Gauging the adversary
Chapter 141
"Whatever," John said indifferently. What did he care? He would take Anna away, far from anything that was going to be published here. Then, when they returned, the storm would be over. Ideally. But he knew it went like that. News items never held people's interest for more than a few days, because then something else came along that was more important. He knew it, yet it was difficult to trust in it.
"Does Her Royal Highness know?" the journalist asked.
John frowned. That seemed obvious. Why ask? "According to your theory, she would have to know…"
The journalist looked at Anna, but she was looking at John with big eyes. She did not understand what he was doing. How could he sound so indifferent?
"Madam…it's true, isn't it?"
Anna turned her eyes onto him. "What's your intention? What do you hope to accomplish by saying such things?"
"It would open up a totally new perspective. You'd have stayed away because you were in love and not because you were afraid. There wouldn't have been any trouble if you had returned right away, when the miscommunication was discovered. You lied to the public, abused their sympathy."
"I never lied." Anna felt it would relieve her enormously to tell the truth. She was never comfortable with lies and untruths. But what would happen if the truth got out? She did not know if she could face more attention.
"I really appreciate your quest for the truth," John said sarcastically. "But I fail to see the good of it."
"The public has a right to know that she lied to them."
"I never lied. I never said anything," Anna said again.
"Yet you never denied anything either and you're not denying anything now. He was there from the beginning, wasn't he? I know it for certain now."
Eduard looked at John inquiringly. "Should I call security?"
"No need. I hope we can settle this peaceably," John shook his head. He would have to dissuade this man from making this public.
"Your conduct wasn't exactly professional," the journalist continued. "Getting off with the one you're supposed to protect. That can't be allowed. Is that why you covered it up?"
"I don't think my love life warrants any attention and neither do I want any attention. Too much attention is detrimental in the early stages. Allow me to get off with anyone I please without having a few million people looking over my shoulder."
"Do you think that men were all I could think of?" Anna asked indignantly. "I was more concerned with trying to feel safe and I assure you that applied to whoever was with me as well. We didn't know what was going on out there. When it was safe for me to go back, it wasn't safe for them. They'd been insubordinate and they might just be eliminated by another Unit. Friends stick together," she said, lifting her chin slightly in defiance. "They could keep me safe and I could keep them safe because I would be able to say they were innocent. Should I then have left them just because I was going to be alright? And leave them in danger? No." She looked at John. How far could she go without revealing anything? Or would he not mind if she did? But she was on a roll now. She saw things clearly and she wanted to explain herself. "I rather resent the fact that there are people who assume that I was having other priorities."
"But your priorities shouldn't have lain with your friends. They should have been with the country," the journalist pointed out. "You should have put your own well-being above anything else."
"Sorry, no," Anna answered. "If I'd done that, I shouldn't have been able to live with myself, not to mention the fact that someone else would have come along to tell me I'd been wrong, just like you're doing now. It's never right what I do. Since you seem to pride yourself on your elevated sense of good and bad, maybe you should consider the dilemma and try to imagine what you would have done in my place. Think -- easy? Not easy? I don't care what you think, really, because I know I did what was right. The only thing I ask is that no matter what you think, please keep it to yourself. Nobody will be served by hearing your suspicions. They won't do any good, because many people will judge without knowing the facts, or they'll just judge wrongly. And that is putting my own well-being first, because I don't like attention."
"I'm not saying you were wrong, I just want it confirmed that he was working for CO," the journalist persisted.
"I heard from the people who were with me that nobody can ever prove that they worked for CO," Anna said, smug that she suddenly remembered that. "I don't see why you want the impossible. You may say it, but it will be denied and you won't be able to prove your claims. That was one of the reasons they disobeyed orders and ran -- nobody would be able to prove that they had received orders to kidnap me and that they were actually legitimate government employees. Do you see what I mean? You may think John worked for CO and it may be true, but it's not going to get you anywhere, because it will always remain a suspicion."
"Thank you, Anna," John said in relief. He wanted to kiss her.
"Then what is the harm in telling me something about it?" the journalist asked.
