CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

“You wanted to see me?” Ingrid asked, walking into Steven’s office.

Steven was the senior most private secretary. He’d been serving the King since he succeeded his father, and, therefore, was nearing retirement. This whole organization ran on seniority. Steven and Markus were the King’s private secretaries, with Markus being the junior of the two. Christian used Markus as well when needed, but since he was still in the Royal Air Force, he didn’t require much support. Then, there was Ingrid, who had been with the palace or government for the past fourteen years in a variety of roles, working as Elin’s private secretary at the moment. After her, Katrin handled Princess Lillian’s affairs. Mari had no secretary of her own while away at university and now while she was performing her two-year military service, but she would share Katrin upon her return to the palace.

“I need to swear you to the utmost secrecy with what I am about to tell you. I assume you understand?”

“Of course,” she said, leaning forward in her chair.

“His Majesty King Hans is retiring – he will be abdicating due to health reasons. We’re still working on the timing.”

Ingrid didn’t know what to say, so she just sat there. King Hans had been slowly declining for the past few years. She’d noticed it getting worse and worse in recent months, so the news wasn’t entirely surprising to her, but it did put them in a unique situation that she hadn’t been prepared for.

“Prince Christian has decided to retain his Captaincy in the Royal Air Force. He has asked to no longer be a senior member of the royal family and has requested to be removed from the line of succession, which has been granted by His Majesty.”

“What?” That was surprising.

Steven ran his hand over his white beard and mustache and said, “This cannot get out until we’re ready. We must control the message, Ingrid.”

“I understand.” Then, it hit her. “This means that Elin–”

“The Princess Royal,” he corrected.

“Yes, I’m sorry. She’s going to be–”

“Queen of Norway, yes.”

“Does she know?” Ingrid asked.

“What? Of course, she knows. Do you think you would know before Her Royal Highness?”

“Sorry, no,” she replied, realizing that had been a dumb question. “Wow.”

“I don’t know that ‘wow’ is the appropriate response, but this changes things for us as much as it does for them.”

She very much doubted that.

“I will remain on as the King’s secretary until my retirement. Markus will begin working with Elin once the announcements are made. You are to become Her Royal Highness, Princess Lillian’s secretary. Katrin will work with Mari upon the Princess’s return from service.”

Ingrid shook her head rapidly and asked, “I’m not working with The Princess Royal anymore?”

“If you ask me, we never should have adopted that title from the British. King Hans wanted to bestow something special upon his first daughter on her twenty-first birthday, though, so here we are. I just hope that once she becomes Queen, she doesn’t give it to Princess Lillian. We’d have to change all the stationery and everything on the website again… It’s a nightmare.”

Ingrid didn’t hear him as he rambled on. She’d only heard the part about no longer being Elin’s private secretary and working with Lillian now. Her Royal Highness was fine. She was high-maintenance – or, at least, that was how Katrin had described her. In fact, Ingrid had always felt she’d won the royal family lottery when she’d gotten assigned to Elin. Elin was as low-maintenance as they come. She was kind, not demanding, and often considered Ingrid more consultant and, sometimes, even a partner than a palace employee.

“Any questions?” Steven asked her.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“Are you paying attention, Miss Olson?” he asked her, clearly irritated.

“Yes, I am. And no, I don’t have any questions.”

“Very well. The Princess Royal has requested you accompany her on a trip to St. Rais to meet with Her Majesty Queen Antonia. Arrangements have been made through my office. I trust you’ll be able to accompany her?”

“Of course.”

“And when you return, we’ll begin the transition.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, knowing how all this worked.

Ingrid didn’t have a say in this. If she worked for the palace, there was a hierarchy and the way things were done. She’d fall in line, as always, even if she didn’t like it. As she walked out of Steven’s office, Ingrid wondered how much time she had left with Elin, and just thinking about a ticking clock on their working relationship made her sad.

◆◆◆

“Oh, sorry,” Elin said when she tripped over her own feet before sitting down in her seat.

