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She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why is that? Do you intend to do something about the things Joy mentioned? Because no matter how you feel about the press coverage, these are serious issues.”
“They’re issues that can be dealt with after the referendum.”
Felicity let out a short laugh. “Why on earth would you kneecap yourself like that?”
“Kneecap myself?” Rafael had only heard Felicity get this heated over matters involving her family.
“My sister is right, you know. Stolvenia needs to do something about these issues other than pushing them to the backburner.” Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “Why aren’t you the one leading the discussion? Is your only plan to coast through the referendum based on the strength of my press appearances?” She let out a short burst of laughter. “I wouldn’t rely on that, if I were you.”
“It’s better not to upset the way of things at such a delicate time,” Rafael protested.
“How would you know?” Felicity raised her eyebrows. “Honestly, how do you know? Have you ever tried? Why wouldn’t you try now, when you have the perfect opening, when everyone wants to know why they should support you?”
Rafael wanted to know what she had to say about this almost as much as he wanted her to stop. This was maddeningly uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to say as much, but Felicity wasn’t done speaking.
“For better or worse, you have a wife…a fiancée…who has opinions. I don’t see myself holding another press conference to walk that back, because I do believe in what Joy said. And furthermore, I have a daughter.” Felicity’s eyes blazed. “She’s going to be a future ruler of this country, but only if you win the referendum. Frankly, I think you’d have a better shot if you addressed the concerns of half the country.”
“Who knows what half the country thinks?” Rafael raised his hands in the air. “I haven’t had my staff do polling on this yet, and—”
“And that’s just an excuse.” Felicity squared her shoulders. “I don’t want to fight with you about this, but really, Rafael, that’s an excuse. You have a daughter now, too. Hope, along with every other girl in Stolvenia, needs a better world than the one we have on offer. They need a better world than the one I grew up in. We all need to do better.”
Once again, Rafael felt himself slipping back into a defensive posture. Of course he wanted to help the women of Stolvenia with health coverage and pay equity. But it could wait until after the referendum. It was just too risky to potentially alienate anyone right now. The reasons not to respond to Joy’s interview flew through his mind in a whirlwind. He studied Felicity across the table. Why was she so fervent about this? And why now?
He had a flash of her little apartment back in the United States, and one thing came back to him: the little stack of bills on the corner of the counter.
Felicity had been a single mother with two dependents. She had worked herself to the bone trying to ensure excellent care for Joy while balancing the needs of her daughter. She had done all of it, he reminded himself, on her own, thanks to his mother’s actions.
He wanted to wipe away the difficulties of the past for her, and that want made his throat tighten.
“What can I do for you, Felicity?” The problems that Joy had raised in her interview—equal pay, a reformation of the health care system already in place in Stolvenia—they loomed like massive dark clouds in his mind. Those weren’t issues that could be solved in a single meeting, let alone a single day. It would take tens of people and weeks of work even to come to a possible solution, and then there would be the matter of implementing it.
In the midst of all this, they’d be having a referendum on whether the monarchy should stay in power at all. What was the point of starting such an involved discussion when Rafael could be removed from power in the middle of it? Where would that leave anyone then? His heart pounded in his ears, and he took a series of deep breaths in and let them out slowly. He had long ago had to learn to deal with stress like this. It just had never seemed so dire.
“Tell me,” he said, urging her to speak. “What can I do for you and Joy, in this moment, to make things run more smoothly for you?”
Felicity shook her head. “It’s not just me who needs help and support. All women need more help and support. Even as the future queen, I’d love to live in a country that offered the kinds of things Joy brought up. And don’t think I’m attacking Stolvenia—the situation is even tougher in the United States.” She leaned in, eyes brightening. “But here, you have a lot more power to deal with it yourself.”
“If you need extra support, I’ll move mountains to get it for you,” said Rafael. “You need only to name it.”
“I feel like we keep having this same conversation,” Felicity said, her exasperation showing frustration couched in kindness. “But that’s the thing. I think maybe you’re the one who could use more support.”
Rafael felt the pull to debate with her, to figure this out between the two of them. That’s how it would be if they were really getting married in more than just name, wouldn’t it? He’d have someone else to lean on.
But that wasn’t the case today, and his schedule was packed. “You’ve brought up some good points,” he said.
Felicity shot him a look. “It sounds like you’re dismissing me.”
“I’m not,” he assured her. “I’m only…getting some space to turn this all over in my mind. It’s not something I was prepared to confront this early on.” The referendum was still hanging over his head. The referendum, which
was on the same day as their wedding. It was all culminating in one big day. Why couldn’t she see that? “However, I think we could both agree on one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s time for that vacation you wanted.”
Felicity’s face lit up. “You’d go on vacation?”
“No.” Rafael did feel the sting of disappointment, even though he’d known when he said the words that he couldn’t step away from his post at a time like this. “But I can arrange for a few days out of the spotlight for you. Maybe at one of the royal vacation residences. There are some lovely properties where—”
