Royally Schooled

by McKenna James

  So I wasn’t even sure if Maggie would come to my defense. Though, frankly, I wasn’t sure I cared about that at the moment. I’d rather have her affection than her defense.

  I told myself that despite all this, we still had a chance. Because that was the only thought that was going to get me through this. If we ended up together, I could handle the world’s scrutiny. In fact, their opinions would mean nothing to me if I had Maggie by my side. Nobody could bother me. Until I knew I still had her, everything bothered me.

  I tried to get my stuff together, pack up all my things so that I’d be prepared to leave tonight. Time dragged on with how stressed I was, and I decided to take a break. I had a good ten hours until I had to leave, so I needed to eat even if it was one of the last things on my mind.

  I ordered some room service—just some fries because I didn’t imagine I could stomach much more than that—and turned on the TV.

  Of course, turning on the TV was a horrible idea, and I definitely should have known that. Front and center, as soon as the news came on, were photos of Maggie and me.

  The news anchors were talking very seriously about whether my dating her was an abuse of power. They even brought an expert on workplace sexual harassment in to discuss it.

  Bloody hell, this was a nightmare.

  I wanted to flip the channels or turn the television off, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was like a train wreck. I didn’t want to see it, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away.

  Room service knocked on the door and I went to open it, pulling out some cash to hand him as a tip; the food would have been put on a tab by the hotel.

  “Hey, thanks a lot,” I said, as I took the food from him and handed him my cash.

  When people run into me, I was used to getting a fairly positive reaction. This guy barely answered me.

  “Uh-huh,” he said with a disapproving glare.

  Goddammit, had public opinion shifted this quickly?

  Okay, I understood it. It was wrong to sleep with someone who worked for my family, but it was not at all abusive or coercive. She really liked me. We were growing toward a real relationship, not just some romp in the sheets.

  I shut the door quickly behind him and put my food down. I no longer had any desire to eat it.

  I reminded myself that I could deal with public opinion. That was bound to happen. I was in the spotlight, so I was going to be scrutinized. I grew up with that reality and was quite used to it. This was something that could be handled.

  As long as Maggie wasn’t done with me for exposing her. As long as there was still a chance with us, I’d be okay.

  If there wasn’t, I wasn’t sure how I’d get through this.

  It was a little hard for me to think about. I was starting to think this was the reason I’d fought commitment for so many years. It was so hard to feel as strongly as I did for Maggie and know that she may end things. That this may not work out for us. It felt like I was losing someone important to me, and after my father, I never wanted to lose anyone again. So I kept everybody at arm’s length.

  I just couldn’t do that with Maggie. She sparked something in me. I felt drawn to her like a magnet, like it was impossible to do anything without her by my side.

  Now I may have to face that possibility.

  Chapter 17

  Maggie

  “I just don’t get it!” Abigail groaned.

  “Well, let’s go over it again. Okay, see, you almost got it, but that’s a minus sign, not a plus sign.” I was going over her math homework.

  “Oh! I see!” She grinned. I loved the smile on her face whenever she finally understood something.

  It was so rewarding to work with both kids, even though sometimes it felt like Drew didn’t really need my help. He had his head buried in one of his Earth science books. I loved to be impressed by all the knowledge he constantly attained.

  “My brother is supposed to come back today, you know,” Abigail teased me.

  She never let up on the idea that I had a crush on Edward. I mean, she wasn’t wrong, but I never hinted that she was right about anything.

  “Oh, that’s great! I’m sure you’re very excited to see him.” I played it off as if I didn’t know already. I did, of course, and I was eager to talk to him about the hospital bill as well as put an end to this friends-with-benefits situation.

  “I’m sure you’re very excited to see him too.” She kept teasing.

  I rolled my eyes at Abigail but had to laugh at her persistence. Then Drew looked up from his book.

  “Do you really like my brother?” he asked plainly. He wasn’t joking at all, he genuinely wanted to know.

  “Well, as a friend, of course I do,” I told him.

  “I don’t mean as a friend,” he clarified.

  “Well, uh, no,” I lied. “Your brother and I are just friends.”

  He looked disappointed, which was a reaction I wasn’t expecting.

  “What’s wrong, Drew?”

  “I just thought it would be nice if you liked him. Then you could come hang out at the palace even more.”

  That absolutely melted my heart.

  Made what I had to do with Edward even harder.

  It had to be done, I knew that. I couldn’t keep putting it off, no matter how much I wanted to.

  I wanted nothing more than to be part of this family. Even my anger towards Edward about the hospital bill eased a bit when I thought about being something real to him, an actual girlfriend.

  That could not and would not happen. I had to start facing that head on. I would tonight.

  Though that meant I’d only see Abigail and Drew in a professional capacity.

  “Wait, okay, I’m confused again,” Abigail said as she squinted at her math homework. Lord, that girl was adorable.

  “Alright, let’s take a look—”

  Before I had a chance to, the door had opened, and someone walked in.

  I recognized the woman, but I didn’t know her name. I’d seen her around the palace frequently.

