“Elias, good morning.” She fought the pain and shook his hand, then sat in her regular chair. Oh, how she wanted to kick off her shoes and rub the pain from her feet.
“Your Majesty.” Elias sat, crossing his legs, ready to give his report. “How are you? You’re supposed to be on holiday this month.”
“I’m irritated, if you must know. I seem to have some sort of virus or flu that insists on plaguing me.”
“Vitamin C, my wife says.”
“Any more vitamin C and I’ll turn into an orange.”
His cordial laugh led them straight into work. Elias reported nothing out of the ordinary. Taxes, businesses, spending, and oddly, the recent hullabaloo over the Midlands land sale to Reingard Industries.
“MP Fickle is a dog with a bone, ma’am. He believes something underhanded has gone on and he’s determined to dig it up.”
“What sort of underhanded? I read the sale was perfectly legitimate.”
“As did I. I even spoke to the local authorities and environmental ministry. Eloise Ltd. paid for all the testing on the land but in the end, failed to come up with the finances to make the purchase. Reingard swooped in.”
“That’s unfortunate for Eloise, but perfectly within Reingard’s rights,” the queen said. “What do you make of Hamish?”
“He’s ambitious, smart, intelligent, charming. He’s a uniter.”
“Uniter? More of an instigator from where I sit. Stirring up trouble. You don’t think he’ll steal the affection of the people, do you?”
“From who? The Family? From Prince John? A young, handsome widower who patrons seventy charities and champions everyday people? I think not.”
“It’s important for Prince John to get it right going forward. My father made sure I was the crown princess of the people, not just the House of Blue.”
“Which is why he would not let you marry your American. Nor keep your child.”
“We all must make sacrifices.” She shifted in her seat, combating the waves of prickly pain in her hands and feet. On top of which she felt so weary, as if she might fold and slip right down to the floor.
“You look tired, Your Majesty. I should go. Let you rest.”
She wanted to refute his observation, but felt suddenly weary with no more energy for conversation. When Elias had gone, she told Mason she was not to be disturbed. Fixing a cup of tea, she returned to her desk but could barely hold up her head. She had no time for this nonsense.
Being ill did not suit her at all.
From the window of her high and lofty third floor Perrigwynn Palace office, she could see the realm of her ancestors. The capital city of Port Fressa was alive and vibrant as any in the world. Modern skyscrapers shadowed ancient shops and homes, cathedrals.
And much like New York, Port Fressa never slept. At night the glow of streetlamps haloed the Clemency district like a tiara woven through a head of silky black hair.
If she pressed her cheek against the thick glass, she could just make out the radiant lights of the Heart of God. In the daytime, the steeple lights paled, but at night, they owned the darkness and formed a heart.
No one knew the phenomenon of lights had been created until the first structure over six stories was erected. The eight cathedrals in the city centre were so set that they formed a perfectly shaped heart. It was magical if not miraculous.
She’d shared her fist kiss there. With Trent O’Shay. What choice did she have but to fall in love? She’d arrived late to the love game, being sheltered in the palace, then at a girls’ school, being followed by protection officers and governesses. Even her time at Haxton University was chaste and conventional.
“Darling?” Edric, her handsome, solid-as-a-rock king consort, leaned over her desk and kissed her forehead, drawing her from her memory. “You’re warm. Do you have a fever?”
“What does it matter? I’ve work to do.” Catherine patted his chest and returned to her computer screen. “Have you heard from John? Has he met Scottie?”
“Yes, but he’s given no details. What do you make of the social media posts? William Clark mentioned them to me today during the Development Ministry meeting. Said everyone speculated John had a new love.”
“Then they don’t know John. I want him to move on, but I’m quite sure he’s not met a new love after a week in Tennessee. Besides, as much as we all love our American friends, he’d not be foolish enough to fall for an American, no matter how lovely.” For once she was glad her son was still very much in love with his wife. “After what Gus went through with Coral Winthrop, being left at the altar, he’d steer clear of any sort of repeat.” Catherine shuddered. What a nightmare. “As a future king, he knows to marry someone who loves Lauchtenland as much as he does.”
“You sound as if one can easily steer the human heart. And we know now why Coral left Gus. She’d known they weren’t right. She’d encountered God. Surely you know what that’s about, Kate.”
“Don’t use my experiences against me.” She smiled softly. Edric was her rock. He knew her better than anyone. “As for steering hearts… I was in love with Trent O’Shay, but when I realized our relationship could not go forward, I let it go. Then I found you.” She reached for his hand. “Best decision I ever made was to marry you.”
