“Half the reason I do it is because of that face you make,” she teased. “Besides, if things keep going the way they are, your title is very much in flux.” Her face turned solemn. “Is there any change?”

I looked down at my nails, freshly manicured, cheerful in an incongruous way. “No.”

Just as it said on the novelty T-shirt Freddie once gave her for Christmas, Eleanor had proved to be One Tough Old Bird. We’d arrived on the doorstep of the state visit with no signs of life beyond the beeping of her monitors, but she was still with us, and no news was just that: no news. The country was getting anxious, and so was the family—but, as usual with The Firm, we were expected to shove down those sentiments and put on a show of family unity tomorrow for the Dutch.

Over the last few weeks, I’d gotten really good at burying my feelings.

A familiar voice slithered to me from across the hall. We’d turned a first-floor bathroom into my glam room, because at some point Georgina had installed a giant makeup mirror circled in lightbulbs—it was like living backstage in an old Broadway theater—and from where I sat, I could see the cracked door of Nick’s nearby study. He had apparently turned on Get Up, Great Britain! The guest was Clive.

“But that’s why this state visit is so important,” he was saying. “It’s our first glimpse of Richard as our figurehead. Given Her Majesty’s health, we should watch closely, because this could become our new normal at any moment.” He then ruined the somber mood by winking at the camera. “It’s tense at the palace. You can take it from me.”

“Yeah, well you can take something from me, too, and it’s gonna hurt,” Kira muttered. “Are you ready to try on this tiara, or are you too distracted by the loser on TV?”

I blew out a deliberately childish sigh, which made us both laugh.

“Sorry,” I said. “I hate that the sound of his voice still bothers me.”

I also hated when that voice told the truth, and once again, Clive was at least a bit right. Marta’s already bowed frame had become more stooped. Freddie was drawn and snappish, and Richard and Nick had to juggle their own agita with accepting that their promotions within The Firm might be permanent. It all would’ve been much easier to handle if Freddie and Nick hadn’t gone off like hand grenades.