Titled?

The past few weeks had gone so fast that Anna Margaret was glad for the slower pace of the summer holidays. It gave them plenty of time to find a house - something on which Frederick definitely insisted - and to have it prepared for them. He had taken one step to some form of assisted living, but he really wanted to reach full independence.

Before they would be able to move in a security system needed to be installed and other similar things she would never have reckoned with. Considering that Frederick would be scaling down the number of his official engagements, but not giving them up altogether, he would still have a right to some security. This was not what she called full independence herself, but he did not know any better.

In the meantime they lived at the Palace, which was private in a sense - the public and the media could not see a thing - but not so private that no one meddled, given that there were a lot of curious family members around.

Anna Margaret was glad her family did not live there. Now that she was not at her office much, she could not be contacted by her parents unless she visited them. Giving them her cell number was still out of the question. She tried to visit briefly once a week, but the sole topic under discussion was whether or not she would get married.

They would like a big wedding, she knew, where they could rub shoulders with European royalty. Unfortunately this would be her wedding from hell and if she had any say in the matter it would never happen. She tried to be politely vague about it and say they would not be married, which always brought on more questions than she liked. They were comfortable with people not marrying, except their daughter who was in a relationship with a prince.

Her sisters had met him only once too, at her mother's birthday. She had said he would not bring him, so no curious people would be invited and then she had brought him anyway. Apparently this had not been nice of her, for reasons she did not quite understand. They might have wanted to dress differently or something, despite the fact that he did not care what they wore. She doubted he even noticed.

And then, of course, he had asked Anna Margaret to take him home an hour after arriving there. She had obliged, with some vague excuses, but her family had not been amused. She had been accused of already feeling herself to be above them.

When the fact was simply that he did not enjoy all types of parties - and that sometimes he might enjoy them and sometimes he might not. Of course he could have made an effort for Anna Margaret's sake, but she had not asked it of him and she had not minded at all. Perhaps next time. Although that next party would definitely not be her wedding.

Frederick had suggested he could ask parliamentary permission anyway, so all options were covered, and asking permission did not mean he definitely would have to get married. But that would have to wait until the proposed changes had been rejected or accepted.

She could not tell her parents, of course, that Isabelle was going to lobby for a change to the law. The law was rather strict about whom members of the Royal Family could marry. They had to ask permission and they had to belong to the right church, to name but two things. Isabelle, with five children having reached or approaching maturity, thought the latter clause was outdated and she would rather give her children - and her brother, in case he felt like marrying - more of a choice.

Not everyone agreed with Isabelle. Aunt Agnes sided with the bishop in this matter. Both were horrified, according to Isabelle's eldest son, who seemed pleased to have someone paving the way for him and who was a little concerned that it would not happen. And undoubtedly Aunt Agnes and the bishop would spend the summer lobbying for MPs to vote against, should it come to a vote.

Anna Margaret had purposely not checked whether she had ever been baptised. "I have no idea," she indifferently told everyone who asked. Of course her parents never asked - supposedly they had been there if it had ever taken place - so either she was safe or they did not know the law. Either way, she did not care, she told herself.

Frederick ostensibly did not care much either. There were simple ways to arrange things legally, if they needed to do that at all, he said. Of course hardly anyone knew they were expecting. Simply living together did not require many administrative adjustments and other people might indeed think there was as little to arrange as Frederick said.

Princess Agnes had offered her the services of a lady-in-waiting to teach her proper manners in case she got married. Apparently this was not necessary if she did not. She had politely refused, though. She had no time for it and no plans to make being a Family member her primary occupation.

But Aunt Agnes' game was complex. It was difficult to see what she wanted, if on the one hand she opposed a wedding and on the other hand she did offer this assistance. Anna Margaret did not see how anyone could reconcile the two, but she gathered that a few others thought the connection was perfectly logical - to Agnes herself, at least.

She was not sure who knew about the baby. Frederick's mother and sister did, although his mother at least was far too discreet to bring it up. Aunt Agnes probed. George knew, because Anna Margaret had had him look ahead in her diary to see if any trips needed to be cancelled and he had guessed why. But she did not know about any other people.

She had not visited a doctor or midwife yet, too afraid her visit would leak out and the media would be all over her all the time. They would want pictures of everything. She wanted to be able to move around in relative peace for as long as she could. Besides, until she got it confirmed, she would be able to act as if her life was not going to change at all. So far this was going splendidly; apart from fatigue nothing bothered her. Cutting down on coffee had only caused her to doze off at a European summit, but that was all.

If she was busy with work, Frederick was training or meeting people for vague purposes related to rowing. Anna Margaret did not know what that was about exactly - some rowing lake - and she had not asked too much about it. Permits and funding had apparently all been obtained before she had appeared on the scene anyway. Yet if she learned too much about it she might accidentally say the wrong things to the wrong people and it might be construed as getting favours from them, so she tried to keep a little distance from projects he might be involved in.

A closer acquaintance with the Family was beginning to show her that several of them had their own peculiar ways. Presumably it was related to being in the public eye all the time.

Anna Margaret was standing in line at the bakery because it was a popular one. The residents of this neighbourhood liked their bread fresh and healthy, and they could afford it. Behind her stood a tall young man. She vaguely recognised him, either from seeing him in the street or from seeing him on television. He might be an athlete or something. Behind him, a woman with a large hat entered the shop. Anna Margaret paid her no attention, still wondering where she had seen the man and if she should say hello if he looked her way. She met so many people that someone recognising her was never a good clue, but not saying hello if she was supposed to know this man might not be very nice.

"Psst, Anna Margaret," the woman whispered in dramatically conspiratorial tones. "My aunt wishes to know if you have wedding plans."

Anna Margaret turned and gave her a good look. "I'm not sure I want to marry into a family of lunatics." She shook her head.

"You must come home with me," she invited, because under the hat the face looked strangely familiar. "See how the house is coming along."

Isabelle had not been there yet, her brother not having realised she might be able to look without offering advice. He was determined to be independent and involving his sister was not compatible with that wish.

"Do you often sneak around looking like that?" Anna Margaret asked as she made tea. In other rooms, contractors were busy. Cameras and alarms were being installed today. Although none of them were working yet, it was still a safe place to entertain the queen, especially if she was in disguise.

Isabelle gave her a stern look. She was of course about ten years her senior and she could do that. "I meant the other thing."

"Is it not done to be direct about that in royal circles?" Anna Margaret wondered. Perhaps she should take Aunt Agnes up on that etiquette offer, even though she had never considered the Family particularly indirect about private matters. They might be discreet, but they did not lack for curiosity.

"Oh, that. No, I haven't." Maybe she should see about visiting a doctor one of these days. She could not put it off forever and this was the first person who questioned her directly. "Which doctor would they expect me to see?" she asked.

"I'll avoid that one then." It would be under tabloid surveillance. If it had once been used by Isabelle, it would now be frequented by anyone who imagined she had a claim to fame.

"It's not as if only private clinics offer decent care," the prime minister lectured. "It would look as if I didn't trust public healthcare if I did that in my position. I simply cannot go private. Our public facilities are just as good."

Anna Margaret was sure a private clinic offered lots of advantages, but at the moment she had no need for them. "I'll ask Danielle if she goes anywhere or where she would go. She was trying to get pregnant."

"But my job -" It should be clear where her job figured in this. It was quite natural for her to worry how it would all fit and to put off informing the public. Some people might call it afraid.

Not everyone accepted the fact that the prime minister had struck up a relationship with the former king. She did not read everything, but she knew these people existed. If word got out that she was pregnant and some people did their calculations, they might have something to say about the fact that it could well have happened when Frederick was still the king, and then they might think he had abdicated because he had got the prime minister pregnant - which was all very unprofessional, she would agree, yet not quite true.

Of course if her pregnancy leaked out towards the end people would still be calculating, she knew that, but at least she would be spared a few months of nonsense.

Isabelle shrugged. "There are worse health problems that you could get that could keep you from working. You could break your leg. You could need an operation."

Isabelle did not accept this objection. "You can work with a baby. I did. Several times."

"But you -" Now, that would not be nice. She did not say that some things were not work.

"What?" Anna Margaret stared. Clearly this was not one of Isabelle's sane days. First she sneaked around with a huge hat on and now she talked of love. Next she would talking to the trees in the backyard.

"But I don't want to think about it at all yet," she protested. She wanted to do that when she was ready, not when someone else told her to. And love it? What kind of nonsense was that?

"It's there. But don't, if you can't," Isabelle replied with a haughty smile that hid something else as well. "We'll take it after the birth."

Anna Margaret rubbed some moisture from her eye. She did not know where that had come from. She could not figure out Isabelle's purpose and therefore she could not decide on what she was feeling herself either. "Why?"

"Just because you didn't plan what would happen after intercourse doesn't mean you shouldn't plan what comes after the birth."

"Waited," Isabelle repeated. There was that haughty, mysterious smile again. "And how long exactly did you wait?"

"I'm not judging you on that; I simply found it amusing. The speed you two moved at could hardly qualify as waiting." She held up her hand when Anna Margaret wanted to say something. "But you're old enough not to wait. But only if you're also old enough to sort this out. Is Frederick any help?"

"Er..." Anna Margaret was surprised. "No, he just doesn't want to put any pressure on me."

"Because you're not doing anything. If no one interferes, you'll keep working till you're forty weeks along and pop out the baby in your office."

"Sounds good, actually," Anna Margaret tried. "But you can't seem to imagine Frederick as a responsible adult."

"It's hard to overlook that instead of using his common sense he...er...followed his desires."

"After being forced to suppress them for twenty years," she shot back. "Your idea of a responsible adult is a robot who only lives the life his family tell him to. No will, emotions or ambitions of his own."

"So you saved him." Isabelle was frustratingly amused. "But it's not funny, really. What will you do if you tire of this project?"

Chapter Two

"I don't know what you mean." What would she do if she tired of that project? She did not know if Frederick was the project Isabelle seemed to think he was. Or was she unable to interpret her own behaviour? And what could Isabelle want by telling her this?

"You allow Frederick near because he's your project. But there's no one else. You don't allow anyone else. You've got this under control, right?" Isabelle shook her head. "But, you got pregnant. Some control was lost somewhere. More will be lost in the future."

Anna Margaret had trouble breathing. "I can't follow you." Or rather, she could not follow how Isabelle was able to see this.

"My family support the idea of a large wedding." Her voice sounded strange. Maybe she did want some type of support, but not that.

"No, it's not. I'm not against it, but I do not view it as a necessity. Marriage, that is." And large weddings were certainly not a necessity.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," said Isabelle after a perplexed look into her empty cup. "On the other hand, why is this nevertheless not surprising? But it can be lonely being in the public eye. It is very agreeable to have a hand to hold."

"I'm sure it is." Anna Margaret poured some more tea. If she had held anybody's hand she would have squeezed it painfully. Yes, it could be lonely. She supposed Isabelle would think that was why she had moved in with Frederick so quickly. It might have played a role, but really it had been the most practical thing to do if one did not want any visits to each other to be noticed.

"Things being as they are, it would probably boil down to you cutting Frederick's ribbons while he holds your hand. He's not - how shall I put it - a forceful personality."

"He gets his way," she said with a shrug. But why could she see that happening? Frederick might indeed let her do it. Isabelle clearly did not see it as a good thing.

Isabelle narrowed her eyes. "He had his way with you, obviously, but that's not what I meant, because I'm sure you think he's attractive and he may have been forced to have his way. Our mother was especially selected for her good looks and submissive personality and you know which child both of those traits ended up in."

Anna Margaret tried to regain some advantage. "Since you don't strike me as having a submissive personality you must mean Frederick. But just because I haven't known him for as long as you do doesn't mean I don't see what he is like and I may have a different opinion. Think - just as you seem to think you see what I am like without having known me for long..."

"You and the baby are part of the family. We are there to...provide witnesses to discreet weddings, childminding services, you name it. But you seem to think we are trying to take over your life."

Anna Margaret squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temples. Could it become even more confusing? Was this help or criticism? First she was too independent, then Frederick was too weak and all it was about was an offer of help?

When Anna Margaret opened her eyes again, having got rid of annoying emotions, Frederick entered the room. He frowned a little when he saw his sister, but he kissed them both. "What a surprise."

Anna Margaret detected a little anxiousness in his tone. She leant against him, needing some contact. "We've only had tea."

"I'll go and see if I can close the windows upstairs," Anna Margaret said, getting up. She would leave them to discuss this. Upstairs she walked around. There was not much to steal yet, so it would probably not even matter if she left the windows open when she went back to the Palace, but the security staff would probably not like it after they had spent all day installing cameras and locks.

She sat down in one of the window sills and looked out into the garden. Isabelle's offer was probably kind, she decided. She was a little hesitant to think so - it might make her cry. In the kitchen she had already come dangerously close to giving in to her emotions, although she had not been quite certain what those were precisely. She had been trying not to think of it until now. Isabelle was forcing her before she was ready.

She had only barely got used to living with someone and being in a relationship. Although it had gone without much effort, there were moments that she could hardly understand how it had happened. The best way to handle everything had been to simply move forward. Dwelling on her pregnancy would mean she also had to evaluate her relationship and wonder if it was going to change. She did not want to go there. It was difficult enough giving fleeting thoughts to how it might affect her job.

As she sat wondering what they could do with the wilderness in the garden - anything except thinking about herself - Frederick and Isabelle came upstairs. She could hear them move from room to room before they reached hers, but she could not overhear what they were saying.

"I'm all right." She was merely depressed by not wanting to think about things she did not want to think about. "I have to wait until -"

She glanced at him. He did not seem to be angry or annoyed with his sister, so she wondered what they had spoken about together. "Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I need to lie down at every opportunity."

"Just because you're prime minister doesn't mean you cannot lie down when you have the opportunity."

Frederick was just standing there. It was impossible to tell with whom he sided.

Isabelle's phone bleeped. She took it out. "What!" she cried after reading a message. "Philip broke his ankle stepping out of a golf cart. He's already back at home."

"Apparently." His sister was astonished. She scanned her phone for more, but there was nothing else.

She silenced him with her finger. "Don't you dare bring that up. But what are we going to do now? We have a wedding to go to tonight. With dancing. A friend's daughter is getting married and they love balls. They have a proper orchestra and dancing."

"Oh no," he replied, apparently seeing a plea in her expression. "Take Florian."

"Florian," she scoffed. "Do you think that if I took him, he would dance with me, if there are young women around? Besides, he steps on my toes."

"And Frederick doesn't?" Anna Margaret was fascinated. She was happy the conversation had moved away from how she should be feeling.

"No. The difference is, he's an adult who can take care of himself, so I can. Your baby is not. Now, Frederick?"

"People will rescue me from being slighted if I sit out. I need a partner and I want one of my own choosing. Frederick?"

"Well, all right," he relented. "If she says OK. But no more than one dance and we don't stay late, because I never stay late. Do you say OK?"

"If you must." Anna Margaret could understand Isabelle's point of view. If she said people were going to ask her to dance, it was probably like that. She would not enjoy being asked by undesirable older men herself either. And she could handle one night without Frederick - though she was not sure he could handle a night out. "Will you -" She stopped. It would make her sound jealous.

"Will you make sure he does not have to...do anything he does not like to do?" She cringed.

"He may not like to dance with other people either, so I wish you would not lend him out." Anna Margaret disliked her blush and her feeling of vulnerability. "What if people feel sorry for him for having to dance with his sister?"

"Isabelle is imagining a queue of dirty old men wanting to dance with her," Frederick said, nonchalantly studying a button on his shirt, "and you are imagining a queue of dirty young women wanting to dance with me."

Anna Margaret nearly stamped her foot in annoyance and went downstairs. She was not jealous.

She went home with Isabelle, who had to prepare for the wedding party and who, Anna Margaret supposed, would want to check how her husband was doing.

"Thank you for letting Frederick come with me," said Isabelle. "I don't mind talking to all and sundry, but I prefer not to dance with all and sundry. That's really too intimate."

Anna Margaret did not know whether she and Frederick had really had a choice, given that Isabelle had been fairly insistent. "It may look that way, but I don't really decide if he goes with you. He does."

"Because he would not like it, not because I would not like it," she corrected. "And I told him so. He knows that. And I know he can't stand up to you, so I have to let you know what he may not like."

"On the contrary. I'm quite pleased you look out for Frederick and even more pleased he still doesn't seem to mind. You'd have a problem if he did. But so far I think that kiss wasn't meant to shut you up; it was probably a genuine thanks of sort."

"You should look the other way." She looked the other way herself and pursed her lips.

"Not if you have your private moment in the hall right in front of me. I still have to get a measure of your relationship. And if you want him to stay away from vacuous blondes, I need to know how prone he is himself to avoiding them."

Anna Margaret wanted to talk about something else. "Would your husband not mind your going to a wedding if he's injured?"

"He's not alone. There are probably at least three children at home. And the people I'm going to wouldn't consider it a very strong argument if I said I had to stay home to take care of my husband. We have servants, they would say."

"Are you sure they are good friends, in that case?" It did not sound so very nice to her to insist that someone come to their party if she was more needed at home.

"Well..." Isabelle pondered it, but did not say which conclusion she had reached. "Well, anyway. Do get yourself checked out. You don't want to be surprised by a miscarriage. I'm sorry to bring them up, but I've had too many and in a public function you really don't want them to surprise you. Thankfully at forty-seven one is quite safe."

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said meekly. She had not given miscarriages any thought. She did not even know how they happened. "But I refuse to go to a private clinic. It would leak out in no time."

"They do not only have a maternity department." Isabelle spoke as if this was common knowledge. "It's a private hospital with many departments."

"Oh, he told you that? And he had therapy there too. But the fact that you didn't know means they're very, very discreet."

"I'm inclined to think it means I don't read the tabloids," Anna Margaret muttered. "What did he have therapy for?"

Family-induced, no doubt, but she did not say that. Instead she simply looked sad. Poor Frederick.

"Frederick will be dining at the wedding," Isabelle said when she parked at the Palace. "Are you all right on your own?"

"Yes, thanks." There was undoubtedly something in the refrigerator that she could cook up.

She went into Frederick's apartment and wished she could run a bath, but unfortunately he only had a shower. She would have to settle for checking her email from the bed. Next week Parliament started up again and she would spend full days at the office. This week she could still take advantage of an excess of free time. It was too much sometimes. She was sure that next week, when she had no time for it, she would not feel any need to lie down.

Chapter Three

Everyone had been notified that Frederick was away tonight, because the first offers to entertain her were not long in coming. There was bridge with Aunt Agnes, tennis with Frederick's mother and a trip to the cinema with two of Isabelle's children. She could not possibly fit that all in.

"Are they concerned about me?" She did not know if her condition - which was not known to all of them anyway - made her more fragile in their eyes, if they liked her or if they simply felt it to be their duty to entertain her.

"Making use of you, is more likely. Which film? Mind you, it might not be the one they actually want to see when they get there."

"They can only go out with a chaperone and only see something appropriate. So if they want to go with you..." He shrugged. "I'm hearing a lot of alarm bells going off. Either that or they think you will allow them junkfood, which we never do."

"I allowed them to eat in the cinema once," Frederick said to save his reputation.

"Wow, darling. I think I have just decided how I'm going to spend my lonely evening." She might not eat any herself, but if the girls wanted to she would allow them. And she had not been to the cinema in years, so it might be fun.

He looked pretty gorgeous in his suit regardless, she decided, so it must not be uncomfortable to wear. He probably had more problems with how he was supposed to behave while he was wearing it. "Take your phone in case it's boring, or is that bad manners?"

"How was it?" Anna Margaret asked when he came home. She had beaten him there by about half an hour and she was already in bed.

"I've never liked those things much and I wondered if it was any different once I was taken, so to speak," Frederick said, undressing. "But instead everyone wanted to talk to me about it."

"You." He threw his suit on the floor, but picked it up when he was done. Either he had made an effort since France, or he had been provoking her on purpose then. She had noticed this, but never commented on it. "I'll brush my teeth first. Will tell you about it in a minute."

She might be asleep then. Or rather, she wanted to be, but she also wanted to hear why everyone had wanted to talk about her.

Three minutes later he reappeared. "Well," he said, getting into bed. "I've had some inquiries. Either people had seen us on television or they heard about it in some way, and some old ladies were saying how nice and everything. Those were the good things."

"I don't know if they were bad exactly, but I wouldn't call them good exactly either."

Anna Margaret kicked him and wished he would get to the point. "Did anyone dance with you?"

"The only vacuous blonde I danced with was Isabelle, but she was not amused when I mentioned that. They can't just dance with me. Gentlemen have to ask ladies. I don't ask them."

"Are we still a couple, some wondered, because they never saw us together. I said I don't live to be seen."

They had not very consciously avoided being seen together, but Anna Margaret at least had not suggested any outings where they might be. Never mind that this was her time off, people might criticise her for spending time with her boyfriend and not personally putting an end to people drowning in the Mediterranean. She had seen similar things happen to others. "And then what?"

"Are we getting married? Some people seem to want to be invited. Apparently it could be the highlight of a guest's existence."

"Would it be like the inauguration?" She imagined something on that scale. Again, she imagined the criticism it would draw. It would be too frivolous for a prime minister and cost too much money. No matter who paid for it.

"No, it would not, if I had any say in the matter. I will not be driven across town in a carriage waving at people. Why would I be so enormously happy because of some legal formality? I don't expect you to leave me if we don't marry."

Anna Margaret tried to chuckle. "No, I won't. But they wouldn't expect you to do it big, would they? You're no longer the king."

"Yes, who would care? But apparently people do. Some people just want to be seen. Upstarts."

"Hmm." She felt quite keenly that her family were upstarts too. They would want to attend and be seen. "Yes."

"As far as anyone knows, you're never going to do it at all," she said slowly. "Even I don't know. But let's first see what changes Isabelle may push for before you decide anything. It's in her best interest too to keep you on board. You still share some of the work. The changes might remove some of the obstacles that your ancestors considered necessary to prevent the monarchy from falling prey to undesirable influences."

"Oh, I could," she said readily. "But I do like to know exactly what I'd be getting into and at the moment I don't. But ideally we'd simply agree."

"Speaking of a child, your sister says I should see a doctor." She wondered what he was going to say. Would he urge her to go? Or would he leave it up to her?

"I was putting it off because I can no longer ignore it once I've gone." She paused for a moment. "And I might be seen. I can't go to a private hospital. I'm the prime minister. It would look as if I didn't trust public hospitals."

Frederick had never looked at it that way. "OK. I don't even know which hospitals are private."

"No. Should I? I just go wherever they tell me to go. Well, whatever. Tell me if I need to come and when. I don't know how those things work."

"I'll ask Danielle or Lea where to go." She wished she could do just like ordinary people and simply visit the nearest place, without reckoning with what other people thought of it. She assumed, at least, that ordinary people simply chose the nearest place.

"Good. How was the film?" He had taken his phone to the wedding, but he had not actually used it to send any messages.

"Amusing enough. We had Pringles. Think Isabelle will let me go with them again?"

"Yes, today was a must-see in order to take part in conversations at school, but they noticed there was this other film and...next week they're back in school and there's no more time for it. I won't have time for it anymore either. Things are starting up again. Tomorrow we have to interview interns at the office and I have a TV programme I need to go to. Next week will be even busier."

She sighed. "Yes, I suppose. I'm sorry. I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed by the job and you and the pregnancy and the way people may connect the three in a negative way."

In the morning they went for a swim and they had breakfast, after which Frederick left for Isabelle's offices to discuss his schedule and Anna Margaret went to her own office to do some work. She did not personally have to interview any interns, but she wanted to catch a glimpse of who were going to be let into the building. And she needed to find either Danielle or Patrick, who would hopefully be back at work. First, however, there were phone calls to make.

That took her far too long. By the time she was done, she could see the latest candidate leaving. Then there was no point in asking which of the three was likely to be chosen. She picked up a cup of coffee and walked to the Ministry of Agriculture, which was closer than Transport and Infrastructure. Next week there would be dozens of people walking to and fro; today it was quiet.

Patrick was in. "Hey, neighbour," he said. "I'm meeting a delegation in five minutes."

"We haven't moved in yet. There's still some work that needs to be done. How's your new neighbour?"

"Moved in two weeks ago, but we're looking at houses with gardens now, for the baby."

"The latter..." Anna Margaret tried to keep her face inscrutable, as if everything would not be clear from what she was going to say. "Where does Lea get her check-ups?"

"Oh, well, there's a practice down our street, towards the higher numbers. Never noticed?"

"I can't compare, I've only been once. You don't have to go until you're about seven weeks along, by the way."

"I think I've managed that," she said cautiously. Her brain mysteriously malfunctioned every time she thought about calculating it, but she was sure she was past that. This was late August, after all.

She walked back thoughtfully. The practice was not a long walk away. She could try to walk over during her lunchbreak. It was likely that she would have to register first anyway and that she would not be examined the first time. It would not be necessary to have Frederick there today, she supposed.

It was practically time for lunch when she returned to her office, but there were some emails to read first. After that she hurried to the restaurant to buy a sandwich. She had not often been there recently, especially not when it was quiet and there was time for a chat. The woman who had been sitting at the till for the last forty years had not had any opportunity to ask her any private questions, but she could do so now.

Anna Margaret was rehearsing what to say when she got to the midwife practice, even though she would probably end up saying something completely different. "Suitor?" The question surprised her and so did the phrasing. Suitor sounded so old-fashioned and passive, as if she was not at all involved in the process.

Rosa tapped the code for the sandwich. "Bring him in sometime so I can see if he's your type. I know all the men here thought they were, but they weren't."

"No, some got over it, so it wouldn't be fair," Rosa said dismissively. "Trying to impress you in the queue, but you never looked impressed."

"I can't remember that, no." Anna Margaret was still surprised. "I thought you only looked at what we ate." And what they said, of course. Rosa talked to everyone who passed her, but that was different from seeing what went on with people who did not talk.

"He took off his shirt." That was not even completely untrue, but enough to stun Rosa. She winked and carried her sandwich out.

Maybe she should not have said that, she reflected as she walked to the street where she had been living. She went out the side door.

Chapter Four

She had never noticed the midwife practice here. When she had gone to work she had walked the other way and the shops were a left turn before this stretch of road. The only time she could remember going this way was when she had walked to George's party, but she had been rather focused on Frederick and under an umbrella besides. Signs on windows and doors had not been interesting at all.

She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder as she found the right number and went inside. Right in front of her a girl with a toddler had just entered. She simply followed, without checking if anyone was watching her. The girl went to a desk and said hello, but then she continued on to a waiting room where two more small children were playing so loudly that no one there would be able to overhear what Anna Margaret said. That was good.

"Hi," she said to the woman behind the desk. "I'm pregnant. I'd like to know how it works here." It sounded stupid. She disliked sounding stupid. Perhaps they had a website, but she had not had any time to look it up.

Apparently there were lots of women who did not know how it worked, because the woman found this completely normal, because she greeted her without surprise or judgement and simply proceeded to the questions. "Do you live in the city centre?" She pointed at a map on which a part of the city had been coloured in.

"I'm not sure. Between two and three months?" It was probably very close to three. And that probably meant she should have come sooner. Most people, she assumed, were delighted and got themselves looked at right away.

"Please fill this in," said the woman, pushing a form towards her. "I've had a cancellation. If it's that late we should probably see if you can be seen right away, if that is no problem for you. In ten minutes."

"Oh." This was a little frightening. She finished filling out the form with address and insurance data for the administration. That, at least, was factual and simple. She had been using the address of the new house ever since they had bought it, not having wanted to use the Palace address.

When she was done, another woman had appeared from the office behind the reception. "Iris will see you, she said," said the woman. "Please wait."

Anna Margaret did not look forward to going into the waiting room where she might be stared at, so she feigned business on her phone.

The same woman who had first helped her and who she assumed was Iris beckoned her in without using her name a little over ten minutes later. Anna Margaret was grateful for the discretion. She was sure Iris had either recognised her or read her name upside down.

"Er, no," she said, a little embarrassed. "But it was simply not convenient to do something about it."

Again, apparently, they had seen this all before here. Iris simply took another sheet without questioning or lecturing her. "I've got another form here. This is about your health. You have to bring this to every appointment and whoever is seeing you will mark your progress on it. You won't be seeing the same person every appointment. We work in shifts, because we also work nights."

She had to answer questions about illnesses and habits, but apart from the fact that they were slightly mad, she did not know if Frederick's family had any illnesses. It seemed that when it came to habits she was completely fine.

