Queen since. Elin stared at herself in the mirror as the women moved around her, situating her shoes in front of her bare feet so she could easily slide into them.

“Would you mind giving me a moment?” she asked them once she was ready.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” they replied at the same time.

Elin walked out to her sitting room and stared out the window. Guests were still arriving to the party that would announce her as Queen. Most were likely already in the ballroom, awaiting her arrival. She knew she was keeping everyone waiting, which wasn’t ideal, but she was still having trouble getting used to people calling her Your Majesty. How the hell was she going to do this?

That was when she saw it – the plate of three Skolebrød sitting on the small table by her sofa. She smiled when she noticed the card sitting next to them, walked to pick it up, and smiled wider. Elin read the note silently at first and then out loud to herself.

Your Majesty,

I hope you don’t mind. I made these for you in celebration.

Sincerely,

Ingrid

Elin knew she shouldn’t have one now, but no one would know, and shewasstarving. She hadn’t eaten anything all day due to her nerves. She bit into one and quickly finished it just in time for Markus to knock on the door.

“Your Majesty, we’re ready for you,” he announced.

Her smile faltered, wishing it was Ingrid standing there delivering that message.

“Of course. Would you give me just one moment?”

Markus nodded. Elin moved to her small desk in the corner, pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote her message. Then, she approached Markus.

“Would you please see that Ingrid gets this?”

“Of course, Ma’am. I’ll have someone leave it for her tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

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