"The harm is in the fact that you'll publicise the fact as the truth and it will have all kinds of nasty repercussions. We're going to have all kinds of people poking their nose into our relationship and we can't have any more of those. There are enough of them as it is."
"You heard the sort of questions they ask," John continued. "They think she took the tennis rankings and searched them for a prey her age and then selected me to be her boyfriend. When she doesn't even like tennis." And when at first she had not even known he played it.
"Well, I do," Anna corrected in a mild voice. "But everyone who doesn't spend six hours a day on it doesn't like tennis, according to John. I shouldn't digress. I can't stop you from writing anything. I can only try to persuade you not to do it."
"What if I don't write about it?" the journalist asked. "What if I only wanted to satisfy my own curiosity?"
"Yeah, right," John said cynically. "Anna might believe you, but she's incapable of believing that some people are evil. I'm not. The majority of the people don't keep their promises when it suits them not to. So I'm assuming you will write. You live for your scoop. There's nothing that will convince me that you're going to keep this to yourself, but go right ahead." He would be away tomorrow night anyway and with some luck he would not have to read it. "Write everything you like. I honestly don't know how I could stop you."
"I still think that's how you met. It makes more sense, doesn't it? The hero always falls for the helpless heroine…" he said to bait John.
"Well," Anna protested in a slightly indignant voice. "Please don't compare me to one of those stereotypical whiners." She disliked those immensely, because they could not do anything.
John did not react. He was still not prepared to admit anything and defending Anna would be an admission. Self-control was what he needed.
"I think," Anna continued. "You should first decide what you'd have done in my situation before you continue speaking. I'm not going to say any more until you tell me what you've decided." She crossed her arms. It had worked on Marie-Celeste. Why not now?
John smiled. "Schoolteacher. Write an argumentative essay that defines your point of view on this issue, preferably with a detailed and logically structured diagram." He leant over to Anna and whispered in her ear. "I don't know if it matters, but we'll be away for the next two weeks, hopefully. We won't be able to read anything this guy writes anyway."
"Away?" she whispered excitedly.
"Yes. And you defend me admirably well."
"I'm glad." Anna rubbed his back. She looked at the journalist, who was observing them silently. "Well?" she asked icily.
John marvelled at her icy tone. She might have problems handling a room full of strangers, but when push came to shove she knew how to conduct herself. It was all in the mind -- motivation. He was not so motivated to defend himself now that she was doing it. That was the downside of it, probably. Another man would have felt surpassed, perhaps, but he did not. They each took their turns. He glanced at Eduard, who had been following the discussion with a worried expression. What was he worried about? John gave him a reassuring look.
"Well…umm…I think I might have done what you did."
"How and what?" Anna demanded.
"Stayed with the kidnappers."
"Friends," she corrected.
"Friends," he repeated. "That would have been the nicest thing to do."
"The only thing. Well, what else? If, as you say, John was there, what would you have done in my place?"
"Fallen in love with him?" the journalist guessed. And why not? If he had been a woman? John was an attractive man.
Anna looked exasperated. "If you lived in continuous fear? Of course not! No! You'd start a dialogue and see how you could co-operate. I had the money to survive and they had the brains. They could have left me there, but I didn't even know how to get home on my own. So, co-operation was the key. Nobody was thinking about love. Ugh. We had other things on our minds."
"When did love come in then?" the man ventured.
"Did it come in at all? We haven't established that yet."
John's stomach rumbled and he found he was extremely hungry. He hated to upset Anna's scheme, but this was going to take ages. "Anna? I suggest we stop circling around the matter. I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry," Anna was seemingly unimpressed. "What do you propose we do, other than have dinner?"
John did not like it that whatever he would say would give everything away. "Dulce et decorum est pro patria amare. I propose that we cut the discussion short, because it's not advancing in the least. You're trying to get him to say that he won't write about it and he's trying to get me to say that I worked for CO."
"I know you did," said the journalist.
