A Royal Engagement: The Young Royals Book 1 (24 page)

Meredith nodded, "And I'm sure there are more people out there who will support you too."

I smiled at them, "Thank you," I said, "I'm going to need all the help I can get."

The meeting broke up after that and I was ushered into my suite to get changed for the afternoon tea.
 
This was the first of many to be conducted over the next few months.
 
The agenda was to meet with the up and coming female leaders of our small country to garner their support.
 
I just hoped that I could inspire the same amount of confidence in them that my team seemed to have.

The gathering wasn't large, just ten women plus my entourage.
 
We all dressed in our prettiest tea party dresses and wore polite society smiles as we sipped tea from delicate china cups and ate dainty petit fours.
 
There was polite conversation but there was also a fair bit of wary looks and sizing of one another up.

Some of these women had grown up titled and were experts at the parlour games that were played at court, some of them had not been exposed to such machinations but were smart and experienced in holding their own in hostile situations and then there were the ones who were completely out of their depth.

I mingled, making sure to speak to each person in attendance.
 
I needed to get a feel for who I could rely on and who would be a problem for me.
 
And I hated every minute of it.
 
I was not adept at the pointed conversations that said more than the the words you could hear and I was not a fan of subterfuge and underhandedness.
 
I was really no match for some of these women, but I knew I would need them in my court if I were to mount a significant defence for my crown.

I currently sat at a table with four very unlikely allies.
 
Lady Isabella de Vaughn sat opposite me and eyed me over the rim of her tea cup with a shrewd eye.
 
This was a woman I wanted on my side.
 
As head of the Women's Caucus, a group dedicated to furthering the political aspirations of women in Merveille, she knew the law and had tangled many times with both the Prime Minister and the Major General.
 
She was very vocal about women's rights and the need for more women in Parliament.
 
But she also tended to be a bit abrasive.

"So, Your Grace," she said to me across the table, "It is a very interesting mix of guests you have here today."

I smiled serenely, "It is," I agreed.

"It's not what I expected when I received your invitation," she went on.

"No?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow, "What did you expect?"

She shrugged an elegant shoulder and sipped her tea, "Well I certainly didn't expect to see Catherine here, not that I'm complaining."

Catherine Maddison smiled tightly at Lady Isabella.
 
She was not titled but she was the head of the Women's Business Association.
 
I had been pleased to discover that there were quite a few female business owners in Calanais and they had banded together to form this association to support one another.

"It definitely isn't the usual crowd," Lady Poppy Della Sabina added with a slight turn up of her lip.
 
She was probably the 'one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other' guest.
 
Lady Poppy loved everything about being titled and privileged and was President of the Merveille Women's Society.
 
She took it as her personal mission to ensure that each and every well-bred lady was properly introduced to society and that they had impeccable manners, etiquette and deportment.
 
She had taken it as a personal affront when I decided to go stateside for my university degree and therefore miss out on my debutante ball.
 
I didn't think she had forgiven me yet.

"I think it's wonderful," Georgina spoke up.
 
Will's sister and I were close in age, although she seemed younger and more...
fragile
...than me.
 
I put that down to the hard times her family had been through in recent times.
 
Nevertheless, Alex assured me she would be a good fit with what we were trying to build.
 
She was studying abroad, law, and despite her seeming naiveté, she was very active in various women's advocate groups.

"May I speak bluntly?" I asked.

"Of course," Lady Isabella said.

"I would like to form a mastermind of sorts," I said.
 
I looked at each of them to gauge their reactions.
 
Isabella looked skeptical, Georgina looked eager, Catherine looked intrigued and Poppy looked almost horrified.

"And what would this mastermind be in aid of?" Isabella asked.

"I believe that the women in Merveille deserve a higher profile.
 
We have a country of smart, savvy women who are looking outside our borders because of the lack of opportunities.
 
I'd like to see that change."

"It is not exactly a supportive atmosphere for women with ambition," Catherine said.

"And I'd like to change that," I said.

"How?"

"I have no idea," I said truthfully, "But that is what today is about.
 
I want to see who is interested in forming this mastermind and then together so we can form a plan of action."

"I don't exactly know why I'm here," Poppy said, "I'm not known for my love of the women's liberation movement."
 
She made a face as the words crossed her tongue like they tasted bitter.

I smiled, "This is not about the women's liberation movement," I said, "This is about choice.
 
I want all our girls growing up knowing that they have a choice.
 
They can be boardroom CEOs or politicians or housewives without being afraid of judgement or being ostracised for their choices.
 
That is what I believe true equality is."

"Well, I think it's vulgar," Poppy said, getting to her feet, "Merveille is the last bastion of gentle society and I refuse to see it destroyed by some upstart who has barely spent any time in the country.
 
I don't agree that our children should be abandoned to fend for themselves so that their mother's can chase after a career.
 
I think seeing women in the Houses of Parliament is unseemly and I will not support any such changes."

She stomped off and there was a moment of shocked silence.

"So that's a 'maybe' then Poppy?" Isabella called after her.

"I can't say I'm surprised," Catherine said, "She organised a boycott of all the businesses that we represent because she didn't think that women should run a business."

"I knew it was a long shot,"
 
I murmured, "But I didn't want to dismiss her out of hand.
 
At least we know where she stands now, what about you three?"

"I'm in," Georgina said.

