They reached the front of the room, where the head table sat on a dais. Poppo’s family stood there along with a few others. In front was a stand of flowers, the kind you’d see at a funeral, with a ribbon across it. In Loving Memory. She glanced up at Alexander who let go of her hand and rested his on her back, using pressure to turn her toward a microphone set up on the side.
Poppo walked to the podium. “Your Majesty, tonight we have come together, here and around the country, as this is shown on a live television special, to remember some very special people. You told me once that you had few personal memories of your parents. Almost everything you remember about them comes from news programs or articles you found online. Tonight, we can’t give you new personal memories, but we can share ours. Through the stories we tell this evening, we hope to give you a greater sense of why your parents were so beloved by the people of Ravenzario.” Poppo moved to the side as Alexander guided her to their seats on the dais.
A slide show began to play on the screen behind the podium. Pictures of her parents popped up, one after the other. Starting as newborns and continuing through their childhoods and teenage years.
They met her mother’s freshman year in college. From then on, most of the pictures were of the two of them together. Dating. Engaged. Several from their wedding. Christiana barely noticed the tears streaking down her cheeks until Alexander slipped her a handkerchief.
She wiped under one eye as a picture of her mother, looking radiant and very pregnant, came on the screen. It was followed by several others. Her parents were obviously very much in love. Next, a picture of her father holding her minutes after her birth. The rest of the slide show contained pictures of the two of them as well as some with her. Then her brother. Little Nicky who died far, far too young. Nicky who should have been king.
The last picture was of the four of them. She was five, and they were decorating the official Christmas tree. Her father had hoisted her up to put the star on top. Her mother, holding Nicklaus, watched as all four of them laughed.
The picture faded to a black screen with their names and dates of birth and death on it.
Christiana had mostly tuned out those in the crowd as she watched the pictures, but she had noticed some laughter and a few “aw” noises. Now the applause started. A minute later, it reached a crescendo as everyone stood. Alexander stood and moved past her toward the podium. Christiana stopped him with a hand on his arm. He held her chair as she stood. The applause died down as she took a spot behind the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for being here tonight.” She gripped both sides of the podium to steady herself. “As Poppo, Mr. Engel, said a few moments ago, I have few memories of my parents. Many of these pictures I had never seen before, and I thank you for bringing them to me. I hope you enjoy your meal and thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.”
Polite applause followed her back to her seat. The first part of her meal was waiting for her when she returned. She spoke with both Alexander and the mayor seated on the other side of her. Dinner ended, and she thought they would leave, but instead, Poppo returned to the microphone.
“Your Majesty, two months ago, I had the honor and the privilege of walking you down the aisle at your wedding. I told you how much you reminded me of your mother. You both have such elegant grace and care for the people of Ravenzario in a way no one else does.” He went on to tell about meeting her mother one time at the palace. “Tonight, several others are going to share their memories of your parents with you, Your Majesty. We know it will not replace memories of your own, but we hope to help make them a bit more real for you.”
One after another about twenty people came to the podium and shared memories of her parents from all parts of their lives. One of her mother’s best friends from elementary school shared a funny story about throwing water balloons at their principal without anyone ever finding out their secret.
Her father had not attended a school but had a series of tutors over the years. One was not much older than he was. The tutor shared a story about how, instead of studying French, they snuck out, disguised themselves, and went to the pier for lunch. A couple even told stories of her little brother and their nanny.
Poppo returned to the podium when the last person finished. “Your Majesty, we know how overwhelming this must be and that you’ll never remember all of these stories. Tonight’s dinner has been recorded and will be available for you to watch, but...” Annie and David wound their way through the tables and up to her side. “All of these stories and many more are found in these books.” She took a scrapbook from Annie and flipped it open to find page after page of stories. Some printed off from email, some on fine stationary with flowers around the borders, some childlike drawings. “There are many such books waiting for you when you return to the palace. If you look in the front of each one...” She did. “...there is a DVD with people telling their stories. Some are ones we arranged, others were sent in by those who loved your parents, by those who love you. Never doubt that, Your Majesty. Your father was a great monarch whose time was cut tragically short. You walk in his footsteps, and beyond and we, the people of Ravenzario, thank you.”
Christiana gave Annie and David both a hug. Alexander stood and held her chair for her. He whispered in her ear. “We can stay and talk to people if you’d like, but everyone will understand if this has been too much, and you’d like to return to our room.”
She nodded and made her way to the podium. “I said thank you earlier not knowing just how inadequate those words would be. From the very bottom of my heart, I thank all of you - those of you who could be here and those of you who joined us from afar. I look forward to spending many hours looking through the scrapbooks and watching the videos.” She took a deep breath. “I do hope you understand when I say that I am completely overwhelmed and will bow out of any further activities this evening. I would like to invite all of you here tonight to a reception at the palace or another location sometime in the near future, when I will be able to more fully convey my gratitude. To all the people of Ravenzario, thank you.”