"Not during the kidnapping. We quit and we worked for Anna. Look, we weren't stupid. We knew very well that her word guaranteed our safety, so we were as motivated by that as by the fact that she was…umm…" he glanced at Anna and wondered how she would react to that and to the fact that he had revealed the truth, but he had decided that he would not care. There were worse things in life than attention. "…a bit clueless about survival. But she was a quick learner." He saw the journalist looked thrilled. "Why the excitement if you knew all along? Can we have dinner now, Anna?" He was not too comfortable with attention after all.
"Clueless?" Anna demanded. It was not a good thing that she was called a clueless female, was it? But to be called a quick learner was better.
"For starters…you weren't exactly wearing the right clothes for the expedition when you joined us…and then you wore them during the night so you looked very crumpled. Women never make sense," John commented. "You keep them all on during the night when there was nobody there to see you and you hopped around happily in your underwear in the changing rooms when we went shopping." Actually he thought it made perfect sense, but he did not say so.
"You shouldn't be able to figure out all of me yet," Anna said with satisfaction. "You'd get bored." There was an easy explanation for it, but he would have to find it himself.
"Do with it what you want," John told the journalist. He really could not think on an empty stomach and he was beginning to ramble about things that did not concern anybody but him and Anna. "Anna will tell you more. I really need food." He got up and practically fled.
"He doesn't like to talk about himself," Anna explained, not pleased with his desertion, but not seeing how she could reproach him for leaving when it was not even his press conference. And he had helped her out already. She could not expect him to do all her undesirable tasks for her, nor did she want him to, but she could mentally slap him all the same.
The journalist thought she looked rather frightened, left with the middle-aged man and himself, as if he was going to eat her. She seemed to be clueless about more than just survival, because she now looked at the other man with an entreating look, willing him to take over the conversation. If he had not heard her converse perfectly comfortably with Seton just now, he would have thought her incapable. They were a pretty odd couple. "Neither do you."
"Uhh…no." The brown eyes flashed up and down and up again, obviously after a mental reminder of her manners. "What do I say now?" it sounded a little helplessly, but she then pulled herself together. "So now you know."
"May we count on your discretion?" Eduard said something for the first time. He had been watching Anna stumble for a long while because John had interfered, but this was getting too clumsy for words. Was this girl really his daughter? She resembled neither him nor Eliane in this respect, going from insecurity to confidence to teasing, depending on who she was facing. At least Eliane spoke to everyone in the same manner.
"I'm never going to learn if people keeping cleaning up after me," Anna said with tears in her eyes. She had made a right mess of this, of the entire press conference. It had been one continuous display of incompetence. And she would never improve because there were always people who interfered before she made a fool of herself. That was why she was so disastrous at it. Maybe it would be better to let her make an enormous fool of herself once, despite the pain.
"Anna!" Eduard said in a voice that conveyed quite clearly that she needed a firm kick in the behind. She was far too old to act like a baby.
"It got out of hand," Anna sobbed. "I can't do anything." She ran off as well, leaving Eduard alone with the journalist and the people who were stacking the chairs.
"Well…" Eduard said, a little bewildered and irritated. "That was Anna."
"Do you know anything about Mr. Seton's involvement with CO?"
"I think Mr. Seton himself would be best qualified to tell you about that. He'll be back," he said confidently. "Either to fetch Anna or to apologise for her behaviour, depending on whether she ran into him or not. She's reached a certain degree of confidence with him that she hasn't yet reached with the rest of the world. Are you planning to write about your discovery?"
"I don't know. I haven't yet decided if it's in the public interest."
"I'm afraid it will become one of those anecdotes that will be repeated ad nauseam," Eduard said with a disapproving expression. "It doesn't seem to have any other value."
He had been right about John, who returned with a half-eaten sandwich. "Where's Anna?"
"She had an acute attack of nerves," Eduard explained.
Pregnant, John decided. Who ever said women were complicated? "I don't mind, really. Everyone would fall in love with her if she weren't nervous. Are you still not satisfied?" he asked the journalist.
"Yes, how did you ever get there?" That would have been tough and he glanced a the younger man. He would have to have considerable abilities.