"I think we should do a scan," said Iris. "We have a machine, not for the medical scans but for seeing how far along you are - and if there's a beating heart. The medical scan takes place around twenty weeks. Would you like to do it now or would you like to come back next Monday with the father?"

"I may not have time. I'll do it now," she decided. Frederick might want to see it, but she might look silly if she needed him there. She had no idea what the usual practice was. And if she did not do it now, she would be thinking about it all weekend.

Going back to work after the midwife visit was a bit of a problem. She hoped to have got rid of most of her distractedness by the time she reached her office, but she still blinked as she sat down, as if she had no idea what to do.

"Don't you always," she said wearily. He was really the last person she wanted to see right now. She was not sharp enough.

"One of the green groups is planning to raise a stink about his upsetting the ecosystem in the Royal Domains."

It took her a few moments to understand those words, but then she pulled herself together. She had to look calm and knowledgeable. This baby thing did not affect her ability to work. The Royal Domains. Right. She thought they fell under someone else. Ecosystems certainly did. Behaviour of royals did not. "And how would he be upsetting the ecosystem?"

"It's a dysphemism for which activity precisely?" She tried to remember what the deal was with the Royal Domains. It was not quite private royal property, she thought, but the family derived some income from it and in the old days they were allowed to hunt there.

"Clearly he doesn't use the same terms in describing his activities," she said with a tight smile. "So I have no idea what you mean by upsetting the ecosystem." And she had no idea how Frederick could be doing it. Hunting did not seem to be his thing, yet she did not see what else could be done there. Chopping trees? Riding horses?

"Oh, that." She was relieved to have heard at least a little bit about it. He had once mentioned a lake and finally being done with all the permits. "Research and permits were all taken care of a few years ago. Permits?" she asked with a significant nod.

"This green group says his activities are seriously affecting the habitat of the grass snake."

"Human building activities always seriously affect the habitat of some animal or other. Permits were issued after extensive research -" Or rather, she hoped it had been extensive. "-- and I'm sure the fate of the snake was given ample consideration. Are you seriously bothering me about a snake?"

"Yes, well..." The Pitbull was not impressed. "I'm on a green committee, you know."

"I'm sure you're on several committees." She told herself it was good for someone to be involved. At least he was doing something for his money.

"What we'd like to act against is people in some position of power, or with money, abusing that power or money to get away with things. Also, I'm sure someone would have something to say about unauthorised alterations to the land use in a part of the Royal Domains."

"Permits were issued." She rested her elbows on the desk. He ought to know that these things sometimes took years. "You know that I might still have been working in Brussels when this happened. Why don't you go to whoever was responsible at the time?"

"Then I suggest you go to Frederick himself. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you anything you need to know."

"I didn't get the impression he enjoyed helping you out in that manner the previous time."

"Well, honestly. If you have questions only he could answer, don't ask them of me. That ought to be self-evident. I thought you would have learned this last time. I don't really appreciate people who are wasting my time for no reason at all."

The Pitbull looked innocent. "I'm not sure that's what I'm doing. I'm helping you. He doesn't need another scandal on top of the rest."

She decided not to question him. "Anyway, I can't help you. I was not involved. If you want a quick and detailed answer, you should approach someone who was involved."

"Let them. I don't doubt they'll look foolish. I mean, a snake? And did they have permission to study snakes in the Domains in the first place?"

In the afternoon a car came to pick her up to take her to the television studios. She had been there before, of course. It was nothing exciting. They did not generally ask more difficult questions than MPs. On the way she tried to memorise next week's schedule. Her secretary had printed it out. When the car stopped, she folded it and slid the scan inside it. There might not be anybody searching her bag while she was being interviewed, but one never knew.

A scan was tabloid gold, especially with her name on it. Imagine someone finding it. It would be in tomorrow's tabloid edition for certain. While at least the timing on it corresponded to what they had said about the length of their relationship, there was always something someone could say about that. Isabelle had had a point. They had moved rather fast.

Of course people who could not imagine that, would imagine they had been in a secret relationship for longer, but that they had chosen to pretend it had started after this event. She would think the same if it concerned someone else, as she had never been in the habit of moving so incredibly quickly.

When she was finished at the studios she was rather hungry. As she stood waiting for the car, she contemplated pulling a chocolate bar from the machine. It was far from being good food, but it was better than nothing. At long last she decided to check if she had enough small change.

"That was brilliant," said one of the hosts of the talk show that she had just been on.

She turned. He could not be referring to her managing to extract a chocolate bar from the machine. Maybe he was not even talking to her. Still, there was no one else near enough except the hostess, who had not been doing anything brilliant, as far as she knew. "What was?"

"You could call that off, right? We could go for a drink to evaluate our performance."

Anna Margaret took a bite from her chocolate bar and pondered this surprising offer. "No, sorry. People are waiting for me." There was Frederick, who would probably want to have dinner with her, and then the girls, who wanted to go to the cinema again.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," she said with a smile as she spotted her driver.

"Are you in a relationship?" he asked, but he did not seem to view it as a problem.

As she leant back in the car she shook her head at the offer. The man had been well in his fifties. She did not care how many women liked him, but he was far too old - and she was taken besides. She did wonder if it was standard procedure to try and take the female guests out. It could not be, since he had not tried it with her before, but why he had tried it now was a mystery to her.

The girls were waiting for her already when she arrived at Frederick's flat. They were watching him cook. She remembered the scan in her bag, but she could not show it to him right now. He set the table for two - apparently the girls had already eaten.

"I don't know if you know him, the blonde one? He said it was brilliant, but I suppose that was just an overture to asking me out for a drink."

"He may do that to all his guests. But it was still odd. I can't remember him doing it before."

She ate quickly and then hugged Frederick. "I saw the midwife this morning," she whispered. The girls did not know she was pregnant. Isabelle might not appreciate her breaking the news to them already. She would first confer.

"Yes, I got your message." She had sent one, but he had not been able to come over at such short notice.

Chapter Five

Although it was probably one of the safest places in town and she had done the same thing yesterday, crossing the Palace courtyard in the darkness still gave her the creeps. There were only a few decorative lights and what she first mistook for a crouching figure was in fact a potted plant. More lights came on as she approached Frederick's door, yet she still fumbled with her key to get inside as quickly as possible. She decided it was the fact that she did not know who were looking. She had never had this in the dark in her own street, but here there were eyes everywhere.

"Yes, moved a fair bit. Not that I feel that yet." It had been unsettling to see it move, but she really did not notice it was there. She could not feel it move at all.

"I suppose." Seeing it had made a difference. She did not know how that had worked. She wondered how it worked for him. He had only the scan and not the moving images, and frankly, the thing on the scan merely looked like a blob with a head. "Though not completely. And you?"

He pulled her into the bed. "I thought it might be real. Is it all right? And there's only one?"

"Please! It would kill me if there were two." There were three things she had been fearing right before the scan. One was reacting in front of a stranger, regardless of the outcome. She had thought she might appear too cool and in retrospect she thought that maybe she had.

However, she might also have appeared too cool if there had no longer been a beating heart, yet not at all cool if there had been twins. She feared she might have had reactions completely opposite to everyone else's.

"Could they see what it was?" asked Frederick. "I googled and it's not usually possible, apparently."

"It kept its ankles crossed, but even without that it would have been a little too early to tell. Would you want to know?"

"I have no preference, but it might be practical to know in advance. Unless you'd like to be surprised?"

"No, I think I'll need to know. Now I can't imagine anything definitive. Next year, what will we do and with whom?" She had tried to think ahead, but she had drawn a blank. It might be easier if she could imagine a boy or a girl.

Frederick pulled her on top of himself. "I took the liberty of filling out the parts of the form you left empty. I suppose you took it home because you needed to fill it in."

"But do you want to come to one of the appointments? The next one is only next month. I have to get a blood test next week, but that isn't very exciting. You can come if you want, but I'm afraid it will be boring - I'm not afraid of giving blood. If everything is fine they don't have to see me all that often. Which is good; it can't leak out that way."

"I wish it would, but I'm afraid it will hurt a lot more. Do you want to come to the next regular appointment?" She noticed he had not given her an answer.

"Who cares if it is or isn't?" She had not seen any men there today, but that did not mean they never accompanied their partners. "If you want to."

"Wouldn't you be noticed much sooner if you took me? I think more people would recognise you than they would recognise me, but still."

"Maybe. But maybe I could arrange something when there's no one else there. The next scan, which might be interesting, will be in two months. There's plenty of time. By that time I might be showing," she realised. "Although I hope not, because I'd grow like mad in only two months. But if I do people might already know."

"Of course. But I thought I might be superfluous at an appointment. I'm probably more useful doing something else than watching someone check your blood pressure."

"This morning. She came to ask whether you were going to get yourself examined."

"I told her what you told me. She seemed to think I should have dragged you off to the nearest hospital. But why? If you have no complaints why do they have to look at you?"

She had been just as ignorant until that morning, so she could not really blame him. And she did not know if she did not still feel that way.

"I have to take the guy you call the Pitbull to the rowing lake," Frederick announced on Saturday morning after they had been running. He had done a few more rounds than Anna Margaret and she had been waiting for him on a bench. While she did not mind exercising, she did not want to overdo it.

She could have gone inside already, but she had preferred to wait. The advantage of running inside the gates was that she could see him pass a lot. "Oh, I forgot he came by yesterday. So he contacted you then?"

"Thanks darling, that's much appreciated. He does have a knack for asking me about things I know nothing about and then pretending it's my responsibility somehow." She felt a little guilty for sending him to Frederick, although he did not seem annoyed.

"I told him you had all the permits. I hope you do?" He did not strike her as someone who would have abused his position, but someone might have done him a favour and in such a case he would not know it was illegal.

She was glad she had estimated correctly that it had taken years. "It's in the Royal Domains?"

"No, of course not. It has always been a useless swamp, no ruler ever wanted to add it to his lands. It's just outside, but what do eco nuts know?"

"Right. I suppose the grass snake doesn't know where the royal land ends either."

"I didn't think you were. It would take too long." So he had bought the land, which might not have cost much, but employing people there would. She could not begin to imagine how much, but he supposedly had plenty.

"Yes." She felt guilty for not having displayed more interest before. The least she could do was go with him. "Maybe I should have asked something sooner."

"I thought you'd wait until it was done. Because it's more interesting when it's done."

Frederick smiled. "Now that you mention it. Except that you may still not be interested in a rowing lake once it's done, whereas a baby is mine as well. But I could have told you more. Only I was afraid you might think it a bit odd."

The Royal Domains, in which Anna Margaret had never had much interest, turned out to be stretches of unremarkable forest. Some parts seemed well-maintained, but other parts were full of fallen trees. Frederick said there was a particular philosophy behind that, however. Anna Margaret thought that if he had some knowledge of these things, he was likely to have been told if the grass snake was in grave danger.

They reached the digging site via a private road. "The other road," he said, "is being used by the construction workers. We'll park right on the edge of the land."

When she got out Anna Margaret could indeed see a sign next to the road they had just came over. Private Property, and then some small letters underneath. "Is it forbidden to drive there?"

"Maybe. Don't know if it's necessary. I could close it off completely if I wanted." They walked a short distance across grassland with heaps of sand. "There."

Anna Margaret could see a canal that stretched on for hundreds of metres. At the far end she could make out a few machines. She could not even see if they were in the water or not. "That's pretty big. I had no idea." She had been imagining a small, roundish lake, but now that she was here, she did not know why. She had seen rowing on television once or twice.

To the left and right of the canal she could only see piles of sand, grass and low hills, and on one side a few cabins for the construction workers. There seemed to be plenty of grass left for the grass snake.

A man descended from one of the piles of sand and came towards them. "Impressive, Your Highness. Why exactly did you want it?"

"Nobody would care if I bought twenty of those. They would think that's what we do. Spend our money on useless cars. But if we spend our money on something that might actually have some use, they are surprised."

"I admit I'm surprised, but not for that reason. And it's not why I was interested. The Wildlife Foundation is concerned about a snake."

"I'm guessing you consulted everyone except this hobby club?" asked Anna Margaret with raised eyebrows. "And they're now pissed off? Oh, crap. I was going to stay out of this. That's why I didn't ask you anything about it. I'll just...sit on that hill, all right?"

She sat down on a bit of grass. She let the two men walk away as Frederick explained the technicalities of how to get and keep water in the lake. She had best not interfere with more comments and she knew she might not be able to stop herself. The view was nice. She was a little higher here and she could look out over the water. When it was all done it would be nice in the summer.

Frederick might not have to go all the way to Germany to go rowing then. That would be a plus, especially if there was a baby to look after. She did not suppose he would give up rowing altogether and she would certainly not ask it of him. They would find a way to fit it all in. Isabelle came to mind. Even she had offered to babysit. Anna Margaret wondered if she had indeed meant she would do that personally or if she had a lady-in-waiting or retired nanny for the purpose.

"So, Pit. What's your game?" she asked when the Pitbull came over to where she was sitting and Frederick went back to the car. He had not said he was leaving, so she assumed he was going to fetch something. Probably some of that paperwork.

"Game? Just doing my job on behalf of concerned citizens. What are you doing here, Prime Minister? Just doing your job as well?"

"No, just here to look. Are you going to insist on seeing every frigging permit?" She did not doubt he could be annoying like that. It made her a little vehement.

"I'll just have a look at his paperwork, but from the sound of it he researched this well. He seems a well-informed bloke."

"Yes, why not?" she asked. Was it so strange that he could be a well-informed bloke?

"Safe, though." Except for the grass snake, she thought with a guffaw. Although even that was up for debate. She did not know anything about the snake, but if it could swim it would have plenty of room.

Frederick returned with a few binders. He handed them to the Pitbull and sat down beside Anna Margaret. The Pitbull sat on his other side and began to leaf through the papers.

"Impressive," the Pitbull said after a few minutes. "Is this colour-coded, Your Highness?"

"I was not acquainted with that particular contact at the time," Frederick replied stoically.

"Do they even exist?" Anna Margaret wondered. "They seem too stupid to exist, with all this uproar about a common snake. Do they also protest against the fate of the earthworm whenever someone builds something?" Frederick placed his hand on her leg, but she did not know if he meant anything significant. It did not feel as if he wanted her to shut up.

"I'll advise them against any uproar," said the Pitbull. "They won't come out looking good."

"Now that's sensible," Anna Margaret said approvingly. "Where on earth did they get this idea anyway?"

"I don't know. The snake wasn't an issue for me," he said. "It was the possible abuse of your position."

"I didn't get any favours, only opposition because of who I was," Frederick said drily.

"Your father," Anna Margaret began. Whenever the man was mentioned, she felt angry because he never seemed to have supported his son. "No, I'd better not."

Chapter Six

"What about my father?" Frederick inquired when they were back by the car. He paused before opening the door.

"One, he wasn't omnipotent. Two, I was rowing for Germany because we didn't have a federation and he thought that was a disgrace. I might have used that second point in my favour," Frederick said with an innocent look. "But he certainly didn't help me. Philip did, though. Not that my father knew."

"That's nice of him. Did Isabelle know?" She had met Philip, of course, but he had been quiet and unnoticeable. He had certainly not given her the impression that he would do something without his wife's approval or knowledge.

He stood in front of her, the way he had done in France. "He'd roll over in his grave."

She placed her hands on his back, so this time he could kiss her if he wanted. "Why?"

"Women in leading positions, he would say, were not real women. They were competent and everything, but no man would want to marry them."

"He started out like 'let me tell you how this goes, young lady, because you cannot possibly know, and let me get a good look at your legs while I'm at it', but maybe you didn't want to know that last bit. I suppose it's a compliment that I improved to competent and unmarriageable?"

"Yes. Honestly. I can give people very discouraging stares." Assuming she noticed the interest, that was, which apparently she did not always do. But then, if she did not notice, it was fairly innocent and no stares were required.

"Well, you had a completely different attitude coming to those meetings, didn't you? So there was no need. You were always looking like 'can I get out of here?' and not like 'I wonder what she's wearing underneath'."

"No, actually you stripped before I could even wonder, but I may have had thoughts of a similar nature later, not exactly the same ones." He smiled.

She pulled him closer for a kiss. Never mind the bodyguards and the Pitbull, who were probably all watching. Luckily Frederick's attitude had changed since their first meeting; he was definitely not keen to get out of here now. "I stripped before you could even wonder! That really makes me sound..."

"I know. But I'd never tell anyone. And the people who are looking won't have to be told."

She giggled, but she did not pull away. She did not pull Frederick onto the backseat either - that would go a little too far. She kissed him again.

"What does your father actually think? About your getting into a relationship?" he asked.

"He hasn't said. He was a bit blinded by your status, but he may have begun to worry about my job by now. He thinks I'm his extension." And this relationship might jeopardise her career. It seemed to go well now, but something might always come up.

"I thought I had some say in what happened in my life, more than you, in any case. But..." She was no longer sure when she thought of it.

"I was definitely steered. If my term ended prematurely due to anything I did myself he would be extremely disappointed."

"I know. But our fathers, they were quite similar in some ways. We were living their dreams." Anna Margaret wondered if instead of being ahead of him in this matter, she was in fact behind. "It might have looked like support in my case, but I'm not sure he would have supported anything else. And that is definitely not on..."

"That's one of the reasons why I said I might not want any children, I suppose," said Frederick. "Because at least one of them wouldn't have any choice. But now I could handle several."

"Several." She cleared her throat. "Let's just do the one and then see, all right? You do know I'm thirty-seven?"

He smiled. "Yes, I know. By the way, speaking of supportive family members and their expectations, you've not met my grandmother yet."

"My father 'looked ahead', so to speak. Don't ask me. I can't follow it either. He might even have come up with the idea long after my birth. But I didn't know Queen Florence was still actively living."

"Well, attending occasions. If I recall correctly she didn't attend your father's funeral or anything since then. I assumed she was in bad health." She had no idea how old his grandmother was, but she had to be close to a hundred.

"That was a sensitive matter," he nodded. "And not because she was not actively living, but because she felt that by dying at such a young age - compared to her anything would be young - he had brought it on himself. He had drunk too much alcohol and too little milk."

Frederick gave this serious consideration. "I thought it was dementia, but I've never known her as a young person. So some of it might be innate and some age-related."

"Not that important, I suppose. I used to go regularly, but now I've not been for over two months. I should take you there some time. We could go on our way back."

"But she says things. Repeatedly," Anna Margaret said doubtfully. "And I don't even know if you have a positive or a negative opinion of her."

Anna Margaret had agreed they would stop by his grandmother's retirement home and have lunch with her. Apparently the old lady was not otherwise engaged.

The villa was on the edge of a village. The gate was open. It would look unfriendly if it was not, said Frederick. He had to park in the street; evidently Saturday was a popular day for visits. He took Anna Margaret to the front door. Inside the place looked like a hotel, with a reception desk and comfortable chairs in the lobby.

He told the woman behind the reception desk that he had come to see his grandmother and she said she would call the hostess.

"Yes, you don't think they'd allow visitors to wander around on their own, do you?" he whispered back. "Some of the old ladies have valuable jewellery in their rooms. So if your relative is in her room, the hostess takes you there. Not that they say that is why."

A woman in a neat skirt and blouse with a nametag arrived shortly. She greeted them most respectfully and said that Her Royal Highness was still in her room.

"I thought maybe we could have lunch," Frederick said to her as they followed her through a glass door that was opened by a card. "Although she may disagree."

The woman gave a little smile, as if she was well-acquainted with Queen Florence's peculiarities, but not allowed to comment on them. "She will be pleased to see you, Your Royal Highness."

The room they were shown into was more like an apartment. Several doors led off the sitting room. At an oak table an elderly woman sat playing patience. She looked up with some annoyance when they entered. "Lisa!" she exclaimed. "I have not yet finished my game! You are too early."

"Visitors?" Queen Florence peered at them. "Is that you, Freddie? Freddie!" She pushed her chair back with surprising force for someone on the wrong side of ninety.

"If you have relations with her, she's your mistress." Queen Florence moved closer with a cane, with which she moved tolerably well. She peered at Anna Margaret, giving her a slow glance from head to toe. "And why do you bring her here?"

Anna Margaret did not flinch. Frederick was evidently used to this kind of behaviour and Lisa the hostess merely looked embarrassed for her sake, not because she was shocked. For her part, she was wondering if it was acceptable to talk back to an old woman who might not be all there.

If she was not mistaken Queen Florence had once been nothing but a commoner, or perhaps the daughter of a local baron. She had not, at any rate, been a German princess like Frederick's mother. Then again, if she had married young she would have been a royal for most of her life and it might have gone to her head.

Apparently his grandmother always wanted to be taken to the same lunchroom. It took her an age to get ready and put her jewellery on. In the meantime Frederick and Anna Margaret waited in the lobby. "You drive," he had said.

"You drive?" cried Queen Florence ten minutes later. "In my days we had chauffeurs."

Anna Margaret still had not said much. There might not be any point. Besides, she was taking her cues from Frederick, who was behaving as if this was completely normal. She parked outside the lunchroom and Frederick helped his grandmother out of the car.

They definitely knew her here, because they were greeted by at least half the staff and shown to a table right in the middle of the establishment marked 'reserved'.

"I always have wine with my lunch," said Queen Florence. "Today I shall have red wine. You, Frederick?"

When the waiter had taken their orders, Frederick's grandmother turned to Frederick. "Scandalous, scandalous. You gave up the throne after less than a year and immediately bring your mistress out in public. Your grandfather would be shocked."

Most people at the surrounding tables had heard. Some were trying not to stare and Anna Margaret was trying not to look back at them. She could only hope all of them were as regularly here as Queen Florence herself and that none of this was at all surprising.

"Your hairdresser, Grandma?" He would almost laugh. "You get your information from a hairdresser?"

Anna Margaret was fairly sure that one also did not speak to others about their mistresses in public. The question was which offence was worse. She had been silent until now, trying to assess the situation. She still had no idea what to make of Queen Florence.

Queen Florence looked confused. "This is not your mistress? This is not the Prime Minister?"

Everyone at other tables now had any doubts removed, Anna Margaret reflected. The old lady was far from having a modest and quiet voice. She wondered in which paper or tabloid this little story would end up and when.

"She's the Prime Minister all right, but she's not my mistress," said Frederick.

"If you're not married, she's your mistress. I missed the engagement notice. You're not engaged, you're not married, she's your mistress," his grandmother insisted.

"Well, you'll have something to tell your hairdresser then, won't you?" Frederick said airily.

Chapter Seven

"Well, that was interesting," said Anna Margaret after they had taken Queen Florence back to her suite. She did not know how else to describe it. Frederick had been right when he had said she said things repeatedly.

"There wouldn't have been any point in contradicting her. You're my mistress. That's how she sees it."

"So I gathered." She paused. "I do wonder when the whole story will be publicised. Most of the lunchroom was listening in." It had fortunately not occurred to Frederick's grandmother to ask whether they were having children at some point. Mistresses probably did not have children. That, at least, was a good thing.

But if they did, they had bastards. That would have won them the sympathy of everyone listening. Although a tabloid would immediately claim there were huge conflicts in the family.

"No, usually it's about hairstyles or clothes. But I don't think they heard anything they didn't already know. They might even have felt sorry for us. And they might have heard me say you were not my mistress."

"It was ironic that your bringing your mistress was apparently a greater faux pas than her talking about it."

"Certainly if you're horrified you don't inform the whole lunchroom," Frederick agreed. "But there would have been no point in pointing that out. We have all tried, on other occasions."

"Did your parents ever mention her? My grandparents might have met them socially once or twice. I don't know if they ever invited politicians, but if my grandfather met with your father every week, they might have."

"Or maybe that was quite enough. Your father didn't invite me and neither did you." They had on occasion attended the same events, but that was all. Of course it might have happened after a longer acquaintance, but she had not known Frederick's father for long enough.

Anna Margaret raised her eyebrows. "The same age and situation in life, you mean? Nearly pensioned? So how come the king who was my age and equally unmarried never invited me?"

"Good point. I should have! But you know I didn't organise any dinners myself. The women in the family do that and my mother thinks getting invited is social enough, so that leaves only Isabelle and my aunt and they had women who were higher on their list if they needed one to make up the numbers."

"Wasn't that all too obvious? If the women invited to make up the numbers were all younger than you, I mean."

"No. It's not as if I was forced to do anything with them privately. They were guests at the dinner table. They did not bother me, although my sister's having a list did sometimes." Frederick paused. "Though not always. I made a guest list generator for her once. I don't know if she ever used it. You could enter names and attach qualities to them, so you could ask for particular qualities among your guests."

"Well, it might have been if all the qualities I entered had been complimentary. You could, for example, ask the generator for six boring men and six boring women."

"Er. Oh. And how," asked Anna Margaret carefully, "did you label the women who were on your sister's list?"

When they got home, Anna Margaret chose the couch and Frederick the ergometer. She had some things to read, but she closed her eyes first.

When she opened them again, it was suddenly much later. Frederick was already back. He was doing something on his laptop. "Your phone rang," he said, "but it didn't wake you up. I answered it."

"Oh. Was it important?" She supposed it was not, or he would have woken her up immediately. Or would he? But he did not strike her as someone who had become overly protective of her now that she was carrying his child. He even took her running. So it followed he would disturb her naps if something important occurred.

"What could he want? He didn't really say. Just that he wanted to speak to you."

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Could be anything. We're doing things that the Russians don't really like." But she did not immediately see what she had to do with that personally. During the holidays she had been mostly busy on the European front. Nationally, there was no Russian connection anywhere.

"So he phones someone young, female and in a very small country and thus supposedly flattered by this attention."

"That would be my guess, since I've never had anything to do with him before." But, contrary to what she supposed Oleg was thinking, she was not actually flattered.

"I didn't commit to anything. I don't usually take such invitations as more than politeness."

"I said you'd call back. I mean, I said I'd ask you to call back, without guaranteeing that you actually would." He closed his laptop and stood up. "I'll fix some dinner."

"Well?" asked Frederick when she came into the kitchen. "Was he looking for an ally?"

"Oh, definitely. I told him I couldn't be flattered into it." She sat down. That was the summary, of course. It had taken a bit longer than that to explain it politely.

"Two allies look better than one," he agreed. "But I'll only go on private visits. Not as the First Boyfriend."

"Complicate the issue, will you?" she scoffed playfully. "But anyway, what with all the work trips I already have I don't think I have a lot of time for private trips. If I have some time off I'd rather stay home."

"I had sort of guessed that," he said in amusement. "Since you haven't ever suggested any trips."

"We were busy!" she protested, thinking of how they had had to empty her flat, sell off some of the furniture and oversee the work in the new house. "We'll also be too busy for a while."

"That's long. Won't they have an uncle or aunt to take them to the cinema before then?" she joked, but she was acutely aware of the fact that this would not work with a baby. "Where would we leave the baby during the day if you have things to do?"

She had no idea if she should leave a baby behind in such a case. Could she? What did other people do? "Were you left at home when you were little?"

"So you wouldn't want me to do it? Or would it be all right if one parent stayed home?" She did not think he meant that only his father had gone. If he was left at home, he would mean his mother had gone too and that he would have been left in the care of a nanny. But his mother might not have gone until he was older.

"Don't worry about that yet. We can't make plans if we don't know what sort of baby we're getting."

"But I need to make plans," she protested. She was not one of those people who liked to be surprised. It was not that she could not handle it, but if she had the opportunity she preferred to plan.

"That'll be easy enough to find out. But before we buy that, we should first get its room done at home. Tomorrow we could see which room would be best and which colours."

She had not really given that much thought yet, only hesitantly. She had walked through the rooms and thought of what they might be for, without giving them any definitive purpose. There was also the fact that she had no idea what would be the most practical room for a baby, something most people did not even have to consider because they had no choice. She had several rooms to choose from.

That was true. She did not yet want to be seen looking at baby things. But there was something else as well. "But then they'd see it in the room if they visited."

"We'll just have to wait with the really baby-specific things then. I don't know what those are anyway."

Monday started early as usual. Anna Margaret skipped the exercising in favour of making an early start at work, where she arrived well before eight. She was pleased to start up again, although a little anxious how she would manage energy-wise. It helped that she had not been away. There was nothing to catch up on and hopefully she could ease back into the daily stuff.

The questions outside - because the journalists had also returned from their holidays - had been a little difficult. What would be her biggest challenge this year? She knew what it was, but she could not say it. There were plenty of other things that could prove challenging and she had mentioned some of those.

Her mother phoned her at the office halfway through the morning. "Listen, Anna. You need to give your mobile number to your sister. She has something to tell you."

