Royal Affair (11 page)

“Dixie and I are engaged.” Ulrich made a
sweeping gesture with his arms as if to point out the obvious
difference.

“And you never snuck into her bedroom before
you asked her to marry you?”

That shut Ulrich up for a moment. “It’s
still different.”

The whole situation might have been
insulting were it not for the fact that Ulrich’s posturing made
Friedrich want to laugh. The son who’d always been the joker and
ne’er-do-well—the fellow who’d painted his fiancée in the nude and
had hung the portrait in an Italian exhibition—had suddenly
transformed into the keeper of Victorian values. For other people,
of course, but not for himself. A towering paragon of morality,
sneaking along a hallway in his robe and slippers.

“A man of your station,” Ulrich said.
“Behavior like this isn’t seemly.”

“You mean my age, don’t you?”

“That, too,” Ulrich said.

“
Ach
, Son. Someday you’ll
understand.” He started to leave, but Ulrich stopped him again.

“I’m going to have to tell my brothers,”
Ulrich said.

Friedrich glanced at where Ulrich’s arm
rested on his sleeve and then into his son’s face.

Ulrich got the warning and released him. But
he didn’t back down. “They have a right to know.”

“Don’t you think they’ve already figured it
out?” Friedrich said. “Or perhaps you’d like me to tell them all
the details.”

“Heavens, no.” His son’s eyes widened in
horror at the thought.

The door to Marta’s suite opened, and she
stuck her head out. She wore a dressing gown over her negligee. “Is
everything all right out here?”

“Splendid, my dear,” Friedrich said.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” She paused.
“Good morning, Ulrich.”

“Morning?” Ulrich repeated, as if he’d never
heard the word.

With a smile, Marta closed the door
again.

Ulrich pointed at where she’d just stood.
“What if the Beaumonts find out about this?”

Good Lord, not them. “There’s no reason they
would unless you keep shouting.”

“Dev and Kurt and I will want to have a talk
with you about this.”

No doubt. But surely one or both of his
older sons would stick up for his right to do what he pleased. They
might even find Ulrich’s sudden umbrage at sexual indiscretions
amusing.

“In the gold drawing room,” Ulrich said.

Naturally. He’d called all three of them on
the carpet in that room over the years. Now would be his turn. He’d
faced worse things in his life.

“Very well, Son, but make sure to get
dressed before you convene a committee to criticize me.”

With that, he did leave. That had gone far
better than he could have expected.

*

A flutter of estrogen descended on Marta as
she sat for Hilde to do up her hair. Thank heaven, not the Beaumont
women but Felice, Casey, and Dixie. Ever efficient, Hilde left so
they could have a private conversation The others spaced themselves
around the room, Felice in an armchair near the dressing table and
Casey and Dixie sitting on the end of the bed with Cupcake at
Dixie’s feet.

Casey grabbed a cushion and hugged it to her
chest. “Okay, spill.”

“Spill?” Marta repeated, even though she had
a fair idea what Casey meant. They’d heard about Friedrich being in
her room the night before, no doubt via Ulrich, and they wanted to
hear her side of the story.

“Ulrich told his brothers he caught
Friedrich leaving here this morning,” Felice said. “Early and in
the clothes he’d worn last night.”

No point denying it. “Ah, yes. I see.”

“Is it true?” Casey said.

“Of course it’s true,” Dixie said. “My
husband-to-be near to had a fit when Prince Friedrich didn’t deny
it.”

“Why, you two sneaks,” Casey said to Marta.
“How long has this been going on?”

“All the way back to the trip to the
monastery is my bet,” Dixie said.

“I wouldn’t say…that is, we weren’t then…not
that we are now…” For once in her life, Marta was truly at a loss
for words. The young people had figured everything out, and denials
would prove pointless. They certainly couldn’t expect her to share
any details, so what could she say? She sat smiling at all of them,
but her facial muscles couldn’t maintain that forever.

“Well I, for one, think it’s wonderful,”
Felice declared.

“Fabulous,” Casey said. In a moment, she was
surrounded by hugs from all of them. Even Cupcake barked
happily.

“Another royal wedding,” Dixie said. “We’ll
all plan it, without the other Beaumonts to help.”

