The headmaster had not been at the school when Anna had gone there herself and none of the minor royalty sent their children to this school. Only Charles-Louis had attended, but that had been in Anna's days. They had been in the same class, which had made Anna's schooldays a lot less lonely than Alexandra's. The headmaster knew she had been a student, for teachers regularly compared Alexandra to her sisters and complained that their good records had been reason enough to admit her, because she would have failed the entrance requirements if anyone had bothered to check those.

Personally, he wondered how it could be that princesses always had an excellent academic record and he was not too worried about Alexandra's lack of excellence. His predecessor had probably let the teachers get away with giving the older sisters a preferential treatment, something he disapproved of, and it was likely that the sisters had not been excellent either.

Teachers were required to report Alexandra's absence in all cases, that was as far as he would go in singling her out, because that had been a special command by the security service. He had a number to call in case of an unannounced absence stretching beyond the first hour. It sometimes happened that the Palace called to say she was ill and this did not always happen before the first hour. He had called the number when her second-hour teacher notified him and he had immediately known that he had woken up none other than Eliane. She did not appear overly concerned about Alexandra's absence and referred him to Anna, who had supposedly taken her sister out the night before, and gave him a long list of numbers. Then he had been looking at what were undoubtedly some of the most classified numbers in the country -- the Queen's mobile phone number and several others that she might be reached at.

Anna's mobile was off. The next number told him it was Anna and Marie-Celeste's voicemail, but he did not leave a message. Then he tried another number obviously in the same building, but she was not there either, nor had she been seen yet and the secretary assumed she was out. Besides, she would not be allowed to say where Her Majesty and Princess Alexandra had gone to and Her Majesty did not take phone calls unless the caller had made an appointment. He was told that Her Majesty would have to be back by eleven because of an engagement.

Presumably Alexandra would appear at school somewhere around eleven too, but he would not accept that kind of behaviour. This was not the first incident. The family should not think that the school rules did not apply to them or that they could do as they pleased. In such cases he invited the parents for a serious chat. In Alexandra's case that would mean one parent only. He looked up Alexandra's file to see what else she had done. Although she always seemed to be in time for her first class, she had regularly been late for later classes and also quite frequently been sent out for being impertinent. He had had her in his office several times this year already and her grades were not so high that she could afford to miss classes. Perhaps it was best to invite Queen Eliane to discuss her daughter. He picked up the phone and called her again.

Anna and Alexandra stopped at John's house. Anna had to speak to him about something and although she could just as easily call, she preferred to talk to him in person. Alexandra trailed after her, not displeased with this delay in going back to school. "What do you have to see him about?" she asked.

"Oh, just something unimportant," Anna said vaguely. "Sponsoring." She had received a message on her phone and she had a little time before she would have to be back at the Palace.

Alexandra yawned. They had had to get up rather early, but it had been worth it. She had liked the play and Anna had behaved like a cool older sister who was not as nerdy as she had thought. Anna had not even scolded her for being impertinent. Anna took her seriously, because she had replied to everything. She had seen that she had embarrassed her sister very much with her questions and she had come to realise that Anna was in a difficult position. But Anna had taken her seriously and she was proud of that. She would show Anna that she could act the part of an equal and not trouble her so much.

Last night she had asked her why she had given the woman a plaster and Anna had replied that it was because she had one. Somehow this had impressed Alexandra. In bed they had discussed it. Anna had said that she did not just carry plasters to help herself, but that she did not mind helping others. I don't want to sound too holy, but people do so much for me that I'm always grateful if I can do something back. Think Alex. Do you think the girls at the information desk would have helped just anyone? Do you think everyone can take two men to take care of annoying things? And do you think other people would be able to take a morning off from work just to go to London? We're spoilt. Alexandra had thought about it. Anna had been under no obligation to take her. She was being spoilt by her sister and she had not behaved very well. She had apologised, but Anna had not thought that necessary. I only recently found it out. A dinner that I've helped to prepare and that I eat with four men who talk nonsense tastes much better than a luxurious dinner that I don't see until it's put before me at some sterile banquet.

"Hello ladies," said John when he opened the door.

Alexandra thought this was a bit cold, but it turned out that he just did not want to kiss Anna with the door open. So much for her idea that wild, passionate kisses were the thing. This was a very civilised, quick kiss, but it said no less. He had not called Anna last night because she was out with her, Anna had said, and that would not have been nice to her. John banged on the door behind which Patrick lived to invite him up for tea and to her great surprise it was opened by Marie-Celeste.

"What is Alexandra doing here?" Marie-Celeste cried, embarrassed at being discovered in Patrick's house.

Alexandra had begun to feel humbled in the presence of super-nice and attentive people, but fortunately there was still Marie-Celeste and Patrick, who were barely ever nice to each other and usually unaware of her existence. She was grateful that Anna gripped her hand or she might have said something malicious.

"I invited her to tea," John answered. "Are you coming up too?"

"Anna, where were you? I wanted to talk to you about that article," Marie-Celeste said in agitation. "There was no apology on television last night. Did you see that?"

"No, I didn't."

John pushed them all up the stairs, giving his brother an inquisitive look in passing, to which Patrick replied that it was none of his business. John and Anna could not quite decide who should play host -- he thought she should sit down and she thought she should not let him carry all the cups by himself.

While they were negotiating about percentages, Alexandra looked around the flat. "How neat, but where are you going to put the baby?"

"Which baby?" Marie-Celeste asked immediately. Was John going to babysit?

"Our baby," Anna replied with a beaming smile. She placed two cups on the table, which was all he would let her carry.

Marie-Celeste was silent, but Patrick grinned. "I knew it," he said, slapping his brother's hand. He had always suspected Anna of being that sort of girl.

"You're having babies in the middle of a crisis," Marie-Celeste sighed. The middle of a crisis was definitely not a good time to have a baby, although she was not sure that there was ever a good time for that. It was unfortunate that taking over from Anna also meant that she had to think about that kind of thing.

"Wrong," said John, going back for the sugar after having deposited the three other cups. "We're making babies in the middle of a crisis. You make it and then you wait a while, until after the crisis and then it comes out."

"Yes, I know that."

"Should we all be miserable then just because we're in a crisis?" John returned with the sugar.

"And you're not married," Marie-Celeste pointed out. "That's only going to make the crisis worse."

"Yes," Anna answered calmly. "We'll get it done before September, don't worry." She glanced at John who gave her a reassuring twitch of his lips. "Do you want me to abdicate? Are you ready or do you need some more time to…get yourself together?" To train Patrick, she had wanted to say.

"Well, I do think we need to talk about the whole situation and I think that after tea we should go home."

"I have an appointment at half past eleven that I have to prepare for. I don't have much time to talk and I also have to take Alexandra back to school and tell the headmaster she was skipping school for a good reason."