While that might be the case, Anna Margaret thought, she was not going to give her mobile number out for that. There were other ways. She could phone her sister, for example. If she was told which sister, naturally. Irene Louise or Claire Sophie? All names that were out for a baby, she reflected inconsequentially. "Which one?"

Her mother made a surprised noise, as if that ought to be more than clear. "Irene, of course."

"And how was I to know it was Irene?" She kept her voice even. "But I'll ring Irene, if that's what she wants." There was, of course, the possibility that Irene had nothing to say and this was her mother's idea of promoting communication. It would be just like her.

It would be a waste of time in that case, but she felt a little guilty because she had not spent any time on them lately. While Frederick had suggested they visit his grandmother, it would never have occurred to her to suggest they visit one of her sisters or even her parents. Not spontaneously. His relatives also had an easier job of inserting themselves in their lives physically, too. The least she could do was listen to her own relatives over the phone.

"No, you should give me your number and I'll pass it on to her," said her mother.

"No." Definitely not. Why the complicated roundabout way anyway? "You could have given her this number." But she suspected her mother had wanted to be in the middle of the chain.

"Yes, I'll call her myself if you didn't think of giving her this number. That's all far easier and quicker."

"But?" From her mother's tone she was guessing the news was not bad. Bad news was generally accompanied by dramatic sighs and meaningful pauses. This, for some reason, was exciting, and her mother wanted to be a part of it, but Irene had likely forbidden her to break the news herself.

Chapter Eight

Anna Margaret rang Irene during her coffee break. Well, she did not have scheduled coffee breaks as such and she did not even have coffee, but she did try to eat or drink something every two hours now and she had to plan those moments or she would forget. Apparently her mother had not passed her office number to Irene in the meantime, because she had not called.

That started out well. Anna Margaret tested her tea. It was still too hot. "That's right. You know I will not give Mum and Dad my mobile phone number - because it's not private, but work, and I'm not going to carry two phones around." She had in fact explained this numerous times before. It was, as far as she was concerned, perfectly logical. It was incomprehensible that they did not understand or remember. "So, did you really have some news or was this a ruse from Mum to get my number?"

"No, I did have news. I'm pregnant." There was a hint of triumph in Irene's voice.

Luckily Anna Margaret had practised what to say, since this was one of the scenarios she had considered and it had been the most likely. "Wow! That's wonderful. Congratulations. How far are you?"

In any case, she had earlier decided that this phone call did not seem to be the right moment to tell her sister she was pregnant too. Her sister would think she was being upstaged. Although of course it would not be appreciated any more if she did not mention it and it came out later. Her family would think she should have told them weeks ago and they would not understand the reasons why she had not.

There was no way she could have told them at five weeks. She had not even known about it then.

It was too late now to do good, so she decided not to mention herself even if the consequences would be dramatic. Again being the first of the family to do something would not go down well. She was the eldest and as such it would be logical, but that was not how her sisters were thinking. They hated always being second or third, even when it came to things that did not matter at all.

"Er. Oh," she said after a moment when she felt an answer was expected. "That's quite in the early stages. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, it's terrible. I feel sick and I can't stand the smell of some foods anymore. I have a feeling my trousers won't fit anymore next week. That's how much I've gained already. You have no idea. I feel so terribly pregnant. I knew right away that it had to be it. It was unmistakable. I woke up one day and I just knew I was pregnant. My breasts are so sore."

"Oh, that sounds terrible indeed," Anna Margaret tried to say in a sympathetic voice, but she did not know if she succeeded. She had not noticed anything of the sort herself.

"I knew right away. But we're thrilled. And Mum and Dad are so thrilled, you wouldn't believe it. A grandchild! Their first! They're simply over the moon. Mum is taking me shopping next week and we're going to pick up some things already. I can't wait."

"That's great. Do you know what it is yet?" She had better display some ignorance about the whole process.

"Already? Of course not! Duh! Of course you wouldn't know about these things, but they can't tell yet if it's this early. I'm taking Mum and my mother-in-law and Claire to an appointment in two weeks and then we'll be able to get a photo. But I've heard that if you're very sick it will be a boy. Dad was thrilled about that."

"Well, have fun," Anna Margaret said warmly. "I'm sure it will be really exciting."

Of course it did not take until her next break for her mother to ring. Anna Margaret briefly considered not answering, but that would only mean she would ring again and again. "Hi," she said curtly. "I'm at work, my coffee break is over, please keep it short." She had already spoken to her mother, so she felt justified.

"You should give us your private number if you don't want us to ring you at work."

"Never going to happen," she muttered and she did not care if her mother had heard. She had explained this a million times before. Either she was at work or she was asleep. There was very little time to catch her awake at home and she did not want to be kept awake by social calls. Of course some people would never understand that.

"Yes, I did." Now this was exactly why she did not want to give out her mobile number. There would be a lot more of these useless communications.

They could always find something to surprise her, yet in retrospect she should always have seen it coming. "Mum..." Anna Margaret tried to be rational. "She's at five weeks. Let's not overreact here. It's great news for her, but it's just not..." How did one say that nicely? There was probably no way of saying it nicely. And all the imagined and exaggerated symptoms did not help much either.

"She's very disappointed that you always put what is happening in your life first."

All right, so this was not the right moment to reveal her own pregnancy, or she would be doing exactly that. She sighed. "Where did I put my own life first? I congratulated her. What else could she want? At five weeks..." she added with a little whine.

"You are already taking her shopping, she said." How much shopping could be needed when one was at five weeks? Isabelle would not hesitate to mention miscarriages.

That was a bit strange, considering that her father had earned quite a lot in his various positions and he still gave speeches that paid nicely. There should still be some of that left, even not quite as much was coming in these days. Her parents would have plenty of money to take her sister shopping. "If my boyfriend has money - and you wouldn't know how much or how little - why should I use that money to take Irene shopping? I really don't understand why his possibly having money should play a role in her pregnancy."

"Well, I could understand you wouldn't want to buy a bigger house for her now that she has a baby on its way and she's still living in that tiny flat," her mother said reasonably, "although it's really far too small to raise a child in, but you could contribute to one of the larger necessities."

"You're well on your way to pissing me off, Mum," Anna Margaret announced. She imagined her mother proudly telling friends that Prince Frederick had bought a gilded pushchair for his future niece or nephew. Well, it was good to know in advance that there were expectations. She would have to discuss those with him and steer him away from anything that was larger or more expensive than a plastic toy.

"If you think Irene needs money, you can give her some yourself, but as far as I'm aware they both have jobs and lack for nothing. Whether Frederick has any money is nobody's business but his own. It's not even mine, because I earn more than enough to support myself."

"All right, all right. No need to be so irritated. When are you getting married?"

"I've really screwed up," Anna Margaret said to Frederick when he came home. She had been earlier and she was just looking in the refrigerator to see if she could make some dinner. It was unfair always to leave that to him. Since he had kept up his habit of ordering groceries online, there was usually enough.

"It's a thing. It's always a thing. I thought they might be over it by now, but apparently not."

"My sister got pregnant. She's at five weeks. Which means she thinks she beat me to it, but it will turn out that she didn't."

"My mother suggested I use your money to buy my sister things - although she could understand if I didn't want to buy a bigger house for her."

"Fifth?" Frederick did not display any shock or surprise at hearing other people wanted to spend his money for him.

"She's at five weeks. Your sister would have a lot to say about that. And symptoms!"

He took the mushrooms out of her hands and set them on the table. "So where did you screw up?"

"Let's tackle all the points one by one. I forgot them, though, so write them down."

She made a list, although she was not sure what he was going to do with it. Perhaps he was going to roll it into a ball and tell her she was silly.

"Because I'm the eldest and everything happens to me first. It doesn't count when it does not. Such as relationships. I'm not even trying to do things first, but they hold it against me anyway."

Frederick stared at the paper. "Right. I'm the youngest. Everything happens to me last, but I've never felt any competitiveness. Why do your sisters have that? Because they're also girls? Are you close in age?"

"Three years, then two years between us. Or one and a half. Something like that."

"No, I didn't, because not everything she said was worth repeating. You were in the loo, by the way. Number two. You haven't told them yet. I know why. They would not keep it a secret."

"They won't understand why I didn't tell them, when it comes out. They will say that of course they would have kept it a secret and they'll act all disappointed and hurt that I didn't confide in them."

"Besides, it would be all about you or about my job. Not about me. There's a difference between it not being at all about me and wanting it to be about me. It doesn't have to be all about me, but it shouldn't be about anything but me."

"She thinks she's the first and it will turn out she's not. She'll be extremely happy that she's beaten me to it, gloating even, so the anger will be all the greater when she finds out the truth. And I'm not even playing this game! I'm not trying to outdo anyone. If that was the case I would have started fifteen years ago!"

"Yes and she's full of symptoms that I don't think anyone could have at five weeks. I looked it up at work today and it's as if she's simply memorised one of those lists."

"Don't know. Gifts? Large gifts they could brag about? Although she'd understand if I didn't buy my sister a house. A house. I could cry."

"Darling, I already bought you a house. My money's gone. I assume you haven't told them how we financed it?"

"It's none of their business, really, so I told them I paid for it." And the truth was, as always, in the middle. "I got the impression they thought this was horribly stingy of you."

"It's possible. Seven. We have to keep that baby's due date into account when we plan the wedding. Our wedding? Because?"

"I suppose they can't attend on her due date? Or maybe all six weeks before and after it? Or until she's shed her baby weight? I have no idea, because I was too surprised to ask what the connection was. But I don't want to be told I have to take it into account - and as far as they've been told, we're not marrying at all!"

"I don't think anybody really understands how many things we have to reckon with! It's not just a romantic ceremony or an administrative formality. Life-changing things like work and income depend on it. If I don't pay attention they might give me a title!"

"I do not! I think! Although all of you are pretty nice and I really don't feel unwelcome. But if she continues in this vein she won't even get to attend." Anna Margaret was still upset.

"Are you planning on asking me? If you do, don't do it in public or I'll say no."

Chapter Nine

The next day Anna Margaret instructed her staff to take messages from her relatives only and never to put them through. She could do without the drama. It made her wonder if they had ever tried to call the Palace. If they had, they had not been successful. Her father, she knew, would try to bully her staff at the office if he was not given his way, but he might not dare to do that to Palace staff.

She made a note to speak to Louis, the vice prime minister, to let him know he would have to replace her at some point, but she was not sure when it was wise to do so. She still had nearly six months to go, but it was only fair to warn him in advance. Six months in advance might be a bit much, given that she only had one visit to the midwife behind her. So far she knew very little, except an approximate due date that might still change. If she started telling people now, she would feel as ridiculous as her sister.

Still, it would have to be before it leaked out, she reflected during her next tea break. It would be nicer for him to hear it in person and not learn about it from the media. The same would apply to her parents, but there was even more potential trouble in that quarter. She tried to ignore them for the moment. They could not force her to resign.

At work, however, people might have serious doubts about her ability to handle her job after the birth if she already did not handle her replacement perfectly. Although she had never looked for or noticed anyone who was deliberately trying to bring her down, this probably meant she was not devious enough to notice. A failure to arrange a timely replacement would definitely be an issue - and what was considered timely by law would not be important. She should not give anyone any reason to think she could not handle this.

She knew when she was allowed to go on maternity leave. They had had enough debates about that a few months ago. Even women without pregnancy wishes would remember. She could of course tell Louis she might not need that long, but six months was a long time and she did not know how things would develop. And there were of course babies who came earlier. But all that he could imagine himself. He would understand she could not give him any guarantees.

Anna Margaret studied Louis. What was he going to say? She could still back out now, but then what reason would she invent for asking him to see her? No, she must go through with it.

"I need to know," she began, "if what I tell you will stay a secret." It was pretty useless asking that of some people, she realised, but she hoped he was not one of those.

"Well, it couldn't be work. You wouldn't ask me about secrecy if it was work, because it would be automatically understood. And we already know about your relationship. But you can't be serious." It looked as if Louis had not really thought his first thought through until now. He might only have been joking. "Are you?"

Anna Margaret tried to keep her face straight and serious. This was not a happy announcement; this was work. And she was also not here to go into detail about how it had happened. "The way it usually happens."

"All right, yes, sorry." He even looked a little embarrassed. "And now you're pregnant."

"Why are you surprised? Several people said it would happen when I was appointed, don't you remember?" Or more specifically, they had said that you should never appoint younger women, as they would undoubtedly have babies.

"You mean did I not think of my job? Because people said it would happen if you appointed a woman under forty?" If Danielle had succeeded in getting pregnant as well those people would have been absolutely right: it would have happened to both women under thirty in the cabinet. Nobody would think of including men under forty like Patrick; men could procreate when and where they liked, at any age and in any job.

"That would be way too much information for you," she said. "Contraceptive failure. It happened, so I'll have to deal with it."

"Of course. If I wasn't keeping it, I wouldn't have to tell you. I'm in a relationship. I'm not a single mother. There's no reason not to keep it." It might be inconvenient, but she had never considered not keeping it, she realised. Her age must have played a role as well. If she passed up this chance there might not be another.

"You will have to replace me for a few weeks when the time comes. That's what I came to tell you."

"True," she admitted. "He didn't have small children, but I'm sure there was once someone who did - and even if there wasn't, there's no reason why there couldn't be." She was not as sure of that as she sounded. Rationally she completely supported the idea. Emotionally she had no clue.

"Yes, I know." They would think mothers could not do important jobs. They hardly even considered women capable of doing important jobs. "Don't think they'll be the only ones speaking up about it. The so-called progressive elements will too, just because they can." They had not been after her yet, but they would. She could simply deduce this from reversing the things they had praised about her.

"Oh...I've already crossed over to the dark side by getting a man. Women don't need men, you know. Women succumbing to outdated biological dictates by getting pregnant are even worse."

This was all beyond Louis. It was really beyond Anna Margaret as well, but at least she had tried to follow this reasoning once.

"Yeah, never mind them," she said. "I never said anything one way or the other. I never said I wouldn't have children and I never said I would. They appropriated me for their cause, but I never supported them." It was stupid to be worried, she realised. She could never please them all.

"I don't plan to take a lot of time off if I feel well. I sit a lot. I don't see why I can't do any desk work being a little fatter." She did not know how work visits would go. A lot of walking or standing might be out of the question, but she could not predict that now.

She raised her eyebrows. "You don't think I'd ring you right away after a contraceptive failure, do you?"

"Er, no." Louis looked embarrassed again. "But it happened three months ago or so? When exactly did your relationship begin?"

Anna Margaret sighed. She knew other people would wonder as well. "After the abdication notice, before the abdication."

"Did not resign on my account. But yes, people will think we should have waited. Unfortunately that did not happen. So. Anyway, I have a right to a private life like everyone else."

"That's what I have a right to," she replied. "But I may not make use of it. I'm inclined not to, if all goes well. As I said, I don't see why I couldn't do any desk work. What would I do at home for six weeks? If I can get the house ready and do my shopping, I can work." She paused. "After last year's discussion on maternity leave I suppose not everyone will like that, but there might be an equal number not liking it if I took three months off. I'll just do what feels right to me." That felt like a relief.

"I'll let you know in time how much time off I'll need. I can't say right now. Contrary to some people, I have absolutely no symptoms, so I'm likely to be very optimistic."

She got her bloodwork done as well. Thankfully from the number of old people in the waiting room it would not immediately be apparent why she had to get hers done. Equally fortunate was the fact that she was given a number and that nobody would be calling her name. The only two who knew what she was here for were the woman processing her form and the woman taking her blood.

In the evening they were dining with Isabelle and Philip. The latter hopped over on his crutches, but he seemed otherwise fine. The children were not with them.

"No problem," Anna Margaret answered. "I hadn't been for ages myself. It was sort of fun."

She did not know what this dinner was for. Presumably it was just for fun as well. Frederick had asked her by means of a message earlier in the day and she had agreed. She could have asked him why, but that would have sounded as if she would rather not.

The table in the dining room was set, which was either because it was supposed to be more formal, or because that table was larger. Nobody had said anything about where she placed the cutlery and glasses, so either she had done that right or they did not care.

Frederick had cooked, since he had been home earlier, but it was not anything elaborate as far as she could tell.

"Oh, don't open a bottle on my account," his sister said hurriedly. "I'll have water. I'm trying to lose weight."

"Morning runs," Anna Margaret suggested. "I have actually lost weight in the past weeks."

"Yes, that's how I noticed." But she did not say what she had noticed precisely. "But I hate runs. I don't think that will work. I'll stick to water."

"Don't visit Grandma then," Frederick remarked. "Even I have to drink wine there. We went Saturday, by the way."

Isabelle gave Anna Margaret a sympathetic glance. "I hope he had warned you in advance."

"A bit. But still. Is it her age?" she asked when Frederick had gone to the kitchen to get the drinks. Surprisingly neither she nor Philip had yet told him what they would like to drink, so she wondered what they were getting. Maybe Philip always wanted the same thing, but what about her?

"Oh, no. She's always been like that. She doesn't fool me. I used to be a nurse."

"You did?" Anna Margaret had never paid much attention to what Isabelle might have done with her time. She supposed that when Isabelle had finished her education she had been a teenager herself and utterly focused on school and sports. If she had been aware of celebrities at all, she had certainly not followed them. Besides, in those days one still depended on paper media.

"My father believed in letting me try out a number of suitably useful professions."

"And they let you do some actual work?" For some reason that still surprised her, although now that she knew them better, it should not.

Isabelle seemed amused. "Well, as we are actual people with actual abilities, yes."

"Yes, I know that now," Anna Margaret hurried to say. "But I'm sure most people don't think you'd do actual work, like changing bedpans."

"I can't say it's anyone's favourite pastime, but if you want to be taken seriously at your place of work that is definitely something you need to do. Even if they try to let someone else do it for you."

"Sometimes they do. Did. Obviously I no longer have to do these types of internships."

"I was sent to work for my father's friends during my summer holidays," Anna Margaret remembered. "But thankfully that was just office work."

"Sent," said Isabelle, but she did not continue when Frederick brought her an entire jug of water. "Is that tap water?"

"Did you read that one of my colleagues went to Amsterdam and required nine lorries for the luggage he and his entourage were bringing? When I went to Amsterdam two weeks ago we could fit everything into two cars. But then, I drink tap water too."

Chapter Ten

At some point Anna Margaret wanted to tell Isabelle that her sister was pregnant, but she wanted to wait for the right moment. She would sound mean otherwise, since she was sure some judgemental remarks would slip out of her mouth.

First she watched how Frederick got beer for Philip and himself. Beer. Her parents would be shocked. Luckily they poured the contents into glasses. Still, she must have stared quite a bit, because Philip had to laugh.

Again, she had not been paying attention to the media when Isabelle had married him. She had not been very interested at the time. What the media later made of his situation was probably not quite the truth and she had not really committed it to memory. She had never known they would once be related. "With beer?"

She had grown up quite normally too, she had always thought, yet she had never seen her father drink beer at home. "Nothing," she said, disliking the idea that she had apparently not yet accepted the idea that everyone could drink beer and that she had been influenced by snobby parents in this matter. She could imagine Frederick doing it, but then, she knew him and he was not formal. In fact, she could imagine everyone doing it, except the queen and her husband. She was silly. It was not as if she had never met any heads of state before. "I didn't know we had any."

"I visited a brewery today," Frederick answered. "They gave me a few bottles to take home, so I invited Philip, because he never gets any beer anywhere."

"Oh." Perhaps she was not that unusual then after all, if Philip never got it anywhere. She changed the subject. "I visited the blood lab, so I got out a bit as well." That, again, was silly, because she regularly had work visits to take her out of her office.

"Some juice would be fine." She was still surprised to hear Isabelle say she was probably right. "What did you use? Not the public blood lab, I suppose. You probably had a courier."

Isabelle screwed up her face as she tried to imagine a courier. "No, the regularly private service. I have no complaints, but I also didn't have a choice at the time, so my opinion is probably not as informed as I'd like. I simply know the information never leaks out before I want it to."

"Did the family decide things for you as well? Or only for Frederick?" She did not think Isabelle would have been easy to manipulate. Or perhaps she had simply learned not to be over time.

Isabelle poured some water into her glass. "They tried. But I wasn't the first in the line of succession. As far as they were concerned I was only a temporary second, because of course Frederick would marry and have at least one son. There weren't as many requirements I had to meet."

"And did you think Frederick would have at least one son?" Anna Margaret glanced over her shoulder, but he was not in sight.

"I began to doubt it. Of course he also kept saying he didn't want the job. Not that it's a job, really."

"Not for you," Frederick answered as he appeared again with Anna Margaret's drink.

"It doesn't have regular hours. It doesn't even have irregular hours. So..." she said as she studied Anna Margaret. "Who else did you tell?"

"I had to tell Louis today. I thought that was only fair. He asked how it happened. I said the usual way. He asked how unplanned things happen. I said -"

"No." Now she had to take care not to be too eager, so she spoke calmly. "I've thought about it, but before I could decide on anything, something came up that made it unwise to tell them. You see," she said in case Isabelle would not ask for clarification. She simply had to get this off her chest. "My mother rang me at the office, which is the only place they can reach me, and she rang me to say I should give her my mobile number, so she could pass it to my sister, who had something to tell me."

"But I don't want to give them my mobile number and they know that, so I thought it was a ruse. It thought it didn't make much sense. Why ask me for my number so my sister can call me? She could have called me at the office straight away. So I called my sister, because there was only one thing that made sense."

"The only reason you couldn't tell your family that you're pregnant is because your sister told you she is too."

Anna Margaret tried to speak evenly. "Because I'm fairly sure she's thrilled to have beaten me to something and if it turns out that I still won this game that I'm not even playing, she's not going to be pleased with me."

Isabelle looked bemused. She had no sister, naturally. "It would be nice to have a cousin the same age, no?"

"I don't know what she would think. And she's at five weeks. The rest of them will think I should have told them about myself two months ago as well. They won't be pleased that I've kept it to myself for so long, even though I didn't know anything at five weeks. There's just no way out of this without upsetting someone."

Anna Margaret shook her head, although the same thing had occurred to her a few seconds ago. "It would leak out in no time. Especially if the child will be titled. Will it? I hope not. My grandson the prince. I'd like to avoid that for as long as possible." She took another sip. "If my sister had a child at the same time it might not get any attention. She'd probably see that correctly. It's just not my fault. It just wasn't on my list of things to think of. If I get involved with this man, will my sister be miffed if I have a child?"

"Well, she's reasonably pedigreed... So," said Isabelle. "Your family still doesn't know. Philip knows, by the way, but the children don't. When do you think will be a right moment to tell your parents, and maybe your sister? Or any other relatives?"

Anna Margaret considered it. "Not sure. There was no one to talk to. But there's a reason why they don't get my mobile phone number anymore, obviously, and that predates Frederick by a few years." She had always had little time for drama and nonsense.

"I'll try to run into them socially some time and see what's up," Isabelle decided. "Relax, I won't tell them anything!"

"People even asked me about that," Philip revealed. "I said I always found about those things on the day, so it was useless to ask me."

"I'm going to use that line too," Frederick said appreciatively. "Besides, it happens when the women in the family say it must happen."

That was difficult. She had no idea. "If I need it. If I don't need it, I don't see why I should."

That was difficult as well. "I'm sure someone will tell me. You were already telling me to lie down."

"Where will you leave the baby after the birth? Are you planning to breastfeed?"

"Do you work for the midwife practice?" Anna Margaret wondered. "They have such questions on their forms. I had to answer them without having thought about it at all."

"That I hadn't thought about it yet. I realised it sounded stupid, but I thought it was best to be honest. I didn't know they'd be asking me all those questions." And she had not known she would be asked them now either. She still had not thought about the answers.

"Here's the thing. If you breastfeed, the baby has to stay with you, until you can pump enough."

"Milk," Isabelle explained patiently. "By the time you can, you can leave it with someone else for longer spells. That means, and you don't have to decide now, that you have a few options. One, you stay home with the baby. Two, you take the baby to work and feed it there. Three, you leave the baby with someone else and meet up every two to four hours to feed it. Four, you leave the baby with someone else and you don't feed it. Five, there's probably another option as well."

"Oh." Anna Margaret considered it. "Well, we'll think about it. So far we've only looked at furniture."

"That's a step. Of course Frederick's old cot is in the attics somewhere, but it's hideous. In fact there's a whole lot of furniture in the attics."

"I can't remember what my cot looked like," said Frederick. "It's been a while."

Isabelle looked around at the room's furniture. "I somehow think you won't like it. I also don't think your new-born baby will be photographed in a white lacy dress. I ordered something else for him or her that I'll give you after the first photos, to see if I was right."

Posted on 2016-04-23

Chapter Eleven

The next morning she received a few messages from her parents from her staff. There were three before nine o’clock already. None of them were actual messages; they were simply notes that her father and mother had called. It reminded her of living in student housing.

She decided to call her father back when she was briefly back in her office. Chances were he had a different and more useful message than her mother. He might not even know her mother had called as well. “Hi Dad,” she began. “They told me you had called?”

“Yes, yes, where were you?”

“Oh, didn’t they say? I was over at Finance.” She dipped a teabag into her teacup a few times and then took it out. Multitasking was an essential skill.

His interest was immediately piqued. “Why? Is anything the matter?”

“No, just being kept up to date on how much we can spend. Why did you call?”

“I had some things to ask you. When are you moving into your house?”

Anna Margaret wondered why that was interesting to know. “Er, when all the work is done. I don’t really know.” She assumed it was somewhere in the next month, however. They would not decide until they were told the work was done.

“People are talking.”

“I’m sure they are.” She did not want to ask what they were talking about. Talking people were tiresome.

“Is he still moving in with you?”

“Yes, of course.” She reflected on the way he phrased it. Interesting. Frederick was moving in with her, not the other way around. Of course she had let her father believe she had paid for the house. It was not logical in any way, but perhaps they thought this was what modern women did.

“I’d advise you to keep your finances separate.”

“That’s impossible, but thank you for the advice. We live together. We eat the same food.” She did not know how they could keep separate how much they consumed.

“People think you are being paid to rent a house and saving all that money by living at the Palace and being waited on.”

“Then perhaps people should do some research,” she said sharply. “I’m still not being paid to rent a house. You know that. I could apply for moving expenses, but I haven’t done so yet.”

“But you have moved.”

“Yes and I have not applied. I moved a couple of hundred metres as the crow flies. The next time it will be an equally small distance. Nothing that the Palace vans can’t cover. We have not paid them; we had a barbecue.”

“You have to pay attention.”

“All right. But you know, Dad, it probably says a lot more about the people who think I’m in this to get rich than it does about me. Why don’t you tell them you know nothing about our finances? Because they’re none of your business?”

“Hmm,“ said her father. “But you should set up a household account.”

“I’ll take your suggestion into consideration. And for your information, there is no staff in our apartment and nobody’s waiting on me.”

“No staff?” Her father sounded surprised.

“No staff,” she repeated. “There’s a cleaning lady, that’s all.”

“Interesting. Why not?”

“Frederick doesn’t want it.”

“That’s quite peculiar. By the way, you’re not meeting the queen this morning?” He was aware of the important parts of her schedule. Or had been, until she had changed it.

“We’ve changed that. We’re now meeting before I go to work. It saves time.”

“But…”

“But?” She did not see how anyone could argue with saving time. She could go home thirty minutes earlier if she did this. Now that there was someone to spend the evening with, that was rather important.

“Nobody would know if you went in your pyjamas or not.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” she agreed, pulling a face. “But it’s not exactly relevant, is it? And it’s secret. I’m not allowed to divulge what we talk about. Queen Isabelle can sign papers in her pyjamas, can’t she? And I can provide them. I take them with me the night before.”

“So what if you move into your new house? Will you still meet before you go to work?”

“Then we might change the arrangement again. We’re flexible.”

The idea of a flexible monarch adapting herself to the prime minister’s schedule shocked him into silence.

“Well, Dad,” said Anna Margaret, hoping he was done. “Was that all?” She half expected him to say something about her sister’s pregnancy and wondered if she should bring it up if he did not. If they both ignored the subject her mother might call again.

“You do realise that if you marry him, you’ll be making your position very complicated?”

She wondered if he was now going to advocate not marrying. She had always got the impression they wanted her to marry for social reasons. Maybe he was now thinking about her job. He did the things that had to do with work; her mother usually tackled the personal stuff. “I am at present not aware of any wedding plans.”

“But what would you do if you did marry? You would become a member of the Family while you’re held accountable for their behaviour.”

“I’m already held accountable for my own behaviour.” Anna Margaret did not see the difference. “Besides, I’m of the opinion that the spouse of the former monarch doesn’t necessarily need to belong to the Royal Family, even though the law says they do.” The law was not clear on whether this also applied to new spouses or only to existing ones. Existing ones would have more of a right, she would say. And laws could be changed.

