Page 4 of The English Queen

“No, I should be aware. Between whatever is going on between you and Mum, Louis… do NOT lie to me… and the shit announcement she put out… I deserve to know. I am going to ask everyone in that room, Louis. So, help me!”

The announcement had been a paragraph. Every other engagement announcement Maggie’s team put out had been longer. The one from Elliot’s second marriage the year before had been happier. Louis let it go, but this hit a nerve. Louis knew protecting Maggie would only anger Beth.

“She joked about reducing the dowry,” Louis answered. “And it was a joke. It was a bad one. I reacted poorly.”

Keir disagreed. “No, you reacted the way I would have done in your position, Louis.”

“I worry she thinks I was being cruel to her for the sake of it… and I was,” Louis admitted.

“No, you called attention to the fact that a mother shouldn’t joke about her daughter’s dowry given this is not the 1800s and she’s not going to pay you for taking her off our hands, Louis. You rage is warranted.”

“I’m… I’m mortified,” Beth said. “I want to go home.”

Louis cocked his head at her. “Where is home? I’m confused.”

“Home. With you. Back to Brussels. Fuck all of this. Fuck saving face for Mum. Fuck everything. I will apologise to Robbie for leaving him with a mess and he will forgive me but… I don’t want this, darling. I cannot just sit here and act like all is well when it’s not.”

“Beth, take a deep breath,” Keir said. “The thing–the stupid interview isn’t with your mother. It’s not—”

“I want to at least go down to Anmer. I do not want to stay here for a minute more. You are either with me or you are not, Louis.”

Louis knew it would be impossible to clear. “I’m with you. I’m always with you. But security—”

“Damn it all to hell. I do not care. You are either going with me or I am going to tell Duncan to fly me back to London.”

Louis knew she were serious.

“Your brother might not accept that,” Keir told her. “You might—”

Beth hopped up, threw her blonde hair over her shoulder, straightened her dress, and stormed back down the hall so fast Louis had to take off at an alarming clip to reach her. She made a beeline back into the dining room. The footman nearly fell over trying to open the door as she returned. The scene opened where Robbie and Maggie were going ten rounds already. Everyone was upset. Vanna was in tears. Rebecca looked like she was in pain. Duncan looked near expiration. It was everything all at once.

“Robert,” Beth was sharp and had arms crossed. “Do you have room for us at Anmer?”

He stopped talking and stared at Beth.

Vanna sniffled, answering before he could. “Of course.”

“Yes. But your security won’t allow it, will they?”

“Robert, I do not give a flying fuck about my security or his or literally anyone’s stupid fucking opinions at this very moment!” Beth roared through the long room. “I don’t care because here’s the thing, everyone’s lives are made easier by me. My mere existence right now makes everyone in this room more relevant. No one gives a shit, but God damn if I don’t want to burn it all down, go back to Belgium and never talk to anyone here again. And that would pain me, it would, but I have been hurt… I have been so hurt so many times by slights against me. I am not stupid. I’m not broken. I’m not a cripple. I’m not weak. I’m not feeble. I am resilient, strong, brave, courageous, talented, and oh-so-formidable. So, for everyone here, you can either take me seriously and stop making me the butt of a fucking joke or you can never hear from me again.”

The room remained silent. Louis looked over to see Maggie sitting, mouth agape. Keir stood by Louis’ side having entered during Beth’s tirade.

“If I do these stupid fucking British requirements, I deserve a god damn commendation and the Order of the fucking Garter,” Beth continued. “I don’t care about any of this. The brilliant thing is that I don’t have to. But I care about you all–yes, even you, Mum–although anymore I am questioning why! My entire life has been about watching from the side-lines. Everyone else got to do exciting things while I was kept in some tower waiting for my chance to shine. When I did unimaginably difficult things, no one gave a shit. Okay, that’s maybe unfair. Robbie would try to understand. Vanna would legitimately care. The rest of you would send your regards but, for the most part, I was just your silly baby sister. Oh, that wild girl, Beth, she’s flitting about Paris! Isn’t it fun?”

“Robbie walked so you could run,” Duncan pointed out. “You owe him a debt.”

“I do. We all do, but this isn’t an homage to Robbie. This is me demanding, as I stand here, you stop with the pity and the belief I am some kind of broken toy incapable of doing Vanna’s job or Pa’s job. It must stop. We can go on and never talk about this evening again or how much money I am worth to Louis or whatever else, but it won’t matter at all if I am treated as an outsider. All of my life I have felt less-than because all of you have treated me like a broken baby. And it wears on me. It really does. Now, it has been laid bare so let’s just fucking stop. Can you see me as an adult worthy of your respect? Because I am. And I shouldn’t fucking have to ask.”

Beth’s voice hung behind her as a final note would if played fortissimo and then left to fade. She vibrated with emotion as she awaited a response. Louis was nervous about what would happen. At the same time, he was so proud. He would have been far too nervous to say anything.

“Beth, you have always been and will always be the bravest of my children. I am so, so…” Maggie’s initial calm broke and turned into tears. “So tired. So broken. So utterly bereft. Because no matter what I think, it’s wrong. And if every last one of you has reached your breaking point, then it is time for me to step back and seriously consider what it is to be me and how it affects all of you. Informally, until further notice, please report to Robert.”

Maggie stood sobbing and left.

The others stared after her leaving.

The Evil Queen

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