Page 73 of Appointing

“Ingrid, thank you,” Elin said.

“Oh. Hi, Ingrid.” Mari greeted, finally noticing her.

“Hello, Your Royal Highness,” Ingrid said to Mari.

“I should go,” Elin said this time.

“Your Majesty.” Ingrid bowed her head. “I–”

She stood there for a moment, waiting for the right words to come out, but nothing did, so she just nodded and walked past Mari out the door and into the hallway. She walked briskly to the guest room, grabbed her things, and asked one of the attendants to order her a car to take her home.

CHAPTER 22

“This is an intervention,” Lillian stated.

“A what?” Elin asked.

“An intervention. I’m your sister, and I love you.”

“I know both of those things,” Elin replied, taking a drink of her coffee.

“Elin, you don’t even drink coffee.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen you drink coffee. One, you tried it the first time and hated it. Two, you tried it again, like, two years later and said you still didn’t like it.” Lillian held up a third finger. “Three, the–”

“So, I drink coffee now. What’s the big deal? I have, like, one or two cups a day. You’re giving me an intervention for coffee?”

“No, it’s more for your overall misery,” Lillian replied.

“My misery?”

“You’ve been miserable since Ingrid left.”

“Ingrid?”

“Yes,Ingrid.”

“You’re giving me an intervention because Ingrid left the palace?”

“It’s been a month, Elin.”

“So?”

“Have you seen her?”

“How would I see her? I’m working twenty-four seven, and she’s not here anymore. It’s not like I can just call her up and see if she wants to grab a drink sometime.”

“Yes, you could,” Lillian told her.

“No, I couldn’t. I came out to her, Lil. I told her I was gay. Admittedly, not my finest moment, and I almost caused her to choke to death, but I told her. She still left. Don’t you think if she were even remotely interested in either more with me or just staying on at the palace, she would have said something then or called here asking for her job back?”

“No, I don’t think that. I think she resigned for a reason; whatever that was. But I’m not here to talk to you about Ingrid. I’m here to talk to you about how you’re not yourself these days.”

“Because of coffee?”

“Why are you drinking coffee now?”

---