"You're skipping school?" Marie-Celeste exclaimed.

"We went to a play in London," Alexandra explained.

"That's always a good reason," said John. "Did you speak any English there at all?"

"John and I are pretty good at English," Patrick said, switching to English. "We'll talk to your headmaster and tell him we gave you some extra lessons."

"You can't fail English anymore now that you have us," John added. He poured everyone some tea. "Biscuits, anyone? Don't you dare call them cookies, Alexandra."

After tea, Marie-Celeste and Anna returned to the Palace while John and Patrick prepared themselves to walk Alexandra to school. She was rather excited about being escorted by two brothers-in-law. What would her classmates think of that? And they were absolutely crazy -- not mad, they insisted. She listened to John trying to get Patrick to tell them what Marie-Celeste had done at his flat, but Patrick was very good at giving them nonsensical answers.

Eliane had been called by the headmaster and since she had time at that moment, she had agreed that she would come over directly to discuss Alexandra with him. She knew her youngest was not doing her best, but the school had never contacted her before. She would have liked to take Eduard, but he had to assist Anna at eleven. Anna had not returned yet either and perhaps she was dropping Alexandra off at the school. Her phone was still off.

The headmaster waited near the entrance with his arms crossed. He had seen Alexandra approach from his window. "A bit late, aren't you, Miss De Trigny?" He wondered who the two men were, but since she was usually dropped off by a chauffeur, he assumed they were something of that kind.

"Er…yes," Alexandra shuffled her feet.

"It's 10:47."

"Oh."

"School starts at 8:25. Where have you been?"

"London," Alexandra admitted.

"London?" This was spoken in the incredulous tone that headmasters usually employed when hearing excuses.

"Her sister took her to see a play," John said in English, as if he had only understood the word 'London.' "The plane didn't arrive until this morning."

"You're late because your sister took you to see a play in London?" the headmaster asked skeptically. "That's the best excuse I've heard in twenty years. And these two gentlemen are…?"

"English," said Alexandra. "They've been giving me extra lessons."

He did not believe her at all. Well, one was obviously English because of his accent, but the extra lessons? Alexandra was becoming zealous in her spare time? Or rather, in the time she was supposed to be at school? No. "You'd better go to your classroom so you won't miss any more of your lessons. Come and see me during the break." He looked at Patrick and John when Alexandra hurried off, but then a dark blue Mercedes stopped outside and Eliane got out.

"Qu'est-ce que vous faites ici?" she asked in surprise.

"Nous avons…uhh…" said Patrick.

"…amené…?" John suggested hesitantly. He had no idea if this was correct. His knowledge was passive rather than active, although when Eliane spoke to Anna he could barely make out what they were saying.

"Alexandra," Patrick finished.

"Et Anna, alors?"

It was becoming too difficult for Patrick to keep answering in French. "Marie-Celeste...took Anna home. They had to talk."

The headmaster had been amazed when both young men had been greeted with a kiss on the cheek. Who were they? He was even more surprised when Eliane begged them to stay for the talk. One did not argue with the former Queen, even though this practise was highly irregular. He did not usually discuss a student in front of strangers.

"Tu sais ce qu'Anna et Alex ont fait," Eliane whispered to John. "Tu sauras mieux l'expliquer. They did not say it to me. It would look strange if I had no idea where they were. You tell him. Yes?"

"Ahh, Alexandra. Finally," said her teacher sarcastically. "I was about to report you missing, but then the class saw you being escorted to school by two men. My lessons can't compete with two men, can they? Would you care to tell us what was more interesting than English grammar?"

The class snickered. Anything was more interesting than English grammar.

"English men?" Alexandra suggested contemptuously, flopping down on her chair noisily.

"Real Englishmen?"

"Half English."

"Do you mean your sister's boyfriend?" a girl cried.

Alexandra shrugged, stoically taking her books and her pencil case from her schoolbag. "Please don't let my arrival interrupt your class, Miss. I didn't mean to. Please go on." She spotted a familiar car and peered out of the window in concern. "Oh great. They phoned my mother," she muttered to her neighbour. "What for?" Why had they called her mother? They had to have called her. She would not come unasked.

They followed the headmaster through the hallways and up the stairs. Eliane paused at the graduation pictures of '85 and '87. She had not seen those yet and she tried to find her daughters on them. Patrick laughed at Marie-Celeste's dress and Eliane had to drag John away from the '85 picture. He could not see much on it anyway.

The headmaster pulled up another chair in front of his desk. He usually spoke to two parents and not to three people. "Where was Alexandra this morning?" He looked at Eliane who looked at one of the men and he wondered if this was Seton, the one who was rumoured to control Anna. It was the one who had spoken English and he had only introduced himself as John and the other as Patrick. Perhaps they had not understood the question and he should repeat it in English or French. He studied the man, who looked very reliable, actually, but one would have to, to win a queen's confidence.

"Her sister took her to London," John answered. "That's all I can tell you. She called me last night to say she was at the airport and this morning they stopped by so we could drop Alexandra off at school. They went to a play, but I can't tell you which play or why."

"And you did not know?" the headmaster asked Eliane.

"No."

He wondered why Seton had been the only one to know, but it did not matter much at the moment. He would go into that later. "I can't condone such trips during school hours. Alexandra is not the kind of pupil who could easily miss classes. Couldn't her sister have taken her on a Saturday? We have rules here at this school."

"I could make guesses at her sister's motivations," said John. "But it's Alexandra you want to talk about. The only thing that might be useful is that I think she felt that Alexandra had been neglected."

"You shouldn't blame Anna entirely," said Eliane. "I asked her to amuse Alexandra. I wanted to go out and I didn't want Alexandra to be alone."

"Is she never alone?" The girl was seventeen, not a baby.

"Often, but at the moment we all have problems and I cannot have Alexandra being difficult to me at the moment," Eliane said frankly. "And my Anna has problems too, so I thought it would be good if they did something together."

The headmaster knew Alexandra could be difficult and he had read about Anna's problems. "I read that." He looked at the young man who had spoken most. The other one was probably his brother. They looked a little alike.

"Now that I've been stigmatised as the evil genius," John said sourly and stood up. "I'd better go."

"Nobody thinks you're evil," said Eliane.

"I hardly know Alexandra anyway. I could guess at Anna, but not at Alexandra."

"I can guess at Alexandra," said Patrick as he stood up too. "But I'm not her mother. It seems to me that she's got to have a big mouth to be heard and she thinks she can never reach the height of her sisters. She looks up to them so much that she tries to catch their attention all the time."

"You stay, Patrick!" Eliane pulled at his coat. She could never come up with anything like that.

"No, no, no," he smiled. "I don't know anything about the other factors that influenced her. You always know more than we do."

