Page 77 of The English Queen

“Bethany, good God!” Louis laughed heartily. “Stop.”

“Your friend clearly knows how you are.”

“So, what made you give him the time of day?” Rudy asked.

“He sent me letters. To this day, I am not quite sure how. Although, I have my theories. He sent me beautifully written letters I assumed were written by someone else. He has beautiful handwriting. They were sweet at first. Now, I must snatch them away for fear someone will read one. He may struggle to convey himself in spoken word but in written word, Louis is poetic,” Beth said, her tone sweet and genuine.

Rudy said, “That is a flex, Louis. I will have to try to improve my penmanship if in the end it nets me the charming princess.”

“It is the only card I have to play. Everybody has something.”

“Well, I would think the whole King thing probably plays well.”

“Nooooot to me. No, no, no. It is not a benefit but a detriment. I love him in spite of it. And it would appeal to the wrong type of girl.”

“Everyone wants to marry a prince. No one wants to marry a king,” Louis confirmed. “Being the spare is fun. Being the heir is a curse.”

Rudy patted his friend’s shoulder. “Yes, well, I don’t think you’re cursed now. I think you’re downright blissful.”

“Rudy, I’d love to keep this up, but I think they are calling us home for the evening. I’m getting flagged down. Mijn liefste, care to join me?”

“Sure. Rudy, it was lovely chatting with you tonight. I hope to see you more tomorrow. You’re funny,” Beth said, taking Louis’s arm.

“I will see you in the morning?” Louis asked.

Rudy saluted Louis in jest. “Great chatting with you, Beth. May tomorrow go smoothly for you.”

Beth smiled back kindly before they departed.

She whispered, “Who is calling us?”

“No one,” Louis answered, voice low. “But I’d like to take you home now before you run your mouth anymore and before I lose any chance to have you all to myself again for at least a day.”

“Have I been terribly naughty then?” Beth wondered as they traipsed to the service entrance via a hallway.

“You are driving me absolutely up a wall,” Louis said.

“Well, you’ll have to make me pay then.”

“Oh, I will,” Louis assured her. “I promise you I will.”

The English Queen

For Immediate Release-

This morning, His Majesty the King marries Her Royal Highness Princess Bethany of the United Kingdom at Brussels City Hall. The Cardinal of Brussels will preside over an interfaith ceremony at the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula. The couple will parade through the streets in a motorcade before returning to the Royal Palace for a wedding reception. Next week the government will certify Princess Bethany is a Belgian citizen. She will be known henceforth as Her Majesty Bethany Queen of the Belgians.

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Beth held the letter from Louis close to her heart before setting it down on the dresser in the “Queen’s Room”. Beth and Louis had recently moved into the rooms made for the monarch and their consort. Beth now had the biggest walk-in-wardrobe she’d ever seen and a palatial bathroom at her disposal. Beth didn’t need this space or ever imagine demanding it. After all, she had little interest in sleeping alone in her “own” room, but it was nice to have some more space.

Louis’s words were sweet. They were, as ever, honest. To her, on their wedding day, he was being his normal sappy self. Still, it made her heart sing to see the words he had started the letter with.

To Bethany, my wife, on our wedding day,

The reality hit Beth. It wasn’t that she was about to be Queen Bethany. It was that she was about to be someone’s wife. Her entire life, she’d insisted it wasn’t in her best interest to settle. Instead, here she stood, clutching the note to her chest, and saying a prayer she didn’t fall up the stairs. That was her fear. She was not afraid to marry Louis. She was ready to be Louis’s wife. She was ready for him to be her husband. She was worried she’d embarrass herself by tripping.

She’d read the note half a dozen times. It was really happening. As she stood in her bright white dress, looking over her appearance a final time, she was satisfied. She wore the diamond drop earrings Robbie and Vanna gifted her. The Brabant tiara transformed into a beautiful necklace–the first but certainly not last time she’d wear it. She stepped into her blue wedding shoes—courtesy of Meghan—and pinned on her mother’s beloved sapphire brooch. That was all there was to it. When she left the ceremony, she and Louis would be legally married. One of her dressers pinned her hat on and Beth was ready.

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