by Erin McRae
“The roses? The red and white ones?”
Arthur nodded. “There’s light on the horizon. That we made possible.”
“After making things worse.”
“It was necessary. I couldn’t have done any of it without you. If you’re willing to continue this adventure together. I promise I will do my absolute best to be the husband and partner you deserve."
“I think most girls don't get a second proposal minutes before their wedding.”
Arthur smiled, the fine lines around his eyes crinkling up. “Most girls aren’t you.”
Amelia's cheeks hurt from how wide she was smiling. "Yes, by the way."
“I love you,” Arthur said breathlessly.
The prospect of the rest of their future together was still terrifying, but with Arthur at her side — really, truly, at her side — she had no doubt that she could get through it.
“I love you too,” she said. Then she looked down at herself, the dress that didn’t fit, the smears of makeup on her hands. “I’m a mess.”
“I'm the King of England. I have to be able to find someone who can fix your dress.”
“My makeup too.”
Arthur reached up to wipe away the tears and mascara on her face. “All right. I am going to go holler for lots of people to make sure we look respectable. Then we are both going to go perform our parts in this awful play.”
He helped her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He walked with her to the door. With one hand on the handle, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I really am incredibly happy.”
“Me too.”
“So are you ready?” he asked her as he always had.
Amelia nodded.
“Then I'll see you at the altar.” Arthur smiled and opened the door.
Chapter 27
A UNITED ENGLAND CELEBRATES
8 April
Year 1 of the Reign of King Gregory I and Queen Amelia I
On the day of his wedding and coronation, Gregory I, by the Grace of God King, Head of the Commonwealth, and Defender of the Faith, felt like the world had stopped spinning at a terrifying speed only when he was flying at five hundred miles an hour over the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. He was on the way to his honeymoon. In the bedroom of the private jet that had been chartered for the occasion, his wife and queen, Amelia, curled against his chest, asleep. With the arm that wasn’t looped around her shoulders, he sorted through correspondence: Some on his tablet. Some on actual paper, including a letter from George, his sister’s child, his court witch, and his faithful friend.
She must have written it hastily somewhere between the day’s first and second receptions, a twilight hour when the rest of the world had been sleeping.
My dearest uncle,
I know you hate when I call you by your given name, as if you were a real man and not a king. And as if I were advising you in this life and not the other way around.
That said, thank you. I think this business of my telling you to remarry has worked out rather well. You have saved myself. And Hyacinth. The kingdom too, although perhaps not as you suspect and not in ways we are yet given to understand.
I know you think otherwise, but I feel certain royalty only suits those who grow into it, not those who are born to it. We must all find our own destinies, as Amelia has. It is your job now to enable that for all the rest of us.
Enjoy your honeymoon. I will make sure the ravens wait.
Yours always,
George
Arthur smiled at the certainty he always felt in the face of George’s odd pronouncements. Amelia would be a wonderful queen, precisely because she had willingly chosen the role’s burdens. For his own part, he hoped merely to be a tolerable king.
The coronation had unsettled him, the one moment of privacy in it making him feel oddly naked before all the world. He did not know if he would ever find a destiny as king in the manner George’s letter suggested.
But he knew that with Amelia nestled here in his arms, he had found his destiny as a man.
Look out for more Royal Roses books coming from Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese!
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