  “Maggie?”

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “Ms. Mitchell would like to see you right away.”

  Drew and Abigail looked confused, so I made a joke for their benefit.

  “Uh-oh, am I in trouble?”

  The woman’s face didn’t ease. In fact, she looked significantly more serious. My heart dropped.

  “Wait, am I actually in trouble?” I asked.

  “Please, just follow me. Bring your things.”

  Bring my things?

  I was so confused, but I did as she said. Surely I hadn’t really done something wrong, right? I mean, what could I have even done?

  I followed her down the hall and to a small office where Ms. Mitchell was sitting behind a desk.

  “Please have a seat, Maggie,” she instructed with a wave of her hand.

  “Uh, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what this is about,” I told her, feeling like a dog with my tail tucked between my legs.

  “I just have a few questions to ask you.”

  “Okay…”

  I took my seat, my heart pounding in my chest. Ms., Mitchell was always a fairly serious woman, but there was something else in her attitude today. She seemed frustrated, maybe even mad at me. What on earth could I have done?

  “Now, when I ask you this, I need you to be entirely honest with me. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, of course,” I agreed instantly.

  “Have you had any relations with Prince Edward?”

  I felt my face go flush with embarrassment. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t that question.

  “Uh, no, of course not,” I lied without thinking, despite my insistence I’d be honest.

  She sighed as she pulled something out of her desk drawer. She laid out in front of me a newspaper article with a large photo of Edward and me kissing.

  I gasped. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. How was this the first time I was finding out a
bout this? How did nobody text or call me about this?

  Then I remembered that my phone didn’t charge last night, and I didn’t notice until right before work. It had been running on very low battery. It probably died.

  “Now, I’m going to ask you again—have you had any kind of relationship with Prince Edward?”

  I looked down at my shoes, completely humiliated. “Yes, I have.”

  “Okay. Now, with that established, I must also ask—did you feel coerced in any way by the prince?”

  “What?” This surprised me. “How do you mean?”

  “Well, he was a superior to you after all. Did you feel he abused his power in any way to seduce you?”

  “No!” I said quickly, without thinking. “That absolutely wasn’t the case. Everything that happened between us was enthusiastically consensual.” I felt embarrassed saying the words, but they needed to be said. “He absolutely did not coerce me.”

  She nodded and didn’t say anything, but I thought I saw a flicker of relief cross her face.

  “Alright, then. I am afraid I am going to have to let you go.”

  “What?” I gasped. “I’m being fired?”

  “Yes, unfortunately. I like you, Maggie. You are a sweet girl, and the kids love you. You have to understand how this reflects upon the royal family. We can’t have you hired on if you intend to fraternize with Edward.”

  “I don’t! I mean, I did, but… I was going to end it. Today, actually!”

  “Even still, I’m afraid the queen is insistent that you cannot work within the palace anymore. Again, I am very sorry.”

  I was heartbroken. I knew there was nothing I could say to change her mind, so I stood and headed out of the office.

  I didn’t even get to say goodbye to the kids. Had I known this was going to happen, I could have talked to them about it, explained it to them…

  Now when they found out, not only were they going to learn I’d never be coming back, but that I had lied to them about Edward and me. Their last memory of me was going to be of me being untruthful.

  I felt like I was going to be sick.

  This wasn’t how I would have chosen to end things. I couldn’t help but feel like I was abandoning the kids, even though I was the one being forced to leave. What was the difference to them, though? Whether I was forced to leave or left voluntarily, I was still effectively leaving them.

  I wanted desperately to call someone, but who could I call? I had so few friends since my life was work and my father. I certainly couldn’t call him.

  Oh, no, but he probably already knew, didn’t he? That was another thought that made my stomach turn. He was going to find out I was lying too. Ugh! He was going to be so disappointed in me when he learned I lost this job because I had a fling with the prince. It was such an important job to us.

  Although I supposed after Edward paid for the hospital bills, it had become less important. Not to me. It still mattered for reasons outside of money.

  I tried to think of who else I could talk to. Well, Millie and I had become close, and she already kind of knew…

  Then I pieced it together. Dammit, Millie knew! The day after she found out, this news breaks?

  It had to be her who revealed us. Although some of those photos in the article were quite old… Maybe Millie reached out to some gossip journalist and they subsequently did some hunting. I wasn’t sure exactly how that worked. I knew that if they had those photos months ago, they would’ve announced it.

  I felt so stupid. I genuinely trusted her.

  After how careful I was, after how nonchalant Edward was, I would’ve thought it was his actions that would have ultimately revealed us. I couldn’t even be mad at him for this. It was only my actions that led us to this unfortunate predicament.

  I decided to call Millie. I needed to know if it was her. I wanted to know if it truly was my fault that I was just fired.

  I stopped in at a local coffee shop on my walk home. I wasn’t exactly eager to go home anyway. Even if my father hadn’t heard the news already, he’d wonder why I was home early, and I’d have to explain. I’d put off going home as long as I possibly could.

