Page 103 of The English Queen

“She’s pregnant. They are having a baby. We are happy about this,” Robbie said, as if reminding his mother to behave. “Mother, you were elated two days ago. Why are you acting like this?”

“Because I’m worried for her. Because I think Louis has put himself first. Could he not have waited a few months for her to adjust to married life? Did he have to insist on this happening now?”

“Oh, this is now a Louis-only decision now?” Elliot burst into laughter. “Does someone want to tell Mummy how babies are made or are we just going to conveniently blame Louis.”

Duncan rolled his eyes. “Mother, directing your ire at Louis is pointless. He didn’t do anything at all. He didn’t do anything wrong, certainly, any more than the combined seven times Robbie or I ever did. So, shoot us.”

Robbie did not interject over the number of miscarriages he and Vanna suffered through because, unlike Duncan, he’d been party to those, too. Robbie couldn’t understand The Queen’s decision to blame Beth and then make it sound like Louis was an opportunist predator.

“I am saying she could have waited—”

“Rebecca was pregnant out of the gate. We didn’t wait.”

“Robert did.”

“Not deliberately,” Robbie said, short as ever. “No, I watched my wife suffer the indignity of infertility coupled with losing several babies in the process. Yeah, that was really planned, mother. And, per my wife, if you asked Beth, she and Louis would have waited.”

“Then what happened? Why now? At this juncture?”

“Because, mother, she wants more than anything for you to meet their child. She wanted you to meet one of her children. She did this as much for them as she did for you. Can you please act like a human being for one fucking minute?!”

The room fell silent. Everyone stared at Robert. He hated silence and longed to fill the space. Feeling weakened his position. Normally, while Robbie didn’t much care about power for the sake of power, Robbie was ready to throw his weight around. His mother’s internalising started to get at him again. He knew she was not in her right mind but needed her to read the damn statement to the media. He needed her to act reliably, not go off book for three minutes.

“Why are you all so upset?”

“Because we love Beth, mother!” Elliot said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m concerned about Beth’s health more than her standing with us while people shout ‘God Save the King’ at Robbie. That is all quite silly compared to her health and that of my impending niece or nephew.”

“Why start a war?” Duncan asked his mother. “Why do you do this?”

“It’s just Beth. I am allowed to have opinions.”

“Beth is your daughter, one,” Duncan pointed out.

“If you snipe at her, you are also sniping at our ally in Europe and the future monarch she’s carrying. So, if for nothing else but for my sake and for George’s sake, can you pipe down, Mum?”

Maggie crossed her arms and glared at Robbie.

“You’re no better than Hannah Thomas. You know that?” Keir asked.

Hannah was Vanna’s mother. Maggie and Hannah were sworn enemies. Robbie didn’t follow his father’s logic.

“What, I’m a social climber?”

“No, you’re chiding your own child over whatever her body does or doesn’t do. We always, always promised we would love Beth just like the others and never let her challenges change our view of her. In fact, we probably loved her harder than the others. Here you are, watching her go through hell, and judging her for taking the spotlight from Robbie. Why? I know you are upset and worried about her, Magpie. And I know this is why this is coming out. I know your brain is… not with us all the time as it was. What you are doing makes you sound like Vanna’s mother calling her fat in public. It’s no different.”

Robert had to love his father’s invoking the name of Vanora’s polarising, demanding mother. Hannah always found fault with her daughter’s body. It always angered Robbie and his family—including his mother. Keir got under his wife’s skin.

Maggie groaned. “Fine. I will keep my mouth buttoned. If you do not care, Robert… why can’t I have an opinion?”

“I do care. I care about Beth’s health! She needs to stay home, and we will handle this with just the three of us and you, mother. At the end of the day, Beth isn’t going to be back for every state occasion. It’s almost as if you won’t accept she is the consort of another monarch. She is gone, Mum! She’ll be back for the coronation.”

“I won’t,” Maggie burst into tears.

Well, there it was. Maggie was upset because she missed Beth. Maggie lashed out—as she always did—because saying she was sad was unacceptable. Robbie looked at his brothers, calling off the dogs. Duncan was already tearing up. Duncan, of the three, struggled the most with his mother’s decline. He refused to believe the reality that she wasn’t there. If one was a mama’s boy, it was Duncan. He would suffer most with Maggie’s death.

Robbie’s tone softened. “Mother, it’s okay to be sad. We all miss Beth. We always will. She will be back at Balmoral. She and Louis will stay a long while. You will spend time with her, alright? It will be fine. You’re not going anywhere today. You’ll not go anywhere for a long time.”

Robbie didn’t argue about the coronation. The coronation was due to take place in May but might be shuffled for an alternate date in July or September depending on when the Queen passed. If she passed in before March 31st, the coronation would happen at the end of May. If she died within the next two months, it would happen in July and so forth. Robbie tried not to think about it even though his wife and daughter were in the process of detailing out their coronation dresses as one did before any coronation.

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