“But that would be awkward on official occasions.”

“Why? Would I go to his occasions?”

“Why would you not go?”

“Because I have no intention of going as someone’s spouse. I never see my dentist’s husband either, so why should people I work with see mine?” She was aware that the situation of a dentist was slightly different, but she hoped he would not go into that.

“What would the queen say?”

“What would the queen say?” Anna Margaret repeated. “She’s not going to force me to do anything. We’re sensible people. There’s no need to do things exactly the way they were done fifty years ago. Other things have changed and this may too.”

“How?”

“Frederick and I live together. There’s no obligation to get married these days.”

“Yes, that’s what you keep saying,” her father said a little irritably. “But he’s not an ordinary person.”

“Oh.”

“He does have obligations. If he were living with someone else you would be talking to him about it.”

“Only if I fancied him and maybe not even then. I don’t fancy other people’s leftovers.”

“Anna Margaret!”

“I said things have changed since fifty years ago. Living together is no cause for concern. We could now enter a registered partnership and have everything covered legally.” She had not actually thought of that until now, but it sounded like a good solution. In everything but the Royal Family issue it was equal to a proper marriage. “I’m not sure what you want, though. Do you want me to marry him or not?”

“I’m trying to find out what your plans are. I don’t know the man well enough. He’s not very communicative.”

“I don’t have that problem.”

“What does he want with you? He hasn’t settled down before. He’s not exactly steady relationship material.”

“And divorced fifty-somethings you met on the golf course are?” she inquired. “Or worse. Men who’ve hopped from secretary to secretary.”

Her father paused for a few seconds. “I don’t have a particular type in mind.”

“Dad.” She did not want to become sentimental or emotional here. It was not her style. Her breathing nevertheless became more audible and she hoped he could not hear that on the other side of the line. “I need him.”

“For what?” He sounded genuinely surprised. Of course in his life people one needed were never emotionally needed.

“To let go.”

“Of what?”

She already regretted going down this path. “Of everything.”

In the end her father had changed the subject to politics. He still had much to say and much to advise, but without direct influence that was all he could do. Anna Margaret found it much easier to listen to this than to personal subjects, however, and she let him talk while she tidied her desk drawers.

It had all gone too long, she noticed suddenly, because she was due in a meeting in five minutes and there were still things she needed to do on her way.

“Tomorrow evening I have to go to the opera,” Frederick announced as if it was the most awful thing in the world.

Anna Margaret gave him a sympathetic look. “You don’t like opera?”

“I don’t mind, usually. Usually being once every few years. I don’t go regularly.”

“It’s the people.”

“Yes.”

She wondered if she should come with him, even though she had earlier said to her father that she would not go to his official occasions. “What’s wrong with them?”

“I don’t know them.”

“What can I do?” It was likely to end late and she was not good anymore with things that ended late. She would start yawning before they were halfway through.

“I don’t know.”

“Can you just nod and smile whenever they say something? That’ll be enough.”

He looked miserable.

“Frederick!” She wished he would pull himself together. “Is this an official-official visit?”

“What’s that? The opera was built three hundred years ago. That’s why I was invited.”

“It would have been easier if they’d invited me too,” she commented. “Not that I’d last the entire performance, but is it inthe Royal Box? The Royal Box has a comfortable sofa. I was there once.”

“I can’t keep a conversation going if they know who I am.”

“I know who you are and you have no problems.”

“That’s different.”

She sighed and sat in his lap. “Darling. There’s no reason why you should be worried.”

“I know.” But he did not sound convinced at all.

“You didn’t complain about the brewery.”

“But there’s something to look at there, a process to be explained. I don’t have to give my opinion on it.”

“Should I come with you? It’s rather against my principles, but I’ll do what’s necessary.”

“Last time there was a woman who kept touching me.”

She noted he had not said yes outright, as if he was afraid to be thought weak. But he would be pleased if she came along. She could sense that much. He still had to convince himself that it was bad enough. “You said you didn’t know them.”

“I didn’t; that was the odd thing. I mean, we were introduced and she was the CEO or something, but I did not know her.”

“And how did she touch you?”

“Whenever she said something, she put her hand on my arm. And later on my leg.”

“Well, the presence of predatory women changes everything, naturally,” Anna Margaret mused. “Please don’t put your hands on me, thanks? I’ve said it often enough.”

“Apparently what I did do wasn’t very effective. I moved my chair, I moved my leg…”

“You’re lucky to be too tall to get a paternalistic arm across the shoulders. And then an attempt to peek into my cleavage.” Something she had always considered pretty useless, given that she was dressed.

Frederick cleared his throat. “The woman seemed to be fond of showing cleavage.”

Anna Margaret unbuttoned her blouse almost to her navel, sat beside him and laid her hand on his leg. “Like this?”

“Lean towards me.”

She did.

“Something like that, but then worse.”

“The farce was in the Box and not on stage,” she commented. “Is the woman still there?”

“Yes. Her name was in the outline I was given.”

Posted on 2016-04-28

Chapter Twelve

Anna Margaret had not yet decided whether she would go to the opera, but apparently Frederick had taken some action. He did not seem to think there was anything wrong with asking her for assistance and she was glad, because she had doubted. Around lunch a courier had delivered an invitation, straight from Hélène Jacobs, CEO. That was impressive. She wondered at what time Frederick had placed his request and with whom.

She would be met at the grand entrance at 20:00, whereupon she would be escorted to the Royal Box. A quick search on the internet showed her that the performance was starting at 20:00.

She studied the invitation again. Someone – she did not know who – had thought exactly what she would have thought if she had been left to her own devices. She would have arrived slightly late, so as not to draw any attention to herself. Frederick, she thought, had to dine or at least have a drink there, so he would be there before her. He would have long gone in when she arrived and nobody would be watching the entrance anymore. That was good.

It was short notice, so she squeezed herself into a simple black dress, one of the few that was not packed. When she had moved in with Frederick she had hung up only a few basic items. She had not thought she would need the rest in those few months. There was no time to look for other dresses now. She changed quickly, taking a blazer with her to keep warm.

She took Frederick’s car to the Opera Hall because he had left the keys on the table. There was a huge car park just across the street that she did not expect to be full. It was not. In the street two policemen were patrolling, presumably because they had been notified there was an event. She entered the Opera Hall and before she could be asked for her ticket, she was approached by a woman.

“Welcome, Madam Prime Minister, welcome!” said the woman. She introduced herself as Elsa, events manager.

Anna Margaret greeted her back. The two uniformed men she guessed were supposed to check tickets, kept back. She consequently did not have to take the invitation out of her bag.

“Did you come alone?” This appeared to be surprising.

“Yes, I did.” If she was a last-minute addition to the Royal Box, she had best not bring too many people or it would not fit. Besides, she supposed she was going to be Frederick’s guest, so why on earth would she bring anyone else? This was a private visit.

She must have looked surprised herself now, because the woman clarified. “An assistant, perhaps?”

“I have no need for an assistant tonight.”

“I’ll be taking you to the Royal Box. Have you been here before?”

“Yes, I have. I saw a ballet performance a few months ago.” She remembered what the box looked like and she would eventually find her way to it – this was only a modestly-sized theatre. Its having a Royal Box at all was pretentious enough, although she knew from experience that it was not always occupied by royalty. VIP Box would be a more suitable name these days.

“Great,” said Elsa cheerfully. “We’re going up this staircase now.”

She remembered that.

“Would you like a champagne package during the intermission?”

“No, thank you. I don’t drink.”

“Is there another drink we can get you?”

“Water or juice, please.”

She was shown into the box, passing one of Frederick’s security men. She nodded at him. Inside a few people were already seated. One seat was still empty. It was in the second row and it would be difficult for other people to see who sat there. The lights had already been dimmed a bit. A woman who sat beside Frederick in the first row, turned and stood up. She introduced herself and the other people in the box – who were the heads of certain departments of the Opera Hall, high enough to make up the party but not high enough to sit front row – and offered her a chair in the front row.

“No, thank you.” She noticed that one of Frederick’s bodyguards was in the box as well and that he had not been introduced. She took half a step back to shake his hand.

“But you’ll have a better view.”

“And everyone will have a good view of me,” she said with a polite smile. “I’ll be fine back here.”

Frederick began to look more comfortable now that she was there, even though he had only smiled at her. He moved his chair so she could move her chair half under the curtain. “What is the curtain for anyway?” he wondered.

“That’s pure decoration,” said Ms Jacobs, the CEO. “We don’t actually use them anymore. I don’t know if they were ever used.”

The effect of moving his chair to make room for hers was that Frederick was now closer to Ms Jacobs’, but Anna Margaret did not think he minded now that she was here. Ms Jacobs indeed had an impressive bosom and the faint leopard print it was wrapped in was not very classy, but at least it was wrapped up. For the most part.

Poor Frederick, to have that deposited nearly in his lap. She cleared her throat so she would not laugh.

Either Ms Jacobs had read her thoughts or she simply always did this, because she solicitously leant forwards, across Frederick, to ask her a question. “Would you like a programme?”

It took a moment before she could speak. She was definitely no match for this woman bosom-wise, but fortunately this was not the feature that Frederick valued most. “No, I’m fine. I can look in Frederick’s programme. He might be able to explain things if I have questions.”

“Feel free to ask me things at any time,” said Ms Jacobs. “I see this nearly every day and I know the cast personally.”

Whether it was consciously done or not, it would be difficult to ask someone not to lean her bosom on your lap. Anna Margaret felt Frederick would simply have to bear the inconvenience this time. Half hidden by the side curtain – from where she nevertheless had a good view of the stage – she leant sideways so he felt the nudge from her shoulder.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Nothing really.”

Anna Margaret excused herself during the intermission. Or rather, as soon as she realised Ms Jacobs was taking the entire party across the balcony foyer to a more private section where the champagne was served, she slipped away. The photographer had not yet taken aim, but he was of course there, ready to record Ms Jacobs escorting Prince Frederick to the refreshments. She hated to abandon him at such a moment, but she really needed to go and this was not the first time he was doing this anyway. He could make small-talk for a few minutes and if he stuffed something in his mouth very often he would not even have to.

She joined the queue for the toilets, wondering if there was still a toilet in the Royal Box. It would have been useful. The other women in the queue were not really looking at her until she checked her phone and laughed. There were no calls she had missed, but Frederick had sent her a message a few seconds ago. Photographer is active.

Man? Then I’m safe, she tapped back.

After it had been her turn and she was washing her hands, there was a strange sound as the women next to her bent over to fix her shoe.

“Oh, ****,” said that woman, realising the zipper on her back was not behaving as it ought. She tried to pull it back up, but it got stuck.

“Let me help,” said Anna Margaret, quickly drying her hands. The zipper was going neither up nor down at first.

“It was dodgy to begin with, but I figured that if I didn’t make any sudden movements it would be all right. Only I forgot.”

When she had got it to move, the same problem quickly occurred again. She tried it a few times, but it did not work. “It’s broken,” she concluded after several minutes.

The woman sighed and tried to look at her bare back in the mirror. “I can’t go back in like this. And my boyfriend will be wondering where I am if I don’t come back.”

“No,” she agreed. “You can’t go back like that. Here, take my jacket. It’s warm enough without one.” She took it off. She might have to suck in her stomach a little more so her fat would not be mistaken for a pregnancy – ironically – but that was only a small thing compared to this woman’s otherwise having to go back into the theatre half naked.

“But –“

“You can’t go back in like this. Put it on.” It might be a little tight, but it would probably fit. The woman would not necessarily have to close it around her chest. The most important thing was to cover her back.

“But how will I get it back to you?”

“Oh, you know where I work, don’t you?” And if she did not get it back, it would not be a big deal either.

The woman stared, as if she realised only now. “Oh. Er. Yes.”

There was not much of a queue left by this point and most had probably already noticed who she was. She picked her bag off the wash basin and checked her phone, remembering that she too had a boyfriend who might be wondering where she was. Get locked in? was the last message.

She laughed again and rang him, hoping he would have his phone close enough to notice. “No, not locked in.” She stayed there, however, not knowing if there were photographers right outside the door.

“You missed the champagne.”

“I don’t drink. Sneak some snacks out in your handkerchief if they’re good, all right?”

Frederick snickered at that. “I asked for a tray.”

“Did you have champagne?”

“No, water. We’re back in the box.”

“Oh. Already?” She peered out of the door. There were still people lingering, but most seemed to be heading back to their seats. The intermission was not quite over yet, but almost. “I’ll be there in a second.”

“The place could do with a few more toilets,” Anna Margaret said to Ms Jacobs. “Women especially have to queue and then they’re still too late. If you spend the entire intermission queuing, you won’t be able to spend any money.” Maybe that argument was more convincing.

“I’ve never noticed.”

“Well, I just spent close to fifteen minutes there and there were still women waiting by the end.”

“Why would you spend fifteen minutes there?” Frederick wondered. “There’s a toilet behind that curtain.”

She glanced back. “Oh, now you tell me! It took that long because someone had a zipper malfunction.”

“What’s that?”

“A dress with a broken zipper on the back. I gave her my jacket.”

He gave her dress a look. “Oh, so that’s what’s different about you.”

She laid her hand on his arm. He did not seem to need her. There was very little she had actually done. Because she had been late there had been little time for conversation and then she had spent the entire intermission in the lavatories. So why was she here? Or was being here simply enough?

He pointed at a small table behind his chair. “There’s the tray with the snacks. Did you have dinner before you left?”

“Sort of.” She studied the silver tray. They were probably snacks she was allowed to eat, nothing off-limits to pregnant women, and she took one. “I mean, not much.”

“Not enough time?”

“Not a lot.” She had known and she had had two lunches, but it only helped so much. There was no one to blame except herself.

“I hope you took the car.”

“I did, thanks.”

The lights went off and people grew quiet. Anna Margaret quickly took another snack and then laid her hand in Frederick’s. It was a pity there were others in the box. She was growing tired and would have liked to sag against him completely. Now she had to make do with the wall and the curtain.

Posted on 2016-05-03

Chapter Thirteen

Anna Margaret woke when there was applause. People were standing up. She was not awake enough to do so. Luckily she was hidden by the curtain and no one in the theatre would be wondering if she somehow disapproved of the performance enough not to show her appreciation. Everything took rather long to get back to normal.

“Wasn’t that brilliant?” Ms Jacobs was all enthusiasm. “It was even better than the tryout!”

“It was certainly very good,” said Frederick.

Anna Margaret thought he was constitutionally incapable of overdoing it.

“I’m taking you backstage to meet the cast,” said Ms Jacobs.

She had not known about that, but it was not surprising. Whether she was expected to come or not, she would not go. She would be far too tired to drive home if she stayed even longer, or she would be unable to sleep when she got home.

Frederick excused himself and disappeared behind the curtain.

“I must go home soon,” Anna Margaret said to Ms Jacobs. “My workday always starts early.” But she would stay seated another few minutes to give more people time to leave the theatre.

“Of course. I do hope His Royal Highness will come?”

“If this was agreed with him beforehand, I’m sure he will.” She hoped he was not directly behind the curtain, eavesdropping.

Ms Jacobs lowered her voice for a woman-to-woman comment. “I have to say, he seems much more relaxed since he got a relationship.”

Anna Margaret did not think that was it. “Since he’s no longer the king, I’d say.”

“I don’t know. He was also more relaxed after you came in.”

She hoped he had not been too bad before then. “I hope he stays that way after I leave. I’m exhausted.”

“Is your visit a secret? I wasn’t sure what to make of it when his office sent me the request – and I have to say they didn’t seem to know either. His mother visits frequently and she’s lovely,” Ms Jacobs explained her willingness to go along with an odd request. “It took a while before she spoke, though.”

Anna Margaret decided that Ms Jacobs was also a successful woman in a leadership position and some explanation might actually be understood. “Well,” she began. “My idea was to keep our jobs separate to avoid comments. If you’re successful as a woman it’s of course due to anything but your abilities.”

“Oh, indeed.”

“And if I started accompanying him to places, people would think I was doing it to get ahead. So, while it’s not entirely secret, I wouldn’t volunteer to have my picture taken.”

“I see.”

Frederick reappeared.

“I’m going home,” Anna Margaret told him. “I really need my sleep.”

“Yes, I know.” Although he had touched her when they were seated, Frederick had not embraced or kissed her in company. He hugged her now.

Anna Margaret was stunned. “Will you be all right?” It was not a desperate hug. She supposed he would be fine.

“Yes. I’ll see you later.“

She left the box. People were walking past, some heading for the bar. She joined the ones heading for the stairs. Downstairs half of them went to the cloakroom and the rest went outside. Together with half a dozen others she crossed the street. Most people had not even looked at her, but the ones who had, had recognised her.

“You should wear dresses more often,” said a girl, who looked a bit thrilled to see a celebrity. “You’re not trying to be a clone of the German Chancellor, are you?”

“Imagine the headlines if I went to work in a short skirt tomorrow.”

“Dare!” said the girl excitedly.

“No, no, no.”

“Do you own one?” She entered the car park and considered queueing to pay. She waited until the conversation was over, a short distance away from the pay station. The audience would be smaller.

“Yes.”

“Women should have the freedom to dress how they like,” the girl said with a very serious look. “And they should be taken seriously no matter what they wear.”

“In theory.” She tried to guess the girl’s age and whether she had ever encountered the issue in practice. When she had become Transport Minister herself, she had been advised never to dress like a young girl. “In practice we are as guilty of doing that as men. If you applied for an internship at my office and you wore a crop top, I’d also advise you to dress differently.”

“Well, there are extremes! But mid-thigh is not extreme.”

“No.”

“Extreme would be hip-length or ankle-length. Would I get in with a nose piercing?”

“An intern? Yes. A minister? Depends. Although one has a tattoo,” she remembered. But of course that was not visible if he wore a suit.

“Oh my god, no?” the girl exclaimed.

“Yes. We don’t have to undress before we’re asked to fill the position, so they don’t check.” And before the girl would think she had asked this man to undress, she had better clarify where she had seen it. “We have these team outings some times. He had to wear short sleeves.”

“Men have it easy.”

“Not completely. They’re almost forced to wear suits, aren’t they? On formal occasions. Not all of them like that. In theory all these social conventions are evil. In practice we ought to be glad for them. I’m really not sure I’d enjoy a visit from a foreign dignitary in shorts and beach shirt, with his beer belly poking out underneath.”

The girl shuddered. “I guess.”

“So you think about these things, do you?”

“Yes, some things are definitely unfair.”

“And when you try to do something about them, you realise there are even more that you didn’t know about. But don’t give up.”

“No, I would really – oh, my mum has paid,” the girl said regretfully. “I guess I should go with her. I have to go to school tomorrow and it’s late. It was nice talking to you.”

“Yes, thanks.” She walked towards the pay station as a woman walked away from it who was trying not to look at her too much. She was sure that when the girl had joined her mother they would discuss her, but she did not mind.

She had not heard Frederick come home and when her alarm went off in the morning he stayed in bed. That was a first. It must have been late. She was up a little later than usual as well, but she had breakfast alone. That had not happened for a while.

Although her skirt today was not very short, it was nonetheless a skirt and she had stuck mostly to trousers in the past year. She wondered why she had listened to a girl she did not know. Or was it perhaps to show that girl that there would be comments? There might be; she had no idea. By now she might no longer have to prove herself through her clothing.

It had required only a little digging through her boxes and had left quite a mess. She hoped Frederick would not wonder what had happened in this spare bedroom where her clothes were stored. The first skirt she had tried did not fit well. The second required a wider blouse and several boxes had been opened.

Today Queen Isabelle was starting her tour through the regions of the kingdom. They were mostly daytrips, although once or twice she would stay in a hotel if there was a late activity planned. Anna Margaret had seen the entire programme. In fact, it was on her desk somewhere.

First Isabelle was interviewed. A well-known presenter asked her a few questions in an impressive-looking room in the city hall of the first town she would visit. Anna Margaret half watched it on her computer. Well, she intended to watch it with only one eye while she read a document, but she did not quite succeed.

It started out with the usual platitudes and politeness, yet Isabelle smiled graciously. She talked about her preparation and how she had not been all too surprised and therefore unprepared. This was not too surprising, although Anna Margaret supposed not everyone who was watching would think the same.

Even the presenter looked slightly shocked, however, when Queen Isabelle mentioned her intentions to adapt the monarchy to the century they were living in and specifically spoke of liking to see a relaxation of the rules on whom her children could marry. She did not mention her brother in this regard, but Anna Margaret did not doubt that his name would come up when someone discussed the interview. He was after all the only one of the family known to have a girlfriend.

She liked the way Isabelle implied casually that she had been working with her brother since her father’s death and that they had had the same ideas. And, she said, she would continue to rely on her brother in ways that might not always be visible to the public. Since she said the same, and more, about Philip, it did not sound too unhealthy or untruthful.

When the interview moved to the contents of that weekend’s programme, she turned down the sound.

Still, she only got halfway down the page. George came in. “Had you read the news?”

“Yes, but what happened?” She could not remember anything that had really stood out. It was all the usual stuff. Deaths in other parts of the world and football talk. If there had been anything else she had missed it. Since she had not pegged George as a football fan, it must be a bomb somewhere of which she had completely misjudged the importance.

“You should broaden your horizon.”

“Why? Did I miss something?”

“Clearly you don’t read the trivial news.”

“Not today. Oh, don’t keep me in suspense. Google Maps forgot to censor another naked man?”

“When was that?” George asked interestedly.

“Two days ago? Sorry, the media blurred the pertinent bits. There’s no need to look it up.”

“But you do read that kind of stuff, madam?”

“Sometimes,” she sighed. “But not today. I slept in.” She had scanned the headlines of one paper only. It happened to be the one with the least number of trivial distractions on its front page online. That was a deliberate tactic when she had no time.

“You were at the opera last night.”

“That was the trivial news?”

“You were seen. You queued for the loo like a normal person.”

“I pee like a normal person, too.”

“You gave someone your jacket and you were totally, like, normal.”

Anna Margaret gave him a look. “And you had, like, no work to do? But it’s good that you mention it. Now you know it’s real if someone drops the jacket off at reception.”

“Prince Frederick was at the opera and so were you, but you were not seen together.”

She balled her fist and raised it in the air.

“There was some speculation on whether you were there together, but you went to the normal loo and you didn’t have the VIP refreshment package –“

“No, I was queueing for the toilet,” she interrupted. “Because they don’t have enough toilets for women.”

“They loved it.”

She frowned because she had been ready to make another sarcastic comment and now she could not think of anything. “They loved that I had to queue, or they loved that I did?”

“They loved that you were normal.”

“I’ve always been normal.”

“You snared the king and you still queue for the loo,” George explained. “That’s sort of the general sentiment, I think. We’ve already received a few questions from the media, even though they know we never answer.”

“What could they want to know? Whether I’m normal?”

“No, whether you were there and with whom.”

“Interesting news.”

Posted on 2016-05-14

Chapter Fourteen

“Kristina is all about the polls,” said George, “but I’m wondering about my wedding.”

Anna Margaret tried to find a connection between the opera and his wedding. The connection between the opera and the polls was easier to imagine. “Really?”

“If you don’t want to be seen with him…”

“A wedding is not an official event,” she reassured him. “So when is it?”

“In November. We’re still negotiating a deal with the party venue, so we haven’t had the cards printed yet. First there’s the ceremony, then the reception, then dinner and then the party. You’ll be invited to all, but of course you wouldn’t really have to party. I’d understand if you didn’t stay till five in the morning.”

“Good grief, George. I didn’t know you were into all-night parties.”

“Oh, just once,” George said modestly. “I don’t expect you to stay that long, but we’d be honoured if you were there for some parts of the day.”

“I’ll await your invitation with bated breath,” she smiled.

“You’re in a denim skirt.”

“You noticed only now?” She raised her eyebrows. From a distance it was simply grey.

“No, but I’m only now saying so.”

“I take it that this means it doesn’t look too casual, or someone would have told me when I came in.”

“I suppose it works – only just,” George said doubtfully. “And you’re not going anywhere today, are you?”

“Only just because it’s denim, or only just because it’s above my knee?”

George peered under the desk. She let him, because he was not interested in her. “I hadn’t actually noticed,” he said.

“Then again, I take it this means it’s not too short, or someone would have told me when I came in.” She had not even noticed any funny looks – although to be honest she had not been paying attention either.

“It doesn’t look too short from here.” He was still peering under the desk.

“You’re not suddenly into women, are you?”

“No, madam.”

“I’d still appreciate it if you stopped staring at my legs under the table, please.”

George reappeared. “I’m sorry, madam. I was just assessing if you had good legs for skirts.”

“What the –“ She looked bemused. “And do I?”

“Yes, I suppose so. But I have hardly ever seen you wear skirts.”

“Well, that is because there have been men who don’t take women in skirts very seriously. Which is a sad thing, but at least I am intellectually more flexible than they are and I can simply wear trousers.”

“Oh.”

“If you had judged my legs unfit for skirts, would you have advised me to stick to trousers?”

“I don’t know if I’d dare.”

After work, the usual reporters waited for her outside. They too had started up again this week. Some of them had been on holiday. “Wait,” she said when some seemed to need a reminder of her ‘rules’. “First the work questions, so the serious people can go back to their desk and do some work.”

She could handle the usual type of questions. They were rarely on something completely unexpected. What she thought of the socialists’ stance on immigration? They had not changed their position, really, and neither had she. And were civil servants’ salaries really going to be frozen?

“And er…our entertainment section requested me to ask something,” one of the reporters said after clearing his throat self-consciously.

“Your entertainment section? I’m entertainment?” She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, sorry…they know I only do politics, but they couldn’t spare someone because of the queen’s tour and I was here anyway.”

“Fortunately,” Anna Margaret commented. “So what’s their question?” She noted that only one had left. The rest were either personally interested or they had also had instructions from their own entertainment sections .

“Did you go to the opera with Prince Frederick?”

“Why would that be interesting at all?”

“I don’t know,” he said a little plaintively. “I’m not with Entertainment.”

“I suppose Entertainment wishes to know if we’re still a couple? Not whether I enjoyed the opera?”

“I…”

“You don’t know.” She rolled her eyes again. At least she should be glad that it embarrassed him to no end to be forced to ask this question. “I did not go there with him and I did not leave there with him, but I sat there with him. I have a job. A VIP trip to the opera takes about four hours. I just don’t have the time for all of it. Does that answer your question?”

“It was not my question,” he hastened to say.

“Does this answer your entertainment section’s question?”

“I suppose so.”

“Great. So that was it, then?” She prepared to leave.

“I have one more question, madam,” said one of them. “Do you think people will use your relationship against you?”

“I’ve had that question before in various forms. The answers were not satisfactory, I conclude?”

“As your relationship changes, so will its impact.”

“Did you ask my predecessor this question?” She knew the answer was no. The private lives of her predecessors had always been considered private.

“They were not involved in high-profile –“

She cut him short. “The only ones making this high profile are you. Not me. It’s a bit annoying, really. The media publish a load of nonsense and then people accuse me of being in a high-profile relationship.”

“But there are implications –“

“Aren’t there always? If I had taken up with you , Benny, there would have been implications as well.”

Benny blushed and the others snickered.

“Of course if I’d been a man nobody would have cared at all. There have been predecessors and colleagues with girlfriends, divorces or extramarital affairs and everybody always tacitly agreed that this was their private business and it didn’t affect their functioning. But when I get a boyfriend it’s suddenly a national concern. People, the only one excited about it should be me.”

“But the opposition –“

“Not everyone in the opposition has an exemplary love life,” she reminded them. “And as such they would have no business saying anything about mine. Of course so far no one has. It’s just the media trying to fuel things, because they would otherwise have nothing to report about.

“I’m sure there would have been some interest if I’d been a man and I’d got involved with a princess,” she continued. “But there nevertheless seems to be a persistent idea that women can be influenced to a greater extent than men. Everyone thus far seems to assume I’ll become the Royal Family’s puppet, instead of rejoicing at the possibility that they are now my puppets.”

That, she observed, was indeed a novel thought for them. “The second thought is of course as ridiculous as the first one,” she said in case it was now going to appear in print. “Yet the first one is so much more plausible to people. Why?”

She decided she did not want to answer any more questions and she walked away. Some tried to follow her for a while, but when they noticed she was serious, they disappeared. She still walked, because it was still the same short distance and she was still fit enough to walk. There were people who thought she should not, but so far they had not been able to persuade her to order a car.