"I hoped Anna had told you more," Eliane said to John regretfully. "But thank you for telling what you knew."

"You're welcome." The brothers took their leave.

"They are lovely boys," Eliane said with a sigh. "I don't know why people must suspect John of using Anna. She didn't even tell him she was leaving."

He had not seen enough of John to be able to have much of an opinion, but he was inclined to believe her, even though his brother looked more like a lovely boy than he did. The brother tended to smile more often. But he should not dwell on them or on trying to imagine John with the Queen, although she did not have a sunny disposition either. He had to move on. "Didn't you check if Alexandra had got home last night?" The headmaster did not exactly know how things worked at the Palace, but he assumed that they would be comparable to an ordinary family in certain ways and that parents would make sure that there children had come home.

Eliane coloured. "I was out. I don't check after she's been out with Anna. Anna is thirty-two."

He was not as awed by Eliane as he had been by Alexander. Eliane had been born as one of them. The only thing that awed him was her beauty. He had always assumed it was the result of a thick layer of make-up, but from up close it seemed mostly natural. And she looked very young to have a daughter over thirty. It was plausible that one could trust a thirty-two year old woman to take care of her seventeen-year old sister. He changed the subject. "Do you know that Alexandra is impertinent at school and that she's sent to me at least once a month?"

"She tells me sometimes." But not that it was once a month.

"Does she misbehave at home?"

"Not really. But she sometimes has a very big mouth. She wants attention, but I can't always -- it's hard to be two parents."

"I'm familiar with the problem," the headmaster nodded. He saw many mothers who had difficulties with that, but he could hardly compare Eliane to the typical single mother. "The problems go back further than two years." She would not have been a single parent then.

She stiffened. "And why was I never told?" she asked sharply.

"I spoke to your late husband."

"Ahh." Apart from the fact that that would have had little effect, it was also crushing. This man did not take her as seriously as he had taken Alexander, when she should have been taken much more seriously. "You haven't contacted me in the past two years," she said with difficulty. "When he was dead."

No, he had not, but King Alexander had made it clear that he was the one who supervised Alexandra's school career and not Eliane. It had made him think of her as someone who was not interested. He tried to find a way to communicate that tactfully. "I had always been speaking to the King and --"

"I know enough," Eliane said abruptly. "However, he is dead and I'm Alexandra's mother. If there are any problems, I want to know. Alexandra is not stupid, but she doesn't work. Which subjects does she need extra tutoring in?" She would get tutors if necessary.

"All," said the headmaster after a look at Alexandra's grades.

"All?" Eliane looked dismayed. "Not in French, surely? I speak French to my daughters."

"Well, that is slightly better than the rest. French and Mathematics."

Eliane nodded. "I help her with Mathematics." That left five subjects to hire tutors in, although one of them would be English and she would only have to ask all the Setons to speak English to Alexandra. Four tutors, if nobody else had any expertise in those subjects. "What about her attitude?"

"Her attitude is bad. Would you have any idea why?"

"Alex sees how her sisters are restricted -- what her future will be like if she doesn't protest, so she protests."

"How are they restricted?"

"They have to do what is expected of them. You see the fuss they make when Anna didn't do what was expected of her. She was supposed to stay quiet about the kidnapping, but she didn't and now they won't even allow her to have a boyfriend. Alexandra sees that too and she sees everyone criticise Anna when they don't even know how things really are. How is she treated at school? Does she get bullied? I never see any friends. Marie-Celeste had a lot of friends and even Anna had a few girls over some times."

"Alexandra doesn't make friends. She makes enemies." He looked up which class Alexandra was in at the moment and asked for her to be sent up. "I think we should talk to her as well."

"They ignored my demands," Marie-Celeste said when she and Anna were on their way to the Palace. "They didn't take back any copies. They didn't explain anything on television and they only published a very brief disclaimer on the second page. I had to read the paper three times to spot it. It only says that they're not responsible for the contents of the letters they receive and that they reserve the right to publish pieces anonymously if they like. There was no apology to you or to John and I don't think there will ever be one."

"Was there any sort of reaction?"

"Yes, hardly anybody believed it except a few stupid letter writers. I trusted the other papers better, because they've obviously not been corrupted yet. I called John and some had called him, but most must have done so before he got home, because he said he hadn't been bothered very much. We haven't made a statement yet, so you'd better come up with one."

Anna groaned. "What can I say? John had a good one, but he didn't send that one in, did he?"

"Not that I noticed."

"I don't know what to say. Who's behind the article? Keller?"

"It's all part of that hate campaign against you. What does he want?"

"I have no idea. I don't think he even knows what he wants. I think they should go after him anyway. I should tell Malling to do that," Anna mused. "And maybe it will end if External Operations get to him."

Marie-Celeste looked at her inquiringly. "External Operations? What do they do?"

"Presumably they'll finish him."

"Kill him?" Marie-Celeste was shocked. This could not be Anna speaking. Not her gentle, peaceful sister.

"I've had it," Anna said quietly. "And somebody's got to do it before John does." She would rather not think about that prospect. What would it do to John? Would he be able to live with it? What would it do to her? It was better to let External Operations take care of that. She would not object.

"Would he?"

"I don't know. Cel, how are you and Patrick doing?"

Marie-Celeste looked out of the window. "Ooohhh…"

"I need to know if I'd ruin things between the two of you if I let you succeed me next week," Anna said.

"Ooohhh…"

"Please use other letters as well," Anna begged her. "This is an important question. It concerns your future. I don't want to be guilty of killing your relationship."

Marie-Celeste tried to win time. She frequently asked herself how she and Patrick were doing as well and could never answer. Now Anna wanted to know too and a lot of other things as well. "Ooohhh..."

"Cel! I need to know! If you say you don't want him or that you can continue your…thing when you're a queen, I'm going to quit tomorrow. But if you say you need time, I'll give you time."

"And make me guilty of killing your relationship?" Marie-Celeste asked wryly. As if John would be so very happy with that. How long would he suffer it? "I'm going to have to think about this. I can't say that right away." Would it not be possible to find a compromise?

"Don't make it long."

"Patrick is as unpredictable as the weather -- well, I stayed with Patrick last night because he tends to be more friendly when it's dark outside and well, I suppose you know all that, being pregnant and all, and yes, he was very friendly and very sweet and he said and did a lot of nice things and so did I, just like the previous time, but he may be devilish in between."

"In between what?"

"In between nice spells. I think he's a vampire."

"And you're very nice between those nice spells?" Anna asked. She tried not to screw up her face in an uncomprehending manner.

Marie-Celeste hesitated. "I can't always be nice. It frightens me."

As they waited for Alexandra, Eliane looked around herself and her eyes fell on a portrait of her and Alexander, high on the wall. It had obviously not yet been replaced by a portrait of Anna. What must Alexandra be feeling if she sat here, her parents looking down on her sternly as she received a reprimand? Perhaps that why was Alex had not felt the need to tell her.