“None of that, young lady,” Marta said. “You
concentrate on your own special day and don’t worry about me.”

“We’d better worry about Prince Friedrich.”
Dixie let out a belly laugh. “Right now, all three of the sons have
him trapped in a family conference. My fiancé thinks he’s going to
order his father to do the decent thing by you. Funniest damned
thing I ever did see.”

“Oh no, they mustn’t.” Poor Friedrich. At
some point, he’d have to let his sons know about their
relationship, but not via a confrontation—three against one. It was
too soon. She and Friedrich hadn’t decided on anything permanent.
She would
not
have him forced into anything, especially by
his children. Marta rose to go to him and then remembered she was
still wearing her dressing gown and her hair was half-done.

“Relax.” Felice guided her back to her seat.
“One thing I’ve learned is to let them work things out themselves.
They never fail to come make a wise decision.”

“Do you really think so?” Marta said.

“Positive,” Felice said. “They’re all his
sons, after all.”

“Lady Marta’s right that we need to
concentrate on Dixie’s wedding now,” Casey said. “But Dixie’s right
that you and Friedrich should get married.”

“If it’s fated to happen, it will,” Marta
said. “Why don’t we leave it at that?”

“Not quite.” Felice put her fingers over her
mouth as if trying to hold a secret inside, and then her face broke
into a grin. “Dev and I haven’t said anything in case something
goes wrong, but I’m pregnant.”

A brief silence followed before the others
broke into whoops and squeals of joy. This time, the hugs all went
in Felice’s direction, and Marta got into the middle of it.

When things calmed down, Felice took Marta’s
hand. “You see, my own parents never settle in one place for more
than a month or two. They’re great people, but not grandparent
material. I’d so love for my baby to have a grandmother.”

Again, Marta’s voice failed. A grandchild to
spoil and photograph endlessly so she could bore people with
pictures. A tiny baby to help bring into the world and grow up
happy and healthy. Someone to tuck into bed and sing lullabies to.
So much more than she’d ever thought possible.

“That’s a secret for us only,” Felice
said.

“Of course,” Marta said. “Thank you for
telling me.”

“Now, I think I’ll go see if the men folk
are through,” Dixie said. “I’m dying to find out what
happened.”

*

Someone had graciously ordered coffee for
Friedrich’s interrogation. Standing in the gold sitting room—the
site of so many family confrontations over the years—he poured
himself a cup and waited for the others to arrive.

Dev appeared first and went directly to the
coffee service. “Not an occasion for brandy?”

“Too early in the day.” Friedrich took a
seat on one of the divans and tasted his coffee. “Besides, I don’t
think I’ll need the fortification.”

Dev chose an armchair and sat. “What’s this
all about?”

“I’ll let my youngest explain. He called
this meeting.”

The other two arrived. Kurt appeared in his
usual calm mood. Ulrich, on the other hand, had obviously rushed
dressing because his shirt wasn’t buttoned to the top, and his
socks didn’t match. He must have thrown on whatever he found.

Kurt also served himself some coffee and
selected a seat near Friedrich. After a moment, he glanced up at
his younger brother. “Are you going to tell us what his is all
about?”

“You would not believe,” Ulrich began,
“where our dear, upstanding father slept last night.”

Dev arched an eyebrow. “In the palace, I
assume.”

“Of course, in the palace.” Ulrich let out a
huff. “Where else?”

“I don’t know,” Dev said. “If you’re going
to play guessing games, that’s my best effort.”

Kurt tried to suppress a chuckle, but it
came out as a cough.

“I suppose you all think this is very
funny,” Ulrich said.

“How can I when I don’t know what it’s
about?” Kurt said.

Friedrich remained silent, sipping his
coffee from time to time. He’d have to tell his children about his
plans to marry Marta at some point. That’s where he’d been headed
since the beginning of their affair. He’d want them all to be happy
about the match, but he wouldn’t allow any of them to keep him from
the woman he loved. If Ulrich objected now, he’d come around. Most
likely his reaction came from shock to discover that his father had
engaged in the marital act. No child liked to think about a parent
having sex.

“Our father spent the night in the arms of
Lady Marta. No, in her…” For a moment, Ulrich appeared as if he’d
choke on the word. “…bed.”

