for me.”
* * *
“I didn’t throw anyone under anything,” Bea said to us later that morning in her office. “This is how the game is played.”
“It’s not how Marj played it,” I said.
“It’s how the game is played by people who know what they’re doing,” Bea retorted sharply. “All due respect to Marj.”
“But it’s not even true,” Nick said. “Won’t Clive be angry when he finds out? What’s stopping him from releasing the story when no engagement materializes?”
Bea shrugged. “People break up all the time,” she said. “He can be the first to get that scoop, too. You said you trusted me, and so I did what I thought was best, and now the world is fawning over Frederick instead of hiding in Annabelle’s bushes.”
“Why would they be hiding in Annabelle’s bushes?” Freddie asked, rounding the corner into the office. “Bea, we need to talk about Daphne. It was a mob scene at Gatwick. Father had to charter her a plane back to The Hague.”
“I’m so sorry,” Nick said.
Freddie furrowed his brow. “It’s not your fault that Clive got bored of waiting you out and turned on me.” He took a beat. “Did he not get bored of waiting you two out? What am I missing?”
Nick reached over and kicked the door closed with his toe.
“Clive was going to publish a piece alleging that Nick and Annabelle Farthing slept together on New Year’s Eve two years ago, and have continued their affair ever since,” Bea told him.
“What?” Freddie said.
“It didn’t happen,” Nick said quickly.
Freddie was agape. “But there was reason for suspicion?”
Bea stood and gestured for Freddie to take her chair. “First of all,” she said, “I need a bigger office.”
“I’ll give you an entire floor if you can convince me this was necessary,” Nick snapped.
“We had to act. So I gave him a better story in exchange for his silence,” Bea said. “It’s what you’ll recall I was in favor of doing before your wedding, too.”
“That story also would’ve involved me, so I suppose I’m the go-to fall guy, then,” Freddie said.
“And it was an idea you originally volunteered,” Bea shot back. “Forgive me for borrowing from your playbook, Frederick, but you were so enthused about it last time. And it worked here.”
Freddie ran a hand through his hair. “Using Daphne is outrageous.”
“She may not like the attention, but the implication will not be unpleasant,” Bea said. “I did what had to be done.”
“I mean, congrats, then, I guess?” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Finally, someone speaking sense. You’re welcome,” Bea said.
“You danced with the devil,” Nick said, getting up as if he wanted to pace, before realizing he didn’t really have room, and sitting back down. “Everything we refused to do, on principle, you did without even telling us. We look weak.”
“I have news for you, Nicholas. You already did.” Bea looked down at all of us for a moment. “Marj is a wonderful woman, a very kind, very smart woman. But her fatal flaw in this position was that she had watched you grow up, and it turned into a tendency to pull her punches with you. I am not going to do that. Did you hire me to do a good job, or to blow smoke?”
“You’ve never blown smoke,” Freddie said.
“Exactly,” Bea said. “So listen up. One tawdry love triangle was bad enough. Two is a pattern. What’s the next domino? Some random tart who was at a party with you once, claiming you’re the father of her child? My job is to stanch the bleeding, and to do that, you’re going to have to swallow some compromises.”
“And the compromise involved compromising me,” Freddie said. “Fifty-third verse, same as the first. The Ginger Gigolo takes the heat off Nick again.”
“I didn’t do it,” Nick said.
“It certainly sounds like you did something,” Freddie spat back.
“You’ve done plenty over the years,” Nick shot back. “Let’s not pretend otherwise.”
“Enough,” Bea said, and she stomped her foot for emphasis. “Yes, Freddie, you were the human shield in this instance. But this ultimately is a good story for you, even if it’s false. Daphne reflects positively on you.”
“It’s not a positive for Daphne when she’s being chased back into bloody Gatwick Airport,” he argued.
“Daphne is the heir to the throne of the Netherlands, and the sooner she gets accustomed to people taking an interest in her private life, whether or not you are involved, the better,” Bea said. “I didn’t say she had to like it. But perhaps you