Vivian nodded.

“Of course that’s okay; you’re here to work. I’ll keep myself occupied, don’t worry.”

She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check if Jo had texted back.

Doing great here, don’t worry about me. You’d better be having a great time in England!!!

“How’s everyone at home?” Maddie asked.

“Okay, I hope. Aunt Jo says she is, anyway. But she might just be saying that.”

Maddie put her arm around Vivian’s shoulder.

“Aunt Jo is fine, Mom. I’m sure she wants you to relax and not worry about her.”

Vivian laughed.

“That’s just what she told me to do. Are you two conspiring against me?”

“Conspiring for you, maybe,” Maddie said.

They walked into a little breakfast room Vivian hadn’t noticed before, where Julia was setting lunch out on the table.

“Ms. Forest, hello again. Did you have a nice walk with Mr. Hudson?”

Vivian saw Maddie’s eyes on her.

“I did, thank you. He gave me a lovely tour of the grounds and the house, though I’m sure we only saw a small fraction of what there is. And we enjoyed those scones of yours a great deal.”

Julia laughed.

“He’s always like that about those scones. I tease him like he’s not allowed to have them, but I always make extras so he can have some, and I wager he knows that.” She gestured to the small, round table. “Please, sit down. Your lunch is all ready.”

Julia bustled back to the kitchen, and Vivian and Maddie sat at the table.

Before Maddie could ask the question Vivian knew was coming, Julia brought bowls of steaming potato soup and a platter of roast beef sandwiches to the table.

“I thought you’d need something cozy and warming, and you said how much you enjoyed those sandwiches last night.” She poured them water from a pitcher on the table. “If you need anything else, just ring the bell here.”

Vivian and Maddie both thanked her, and she disappeared.

Vivian tasted the soup. She was doubtful about it—in her experience, potato soup tended to be heavy and bland. But wow, this was creamy and flavorful and just what she needed after a walk outside in northern England in December.

“Oh wow, this soup is great.”

Maddie put her spoon into the soup but didn’t taste it.

“Hey, Mom?”

Vivian looked up at her, a mock-innocent expression on her face.

“Yes, Maddie?”

“Who is ‘Mr. Hudson’?”

Vivian laughed, more at how predictable her daughter was than the question itself. When Maddie was little, Vivian had kept her life with her daughter very separate from any romantic relationships. That had infuriated Maddie, who since the age of seven had wanted to know if her mother was dating anyone and if not, why not. Vivian had always refused to tell her—which had just infuriated Maddie more. Even though her daughter was a grown woman now, she’d never really gotten out of the habit of keeping her personal life a secret.

But she supposed she had to answer this question. She and Malcolm weren’t dating; she would probably never see him again.

Though she really hoped she did.

“Malcolm Hudson works over at Sandringham House. He was in the kitchen this morning chatting with Julia when I came down for breakfast, and he offered to give me a little tour of the grounds while you were occupied. Satisfied?”

“What does he do over at Sandringham House?” Maddie was obviously not satisfied. “What was he doing in the kitchen here?”

There was no real way to avoid answering these questions, was there?

“He was in the kitchen because he and Julia have known each other for years, and he came over to say hi to her. And he’s the private secretary to the Queen.”

Maddie dropped her spoon.

“The what to the Queen?”

Vivian carefully didn’t roll her eyes.

“The private secretary.” She took another sip of the soup.

Maddie stared at her.

“That’s a big deal kind of job, Mom!”

Vivian took a bite of her sandwich.

“Yes, I gathered that,” she said. Sometimes she really enjoyed irritating her daughter like this.

“Okay, but then, why did he give you a tour? Doesn’t he have more important things to do with his time?”

Vivian was pretty sure he had many more important things to do with his time, which made her even more pleased he’d taken two hours out of his schedule to wander around and chat and eat scones with her today. But saying that to Maddie would cause her to ask a million more unanswerable questions, so instead, she just shrugged.

“It’s Christmastime. I think he had some unexpected free time, so he decided to fill it by entertaining the nearby American. It was a really nice walk, even though it was freezing outside. I’m glad you made me get this coat; it and my boots were the only things that kept me from turning into a Popsicle.” Vivian had to deflect Maddie before she asked even more about this man. Luckily, she knew just how to do it. “How was your morning with the Duchess? Did the clothes get delivered okay? Did you guys make some good decisions?”

Maddie nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, it was a great morning. All of the clothes got delivered, thank God, and the staff here did a fantastic job listening to my very specific directions about how to hang them up. I always feel like an asshole when I have to give instructions like that to other people, because I get so particular and detailed about everything. But maybe in royal households they’re used to people being exacting, because they don’t seem to hate me, even after my three-page email about ten different things to do with ten different navy blue dresses.”