"They recruited me," John shrugged. "I suppose I was suitable material. Obviously not for press conferences, but…heh. I thought it was sort of like acting out an exciting book, which it wasn't, but I don't regret it. I met the most wonderful woman -- you wouldn't understand that, I suppose, if she keeps running off and refusing to talk -- but I almost like her better than tennis." He caught Eduard's look and grinned. Trust a father not to appreciate such a remark from his soon-to-be son-in-law. But it was the truth. He would not put tennis aside for Anna. Fortunately they were compatible, because she did not mind. "Or equally well."
Eduard hoped John and Anna would both grow up in the following months, or perhaps one kept having these thoughts about any younger person, no matter their behaviour.
"One last question," said the journalist. "Will you continue working for CO?"
"No. I already quit. I'm not really happy with the fact that something like this could have happened in the first place. It's got a very non-transparent structure. And Anna doesn't want me to, unless it would be limited to thinking and no action, maybe. I prefer action sometimes, but Anna gets nightmares from too exciting things."
Anna was in doubt. She did not know what John was thinking about her behaviour just now. It was never easy to tell from his expression. It was hard, not knowing, and she was marrying him tomorrow. She was going to spend the rest of her life with this man. Would he still want to? she thought anxiously. This caused her heart to beat nervously and she told herself to stay calm. He knew what he was getting into, though perhaps not fully after such a short time, and she had been worse than this, but never in public. She not really see where she was going, except that there seemed to be a crowd of lingering journalists in the big hall and she was a bit disoriented, pushing her way through.
Someone grabbed her arm. "Anna!" It was Nathalie.
Anna blinked to get a better focus. "Yes?"
"Is something wrong?"
"No. Yes. Everything is wrong. I irritate myself. I never should have said yes. I knew it was going to be a disaster."
"What was?" Nathalie seemed genuinely surprised that Anna was on the verge of tears.
"That," Anna gestured back to the conference room. "Don't tell me it went well. Compared to what Marie-Celeste did it was a disaster. I'm so bad at it. I should have refused, but that might have seemed as if I had something to hide and I don't."
"It went alright," said Nathalie. "Marie-Celeste is different. Yes, hers was perfect. It was too perfect."
"What do you mean?" Anna asked. That sounded a little negative. Could there be anyone who had some criticisms about Marie-Celeste's presentation?
"She's untouchable. Nobody's going to say Marie-Celeste is just like someone they know and I heard someone compare you to his daughter."
"Me?" Did anyone hate his daughter?
"Yes, you."
"And they thought Marie-Celeste was perfect?"
"Yes."
"But Marie-Celeste's not perfect at all. I could tell you -- but I shouldn't," Anna said quickly. "But they must have thought I wasn't perfect and I wasn't."
"You're different. What you think is not perfect about her is probably a character trait that I admire," Nathalie grinned. "Marie-Celeste is a career woman." She was not unlike Marie-Celeste and she could see Anna was much softer.
Anna considered it. "Yes. I'm not. At least not in this career. I'm not going to read any papers tomorrow. I don't want to see it," she said with a shudder.
"Anna, I think it will be alright. It's not as bad as you think it is. You showed much more of yourself than Marie-Celeste did and people always appreciate that. They understand your decision now that they've seen you at work."
"Now they've seen what a bungler I am," Anna paraphrased it. She had heard such tactful talk before and she knew what it was worth.
"Tell me, does John never get tired of you?" Nathalie said in exasperation. "But he's very gentle with you. He wouldn't tell you with so many people looking on, I suppose." He would never criticise Anna in public, or would he? No, he knew how she would take it, probably, although he had not been that gentle that one time that he and Anna had met with her and the Commissioner. He had told her to talk then, but that had not been a very public occasion.
"Maybe he'll tell me so later." Anna looked anxious. "I don't want to face him. Where is he?" she looked around wildly. "He went out because he was hungry."
"Oh great!" Nathalie laughed. She understood it now. "He left you alone in there? Is that why you were all upset?"
Anna looked sheepish. "No, I was upset with myself."
"You could do with a little more guts, that's all," Nathalie told her. "Why do you think everyone is going to slash your behaviour? Some people actually thought it cute."
"Cute!" Anna exclaimed in incomprehension. ""I was practically inarticulate!"
