“If you’re the queen, Marge will be crown princess,” said Chase. “That’s how it usually works.”
“I’m going to skip a generation and make Odelia queen.”
“Marge won’t like it,” said Chase.
Gran waved an imperious hand.“Marge will be fine. It’s Tex that I’m worried about. Can you imagine having Tex as king? That simply won’t do. No, when I’m done being queen, in thirty years or so, I’ll abdicate the throne and make you queen, Odelia. Of course you’ll have to change your name. Queen Odelia just doesn’t have that ring to it. You’d have to choose something regal. Like Eleanor. Or Mathilde.”
“Tell me you’re joking, Gran,” said Odelia.
“I’m dead serious! America’s getting its queen and I’m going to ask the British queen for a couple of pointers and useful tips of the trade.”
“It’s not gonna happen,” said Chase. “You’d have to rewrite the constitution. Heck, you’d have to change the whole system.”
“Systems can be changed, and constitutions can be rewritten. I’ll ask my future colleague the Queen to put in a good word for me.”
“A good word won’t make it happen, Gran,” said Odelia. “You can’t be queen. And if you try, everybody’s gonna think you’re a crackpot.”
“Nonsense. The moment we get back, I’m going to Washington and tell them to call off the next election. I’m sure they’ll all be very happy. Elections are tough, not to mention expensive. A queen is a much cheaper option.”
Odelia couldn’t argue with that part.
“What are you going to tell them in Washington?” asked Chase, who seemed to think the whole thing was a big joke.
“I’ll just tell them: Your queen is here. You may bow now.”
“They’ll probably kick you out,” said Chase with a laugh.
“No, they won’t. I’ll convince them to give it a shot.”
Odelia remembered they’d all watchedMr. Smith Goes to Washington the other day. That was probably where Gran had gotten the idea.
“Gran, you don’t know the first thing about being a queen!” she said.
“Or politics,” Chase added.
“Which is why I’m going to ask the Queen to give me some tips,” said Gran patiently. “The woman has been queen for so long she knows a thing or two about the job and will only be too happy to help out an aspiring royal.”
“Oh, dear God,” said Odelia, leaning her head back against the leather headrest. “And here I thought you’d finally gone sane.”
“I have gone sane. Even better. I’ve gone queen.”
“Gran, you simply can’t—”
But Gran wagged her finger.“What’s with all this ‘Gran’ business? You’ll address me as Your Royal Highness from now on.”
“But Gran!”
But Gran tilted her chin and looked away.
“All right—Your Royal Highness!”
Gran looked up, comporting herself very regally indeed.“Yes?”
“What will Mom and Dad say?”
Gran lifted her shoulders in a queenly shrug.“Let them eat cake.”
Chapter 20
The meeting took place at a shelter for homeless people, and Tessa was clearly in her element. Accompanied by Dante, and watched over by an ever-vigilant Angela, she talked to several of the homeless present, the people who ran the center, and a selected group of reporters snapping shots and filming the whole thing for the evening news. Wherever Tessa went, film crews followed. She was a lightning rod for their attention, her presence electrifying. Dressed soberly in a simple black dress, she played her role to perfection, showing genuine affection for the shabbily clothed vagrants.
Dante, who stood next to Odelia, gleamed with pride.
“She’s amazing, isn’t she?” said Odelia.
“She is. She’s grown in the role and handles it all with such grace.”
“I think she’s wonderful, no matter what the media people say.”
The gleam diminished as Dante locked eyes with Otis Robbins for a moment, then looked away.“It’s tragic the media would choose to turn my wife into a target. Especially as she’s the most wonderful person I’ve ever met and the terrible things they write about her are lies, every single one of them.”
“I must say that not all the media are against her, though,” said Chase, gesturing to several members of the press who smiled and applauded as Tessa placed a kiss on an elderly woman’s cheeks, much to the woman’s glee.
“No, of course not. But it’s people like Otis Robins who don’t seem to grasp that we have a real opportunity here. An opportunity to change the way we royals interact with the public. On an equal footing, I mean.”
Odelia watched as Tessa’s smile was infectious, and reflected in the smiles of the people she met. “I think it’s true what they say about her,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“Despised by the media barons, loved by the people.”
“That’s exactly true. Which just goes to show that whatever they write about her, the vast majority of the population sees right through those lies.”
“Her rise has certainly been meteoric,” said Chase. “Until a few months ago I’d never even heard of Tessa Torrance.”
Dante looked up sharply.“What do you mean? She’s Odelia’s cousin.”
Oops!“What Chase means is that I never told him about her,” said Odelia.
“Right. And why is that?” asked Dante, a little crossly, it seemed.
“It’s complicated,” said Odelia. “Family stuff. You know.”
Dante nodded.“Oh, I do know. Family is both the most wonderful and most frustrating thing in the world.”
“It is,” said Odelia, staring at her grandmother, who stood practicing her regal poise, and had started waving to anyone who would pay her attention.
Tessa now called for silence.“I would like to say a few words,” she said with an engaging smile. “I think what you’re doing here at the center is both important and incredibly inspiring. And being with you here today has certainly inspired me to do more—to be more. I can’t imagine the situations some of you have endured, and the courage it must have taken you to live through them and still be the amazing, gracious people you clearly are.”
And she would probably have said more, if not suddenly there was a loud crack, and suddenly something seemed to explode behind Tessa. And then all hell broke loose, as more cracks sounded, which Odelia now recognized as shots being fired. Tessa and all those present ducked for cover while the people from her security team all huddled around her, keeping her safe.
People were screaming and yelling and as Chase growled,“Too bad I couldn’t bring my gun!” suddenly the lights in the room were doused and for a moment it seemed as if fear was the only thing Odelia knew.
Being on the floor, in the dark, a crazed shooter on the loose, she flashed back to the most crucial times in her life. And as she lay there, Chase right next to her, she suddenly heard herself ask,“Chase, if we make it out of here alive—will you marry me?”
“We will make it out of here alive,” he said, “and yes, I will marry you. But damn it, you kinda stole my thunder, Poole!”
“I’m sorry! I just thought if I don’t ask now maybe we’ll both be dead and I’ll regret not asking!”
“When you’re dead you have no regrets. Or at least that’s the consensus.”
“I know! I’m not thinking straight right now.”
“Thinking straight or not, I’m going to walk you down that aisle, babe, and I’m going to kiss the bride, if it’s the last thing I do!”
“Me, too!”
Suddenly the lights in the room flashed on again, and when Odelia glanced around, her eyes adjusting to the light, she saw that Tessa was still alive, and seemingly not hurt. Dante was with her, and he, too, seemed to be all right.