It would be ridiculous, she thought as she crossed a pedestrian area. Cars would have to take a roundabout route. On foot she could cut across. Of course someone might think she carried state secrets in her bag, but they would find out she did not if they stole it.

The gates of the palace slid open as she approached. She made a mental note to check with Frederick how far the work on the house had progressed. It might be possible to move soon. Although she did not mind staying here, it was sometimes a nuisance that she could not unpack everything because their situation was temporary.

And, of course, they should do something about the baby’s room. They had looked at furniture and had some idea of what they would like. The next step was ordering it and setting it up in the baby’s bedroom. Although when they had looked she had felt detached and not yet ready actually to order something, she now told herself to get over it. She could not deny that she was pregnant. Not yet ordering a crib did not mean there was no baby coming.

It was not too early to start some preparations. There was still plenty that she had no clue about. Already getting some furniture would get that out of the way at least so she would be able to focus on things she still had to learn. Things she did not yet want to learn, she also felt.

Anna Margaret wondered how to bring it up. Frederick was vacuuming his car in the courtyard. It was an odd sight, until she wondered who would have to do it instead. This was his own car, not one of the generic official cars. Someone else would clean those. She leant against the wall and looked at it. “So…” she began.

He dropped the vacuum cleaner and walked over to kiss her. “Sorry.”

“I didn’t mean you had to do that!” she protested. ”I was wondering what I was going to say.”

“All right.”

“Is the house nearly ready?”

“I think so.” He did a last round on the back seat and then opened the boot.

“What did you do to your car, by the way?”

“Nothing. I had muddy shoes. But while I’m cleaning one part I might as well clean all of it. I’m not going to be motivated to drag the vacuum cleaner out here until next year, after all.”

She grinned.

“But, you’d like to move?”

To move and to move on. “Well…when I was looking for a skirt this morning I had to look through a few boxes and…” She shrugged. “It would be more convenient if I had a closet. We may need an extra one.”

“Yes, I could look up where I got mine and order a new one. Or how many do you need? I created a floorplan with my app, so we can see what looks best. I think we may need a dressing room.” He turned off the vacuum cleaner.

“That sounds awfully decadent.”

“Decorative wear takes up a lot of space.”

“You saw how many closets I had in my flat,” she protested. “Not that many.”

“I can’t remember looking at your closets, sorry.”

“Anyway. Decorative wear, as you put it, can be rented.”

“Rented,” Frederick repeated, as if he had never heard of renting clothes.

“You don’t think I’d buy a hat I’d only wear once, do you?”

“I never think about hats at all.”

Anna Margaret followed him as he went inside. She closed the door behind them. “Well, I don’t have a collection of hats. If I need a hat, I rent or I borrow one and then I try to match a dress to it. It’s by far the easiest way.”

He put the vacuum cleaner away. “All right. We’ve got a few spare bedrooms in the new house. There would be enough space for a hat room. I’ll show you the app. You can put furniture in the rooms if you know the measurements. Play around with that. I made it, but you’ll be better at decorating it.”

He started to cut the vegetables as she tried to find her way around the floorplan. “Which one will we use for the…er…”

Frederick looked up.

She knew he knew what she meant. “The...er…”

“Baby.”

“Do you think I should be able to say it just like that?” Anna Margaret asked uneasily. She was sure she would be able to at some point.

“I have heard you say it,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t mind.”

“But where?”

“The rooms are all around the same size, so the one nearest to ours would be most convenient for a baby and for us the one nearest to the bathroom.”

“All right. I’ll just put a bed in our bedroom so I know. How big is the bed?”

He pushed a tape measure towards her. “About two by two?”

It was actually kind of fun, she decided as she walked around upstairs, measuring furniture and adding it to the app.

Posted on 2016-05-20

Chapter Fifteen

Since they had just moved into their new house, Anna Margaret had thought it would only be fair to let her parents know about it in person, even though they might have seen the vans transporting the furniture. She had taken Frederick with her to visit them. He had not objected, but she doubted that he would have suggested the outing himself. He sat beside her a little stiffly. He might, she supposed, not used to these types of visits.

Her sister Irene and her husband were there as well. They had greeted the new arrivals with a peculiar attitude, Anna Margaret felt. She had not reacted to it, because she could not quite make out what it was.

“Mum, I must have some crackers, or I’ll feel sick,” said Irene to her mother. “And I need another pillow behind my back.”

Anna Margaret calculated that she must be around nine weeks pregnant. She watched as her brother-in-law solicitously arranged another pillow behind Irene’s back. She must have been staring too much, because Frederick nudged her almost imperceptibly with his leg. There was hardly any space between their legs as it was, but he was moving it even closer.

She turned sideways when her mother hurriedly placed a platter on the table. “Can I hand you a cracker?” she asked too sweetly, just loud enough for him to hear.

“Are you sure you can still bend over?” he asked just as softly.

Of course being at sixteen weeks there was something in the way, but not enough to be really visible. It was certainly not enough to prevent her from reaching for the table. She seized a cracker, which earned her a disconcerted look from Irene, who was probably thinking all crackers were hers, but who could not be so rude as to object against Prince Frederick eating a cracker as well.

“So, you have moved?” asked her father.

“Yes, we have,” she replied.

He had asked it before, but apparently he could still not wrap his brain around people voluntarily moving out of a palace. “Why did you want to move?”

“It’s nice to have our own place.” She guessed all answering would be up to her. Frederick did not seem inclined. “And this house is bigger.”

“Bigger?”

“The apartments in the Palace don’t have twenty bedrooms each. Not that this house does.”

“I saw the moving vans. Didn’t you get any new furniture or were these all your old things?”

She imagined her parents peering out of the front window, upstairs most likely, trying to see what was carried in. It was exactly for that reason why they had not yet ordered any baby furniture. “There should have been one or two new things, but you were probably away when they came if you didn’t see them. And I sold some of my old furniture when I moved out of my own flat. There are some things that you just don’t need two versions of.”

Her mother appeared with the tea. Apparently she had been listening as well. “But does it all go together?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she lied.

“Some styles don’t mix well.”

“Only to people who notice such things. But we don’t plan to entertain a lot, I’m sure, so not a lot of people would notice anyway.” Frederick felt another urge to manspread. She wondered why. She could not imagine he disagreed. Or maybe he meant to communicate that he quite agreed.

“You’re not going to receive people at home?”

“We’ll see.” She had always received official guests elsewhere and did not see why she could not continue to do so.

“I always received them at home,” said her father.

“You didn’t live in the middle of town, but in a large country home with enough space to park catering vans,” she said dryly. He would have liked her to get a house like that – it was more in line with her status – but there were several reasons why she had never considered it practical. She had listed them before. He had always grudgingly agreed that for a single woman it would be too large, but she expected him to think it would do just fine for a couple.

“Mum, can put my feet up on the table? My ankles will swell otherwise,” Irene cut in.

“Darling, it’s too early for that.”

“No, it’s not! I swear I’ve had it. My feet will hurt.”

Anna Margaret was glad her mother did not buy it immediately, although she would undoubtedly give in. Never mind that putting one’s feet on the table had always been called terribly unmannered. “I’ve never heard of ankles swelling in the first trimester, but yes, good grief, your ankles look huge.” She tried to sound extremely concerned as she studied her sister’s stockinged feet. “Just imagine what they’ll be like close to delivering.”

Irene was not sure what to make of that. She looked uncertain.

Anna Margaret could not stay here for long. She would lose her temper if she did, but she had still not drunk her tea. She picked up her cup and hid behind it.

“You don’t care for talk about pregnancies,” Irene decided.

“No, not really.” Anna Margaret leant back with her tea. She was not wearing tight-fitting clothes and she did not think anyone could see anything. They had often commented how she was not at all thin, so hopefully they would still think she was not. “I don’t think it ought to define a person.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Well, you wouldn’t want people with one leg talking about having only one leg all the time.”

“Are you seriously comparing carrying a child with having one leg?”

“No, actually it’s some way between being religious and having one leg,” she said thoughtfully. Irene looked ready to burst. Anna Margaret drank her tea. Frederick had not yet touched his coffee, she noticed. He might be somewhat amazed if a sisterly catfight really ensued. “You know, just like someone introduces herself with hi, I’m Irene and I’m pregnant, as if that somehow says all. Some religious people do it too. As if you can infer personality traits from their belonging to a specific religion. You can’t. You also can’t infer personality traits from someone’s being pregnant. Or having one leg.”

“God!” Irene muttered. “It’s unbelievable. You really don’t get it, do you?”

“No, I suppose I don’t,” she answered calmly. She wished Frederick would drink his coffee. He had got it later, because he had first said tea would be fine, but her mother had not accepted this and had been all polite insistence about coffee. It might still be hot. If he did not drink it, she might be tempted to say more. He was not comfortable enough to take over the conversation himself.

“Have a biscuit,” said her mother, setting down another plate.

“No, thanks.”

Irene was back to talking. “We’ve already got a lot of shopping done. Mum and Dad gave us a pram. Nick’s parents got us a car seat.”

Anna Margaret gave this a vague smile. “Nice of them.” It was all very kind of grandparents to contribute things, but aunts did not always feel that way. Not yet anyway.

“We also went shopping for clothes. Oh! There are such cute things out there.” Irene mentioned a few brands that were apparently expensive and that she and Claire had not yet bought.

So some aunts were more inclined. Though not quite. Anna Margaret wondered if her youngest sister was ever going to buy those expensive clothes. She might simply have liked looking at them.

“I’ll put them on my registry list,” said Irene.

Frederick coughed when some coffee went down the wrong way. Anna Margaret gathered he had never heard of registries for babies either. It was probably an American invention. “What’s that for? A baby shower?”

“Oh, in a few months. But it can’t hurt to plan.”

“Oh. No. Right.” So far her own baby had nothing but a freshly painted room. Frederick had first looked up how to do it and then he had started with their own room, so it would be safe for her by the time they moved in. Then he had done the baby’s room. But there was still nothing in it. That would have to wait until some people had viewed the house. It would be rather surprising if they suddenly came across baby furniture. She imagined that her parents at least would like to see the house when the boxes were all unpacked.

“Silly idea,” said her father. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“You don’t have to come, Dad,” Irene answered. “It’s for women.”

“With their husbands’ credit cards, yes. So, Anna. Fill me in on that latest change,” he said in a more quiet voice.

“Which one?”

“The queen’s children are now free to marry who they want.”

“No, not really.” A change was in the works, yes, but it was not quite what he said. “But the prospective partners won’t have to meet the same requirements as before.”

“Yes, I heard.” He did not sound convinced that it was a change for the better.

“It’s good.”

Her father narrowed his eyes. “It’s all very convenient for you, I’m sure, but what happened to the bishop?”

Anna Margaret smiled sweetly. “I can’t say. I’ve stayed out of it.”

“So this means you will only need the queen’s approval?”

“Me? Oh. I suppose.”

“And does she approve of you? I take it she doesn’t quite approve of your living in sin if she pressed for these changes.”

Frederick exerted himself to speak. “She doesn’t think it a sin.”

“It’s just a manner of speaking.” Anna Margaret’s father seemed surprised he spoke. “But will you get married?”

Anna Margaret gave a careless shrug. “Oh, don’t count on it. Don’t reserve any days or weeks, I mean. Don’t start tanning or slimming. That sort of thing.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not that important, is it?”

“Will you hold a reception at your house once you’re settled in?”

Anna Margaret looked at Frederick. “We haven’t planned anything. If you want you could have a look now.”

“Good. Yes.” Her father seemed eager to leave.

She could not blame him if Irene Louise had been here for a while and acting like a pregzilla.

“Where are you going?” asked her mother when they stood up.

“Just looking at something.” She did not care for dragging all of them along, as unkind as it might be.

“Why is Irene behaving like an idiot?” she asked when they were outside.

“It’s hormones, says your mother.”

“And what did I do?”

“You don’t take her hormones seriously.”

“No, of course not.”

They crossed the street. It was only a few minutes away. Probably two. Still, there could be people watching. The police patrolled this street more frequently now and kindly requested people lingering in their cars to move on. She had seen that once, but she could not spot anyone now. Frederick walked behind them, presumably to allow her to speak to her father.

“She’s been obnoxious since she arrived,” her father revealed. “I’d rather you and Claire Sophie didn’t get pregnant. Just one is enough. Thankfully she says you won’t and Claire isn’t ready. Unfortunately none of you have men who talk, so I’d probably end up getting drunk in my study if more pregnant women turned up.”

Posted on 2016-06-05

Chapter Sixteen

This would be an appropriate moment, Anna Margaret reflected. She should say it now and not let this opportunity pass, because there was unlikely to be another one that was just as good. “Well, I’m four months pregnant,” she said, sounding too flippant, as if she could always pass it off as a joke if he did not react favourably. “And you didn’t notice.”

He gave her a look. “I almost thought you were serious there for a second.”

“I was.”

“You can’t be.”

They were approaching the house. She hoped they could have a discussion inside, if they were to have one at all, so she kept moving. “Why not? Because I’m not complaining about it?”

“Because…” Her father seemed mystified. “Pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“For how long, did you say?”

“Four months.”

“By…” He half turned towards Frederick.

She was disgusted. “I don’t know how you could even ask.”

“Sorry. It’s just so shocking.”

Anna Margaret was glad they could enter the house. There they would be safe from prying eyes. She had not checked if there were any. “Why?”

“I didn’t think you would, that is all.” He still looked as if she was an alien.

“I’ve never said I would and I’ve never said I wouldn’t.” The issue had never been relevant. She had even tried not to wonder privately as the years passed.

“But four months. Why didn’t you tell us? You’re almost halfway.”

“Because none of you would be laidback about it. It would be extra special, wouldn’t it? A prince’s child. It would only aggravate me. And frankly, Irene is going to hate me if she finds out.”

“Really?” Her father did not seem sure.

“You’ve never noticed that she’s irrationally jealous? She thinks she’s now beaten me to giving you the first grandchild, so she’s over the moon. Her bubble is going to be burst and the mess won’t be nice.”

“Well. I’ve never noticed anything of the sort.”

“Did you pay attention? No.” She did not think he had. He was always pretty busy doing his own things or following hers, which nearly amounted to the same. “I’ll show you around the house if you want.”

He followed. “But why do you think she’s jealous?”

“Because she is, not that she would say so if you asked. I suppose they don’t tell you when they complain to Mum about me?”

Her father looked surprised. “Not that I recall. Why do they complain?”

It could be because he did not pay attention, or because they had really kept him out of it, fearing he would choose her side. “This is the front room,” she said tersely. “The basement is for security.”

“Security,” he repeated.

“Unfortunately. But it’s like another apartment. It’s not in our way.” She showed him through the other rooms. Frederick had disappeared when they had set foot in the house, but when she hesitantly opened the door to their bedroom she noticed the bed was suddenly made. It made her smile.

“But tell me about Irene,” said her father when they were back downstairs. He had said nothing about the baby room because she had not introduced it as such.

“Oh,” she sighed. “Claire and she have always been complaining that they didn’t get the same praise or recognition. I wonder why you’ve never noticed? Or was it because they were right and I was really given more attention? Which would not be my fault and I’ve always told them so. I never asked for it.”

Her father frowned. “I can’t think of anything.”

“You told fewer people when they graduated, blah blah blah. You didn’t get them a good job, blah blah blah.”

“I didn’t get anyone a good job.”

“Try telling them that. I didn’t do anything they couldn’t have done in that regard. But they’re always making snide remarks about how you helped me along and that it’s the only reason why I could have become a minister. You got me into all those jobs on the way, you know, and you didn’t do anything like it for them.”

“Your sister is a physiotherapist. I’m not sure how I could have pulled any strings.”

“You did not pull as many strings as they think on my behalf either.” She hoped he would now not reveal the opposite.

“No.”

Frederick joined them again. Anna Margaret did not know where he had been. “I’m glad to hear it, although I could not imagine that I’d never achieved anything on my own merits, so I wasn’t taking it too seriously in the first place.”

“Would you like a drink?” Frederick inquired. “If you need to talk some more.”

“I’ll just sit,” said Anna Margaret’s father. “But start from the beginning. You got pregnant and didn’t tell us.”

“Right,” she nodded. “But you know that if the media found out I’d be getting a lot of undesirable attention and criticism. And besides, when Mum got these strange ideas in her head even before anything was going on, you didn’t react all too nice about it either. My job and so forth.”

“So you didn’t tell me.”

“The fewer people who knew, the better.”

“And you thought we would tell?”

She could not tell if he thought that was likely, but he was not as indignant as she had feared. Maybe he did not trust her mother very much either. “Besides, around the time when people generally reveal the news – three months – Irene revealed hers and I could hardly say ‘how nice, me too, but I’m two months ahead of you.’ Well, I could have, but it would not have been appreciated.”

“Why not?”

She wondered if he was genuinely obtuse. “Because she was rejoicing in the fact that she had beaten me to this milestone for once. And she would not like it that I hadn’t told anyone – her – before, considering how early she was telling everyone about it herself. And I really could not have told anyone before then anyway, because I’d only that week seen the midwife. You don’t tell people if you don’t know if it’s going well.”

“But you’re at four months.” He seemed to calculate. “But you were not seeing him four months ago.” He gave Frederick a look.

“Only just. I got pregnant right away.”

Her father looked appalled. Frederick grinned. She did not know who to go with herself. Getting pregnant right away was considered irresponsible by some, and she counted her family among those, but she did not feel that had been the case. On the other hand, she was not yet proud of the achievement.

“Not before?” her father inquired cautiously.

“Before what?”

“Before the relationship.”

“Oh. Is that possible? I mean, I’m sure it is, but no.”

“But why would you get pregnant right away? Did you want five children and you felt you had to start right away?”

“If that were the case it would be nobody’s business except ours,” Anna Margaret said sharply. She thought five was a bit much, but she did not want others to decide for her. “But for the moment let’s just concentrate on this one.”

“We can handle one, no problem,” said Frederick. He sounded confident, too.

“But what will you do with it during the day?”

“Play or something?” That was Frederick again.

Anna Margaret’s father did not understand it. “Will you give up your job then?” he asked his daughter.

“No, of course not.”

“Then how could you play with it?”

“Was I the one who said I’d play with it?”

She had asked her father not tell anyone just yet. He understood what the media would do with it and how the public might react. She trusted he would want to protect her from that for a little bit longer. It would not have to be for long. It seemed most women began to show soon and if that happened she would no longer be able to keep it a secret.

She had not made any promises on when she would tell her mother. There might be a problem, she realised, if one knew and the other did not, but while her mother would have learned to be discreet during her husband’s career, this was something of a different order.

She sighed and looked at Frederick when her father was gone. “Pfff.”

“That went all right, didn’t it?”

“You think?”

“He didn’t take it that badly. He’s a still a bit odd around me, though. Not very reverent, but not quite chummy yet.”

“He doesn’t know what to make of you, I think.”

“Would your father have known what to make of me?”

“I doubt it. I sometimes wish he could have seen it, but mostly I think it’s a lot less trouble this way.”

Posted on 2016-06-12

Chapter Seventeen

If I qualify for Rio I can go as an athlete and a delegate,” said Frederick. He appeared to be checking his email. “But I won’t qualify.”

“Why not?” she asked before she had realised he had said Rio.

“I’m not good enough. I mean, I’ll have months to get into a better shape, but I’ll also have other things to do in those six months.”

Anna Margaret had not really realised he might have to give up something as well when the baby arrived. It was not entirely her fault; he had not told her. This was the first time he ever mentioned qualifying for something. She felt guilty for resembling her father. Sometimes she forgot to notice things that concerned others. Or could she have known? She searched her memory, but she did not think so. He had never mentioned Rio before. Only rowing for Germany, which she had taken to mean rowing in Germany.

But what if he was good enough to qualify for a large tournament in six months? He had said he would look after their baby. What would he prefer or choose? If this was important to him they would have to find another solution.

“But if you qualify…” she said.

“I won’t. I don’t train nearly enough. It was a merely hypothetical observation. Don’t worry.”

“Will you go as a delegate if you don’t?”

“Will you? They may invite you too.”

“I think not,” she said hesitantly. “With a baby. Unless you get in. Then we’ll need to watch.”

He looked very pleased.

She wondered if he never got any spectators who came especially for him. “Who else watches?”

“Me? No one. Teammates who are there. But there won’t be much in the way of competitions for months.”

“Has no one ever gone to watch you? Family, I mean.”

“Not really. My father, as you know, didn’t like my rowing for Germany. Instead of suggesting we set up our own federation, he said I should give up altogether.”

But evidently he had not done so. “And then…”

“I talked to people about having a federation of our own and of course they were willing to give some information or assistance, on account of who I was. But my father was still against it.”

“Why?”

“Because people might then find out I had done a few World Cups using my German passport.” Frederick looked amused, although that could not be how he had felt at the time. It must have been immensely frustrating. “He thought it was a disgrace for me to represent another country. Even though people don’t find out about these things unless you tell them. You don’t know what types of races I went to either.”

Anna Margaret blushed. “No.”

“Which is partly my fault, because I feared I would end up last. I haven’t been training enough and I’m getting a bit old, but these were the first tournaments I could do under our own flag, so I wanted to do them anyway.”

“Yes, of course.” She understood that. “But I wouldn’t mind if you ended up last, so you can tell me next time. And I’ll try to ask more questions. I should ask you what exactly you’re going to do. Or maybe I should come along.”

“I thought you should get some rest on your days off.”

She would like to be the judge of that herself. “When is the next thing?”

“I haven’t planned anything yet, but I’ll let you know.”

“But…” Her cautious confidence in her future home life was a little shaken. She could not help it. “If you have something to do after we have the baby…”

“We’ll see.”

“But I can’t ask you to give that up. You sort of implied you had nothing to give up.”

“I sort of implied it was my fault,” he corrected. “But don’t worry. If I have something important to do, which I doubt, there will be someone.”

The undefinable discomfort did not go away. “But I…”

“I know,” he said.

“But you don’t know. I haven’t said.”

“I know. But it’s probably something upsetting the plan.”

Anna Margaret examined herself. “Well…finally we had some plan and then… Now it’s all uncertain again.”

“No, it’s not.”

“But I can’t tell you not to go somewhere if you need to or want to go.”

“How often do you think that will be?”

“I have no idea.”

“So you’re fearing it will be every week?”

“I have no idea.”

“So in fact you have no idea what you’re worrying about.”

“That’s the worst kind.”

“I said I won’t qualify. There’ll be no point in training on the water three times a day.”

“But if you wanted to…”

“I’m going to force you to have hobbies,” Frederick decided. “The notion of people doing things other than work seems to have surprised you a bit.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No! I simply had no idea that you might be good at it. And if you’re good at it, you will want to get better and you deserve to spend time on it.”

“Not if I’m not good at it?”

Anna Margaret looked pained. “You know what I mean. I don’t want to take it away from you. You’re not taking anything away from me either. But what about the baby?”

He shrugged. “I told you. However, if you still think I don’t know my own chances, I say: Isabelle.”

She remembered that Isabelle had indeed offered her services. Exactly how that would work out she could not imagine. The queen had engagements and events, she would think. She was not always home. There were always people in the Palace, that was true. Perhaps he meant one of them could do it.

Frederick, who had been looking alternately amused and annoyed, now looked more sympathetic. “I’ll solve it. Besides, you may not even want to part from the baby during the first weeks.”

She thought that was unlikely. “I don’t feel anything of that so-called mother instinct yet, so I can’t imagine that at all. I’m not sure I feel very motherly.”

“It would be odd if you felt motherly already with only me to look after.”

“I’m –“

“—neurotic.”

“Thanks.”

Anna Margaret was nevertheless not reassured enough. She took the matter up with Isabelle when she next saw her. “Frederick says he won’t qualify for the Olympics, but this was the first time I heard about the Olympics at all and I had no idea there was even any possibility of qualifying.”

Isabelle did not look surprised. “From what I heard the possibility is remote.”

“Yes, but I did not even know there was a remote possibility.”

“You thought he was training for fun.”

“Well, it’s not that much, surely? A bit of running or swimming in the morning. And sometimes a bit in the evening.”

“What do you think he does when you’re at work?”

“I thought he discussed official engagements and read his official mail.”

“That does not take all day. What do you talk about when you’re home? Or don’t you talk?” Isabelle wondered, her eyebrows raised.

“The house, furniture…” But yes, apparently there were things he did not tell her. While she could understand, in this case, it was still unsettling.

“The baby…”

“Sometimes. But that’s my problem. If he’s so good that he needs to train so much, how could he look after a baby? I don’t want to ruin his one and only chance.”

“And you thought only one of you could look after that baby?”

“No, but we should be the most important ones. If I have to go away for work and he has to go away rowing, what would we do? It never occurred to me that he might have to go away. He says it’s not likely, but I’m not sure of that. I have googled,” Anna Margaret said ominously.

“Well, in that case – you have to go away and he does too – you take the baby with you and you take someone along who can take care of the baby when you cannot. If you have a dinner engagement and he’s not home, you either take the baby with you or you leave it with a babysitter.”

“Take the baby with me to a dinner?”

Isabelle shrugged. “If I could do it, so can you.”

“But how?” She could not imagine eating with a baby in her lap. At an official dinner, no less. It could simply not be done.

“They always have a waitress or dishwasher with baby skills, in case your lady in waiting doesn’t have any.”

“But what if it cries all the time?”

“I don’t know why it should, if you’re always in sight. Mine never made a fuss.”

“Well, if mine takes after me and Frederick says I’m neurotic, I’m sure it will make a fuss.”

“Professionally you’re far from neurotic. In fact, Frederick might be more neurotic professionally. You are more or less unflappable. I find it very fascinating that this baby could turn you into Frederick.” Isabelle studied her with interest.

“How? He’s not worried about anything at all. I don’t see it.”

“I see it. Of course I haven’t really spoken to him about the baby. I’ll try to do so, to see if he’s turned into you.”

“I think you’re simply mad,” Anna Margaret grumbled.

Posted on 2016-06-15

Chapter Eighteen

“I haven’t read about your happy news yet,” said Isabelle.

“I’ve had to tell my father, but he doesn’t seem to have told anyone yet.”

“And you haven’t either. Mind you, suppose Philip and I had been lax with our birth control, on account of my age or something like that, we wouldn’t be eager to share it quite so soon either.”

“I’m sure you mean to rub it in that Philip and you are never lax with your birth control,” Anna Margaret commented. “Thank you, I know.”

“I was pregnant when I married,” Isabelle angelically. “Of course no one ever found out because I miscarried.”

“Did your father know?” From what she had heard about the man she suspected he would not have liked this at all.

“Ha ha, of course not.”

“Did Philip know?”

“Of course he did.”

“And your mother and Frederick?”

“My mother knew, of course, but not Frederick. He was away at school at the time.”

“What would other people have said if they had known?”

“Not that much, I suspect, but self-control is seen as a sign of good breeding. I’m not sure people really expect one to abstain after – or before – the engagement, but getting pregnant before getting married is not what you’re supposed to do. Well, twenty-five years ago it wasn’t. You’ve got so many years for it. Why hurry? Of course that only applies to people who are younger than you.”

“So why did you?”

Isabelle shrugged.

“Where did you meet him?”

“Behind the boatshed.”

Anna Margaret rolled her eyes. She wondered if Isabelle had spiced her own coffee with something odd. These revelations were quite private. “I was asking a serious question.”

“But that was a serious answer. I did meet him there.”

“I did not mean to ask where you held your clandestine trysts, but where you first laid eyes on him.”

“Oh. That wasn’t behind the boatshed, no. That was over the phone.”

“Over the phone?”

“Yes, I pretended to be Frederick’s mother.” Isabelle chuckled at the memory.

“And he believed you? And then he met Frederick’s mother behind the boatshed?”

“No, of course not. There were some developments in between. But you don’t do developments in between, do you? It’s right to the boatshed with you.”

Anna Margaret did not want to take the bait. She inhaled deeply and decided it would be a waste of time trying to clarify things Isabelle probably already knew. “But why did you have to phone him and pretend to be Frederick’s mother?”

“What else could I do?”

“It still makes no sense.”

“Frederick was a bit bullied at school, so my father decided – eventually – to send him to a boarding school where…er…there was less of a gap between our social situation and that of the other pupils. In England. I thought that might make a difference.”

Anna Margaret noted how Frederick’s father had sent him there, but that his sister had thought it might make a difference. That was interesting. She appreciated that Isabelle had looked out for her brother and she wondered how bad the situation had been.

“And Philip was…” She calculated. Isabelle would have been anything from early to mid-twenties and Philip had not struck her as much older than his wife and certainly not younger. He could not have been a pupil there at the same time, so he must have been connected to the boarding school in some other way.