"Once or twice, but on the whole you were fine. People liked that thing about his car. It was very recognisable for the audience. Plus they hadn't expected you to have domestic discussions in front of them. They always like peeks into other people's lives. Anna, will you do an exclusive interview in a few weeks about how you like your new life and so on?" Nathalie asked, striking the iron while it was hot.
"I don't really want attention," Anna said doubtfully. But she knew she would be unable to say no to friends. "I can never say no and I always regret it afterwards."
"You'll get to read it first and you can say what has to be changed."
"It's going to be so boring. We're very boring people. Not that I think it's boring, but I know how it'll go. He spends half the day playing tennis and the other half is spent eating and running a few errands in between. That's really going to interest people."
"Can you live like that?" Nathalie asked. "What do you do when he plays tennis? Sit and watch?"
"Hello! No. I only spent one weekend at his house and I went swimming then."
"Oh. Well, yes. It does sound a little tame," Nathalie agreed. One weekend at John's house? How come nobody knew about this? She had not read it anywhere. "No fancy trips or anything? Candlelight dinners?"
Anna chuckled. "Doubt that. I think he'll ask me if the electricity is off. I could try it once."
That was not exactly what Nathalie meant. "I meant in a restaurant. Where have you been eating then? Don't tell me you cooked your own dinner?" Nathalie thought money had to be spent and that it was classy to dine out. A royal eating at home was not glamorous.
"I tried."
"No wonder you weren't spotted in town. I know they've been staking out fancy restaurants to catch a glimpse of you, but that's no use of course if you don't go out." She could warn her colleague about that.
"It's more fun to stay home." Was she trying to find excuse for her boringness? Why, actually? She was like that and she could not help it. People would just have to accept it.
"Oh." It did not seem so to Nathalie. "Really?" Perhaps it mattered whom you were staying home with. However, going out and being treated was special. Doing everything yourself took the romance out of it. It became so ordinary.
"You went away with us for a whole weekend and you still don't know that?" Anna laughed. "That I like staying home, I mean?" She lowered her voice when she realised she was drawing too much attention. Apparently it was raining outside and some journalists were waiting until it stopped before they went out. They would have to walk all the way to the front gate. "Shh. I don't really know about John, but he never suggested that we go out." So did that mean he preferred to stay home? It did not have to be. It might just be temporary because he liked to spend time with her alone. Maybe when they were married they would go out to dinner. But then she would like going out more than she did now. "I like staying home better now, because I have to dine in company so often."
"Look, I'll contact you in a few weeks. Alright? So you can think about it." Nathalie would have to get going to finish her piece in time. "I have some work to do now."
"Don't put anything I said in it," Anna said anxiously, realising only now whom she had been speaking to.
"I'll be nice," Nathalie promised.
Anna was left standing in the hall, wondering where to go to. She felt better now and the need to run off had disappeared, not that she had actually known where she was going. She looked around herself and met with a few gazes that turned away immediately, embarrassed because they had been staring. Marie-Celeste would never do anything like this, but then Marie-Celeste would never run away in the first place. What would her sister say about this? While Marie-Celeste did not exactly advocate distance between her and the public, she was different all the same.
"I'm a friend of John's, Your Royal Highness," said an Englishman.
Anna recognised him as the man John had called Peter. He was about John's age, she guessed, so he was probably not lying. "Oh, hello," she said politely. "You…uhh…got in illegally?" She remembered that and she did not know what else to say to somebody she did not know.
"I borrowed somebody's card, yes."
"Why?" It would never occur to Anna to do anything like that.
"So I could get in."
"Oh. Why?" That was a very easy word. It usually kept the other person talking.
"Because I was curious. I'm not going to write about it," he reassured her. "I write for a magazine for young tennis players."
"And John's not young," Anna nodded with a smile. "And he has no children."
"I hadn't thought you'd mingle."
"I didn't mean to, but I got stuck in the crowd." It had stopped raining and most people were leaving now, certainly those who had not noticed her. They would not alert others to her presence, hoping to get good quotes for themselves, but Anna was not speaking loud enough, so they gave up.