She studied the portrait of Alexander, in his uniform with the pink sash, standing behind her sitting on the chair with his hands lightly on her shoulders. Why they had made her sit, she did not know. Perhaps they thought a man should tower over a woman protectively or perhaps because she was pregnant with Alexandra at that time. It must have been some time in 1981, with her being only a few years older than Anna was now. Perhaps that was why they had not replaced it. Take away Alexander and it could pass for a portrait of Anna with a different hairstyle.

She had been very beautiful at the time. It was all right to observe that as long as one did not voice it and she had never voiced it. Was she still beautiful or had her looks faded with the years and the worries? From this distance one could not see the worries in her eyes, but they had been there. Would the baby be a boy? Would Anna be a difficult teenager? What could Eduard possibly be meaning by becoming Grandmaster? Would he expect her to say anything?

She had loved her girls and nobody else. She had really thought one could love only one's children with such intensity and not one's husband. Those feelings had been much less strong, but she had thought it was only natural. After all, a husband was a completely different person who had only chosen to live with her, whereas her children were her flesh and blood. Now, staring at the portrait, she wondered what she would have done differently if she had realised sooner that she had not loved Alexander very much. Perhaps it was the novelty or the thrill of finally giving in, but around Alexander she had never felt the way she felt around Eduard now -- and she was so old now, supposed to be calm and sedate. Alexander and she had merely esteemed each other. He had been good at what he cared for most and she had respected him for that. And he had been quite handsome. Unfortunately she had not been able to share his passion for his job, but that was not always necessary to esteem a person.

Whatever had led to Anna had been a youthful crush, she knew that. It did not go very deep and it was not until Eduard had returned that she had allowed herself to compare the two cousins objectively. She had known it would be impossible to prefer Eduard and that it would be painful to have regrets, so she had only noted his good qualities with detached feelings. After Alexander's death she had become confused. Before, she had known that Eduard liked her. A warm smile here and a sympathetic word there had been enough. Alexander had never bothered to really reassure her before a public appearance, or if he had attempted it, she had not recognised it as such. It was that difference that had alerted her to the fact that Eduard liked her. But after Alexander's death he did not change. His smiles did not grow warmer, nor his words more intimate. It puzzled her. His rival was out of the way and she expected him to do something if he cared for her, because only then would she do something. But he had not. She had thought that perhaps he did not like her as well as she had fancifully imagined. It would have caused problems as well, such a development, so she had been glad in a way, because she had not been sure she had the courage to face more changes.

But well, it was impossible to expect a man to be able to read her mind, especially if that mind was as impenetrable as hers. He had simply not known the truth she had been suppressing. It had not been plain to see, he said. He had been just as cautious as she.

She had not wanted to like Alexander less and a tear slowly ran down her cheek. Forgive me, she said silently. I don't want to betray you. It would be easier if she had hated him, but she should not think of his bad qualities, or she would think her life had been miserable. It had been a period in her life, good and bad, but now it should be over.

The headmaster studied Eliane unobtrusively as she gazed at the portrait. At first he wondered if she would be upset that he had not changed it yet, but she kept looking at it for far too long and she did not seem to want any conversation, so he waited quietly. The portrait would bring back memories. He really should have got hold of the one of the new Queen, assuming there was one, but he did not know if it was justifiable to have a portrait of a young woman hanging on the wall of a headmaster's room.

And what to do with Alexandra? It was perfectly understandable that she had been affected by her sister's kidnapping and the bombing, and before that, her father's death. And her mother was a bit of an enigma -- cold about her daughters and decidedly warm about her daughter's lover and his brother. Some women had that affliction. Although it followed that she should be nice to him, but she was not. Truly an enigma.

Alexandra dragged her feet along the corridor. If they had called her mother, she was going to be expelled. The class had made such ominous sounds, but her mother did not look angry when she saw her -- she smiled encouragingly.

"What don't you like about school?" Eliane asked as soon as Alexandra had sat down. It was true that she had for many years thought that she was not qualified to say anything about education. For a long time she had thought that she was less intelligent than Alexander because she was five years younger and because she had never been to university. They had not thought it necessary for a girl as pretty as she. It was not until Anna had been in the highest classes of high school that she had realised that she could do the more difficult kind of Mathematics without having learnt more than the basics at her all-girls school, just by reading the chapter very quickly. This had been a bit of a shock, because even Alexander was struggling with some of the exercises. It had given her new confidence and she had realised that either her education had been better than her mother-in-law always made her believe, or that she was actually intelligent enough to make up for a deficit in it. In either way, she was capable enough to help her daughters with their homework and she had been to school herself, so she knew how schools worked a little. There was no real comparison possible between this mixed school and the convent school for girls she had gone to. But there were other analogies of interactions between people she could use to imagine.

Alexandra had not expected to be asked to give her opinion and she waited before she spoke. "I can't do anything right. If I don't say anything, I'm conceited and whatever I do say is misinterpreted. I'm not allowed to dislike people, when it's inhuman to like everyone. They talk about me behind my back and they ridicule my family." She glanced briefly at her mother's skirt. "My mother's skirts are too short and she tries to be twenty years younger, my sisters are nerds who try to be twenty years older…"

"What is that about my skirts?" Eliane demanded indignantly, inspecting the hem of her skirt which ended just above the knee. That was a decent length. Nobody could complain about that. She never wore mini-skirts. Was there a special length for women over fifty? That was ridiculous. There were girls of twenty who could not wear this length, so it could not be an age thing. "And I do not try to be twenty years younger! Because of the skirts?"

"Doesn't matter, Maman!" Alexandra said in annoyance. "It was just an example of the stupid things they say."

"Maybe I should talk to the class," said the headmaster. It seemed as if the class was one of the major problems. He had tried not to lower his eyes to Eliane's legs, but he had had to conclude that she could definitely continue wearing them. No man was going to complain -- only jealous women. However, it was sad that today's eighteen-year olds should be jealous of her already. Or were they jealous of Alexandra for having such a devilishly attractive mother, whose skirts were, nevertheless, longer than was generally considered seductive? Of all the 340 mothers of students, he only saw the ones whose offspring was undesirable, which was -- along with his wife -- reason enough not to get any wrong thoughts in his head, but the ones he had seen were nothing out of the ordinary.

"And make my life worse?" Alexandra said wryly. She knew what would happen if the class got a sermon. They would only take it out on her because they did not like whiners and she had to have whined if they got a sermon so soon after her mother had been to school. Undoubtedly her neighbour had spread the news, if none of the other people near the window had recognised the car. "No, thanks."

