He didn’t wait, but sent a message to his head of security. It didn’t take long to get a response. “We can leave as soon as we want - tonight or in the morning.”
After discussing it for a moment, they decided to leave as soon as they could get everything ready. That was how they ended up back on the plane and took the short flight back to the other island.
His doctor was back on the island on holiday and would check on Frederick a couple of times before he returned home.
Even with the ease of traveling by private jet to a semi-private island, by the time they arrived at their home away from home for a couple of weeks, Frederick was worn out.
He waffled over who he wanted to help him, Frederick finally decided to ask Elise if he needed to rather than having his valet stay. Though the outside of their own cottage was well-protected, they would remain alone inside.
In the bathroom, Frederick dropped sock and bent to pick it up but stopped as the twinge in his abdomen became worse than he anticipated.
He left it there rather than try again.
By the time he emerged, Elise had already gone into the other dressing room to change into her pyjamas. Though he was grateful this bed frame was also adjustable, it was far more difficult than he would have liked to get himself situated.
Elise had returned by the time he did. She walked to his side of the bed, helped pull the covers up, then leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. “Sleep well. Let me know if you need anything.”
To his surprise, she started for the door leading to the lounge. “Where are you going?”
She turned in the doorway. “I don’t want to disturb your sleep. I’ll stay out here.”
Frederick shook his head and held out his hand. “Stay with me?”
When she hesitated, Frederick felt an unfamiliar apprehension flood through him, but it quickly dissipated when she nodded and walked back toward their shared bed.
In that moment, when he saw the smile that lit up her face, Frederick knew he’d found the one his heart loved, and he would never again be the bachelor king.
EPILOGUE
As they entered the theater, Frederick found himself grateful that his wife had encouraged him to watch the proshot version of the stage play before going to the theater.
That he knew what a proshot version was marked a big step forward in his theater knowledge.
Marrying biggest fan of the stage production and star of the movie adaptation ofBecoming Mrs. Scroogemeant he had a new appreciation for the whole world of Broadway.
This performance ofCome From Awaymarked the first time the show would be performed in one of the Quad Countries of the Sargasso Sea. VIPs from the other three countries had already arrived and entered the building, including several royal family members of his generation.
He and Elise waved to those gathered outside of the theater. He suspected most of them did not hold tickets for the evening’s performance. The musical would begin not long after he and Elise reached the royal box. Almost everyone would already be in their seats and would satisfy their desire to see or wave at royals before or after the performance.
As they walked toward the stairs leading to the royal box, Frederick and Elise caught up with Queen Catherine and PrinceJacob. The women greeted each other. He had a hard time believing Catherine had seemed intimidated the first time the monarch met Elise. He had been, but he’d had a crush on her for years.
“You’ll love this show,” Elise promised the other queen. “I’ve seen it a number of times, plus watched the recording they did for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. What they do with minimal set dressing and only a few actors is incredible.”
Frederick couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation as he and Jacob struck up one of their own.
He knew the musical depicted 9/11 from the perspective of the residents of the town of Gander - a small town with a big airport. Their population nearly doubled as 7000 passengers from 38 planes found themselves stranded in Newfoundland, Canada for up to five days.
Four tables, twelve chairs, and twelve actors made up the entire set and cast. At times, it was quite fast-paced with each actor playing multiple characters.
There was no intermission in the program, which had surprised him, but after watching the recording, Frederick could understand why. There wasn’t a good place to stop and it would interrupt the flow. The lack of intermission also highlighted the experience of those in Gander - they didn’t have a break for days.
Because he was already familiar with the musical as a whole, he would be able to take it all in and make intelligent conversation with the cast and crew at the reception the next day.
It wasn’t the only proshot they’d watched in the months since their marriage. Elise had convinced him to watch the first couple while he was still recovering from the appendectomy and they kept going from there.
Watching and learning had also kept his mind off of everything going on with his sister.
The rest of those in the royal box remained standing as he and Elise were introduced. Victoria refused to look directly at him. That made him hide a frown.
