Neena shrugged. “Who’s up first? Kile? The entire palace is pulling for him. He’s so cute and smart and oh, my goodness, if you don’t want him, send him my way.”
“Don’t you have a boyfriend?”
She sighed. “I hate it when you’re right.”
I laughed. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a connection with him. I even told him as much … but I keep pausing on him. I’m not sure why, but I’m not ready to say he’s my first choice.”
“Okay,” Lady Brice replied. “Who else?”
“Hale. He’s got a great attitude and has vowed to prove himself to me every day. He’s yet to fail. And he’s easy to be around. That’s one of the reasons I like Fox, too.”
“Fox is more attractive than Hale,” Neena said. “Not to be shallow, but those things matter in public opinion.”
“I understand that, but beauty is subjective. You know how sometimes what makes a person attractive is the way they make you laugh or how it seems like they can read your mind? I want to think about that, too.”
Neena smiled. “So you’d pick Hale over Fox then?”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant exactly. I’m only trying to say that looks aren’t everything. We need to focus on other qualities.”
“Like?” Lady Brice encouraged.
“Like how Henri is endlessly optimistic. No matter the circumstance, he is a beacon of joy. And I don’t doubt his affection for me in the slightest.”
Neena rolled her eyes. “That’s fine, but he can’t speak English. There’s no way you two have ever had a conversation that did more than skim the surface.”
“That’s … well, that’s true. But he’s very sweet and would be good to me. Erik said it was possible for Henri to learn, but it might take a while. And he’s been up until midnight studying since he became an Elite. And for my part, I’m on my way to a Finnish lesson right now. We can work on this from both ends, and Erik could stay on for as long as it took for us to adjust.”
Lady Brice shook her head. “That’s rather unfair to Erik. He has a family, a job. He didn’t sign up to possibly be stuck at the palace for the next five years. What if he wants to find a partner of his own?”
I wanted to shoot back that she was wrong … but I couldn’t. Erik didn’t know how long the Selection would last when he agreed to come, but he certainly didn’t go into this thinking he’d live at the palace until his charge was fluent in English. And it would be unkind to ask him to do just that.
“He’d stay. I know it,” was all I said.
There was a silence after that, like Lady Brice knew I was in the wrong and was debating calling me on it. Instead she sighed.
“Who’s left? Ean?” she asked.
“Ean’s a little trickier, but trust me, he’s important.”
Neena squinted. “So then … they’re all front-runners?”
I sighed. “I guess so. I’m not sure if that means I chose well or chose poorly.”
Lady Brice laughed. “You chose well. Really. I may not understand Ean’s appeal or how you’d make things work with Henri, but they all have their merits. I think what we need to do at this point is step up their training, really start grooming them for the throne. That will help elevate some of them, I’m sure.”
“Grooming? That sounds creepy.”
“I don’t mean it like that. I’m simply saying—”
Lady Brice’s next words were lost because, without any warning, Grandma flung the door open.
“You really need to ask permission first,” a guard warned her in a hushed tone.
She kept walking toward me. “Well, my girl, it’s time for me to head out.”
“So soon?” I asked, embracing her.
“I can never stay too long. Your mother is recovering from a heart attack, and she still has the audacity to order me around. I know she’s the queen,” she conceded, raising her hands in the air in surrender, “but I’m her mother, and that trumps queen any day.”
I laughed. “I’ll remember that for down the road.”
“You do that,” she said, rubbing my cheek. “And if you don’t mind, get yourself a husband as soon as you can. I’m not getting any younger, and I’d like to see at least one great-grandchild before I’m dead.” She stared at my stomach and shook her finger. “Don’t let me down.”
“Ooooookay, Grandma. We have to get back to work here, so you head on home and make sure to call when you get there.”
“Will do, honey. Will do.”
I stood in silence, basking in the insanity that was my grandmother.
Neena leaned over. “Now, which of your top five do you think would be the most eager baby maker? Should we put that on a checklist?”
Even my most violent glare did nothing to diminish her giddiness. “Don’t forget, I can call in a firing squad at any moment if I like.”
“You can call that firing squad whenever you want, but I’ve got Grandma on my side, so I’ve got nothing to worry about.”
I slumped, letting the silliness of it all settle in. “Sadly, Neena, I think you’re right.”
“Don’t feel too bad. She means well at the heart of it all.”