"Do you want to change schools?" Eliane asked. The time for that would be awkward, right after the Christmas holidays, but if it had to be done, it had to be done.

"I don't know." Who could guarantee her that it would not happen at a new school? Besides, she would have to get acquainted with people all over again.

"I'll talk to her," Eliane said to the headmaster. She would ask Alexandra what was bothering her most, but in case this was something to do with the family, she would not ask it here. It was none of his business to know all the family secrets and they should not be revealed if it was not absolutely certain that Alexandra was suffering from them. "At home. Some things don't concern you. I'll also talk to Anna about unauthorised absences. Would this satisfy you?"

"If this leads to an improved attitude," said the headmaster, wondering how much Eliane cared about her daughter's achievements. Most parents were either angry or subdued in such a situation as this, but she seemed to be neither. He was a little curious if she was going to lecture the Queen.

"I think it will," she said calmly.

He wondered how hard she would be on Alexandra and if she would give any punishment. With some people you could guess, but not with her. She thanked him for finally talking to her and he heard she was still not pleased with that. There was a little sarcastic edge to her voice.

Eliane stopped Alexandra outside in the corridor and put her arms around her. Alexandra had wondered if she was angry and she felt herself crying while her mother spoke soothing words to her.

At last, Eliane delivered her to her classroom with a warm feeling, because her mother loved her and wanted her to be happy and that was really more important than her grades. Alexandra sat down, ignoring the curious looks she received because of her red eyes and then remembered that she would not come home after school. They had a party at Charles-Louis'. She ran to the door. "Maman!" she yelled down the corridor. It was strictly forbidden to yell, but the worst that could happen was that she was sent back to where she had right come from -- the headmaster. "Anna vient me chercher parce que nous avons un truc chez Louis. Tu y vas aussi?"

This signified several things to the class. One, Alexandra's mother was at school and she had walked her back to class. Two, Alexandra spoke French. Three, Alexandra had a heretofore unsuspected social life. Four, the Queen would come to pick Alexandra up. It was all very interesting, because although they were in a class with a princess, they had never actually seen her mother or sisters. More than one was determined to be really slow in going home.

"That man really believed what he read," John said sombrely, kicking a pebble as he and Patrick walked back to the car.

" Hmm. I suggest you take Anna to that school this afternoon and keep your hands on her rather than in your pockets, just to show him. Cheer up, man. You've got the second most gorgeous woman on earth and you worry about some daft headmaster."

"The second?"

"Well, I'm trying to get myself the first most gorgeous woman on earth, but she's rather unco-operative." They got in the car and drove off to the tennis stadium for their daily practise. Patrick's ankle was better now and he could resume his training. "She keeps mentioning marriage and so on."

"Since when?" John cried.

"Last night."

"What's wrong with marriage?"

"But I'm only thirty-one!" Patrick protested. "And this was wholly unexpected. I thought she hated me. It's as if the object I'm chasing suddenly comes up to me and says here, I'm all yours."

"So…" Anna looked at her sister as they made their way down to Anna's office after having changed for Anna's appointment, both in a jacket, blouse and skirt, albeit in different colours. "Should I stay on for another while until you've secured Patrick?"

"Please don't speak like a nineteenth-century literary character," Marie-Celeste begged. "I'm not trying to secure Patrick. I'm only trying to figure out what I feel for him."

"Oh."

"When did you love John?"

"When he bought me a toothbrush. I was so touched! Of course I didn't know it was love."

"Anna, please be serious."

"But he did! He bought me a toothbrush because he knew I had nothing to brush my teeth with. Alright, when he allowed me to call you and I became hysterical. I knew I'd rather hurt myself than hurt him. I was looking at him as I spoke to you, you know, but he couldn't hear me."

"Was it raining?" Marie-Celeste asked suspiciously. "Are you sure you're not confusing this with some scene from a romantic film in a dream?"

"It wasn't raining and it wasn't a dream." They had reached her office and nodded at Eva and Eduard. Anna sat down at her desk and checked what was in her in-tray. She extracted a type-written sheet about marriage procedures and began to read it attentively.

Marie-Celeste looked over her shoulder. "You cannot be serious."

"Oh, very."

"You should be reading this file," Marie-Celeste tapped the file on Anna's desk with her forefinger. "You're about to meet a new ambassador and you know next to nothing about him."

"He can fill me in on what I don't know. Otherwise it's just going to be a test to see if his place of birth has changed since the file was made up," Anna replied, with a brief glance at Eduard to see how he reacted, but he did not react. "But you may read the file if you like." She placed the marriage information sheet in a drawer. Next she studied the folder that contained all the articles about her that had appeared that day. After seeing some of the headlines, she sighed. Perhaps it was time to give people a glimpse of the real her. She looked at the list of people or organisations that had contacted her to see if there were any requests for interviews. "Eva?" she called when she spotted one. The Modern Woman was almost more all-pervasive than a national newspaper, although it only reached women, naturally. "What does The Modern Woman want with me?"

"Just a short article. They think you're the prototype of a modern woman."

"Hmm. They'd be surprised!" Anna mocked. "But I couldn't say that, of course."

"Say what?" Eduard asked.

"Well, if you insist on knowing, before we were -- when we were just friends, I didn't mind sharing a bed with him because nothing happened anyway, but then when we became very good friends, he had to say he'd marry me, because something might happen."

"Do you insist on giving an interview?" asked Eduard, who did not think it such a good idea if Anna was so indiscreet. His tone said enough.

"It couldn't hurt."

"Oh dear. Have them fax the questions, Eva," Eduard suggested. "And then we'll decide again."

"You think I'm indiscreet," Anna said.

"Perhaps I should have you memorise that list of unmentionable words and combinations again," he suggested. "Sharing a bed is forbidden for a queen, but combined with with him it's absolutely impossible."

"Oh. Queens don't?" Anna looked at him inquisitively. "I must ask my mother."

"They don't talk about it," he said patiently, trying to guess her meaning. He hoped she was not asking him if her mother had shared a bed with him. Or was she being sarcastic because her mother had shared a bed with him once? Or was she asking if her mother would not mention those words? "And your mother is not going to answer."

Marie-Celeste raised her eyes from the ambassador's file, feeling she was missing the point somewhere. She looked from one to the other curiously and then lowered her eyes again.

"Well, I gave myself away, didn't I?" Anna said with a wry smile. "I don't even have to talk about it. Poor Maman." Her mother would not have that advantage.

"There are too many layers in your speech," said Eduard. He did not know if she did it intentionally, but it was confusing him. It was a dangerous subject. "Come. We're due in the Reception Hall in five minutes."

Half an hour later Anna had another meeting with the Vice Prime Minister. Again tea, coffee and biscuits were brought in. Anna took nothing. "I've already had tea or coffee four times this morning," she explained. "At the hotel, on the plane, at John's flat and with the ambassador just now. And it's only twelve o'clock."