Ingrid watched it happen and tried to reach out in case Elin fell. The Princess and future Queen was a clumsy one, and it manifested in many different ways. Sometimes, she spilled. Other times, she tripped. Then, she’d stumble over her words. Ingrid wondered what caused it because Elin seemed so confident and put-together; to the point where, after having thought about it, it made perfect sense that she be next in line instead of Christian, who seemed to prefer to improv his speeches that had been carefully crafted for him instead of sticking to the script.

“Are you all right, Ma’am?” Ingrid asked.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t expect you to be in your seat already,” she said with flushed cheeks.

Ingrid had taken a back-facing seat since she knew Elin preferred to face the front of the aircraft when they flew, and it was easier for them to converse and work when they faced each other.

“I was told you wanted me to make the trip with you,” Ingrid said.

“I do. I thought we could run through some of the details for the foundation gala now that we have some time. Plus, I know how much you like St. Rais,” Elin replied.

“You do?” Ingrid asked.

Elin met her eyes and smiled as her blush deepened.

“I remember you mentioned it the last time I told you I was going. You like the hot springs there, I believe.”

“Oh. Yes, I do. I’ve only been once, but they were lovely,” Ingrid replied.

“Well, the flight is a short one. We can go over all the details for the gala now. Then, when we get there, you can go to the springs, and we can wrap anything up on the way back.”

“You don’t need me for your meeting with the Queen?” Ingrid asked, looking a little confused.

“It’s not a meeting; I’m just visiting friends,” Elin replied. “I mainly thought you could use it as a holiday yourself, if you’d like.”

“Ma’am, that’s not necessary,” Ingrid said. “I have holidays I can take when–”

“I’ve already reserved you a time. You can do that now; did you know that? Well, maybe some people can’t do that; I don’t know. I just called the park service there and told them who I was, and they said they can reserve a time so that you’d have it all to yourself.”

“You called them yourself?” Ingrid asked, a little surprised.

“I do know how to use a telephone.”

“Ma’am, you didn’t use your private number to–”

“No, I used a secure line,” Elin replied. “And the time is yours.”

“Ma’am, I think they assumed you were the one reserving the springs.”

“I was.”

“No, I mean that you’d be the one using them,” Ingrid clarified.

“I’m sure they did. But in any event, they’re yours for taking.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Ingrid said softly as she both heard and felt the engine of the plane begin to roar.

“Like I said, I just remembered you telling me you liked them.”

“Ma’am, can we talk about something else for a moment?” Ingrid asked, thinking part of the reason Elin was bringing her on this trip and offering her private, reserved time in the popular hot springs of St. Rais was that they wouldn’t be working together much longer.

“Of course,” Elin said.

“Steven informed me that I would soon be working with Her Royal Highness, Princess Lillian.”

“Oh,” Elin uttered before she sighed. “Yes, I was informed of that as well.”

“I know there will be a transitional period. I just wanted you to know that I’ll be here to support you through this, and I will give my best to Princess Lillian.”

Elin tilted her head to the side and said, “I know that. I’d never doubt that. You give your best to everything you do.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.”

“You should know that I’d prefer you,” Elin told her.

“You would?” Ingrid asked.

Elin swallowed and said, “I… Yes, I’d… I prefer the continuity.”

“Oh, of course,” Ingrid said, lowering her head a bit.

“And I’ve–” Elin cleared her throat. “I’ve enjoyed our time working together as well. I…”

“Your Royal Highness, may I offer you coffee or tea?” their stewardess on board asked as she approached.

“Tea, Ingrid?” Elin asked her.

“Coffee, please,” Ingrid replied.

“Two sugars,” Elin told the stewardess.

“In your tea or your coffee, Ma’am?”

“No, I meant Ingrid takes her coffee with two sugars. I’ll have tea with milk, please,” she replied.

“Of course, Ma’am,” the stewardess said, bowing her head slightly as she walked off.

“Thank you,” Ingrid said to Elin.

Elin nodded and said, “I just want you to know that this isn’t my choice.”

