Her dark hair was loose, but appeared to be thinning as it lay spread against the pillow. She was clearly a beautiful woman, though the illness had taken its toll.
She held out a hand that was no longer simply slender but bordered on bony and frail. “Enzo.” The queen’s voice was also quieter than Victoria remembered, and much weaker.
“Mum.” Enzo bowed his head, indicating he hadn’t seen his mum yet and reminded Victoria she needed to curtsy. He leaned over and kissed her hairline. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better.” There was a hint of humor in her voice. “Who did you bring?”
Enzo turned to Victoria. “Mum, this is Princess Victoria of the Second Santierian Dynasty.”
She dropped Enzo’s hand and held hers out to Victoria. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, officially. I’m sure we’ve met before.”
Victoria curtsied then took her hand and did her best to be extra gentle. “Yes, Your Majesty. We’ve met several times, though it’s been many years. I think I was ten or twelve the last time.”
“But this is the first time as an adult and certainly the first time as my daughter-in-law.” The smile on her face seemed genuine. She squeezed Victoria’s hand.
Victoria had no idea what the diagnosis was. She would be surprised if the queen would be with them much longer, though she had no idea exactly how long that might be.
The queen went on. “I know it probably won’t go over well with the public that you’re already married, but I’m glad I got to meet you again as my son’s wife and not only as his girlfriend or fiancée.”
“I feel the same way.” Enzo had moved so she could be closer to his mum.
“Use me and my failing health to your advantage with the public. His mum wanted to see you married before...” The queen stopped to breathe. “You had a small private ceremony so I could be a part of your relationship, however briefly.”
Tears filled Victoria’s eyes as she realized her new mother-in-law was protecting them.
“It’s true, you know.” The queen went on. “I’m glad I got to meet my oldest son’s wife. I wish I could have been there, butultimately, the important thing is that you got married.” Her eyes closed, and she almost seemed to fall asleep.
Enzo had moved to the other side of the bed. “We’ll let you get some rest, Mum.” He squeezed her other hand and gave her another kiss on her forehead.
A minute later, they were back outside the queen’s room. Victoria expected him to let his happy face slip, but if anything his smile widened a little bit.
“Are you hungry?” Enzo turned toward her as they walked down the hallway toward the main entrance of the apartment.
“That sounds good.”
When they left the Monarch’s Apartment, his smile brightened a bit more. “Do you want a tour of the palace? We can stop in the kitchen and get some food while we’re there.”
“That would be great.” Victoria wondered at his demeanor. Shouldn’t he be a bit more... not happy? Was he putting on a fake smile to avoid dealing with the coming pain of losing his mum and becoming king at the same time? Was a bigger smile how he dealt with things?
She didn’t ask. She didn’t know him well enough. Not yet. Instead, she tried to remember everywhere they went and how to get the different places.
One place he didn’t show her was his quarters. He’d told her he had his own apartment within the palace and that he wasn’t looking forward to being forced to move into the Monarch’s Apartment.
Did hehaveto? Could he stay where he was, at least for a while? One thing she had learned was that Frederick decided to move out of the official monarch’s quarters for a while. Maybe Enzo could just not move in until he felt more ready. Did any of his siblings still live there? Were any of them minors?
She’d bring it up. Soon. But she wanted to make sure she didn’t do so at the wrong time.
As they wandered through the building, he pointed out some of his ancestors in the portraits or told her a little bit about the battle depicted or whatever else might be going on in the paintings. He shared some of the history of her newly adopted country. She would need to learn it. Maybe there was a royal historian she could talk to or have lessons with. Probably not until after things settled down, but that would be the best plan, most likely.
Enzo certainly wouldn’t have the time to teach her much. He had too much on his shoulders as it was.
“This is the Hall of Kings.” He stopped before two ornately carved doors. “We can go through it another time. There’s queens in there, too, of course. I don’t know why the name was never changed. The royal historian’s office is in there, and they work to preserve our history and artifacts.”
“I would love to learn more about that. Maybe talk to the historian. Learn more about Dellisole.” Victoria let go of his hand and peered through the glass panes of the doors. “I love this kind of thing.”
He chuckled. “I’m certain the historian will love you then. He loves anyone who lets him... what’s the phrase he used? Geek out about our history.”
“Then it sounds like we’ll get along just fine.” She continued to look through the glass, but couldn’t see much but the outlines of the frames on the walls.