"I hope you didn't have biscuits all those four times," Marie-Celeste remarked.

"No, just twice. And sandwiches once. But these chocolate biscuits are delicious."

"I agree," said the Minister. "I went looking for them after I had them here and I buy them a lot."

"Oh, that's dangerous. You can't stop after one," Anna shuddered.

"Yes, I discovered that."

"I always eat the little chocolate edge first."

"Do they taste better that way?" the Minister asked interestedly.

"I don't know why I do it," Anna laughed. "Maybe. It's very tough to have more meetings on one day."

"I have the same problem when I have a lot of meetings on a day. We women have to choose very carefully with which hosts you can refuse biscuits and chocolates. Men can just eat and eat and nobody cares what they look like, but we have to be careful about our figures and then that we don't offend the hosts or guests. Only the ambassador would have been offended," the Minister said. "Or perhaps your friend as well."

"Only if he had baked them himself and I doubt that he can," Anna laughed.

"Or if he wanted you to gain weight," said Marie-Celeste, who had again been forced by Patrick to eat a biscuit. "I hate men who think I'm too thin."

"You should love them and eat another chocolate biscuit. Not that I would," Anna said hastily. "But it's a great comfort to know that I could, just in case."

"Not too fat and not too pretty and then they take you seriously," said the Minister. She would agree with whoever it was that Marie-Celeste was a little too thin, but it was natural for some people. "But it's a delicate balance between your appearance and your personality. I've seen so many women fail because they weren't taken seriously enough."

"Oh, I don't agree. Nobody takes me seriously and I'm not too pretty and everyone takes Marie-Celeste seriously and she's very pretty. It must all be personality," Anna said immediately.

The two other women stared at her. "Really Anna," said Marie-Celeste. "One, I seriously wonder what sort of man you've got if he doesn't tell you're pretty. Two, I guess they don't take you seriously because instead of starting with the essentials, you start out by telling us where and whom you had coffee with and then you go on about chocolate biscuits."

"Well, we were talking about being taken seriously by men and there are no men present," Anna retorted. "It's perfectly alright to be starting off about coffee and biscuits. And he did tell me that, but he's more or less obliged to. He can't say 'you're so ugly, I love you.'"

"If they're called Seton, they can say anything."

The Minister looked puzzled and Anna cleared it up for her. "She's…umm…got a love-hate relationship with my brother-in-law. Getting down to essentials," she said with a sharp look at Marie-Celeste who was glaring at her. "That's an important thing, because he might become the Queen's husband. I think if you ever want to see the Queen married, you'd have to give this relationship time. Maybe I shouldn't abdicate before they're irrevocably married."

Marie-Celeste scowled. "And your own marriage, Anna? Whose need is the most pressing?"

"Yours. I want to quit. Hurry."

"I'm not…in a hurry."

"Oh, don't tell me it's on the list of unmentionable words!" Anna exclaimed. It probably was.

The Minister looked puzzled again at this sisterly quibbling. She did not dare to voice her suspicions, but she had grown up in a time when there was only one reason for people to be in a hurry to get married and it had nothing to do with acquiring citizenship just in time for the Olympics.

"Could you change the law and make it possible for me to get married without permission? I know it's done so you can't get some unsuitable consort, but if the intended spouse has no intentions of becoming a consort anyway -- well, couldn't there be a law making a distinction between a consort and a husband? One has to be procured by asking permission and the other doesn't?" Anna asked. "I just want to get married. I don't want an assistant."

The Minister scribbled it down. There might actually be some support for such a suggestion after the article. "He doesn't want to marry a queen?"

"No. Well, he says he will, but I know he'd rather not."

"And his brother?"

"Doesn't mind," said Marie-Celeste.

It seemed so simple, but the Minister knew it could not be so simple to these two young women, otherwise they would not be bickering all the time. Besides, there was the added complication of the unmentionable pregnancy, if she had understood that correctly. "Nowadays nobody would berate you for postponing your marriage for another while," she tried to get more clarity about that fact.

Anna grimaced. "The point is not the piece of paper! It's where we'll live. The Queen cannot live in a one-room flat and John cannot live at the Palace. He'd be insane within a year. I have no problems with him moving in with me, really I don't, but I don't think he can take it. You know how certain styles of interior clash with your personality, well, with him I fear that it's the entire philosophy behind the interior that clashes with him."

"So there is no question about living together or not?" the Minister asked.

"No. Well, unless he objects." Anna coloured. "I don't know. I have nightmares if he's not there. I was so afraid the second night of the kidnapping that I asked him to wait until I was asleep, but then he fell asleep on my bed. We got teased about that, so the third night I was determined to be brave, but I got a nightmare and when I went to tell him, he just pulled me into his bed and slept on. We don't really question living or sleeping together, it seems," she said with an apologetic smile. "Oh, Cel…John was sleeping in your bed in my summer house…"

Marie-Celeste shrieked and shuddered. "And I slept in it a week later!"

"Nothing happened," Anna reassured her. "Don't you think we had other things on our minds than thinking about the other in a non-professional way? I don't think I even knew his first name by then! He was only doing his job, protecting me and keeping me manageable."

"But if you go and live with him, doesn't your personality clash with his style of interior?" the Minister wanted to know, getting back to the original topic. These were certainly interesting revelations. It really seemed as if they did not question anything but just went ahead with it. She would personally think twice before letting herself be dragged into a bed, nightmare or not, and regardless of the fact that the man slept on. But then it was probably different if one was afraid. And John seemed to have been smitten the second night already, but certainly the third night. Poor Marie-Celeste looked a little blue in the face, probably disgusted by the idea that they had slept in her bed.

Anna shook her head. "No, because it's like him. And I'm not…this," she gestured around herself. "This isn't me. The size, the pretentiousness, the ostentation, the desire to impress…"

"Anna, you think too much," said Marie-Celeste, who had never given such things any consideration at all and who did not see any philosophies behind styles. "They considered this beautiful. I'm sure they didn't have any meaning with it." It was a well-known fact that Anna did not appreciate art and culture and what was she waffling on about?

Anna usually became subdued and uncertain at this point and in the past she would have shut up, because she thought she was seeing it all wrong. "But beauty is a subjective thing and preferences are the consequence of an individual's personality and --" she swallowed the rest of the sentence when Marie-Celeste began to roll her eyes.

"Yes, yes! I know that! But some people just don't have the ability to appreciate beauty," said Marie-Celeste. "They shouldn't feel compelled to analyse it or make themselves look good by saying that plain bareness is just another kind of beauty. I'm not stupid -- I'm differently intelligent."

"Thanks for saying it yourself."

