Elise blinked. "There's secret passages?"
"What palace doesn't have at least one?" Frederick surprised himself by giving her a wink. "You'll be briefed on where all of them are after we return from our trip." He took her hand as they walked toward the side door.
"Trip?"
Had no one told her about it? "We're leaving this evening for our honeymoon on the yacht. We'll be traveling through the islands, making a few stops along the way. Your bags should already be packed, but if there's anything you'll need that they may not have thought of, please let your aide know."
"I have an aide?" She sounded puzzled.
Frederick hid a frown. "I'll talk to Cap to ensure you are fully briefed on everything you need to know and introduced to your temporary staff. You'll be able to select your own staff members if you'd prefer."
She gave a nod as they neared the ballroom. This time they weren't announced, but simply walked in. A few people noticed immediately but the majority didn't realize it until they reached the center of the ballroom floor.
Frederick bowed toward Elise as she curtsied toward him. The music started and, once she was in his arms, they started to waltz around the floor.
Once the song ended, he bowed again and she curtsied. The next dance she had with her father. Frederick stood with his family as she did. The third dance would be with his mum.
"I heard you had a visitor," she said holding her champagne glass so no one would be able to read her lips.
"I did," he confirmed. "We will leave this evening, butno oneelse will leave until you do in a few days." If anyone read his lips, they'd assume he talked about his brothers.
Neither of their girlfriends had joined them, though he wasn't certain why. Perhaps they weren't ready to subject them to the rigors of the press coverage that came with a royal wedding.
"I heard that as well, and I'm glad."
Frederick offered his elbow for her to slip her hand in. As soon as Elise and her father finished their dance, he led his mum onto the floor.
"After this is cake," his mum told him as they moved around the floor. "Once you've finished that and any other photos, you should take Elise and sneak out. Leave on your honeymoon without saying anything to anyone."
He nodded. "I think that sounds like a lovely idea. I'll talk to her in a few minutes." Even being used to the limelight, all of this had to be getting to her.
Once he finished his dance with his mum, Frederick joined Elise near the cake. He leaned close and whispered to her. She nodded.
Together, they cut the cake, fed it to each other, then moved to the side as everyone else began to take to the dance floor.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
She nodded.
With that, they went onto the balcony then through a partially hidden door.
Time to start their honeymoon.
Despite not knowing exactlywhat the plan for the honeymoon was, or who had crafted the plan, Elise was looking forward to getting out of the limelight for a while.
Yes, she’d been an actress since she was a teen. With that, at times, she experienced more attention in a week than most people would in a lifetime.
That didn’t mean the attention didn’t wear on her.
She was also learning that the attention she’d been garnering as the new queen was very different than what she’d been used to as an actress.
As they reached the yacht, Elise also realized they had never discussed other things that were typical for a wedding night. She hadn’t even thought much about it, not with everything else that had been going on - queen lessons, etiquette lessons, sociopolitical lessons, and more.
Frederick motioned for her to precede him on the gangway. She gathered her gown in her hands to hold it off the ground.
The captain waited at the top. He held out a hand to help her balance as she moved onto the deck itself.
The captain bowed his head as she boarded. “Welcome, Your Majesty.”