“Working there.”

“And you phoned him.”

“I got him on the line – more or less by accident – and I wouldn’t let him pass me on to someone else.”

She could imagine Isabelle being persuasive and tenacious. “But did you know he was young?”

“No, of course not. I wasn’t making any moves on him. Remember, I was pretending to be Princess Anna, Frederick’s mother. It wouldn’t do to make passes at strangers over the phone. I simply needed his reassurance that he would do exactly what I told him to do and that he understood the problem.”

“And he immediately promised this.”

“No, of course not. Well, I expected him to, because I’d introduced myself as Princess Anna and I imagined everyone would then do as I said. But my god, at that point I discovered that people in England really do not know anything about us. There’s the Continent, they know that, and some places have princes and princesses, but who lives where, they have no clue. The name Princess Anna meant nothing to him.”

Anna Margaret giggled. She could not help it.

“He was a little impressed by the Princess bit, but it was not enough to make me feel confident about the whole situation. I couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t hang up a note telling everyone to ignore future calls from one Princess Anna. I felt he wasn’t sure I was actually sane. So I had to fly over.”

“But what exactly did you want him to do?” It would have been something to do with Frederick and being bullied. Isabelle would have wanted someone to see to it that it did not happen at this new school.

“I needed to know he understood Frederick and that he would keep an eye out. Doesn’t seem complicated, does it? I thought it was extremely simple, but…”

“But you flew over?”

“Yes. The staff at the entrance were admittedly a little surprised that I insisted on seeing him in particular. I thought I looked very authoritative and royal.”

She thought Isabelle still looked very authoritative and royal. However, the more they talked, the more she knew it was nothing but an image at times. Months ago she would not have dared to ask this, but now she could do so calmly. “But when you started talking about your son they considered phoning the nearest asylum to see if they were missing a patient?”

“No, I did mention my son and how I had spoken to Philip over the phone about him and they were all very accommodating.”

“Seriously,” Anna Margaret said in disbelief. “But you must have been twenty-two or so. You cannot possibly have looked old enough to be a pupil’s mother.”

“Do you really think they would contradict a princess if three quarters of her story check out?” Isabelle gave this a magnanimous smile. “They would not dare. But, let’s get back to your announcement. You can have the story some other time. Would you like us to do it?”

“How?” She dragged her mind away from the unbelievable business at the school.

“The Royal Family are happy – no, delighted. We are always delighted – to announce there will be an addition to the family in a few months.”

“That doesn’t say where it’s coming from. It might be a dog. Or was it your intention to be so vague?”

“It was.”

“You’ll be getting a lot of questions. People asking if it’s a dog, or whose baby it will be.”

“I was not actually planning to announce things for you,” said Isabelle. “I was simply curious when you plan to do it. I’m sure that, like us, you have people who claim to know the best moment to make announcements.”

“Who claim ? You don’t agree?”

“Well, take those women pretending to have Frederick’s babies. They didn’t quite judge right there, did they? I think that maybe they weren’t quite convinced he hadn’t done anything.”

“Were you?”

“Were you?” Isabelle shot the question right back.

“Eventually,” Anna Margaret answered. “Not when he first denied it, of course, but later.”

“Yes, so. They are not always right in their estimation of when to say what. I suggest your people get together with our people and discuss the issue.”

“But we have the last word.”

“Actually, I do.”

“Wait.” Her eyes widened. “You can’t stop me from telling people.”

“No, theoretically I could not. However, I know you will not tell people. You will not tell those journalists you’re pregnant. You’re much too afraid of critical reactions. People saying you won’t be able to work, people asking you how much time you’ll take off, and so forth.”

“I could have a press statement issued. About taking some time off for health reasons.”

“That would be just as clear as implying that we’re getting a dog. What sort of health reasons and for how long?”

“We may even get married first. Or do I have to let you announce that as well?”

Isabelle hid her face behind her hand. “Oh good grief!” She sat like that for a while and then shook her head, as if to get rid of the problem. “All right, it’s solved. Don’t you worry about it.”

Anna Margaret had been looking on in some confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out. And no, I won’t make any announcements before anything has happened. Back to our documents,” she said briskly. “We’re here to work.”

“Your sister says my people and her people should get together and discuss how to announce that we’re pregnant,” Anna Margaret dutifully reported to Frederick that evening. “She says she’ll have the last word.”

“Nothing new there.”

“You won’t mind?”

“I’m used to having people announce things,” he said with a shrug. “It’s much better than doing it yourself.”

“Then maybe we should get together with everyone’s people some time.”

“You do that. I don’t particularly need to be there.”

“Frederick!”

“Sorry. I’ll be there if you insist. But why does a simple statement have to be discussed by half a dozen people?”

“I think that’s about the timing of it, not the phrasing.”

“Or you could simply wait until everyone can see it. We could take a picture of ourselves in the swimming pool and post it on Twitter. In a few weeks,” he said with an eye on her waist. “Or months.”

Posted on 2016-06-19

Chapter Nineteen

Anna Margaret had not yet consulted ‘her people’ a few days later. As far as she knew they were still unaware of her pregnancy – or they pretended to be. She did not have complaints like Irene and her having lost weight obscured any growth. It was ironic that Isabelle sent her a message just when she was evaluating Isabelle’s tour and she expected it to be about this subject.

“The tour was a great success,” said the Minister for Culture. Of course he would say so, since someone had put him in charge. He could not say it had been useless.

“And economically?” she wondered. It had been an expensive year on that front, what with a funeral, an inauguration, an abdication and another inauguration. The budget had been beyond stretched.

“It did draw a lot of tourists,” said someone. “But we haven’t got the exact figures yet, obviously. The hotels did report a greater occupancy rate than usual in that time of the year. It was after the peak season.”

“I think Her Majesty had a positive opinion of it as well.” She checked her message, which was nothing but a date, time and room in the Palace. Strange. Was she to bring her people?

“I read that you and she don’t get along?”

“Read?” She stared at the message. In that case it might be an invitation to a duel. She might have to bring her people and a pistol. “And you believe everything you read?”

“Well, you didn’t support the queen during any part of the tour…”

She now stared at the speaker. The tabloids were always looking for discord. In this case she really had no idea on what they could be basing it. It was a little disappointing that someone in here, where really there should only be people who had proved to have some intelligence, should believe a tabloid. “And you really think that would have been necessary? She wasn’t alone.”

“The article said you wanted to go, but she didn’t want you there.”

“I appreciate your asking me personally instead of believing that drivel,” she answered. “We get along, don’t worry about that. And I’ve never wanted to go, so she’s never had any reason to not want me to.”

“Will she allow you to marry her brother?”

“Yes.”

“Tourists would like a wedding, provided it’s in the right season.”

“I can see those eurosigns in your eyes, Gregory,” she said. “But does it seem likely for him to want such a wedding? Big? Public?” And she was definitely not going to let tourists dictate when she married.

“I didn’t know they had any choice in the matter.”

“This generation is different from the ones before, so yes, they do have a choice in the matter. If there’s going to be any wedding, you’ll hear about it the day after. Probably.” She observed that some looked surprised.

“You wouldn’t invite us?”

“Just imagine the prime minister having a huge, state-funded wedding.” She shook her head. “You know it won’t fly. And you know that if I did have such aspirations – which I don’t – you lot would be required to put me in my place.”

“You could fund it privately.”

She laughed. “I’d rather save my money for other things. Besides, it would be a really bad start to our marriage if it began with my torturing my husband in this manner.”

“Torturing?”

“It would come close. He doesn’t like such occasions.”

After that meeting she had an interview with a foreign newspaper from a country that might be about to have its first female prime minister. She had thought they might ask original questions, but they did not. She had no idea why she had been chosen, because she was certainly not the only one or the best-known. Or maybe they had applied to several and she was simply the only one who had said yes.

Clearly no news of her romantic escapades had ever crossed the borders. Her biography had likely been pulled from Wikipedia – and the English version had not been updated to include a relationship. It had made her wonder about the version in their own language. She answered the questions politely and patiently. They had not done their homework, but it was refreshing rather than annoying that she could tell them anything she liked. She could simply forget to mention that her partner was a prince.

“But these personal questions are rarely asked of men,” she said, “and in that respect it’s different. Not because a woman would behave so very differently in this position, but because other people behave differently towards her. I bet my father, who was a prime minister several years ago, was never asked if it was difficult to combine his job with a family. Yet with a woman the family angle always comes first.

I was rarely asked how I thought to reconcile the ideas of the two different parties that make up our government, when that was the real challenge, not if I could find enough time to date. Or, even worse, if a woman of a childbearing age should have been appointed at all. Nobody is afraid of male politicians having wives or children. It’s something that doesn’t affect their jobs, as if they’re two separate lives.

“But we certainly need more women in these positions, to make this more normal and accepted, and because I think women in power are less weapon-oriented than men. It wouldn’t all be nice and peaceful, because not all women are nice and peaceful, but it would be different.

“I’d personally be inclined to say ‘let’s not invest in state of the art weaponry for all of our three soldiers, because they’d be useless against three hundred or three thousand invaders with decent but not the latest types of weapons anyway’, but this is something that is difficult to accept for men, I found.”

Some people there lived in denial, she had found. Either that or they simply lacked the insight to understand the numerical majority of any enemy. While a sort of army was practical for other purposes, she saw absolutely no point in fitting it out with equipment they were never going to use simply because their neighbours had it too – or even worse, because it existed. Not if the money could be spent on more useful things like research, health care or infrastructure.

Only if they entered into some cooperation with a neighbouring country – in that case they would have to have similar standards. They were working on that and she needed to check on it. She reached for a piece of paper and discreetly scribbled a note. It probably turned out illegible, but as long as she remembered when she had scribbled it, she would remember what it was about.

When she got home she was exhausted. “What happened?” Frederick asked when she sagged on the couch.

“Oh. I had a few meetings and then I had an interview where I had to sit up straight and I had to pose for pictures. And I don’t know what to make of the fact that they had seemingly not done their homework, because the man who interviewed me knew nothing about you. And I didn’t tell him anything either, so I wonder how that will turn out. I said my partner was working part-time in the family business.”

“Yes, more or less,” he agreed. “But how does that work? How could they not know? Where were they from?”

“Abroad. Gosh. Really. It puts things into perspective, doesn’t it? I really had to email the committee about this, because some were already thinking of what all the tourists might spend if we had a large public wedding. Guys! Tourists won’t even know we’re an item! Maybe only those directly across the border.”

“I don’t like that bit about the large public wedding.”

“I know. I told them it was a no go. But your sister’s tour got some of them overenthusiastic. I have a feeling some think the success was due to their organising skills. And honestly, do they organise well, but I don’t want to be their guinea pig so they can add a royal wedding to their CV and you certainly don’t want that either.”

“Meh.”

“Deep. That will convince them. The expense would be as useless as buying a tank.”

“A tank? Where does that come in? I thought it was a horse-drawn carriage. Is this a new security measure?”

“Hmm. If the tank could double as a royal vehicle once a year or so its expense might be justified,” Anna Margaret said pensively. “But Eric wants this super-duper tank. The problem is – well, there are several problems. But don’t tell me you would actually prefer a tank over a carriage?”

“Don’t give me that men are stupid look,” Frederick requested.

“Don’t tell me you would agree to a public wedding if you could be driven around town in a bloody tank ?” she exclaimed.

“There are tanks for weddings,” he discovered, looking at his tablet.

“No, no, and no.”

“I’m only a reservist, don’t worry. I have no special connection with tanks.”

“You couldn’t have; our army doesn’t have any.”

“Which is why Eric wants one?”

“One! More like ten. I could cry. And you know, if someone says they want ten, they really mean fifteen when it comes down to it.”

“Cry. That’s drastic. But you could send him a picture of the wedding tank and ask if that will do. He could rent it out if there’s no war going on.”

“I’m not sure he’d appreciate the joke. And what if he does? You might have to marry in it.”

“I could do a tank if I could be inside. Not if I had to sit on top and wave.”

“I could not do a tank under any circumstances,” Anna Margaret said decisively. “And I’m not sending him a picture because he’s not on the committee and he wouldn’t understand the connection.”

“But…these people are under the assumption that we’re getting married?”

“As far as I know they know nothing, but it occurred to them that a royal wedding could be a good attraction.”

“Which part of the abdication didn’t they understand?” he wondered.

“It’s probably good enough for them that you’ve kept a title and the membership of the family. Speaking of which, I’m not interested in either.”

Frederick laughed. “I’m not sure that is going to work.”

“What do you mean?”

“Should we leave you off official family pictures? As if you were some sort of secret mistress?”

“I wouldn’t be offended. And honestly, as if royal family pictures only ever included titled persons – many include dogs.”

“You have a point there,” he conceded. “The family can include who they like, even dogs.”

“Your sister is not going to be mean about it.”

“No, probably not.”

“And if I do get included I’ll even smile.” She was not going to be mean about it either. She had no objections to the family at all. Receiving a title was something else.

“That’s very generous of you,” he grinned. “But you don’t want to be addressed as Her Royal Highness the Prime Minister?”

“You would agree with me that that’s totally off. Maybe later, when my term is over, if you like. But I’d allow it for your sake, not for mine.”

He kissed her. “And the baby?”

“I wish we could consult it. But I think…” she paused to think. “That maybe we should leave all its options open so that it can make its own choice when it’s old enough. Of course it has no options unless we marry.”

Posted on 2016-06-24

Chapter Twenty

Anna Margaret had dutifully gone to her appointments with the midwives. Now she was due for the medical scan that was to take place elsewhere. This gave her some headaches beforehand. She wanted to take Frederick, but it would give the entire game away if they were recognised in the waiting room. She had no idea how long she had to wait. Just to be sure, she booked the last appointment of the day.

Her hair tied back, because that looked different, she observed for a while where the pregnant women were called to, then she positioned herself halfway down that little corridor when she thought the last of them had gone in. She removed the rubber band from her hair.

Now only three people knew she was here, as opposed to the entire waiting room. Not that there were that many people left in there, but bloodwork could seemingly be done until a later hour than the ultrasounds and there was still a handful of people sitting.

The technician looked visibly impressed. Anna Margaret beckoned Frederick, who had the only seat with a full view of the corridor. He was not wearing a suit and probably nobody had recognised him.

The technician was still in awe after ten seconds. “I see, I see,” she said, presumably referring to Anna Margaret’s lurking in the corridor to intercept her. “People don’t know yet.”

“No. It’s been nice and quiet so far.” She got into the chair and Frederick installed himself next to her.

“Would you like to find out what you’re having or would you like me to keep quiet about that?” the woman asked after she had explained what was going to happen.

“We don’t mind knowing,” she assured the technician. She watched as the baby came onto the screen. Contrary to the previous time it was clearly recognisable now. And it moved.

The technician went through her standard programme of checks. “What do you think?” she asked as she paused at a certain point.

“Girl,” said Frederick, who had said nothing until then. He had only been holding her hand. “Because I see nothing. No, wait.”

“I can’t think of any boy names,” said Anna Margaret.

They were very helpfully let out of a back door, with the knowledge all was going well with their child. And something had happened – she had felt they were going to be parents, which was considerably different from two people looking at a positive pregnancy test. It had been one of those looks they had shared; she could not really put her finger on it. Although she had been a bit nervous going here, she went back to work feeling reassured.

It was growing colder now. Winter was fast approaching, though not yet officially. This meant that she had been wearing coats for nearly two months now. Outside no one could see she had gained a little weight again in some places. Inside it was still possible to wear wider tops and jackets. She had not checked whether her staff had found out yet. George knew, but perhaps he had not talked.

That reminded her of his wedding. She had a week and a half to find something to wear. Theoretically. In practice of course most of her days were already too full to go shopping. The invitation was at home and she did not remember if it said there was a dress code.

She took out her phone as she contemplated waiting for an undoubtedly full bus. Rush hour was in full swing, but that did not mean her work day was over. Chances were the bus would arrive just when her conversation with George was at an interesting point, but it would be good to be seen making use of public transport. It would be good to be seen walking as well, but the sooner she was back at work the sooner she could leave it too.

“George!” she said when the connection had been established. “You’re getting married next week.”

“I know.”

“I don’t have the invitation with me, but did it say anything specific with regard to outfits?” She boarded the bus. It was indeed as full as she had expected. She held on to a pole and held the phone in her other hand. It had to be visible. Even though she had earphones, she still thought it ridiculous to see people apparently talking to themselves. At least when they held a phone you would not think they were crazy.

“Outfits? You mean what you should wear?”

“Yes, I mean what I should wear. Did your invitation say anything? Sorry, I put it down to check it later, but I forgot.”

“Just what you’re comfortable with, really. Where are you?”

“I’m on the 7.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a bus line! But you know it’s dangerous to let people wear what they’re comfortable with.” She thought of Frederick, who might prefer something all too comfortable.

“Is it? Doesn’t everybody sort of know what to wear?”

“You’d think. But I still need to buy something.” She feared that everything she owned would be a little too tight, if it still fit at all. “Could I borrow your intended this Saturday?”

“This Saturday?” George paused to think. “No, sorry. He’s away for a stag party.”

“Oh.” She wondered if they both had stag parties. “I’ll sort something out.”

She took a quick decision when the bus drove past the first shops. They were open for another half hour at least. She would make a little detour. “Was I meeting anyone?”

“Yes. Are you planning not to show up, madam? Is public transport not running on time?” George was notoriously wary of public transport for some reason. He thought it was dirty, crowded and never on time.

“I can’t say. I’ve not checked the timetable; I just got on the bus. But I’m planning to be later now. Just a bit. I may have to buy an outfit.”

George was silent, probably in shock. Then he spoke again. “They’re probably late themselves, but not that late!”

“Do you think I can’t buy an outfit in fifteen minutes, George?” She pressed the button for the next stop and then got off. It was amazing that not more colleagues took the bus, but cars with personal drivers were a big thing with some of them.

And of course the moment you thought no one bothered you on public transport, they did, so Anna Margaret was fully expecting someone to start bothering her. She looked up and caught the eye of a girl, who together with another girl had come off the same bus.

“Could we take a picture of you?”

Anna Margaret obliged.

“So cool.”

“Amazing,” she had to remark. “I live and work in this town. I’m always surprised when people are surprised they see me.”

“But we don’t live here.”

“Oh, that’s a possibility too,” she agreed.

“Well, thanks! Have a nice day!” The girls skipped away again.

She continued towards the first possible shop. There, she found it was more difficult than she had imagined to choose a dress. She did not want to try anything on, but she had only a vague idea of the shapes and models that would be suitable. The chubbiness must be obscured, yet it had to be something that was not too much making her look like either a teletubbie or a wigwam.

At least with a sleeveless dress she could justify a jacket, but of course nothing that hung here came with a matching jacket. She walked on, thinking there might be another shop a hundred metres or so down the street. After that, it was either two hundred metres to the left for the next shop, or to the right towards work. She did not know yet what she should do at that point.

But as she was walking, she had another idea. She looked up Isabelle’s number and called her. “What did you do when you were pregnant and you needed a fancy dress?” She hoped the answer would not be that Isabelle had had them made especially for her. There was not enough time for that, although she really had no idea how fast seamstresses worked.

“When do you need one?”

“Oh no. I was already afraid you were going to say you had a personal seamstress.”

“But I haven’t said that yet.”

“Oh.”

“When do you need one?”

“Next Saturday.”

“And things you have are no longer suitable?”

“Maybe, if it’s stretch, but I’d look fat. I’ve just looked in a shop, but I didn’t want to try anything on there and I don’t really want to look at maternity wear. I was already asked for a selfie. So…”

“I may have some.”

“Do you keep everything?”

“No, not everything. But these things always come in handy,” Isabelle said brightly. “You know where I live.”

“Thanks.” Anna Margaret gathered she was with other people. “I’ll find a moment.”

She turned right and headed for her office. Isabelle did not have the same figure, but maybe that did not matter. Hopefully she had something she could wear. It was not a public occasion, so nobody would be comparing photos to see where the dress had been worn before.

“Did you get something?” George checked her hands, but she was not holding any bags.

She smiled at his disappointment. He secretly had a fondness for dresses. “I’ll borrow one from Frederick’s sister.”

“The queen,” he said, impressed.

“Apparently she keeps some of her dresses for a second run.”

“But…but….”

“Yes?”

“How will her dresses fit you?” he asked in a nearly dramatic whisper.

“They are dresses that will fit, if you know what I mean,” she replied in a similar whisper. The nearest person was too far to overhear, but she copied him anyway.

“Oh, that kind.”

“Indeed. I’ll be more comfortable trying them on there where no one can see it.”

“But gosh, I’ll have one of the queen’s dresses at my wedding?”

Anna Margaret raised her eyebrows. “Is this more impressive than having a former king there?” Although she hoped no one would pay attention to him there, for his sake.

“About equal.”

“I’ll do my best to fit in one. There are people from the office coming, aren’t there?”

He nodded.

“And they don’t know yet, I think, so I can’t show off the bump.”

“It’s a very modest one, as far as I can tell. They may just think you fat.”

“Let’s hope they do. That would be lovely.”

Posted on 2016-06-29

Chapter Twenty-One

It was not late enough to order food in and besides, Anna Margaret supposed Frederick would be counting on her to join him at home. She had warned him she might be a little late, but of course it had run very late. She was just considering texting Frederick when one of her staff came in to say that Reception had phoned to ask if she was expecting her boyfriend, as there was someone there they were not sure of.

“But they know him,” she said.

“Apparently they’re not sure.”

“How can they not be sure?” she wondered, getting up. “They’ve seen him before. But never mind. I’ll go home.”

She went down to Reception and found Frederick sitting there with an amused expression. He was wearing running clothes. No wonder. “What was the problem?” she asked the fellow behind the desk. He was relatively new, of course, and undoubtedly operating under strict orders while his partner was off doing something else for a minute. He had been here long enough to know her, though.

“Madam,” he blushed and stood up. “This man says he has come to see you, but he’s not carrying any ID.”

She looked at Frederick. The policy was not to let anyone in without ID, although even people with ID could be nutcases. She did not see his bodyguards, although they were almost certainly carrying.

“Sorry, I forgot. Rules are rules.” He did not seem to care much. Apparently he had counted on someone coming down to let him in. “I thought maybe we could eat somewhere on the way home.”

She turned back to the guard and considered saying he could let Frederick in next time, but what if he mistook someone for Frederick? “Thanks,” she said therefore.

“Are you hungry?” Frederick asked.

“Are you planning to eat out in that?”

“What’s wrong with it? We don’t have to go anywhere fancy.”

“Um, no. They wouldn’t let you in.”

“And no ID with me to prove I really am classy. Are you done?”

“Yes. Won’t you be cold? You have no real coat.”

“I don’t know. I’ll find out.” He took her arm.

“People will see us.”

“Yes.”

There was no one waiting outside, however. They could walk away without being spoken to. “So where did you want to eat?”

“There are a couple of places this way for quick meals. I didn’t feel like cooking. I’ll go for an extra run tomorrow to burn it off.”

“And me?”

“You can come on that run too,” he grinned.

She left the choice of eating place to him, but she ordered, since she was the only one carrying money. Frederick sat down in a plastic chair. Apart from some students eating or waiting for their food, it was not busy. She sat down as well as she waited and picked up a magazine. Not a tabloid; she did not want to know.

It was not a place they would ever be expected to eat in, but she had been in such places when she was a student. Not too often; her budget would not have allowed even cheap take-aways on a daily basis. She wondered about Frederick. “Did you ever eat in such a place?” she asked when she set the plates on the table.

“This is the only one I’ve ever been to.”

“As a student? Or simply as an act of rebellion?”

“Rebellion. Slumming it.”

“Or you could view it as a useful life experience. I wonder if our child will be curious about such places.” She spoke softly, although the students would not be listening and the man who had come in to order two bottles of water was one of Frederick’s shadows. They had a lousy job actually, she reflected.

“I wouldn’t recommend it for frequent visits, but I would be OK with it if it went once a year.”

Once a year sounded good. Just enough to satisfy curiosity. Frederick’s nieces and their cinema trip came to mind. They would have to wonder about all kinds of issues in the future, but she pushed them from her mind. They had plenty of time for those. “By the way, George is getting married next Saturday. Did you remember?”

“It’s on the calendar.”

“I can borrow one of your sister’s dresses. Saves me a shopping trip.”

“Do I have to go in a suit?”

She really wondered how he could be asking that with his upbringing. “You were probably born in one. But no, as long as you won’t wear that .” She indicated his running tights.

“I was born naked.”

“OK. But wearing suits was bred into you.”

“No, in my case it failed.” He might an attempt at looking regretful, but that failed too.

“You look good in suits.”

“I look good naked too, but that doesn’t mean I’d go to a –“

“Stop,” she requested. “I get the point. You’ll wear something suitable.” And she knew he would. It might not be a suit and tie, but he would manage neat trousers at the very least.

She had her back to the rest of the place. She hoped no one could guess what they were discussing. On the other hand, she should not pretend she was sixty, because she was not.

“Remember France?” asked Frederick.

“What about it?” Did he mean he had worn something suitable there? It had been a little casual for a wedding.

“We ate in such a place.”

“Not really. That was one class up from this.”

“Really? It’s both fast and no service.”

“Well, if you look at it that way, yes. I thought you meant something else.”

“What?”

“That I saw that you look good naked – which I didn’t.”

“That’s what you say,” he said with a shrug, but then he smiled. “We sat in that bath together. That was fun.”

“You thought the entire trip was fun.” The consequences had been good, but she would not say it had always been fun , especially when she had felt he was not seeing the seriousness of the situation.

“Yes, sorry. But it was useful, don’t you agree? We got to know each other a lot better. Actually, I didn’t know you at all before then.”

She would agree with that.

Anna Margaret held his hand as they walked back. “Are you cold?” She was not wearing clothes suitable for running, but she would be able to walk a little faster if necessary.

“No, not yet. I’m glad you took me to that appointment today.”

She did not know what else she could have done. “But –“

“You could have wanted to go alone so no one would find out.”

“I’d rather have them find out than keep you out of it.” Maybe she should let go of the fear that someone might find out. Worse crises had happened. She would be able to overcome this.

“Now we know what it is and we can buy something.” He paused. “Will your mother want to take you shopping when she hears?”

She had been feeling quietly happy, but that was instantly gone. “I’ll have to tell her at some point.” But she was not looking forward to it. That was strange. It was something that daughters immediately shared with their mothers, or so she noticed, yet she did not. And she doubted that her mother would want to take her shopping. It might be because she herself was not one to be enthusiastic about such an excursion. Again, she seemed to be the only one who did not like such shopping trips. Not that she had ever been on one with a baby in mind.

“You know I’m never the first to tell people things, but yes, at some point you do need to tell her. It’s easy for me to say that, I realise.”

“Before or after Isabelle’s announcement?”

“Isabelle was probably winding you up. Though she does know how to phrase announcements.”

“We are delighted to announce…”

“I think she might really be delighted, but I don’t know what’s keeping her. Well, your job might be. She doesn’t want you to get into trouble. If you’d been a useless spouse she would have given out a statement already.”

“A useless spouse?”

“A year or two ago there was a photo of Philip and me with the caption they never do a day’s work and they earn millions .”

“Seriously? And then what?”

“Er, nothing. Don’t feed the trolls. We looked at it and went on with our business of being useless.”

“I know there are people who think that way, but still.” She did not know what she would have done. There were many more people who received an income without working too hard for it, and these two did not even have a choice. It was not fair.

“They don’t know any better. Maybe some day they’ll find out what we do – or didn’t do – and they’ll have a more reasonable opinion. Besides, we don’t earn millions. The state income part is actually quite small.”

“Small, yes.” Anna Margaret did not know if she could qualify it as such. Not many people would.

“In comparison. But the fact is that people think they are paying for my life and that this gives them the right to comment on what I do.”

“They feel that way about everything that is paid for directly by their taxes, or so they think. Do an interview sometimes,” she suggested.

“And then what?”

“Then people will know you a little better.”

“No, they won’t.”

She detected the same reluctance she had felt when he had mentioned her mother. She was amused in spite of herself. They both had things to work on, but at least they did not have to do it alone. “Have you got any offers?”

“I always do.”

“See? You’re interesting.”

“No.”

“Darling,” she decided. “I’ll choose a nice one for you. With your permission only, of course.” She wondered if she needed Isabelle’s.

“A nice what?”

“Interviewer. One who is known for not twisting your words.”

“Do they exist?”

“Yes, they do. But think about it. I won’t call anyone just yet.”