  I plugged my phone into the charger and waited impatiently for it to light up. As soon as it had, I dialed Millie.

  At first, I thought she wasn’t going to pick up. Which would only make me more suspicious of her… What other reason could she have for not answering me?

  Right before it was about to go to voicemail, she answered.

  “Hey, hun, what’s up?” she answered in a perky tone. For a moment, I thought maybe I was being paranoid. She sounded pretty normal… Should I even accuse her of this?

  I needed to. I needed to know. If it wasn’t her, she would still understand why I had to ask.

  “Hey, Millie. I was just calling because I wanted to talk to you about the other day. You know how you kind of figured things out about me and Edward?”

  “Uh, yeah, I do. Why?”

  “I was just wondering; did you tell anybody about that?”

  “No, of course not.” She tried to sound steady, but her voice cracked, and I knew instantly… She was lying to me.

  Dammit.

  “Don’t lie to me, Millie. I only admitted to you this week that Edward and I had a tryst. You find out about us and days later, all this comes to light? Why? Why would you do this?”

  She sighed dramatically before she replied, “I … I’m so sorry, Maggie. I wasn’t going to do it, but then… Some things came up, and I really needed the money. I’d suspected you and Edward were messing around for weeks, I am the maid after all. I see and hear everything that happens within the walls of the palace.” She tsked as if this bored her.

  “You betrayed my trust!” I scolded.

  “I wasn’t entirely certain until you confessed to me. Suddenly, I had a way to work through the financial struggles, and all my worries melted away. I hated to betray your confidence, but we’re both from the same side of the track, Maggie. You’d have done the same if you were in my shoes. I didn’t expect it would be a huge deal for you. You and Edward aren’t even serious.”

  “Excuse me? It was an extremely big deal, Millie! I got fired today.”

  “You … what?” She seemed genuinely shocked. “Why?”

  “Why do you think? It would reflect badly on the royal family for me to work for them after this scandal. I am without a job with an ailing father to care for, bills I can’t possibly pay without income. You did that, Millie. You betrayed my trust, and what’s worse—you admittedly did so. I considered you a friend, Millie. I’m so hurt that you would throw our friendship away without care.”

  “I’m so, so sorry, Maggie. I didn’t think that you would get fired. I thought since the only source was what I told them, they’d make up some gossipy article that didn’t confirm anything and people would brush it off. I didn’t know they were going to find the pictures. I didn’t think it was going to be so concrete.”

  “Well, it was. My life is drastically different because of it.”

  “Maggie, I can’t apologize to you enough. I’m so very sorry that you lost your job. I was just desperate and did a horrible thing, but I don’t regret making the choice I had to make to benefit my needs. Surely you can understand that?”

  Actually, I could understand that. I’d been pretty desperate in the situation with my father.

  I didn’t want to give Millie any sympathy right now. She was trying to justify her actions, which I completely disagreed with. Maybe if I wasn’t just fired, I’d be able to respond with a more clarity, but right now, I simply couldn’t do it.

  “Goodbye, Millie,” I said before hanging up.

  “No, wait! Maggie, wait!”

  It was too late. I’d shut the phone down. I didn’t want to hear anything more from her.

  I tried to hold it together in the coffee shop, but it was easier said than done. I was distraught.

  I wondered if Edward knew about any of this yet. We definit
ely wouldn’t be meeting up later after my shift…

  That was when it hit me. I’d never be going back to the palace ever again. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and I rushed out of the coffee shop and started my walk home.

  My very slow walk home. Because I wasn’t looking forward to explaining this to my father.

  Though at least I could finally tell him about the hospital bills being paid off by Edward. I’d been delaying because I didn’t know how to explain Edward’s generosity. Well, there was no hiding the reason now, so he might as well know.

  Maybe that bit of information would soften the blow.

  Chapter 18

  Edward

  Maggie hadn’t answered any of my calls. I didn’t bother trying to call once I got off the plane because I knew she’d be working with Abigail and Drew. I didn’t want to bother her. I’d see her soon enough at the end of her shift.

  I went to the tutoring room and waited outside the door, feeling a little nauseated as I considered what I’d say to her. Each minute ticked by so slowly.

  When the final minute ticked by and the teachers began to file out of the room, I thought I might actually throw up.

  Except, she never came out of the room. All the other educators did, and they shot me disapproving glances along the way, but Maggie wasn’t there.

  I was so confused. Did she not come into work today? Was the news that bad to her?

  I stepped into the room, rather lost in thought, but when I heard the chair scrape the marble floor, I looked up and immediately knew what had happened.

  “Where’s Maggie?” I asked immediately.

  Ms. Mitchell sighed. “I had to let her go, Edward.”

  “Let her go? Why? She didn’t do anything wrong!” I argued, although I knew this would be a consequence.

  This was horrible news. She didn’t deserve to be fired. She was great with the kids. They loved her. She loved this job.

  She must be absolutely livid with me if my spontaneous behavior got her fired.

  “Of course she did something wrong. She wasn’t supposed to date you.”