His first phone call of the day was with Catherine, Queen of Eastern Novigradia. They had a trade agreement up for renegotiation. It didn't have anything to do with the change in leadership in Dellisole, but happened to coincide with it.
"We'll all be there for the dinner," Catherine told him.
"All?" That could be a large number. Catherine and Jacob were expecting their first child, but she had four full siblings and her father, the prior prince consort, had several more children with his second wife. Ironically, given Enzo’s first order of business shortly before, the prince consort had married the Royal Historian for Eastern Novigradia not long after the death of his wife. Though the sole reason for the timing had to do with ensuring he could remain regent for ten-year-old Catherine as she became queen, the two were clearly happy together.
"Maybe not all," she conceded. "Myself, Jacob, Papa, and Mumeleine for certain. I need to double check which of my siblings will be there."
"Mumeleine?" It wasn't the first time he'd heard the name, but didn't know the history.
"Madeleine. She became Mummy Madeleine after my younger siblings started to come along. Eventually, it was shortened to Mumeleine. We don't typically use that in public, but sometimes it slips out."
It made sense, and he told her so.
"How are you doing?" The kindness in her voice reminded him that she would have a unique perspective on his situation.
"I'm better some days than others." Even though Catherine was an ally, he couldn't be completely honest with anyone,except maybe Victoria. "It will get easier with time." Or so he had been told.
"It will," the queen confirmed. "I'm sure you have plenty of other things on your schedule today, so I will leave you to them. We'll see you in a few weeks for the signing and dinner."
"I look forward to it." After disconnecting, he moved on to his next call of the day. It didn't last long then he had some time to prepare for his meeting with the Prime Minister and Minority Leader of Parliament along with the Chairman of the Council.
The statement about Victoria's citizenship would be released about the time the meeting concluded. It felt a little sneaky, but he also understood the rationale behind it. Though technically he had to approve everything, he tended to defer to the experts in each arena.
Twenty minutes before the other leaders were to arrive, his intercom buzzed. He reached over and pressed the button. "Yes?"
"Sir, we have enough information about the Royal Historian for a briefing. Would you prefer to do so now or after your meeting?"
He took a few seconds to ponder. If it was something minor that could be handled quickly, it could have been handled over the intercom. If there was a chance it would run into his next meeting, it needed to wait. "I'd like to discuss it as soon as the leadership meeting ends."
"Yes, sir."
The situation remained in the back of his mind as the meeting demanded most of his attention. None of the matters were overly urgent. All were important to one extent or another, though Enzo had a hard time giving them the same weight.
The meeting lasted far longer than he would have preferred. Just as they were wrapping up, the Chairman turned to Enzo.
"There is one more thing to discuss, sir."
Enzo looked at the agenda in front of him. "I believe that's everything."
"There has been some concerns raised about the queen," the Chairman went on.
"Concerns? None have been brought to my attention." He leaned back in his chair and did his best to look nonchalant.
The intercom buzzed before the Chairman could go on.
"My apologies, gentlemen. Your Majesty, your next meeting has asked to move the time up to the top of the hour."
"Thank you. We've reached the end of our agenda. Please let them know I'll be with them momentarily." He pushed back from the conference table and stood. "Gentlemen, if there are concerns about my wife, please add them to the agenda for our next meeting."
The Chairman tried to bluster his way into continuing the meeting, but Enzo refused to let himself be intimidated as he ushered them toward the door.
"Thank you for your time, gentlemen." As soon as the door closed behind them, Enzo felt some of the tension seep out of his shoulders.
A minute later, his top aide entered from another door. "My apologies for interrupting your meeting, sir."
Enzo shook his head. "The intercom buzzed at exactly the right time, but I didn't think I had another meeting until later this afternoon."
The aide winced a bit. "Technically, you don't, but I didn't think you would want to wait any longer to get an update on the Royal Historian."