Posted on 2016-07-05

Chapter Twenty-Two

Anna Margaret had decided she had to do it. Soon she would have to make her pregnancy public – Danielle had gone public with hers at a moment when no one had cared to react much, but it was difficult to predict when that might be – but first she would have to tell her mother about it first. There would be serious trouble if her mother had to read about it in the newspaper or see it as an item on the evening news.

She had gone to her parents’ house – with Frederick – and she waited for the right moment to bring it up. Both of her parents were home. Her father, although he had been told already, had not referred to the matter since.

Her mother served tea and biscuits. “We’re going to have a baby,” Anna Margaret said when her mother sat down.

Her mother looked completely astonished. “You?”

“Yes.”

“But how is that possible?”

Anna Margaret considered explaining sex and its possible consequences, but she expected a mother of three to know already. “Yes, we’re very happy, thank you.”

“Er…congratulations, of course. But how will you manage?”

While she had not expected anyone and least of all her mother to go completely crazy upon hearing her news, this was still a bit typical. “We’ll manage.”

“When are you due?”

“March.”

“March?” cried her mother. “How is that possible?”

Again she considered a literal explanation, but instead she shrugged.

“But that is before Irene Louise!”

“Yes, it is.”

“Do you mean you have known for longer? Before today?”

“Yes.” She felt the urge to explain and apologise, but she resisted it.

The men in the room had said nothing so far. Her father was likely afraid to mention that he had known already and she did not know what Frederick was thinking. Perhaps she did not want to know.

“I never thought you would,” said her mother. “I simply can’t fathom it yet.”

“I have to warn you that you can’t tell anyone about it yet,” said Anna Margaret.

“People would not believe it if I did.”

“Don’t try.”

“But how will you manage? You work so much.”

“We’ll see.” She had no clear answer to that yet. “But will everyone ask me that? That would get terribly boring.”

“Nobody will ask me how I’ll manage,” said Frederick. “I guess I’m not expected to be involved.”

“But you’re a man.” Anna Margaret’s mother still did not quite know how to talk to him normally. Sometimes she half said Your Royal Highness.

“And the father.”

They would not stay long, Anna Margaret felt. If her mother wanted to know how they were going to arrange it, there was no answer to that yet. She began to have some idea, but she would not share it with anyone other than Frederick.

“When are you going to make it public?” her father asked.

“We’ll have to confer with Isabelle.”

They looked impressed that she would call the queen Isabelle. She ignored that. “It will be a family member, so she will have a say.”

“Does she know already?”

“Yes.”

“Was she shocked?”

“No.” She picked up her tea. It would be impossible to leave before it was finished.

“How will it be titled?”

“Huh?” Anna Margaret inquired impolitely. “Titled?”

“Will the baby be a prince or princess?”

“No, just a baby.”

“It won’t be titled because he abdicated? Or because you’re not married?”

“I…really don’t care! Why is this a question at all?” Was it more important to know if it was going to have a title than whether it was a boy or a girl?

“Oh, I’m only curious.”

“Don’t be. You’ll find out, not that it should matter a bit.”

“Are you going to get married now?”

“We may and we may not.” She really wanted to leave now. Her tea was nearly finished. She nudged Frederick and tried to look into his tea cup. “I’d like to see if your sister is in and look at one of those things.”

“Oh, those. Yes.”

“We have to go,” she announced. “But please remember not to tell anyone just yet.” Chances of that not happening were slim, but at least she would have tried.

“What did you think?” she asked Frederick when they walked back to their own house.

“I wasn’t expecting to be able to make one of those hysterical videos about a woman hearing she’ll be a grandmother, to be honest.”

“I would have been scared.” She would have run out of the house immediately if that had happened.

“Me too! Luckily my mother isn’t like that either. But I noticed that your mother didn’t seem to think I could be involved. Your father didn’t do much, I gather.”

“No, he was working. But in those days he did probably only a little less than average and nobody thought it too little. All the solutions I have thought of will be alien to her.”

“Luckily she’s irrelevant. I suppose?” he added. “Your solutions don’t involve her babysitting?”

“They don’t. If she feels any need, she can do that with Irene’s baby. I’m sure Irene will need lots of help. Suppose I asked her and then she wouldn’t have time for Irene’s baby. Then it would all be my fault again. No, I’m not going there.”

“You could always borrow one of my relatives. They’re all experienced. What was it you wanted to look at?”

“Dresses.”

“Oh, right. Do you need me for that?”

“No, unless you’re interested.” She supposed he would go running or swimming.

“I’ll see if my mother is in. I’ll have done my duty then too.”

“You could tell her it’s a boy, if you haven’t done that yet.” He had not told her he had, so she supposed he had not. It would not do any harm to let that grandmother know. She had known about the baby for a while and she had not told anyone else.

Isabelle turned out to be out, but Philip was in and he seemed to know Anna Margaret would come to have a look at dresses at some point. Either that or he was never surprised by strange requests. He sent one of his daughters with her to show her where the dresses were.

Aurelie took her to a room full of closets. “What type? They’re sorted by type.”

“Maternity.”

The girl’s eyes grew wide. Clearly she had still not been told. “You’re pregnant?”

“Yes, I am.” She looked doubtful. Isabelle must have had a reason not to tell the children yet, but Philip had sent this daughter with her and he must know what sort of dress she was looking for. “They hadn’t told you yet?”

“We’re not stupid, so we thought you might be, but no, they haven’t actually told us.”

“Well, that’s why I need a dress. You don’t look as if you mind that they didn’t tell you,” Anna Margaret observed.

“We’re used to them, aren’t we,” Aurelie said cheerfully, opening a few of the closets. Some had tiny tags on them that were difficult to read from afar. “But frankly, Mum looks fatter than you. Maybe she’s afraid we’ll ask about that if she tells us. Or afraid that we’ll ask how it works. But most of us had that in biology class. I don’t know about Charlotte though. She might not know.”

“I’m glad it’s all clear to you.”

“Did you do it with Mum’s permission?”

“It? No, only with Frederick’s.”

Aurelie giggled. “OK. Here’s the closet. It’s all mixed in here, though. Long, short, medium. What do you need?”

“Medium? Will your mum be angry that you now know?”

“No. She doesn’t really do anger. She’ll probably be glad. I might ask deep questions, you know.”

“Such as?” Anna Margaret pulled out a purple dress because she liked the colour. She had no idea if the model was going to look good on her, but she was here to find out.

“Oh, I don’t know. I can always think of something deep. I mean, annoying.”

“I’m going to try this one on.”

Aurelie sat down to watch. “You’re definitely less fat than Mum. Think there’s more she’s not telling us?”

“Does she generally inform you of her weight gains?”

“No.”

“So why should she now?”

“Point. When is it coming and what will it be?”

“March. It’s a boy.”

“Cool. Can I babysit?”

“Maybe. Would you like that?”

“I’ve been telling Flo to get married, but Mum forbids him so much he’s going to be even older than Uncle Frederick when he finally gets a girlfriend.”

“He’s still young. He should not have children yet.”

“That’s all relative,” Aurelie philosophised. “Mum and Dad weren’t old, but of course they consider themselves to have been so much more mature when they were young.”

Anna Margaret wriggled into the purple dress. It was too wide in places. Next week she would not have grown enough to fill that up. With some regret she took it off again. “Blue then. I’m not sure yellow or pale pink are for me.”

Posted on 2016-07-08

Chapter Twenty-Three

Anna Margaret picked out a dress after trying out a few. She chose one that hid her shape, not that there was much of that, according to Aurelie. Aurelie helped her pack it in a clothes bag so she could take it home. She carried it back to the living room of the spacious apartment.

“Ah, you found something,” said Philip. “Not surprised. There are so many we could start a shop.”

“Yes, thanks. We have a wedding to go to.” She wondered what else could be done with sometimes unique dresses except lend them out.

“A wedding? Oh, I thought – when?”

“Next Saturday.”

“Oh. That’s all right then.”

It was a bit impolite to question him about that reaction, so she did not. “Is Frederick still at his mother’s?”

“Yes. I haven’t seen him.”

“I’ll go and find him there. Thanks again. Is there a fast way?” She had been to both places, but never gone directly from one to the other.

“I’ll show you,” Aurelie said, jumping up from the couch she had just dropped down on. She led Anna Margaret through a few doors and up a flight of stairs.

Anna Margaret wondered why the girl was so helpful. Maybe it was her nature, or maybe there was something in it for her. The apartment where Frederick’s mother lived was on the other side of a more public part where some of the domestic staff worked. They encountered some of them, even though it was Saturday. It was not far, although far enough to allow both households some privacy.

Frederick was sitting with his mother and aunt and he rose when they entered. “Good, you succeeded,” he said, seeing the clothes bag.

“Frederick says you have no time to buy a nice dress,” said Aunt Agnes.

Anna Margaret supposed Frederick had not yet revealed why buying a dress was not that easy at the moment, but if Aurelie knew, she did not see why Aunt Agnes could not also be told. “Can you keep a secret?”

Aunt Agnes was always ready to hear secrets. “Of course.”

“I’m pregnant.”

“Oh my goodness.” Aunt Agnes looked thrilled for a few seconds, but then her expression changed. “And everyone knew except me?”

Aurelie laid her arm across the older lady’s shoulders. “If it’s any consolation, I didn’t know either.” But clearly she was now thrilled to be in on the secret and she was here to hear more.

“Anna, you knew?”

“Of course,” Frederick’s mother said placidly.

“Well, now that everyone knows, it’s going to be a boy,” said Frederick.

“I’ll work on something blue,” said his mother. She appeared to be her usual unexcitable self, but of course she already had a few grandchildren, both boys and girls.

“I’m going to babysit,” said Aurelie.

Frederick gave her a quizzical stare. “You’re dropping out of school? Your parents will be thrilled.”

“After school. Surely you have things after school?”

Aunt Agnes was still in shock. “But you’re the prime minister and you’re pregnant.”

“Physically I’m quite normal.”

“Oh, it’s brilliant.”

“Brilliant?” Anna Margaret had not expected that. Perhaps she always expected the worst these days.

“Blow them away, girl.”

“Er…”

“Marvellous. Of course you should have told me sooner, but I’ll let that pass.”

“I thought you’d be conservative.”

“I am, but I like people who stir things up.”

She did not know whether that was good or bad.

At home she showed Frederick the dress. “Now I’m all set for next week.” She was happy she did not have to go shopping. There were only two hours left for that anyway and it would be nearly impossible.

“Good. I’ll have a suit somewhere.”

“Nice.”

“What did you think?” he asked after some hesitation. “Do you think my aunt will talk? She has nothing to be proud of.”

“I think we’re at a point where we can’t put it off for much longer anyway, so it would only mean a few extra weeks of interest, not months. I could theoretically take my maternity leave from the middle of January, which isn’t so far away.” She quietly pondered how quickly time passed and how quickly the baby would actually be here.

They would have to start ordering the more specific baby furniture now. So far they had got the closets and put them together, which had taken time enough. It had been good to spread it out a bit. She was not worried about clothes; those could be bought in a few minutes. Putting furniture together, however, was not something they were really good at.

It always came right in the end, but when the first package had arrived Frederick had realised that in his previous apartment he had always borrowed tools and that he did not own any. Anna Margaret had not owned much more than a screwdriver either. But now they were a bit more experienced and they could probably fix up a crib without too much trouble.

What had kept them was that a lot of those boxes had images on them of what was inside. Neighbours seeing a cardboard box with a closet on it being delivered was no problem. Their seeing boxes with baby furniture was. Or it had been.

“But are you going to take all that leave?” Frederick seemed to think she would not.

“I don’t think I need to stop working six weeks before the birth. I can’t imagine it. Not now. I suppose I could officially request the leave and unofficially work on. Who could object to that? As long as my replacement knows when I’m there and when I’m not. I’m not doing any physical work. I can read and talk anywhere. I could even do that from my bed.”

“And trips?”

“I won’t be allowed to fly, so there’s that.” She had no scheduled trips in January or February. Louis would have to do them if any urgent ones came up. At least Louis already knew about that. “I have China coming up in December and after that I’m done with the far trips for a while.”

“China.” Frederick did not seem to like that.

“Sorry. It’s only a few days.”

“I’ll survive.”

“Of course, darling,” she consoled him. “You survived when I went to Paris and Brussels, too. And I survived when you went to Germany. Or maybe you can think of some purpose for yourself in China, then you can come as well. Are you good at promoting the country?”

“Er…” Evidently he did not think he was.

“I’m going with Patrick, so if you think you can contribute to our mission, you should contact him.”

“Photo session, wear something nice,” Frederick read up a message on his phone on Sunday morning. “Photo session? For what? Usually I know these things long in advance.”

“What time?” Anna Margaret was due at the Palace for obscure reasons at eleven.

“Eleven.”

Then it was the same occasion. “I knew in advance, but I didn’t know for what.”

“And you’d go, without asking?”

“I assumed your sister wouldn’t waste my time. She didn’t give me a dress code, though. Maybe I’m usually presentable and you’re not?” she teased.

“How did she even know I’d be home?”

“She probably asked you and you forgot she did. Or you simply never have anything to do on a Sunday in November?” In the summer Isabelle would probably not take the risk, but the weather was not especially good today. Although, she recalled, she had received the invitation two weeks ago at least. There was always a remote chance that it was sunny and not too cold in November, or that they would have to go to someone’s wedding, or she would have to go to Brussels for a meeting.

Frederick was still dwelling on the photo session. “What sort of photo session? Is this for our winter photo? We usually do it at some point, but I forgot when. It’s not the highlight of my yearly calendar.”

“Winter photo? I didn’t notice there was a summer photo.”

“There was, but I wasn’t in it. I didn’t go on holiday with everybody else. I can’t say I missed the experience.”

“Did you always go on holiday with them?” She knew Isabelle and her family had gone to Italy, any damage to the villa having been patched up. Frederick had not spoken of joining them. It might have been because of her and their new house, but perhaps he would not like to go back for a while either because of what had happened there.

“I was usually required to come for at least a few days.”

“For the photo.”

“Yes. But since my status has changed I didn’t think it necessary. Besides, I was busy.”

“Are these the official photos you mentioned? You know, if dogs are allowed, so would I be?”

“No. Those are different. Official photos are, well, you had some made as well, I’m sure. The summer and winter photos are more informal are more family. One can smile in them. Not that I ever did.”

Anna Margaret smiled. “I know, I have that official photo in my office.”

Frederick looked disconcerted. “Aren’t you required by law to hang up Isabelle?”

“I’ve got her too. You’re behind me, so I don’t have to look at all that seriousness. And I don’t think it’s required by law; merely a sign of respect. So where is this arched room that I’m supposed to present myself in?”

“It’s an odd place for photos.” He frowned. “It’s the corridor that links the house to the museum and the chapel. It’s not pretty. It’s not a photo spot.”

She shrugged. She had no idea; she had never been in that part of the building. “Maybe you mean it’s simply old?” She had the impression he did not always like old things.

“Yes, it’s old too. All the generations before us changed and redecorated and rebuilt everything all the time, but we must keep everything as it was a hundred years ago. This never bothered anyone in 1850.”

“We’ll see what the point is then. Wear something nice.”

Posted on 2016-07-17

Chapter Twenty-Four

There was no one in sight in the arched corridor. There was no photographer setting up his camera and lights, and there were no officials guiding the process. The only things they saw were a few chairs and a lectern. If a photo shoot was going to happen, it would not be at eleven o’clock.

“Odd,” said Frederick. “These chairs are not in my floorplan.”

Because chairs could never be moved, Anna Margaret wanted to say, but she was too busy studying the set-up. It looked suspicious.

At the far end a door opened and Isabelle walked towards them with a woman. Behind them walked two men, who turned out to be Philip and one of the boys. “There you are,” Isabelle said brightly. “So good of you.” She seemed to study their clothes and to find nothing amiss.

“Where is this photo session?” Frederick asked suspiciously. “Not here.”

“Not here,” his sister agreed. “Somewhere else, but later. First we have to take care of something.”

“Oh no.” It began to dawn on Anna Margaret. She glanced at Frederick, but he was looking at the chairs. She had no idea what he was thinking. Perhaps it was the same thing.

“Oh yes. Mrs Meyer here will be checking if everything is done well.” The woman beside her nodded gravely. “Do sit down, everyone.”

Anna Margaret was by no means convinced she wanted to be there. “What is this about?”

Frederick sat down. He was probably used to obeying such orders.

“A word.” Anna Margaret did not care that it was the queen. She took her aside. “What the hell is going on here?”

Isabelle did not look affected. “I have always wanted to do this and when I had a work visit to City Hall, this brilliant idea simply came to me.”

“It can’t be real,” said Anna Margaret.

“It can. It is. Something had to be done. The two of you are so slow.”

“Slow? You kept mocking us because we went too fast.”

“Slow,” Isabelle confirmed. “When did you first meet? That’s what I mean. It took months. What it it takes months again to get married? And there was also a risk that you’d do it completely in private and I wouldn’t get to attend. This is a brilliant solution.”

Anna Margaret did not know if she agreed yet. She did not like other people taking control of her life. “But…”

“Oh, don’t walk away to spite me. This has to be done, you know. Resistance is futile.”

She knew she had to be angry, but she could not manage to say anything coherent. Isabelle’s tone was rather at odds with her words. She spoke as if it was good to be eaten up by the Royal Family.

Frederick seemed relaxed enough. A look around had shown him that no one else was coming. The only people seated to the side were Philip and Florian, and nearly out of sight the woman who had to check that everything was done well. Frederick might actually be happy with this set-up. The alternatives quickly crossed her mind. They would all involve more people.

“You could have told us,” she said.

“No. You’d only have been fretting over maybe having to invite your family or something like that. As you see, I didn’t invite anybody except two people to act as witnesses. You kept putting off telling your family that you were pregnant. This too would have caused you a massive headache. I know all about massive headaches, although maybe you wouldn’t suspect it of me.”

In spite of herself, Anna Margaret knew Isabelle was right. She would have kept wondering how her family would have to feature in a wedding. “Did Frederick know? Why isn’t he saying anything?”

“Oh, if looks could kill I’d be dead already. But he’s too nice to keep that up.”

And resistance was futile, of course. She did not know if she should acquiesce so quickly and she frowned. “I need to confer with him.”

Anna Margaret sat down on the chair next to Frederick’s and leant close to whisper. “This might have been a good idea if I had thought of it myself.”

“Is this a wedding?”

“What did you think it was?”

“That’s what I thought.”

But she still did not know what else he was thinking. He seemed resigned to the idea. “And you’d go along with it?”

“Be honest, it’s tons better than the cathedral.”

“But she’s forcing us!” She did not like to be forced.

“Yes and no.” Fredrick gave her a hug. “I’ll force you too.”

“You would?”

“Yes. I do want to marry you. We might as well do it now. Make use of the opportunity.”

“But did you know about this?”

“No.”

“And you don’t feel…” How should she put it? “Powerless?”

“Darling, we would never be completely in control of our own wedding. That’s just how it is.”

“Is this the best we could do?” She knew it, rationally, but emotionally it was a different matter. “And this for someone who was once indifferent about it.” She had always considered it to be nothing more than an administrative formality. It followed that it could be done anywhere and with anyone.

“This is the best we could do. Well, we could have arranged it ourselves, but I’m not sure that would have gone unnoticed.”

She knew that. In the past month or two she had sometimes wondered how to go about it. Outside these walls everyone would be watching, or so it felt. It had consequences that she still had to learn to accept. She had been living with Frederick for months, but she was still not used to this, apparently. Of course there had not been a wedding before and there would not be one after. Living their daily lives was doable. She sighed. “All right.”

“That’s one enthusiastic bride,” Frederick observed.

Isabelle walked towards the lectern. “Welcome, all of you. Frederick, Anna Margaret, Philip, Florian. I do not have any papers to read from,” she said, “but that doesn’t mean I have nothing to say. I’m very happy to be present on this occasion and very happy to be able to play a role. I’m aware that nobody asked me and I hope you’ll forgive me for taking the initiative, but obviously I had my reasons.

“I’ll start with what I suppose must have been your first meeting, after my father passed away. I think this was a time of mixed feelings for Frederick. On the one hand more freedom in his private life, if you discount my good advice,” she said with a humorous cough, “but on the other hand so much more attention on him from everyone else and, in fact, less freedom to do as he liked.”

Frederick said nothing, but perhaps they were also expected not to interrupt.

“I’m not sure what Anna Margaret was thinking or whether she was happy with the change, but I’m fairly sure there was a considerable difference in those weekly meetings, since I also heard there was a difference meeting with me . It’s amazing that nothing happened for months, but I do believe them there.”

“Thank you,” Anna Margaret said under her breath.

“My father had to get used to a woman in that position, but all Frederick ever commented was: ‘I just let her talk’. I suppose that was the opposite of what his father did. For this reason the possibility of them getting together never occurred to me. It never did. He was simply too passive and depressed and she was simply a little overly serious. The first indication, in retrospect, was when she phoned me.”

Anna Margaret pondered being a little overly serious. It was not a phrase that the queen’s editors would leave in a speech, she would say. And was she too serious? Was that a good or a bad characteristic?

“I didn’t know why she would phone me. The only reason I could think of was that she wanted Frederick to resign over those preposterous rumours and that, I don’t know, Frederick had just let her talk and she had walked all over him. And then when I saw him next he was in such good spirits. Why? I didn’t understand it. He had nearly been shot at, the prime minister was forcing him to resign, and there he was, behaving as if it was all good. Very puzzling. And it lasted. I needed to ask Anna Margaret about it. Those were interesting times. Our conversation –“ She looked at Anna Margaret. “—gave me some suspicions. She defended him so well. How could she know him? I decided I simply had to see how they behaved together, so I invited her to that barbecue. Frederick didn’t like it. Well, he would have liked it if I hadn’t been there, but I think he knew I’d be watching.”

Frederick looked at his hands.

“Quite revealing. Neither of them spoke much to other people and Frederick did not actually run away from a woman. But all this standing close in near silence, as far away from me as they could, didn’t really fool me.

“On the one hand I wanted them to slip up and tell me, but on the other hand I didn’t want to ruin anything now that Frederick was finally interested in someone, or so it seemed, and although she wasn’t on my list I didn’t see any reason to interfere. I couldn’t press too hard and I thought I might actually like her, although I couldn’t be sure of what her intentions were. What I did see was some improvement in Frederick. Evidently something or someone was having a good influence on him. Of course it was a combination of several factors, but the end result was good.”

Frederick rolled his eyes. Perhaps he was thinking he had been considered an idiot before all these favourable influences. Anna Margaret grasped his hand. She was about to marry him – she supposed it would end in that anyway – and she was not about to marry an idiot.

Isabelle gave him a dazzling smile. “Now don’t tell me you would rather have had me say all this in front of thousands of people. Or if you would rather have had some well-known person lead the service without knowing you at all.”

He shook his head almost imperceptibly.

“I couldn’t let this occasion pass without saying anything at all. It would have been possible to stick to the bare minimum – we could have been done already and then what? No. I wanted to let you both know that I have been very entertained throughout and that I am really very happy that Frederick found someone to share his life with. And of course I am happy to welcome you into our family, Anna Margaret, and I think it will be very good for you.

“Maybe I should have prepared a speech. It feels quite disjointed.” Isabelle frowned at herself. “Right. I noticed he was more relaxed about attention, when, in reality, nothing much had changed because he hadn’t been doing all that much work before. But it helps to have an energising private life. If all is right in your private life, the public life isn’t that important anymore.”

Anna Margaret wondered if Isabelle was aiming for a specific number of minutes. She fidgeted.

“But not all was right yet. Anna Margaret was still displaying neurotic tendencies about what people might think of her job, her relationship and her pregnancy. If she was considered capable of doing her job before boyfriend and pregnancy, why not afterwards? I realise these are life-changing events for some, but for some reason those people always think they impact one’s life in a negative way. Why? Personally I’ve experienced they affected me positively rather than negatively.” Isabelle looked at Anna Margaret. “I could orate on the manner publicly some time if you wish? With some proper preparation.”

It might be useful. She was sure that with some proper preparation Isabelle could orate impressively.

“But today we’ll get the first obstacle out of the way. Yes, you are serious and yes, you are married and you will still be able to do your job, and we all approve.”

Posted on 2016-07-20

Chapter Twenty-Five

Back in France Frederick had not minded people looking on when he had nearly kissed her, so Anna Margaret did not know if he was making an effort or not. She hoped he did not still think her unenthusiastic – she was not, really. But he kept it short and decent and whispered in her ear afterwards. “I love you.”

Anna Margaret leant against him and reflected how he had been nearly the first person to hug her ever and certainly the first person whose hugs had been significant, and that she still needed it. “I love you too.”

After this they accepted the congratulations from those present. And then Isabelle announced they were now expected in the State Room for pictures. “You’re legal now,” she said to Anna Margaret. “You must be included.”

“So the message about a photo session wasn’t a ruse?”

“Only partly. This was a good way to get Frederick to look a little less sour in a picture, I thought.”

Frederick tried to stop smiling. “You think you can make me do anything now.”

“I am the Master Strategic Plotter,” his sister acknowledged.

“Your dog gets to sit in without being legal.”

“Why now,” said Isabelle, looking a bit perplexed. “That’s because it’s a dog.”

“Who else will be there?” asked Anna Margaret.

“My grandmother and my mother.”

“Why didn’t you invite your mother to the ceremony?” She had not yet wondered until now.

“If I invited everyone with some claim to being related, it wouldn’t be private anymore. Besides, she won’t mind. We’re not the best of friends, but I did inform her beforehand.”

“Oh.” It had never occurred to her that Isabelle might not be the best of friends with her own mother, but she supposed their characters were different enough for that to be understandable. Isabelle might have given up on her mother, where she had not yet given up on her brother.

Of course it would have been easy to inform Queen Anna that her son was going to be married without her; the likeliness of her protesting against it would have been practically non-existent. Her way to cope with other people taking over her life seemed to have been to drop all pretence to having a will of her own. In the days when she had married Frederick’s father it must have been much worse than now. Isabelle was reasonable, but the older generations might not have been. To a young girl there might not have been any other option than to go along with everything, especially when saddled with a mother-in-law like Queen Florence.

Although she was holding Fredrick’s hand, she moved closer to Philip, a fellow outsider. “How was your wedding? Did you have any input?”

“No, I was kidnapped, forced to convert and then made to marry.”

“I wouldn’t convert.” At least she had escaped that, either by never having bothered to have herself removed from the register, or because the religious requirement had been dropped for those no longer in line to the throne.

“It wasn’t such a big deal,” Philip said with a shrug. “I went from nominally Anglican to nominally Catholic.”

“But did you realise marrying into this family would be the end of your self-determination?”

He laughed. “It wasn’t.”

“But –“ Anna Margaret lowered her voice. “—Isabelle decides everything.”

“No, she doesn’t. The stunts she pulled before we were married are nothing compared to nowadays, believe me. I knew what I was getting into.” And he laughed, as if it looked much worse than it really was.

She wanted to ask him about that, but Isabelle approached them.

“To prevent people from losing their composure, I’m not telling them what happened until after the photos are taken,” Isabelle said.

“Would it be such a shock then?”

“I can’t take the risk.”

“All right. They wouldn’t ask why I’m there?”

“Leave them to me if they do.”

The first Palace officials or staff came into view. They must be approaching the State Room. Although Anna Margaret had never paid attention to the background of images of the monarch receiving high guests, she supposed some of the room might look familiar if she saw it. Then again, there might be a dozen rooms with a suitable background here.

First they had to sit for two make-up ladies, who worked fast but who nevertheless needed quite some time to get everyone ready. The two older queens were already done and sitting on an ornate sofa, around which a photographer was busy setting up his equipment.

“Pimples again, Charlotte?” asked Queen Florence. “Eat less chocolate. Did Julian pick his own clothes, Isabelle?”

“What about them?”

“Oh, nothing. He seems to be learning.”

The sofa seated three and apparently the previous time Frederick had shared it with his mother and grandmother, whereas the times before that it had been his father sitting between the two ladies. It was an unwritten rule that the older generations got the sofa, but that the ruling monarch was central, and Anna Margaret watched Queen Florence and Queen Isabelle go head to head on the issue of the third person.

Whoever had decided that widowed queens retained their titles had never considered that a ship could not have two or more captains. It could have been worse if Queen Anna had wanted to be part of the action, but she simply sat there looking bored.

Isabelle would not be Isabelle if she had not long decided on where everyone was to stand and sit. Unfortunately it did not quite coincide with her grandmother’s ideas on the matter.

“You sit here,” Queen Florence said decidedly. “You are the queen.”

