“What do you know?!”
Marina Thornton whipped around, shouting at Niamh Rivers so loudly her voice came out hoarse.
“Oh, I see how it is… This is all your fault!”
Suddenly, she jabbed an accusing finger at Niamh.
“You were way too rough cracking those crab legs. That’s why the diamond fell off the Queen’s crown! You broke it, so you’re paying for it—every last penny!”
Marina sounded absolutely convinced, but everyone at the table could see right through her. It was painfully obvious she was just trying to shift the blame.
Even if Niamh had been a little clumsy with the crab, there was no way that could have affected the royal crown resting safely in Queen Elizabeth’s hands.
The Queen watched Marina’s tantrum with a look of deep disappointment. As monarch, she wasn’t about to make a scapegoat out of an innocent waitress.
“Enough…”
“I’ll pay for it,” Niamh said suddenly, her voice firm.
Queen Elizabeth and Susy Fraser both stared at her in shock.
Marina scoffed, “You? With what? Your measly paycheck barely covers your rent, let alone a diamond!”
She regretted her sharpness the moment the words left her mouth, but Jonathan Thomas wasn’t in the room, so she figured it didn’t matter.
“I can fix it,” Niamh replied calmly.
Now it was Queen Elizabeth’s turn to be truly surprised. “You can repair jewelry? But I thought you were a chef.”
Niamh almost laughed.
All she’d done was crack open a crab, and now suddenly she was a chef?
“Cooking’s just my side gig. My real work is jewelry design.”
“Are you kidding me?” Marina’s eyes widened in disbelief.
There was no way she’d let Niamh swoop in and steal this job from her.
“That’s the royal crown we’re talking about! You think just anyone can lay a finger on it?”
Niamh could read Marina’s petty intentions like an open book. She just shrugged.
“Exactly. Not just anyone could manage to make a diamond fall out of the Queen’s crown.”
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