now?” His thumbs worked over the phone screen and he brought it to his ear, only saying, “I need you in my quarters,” before dropping the device to his side.
“I didn’t want you to worry about something I was sure was inconsequential. We couldn’t have done anything about it anyway.” I shook my head at him.
“Yes, we could!” His free hand pulled at his hair as he began to pace. “Had we been able to release the information first, we would have controlled the narrative—not the gossipmongers in the press! We could have invented some trivial reason for my failing to speak.”
All I could do was continue to shake my head as my palms became clammy with dread. “I never in a million years imagined Victoria would go to the press. If anything, I thought the worst she might do was go to the queen.” My head began to ache as I pleaded with him.
He halted his pacing and stared at me like he’d never seen me before. When he spoke, his tone was low and careful. “I’ve been sending her to the Bernards every bloody day for a week to get her out of your hair. The Bernards, Alice.”
My stomach dropped to my feet. I’d known this. Why hadn’t I made the connection? The group of secretaries Malcolm liked to call the Bernards were notorious for spreading gossip around the palace. Their usual fare included which cook was having an affair with which housekeeper or who’d gained a stone over the holidays, so it was never anything that might interest the press. But any information they happened upon was guaranteed to make the palace rounds in no time. And such a highly sensitive tidbit such as this might have proven irresistible to someone wanting attention—or perhaps retribution. If it hadn’t been Victoria herself, she’d certainly been the catalyst.
“Malcolm, I… I’m so so sorry. I didn’t think…” I was unused to making mistakes, and I didn’t like the feeling at all. But the only thing I could do was apologize and do my best to fix things.
He didn’t respond, instead chewing on the inside of his cheek and studying the rug for longer than I liked. The feeling of being on the wrong side in a breakdown of poor judgment was not only unfamiliar, it was exhausting. It was doing my nerves in.
When he finally spoke, his voice was flat. “I wish you’d told me. I trusted you to keep this absolutely confidential.”
Panic knotted in my chest. “I didn’t tell her anything. She violated my privacy!”
Malcolm’s voice assumed more of an edge this time. “Even so, you didn’t say anything and now we’re working from a deficit.”
This was so unfair. “It’s not my fault she’s petty, Malcolm.”
“I didn’t say it was. But your job was to be my partner in this, yet I keep finding out you kept things from me. You have to understand how that makes me feel.”
I swallowed, hating that he was right. “So you’re saying you don’t trust me anymore.”
“We can talk about this later.” He dismissed me like a disobedient child, waving his hand and crossing to the kitchen. It seemed the tables had truly turned.
But it couldn’t wait. “I want to talk about it now.” Surely we could sort this argument and get back to the task of making him king.
He gripped the counter and I could see his jaw tighten as he grappling with his control and finally lost. “You just have to have everything under your control. Alice decides who does what and when, who needs to know and who doesn’t. You can’t possibly be surprised that in spinning all those plates, none would break.”
So now my problem-solving skills were in question? Not so fast, Prince Chaos.
I advanced his way, index finger at the ready. “You’re the one who came all the way to America to blackmail me and drag me on a plane to fix your problems. I quit because I was afraid my personal feelings would cloud my judgment, but you dragged me back in.” I dug my finger into the counter between us. “You know what I think? I think I’m the only person who’s ever left you and you couldn’t stand the thought of our relationship ending on anyone’s terms but yours.”
He shifted back, his mouth dropping open. “That’s not true! I needed you because you were the only person who knew me well enough.”
My responding laugh was bordering on hysterical. I was losing it. “God! It’s always