Page 141 of Duchess Material

“What books does he read?”

“Boring things. Mostly historical stuff. I find it dreadful.”

Ed could work with that.

“You think he hates you?” Duncan asked after a moment.

“I hope he does not hate me, but he doesn’t like me, either.”

“He isn’t going to make the same mistake with her that Mum made with us.”

“And that was?”

“Trying to drag his feet and deny her happiness when you are a perfectly suitable partner,” Duncan said. “Whomever Nat settles down with—and I have a feeling she wants it to be you—will earn Robert’s trust eventually. Mum, on the other hand, had an irrational hatred of Vanora. I will never understand it.”

“Why? I don’t understand how it is even possible to hate the Queen.”

“No one does. It was a real headscratcher. She saw Vanora as a threat, and it simply festered. Robbie loved that woman irrationally. Still does. She didn’t approve of that or Vanna asking for him to take time off to take care of new-borns. Which, let’s be honest, he and I both did because it was the proper thing to do. Mum was the world’s biggest hypocrite at times. I try to give her some credit. Being a female monarch is difficult. Natalie will not have it easy.”

“Has she ever? I mean, I’m in sport. Things aren’t all roses for women. But I feel that the military is worse.”

“The military is bad. Becoming a pilot is near impossible. Being a leading fast jet pilot who gets to go off to test pilot training in America—as a woman—is impossible. Natalie has never let a single person tell her no. It has cause plenty of friction, but you can’t break her. I see a lot of myself in her. She also has her father’s temper and impulsiveness.”

Ed chuckled.

“Oh, you know the temper, Ed.”

“Yes, I do. I also sort of love it. I like to wind her up just to see what happens. She can be so tight about things. I like to watch her start to fray. It reminds me she’s not just some figurehead on a television. Honestly, I don’t much know who that woman is, Duncan.”

“Everyone has their public persona.”

“If I may, though, you are the same as I always read you. You’re the cool one. The King is reserved and uptight. But he’s that way here, too.”

“Nah. You need to get to know Robbie. He’s not that uptight. Yeah, he’s anal and all, but he’s not so bad. Don’t expect him to dance on a table or anything.”

“I would not, no.”

“You really love her, don’t you?”

Ed nodded. “I love her. I have missed her. She is a brave, loud, lovely person.”

“You’re not afraid of all of this?”

“How could I not find it frightening? Of course I’m afraid! I’m also not smart enough to run away. I still hate the press, but I mostly ignore them now. Technically, in America I am the press. I dunno. I’m probably very dumb, but I can’t help it.”

Duncan patted Ed on the shoulder. “You’ll get her. She will leave here eventually. As far as Robbie is concerned, just give it time. He’ll see how well you treat her over time, and he’ll respect that.”

25

LOVE, MARRIAGE, AND BAGGAGE

Winston peered at Lucy as she slept. She looked pale and weak. Last night, she ate next to nothing. Pregnancy hit like a hurricane. She was so exhausted he carried her to bed. Winston understood Lucy’s desire to keep it quiet, but everyone could tell she looked ill and how knackered she was. Her aversions to food were obvious to Winston from the moment they sat to dinner. Even Natalie called it. If Natalie could, there were half a dozen other people around the table who could, too.

Winston had been so busy worrying about his wife that he hadn’t considered the greater takeaway. He was going to be a father—he hoped. If all went well, he and Lucy would be parents. It occurred to him that he had no idea how pregnant Lucy was or what that even meant. She wasn’t a horse. How long were women pregnant? Nine months? But was that before or after ovulation? How the hell did you date a human pregnancy? He would have asked Lucy, but she’d been so busy between entertaining people and being ill that he hadn’t bothered to ask.

Winston was at a loss. He decided that sleep eluded him. Instead of sleeping, he went downstairs to where his parents were taking breakfast in the dining room with the King and Queen. Everyone else was asleep.

“Are you ill? Why are you up so early?” his mother demanded. “Did you not tie one on like the rest of them?”

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