"Shall we then again attempt to get back to business?" Marie-Celeste suggested briskly. "The article, slandering Anna's boyfriend. It's all nonsense, as you see, Mrs. Gier, because he's not here with us and he would have been if he'd really been controlling Anna."

"Yes, people who control me are here," Anna nodded at her sister.

"I am not!"

It was very difficult to get a word in when the sisters were arguing like that, but the Minister tried anyway. "I've read it and I agree that it was slander. I've already ordered to have it investigated. I've seen John and he isn't controlling you unless he's a wonderful actor and you are the most naïve and stupid woman I know," she said to Anna. "And I doubt that." Well, a little naïve, certainly, but not stupid.

Marie-Celeste nodded appreciatively upon hearing that the Minister had taken action already.

"Well, I might be," said Anna. "What's reality?"

"Anna, if you make another reflective, spiritual, philosophical or insecure comment that's obstructing the conversation, I'm going to send you away," Marie-Celeste announced in exasperation. "Could we please not digress?"

"Alright," Anna sighed. "So it's slander. So someone is trying to annoy me. We know who. But why does the paper publish this nonsense? How could they? Why is he doing it anyway? I was told he had fled the country. Wouldn't that mean he gave up?" She wrote down some of the questions that occurred to her in case she would forget about them later. "What is he doing trying to ruin my life from abroad? Can't he just leave me in peace? Remember that I didn't do anything. You are just as much responsible for his dismissal," she said to the Minister. "And yet he's not doing anything to you."

"That's right. I'm really sorry about that."

"We thwarted his plans, that's all. I hate it when I can't make sense of something," Anna said vehemently. "Should we send someone after him to arrest him?"

"I'd have to ask if there's enough evidence," said the Minister.

"I don't insist on evidence," Anna said in a hard voice. "It needn't be there for me. I don't suppose the bombings were solved. Were they?"

"Not completely. It was discovered that Keller's lawyer played a role in it. He's been arrested, but he hasn't said anything yet."

"Of course not. He's a lawyer. He'd know how much he could say to go free. We'll send him the bill for the costs of the builders and the cost of the hired assassin."

"I beg your pardon?" the Minister cried.

"Just joking," Anna said in a tone that belied her words.

"You sounded rather serious." The Minister was still recovering from her shock.

"It's the maternal instinct kicking in," Marie-Celeste commented.

Anna gasped and looked alarmed. "I hadn't even thought about that yet. W-W-What is he going to do when I have my baby?" Her eyes filled rapidly with tears and she looked terrified.

What a mess, the Vice Prime Minister sighed to herself. Not only was she very busy trying to prepare for her promotion and leaving everything in good order for her successor at Home Affairs, but there was also the situation with the Queen. That kidnapping had seriously shaken the girl out of her shell. Before, she would not have had the courage to take political actions. There would not have been a boyfriend. There would not have been a pregnancy. There would not have been any trouble.

But now she was responsible for the Queen's actions. She would have to defend them in Parliament. She could. They were only family issues. Those were easily defendable. "Listen. So far nobody seems out to physically hurt you. There is no indication that anybody would hurt your baby. All they could do is slander you. You haven't done anything wrong and people will see that. The Christian rightwing parties would not be happy with your conduct, but whose conduct are they happy with? If you've never made any statements about marriage, then you could not be found to lie or to be a hypocrite and your conduct would be irreproachable. Have you ever given your opinion on the subject? Have you ever said you were against unmarried people having children?"

"Never."

"Then you can't be condemned. I don't know if you're aware of it, but people your age out there think differently from your grandmother or your mother or whoever's opinion prevails here. Public opinion is not something you should worry about. Until we've got to the bottom of this case, there's no telling what might happen, but it seems to me that your baby isn't due for a very long time and during that time a lot may be solved." She studied Anna. Nothing was visible, but she had only met that man of hers three weeks ago, so that was normal.

"I hope so. I shouldn't have let that slip, should I?" Anna asked quietly.

"Your problem seems to be that when you finally start talking, you tell everything." Not to mention what had happened when Anna had finally started loving, the Minister thought.

"It was as if I was torn out of my comfortable shell very suddenly, clueless and frightened," Anna said. "If they hadn't taken me with them and been nice to me, I don't think anything would have happened to me. But now I was alone. No one to ask for advice. No one to help me out. I was lucky they were nice. I wanted them to like me, so I had to talk. I haven't found a balance yet. It was easier when I didn't say anything at all." She smiled sadly. "I wonder when they're going to bring up that I was also more vulnerable to attentions from the opposite sex."

"I already did that," Marie-Celeste reminded her honestly. "Remember? I said you were grateful to him for taking care of you and you sort of sniffed and agreed, but of course one look at him made you change your mind."

"Of course," Anna agreed. "He never chased me, though, so I don't want you to think that I was flattered into anything. He only made me do things, like talk and play football."

"And you don't call this chasing," said Marie-Celeste dryly. "How many times did he physically run into you?"

"Oh," said Anna bashfully. That had happened all the time and she had run into him as well. "I suppose you're right. But he never said anything until I did." She looked at her hands for a minute as she was thinking. "But what can we do against Keller?"

"I'll speak to Malling about it. Keller doesn't seem to be a case for the police," said the Minister. "Since it seems he's left the country. I have an appointment with Malling on Monday, but I'll see if I can meet him this afternoon."

Anna nodded. "Can you do something about the newspaper or should the Minister of Justice do that?"

"I'm not sure. There is freedom of expression, but I'd have to find out if that article could be seen as an offence to the Queen."

"Yes, the article was an offence to the Queen."

The Minister made a note of that. "I'll pass it on to my colleague at the Ministry of Justice. Mind you, I don't think punishment for offending the Queen is very heavy. Most likely it'll be a day in the cell or a fine."

"I don't care. As long as they don't do it again."

Anna first went swimming after her meetings and then she had lunch in her office, catching up with the rest of the pile of work. She yawned when she was halfway through, resting her head on her arms for a brief rest, but she was woken quite some time later by Eduard, who desired her opinion on April's schedule.

"April!" That was so far away and Anna really could not imagine what she would be doing then. "Only the really necessary ones."

"That's what you always say," replied Eduard, unimpressed. "Flower show, the Veterans' Monument, dog show, the zoo, athletics, Ambassador of Nepal, housewives, National Museum, National Film Festival, cat show, tennis, Emperor of Japan, horse racing…"

"Athletics and tennis," Anna said with a concentrated frown as she tried to recall his list.

"And the Ambassador and the Emperor, naturally," Eduard suppressed a smile. "Anna, you're not the Minister of Sports."

"Pity. I'll go to the zoo as well. And the dog show -- it's not poodles and little yappers, is it?" If so, she would not be very interested.

Eduard studied his papers. "It doesn't say. Presumably they've got everything."

