Page 84 of Coronation
When I married Julia, I hadn’t felt much of anything. A cold, pragmatic alliance was all I knew of the institution, and all I ever expected for myself. As our relationship grew more intolerable, I had thought about that a lot, angered and confused as to why any parent would ask such a thing of their son.
I understand now in a way I couldn’t before.
The Crown is a living, breathing thing of its own account. It does as we all do, in acting with a constant mind to self-preservation, protecting itself and ensuring its continued existence before anything else. Love, I now realize, would be the enemy of such an entity.
I love Zelda, and given the choice between doing what is best for The Crown or for her, I will choose her.
I will choose her without hesitation, or guilt, or care for my duty.
I will choose her, even if doing so means burning down the palace itself.
Damien and I are quiet as we make our way up from the vault, lost in our respective thoughts. It’s only when we’ve left the bank and approached the car waiting to take me back to Fernhill that my brother finally speaks.
“I’m happy for you, Ben,” Dam tells me, uncharacteristically grim as he pauses beneath a flickering fluorescent light, staring at me.
My head tilts slightly to the side, temporarily distracted from thoughts of my future wife. “Are you alright?”
Something pained passes over my brother’s face at the question, there one moment and gone the next. “Old sins, I’m afraid. We’ll talk about it another time. You have more important things to attend to today.”
I stare. “By the sounds of it, we need to talk about it now.”
“It’s ancient history. Being in there just brought back some stuff.” He waves his hand toward the bank building with a grimace, and I know he’s referring to the words that passed between us, not the vault we were standing in. Then, as if the fact is only just sinking in, he lets out an incredulous bark of laughter. “Holy fuck, you’re going to be adad, Ben. That’s mad.”
Itismad, but I find myself smiling too as I stepforward to hug my brother. “I have a plan,” I assure him when we step back, still grinning at each other. “It’s not a sure thing, but I don’t believe Parliament wants to throw the country into another state of transition. Zelda has already proven herself to be an incredible asset to our country, and now with the baby…” I trail off, my chest full to bursting with pride.
She will be an incredible queen.
“Here’s hoping they take after their mother,” Damien snickers. “The alternative is cruel.”
Thirty-Six
Zelda
Shortly after Ben leaves for Wyngate, Davina arrives at Fernmoor House.
“We missed you last night,” she tells me as we head through to the terrace and take seats across from each other at the weathered metal garden table.
“I’m sorry.” I grimace, hating that people were undoubtedly counting on me and Ben to make an appearance. The studio’s marketing department has been capitalizing heavily on our relationship, ensuring no one will miss the movie, which brought about such an epic, real-life romance. “Was George upset?”
Davina waves this off. “Who cares. It’s not like you need him anymore.” She lifts her eyebrows. “Unless you’re telling me you’ll be going back to California any time soon?”
Ha. “Probably not,” I admit, a little sheepishly. “I finally told Ben about the baby last night. That’s why we didn’t come.”
“Did he take it well?” she asks, a little accusingly. Despitenot being given the entire story, my friend knew very well I had been wary of spilling the proverbial beans and must have drawn her own conclusions.
I smile. “He’s happy. Really happy.”
Davina’s expression softens. “And are you?”
A warm breeze blows in over the trees surrounding the house, and something is lodged in my chest as I nod. “Yes. I don’t know what comes next. It will probably be a PR nightmare for Ben, but we’ll get through it.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Why?”
Davina lifts one shoulder in an elegant little shrug, “There are a lot of scandals that come out, right? Shitty people doing shitty things and getting caught? Those kinds of stories always feelmassive, then, before you know it, we’ve all forgotten. If you asked me which celebrity was arrested for snorting a line at LaGuardia last year, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”
“So?” I laugh, totally unsure where she’s going with this.
