Page 38 of The English Queen

“I cannot help if Beth is popular, and we have large families. She’s the last to marry. It’s going to be a big to-do.”

“In Paris? Can’t you do it here?”

“They met in Paris—”

“They met well before that. She doesn’t remember because Louis was already able to drink, and she was barely out of diapers the first time they met.”

“Don’t do it, Robert. Don’t start it with her.”

“Fine, fine. Louis is good to her. He’s good to us. I will be kinder to him. I should be, anyhow.”

Vanna nodded.

“Of course, you can do what you need to in support of Bethy,” Robbie agreed. “She deserves a nice wedding lead-up as much as anyone. Perhaps, more. But can I ask you for a favour in the same vein?”

“Yes, you can ask, Robbie.”

“Well, we need to host a dinner. I am thinking late January. We have to have one. It’s customary. And no one has worked on that because… well.”

“Oh, sure, of course. I will rally the troops. I’ll have Sabine and Rita help.”

“I love you. Thank you. I don’t want her to feel left out of this. Timeline is abysmal.”

“I can make magic happen,” Vanna said, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

“There was never a party Lady Vanora Morgan couldn’t plan.”

“No. Besides, who should let the Belgians have all the fun with this? I’m jealous, honestly. She gets whatever she wants without having a meltdown with an ungrateful mother-in-law.”

“Her mother-in-law is plenty ungrateful, I can assure you. Petty.”

“Well, she doesn’t let it bother her. Or, rather, Louis doesn’t have to listen to his mother about anything.”

“Louis does as he wants,” Robbie said. “Lucky bastard.”

My Way

For Immediate Release-

We are pleased to announce that our eldest daughter, Lady Mairead, Countess of Lauderdale, is expecting a child with her fiancé, Mr. Bruno Sanchez. The pair will be married next month in a ceremony in London. The child is due in late Spring. The child will be the Countess’s third child after her sons from her first marriage–Master Winston Stephens and Master Gerald Stephens. It is Mr. Sanchez’s first child.

-The Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale

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“Is it gauche he bought me a tiara?” Rita asked. “Or am I being extra-sensitive since I’m pregnant and out of my mind?”

“You’re mental,” her sister Izzy said. “What did he buy you?”

Rita spun her computer around to display the tiara’s listing on Sotheby’s website. “This.”

Vanna gasped, “Rubies in a scroll. God, it’s beautiful. Yes, please. If it’s gauche, then sign me up.”

“We’ll see when it gets here. It’s lovely, I’ll grant him that much.”

“I told you to stop worrying about it,” Rita told her daughter, annoyed. “It was a nice gesture.”

Rita rolled her eyes. “It was a beautiful power move, more like it. He found out I received my biggest sparkler from Auntie for my wedding to Richard. And then he had to double down.”

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