Page 60 of The English Queen

“How? If she’s so sick…”

“Beth’s medication was unsafe for pregnancy. About a month ago, she started transitioning from one to the other. She has blood tests every week. If she doesn’t do this, we can’t have kids. She’s treading this hard road for my benefit more than anything. I am sure she’d wait a bit, otherwise. This is the worst time, but she’s doing it for us.”

Elise fell quiet.

Louis added, “Leave her be. And never call her fragile. I won’t hear it.”

“Do you not worry about your children, Louis?”

“Why… because of Beth’s condition? I worry about what she must go through to have them. We have an agreement. And she’ll never complain. She never does.”

“Well, what if your children get it? The British seem so… inbred.”

“We are all inbred, mother! Her father is a commoner. Her grandfather is a commoner. We’ve been swimming in the same Benelux pool for decades. If anything, we’re worse off than she is. The risk increases slightly for our children. However, if the worst they deal with is epilepsy and come out like their mother—smart, charming, outgoing, hilarious, musically-gifted—I will be more than satisfied. We should be so lucky. I don’t want anyone else. I’m having children with Beth or we’re going to have a succession crisis. Luc isn’t the least bit interested in having children. Marie will never come back. She’s happy to live her life. Marta wants nothing to do with being here. In a way, it all this rests on Beth’s tiny shoulders. Give her some grace, mother.”

Elise was again quiet.

She dropped to the chair by Louis and shook her head. “I’m sorry. You’re right. People have always just… they’ve talked about her—”

“Have you ever lived a life where people couldn’t see the beauty in you? Where people saw your difference as a liability rather than something that made you stronger, made you unique?”

Elise shrugged.

“Well, I have. And Beth doesn’t hate or ignore my differences. Sometimes, she finds me annoying and sometimes I find her downright infuriating.” Louis chuckled. “I hate it when she’s right and calls me out on my idiotic behaviour. I hate it, but I admire her. Even Phillipa, who loved me dearly, didn’t see my challenges as much more than something she had to deal with. I can’t explain it in spoken word. Beth appreciates me for my bright spots and my pock marks alike. I can relate to her. Don’t reduce her to something she can’t control, Mama. Until she had a seizure today, what did you think about her?”

Elise answered, “She was good at the job and excellent at relating to people. Quite frankly, she’s as affable as her father. She has the best qualities from both her parents. She’s stunning and puts up with you. She loves you. I admitted to her that I had misgivings but apologised for being off-the-mark.”

“So, leave her,” Louis said. “Without Beth… I’d be running for the hills.”

?????

Rita and Bruno lay with the roaring fireplace under a duvet in Sandringham.

“What do you think?” Rita asked Bruno.

“This place is old and drafty,” Bruno answered as they lay with the fireplace roaring under a duvet in Sandringham.

It had been a hard transition. Rita and Bruno had been in Mexico on a delightfully disconnected honeymoon. They rounded their time out with a family holiday in Bruno’s hometown. It was precious time spent with family in their own little world. Dreary Norfolk was little consolation for the jetlag coming back.

“It grows on you… I think. Or not.”

“I’d rather have you still in a bikini on a beach, but it is a pipe dream.”

“You’re still not disgusted? I’m already big as a house. I swear Nina is going to be the size of the moon when she’s born.”

“You’re plenty tempting.”

“It’s funny. I assumed it would peter out.”

“What?”

“Any lust you still had for me when I fell pregnant.”

Bruno cocked his head, confused. “What? Why?”

“Richard cheated on me while I was pregnant with Gerry. Now, I didn’t expect you to do that. I know better. But I didn’t expect you to be as you have, either.”

Bruno chuckled and gave her a kiss. “Is it too much, mi amor?”

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