Peter saw John come out of the conference room, saying goodbye to another man and he waved to him. He had better leave Anna alone if she did not want to mingle.
John came towards them. He glanced at Anna. She looked alright. What sort of nervous attack had she had? "And what are you going to write, Peter?"
"Er…nothing. I doubt that our target audience would be interested in any Setons of your generation," said Peter.
"And of the next generation -- would their last name be Seton, Anna?" John asked.
Anna frowned. She had never thought about that yet. "Yours or your brothers'?" Those descending from Patrick or James would certainly be Setons. "If they marry the mothers, that is."
"Mine."
"I'm not sure. Eduard got his mother's name and they'd be in a similar position."
"Don't tell me they'd get a name so long their father can't remember it."
"If other people can choose, so can we," Anna said reassuringly. "We could even choose to combine the two with a hyphen," she said to tease him. That would really be a monstrosity.
"That doesn't fit on a scoreboard," John dismissed the idea.
They spoke to Peter for a while longer, dined with the family and John went home. He would have to get his suit ready for tomorrow morning and pack his bags for tomorrow night. He had not told Anna to do so, but he figured she would not need much time.
Anna remembered that he had said they were going away, but she did not know where to and what kind of clothes to pack and how much, so she only prepared those things she would always need. She had tried to gauge what John had thought of her insecure behaviour, but he had not wanted to say anything critical and told her not to worry. Because she had insisted, he had graciously agreed to slap her behind, albeit very softly, and told her she was a moron, muttering that he did not understand what she wanted.
She had gone with Eduard, her mother and Alexandra to Messange, so they would not have to get up so early and they could spend a lot of time on getting ready, if that was necessary. MC did not want to come -- she had things to do with Patrick, according to Alexandra -- and she would come in the morning.
Chapter 143
"This is my room," Alexandra told Anna when they both turned out to want the same room.
"Oh," said Anna, who had slept in that room when she had been staying with Eduard. She was not going to fight some childish battle for one night. "Take it." It turned out that she also had to compete for first use of the bathroom and she took that less indifferently, for Alexandra always needed a lot of time.
"Don't get upset," Alexandra told her. "And you want to move in with a man? Ha!"
"What do you know about men and bathrooms?"
"Nothing. I was just trying to make you reveal something," Alexandra said shrewdly. "Do you ever shower together?"
"Hmm."
"Is that a yes or a no? I just want to know if I have to avoid the bathroom when you're in it if you do. See, Maman brushes her teeth when Eduard is in the shower and I can't barge in. It's really annoying, because I always need to ask her something just when she's brushing her teeth."
"What does Eduard do in Maman's shower?" Anna asked.
Alexandra gave her a look of pity. "Oh Anna! Don't be so bloody naive! They are married, you know."
"Married?" Someone must have forgotten to tell her. "Married? When?"
"This morning."
"This morning?"
"They didn't tell you?"
"Would I ask you if I knew?" Anna cried.
"No, I guess not."
"Why did they get married?"
"For the baby."
"The baby?" Anna was shocked. "She's having a baby?"
Alexandra laughed. "No! That would be cool, but not her! You!"
"They're getting married for my baby? I'm sure it wouldn't care!"
"Oh, they just needed an excuse."
"Why didn't they tell me?" Anna asked.
"They didn't want to spoil Marie-Celeste's day. Cel wouldn't have become queen with such a mother. She'd have preferred it that Maman had taken Eduard on as her amant, like she has Patrick as her pretty boy. I can't figure out Patrick. I think he must be a little crazy. He keeps on waiting for her to say she loves him and she never will. If he doesn't hear from her when he's in South America, he's going to dump her, he told me. He doesn't want to be strung along like an unpaid escort boy, he said."
"Dump Cel?" Anna asked in shock.
"Yep. Might be easy with those beauties in bikinis who are always willing. Marie-Celeste already gets a headache from a passionate kiss, he says."
"No!" Anna said involuntarily. "Why would he tell you?"
"Needed to vent."
"I'll call Cel," Anna decided. She did not want to go downstairs, so she got her mobile phone.
