Page 49 of Duchess Material

“She is far from a servant,” Winston stammered. “First, we say staff. Second, a private secretary is the highest-ranking member of one’s staff. She’s Natalie’s right hand, but she was always integral to the Queen’s staff, too. Natalie took her on because she needed someone good in this transition and Lucy knew everything. She took her from pilot to princess in one fell swoop. They are joined at the hip. I’d argue Natalie sees Lucy as her most important confidante. Your daughter is beyond amazing. She herds cats and makes miracles happen. People respect her like you wouldn’t believe!”

“Uh-huh. And your parents? They let her eat at the dinner table?”

Winston looked appalled.

“What? I’m asking. You know she’s not from fancy stock. We’re not the sort of people you’d ever talk to. Thank God she’s pretty, right?”

Winston breathed deeply, beating his anger down. “Sir… she’s more than pretty. She’s beautifully brilliant. And… my family… they adore Lucy. She and my mother have worked together—worked as a real sense—for years. My mother couldn’t be happier that she’s with me. Lucy is invited to everything. You can find her sitting with Natalie at the Queen’s behest. She is family. In fact, I think she will attend family Christmas with us this year.”

Winston stuck his neck out about Christmas. He was sure that could have been a disaster waiting to happen, but he loved Lucy. He would have spent his life with her in a heartbeat. He hoped he could.

“You don’t mind she’s poor?”

“She’s not poor, sir. We come from a different financial background, but Lucy is one of the best-connected women in London. She has riches beyond measure. She’s got a lovely brain. She has compassion for people and animals like you wouldn’t imagine. She takes care of everyone around her. Not everything can be measured in money, sir.”

“Well, I live in the real world. it matters. I always hoped she’d be married by now and have kids, but no dice.”

“No dice? Sir, she’s not even thirty!”

“If she works, she shouldn’t be having kids. By the time she gets around to it, she’s going to be too old or they’re going to be demented or somethin’.”

Winston looked over to see Lucy standing there, lip quivering. Lucy was melting down. The pressures of womanhood constantly beat Lucy down. Her father wasn’t helping. As Winston brainstormed a way to extricate them—an excuse, a chore, anything—Dwight made it worse.

“Well, eggs aren’t good forever. Thank God your sister’s boyfriend finally got off his ass and did something about it. This working stuff… it’s selfish, you know? She should have settled down by now.”

Lucy cried.

Dwight rolled his eyes. “Oh, here come the waterworks. Stop being a baby, Lucy! Your mother had you young and you turned out okay. You’re risking never having children out of your own pig-headed reasons for what… being a servant to a princess?”

Winston was paralysed. What did he do? He wanted to pick Lucy up and run off with her, fleeing the nonsense.

He stood, determined. “Dwight, I think you’ve had enough for the evening. Your daughter doesn’t deserve that commentary.”

Dwight matched Winston, only coming up to the younger man’s chest. “Oh, as if you’d know, red!”

Lucy looked suddenly mortified. Winston tried not to laugh. It was silly. Dwight took one swing and then fell over, right on his head. Winston instinctively jumped in to pick him up. It looked like a nasty fall.

“I’m alright, I’m alright! Get the fuck off me!” Dwight batted Winston away.

Brittany rushed in. “What happened? What happened?”

“Dad, stay on the ground,” Lucy said. “You could have a concussion.”

“Nah, nah.” He stood and fell again.

Winston couldn’t tell if Dwight’s bell was rung, or he was just too drunk to stand.

Lucy explained, “Dad tried punching Winston for telling him to leave me alone.”

“What did you say to him, Lucy?” Brittany demanded. “What now? You always set him off.”

Lucy burst into tears. Winston wanted to throttle her mother. He’d seen that defence before. He’d seen his mother try to manage his abusive father by blaming herself for his drunken outbursts.

Winston jumped to her defence. “She said nothing. She literally said nothing.”

Brittany laughed nervously. “I’m sorry he tried to brawl with you. He does this sometimes… gets a little too wild. It’s all in good fun, ya know?”

“He needs to go to hospital surely!”

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