She stepped back to find Alexander waiting for her. His arm wrapped securely around her waist as they exited out a rear door and into a cleared corridor. The walk to the elevator and then to their suite was silent, but as soon as the door closed behind them, Christiana flung herself into his arms.
* * *
One of Alexander’s arms wrapped tightly around his wife while the other clicked the chain into place. For now, the rest of the world was locked out and it was just the two of them. Her tears soaked into his shirt as she sobbed. He lifted her easily into his arms and carried her to the sitting area. Once there, he set her on her feet, sat down, and then pulled her onto his lap. He held her until she moved away.
“Feel better?”
She nodded. “You arranged all of this?”
“I did. I hope it...”
Alexander’s words were cut off by her kiss. Her lips on his, warm, soft, supple, expressive, as her hands framed his face. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but kiss her back, pull her closer, and intensify the kiss as a soft moan fell from the back of her throat.
Logic told him he needed to slow things down. Desire told him this was where he wanted to spend the rest of his life
Reason said he should stop. Longing told him she was his wife, and if she wanted to kiss him, so be it.
Love told him he needed to be sure. He needed her to be sure.
“Christiana,” he whispered as he moved away, dropping tiny kisses on the corner of her lips and trailing a line toward her ear. “Are you sure?”
“I want you to love me, Alexander. I want to love you the way my parents loved each other.” She brushed his hair back off his face. “What you did for me tonight was incredible. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate all you have done for me. I cannot begin to tell you what you...”
She kissed him again, but he pulled away. “If you want this, okay
.” His fingers tangled in her hair. “But if this is just something borne out of sorrow or gratitude or...”
Once again she stopped his words with her lips. The kiss grew even more intense as she shifted closer to him. When she moved away, they were both breathless, but she looked him straight in the eye. “I want to be your wife tonight, Alexander. I’m sure.”
This time when she kissed him, he didn’t try to stop her, didn’t pull away, didn’t fight the torrent of feelings unleashed inside him. With a mighty groan, he stood with her in his arms. He carried her to the bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him despite the chain on the front door. He set her on her feet next to the bed. Moonlight filtered in around the closed curtains. “Tonight, Christiana, tonight I want to be your husband.”
Chapter 13
The drive to the palace in the roadster was as quiet as the ride the day before. Despite everything they had shared once the doors to their suite closed behind them, Christiana did not know what to say to him in the light of day. It seemed Alexander struggled with the same thing as he said barely six words to her during the course of the trip. He seemed to be deep in thought about something, though she had no idea what.
As they approached the capital city, she could see the palace rising in the distance. She needed to say something.
“Thank you for last night, Alexander.” She felt her cheeks color as it hit her what he could think she meant. “The dinner, the scrapbooks, all of it was incredible.”
“I am glad you liked it, ma’am.”
The title cut like a knife. She thought they were past all of that. After she kissed him, he called her “Christiana” twice before things went any further than kissing. When he kissed her hair as she fell asleep, he called her “sweetheart” but now the formality had returned. Would she ever feel loved for herself? Feel she could just be around him?
As they neared the palace gates, another crowd had gathered. She plastered on a smile and waved as they slowly drove through the people lining the street. Alexander parked the car under a portico leading into the administrative side of the building. Her main office was there as was Alexander’s new one.
So much for thinking he would want to take her to their new home and, maybe, just maybe tell her he loved her. Then show her he did.
Instead, she went into her office to begin playing catch up with the correspondence that had piled up. Much of the important matters, she tended to in between functions or at night, but some had been put off.
“Your Majesty?”
Christiana waved Diana in. “Yes?”
Diana sat in one of the wingback chairs across the desk. “There are just a few things to cover. We do need an answer on the photo book by the end of the year. There is an official thank you letter we have to send to all of those who contributed to the books for last night. Would you like to sign them all personally or sign one and have it copied?”
“I would like to sign them all.” Her hand would feel like it was about to fall off, but she could not let them have some copied or automatic signature. No. Those people had poured their hearts out for her. The least they deserved was an actual pen to paper signature. “Please be certain it says that I wish I could write each of them a personal note, and I hope to be able to do so in the future, but at the moment it is just not possible.”
“It does.”
“Thank you. I think I would like to start on them as soon as I can. I will not be able to do all of them in one sitting, of course, but perhaps we can have them ready to mail by the first of the year? I think I would like to send them as one bunch rather than several smaller bunches. We do not want anyone to feel slighted because they did not receive theirs in the first batch.”
“I agree, ma’am.”
They went over a few things before Diana left. Christiana decided she was done hiding completely from what the press had to say and opened one of the news sites on her tablet.