"Alright, I'll go there. I'll just concentrate on the bigger ones. What do they show at the National Film Festival? Is it anything decent or is it art?"

"I think it might be art."

"One day or everyday?" Anna did not think she could stand the national cinema for several days in a row. It was not that impressive.

"I think you'd be invited for the opening day only."

"Oh well, let's go cultural then," she said good-humouredly. "For once."

"You're certainly becoming easier," Eduard said in appreciation. It used to take him far more time to get her to agree about engagements. He had known which ones she would definitely pick and which ones were absolutely obligatory, but there would always have to be a few extra ones. "Not the horse racing?"

"No, I don't like it when they fall and sometimes they do. Oh, that reminds me. I was going over the stables accounts and where did we get a race horse?"

"A race horse?"

"Here, look." Anna pointed at the accounts. "At least I think it's a horse. It couldn't be a person. 60000 Euro -- Julius Caesar. His previous owner got paid that, or Julius himself, but I rather think it's a horse."

Eduard looked at it and saw she was right. He frowned. "Yes, it's got to be a horse."

"Julius is going back onto the market," Anna decided.

"I think he already did," he pointed at a figure in the left column on the next page. 80000 -- Julius Caesar. He tapped his fingers on the table and mentally reviewed the family tree. The staff would not dare to speculate with horses. "Lorenzo," he said. "Probably needed money for a new car."

"He can't do that!" Anna exclaimed in annoyance. Her cousin was a typical indolent rich boy. "Is he still skiing?"

"Would he go for less than two months?"

"No, probably not." Anna sent an email to the stables, requesting that no more race horses were bought on the Royal Stables' account. She also sent one, with little hope of result, to Lorenzo himself.

She picked up Alexandra from school and quickly bought a present for Charles-Louis, and then went on to the tennis stadium because John had been invited as well. After a little searching, they discovered that he was playing in the big hall, where the tournament had taken place. No wonder John is so cool on this court, she thought. He's used to the attention. There was a pretty big crowd in the stands to watch him train with Patrick and James. Most of them were children. She waved at John when he saw her. She held up a plush rabbit to indicate that they would not have to go shopping anymore. He would be happy to hear that.

John came walking towards her with a huge, silly grin plastered on his face. It did not occur to him that journalists might find it worth their while to sit through several hours of tennis practise just to see if Anna might show up and therefore he did not feel inhibited. Anna felt herself smile in anticipation of what he was going to say. It was obviously going to be good. "My birthday is in December," John called.

She smiled back. "It's not for you! And what did you get Larissa?"

"This," he said enthusiastically, holding up a baby tennis ball on a string.

Anna examined it dutifully, hoping he would explain its significance as she was examining it. "Wonderful. What's it for?"

"It's a tennis ball."

"Really?" she snickered as if she had not noticed.

"It used to be a key ring, but I attached it to a string."

Anna examined it again. "Cleverly done," she praised him without knowing why he had done it, but he seemed to be wild about it so she expected that the secret was still going to be unveiled.

"And look at this," John produced a baby tennis racket made of plastic.

"Aww!" she cried. It was very cute. "Where did you get all this?"

"In the shop in the hall. I turned it into a pram tennis set," John clarified, because she was not as clever as he had thought she would be.

Anna stopped the baby racket in mid-swing and snorted. "Say that again."

"Yes, Madam?"

"What on earth is a pram tennis set?" she asked, but he had to run to return a ball to Patrick.

James, whose turn it was to sit out, joined in. "I expect it's a miniature version of John's bed tennis set."

"What's a bed tennis set?" Anna asked, but John had to remain at the other side of the court, hitting balls to Patrick, although he glanced at them suspiciously, not trusting his brother.

"That's how he amused himself in bed before he had you," James snickered.

Anna wondered if it was true. "How does he play tennis in bed?"

"Don't ask me. I'm never in bed with him."

"You're kidding me, aren't you? Nobody plays tennis in bed."

"Oh ho ho ho ho!" James said. "Except John. Lucky you. I probably shouldn't mention love-games, should I?"

"No," Anna said firmly. That term had been used so often already that it was never witty anymore. A lot had been written about John's love-game.

"I think he prefers deuce anyway. Deuce…advantage…deuce…advantage. Eh, John!" James said as John came closer, curious about what they were saying. "What do you like better -- to win from forty-love or deuce?"

Phrasing it like that was not going to fool him. "No comment," said John.

"Anna began!" James cried in response to his glare.

"What's a pram tennis set?" she called quickly, in case he would think she had brought up love.

He came a little closer. "You hang the ball in the pram and you give the racket to the baby," he explained, taking the racket from her and reclining onto a chair to demonstrate her. "And he can amuse himself by playing tennis." He hit against the ball. "And the ball comes back automatically because it's on a string." He grinned at her when he saw she was trying to hold back her laughter.

"And do you think babies would know the purpose of the racket?" she snorted.

"Mine would," he winked and sat up again. "Larissa probably doesn't. I knew you'd like it. But that's not all."

"W-W-What else?" Anna laughed and looked at him in mock alarm. "Don't tell me you've got a similar contraption for over the bed?"

"A baby's bed or our bed?" he grinned mischievously. "You're a genius, did you know? How did you guess?"

"Please, John. No!" She began to giggle. "Don't do that to me. Don't play tennis in bed."

"Alright. I'll spare you. Although…you don't have to be left out, you see, because the other thing I had thought of was a doubles set. It's very simple -- two rackets. The babies can take turns. We can take turns. Why are you laughing at me?" John asked. He was not completely joking. He did have three balls on strings that he could hang up over his bed and he was wondering if she thought it ridiculous.

He hung over the railing between the court and the stands and Anna put her arms around his neck. She did not care about the children. They could not write untruthful articles. The worst they could do was laugh. "It's that stupid grin of yours. It's very infectious. I think it's very clever and adorable of you."

"To grin?" His eyes twinkled.

Anna looked into his eyes. "Hold me. I'm going to swoon," she declared.

"Do you feel unwell?" A concerned frown appeared on his forehead and he placed his hands on her waist in case swooning would include falling. Perhaps she was feeling sick.

"Swoon, I said, you romantic dummy," she grinned. "Because of the way you looked at me."

He had some idea, but he still wanted to know. "How did I?"

"In a swoon-inducing way."

"Oh, I know," John said. "Call me clever and adorable and I'll do it again."

"You're clever and adorable," Anna said immediately. She meant it too.

"Hello, we were going to a party," Alexandra informed them after they had been looking into each other's eyes for several minutes. The youthful spectators were also beginning to giggle and whistle.

"Five minutes," said John and he was indeed ready in five minutes, still managing to smell nicely of shampoo. He gallantly extended his hand to Anna to pull her up from where she had been sitting with Alexandra.

She looked surprised. "I think I'm going to swoon again."

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