Now is not a good time, Anna, Marie-Celeste answered breathlessly as if she had run to the phone. She could see it was Anna on the number display.
"Why not?"
I'm not happy.
"Why not?" Anna cried in alarm. Her sister ought to be very happy.
"Patrick won't stay."
"Why not?"
"Because I said I have a headache."
"And you don't?" Anna was puzzled. "Why do you say it then?"
"Don't ask!" Marie-Celeste screamed.
"Give me Patrick," Anna ordered. Maybe he would be able to enlighten her about what was really going on.
"No!"
"Give me Patrick!" There was a brief silence as she waited for Patrick to come to the phone. "Patrick? What's wrong?" But he would not tell her. "If you want this resolved, you'd better tell me." As if she was able to resolve a problem between these two idiots. "Have you asked -- she won't tell you." Anna sighed. "Give me Marie-Celeste again then." Anna pulled a face at Alexandra, who was listening with interest. "Cel, tell me."
"I can't sleep with another person in my bed," Marie-Celeste whined. "I got no sleep at all that one time. And I can't tell Patrick because he'll think I don't love him and I honestly don't know if I do if I can't stand another person in my bed."
Alexandra was very curious, Anna noticed. Fortunately she could only hear what Anna was saying, or else she would scream. "Does he snore?" she asked, trying not to snicker.
"No! I don't know. How can you have John in your bed?"
"Uhhh…" Anna pulled a puzzled face. "I don't really know. I don't notice him when I sleep. He notices me, though -- tells me not to turn over so much and so on. He gave me his old duvet so I don't disturb his rest by pulling at the covers."
Marie-Celeste was silent for a few seconds. "And you're not upset?"
"No, why should I be?" Anna was surprised. She was very particular about sleeping as well. "I can join him in the morning, can I? He'd never say no."
Marie-Celeste was not convinced. "He's going to laugh at me."
Alexandra certainly was and she had not even heard Marie-Celeste speak, which meant she had to be laughing at Anna, who glared at her. "Cel…" she gestured helplessly. "Don't make such a fuss over it. Just talk to him."
After the call Alexandra began to giggle hysterically. "Tell me what she said!"
"No!"
Eduard came to see what was going on. "Did you sort out the rooms alright?" He lingered a little. "Alexandra might have told you that I married your mother today."
Anna saw he looked quite pleased to tell her that. "Behind my back?"
"We had to rehearse your wedding." Eduard did not know what she thought of the news. Did she approve?
That made Anna laugh. "So you were actually forced to marry Maman? I feel so sorry for you!" But she congratulated him warmly. "Finally, eh?" she whispered.
Eduard looked relieved that she took it so well. "You're not disappointed that you couldn't attend?"
"Mmm…well…" Maybe she would have liked it, although she had been doing something else at the time that was also necessary. Could they not have waited? No, they had to rehearse, but that was just an excuse.
"I took pictures," Alexandra spoke up.
"Good!" Anna said. "Are they ready yet?"
"No, Maman said I should take care to find a trustworthy photographer to get them developed, because apparently it's tempting to steal pictures of us to sell them off. She said it happened once."
In the morning, the baker delivered various cakes to the door on his delivery bike. He knew that it was Eduard's birthday, so he was not suspicious of anything else.
Anna and Alexandra had gone out very early to buy some presents, because they had discovered that they did not have any. The security man told them there were some suspicious characters in the shrubbery at the gate, but they were probably nosy journalists. If they had spoken to the baker, they would know about the birthday. Perhaps they had not even seen that the girls had spent the night there and merely see their return as being the first arrivals of the family, for more were to come later.
The next one, not long after, was Marie-Celeste, who was driven over the drawbridge by a chauffeur. She also had a security man with her and Eduard had seemed to know there would be more of those, since the old coach house was to serve as their canteen.
The cars were not parked in the courtyard, since there would not be enough space, but they were parked along the drive on the other side of the bridge.
Marie-Celeste joined her mother and Eduard for coffee, what with Anna being too nervous and Alexandra not liking it. Anna kept looking out of the window, even though there was nothing to be seen except Eduard's chickens.
