American Royals

On the way to Telluride, Beatrice rides in her private plane with Connor. The two have barely spoken over the last few weeks, but her relationship with Teddy has “accelerated” since the night of the musical. Suddenly, the pilot announces that the weather around Telluride won’t allow them to land, and they are being redirected to Montrose, a town two hours away from Telluride. When the plane lands, Beatrice’s driver explains that the severe weather has “closed both highways due to unsafe road conditions” (170) and Beatrice and Connor will have to spend the night in Montrose.

They stay at a small cottage, and tensions quickly flare when Teddy comes up in conversation. Beatrice promises that she has no real feelings for Teddy, and she tells Connor she has feelings for him. Connor admits that he feels the same way, but he warns Beatrice that this can never work between them and that he should submit his resignation. Beatrice begs him to stay, and they share a kiss. Connor admits he is scared of hurting or failing Beatrice, but she tells him they can “be scared together” (178).

The next morning, the rest of the Washingtons learn that Beatrice and Connor are stuck in Montrose until the highways open. Although the queen frets over the possibility of Beatrice missing the New Year’s Eve party, Jeff and Sam are ecstatic to have the ski slopes mostly to themselves. Sam is perturbed, however, when Teddy decides to join them, and she finds herself stuck on the ski lift with him. Teddy starts talking about Sam’s future, which annoys her, and she tries to escape from him by racing Jeff. However, Sam ends up wiping out on the slope because she is preoccupied with thoughts of Teddy.

Later that night, Sam and Teddy have a chance encounter in the hot tub, and she admits that “unlike Beatrice, Jeff and [Sam] have no defined role or purpose” (186), which makes her feel useless. Sam receives a text that Beatrice is on her way and should arrive soon, and Teddy admits that he doesn’t feel good enough for Beatrice. Sam learns that Beatrice had to choose a suitor from a list of approved men, and Sam realizes that “their parents apparently wanted a royal wedding” (189) and Beatrice had little say in the matter. Teddy adds that his family is about to lose all their money, and he can’t turn Beatrice down because people are counting on him. They kiss, and Sam leaves Teddy in the hot tub.

On the night of the Washingtons’ annual New Year’s Eve party, Daphne shows up uninvited to “remind Jefferson of everything he’d given up” (193). Although she tries to show the guard fake text messages between her and Jefferson, she claims that Jefferson invited her. When the guard refuses to admit her because she’s not on the list, Daphne panics momentarily until Ethan appears at the door and lies that “Jeff asked [Ethan] to add [Daphne] to the list, but [Ethan] completely forgot” (194-95). The guard lets Daphne into the party, but when Daphne’s attempts to intimidate Nina and persuade Jefferson to give her another chance result in failure, she ends up at the bar with Samantha. Samantha remarks that Daphne “seem[s] as miserable as [Sam is]” (200), and the two end up drinking together until Daphne is drunk and dancing, her inhibitions lowered beyond the point of recognition. Ethan leads her off the dance floor and tells her that she’s “better than this” (201) before slipping her out the back door and into a taxi. As the car pulls away from the party, Daphne fantasizes about Ethan, but she realizes that she has “one last move to play” in the “game between her and Nina” (204) before giving up on her pursuit of Jefferson.

A week later, Beatrice wakes up in her bed with Connor. Although being with Connor fills Beatrice with “dizzying, delirious joy” (208), she worries if they have a chance at a future together. One morning, Beatrice and Connor’s kisses are interrupted by a message from the king’s chamberlain; Beatrice’s father wants to talk to her. When Beatrice reports to his office, he gives her his copy of the Constitution that has been in the Washington family for generations. The king then admits the truth: He has “been diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer” (212) and only has a few months to live. Beatrice is devastated and devolves into hysterics, and her father comforts her. The king explains that he hasn’t told the rest of the family yet, but he urges Beatrice to be strong and prepare to accept her role as queen much sooner than she expected to. He points out that “the transition [will] be so much easier on [her] if [she] [has] a king consort by [her] side” (217), and he encourages her to marry Teddy. Beatrice is shocked, but her sense of duty to her family and country compels her to agree. She realizes that she cannot be with Connor and must accept the duty she has been training for her whole life.

One day at King’s College, Nina hangs out with her friends Rachel and Logan. Suddenly, in the middle of lunch, a news story breaks: An article from the Daily News declares that Prince Jefferson is dating Nina, along with a photo of them from the night before. The article slams Nina, calling her a “fame whore” and “social mountaineer” because the prince is “so far above her” (222). The magazine publishes unflattering photos of Nina next to photos of the beautiful, polished Daphne Deighton for maximum effect, and the comments on the article brutally attack Nina. Jeff and Sam text her non-stop to ask if she’s okay, but Nina ignores them and decides to see her parents. Their house is overrun with paparazzi, and Nina has to force her way through the sea of aggressive reporters who ask for intimate details about her relationship with Jeff. Inside, the king’s chamberlain Robert Standish is waiting, and he scathingly goes over the expectations for dating Prince Jefferson: Nina is asked to sign an NDA and is expected to put more effort into her appearance. Robert leaves, and Nina’s moms try to comfort her. Her mamá Isabella admits that it’s hard “being pulled into the orbit of the royal family” (230), and they tell her to ignore the hateful comments. Nina decides she isn’t ready to talk to Sam or Jeff yet.

A few days after Beatrice’s conversation with her father, she struggles to process the news of her father’s impending death and what she must do. She asks to meet with Teddy and formally asks him to marry her: After all, Beatrice must be the one to propose because “she [is] so stratospherically high in the hierarchy that no one [can] presume to ask for her hand in marriage” (234). Beatrice tells Teddy that although they’ve only known each other briefly, she respects him and wants to marry him. Teddy pledges his loyalty to her and agrees to her proposal. Teddy kisses Beatrice, which is awkward and holds no spark of attraction. Teddy offers to pick out a ring for Beatrice before they make a formal press announcement. Later that night, Beatrice goes to Connor’s quarters and breaks down crying. Connor’s face “blaz[es] with love” (241) as he consoles Beatrice, and she savors the feeling of being held by someone who loves her before she is forced to enter into a loveless, political marriage. However, Beatrice doesn’t tell Connor she is now engaged to Teddy.