Dev’s eyes widened. “Do tell.”

“I found him leaving her suite early this
morning, and he hadn’t changed clothes since the night before.”
Ulrich pointed an accusing finger toward Friedrich. “Obviously,
he’d spent the night with her.”

“Father, you scoundrel.” Kurt’s face broke
into a grin. “I never would have guessed.”

“That was the whole point of keeping it
quiet,” Friedrich said.

“Aren’t you going to say anything to defend
yourself?” Ulrich demanded.

Friedrich calmly set his cup on the table at
his elbow. “Why should I? It’s all true.”

“Well done, Father,” Dev said. “I didn’t
know you had it in you.”

“I’m getting old, but I’m not dead,”
Friedrich said.

Ulrich made another one of his grand
gestures. “What about your heart?”

“My heart is perfectly fine,” he answered.
“As you well know.”

“If you’re worried about his health, love
will keep him younger,” Kurt said. “Sex, too.”

“By God, I thought I’d noticed a spring in
your step,” Dev said. “This is wonderful, Father. Just
wonderful.”

Ulrich gaped at his brothers as if they were
speaking a language he didn’t understand. “Aren’t you two
forgetting something?”

“I’m sure you’ll remind us if we are,” Kurt
said.

“They’re not married.” Ulrich threw up his
hands in pure frustration.

“And you’re the arbiter of decency now,
little brother?” Dev said. “As I recall, you got around pretty well
before you met Dixie.”

“That was me. This is…well…him,” Ulrich
said.

Dev rose, went to his little brother, and
put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s a man just like us. He’s been
lonely for a long time.”

“Have you, Father?” Kurt asked.

All three of them stared at him, waiting for
an answer. What could he tell them? He’d thought himself happy all
these years.

“I had you. I had Danislova,” he said.

“That’s not enough, though, is it?” Dev
said.

“I thought it was.” Friedrich shrugged. “I
was wrong.”

Still, he wouldn’t regret those years.
They’d made him into who he was today, and they’d brought him
around to Marta. Finally. No, he’d taken the right path, even if it
had proved a long one.

“I’m sorry, Father,” Kurt said. “We didn’t
know.”

“You couldn’t have.”

“Well, at least, he ought to marry her,”
Ulrich said.

“I have to agree with him on that,” Dev
said, and Kurt nodded.

“I gather you’d all accept her as Princess
Royal, then,” Friedrich said.

“Yes,” Kurt said.

“Hell, yes,” Dev added.

The two of them looked at Ulrich, who held
up his hands in surrender. “Of course I would. I’m not the idiot
you all think I am.”

“Sometimes you surprise us,” Kurt said.
“Other times…”

Ulrich let out another huff and finally went
to the coffee service and poured himself a cup. Display of outrage
over, it appeared.

“Of course, the lady has to agree,”
Friedrich said. “She wouldn’t be marrying me but an entire
nation.”

“She’s perfect for the job, Father,” Kurt
said.

“
Gut
. Then, I’ll ask her to marry me.
Wish me luck.”

Yet another royal wedding. This time, Marta
wore the new gown she’d kept to herself so she could surprise
Friedrich with it. The sapphire silk bared much of her shoulders,
emphasizing the length of her neck. It plunged a bit in the back,
but otherwise covered every inch of her body, including sleeves
that went all the way to her wrists. She’d indulged herself with
the diamond tiara she’d inherited from her grandmother, and a sole,
finely cut stone hung from a chain at her neck. And she’d found
some expensive perfume that gave off the scents of a rose garden on
a warm day. When they danced, he wouldn’t miss the connection to
the scent of her shampoo that he’d commented on so many times.

Official duties kept him busy for the
ceremony and the beginning of the ball. So she stayed with Felice
and Casey until their husbands escorted them to the dance floor.
Now she took her usual position and watched all the other couples
swirling in a waltz.

Of course, an occasion like this served as a
hunting ground for one of Friedrich’s less savory relatives, and
the man himself appeared with two flutes of champagne. With a
little bow, Vaclav offered one to Marta. “Dear lady, you appear to
need refreshment.”

“Thank you.” She took the champagne and
sipped it. She’d dealt with this one before, and though the chore
was always tedious, she’d never had any problem with him she
couldn’t handle.