Page 52 of The English Queen

He chuckled and looked back, appearing to do a double take. “You look beautiful.”

“Uh… thanks? You have noticed me for the first time today. Is everything okay?”

“Yes. I am so sorry, Beth. I didn’t realise you’d noticed.”

“Louis, you’ve been all over the place. I don’t ask too many questions because I know it won’t help or solve your issues,” Beth said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Well, I promise to put the phone down and focus on you. You look gorgeous. I shouldn’t take it for granted.”

She smiled slightly and kissed him. Beth knew better than to dig where she was unprepared to involve herself. He would tell her when he needed. She knew he wasn’t ignoring her on purpose. It was hard for him to ignore her, but his job was ever-present. In some ways, Beth was thankful for it. She’d thought monogamy was a boring slog of feeling totally stifled and owned. Beth realised what owned Louis was the job. Perhaps to some it would be a downside, but to Beth it was freedom. She got to run her own little world. She got space. He did not smother her. Beth realised in this moment what she had not before. The thing she’d been happy to have with Martin and what she’d found beneficial was he didn’t ask for receipts. He didn’t expect her to cater to his every whim. He didn’t need to take up every moment of her time.

Beth swore marriage must be a nightmare. To be married, women devoted themselves completely to the family, gave up their own desires, and waited on their husbands hand-and-foot. Beth had not considered all relationships did not end up way. It wasn’t about being locked down or becoming an unloved, maternal basket case. It was wanting to be a partner with someone forever. It was finding the right person to make it work.

Beth found this with Louis. She had a man who prioritised her but never dictated what she did. She had someone who supported her. Louis did not micromanage her. He did not need a mother. He needed a partner. He never underestimated Beth. He saw her the way that Martin and her friends in Paris did—the way that most of her family never had. He saw a vivacious, vibrant woman who was tough as nails when she needed to be. He saw the fighter in her. He appreciated her wilful sense of self.

So, maybe now, she had met her match? Beth was pretty sure that was the case. And the more she observed the people around her, the more she realised she had gotten in wrong. Perhaps marriage could be a terrible life spent in lockdown. For many women, it flat out was. However, as she watched Bruno and Rita smile at one another like the world could end and they could die happy, she knew that was not always the case. This was living proof that you could love a person and support them. It was not about ownership.

Beth and Louis climbed aboard the lift. “I appreciated the bracelet. I should have led with that. I just wanted to pull you away from the Mobile Phone of Doom.”

“I am glad. I figured that was the case. You’re wearing it. You don’t tend to wear things you hate. It looks lovely on you.”

Beth stifled a laugh. “You mean like those horrid emerald earrings?”

She received a pair of gold and emerald drop earrings from the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as an engagement present. She said thanks and worn them to a meeting with the Grand Duke and his wife when they visited a few months before, but Beth loathed them. Emeralds didn’t suit her, and the earrings were gaudy.

“You are a good sport about them.”

“Let’s hope that we have a daughter someday and it better suits her colouring than mine. And she likes that much yellow gold. No thanks. I felt like a walking shamrock.”

He laughed. “You still looked lovely.”

“I ended up on The Court Jeweller and people were unkind. They shared my concerns. But, given how much they often question her jewellery choices on there, it is sadly common. I feel bad. She really is lovely. A sweetheart. But she should put the jewels down.”

“What on Earth is The Court Jeweller?”

“It’s like the blog for royal jewels. An American runs it, but the amount of tiara history and such… it’s remarkable. Rita and Vanna are addicts. There is a Tiarapedia. I’m not making any of this up. There is a poll running about what tiara I am going to wear for the wedding.”

“And have you chosen one yet?” he asked.

“I am going to leave that up to your mother—within reason. My mother is insistent she will provide me something but want to wear one from the vault and your mother seems to care about it. Let’s face it, I will have another fifty-plus years to wear whatever my heart desires. The Nine Provinces is the grandmere of tiaras. It will probably make an early appearance.”

“You’ve thought this through?”

“Sure. Again, fifty or more years. That’s a lot of state banquets. You realise you’re stuck with me,” she said.

The two stepped off the lift holding hands into the main ballroom where the highest profile guests assembled. Rita and Bruno took over the entire place. Formal dancing happened in the ballroom before the party shifted to the basement nightclub. Dinner was served in several rooms. Guests were placed according to status. Beth and Louis were on the A-Team.

“If I am lucky, I will get fifty long, happy years. Or you’ll kill me young. Either way, I will die happy,” Louis promised. “I could only be so lucky.”

She stopped for a quick kiss, “You’re far too sweet, Louis.”

“Nah. I am honest and head-over-heels for the most interesting woman I’ve ever met.”

“The most inconsequential of princesses?” Beth asked.

“The liveliest woman,” Louis said. “The most confounding and most frustrating person. But I love her more than words.”

Boyhood

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