Page 5 of The English Queen

Robbie had no idea what had happened. Not only had his mother broken into tears, but she also left him holding the bag. Robbie went home with those who were staying on with them and watched as his wife stare off into the distance, confused as he was. Normally, Vanna would have the answers. Robbie would lean on her, and she would know what to do. Tonight, she was lost as he was.

“I think we she should just push the reset in the morning,” Robbie climbed into bed.

Vanna nodded. “If only that were an option.”

The monitor flashed and Kiersten, their baby, roused in her room. Robbie saw Vanna internally crumble, too knackered and tapped out from family drama to immediately take over for the nanny.

“I’ve got it, darling.” Robbie left, passing the guest room where Louis and Beth checked in. He could hear his sister sobbing and it broke his heart. He walked down the hall to the nursery to find Kiersten sleeping on her belly. Robbie flipped the monitor off for 15 minutes so Vanna wouldn’t have to listen to him talk to her while he fed the baby.

“You have a new skill that will make us panic,” Robbie cooed, picking her up. “None of your siblings did this at four months. You’re a big girl.”

Kiersten fussed as Robbie changed her nappy and then put her back down momentarily while he made a bottle. He collapsed in the glider. She was so hungry she nearly ripped the bottle out of his hands. This had to be a growth spurt. She usually slept until five when Vanna would get up, feed her, and put her down for couple of hours.

“You are so incredibly sweet. Do you know how good a baby you are?”

She just stared up at him.

“I can promise you this, little one. I will never, ever, ever ask your future husband or wife if they should reduce your dowry amount as if it were a funny thing to say. And I will never, ever, ever complain about your partner for a reason beyond something harmful to you. Otherwise, I promise to stay out of it. I will always love you, Kiersten, regardless of what you do. And if I do my job right, there will be no question of that matter.”

She began to nod off, still eating. Robbie tried to soak up the “lasts” with this baby whenever he could. Paul, their middle child, was slated to be their final baby. He had been a challenge on his own. They’d never been able to sustain a pregnancy without medical intervention before. Kiersten was an unintended, unexpected miracle. Now, as she rested in his arms, Robbie could not imagine a life without this baby. He would not have traded her chubby cheeks and her tiny tufts of golden-blonde hair for anything.

Robbie always planned for children. When he married Vanora, he knew she was desperate to have them. It had taken more than a year to fall pregnant. There was a struggle to get the twins–George and Natalie. Then, after the twins, it took multiple rounds of treatment to bring about Paul. The minute Robbie held George in his arms the first time, he knew nothing in his life would ever be the same. He welcomed it. When he managed to hold Natalie, he was convinced life would be alright.

It had been a very turbulent time for Robbie and Vanora. There was the rift. Robbie’s parents loved their children, so Robbie and Vanora always tried to make it work. Family was important to Vanna so she put up with Maggie’s occasional slight if it meant the children could have a relationship with their grandmother. It was hard for Robbie to watch. He probably worried too much, but that was his nature.

Robbie now stood on a different hill. Initially, his worries were about his wife’s delicate emotional state. She had toughened up over time. His worries turned to his children. Maggie’s constant attacks on the women of the family worried him. Robbie had to protect his daughters and to teach his son who would, someday, hold the top job that using women as props was unfair and wrong. His mother’s insecurities had once more gotten the better of her. Beth might never forgive Maggie.

Robbie lay his daughter down: fed, burped, and happy. He returned to his room and tried to think up a scenario where he would have reacted that way to Natalie or Kiersten. For the life of him, he could not grasp what would. He rolled back into bed. He did not tell his wife the baby had rolled over. He was going to let her discover the new skill in the morning. That would be a balm for Vanna’s heart. Instead, he nodded off, hoping tomorrow would be better.

?????

Beth woke alone in bed. She hoped to wake with Louis, but he already left for downstairs. They escaped to Robbie and Vanna’s with one bag between them. It was now the start of hunt weekend. Time to make the best of it. She knew the reprieve would not last. They would have to go back up to the house. His detail would not allow them to stay at Anmer forever. Louis’s being gone was just another artifact to that effect. He was busy with something.

Beth was alone. She panicked, pulling the covers over her head. She blamed herself for making her mother so angry and upset she left the hall crying. What sort of monster on a power trip had Beth been? And Robbie must hate her now. She was so sure of it. She was buried under these blankets basically shaken with fear when a knock came at the door. It was obvious who it was as a ribbit, ribbit accompanied the knock. It was Robbie. She wondered when this childhood habit would ever stop.

“Bethy, can we talk?”

“Sure,” Beth sat up. “I was just getting up.”

“It’s okay,” Robbie entered with Kiersten. “This one needed a distraction, and I am sure you might, too.”

“Come here, little love,” Beth beckoned.

Robbie passed the child off. Beth held her tight, smiling down at the cherubic little face of her youngest niece. The baby smelled so good. She was a happy surprise. Kiersten responded to her aunt’s grin with an impressive raspberry.

“You, my darling, are cheeky. Oh, look at you in your little dress. Mummy must have dressed you.”

“No, Auntie Rebecca let us both sleep in this morning and intervened. This, is a hand-me-down from Nora.”

Nora was Rebecca and Duncan’s youngest child.

“It’s lovely. It was kind of her.”

Robbie nodded.

“I’m sorry, Robbie.”

“For what, sweetheart? I don’t understand what you must be sorry for.”

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