"The idea has some merit," Isabella conceded.

"I'm interested," Catherine said, "But my business comes first, so I don't know how much time I can contribute."

"Wonderful," I said, "I will have Alex contact you all with more information when we have it."

I smiled to myself, despite Poppy's reaction, I thought the day was going well.

By the end of the afternoon, I was having second thoughts.
 
So many of the women I had spoken to were resistant to see any change in Merveille's policies in regards to women.
 
There were times when I'd wanted to grab the particular Lady I was talking to and give her a good shake.
 
We were living in the twenty-first century and they were behaving like it was the nineteenth.

Not only were they reluctant to see more equality for women, some were also opposed to my becoming Head of State, some stating their opinions quite loudly and rudely.
 
Oh, they didn't mind if I became Queen, that was fine, as long as I was married and my husband took over all my Head of State duties.

I also had to tactfully dodge the gossip about my engagement to Jordan.
 
These women were surprisingly adept at Social Media and despite the palace's 'no comment' on the leaked information, they all took it as gospel truth, nodding and winking in a conspiratorial way when I denied that there would be an upcoming wedding.
 
If not for my years of training, I may have lost my temper and given a few of them a tongue lashing.
 
But I kept my mouth shut, even if it meant literally biting my tongue at times.

So it was with relief that I bid each of the women goodbye.
 
Those that had shown interest in the mastermind would be contacted by Alex to set up a more intimate meeting and the rest would stay ignorant of our plans.

"Thank you so much for inviting me," Georgina said as she was leaving.

"I'm so glad you could come," I said honestly, "I haven't had a chance to thank you and Will for saving me the other day.
 
Maybe we could get together for dinner sometime soon so I can thank you properly."

"Oh, that would be lovely," she said, smiling, "But Will is away on business for the next couple of weeks."

"Oh?" I said feeling disappointed, "When did he leave."

"Yesterday," she said, "Right after you were picked up.
 
It was an unexpected trip and one he couldn't avoid."

I battled with feelings that I didn't quite understand at this news.
 
Will had left, without saying goodbye, without checking that I was okay.
 
Instead of voicing these thoughts I plastered a smile on my face and pretended it was fine.

"Well, when he gets back then.
 
I'll have Alex send you my personal email and you can let me know when he returns so we can get together.
 
I really am grateful for what you both did and I'd like to somehow show you my appreciation."

"Thank you," she replied demurely, "But you really don't have to.
 
We only did what any good neighbour would've done."

"Maybe," I said, "But I'd still like to say thanks."

I watched her walk away and my thoughts were filled with Will.
 
Why had he left so suddenly, did it have anything to do with our kiss?
 
With the fight he had with Jordan?

I went through my remaining duties by rote until I could escape to my rooms.
 
I had my dinner in my suite and sat alone pondering Will's sudden departure.
 
And his kiss.

Things had moved so quickly after Jordan had brought me home that I hadn't had time to really examine my feelings about what happened.
 
It was kind of funny that I had spent four years in America among men who were much more forward and demanding of physical affection and yet it had taken me to come home to our oh-so-very conservative country to experience my first kiss.

Laying hands on a royal was highly impolite, kissing one was beyond offensive, but I hadn't minded.
 
When Will had kissed me, it had felt like the most natural thing in the world.
 
We were just two people with a mutual attraction and it hadn't mattered that I was the Queen in Waiting and that he was an impoverished Duke.
 
We seem to fit together and his soft lips on mine had set me on fire.

Kissing Jordan had been exciting and a little scandalous.
 
The combination of it being my first kiss and that it was out in the open and at a Royal function had all combined to make it something magical.
 
And then again when he had coaxed me into the maze and away from my security team, the adrenalin of doing something forbidden had heightened the experience.
 
It had all felt like a wonderfully fun game.

But kissing Will had been an entirely different matter.
 
Kissing Will had seemed more real, more intimate.
 
Where Jordan's kisses had been showy and almost like he was making a public claim or statement, Will's had been private and sincere and made special because of it.

The two men were polar opposites, how could it be that I was attracted to both?
 
They both had qualities I admired and they both equally frustrated me at times.
 
Will could be cutting with his remarks and his standoffishness, Jordan too cavalier.
 
But I liked Jordan's sense of fun and his easy smile.
 
I was similarly drawn to Will's softer, thoughtful nature and the intense way he looked at me.

But perhaps my attraction to Will was moot anyway.
 
He left, without a word to me.
 
Maybe he found my kisses inexperienced and bland.
 
Maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing to kiss me by the firelight and hadn't meant anything to him at all.
 
I know that Jordan stormed in spouting off things about us being engaged, but surely if he really felt something for me then he would fight for me.

I was so out of my depth.
 
I had such little experience with men and relationships that I had no idea what to do.
 
Being with Jordan seemed so easy, from the very moment I had stepped off the plane, he had been there for me.
 
I liked spending time with him, I liked talking to him and despite his resistance to my desire to be Head of State, I did like him, could even see myself falling in love with him.

But there was something about Will.
 
Our relationship had started out rocky, right from when we were kids.
 
When I had returned to Merveille, it had been awkward with him, but I couldn't deny the attraction I'd felt in spite of that.
 
And then the other day when he had rescued me and taken care of me and then kissed me...that made me want to melt into a puddle of goo.