Selina pushed the pot back to Amelia and said, "Save it for one of the ladies who listens to your every word. I am already in trouble. I am not going to end my family line by hitting one of the duke’s daughters."
Selina looked down at her true enemy.
"While your battle is with Penelope, it is Rue who needs to go. She is not well-behaved, and her threats are suited for a man. Is she truly a woman?" Selina wondered.
Amelia chuckled. "She would have to be a pretty man. It was a mystery why the duke married a poor baron’s daughter, but I don’t believe Elijah will make the same mistake. He will marry a woman befitting the title."
Selina believed Elijah was wise, but Rue was close to the family.
"She is the daughter of Rafael Callahan. He is a good friend of the duke. What if my efforts were all for nothing?" Selina asked, wanting to bite her nails.
Amelia touched Selina’s hand. "I feel embarrassed hearing you be concerned about a woman from the border. Since the start of the season, we have all heard you would marry Elijah. Why are you concerned about that woman?"
Amelia didn’t consider Rue a threat anymore after seeing how she acted.
"Because she is close to the Collinses. Look at how the twins side with her. I am certain they would get in their brother’s ear and try to have him pick someone else. I am close to their mother," Selina said, standing firm on what she said earlier.
Selina didn’t like how the twins dismissed her. She was often around the Collinses, getting close to the duchess. If Penelope weren’t so distant, then she would have noticed.
"Will Elijah truly care about what his sisters think? He is a man and he shall pick what he likes. All you need to do is prove yourself as a worthy candidate for his wife, and he will come to you. Stop wasting your breath arguing with those beneath you," Amelia said, looking down on the group.
"You are right. I didn’t act like myself today," Selina admitted.
Selina was normally one of the few ladies to remain quiet unless spoken to. Never had she allowed someone to make her act out of character.
"I shouldn’t bother myself with her. My father spoke of her marrying the crown prince to-"
"She will not!" Amelia yelled, getting unwanted attention. "Now you have lost your mind to think she could become our queen. The prince is a sensible man. He will not make the same mistake as his brother."
Selina was puzzled by Amelia lashing out until she realised who Amelia was after now. "You still wish to become queen."
"When did I ever say that I would stop? Since I was a little girl, all I ever dreamed of was becoming a royal. I cannot share it now, but I am quite close to that dream. As queen, I will need a duchess at my side. Friends?" Amelia asked, offering her hand to Selina.
Of all the ladies Amelia sat with, Selina was one of the few worthy of her time and would marry a man Amelia would need in the future.
Selina didn’t trust Amelia, but she knew it would work well in her favour to have Amelia as a friend rather than an enemy.
"I thought we were friends," Selina said, shaking Amelia’s hand. "Now, as my friend, could you get me out of trouble with the queen?"
"I can help you, but you won’t like it. For now, you should apologise to Rue and have her agree that the queen doesn’t need to call upon your fathers. Then, you will go with Rue to the queen to settle this matter. Surely, you can play nice for one day," said Amelia.
Selina didn’t like the idea of going to Rue to work with her to stop the queen, but she didn’t have any better ideas.
"Very well," Selina agreed. "You must come with me. What if I am attacked when I stand there?"
"I wasn’t going to miss this," Amelia replied, walking with Selina to go down to where Penelope walked.
This gave Amelia a reason to be around Penelope and hopefully, give an apology which would be accepted this time.
Selina and Amelia walked beside each other to the floor below, where Penelope now sat down.
Penelope frowned when she saw the pair coming her way.
"What is it now? I take back what I said about missing the palace," said Penelope.
Penelope noticed how Amelia’s gaze was pinned on her. She didn’t like it.
It was evident that Amelia was only playing nice because she believed they would soon become family.
"Princess Penelope," Amelia greeted Penelope with a curtsy. "Pardon us for intruding on your talk."
"There is still time for you to continue on your way. You are behaving quite strangely, Amelia. If you have something planned, I must remind you that Prince Tyrion is in the palace," Lily said on behalf of Penelope.
"I was seated at the table when Penelope informed the queen of her husband’s presence. I assure you that I am not here to harm a princess. Penelope and I got off to the wrong start, and I would like to move past it," Amelia offered once more.
Penelope smiled. "It will take more than this to fool me, Amelia. I have already agreed that I will not bear any bad feelings toward you if we are in the same room. That is enough moving on for us. We shall never be friends."
"The future is unknown," Amelia replied.
"It is," Penelope agreed. "But I will stay determined that you are not in mine."
"Is it because I once loved your husband?" Amelia laughed.
Amelia did have a way of humouring Penelope.
"Today, I sat in a room with many ladies who once courted my husband, and I thought nothing of it. Besides, we both know it wasn’t my husband you loved, but the crown he was going to wear," said Penelope.
Penelope continued, "The crown is somewhere in the palace. Go find it and see if it satisfies you."
"I had many moments alone with the prince-"
"Don’t," Penelope interrupted Amelia. "I will not have you say something to spark up gossip. Rather than apologise and try to start anew with me, you should learn what not to say. There are plenty of other ladies you must apologise to. You must start now if you want to be done by dinner."
Amelia bit her tongue. She couldn’t go on with letting Penelope speak to her .
"You shouldn’t point your jealousy at me, but at all the other women the prince looked at before you," Amelia said in the spur of the moment.