“As we suspected,” she said. “Everything you and Nicholas left in Scotland will be delivered tomorrow, including your art pieces and some very odd lumps of wool.” She frowned. “Are they blankets?”

“Nick claims they’re socks.”

Marj looked astonished. “For whom? A giant?” She shook her head, then made a mark on her clipboard. “You’ve seen your other belongings are at Kensington Palace already. The Queen has earmarked her sister Georgina’s former residence on the grounds there for you and the duke, and we were going to start discussing renovations during the honeymoon, but…as you know, other issues took precedence.”

I stopped in front of another picture window, this one overlooking the less-scenic London morning rush-hour traffic. It was, aptly for my situation, a total clusterfuck.

Marj took my pause for something other than what it was. “Apartment 1A is highly desirable,” she said. “Yes, it needs updating, and hasn’t been lived in since the princess died. But I’m sure twenty-six rooms will be more than enough for your needs.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s gorgeous!” I said. “It’s extremely generous of Her Majesty, especially after…everything.”

“Indeed,” Marj said tightly.

“Marj,” I said, touching her arm. “I owe you an apology. I cannot imagine what a disaster we left in our wake, and we—I—feel awful about how our behavior has impacted you.”

Marj’s face relaxed. “Thank you, my dear. I appreciate that,” she said. “But I’m the one who convinced you to roll the dice in the first place. I can’t believe how badly I misjudged it.”

“In your defense, it was the middle of the night when we called,” I said.

“Nonetheless, I didn’t think Clive would detonate his family’s entire relationship with the Crown over some silly vendetta,” she said. “Frederick tried to keep me out of the blowback, and I appreciate it, but I’m not sure I deserve it. I should have gotten in front of it instead of crossing my fingers that there would be nothing to get in front of, but…” She shook her head. “It’s done now. How are you?”

The cars outside had barely moved at all.

“My body is here, but my brain is still adjusting,” I said. “Yesterday, we thought the Queen was nearly dead, and today you’re giving me a mansion.”

Marj touched my arm. “My dear, if there is one thing to know about The Firm, it is this: Things move terribly quickly, and also not at all, often at the same time.”

We started walking again.

“The apartment is a bit of a shambles, but I thought you and Nicholas might want to move in anyway,” she continued. “Unless you’d prefer to stay where you are? But as newlyweds, living so near Frederick…?”

“This morning you’d never have known Freddie was there,” I said.

“He wasn’t. He slept here,” Marj said. “I could continue having him do that, I suppose.”

I thought about the strange sensation we’d experienced in Nick’s old room last night—how it felt like the remnant of a life that didn’t fit us anymore.