John's parents were the next to arrive, with Patrick, who oddly enough did not greet Marie-Celeste, but nobody noticed. He was too old for his mother to supervise his greetings.
The ladies went upstairs to get Anna into her dress and when John and James appeared, the latter had driven, they only found the men drinking coffee and discussing the latest football scores. John's coat hid that he was actually very well-dressed, which would draw a lot of admiration from his mother and fiancée, his proud father suspected, who decided that he looked mighty fine, if somewhat nervous. James proved his father right, by saying that John had been running before they came here, because he had too much energy. It seemed to have worked, because he was very calm now.
The Mayor arrived on his bike and was introduced to the men, the ladies still being upstairs. The Royals were a funny lot, spoiled -- what they saw, they mad to marry immediately -- but all very nice. Eduard had been a long time friend, but these new acquaintances Eliane and Alexandra were very nice as well.
His wife could unfortunately not attend, because she ran the village school. She had been curious about Eliane, if she was nice, if she looked as young up close and if she loved Eduard, since he was their friend and they had to look after him a little. The Mayor had been able to reply in the affirmative to everything, though not so enthusiastically to the question about Eliane's looks, in case his wife might get angry.
He now studied the Setons. Handsome fellows, all of them. He discovered after talking to James that James had studied with his son. The world was not that big.
Upstairs the ladies were making Anna more and more nervous, but also more beautiful. She sat on the bed as they did her hair and talked to her. She wanted to move, but could not and it was very frustrating. "Do I have to dress up?" she pleaded. It was all taking too long.
"Mais oui," Eliane replied, eyeing her eldest with approval. She looked gorgeous. The dress fit perfectly and it was amazing that it did.
Marie-Celeste had brought some jewelry, something everyone else had overlooked, and she hung it on Anna to see what was best.
Anna had to admit that it was all worth the effort and she beamed when she looked into the mirror. "Wow…"
She repeated that word when she came downstairs and saw John. Several people laughed, because it was so unlike Anna to say something like that. If Eduard had not grabbed her elbow and led her to her place, she would have stood gaping. "But he looks so good," she protested. "I have to see if he's real."
"Very real," assured Eduard, who knew this because he had heard John speak only minutes before.
Anna did not mind kissing in public afterwards. In fact, it did not even occur to her that they were in company. The Mayor had often suppressed a laugh at the couple's eagerness. They hurried over everything, but they certainly took their time for the conclusion, as if this was what they had been waiting for. Which it probably was, since they had not seen each other for over twelve hours, as someone commented from the back of the room.
When that had been taken care of, they all sat down to cakes, with the bride and groom sitting quietly beside each other, reflecting on their new status. There was no doubt that they were happy with it, judging from the smiled that went back and forth.
Alexandra had captured a lot on film and she was now trying to get Marie-Celeste and Patrick together. Now was the first time they sat down next to each other. There she had them -- snap! That was perfect. Alexandra snickered. Marie-Celeste would kill her if she ever saw the photo, of seeing proof of her ability to look sweet. Being sweet was bad, but her sister now had proof in print, that Marie-Celeste could let the mask slip. Of course she could -- Patrick was not such a fool, was he? He would know what he was investing in. Or at least Alexandra hoped so. And now he was leaning closer and closer and Alex watched in fascination, her finger on the button, as he slid his hand behind Marie-Celeste's head and pressed his mouth onto hers. Alexandra pressed the button. "It's not really spontaneous on Cel's part, is it?" she remarked to James. "Does she want it?" He chuckled and patted her head. Alex hated such patronising gestures. He must think she was a little girl. "Don't treat me like a baby!"
"How else!" he laughed.
"I hate you, James!"
"Good, baby," James laughed some more.
The Mayor had gone back to the village hall to do his paperwork and the first of the other guests would soon be arriving. Anna and John went upstairs to change into clothes that would not give away that they had just got married. They both regretted that the other should have to take off the beautiful clothes, but they thought each other delicious in anything and they spent a considerable time upstairs unattended. Nobody wanted to know what was taking them so long, except Grandma, who insisted that they come down when she arrived, which they did eventually.
The
End
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