Page 140 of Duchess Material

Ed snickered.

“See, there’s a smile. You missed her. I know you did. Everyone does. She won’t desert you. She was counting the minutes before you go here. There’s just something about family, though. We’re a bit mad.”

“I feel like I’m in Ireland. I have dozens of cousins on my Mam’s side.”

“I could make a joke, but I won’t.”

Ed chuckled.

“I mean, I would. I should. Only one of us is married to a Catholic of the four and she has six children. That’s more than enough, I’d say. Why is there only one of you?”

“Because my parents know the wonders of birth control. I always joke that I only exist as some sort of campaign pledge. Six children is mad. And they all look… identical, do they not?”

Duncan nodded. “They do. Like little Beth clones. Honestly, the older Margaux gets, the more she looks just like our Victoria. And she’s a dead ringer for Kiersten. They’re just perfectly close in age.”

The King and Queen of Belgium had six children. They had no sons—all daughters. They were all blonde, perky, and especially excitable. They chattered. He prayed that Natalie would never ask him to raise six daughters. He wouldn’t mind having a couple with her. That was nice, but six was too much.

“How did they settle on six? She doesn’t strike me as religious,” Ed noted.

By now, Queen Beth was on the piano. This would go on forever. She was a concert pianist. He just had no idea what that meant until he had heard her play for the first time. Belgium was having more fun than Britain these days. He suspected that it had been for a long time. Beth was a completely different animal to Robbie. Other than the two of them looking closely related, it was hard to believe they were siblings.

“Beth? God, no! She never even converted. Refused to. Let Louis baptise them in the church or whatever Catholics do.”

“It’s basically what you do, yeah,” Ed said.

“You’re not—”

“Oh, God, what if I were,” Ed groaned. “No. I am not a dreaded Catholic. My father’s family won that argument since Mam was keen to see him in the Commons. She didn’t feel like him being Catholic would be good. Nor did she think it would help my chances of getting into a good school.”

“Well, that says more about The English than it does Catholics.”

Ed shrugged. It wasn’t wrong.

“No, it wasn’t planned. She promised Louis two children. They wound up with one first, Margaux. Then, they were blessed with the family curse.”

“Family curse?”

“Twins,” Duncan chuckled. “Runs on the female side, so, be aware. Mathilde and Elise were born, and we thought that was it until Beth said they were having another. That was Louisa. She swore they were done. She had four. She’d replicated our nuclear family—no boys but Louis didn’t care. Then, a surprise—Wilma—and ending with little Cornelia.”

The youngest of the children was this doll-faced, tiny child who thought Natalie was the coolest person on earth.

“You want six daughters, then?” Duncan laughed.

“I have no opposition to having daughters in my lifetime. They are cleverer than boys. My mother and Natalie are good examples.”

“You have fancy degrees, though. Natalie doesn’t. I don’t, either.”

“Okay, maybe you don’t. I don’t think that’s a measure of anything. Natalie is excellent at maths. I’m not.”

“Coordinates require maths,” Duncan said. “She is terribly clever. It’s what bothers Robbie most, after all.”

Ed was brave. “What is his deal? Can I ask that?”

“Being a monarch means setting boundaries. You are deliberately a hard nut to crack. I promise you he’s not heartless. My brother is one of the kindest people you will meet. He loves his wife and his children more than words. It’s a hard life to jump into.”

“Yeah, I’m a bit shit at that. I’ve been trying to find some organic way to engage with him, but he finds me daft or petty. I’m not. I love to read. Does he read?”

“He does, actually.”

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