“I understand. I am junior to Markus, Ma’am,” Ingrid replied.

“Markus is nearly as old as Steven,” Elin said with a smile. “He’s not that far off from retirement himself.”

“So, there might be a chance we’d get to work together again someday, assuming I stay on at the palace,” Ingrid replied.

“Assuming–” Elin stopped. “You’d leave? You–”

Elin opened her arms up a bit in a motion Ingrid didn’t understand, just as their stewardess was walking down the aisle carrying their coffee and tea. Ingrid reached forward to prevent the catastrophe, taking Elin’s hand and moving it back to the small table that separated them. Elin didn’t understand what was happening until she saw the stewardess, who was now attempting to place their cups on that same table. Ingrid quickly released the Princess’s hand and nodded at her.

“Thank you,” Elin told her. “That would have been a disaster.”

“Might I suggest you keep your hands out of the aisle when expecting the delivery of a hot beverage, Ma’am?”

Elin laughed and nodded again, “Yes, I think that would be best for everyone.”

“Very good, Ma’am.”

“Can I get you anything else, Ma’am?” the stewardess asked.

“Ingrid?” Elin asked her.

She nearly always did that. Whenever the two of them were working and someone asked if they wanted anything, Elin rarely just answered for herself. She always asked Ingrid first and then did so. It was something Ingrid hadn’t noticed about any of the other royals, but not even in some of the government officials she’d worked with.

“Biscuits for The Princess Royal, please,” Ingrid said. “The chocolate ones.”

Elin added, “And the toffee.”

Ingrid smiled. Chocolate was Elin’s greatest love; Ingrid was convinced. Ingrid, herself, preferred toffee. It had been three years of learning her Princess’s favorite things, least favorite things, quirks, and overall personality. Now, she would have to start over with a much more demanding, precocious Princess. And Ingrid was nearly thirty-seven; she wasn’t certain she’d have the energy or the desire to put up with the antics of a twenty-seven-year-old woman who couldn’t decide between wallpaper or paint in the kitchen of her would-be private residence. Markus was in his fifties, though. If she could deal with Lillian for the next ten years or so, the Queen would only be forty and have many more years on her throne. Ingrid could work with her then. That was what she kept telling herself as they discussed the gala seating arrangements, Elin’s speech, the donors they still needed to lock in, and the impending arrival of Princess Mari and departure of Prince Christian.

“Even when we’re separated, I always feel him,” Elin said as the plane prepared to land. “This feels different, though.”

“How so?”

“The dynamic has shifted between us. I’m going to be Queen. He was going to be King. I know he wants the Air Force, and I’m happy he gets what he wants, but I’ve always felt one or two steps behind my big brother. Now, I’d have to walk in front of him. That’s going to take some getting used to,” Elin replied.

Ingrid watched her blue eyes as they stared out the window at the island of St. Rais, one of Elin’s favorite places to visit these past few years Ingrid had served her. How had this woman turned out like this when her siblings were all so different? Christian had shied away from responsibility until he joined the Air Force, and now he saw only that. Lillian attended the events and worked with her charities but seemed more concerned with finding a new boyfriend and decorating her house than the fact that she was third in line to the throne of a country; soon to be second until Elin had children of her own. Mari wanted nothing to do with royal life. It wouldn’t surprise Ingrid if the youngest Princess also asked to leave the line of succession one day. She seemed happiest when she was reading a good book or when she’d been off at university in Sweden and hardly anyone paid attention to her.

“Personally, Ma’am, I believe you have always outshone your brother. Even before we began working together, I saw it. You will be the Queen this country needs you to be. I’d be proud to call you Your Majesty, Queen Elin.”

Elin blushed again, and as she brought her likely now-cold tea to her lips, the cup shook, and Ingrid prepared for the Princess to drop it. Elin managed a sip, though, and placed it back on the saucer. The plane touched down just after, and Ingrid thanked God it hadn’t touched down a moment earlier, or Elin would surely have tea all over her blazer and silk shirt.