“You’ll be a smashing mum.” There was no reservation in his words.
“My kids love her, which ticks off my ex, so it’s a bonus for ole dad.”
Yes, sir, he and Chuck were going to be good friends.
“What about, um, you? Anyone special?” Coral’s question came with a bit of awkwardness.
“You knew about Robbi.”
“I did.”
“I went to Florida after we split, which was more mutual than our parting. I lived in a large five-bedroom beach house with a gourmet kitchen. Totally wasted on me, as you know, but I worked at a pub pouring drinks. Never partook myself but loved chatting with the lads on the barstools. I took up running and lifting, lost a few stones, and tried to move on.” He anticipated embarrassment over his second romantic failure, but it felt good to talk about it. “While in Florida, I ran into a childhood friend from here. Accidentally hit her in the head with a Frisbee. Since then things have become serious.”
“I look forward to meeting her. Will she be at dinner?”
“She won’t be here this weekend. Or at the wedding. She’s the girl with the diaryMy Life with the Princethat launched the whole debacle about Mum. I assume you know about all that mess.”
“I’m afraid there wasn’t much chance to miss it. Plus, Chuck hears all sorts of tales in his car. He knew I was the Panicked Princess the moment we met. So, you love the girl behind the diary?”
Gus explained everything from his childhood friendship with Daffy to the mishap of Leslie Ann Parker possessing the diary.
“I wanted her here this weekend, but she felt her presence would only add fuel to the fire. Since the queen agreed, as well as John, we let it go. We’ll wait, take up publicly when things settle down.”
“It’s true then? You have a sister?”
“We do. Mum’s still sorting things. We’ll see what the coming days bring. She’s not even sure the lass knows. Her father has not reached out.”
“Gus—” Coral hesitated for a moment—“can I tell you what happened? With me? With us?”
“It’s time. I need to hear it. Please, don’t hold back. I’m not afraid of what you have to say. I’ve learned the last two years that hiding from the truth only makes things worse.”
She exhaled and began. “Do you remember talking about our wedding vows? How we were pledging before God to love and serve Him, to represent Him to the people. Every vow we made was in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three entities I knew nothing about. How could I possibly vow to them?”
“Funny, I hadn’t until we met in the foyer. I recall now we first talked about it here, at Hadsby, on a ski weekend. Didn’t we agree it was nothing more than a formality? An old tradition?”
“We didn’t actually agree.Yousaid it was nothing more than tradition and dismissed me in the same breath. I wasn’t settled on the issue at all. I started reading and researching the meaning and purpose of the vows and our role as royal Blues, leaders in the Church, and what exactly all that meant. Lauchtenland has a steep Christian heritage, Gus, a remarkable history of charitable and missionary work. Next thing I knew, I was up all hours reading the Bible. If I was to vow my life and service to you and God, as well as Lauchtenland, then I wanted to know Him. The more I read, the more enthralled I became with a man named Jesus, who died for me. As the wedding neared, I began wondering if we were on the same path. I tried again to talk to you. But—”
“I wasn’t interested.”
“No. Then you said the one thing that terrified me. You said you were your own master and there was no higher authority than yourself. You felt like a…a rogue ship, alone on a tempest sea. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, my heart. I wanted us to have a God to trust, plead with for help, to act as a guide, even a judge between us if we argued.”
“You said all of that? Out loud?” He’d blocked out those specifics.
“I did, at least I tried, probably not as plainly.” Coral gripped her husband’s hand. “I talked about our family heritages, how we both had money, fame, status, and advantages that would be fabulous for children, but what about their spiritual health? Our spiritual health?”
“You got nowhere with me.”
She nodded, her eyes clouding. “That’s when the fear of God gripped me. This sort of reverent awe. I knew I couldn’t live without Him as my friend and judge. I wanted a relationship with Jesus. My love for Him overtook me. I wanted to run after Him with a man who would love Him too. The fear of God was so powerful I feared nothing else, even running out on a global wedding.”
Gus stilled. “Are you saying God told you to leave me?”
“No, not at all. At least not the way I did. But we needed to see we were not on the same page. Maybe some could make religious differences work, but I was so gripped I knew I was not one of them. Being both zealous and immature was not a good recipe. I delayed breaking off with you because I wasn’t totally sure. I kept telling myself everything would work out. That I just had cold feet. My mother was sure I’d be fine once I started down the aisle.”
“I remember you wanted us to read the Bible and pray together. Which I rejected.”
The more Coral explained what had happened—the reason she hadn’t married him—the more tenderness grew inside of him. He’d never given her a chance. He was arrogant, full of himself, and king of the world with Coral Winthrop by his side. He didn’t need God.
“When did you know you’d not marry me?”