Queen Christiana Surprised by Memorial Dinner
Last night’s memorial dinner for the late King Richard, Queen Marissa, Crown Prince Nicklaus, and his nanny, came as complete surprise to the reigning monarch, Queen Christiana. For the last eight weeks, the country, in conjunction with her new husband, Alexander, Duke of Testudines, conspired to keep a secret from the queen who seldom visits news sites unless directed to them for one reason or another. The stunt was pulled off in spectacular fashion. The event was shown live on our sister television network TCBC with roughly one-third of the homes in the country tuning in to see the events in the reception hall as well as the special that aired while those in attendance ate their meal. The queen released a statement earlier this morning thanking everyone for making a normally difficult day a bit easier and that she looks forward to reading through and watching all of the stories sent in.
The night was the last one on the road for the newlyweds who will return to the palace later today. They are expected to host the annual Christmas Eve ball later tonight and will spend Christmas together with the duke’s family at his family’s property on Bianisola where the two were married. They are not expected to stay the night.
The article went on to mention a bit more about Alexander’s family, but Christiana just skimmed it.
She had forgotten about the Christmas Eve ball but she would need to get ready. Opening her appointment calendar, she noticed her stylist would be arriving in less than an hour. Forcing herself to focus, she rushed through the things she could, setting aside a number of others for a later time.
By the time she finished showering, her stylist waited. Mary had worked for her long enough Christiana knew she was a bit annoyed by the not-quite-dripping-wet hair. When on the road, Diana often helped her get ready when needed, but they were home now. Christiana closed her eyes and let the other woman work her magic. When Mary finished, Christiana checked her reflection in the mirror.
“Very nice, Mary. Thank you.”
“You will be the belle of the ball tonight, ma’am.”
Christiana stood and tightened her robe around her. “Thank you.” She walked into the sitting room of her apartment to find Alexander walking in from the other bedroom. He wore a tuxedo, though not the coat or tie as yet. His face softened when he looked at her and he smiled. “You look beautiful from the neck up, Your Majesty. I look forward to seeing how beautiful you are in your gown.”
There was a light, teasing tone to his voice, but something about it irked her. She gave him a tight smile and a nod before going into the other room where her ball gown waited. The shimmering pink was just right to set off her blond locks. The off-the-shoulder sleeves and short train would lend an air of elegance while not being so long as to be terribly cumbersome.
Mary had followed her and now assisted in sliding the dress on. The fabric clung to her like a second skin in all the right places. Though not an overly full skirt, it had plenty of room for her to walk and even dance easily.
Would Alexander ask her to dance again? Would it be more like the dances at their wedding? Or like the one on the top deck of the yacht? Or something else entirely, just as awkward as the rest of their encounters had been on this, the day after she truly became his wife? Because she wanted to not because of some ancient law that said she had to.
Would they continue to share a bed? Twenty-four hours earlier, she would have relished the chance to sleep apart once more, but now? Now she wanted to fall asleep in his arms and wake to the sound of his quiet snore. To his good morning kiss, something she had missed that morning when she woke to an empty and cold other side of the bed.
Had she committed a grievous error in trusting herself to Alexander? She doubted he would ever hurt her intentionally, but unintentionally, he held more power than she was comfortable trusting one person with.
She would have to find a way to fix that.
* * *
Alexander found himself aware of the queen in a way he never had been before, not even after their change in relationship status at their wedding.
&
nbsp; The very brush of her skin against his as he used his left hand to help her settle hers in the crook of his right arm to escort her into the ball sent his senses reeling. How could he continue to keep up the happy couple façade when it tore him apart inside to know she had cried in her sleep the night before?
They were seated at the same place they always were, the center of the head table. Tonight, they were surrounded by leading members of government rather than local dignitaries. At other tables around the room, he spotted his family, and Poppo and his family. They were quickly becoming part of the queen’s inner circle. For that, Alexander was grateful. She needed more people she could count on.
He was told the dance would normally begin with he and the queen dancing, but just a few minutes before it was to begin, she excused herself saying she would be back in a minute and not to wait for her.
What did that mean? Should he dance with someone else and if so, who? Or just allow the dance to start without the traditional first dance?
When she hadn’t returned ten minutes later, the social secretary started to look antsy. Alexander motioned with his head for the woman to come over. He explained the situation as he understood it, but it didn’t alleviate her concerns.
“No. The first dance has to be the queen’s.” She spoke into the ear piece she wore. “Someone find the queen, and let her know it’s time for the dance. We need her in here.”
For a moment, Alexander felt a bit sorry for Queen Christiana. The woman couldn’t even use the restroom in peace. Before the thoughts could take hold, the queen entered through a side door he hadn’t noticed. He stood and walked to her side as the orchestra started playing a traditional Christmas Carol.
Winning the Queen's Heart: Contemporary Christian Romance (The Brides of Belles Montagnes Book 2) Page 9