Page 85 of Scandal Queen

“They were worried.

“Ollie’s been in as well.” She cringed. “Told me I had to sort myself out.”

Wow. He really hadn’t slept. Our whispered conversation of the night before came back to me. His request for us to let nature take its course. It made my heart thrum too fast. Could I?

I rubbed at my face.

“Nice bling.”

“You saw it last night but I guess you don’t remember.”

“I knew he’d ask you soon.” She smiled, but her lips were pale and dry.

I stared at my hands for a moment. “Your dad doesn’t want us to announce it until the new year. He thinks it will be too much for the public. I guess maybe he thinks they won’t take it seriously.”

Isabella nodded softly but then cringed, wincing one eyed closed. “It’s only a few weeks. We’ve got to go through the bore of Christmas in Wales yet. God, I hate that it’s the same shit every year. It feels like it’s never going to end.”

“You need to spend some time recovering. Isabella, that was incredibly dangerous. Ecstasy is not safe.”

“Would you rather heroin? Because, honestly, I find my come down too hard after that.”

I stared at her open mouthed. “Don’t even joke.”

Her hands wrung together. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry and do something. Isabella, this isn’t going to go away.”

“Call me Bella, please. You sound like a governess.”

I snorted. “Well I don’t want to sound like that.”

We lapsed into silence for a moment and I found myself staring at my ring again. “Can I ask a question?”

“So long as you aren’t going to ask the meaning of my life. My head hurts too much for that; and really, I’m not sure there is one.”

“One what?”

“A meaning.”

I watched her carefully.

“Oh ignore me, it’s just the come down.” She waved her hand. “Come on, what were you going to ask?”

“What was he like with her?”

Bella looked at me, a frown creasing her forehead. “Oh you mean with Charlotte?”

I slumped a little. “Everyone is going to compare me to her aren’t they? I mean, they’d already accepted her as their future princess, and now what, he’s going to ask them to accept me instead.”

She was silent for so long I thought she’d fallen asleep. Eventually, she lifted slightly out of the bed and grabbed my hand. “He was an utter fucking bore.”

“A bore?”

“Leia, you’ve changed him. Everything maybe. But don’t push too hard. The people will love you, honestly. It’s an annoying trait of yours, but it’s kind of hard not to get swept up and see things your way. Give them time. Let them see you together, see the way you two are. At the moment, you haven’t really had the chance and they are judging you on the small things they can see.” Her fingers squeezed again. “But once your engagement is announced then you will be on official duties. Then they will see the real you.”

“So you don’t think Charlotte would have been better than me?”

“Are you fucking crazy? The woman was unhinged. John did Ollie a massive favour, which he well knows.”