While there was some logic and order to that, having three generations of queens seated on the sofa, Isabelle would not have it. “I am going to stand with Philip.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to.”

Queen Anna stood up when the argument continued. She could not be rebellious, so there must be another reason. Julian and Aurelie were chasing a dog and the photographer was looking increasingly worried that his camera might fall over.

“Is it always like this?” Anna Margaret asked Frederick in a fascinated whisper.

“You should have seen them when they were all under twelve.”

Florence and Isabelle were still discussing the matter and Frederick’s mother had walked away. She lured one of the dogs – for all of a sudden there were two – with a biscuit and some peace returned. The last child was having her face and hair checked over and they ought to be ready to pose soon.

Queen Anna said something to Philip, who nodded. They spoke a little more and then Philip conveyed the apparent message to his wife. All they could hear was Queen Florence exclaiming “ridiculous!” Philip nevertheless sat down on the sofa.

“Hey,” said Frederick. “This is new.”

“What is?”

“Philip gets to sit.”

Frederick’s mother took up a position behind the sofa. Evidently she wanted things to proceed. Frederick went towards her. “You’re not sitting?”

She answered him in German.

“That language!” Queen Florence gasped. “It was banned from the Palace after the war!”

“So much for people smiling happily at the camera,” Anna Margaret remarked. She – like almost everyone, she would say – could understand German. It was more likely to have been an indirect provocation, which was intriguing.

“That’s why we shouldn’t make it worse,” replied Isabelle, who had overheard.

“Are you having Frederick’s mistress in the picture?” asked Queen Florence, who had seemingly not yet noticed her until then. Of course with so many other people running around it had been quite busy.

“Yes.” She gestured at her children, who knew the drill. They took up their places behind and around the sofa obediently. Then she sat down in the middle between her husband and her grandmother, but she only held hands with one of them.

“The joke is,” Frederick whispered in his wife’s ear, “that for the next round we all change places.”

“No,” she responded after a moment. “You’re making that up.” But she laughed anyway.

Frederick had not been entirely joking; after the main picture several others were taken with smaller groups of people in them. Isabelle and her family, Isabelle and Philip, Anna and her children, and – although Anna Margaret did not see the reason – Isabelle and Anna Margaret. They had had a similar picture done after Isabelle’s inauguration and her first meeting with the Prime Minister. But Anna Margaret was not as afraid of photos as Frederick, so she simply posed. She noticed how Frederick had made himself scarce after the first round.

After all that they retired to the bronze dining room for lunch. Not that everything was bronze there, but it came third in terms of size. Anna Margaret was allowed to sit next to Frederick, for which she was grateful. They were seated across from her new brother and sister-in-law.

Queen Florence asked for wine. It was not yet on the table and this aggravated her. “I always have wine with my lunch.”

“Yes, we know that, but today we’re serving something else,” answered Isabelle.

“None of you are driving.”

“You don’t know that, Grandma. But we’re not having wine. We’re having alcohol-free bubbles.”

“Are you afraid I’ll get drunk?” demanded the old lady.

“No. We’re toasting Frederick and his wife, who got married this morning, and bubbles is something we can all have, including the children.” She nodded at one of the staff and almost immediately a tray with sparkling glasses was carried to the table.

“Did you say married ?” asked Queen Florence.

“Yes, I did.” Isabelle stood up and raised her glass.

“He married his mistress?”

“Please reserve your questions for after the toast, Grandma.” Isabelle managed to look only a trifle annoyed. It was likely that she had expected this behaviour. She toasted the newlyweds and sat down again.

Queen Florence kept her questions until after the toast. She tapped her glass with a spoon. “Isabelle.”

“Yes, Grandma?” Isabelle asked sweetly.

“Are you implying the wedding took place in secret?”

“In private.”

“Is she having a baby in seven months?” Florence asked very suspiciously.

“No, she’s not having a baby in seven months.” Isabelle could say that very convincingly. Philip would not have managed; he suppressed a snort.

“Why –“ began Charlotte, but she was silenced by a look from her mother.

After lunch they hung about in the sitting room for coffee and tea. Because Queen Florence did remember her manners sometimes, she had not continued to ask impertinent questions across the table, but she had saved them all up until she could corner Frederick personally.

Anna Margaret let them go. It was his grandmother; she did not think he needed assistance in dealing with her. She was more interested in asking his mother a few questions. “Should I be afraid of never being allowed to decide anything for myself anymore?” she wondered, although she knew that in reality it was not that bad. It was mostly an irrational fear. “How did you feel about it?”

Frederick’s mother gave her a surprised look. “I did not think it would affect you.”

“But it does happen?”

“Not so much anymore. But it did.”

“To all outsiders?” It had to be different to those who had been brought up with it, although Frederick seemed to like it less than his sister.

“I have often talked about it with Philip, since we are both foreign as well. Doubly strange.”

“Queen Florence was once an outsider.”

“Oh, don’t insult her. She forgot.”

Anna Margaret smiled. She supposed the old lady would indeed not like to be reminded. It had been seventy years ago; perhaps she really did not remember much of it. “And why did you think it would not affect me?”

“You are older. I was young. I did as I was told.”

“You were not allowed to speak German?”

“No. But,” Frederick’s mother said after some hesitation, “she had relatives who were killed in the war. She should not have chosen a German wife for their son, perhaps, but if I did not speak German, I would no longer be German, they seemed to think.”

Posted on 2016-07-25

Chapter Twenty-Six

Anna Margaret did not know if all of the children now knew she was pregnant. They would be told, of course, but she did not know about Florence. Frederick was talking to her now. She did not know what he would say if his grandmother asked him outright. Perhaps she had believed Isabelle and she would not.

Surprisingly, Frederick’s mother was not yet done talking. “I saw your mother. She said nothing about the pregnancy.”

“Good.”

“So she knows?”

“I had to tell her. She wouldn’t have appreciated learning about it from the media. When did you see my mother?”

“Last week. It was a charity lunch. She was with one of your sisters. Would they have wanted to be present at your wedding?”

“Apparently Isabelle did not think so,” Anna Margaret said dryly.

“Isa tried to think of your preferences.”

“Did Isabelle keep you out of it because my parents were kept out of it?”

“I think so, but I did know beforehand.” Frederick’s mother gave a small smile. “Weddings are overrated. I have been to many. The biggest is not the happiest. The important thing is that you would have been happy together without a wedding as well.”

“And some could spoil the experience.”

“Did you know, my mother-in-law was present at Isabelle’s birth?”

Anna Margaret considered Queen Florence hovering around the bed. “I think I’d have found that pretty awful.”

“The second time I was older and I didn’t tell her it was happening. And that was the boy they had been waiting for. Too bad.”

“Were you alone?”

“No, Isabelle was there and the doctor, of course.”

“Isabelle? But she was a child.” She could not imagine a child being there.

“That never bothered her.”

“And Frederick’s father was not there?”

“We had to call him, of course,” Anna said as if it had been her duty to do so. “But he was only just in time.”

“You were not at home?” She could not imagine no one in the Palace informing Frederick’s father, even if Princess Anna had not requested them to.

“Yes, I was at home, but I was keeping it quiet.”

“Isabelle went to a private clinic to give birth, didn’t she?”

“Yes. It is much quieter there. I think she remembered how many people came in for silly reasons at home after Frederick was born. Her first baby was still the first baby of that generation, so she feared people would see him as the new heir and be all over him as well, just like they did with Frederick.”

“Do I have to go there?” Her son would play no role in the future. He might not be interesting.

“No. But wherever you give birth, unless you lock the door, people will come in.”

“I must keep that in mind.” She watched at Frederick still speaking with his grandmother. “I’ll go and see how he’s doing.”

“I was just asking Frederick,” said Queen Florence when she approached, “how you will now be titled?”

“Titled? Not?” She had no desire to be titled. “It had not occurred to me yet today to wonder.”

“That’s very odd.”

“Yes, I am very odd.” She checked whether the arm rest of Frederick’s chair was sturdy enough to support her. It was not. She sat on his leg instead. He slid his arm around her hips and pulled her closer. “Shall we go home?”

“Did your grandmother ask if I was pregnant?” Anna Margaret asked.

“No. She asked me why I didn’t have a large wedding. I explained.”

“And that was that.”

“It was not that easy, but in the end that was what it was.” He led her out of one of the side gates.

They still did not take the car for the short trips. Anna Margaret had never been stopped by anyone, although she had been looked at. She wondered if people could now see they were married. They did not have rings, but she wore gloves anyway. There might be something in the way they walked together. It almost made her self-conscious. If she was not imagining things people now glanced twice when they normally only glanced once. To those who lived in the city centre she was an ordinary sight, she supposed, but she did not often go out with Frederick.

“How could it have been real?” She hoped tomorrow it would still be real. “They say queens don’t have any power.”

“Although you’re supposed to give notice yourself, nobody can check who gives the electronic notice, as long as he or she provides the correct details. And anyone can conduct the ceremony, as long as it’s supervised. I asked.” He paused for a second. “I’d rather not do it again.”

“Was it that awful?” she teased.

“No, but it would feel as if they took you away from me. Silly, isn’t it?”

She squeezed his hand.

“What did you say to Isabelle before the ceremony began?” he asked curiously.

“I wanted to express my…er…reluctance to be manipulated? But she said resistance was futile.”

They arrived home without having been spoken to. Anna Margaret thought one or two people might have taken a photo of them with their cell phones, but she could not be sure. There were always tourists on Sunday snapping pictures of the old town. A picture might pop up somewhere later, but it would be nothing compared to the news they were married that Isabelle was going to spread later.

Isabelle had not said much about it, except that she would probably receive some questions about it tomorrow morning and that she had to be prepared when she went to work.

Anna Margaret was happy to be in their own house again, where the sofas were not ornate. They spent some time in the bedroom and then Frederick went to work out on his rowing machine while she tried to nap. She had had to learn to give in and try, but it did not always work. Sometimes she was not tired enough.

After an hour of half dozing off and imagining headlines – of small columns to the side – she left the bed and went to see if Frederick was finished. She rowed for fifteen minutes herself and then they showered.

Looking sideways in the mirror when she dressed in comfortable clothes, she tried to guess if people could see she was pregnant. Obviously she saw and felt the difference with how she had been before, but other people might not, unless they were people who knew her from the public swimming pool where she went once a week. They had not said anything so far, although not always going at the same time meant that sometimes people would not have seen her for a month until they saw her again.

“Did you know Isabelle saw you being born?” she asked.

“Yes. I can’t imagine why she wanted to, but it explains why she always thought she was one of my mothers.”

“Your mother said to lock the door, or else all kinds of people would come in.”

“Yes. There’d be the head of the department who’d get all the credit for it, but he or she wouldn’t be doing the actual dirty work, I’d say. You’ll have to ask the midwife at your next visit, but I doubt she’d be left alone if we went to the hospital with her. Professor Doctor Head would probably come and Doctor Deputy Head and Nurse Head and Nurse Deputy and – it would be a complete freak show. I have been to hospitals, you know. Then there’s cleaners and meal people and blood people.”

“And I’d be lying there half naked.” Anna Margaret shuddered.

“I only had an injured knee. But if you want, I could throw out anyone who made you uncomfortable.”

“Please do. This is supposed to be a natural process, after all. I’ll see if I can find a good book about it. Oh, and let’s order the cot.”

Frederick smiled. “You’re ready?”

“I’m ready.”

They ended up ordering more than only the cot. After searching for a while Anna Margaret had found one that was immediately available, when most others had a delivery time of at least three weeks. She also found lists of what to buy and although some differed when it came to the small, mysterious items, they were mostly in agreement about the large ones. She combined them into one list and printed it out. Sleeping was now covered – in a very basic way. A cot had been ordered, bed linen, one very basic but colourful outfit in the smallest size and some maternity clothes for herself.

“When we get close, we’ll have to buy nappies, but otherwise he’s all set for the first night,” she remarked to Frederick. “Clothes are easy. I don’t have to research them. I just got these so he’ll have something to wear in case we never get around to it.”

He laughed.

“Of course I just wanted to cross some more off that list,” she admitted.

He picked up the list. “I’ll look into car seats. We might want to take him home from the hospital in case we go there, I suppose. Any colour preferences?”

“No.”

It took him half an hour until he announced that he had found one. “And I added some baby clothes from the brands I wear.”

“You?” She did not know men bought baby clothes, but if they could buy their own clothes, why not?

“Yes, if I like it on me, I’ll like it on him, won’t I?”

The reverse would not exactly be true, so she chuckled. “Can I see?”

“Surprise,” Frederick teased.

“Tracksuit bottoms.”

“Not only those, although to get a reaction out of you, yes, I got some of those too.”

“I’m curious.” It made her wonder just how much he had ordered.

“The package will be here in a few days.”

“So many packages.”

“Making progress.”

“Although we could afford it,” Anna Margaret said cautiously, staring at an image of a ridiculously overpriced baby set. “I don’t want to get more things than he’d actually be able to wear, so I probably won’t buy too much myself.”

“My mother will knit some as well.”

Anna Margaret’s experience with aunts knitting clothes was not very good. She looked doubtful. “But is it actually wearable? My aunts for example spend a lot of time knitting things you wouldn’t want to be caught dead in.”

“Yes, it’s wearable.”

“You think tracksuit bottoms are wearable.”

Frederick looked down at his legs. “Because they are. Trust me. If your aunts will be knitting anything, you will see the difference.”

“All right.” She gave his mother the benefit of the doubt. “But I don’t know if they will. I haven’t seen them for ages.”

He picked up the list she had printed out and went over it. “I only know what the things at the top are.”

“That’s why they’re at the top. I know them and they’re necessary. All the things I don’t know might not be necessary. I’ll have to ask some experienced person what they are and what they could be used for, and then I’ll decide if we need them.”

“I’ll take the list to Germany some time and shop anonymously,” said Frederick, putting the list on the table. “Next weekend, if you’re free.”

“I don’t even want to think about the dazzling amount of money we spent since June.” She had no idea how she had come to be so careful with her money. She had not grown up poor; her parents had always been well-off. For some reason, however, she was afraid to add up what they had spent on the house and furniture, and now on baby things. It was odd, because her sisters would have carelessly spent much more if they had been in her position. They would not have felt guilty for a second.

“Considering that you spent next to nothing before June, it all evens out,” he reassured her. “And don’t worry. We won’t be buying a house or having a baby every six months. And we saved quite a bit of money with that wedding today.”

“Phew. I was just thinking, my sisters would have emptied your bank account in an hour and thought nothing of it, yet we grew up in the same family. How could I be so different?”

“It was nice to finally meet another normal person, isn’t it?”

Anna Margaret hugged him. “Yes.”

Posted on 2016-07-30

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Presumably the Palace’s media office did not work on Sundays, because when Anna Margaret read the newspaper on Monday morning there was no mention of a wedding. When she got to work nobody said anything either. She thought about informing her own media office, but no one had come in yet. All of her rehearsed reactions were useless.

They soon came, though. André came to see her as soon as he got in, phone in hand, looking disconcerted. “Shi-i-it. What happened?”

“Don’t know. Another terrorist attack?” She hoped they had had enough of those for 2015. He was probably talking about the news of her wedding.

“The Palace just told me you got married and they are releasing a statement in…” He checked his watch. “Ten seconds.”

“It’s nice of them to inform you.”

“Why didn’t you let me know?”

“You only just got to work,” she pointed out. She would bet he had not even been to his desk yet. He was still carrying his bag.

“I have a phone! The Palace didn’t have any more information that what’s in the statement. Shi-i-it.”

“Will you get over yourself?” Anna Margaret said irritably. His dramatic air was rubbing her the wrong way. “You act as if I have to consult you over every move.” And she really had not considered informing him yesterday.

“But we’ll be receiving questions. And what about the implications?”

“What does the statement say, literally?”

“I don’t recall it literally; I’m waiting for it to appear.” He looked at his phone again. “It was something about your having got married in private this weekend and that you’ll continue to use your own name.”

“Oh.” That last bit was new to her, but she could not find fault with it. “That sounds very clear to me. What implications could it have?”

“Where? Who? Why? And so forth. People will want to know.”

“Once the statement is released, you simply copy it,” she suggested. “Don’t anticipate on the questions we might get. Besides, you never have to answer questions about my private life. You’re not obliged to.”

“But surely if you became a princess it would affect your job?”

“How?” She wondered if she was technically a princess now. She did not feel it and as such it would be completely irrelevant. “And I suppose that is why that line about keeping my name was included.”

André was reading something on his phone. “It hit Twitter.”

“Retweet, or whatever the action is called.”

“I need to be at my desk,” he said absentmindedly.

“You do that. Don’t add any information to the statement.”

“I have no information I could add!”

“Good! Oh,” she said as an afterthought. “Send the statement round to everyone here, so they’ll have heard from me somewhat personally.”

At her weekly meeting with all the ministers, she was given an envelope. “I heard you no longer drink wine, so we got you a gift card. Congratulations!”

“Thanks.” She peered in the envelope. Inside there was a gift card for a chain of toy shops. “Uh…” Was this meant humorously, because often a baby followed on a wedding, or did they really know? She thought there were only three who knew: Louis, Patrick and Danielle. If there were more, either one had talked, or she had given herself away. She could not imagine how, because she had never complained, waddled or mentioned it.

“We thought it might come in useful.”

“How did you know?”

Lucie, who had handed her the gift, answered. “Lucky guess. No wine!”

“It’s not as if I was some sort of alcoholic, was I?”

“ And you suddenly got married, of course. And the different clothes. But were we right?”

She could not imagine the rest of them discussing this together before she had arrived. They all worked in different places. It must have been only a handful who had talked about it. Of course, now everyone knew. “Yes.”

As she was congratulated again, there were more questions. “How far are you?”

“Er…just past halfway?”

“Jesus,” said Lucie, studying her waist, but the points of a long scarf were artfully obscuring most of it. “You’re joking?”

“No.”

“And when were you going to tell us?”

Anna Margaret pulled a face. “I told Louis. But I was to wait with other announcements until Isabelle’s people had discussed it with my people, because she needs to make the announcement. Can we now get on with the meeting?”

She phoned Isabelle after the meeting. “All the ministers know. They gave me a gift card for a toy shop.”

Surprisingly Isabelle found that funny. She laughed. “That’s nice of them. But will they talk?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t ask them not to talk. Should I have?”

“To someone who’s intent on talking that’s not going to make any difference.”

“No, I suppose not.” She went over them one by one in her mind, but she could not think of anyone who would think it at all interesting to spread the news. But then, perhaps she was not very good at imagining what someone else would do. They might always let it slip by accident. “I did say you had to make the announcement.”

“Again, that won’t make any difference.” Isabelle sighed, thinking. “I’ll just have to split it up.”

“What?”

“Never mind. Just let it go.”

“What you said or what people will do?”

“Both. There’s nothing you can change about it now.”

After the phone call, she went to see André when she returned to her floor. “How’s it been?”

“The announcement is keeping people rather busy. Surprisingly people have called me to ask if it’s true. And there are a lot of them asking for comments.”

“What could be said?” she wondered.

“We don’t comment on your personal life, I keep saying, but I have confirmed that it was true.”

“Bizarre, really, that they would doubt an official communication from the Palace.”

“That’s what I thought as well.”

“I don’t know if it’s going to happen, or when,” she said hesitantly, “but at some point there might be someone asking you if it’s true that I’m pregnant. I’m telling you so you won’t be taken by surprise.”

This was interesting enough for André to look up from his screen. “Seriously? Do you expect them to ask because you got married, or for some other reason?”

“Some other reason. Maternity leave is covered. I’ve just discussed it in more detail.” Actually in no detail at all, she reflected, because she had told the ministers she would take each day as it came, once the official leave period kicked in. The older ones had found this strange, but the younger ones had accepted it without questions.

“You’re – congratulations.” André shook her hand. “I never guessed.”

“You’re usually glued to your screen,” she answered with a laugh.

“But when will you go on maternity leave?”

“I could go in the middle of January, but if I feel fine I’ll just work on.”

“This is not a reaction to those people who kept saying women in their thirties shouldn’t be appointed in positions of some importance?”

“Oh, you remember.”

“It’s sort of my job to.”

“It might be, but I wouldn’t try to prove them wrong at the expense of my health of that of the baby’s.”

She might have to appoint someone to keep an eye on her, however, she reflected as she returned to her office. To prevent her from doing just one more thing before she went home, when she had already reached her maximum. Or to set time limits that she would really have to stick to. It was always too easy to do that one more thing.

When she had sat down at her desk, George phoned. “It’s your mother. I thought you might want to take this call today. Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thank you. And yes, put her through. It’s best to get this out of the way.” She stared at the wall as she waited. “Hello.”

“Anna Margaret!”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Your father told me that he read on the internet that you got married !”

Her mother was strongly suspicious of the internet, Anna Margaret knew. Sometimes, however, the internet spoke the truth. “Yes, I did. Yesterday.”

“Yesterday? On a Sunday? Where?”

“At the Palace.”

“So the queen knew? Why there? Who were there?”

Here they got to the important part. “Hardly anyone,” she answered cautiously. She had yet to look up what the statement said. “Didn’t it say it was a private ceremony?”

“I don’t know,” her mother said crossly. “I don’t go on the internet. Your father found it. What do you mean by ‘private’?”

“Private means that there weren’t any guests.”

“But surely you could have invited us? We are your parents ! What do you think people will say if they find out we were not there ?”

“I have no idea,” Anna Margaret said wearily. “If it’s any consolation to you, Frederick’s mother wasn’t there either. It was a private ceremony.”

“Private does not mean without parents!”

“What, then, does private mean?”

“Private means small, not alone!”

“I wouldn’t invite people only so they could tell others they were there, do you understand?”

“No,” her mother said predictably. “What nonsense is that!”

Anna Margaret only sighed.

“But what if people ask to see pictures?”

“Why would people ask to see pictures?” She could genuinely not imagine it. “Pictures of the wedding of someone else’s child they don’t even know personally?”

“Some people know you personally.”

“But still! Why would they want to see pictures?”

“ Are there any pictures?” her mother inquired.

“I have no idea. Perhaps one of the witnesses took pictures, but I didn’t see them do it.” She could ask them about it some time.

“Witnesses! Who were they?”

“Just…random people related to the person conducting the ceremony.”

“Anna Margaret!”

Anna Margaret now felt a strong desire to mimic André. Shi-i-it. Maybe she was going too far now. The idea that random people had attended while her mother had not was really aggravating her mother. “What?” she asked.

“Who were those random people?”

All right, perhaps she should give her mother some information. “The queen married us.” Would that make it all right?

Posted on 2016-08-02

Chapter Twenty-Eight

She heard from her father on Monday afternoon. “I read that you got married. I wanted to phone, but your mother already did and finally I decided to do it anyway. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“Your mother said the queen married you. Does that mean she didn’t approve of your status?”

She supposed it would sound different if her parents had to admit to other people that Isabelle had forced them to marry, but she had not even considered that option before. “She just wanted to do the speech.”

“What do you mean?”

“Literally that. She wanted to do the speech. Marry us.”

Although she was pleased that her father had at least congratulated her, she felt the need to say this. “Because she’s happy for us.”

“If you got married this weekend, why didn’t you tell us afterwards?”

Anna Margaret braced herself. “I’m sorry to say I didn’t feel the need and given how Mum reacted I really don’t feel guilty about that. I hate to think how Irene and Claire would react if I’d rung them to say hi, I just got married.”

“They hadn’t counted on being left out.”

“Because we’re so close?” she asked sarcastically. They had only grown further apart since she had started to see Frederick. Before that it had been doable. “I didn’t get married to increase their prospects or social status. And I’d never get married just so they could wear a nice dress. Do they know I’m pregnant, by the way?”

“Yes, they didn’t like hearing that from your mother.”

Anna Margaret felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. “I could never have told them before Mum did. She probably phoned them right away. The only way I could have –“ But she stopped herself. There was no reason to take the blame for not having properly considered their fragile egos before telling her mother. This was not her problem to solve.

“I have been trying to tell them that your job makes things more difficult, but…”

“It’s not only the job.” She did not want to hide behind that. They must not think that if it was not for her job, she would let them be a great part of her life. “It’s also knowing I’ll get crap no matter what. Mum hasn’t even congratulated me, as if everything that happens in my life somehow has the intention to upset her. Tell me, does she expect to see a lot of her grandson? Because the way she is carrying on that is not going to happen.”

Her father was silent.

“I’ll take him to see people who are nice to me. People who are not…”

“Are you threatening to keep him from us?”

“I’m saying that if I have the choice, it won’t be her.” She tried to keep her voice unemotional, but failed. “I fear she would only show him off, as some object. As opposed to people who would see him as a person. Besides, Irene would only measure any contact with a stopwatch.”

“She wasn’t very happy to hear you were also pregnant. At first she said you were faking it to spite her.”

“Because she would. I cannot believe how ridiculous that is. And she didn’t understand why she wasn’t invited to my wedding? Seriously?”

André had complied a list of reactions for her. As usual he had left the worst ones out. She preferred the congratulations in her mailbox; people doing it publicly via social media did it only to be seen. If they also had her email address, that was.

“We’ll need an intern to read it all,” George joked. “I’ve been putting those emails in a separate folder.”

“It wasn’t that much, surely?” she asked.

“I won’t get that many.”

“You don’t know that yet.”

“I’ve thanked them, and so forth, but the ones that remain flagged have a question or something that you may need to look at.”

“All right. I’ll have a look later.” She first glanced at André’s compilation.

Some foreign leaders had congratulated her. Nice, but relatively meaningless. It only meant they had staff reading social media and they had their own versions of André and his minions reacting to their tweets.

Some national celebrities had retweeted the news. Some had even commented on it. She did not even know half of them by sight.

Politicians and professional critics were sometimes less positive. Of course they would be remembered if they stood out from the rest, so it really had nothing to do with her. Someone in the opposition said it should not be allowed. But she was not clear on the why.

The Pitbull tweeted not surprised, good decision. Although whether that referred to their marrying in private or marrying at all, he did not clarify.

When she left work she had to pass the usual reporters. They would undoubtedly ask her something, so she was prepared.

“Can I ask you to comment on your wedding, Prime Minister?” called one.

“Comment? I got married.”

“But are there any specifics to be shared?”

“No, not really.”

“Why did you choose a private wedding?”

She knew that question would come in some form. “Because it suits us.” That was the simplest answer. It did not matter that Isabelle had chosen for them; they would have chosen this themselves as well, only later.

“Who were invited?”

“No one.”

“No one?” cried one, surprised.

“No one,” she confirmed.

“Are you now Princess Anna Margaret?”

“That’s not relevant to me. I would not be using that title in any case.”

“You will not?”

“No.”

“Have you read what people think?”

“People will no doubt be falling over themselves to have the wittiest reaction. In most cases it’s more about the reaction than about what they’re reacting to. If they congratulate me, thank you, but I don’t follow social media myself. I get a summary from my staff.”

“What did your colleagues say?”

“They congratulated me. Thank you.” She walked on.

Isabelle phoned her on Tuesday. “Listen,” she began, not sounding relaxed. “I’m at the hospital. I can’t attend our meeting tomorrow unless you come here. I have to be monitored for twenty-four hours starting this evening.”

Anna Margaret was a little taken aback by the news. “Er…what’s wrong?”

“Not much. They simply want to monitor me for twenty-four hours.”

“But why?” She had a feeling, though, that she was not going to be told if Isabelle did not want to tell her. “Are you all right?”

“I feel fine. I don’t want you to worry about me. Will you come to meet me here? I’m up for it. At the Lamotte. If you are, I’ll have someone meet you at the entrance at eight.”

“Are you sure you could handle that if you’re in hospital?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re not going to tell me why.”

“Not right now.”

“But you can’t be fine if they want to keep you there,” Anna Margaret protested. She had never been asked or ordered to stay in hospital overnight.

“You’ll find out tomorrow.”

“I hate that!” she exclaimed. “If you’re not telling me for my own benefit, do you really think I’m better off wondering all night what it might be?”

Isabelle relented. “It’s only my blood pressure. And it wasn’t even clearly off; it was borderline. Hence this advice.”

“Does Frederick know?”

“Not yet, but I called you first because I have an appointment with you. He won’t notice if I go missing for twenty-four hours.”

“Is it a secret?”

“You can tell him, as long as he doesn’t worry. Did you check any reactions to the announcement?”

“Not much.”

“It was all right.”

Anna Margaret called Frederick. “Your sister’s in hospital! But you are not to worry.”

“What for?”

“Something vaguely mysterious to do with blood pressure.”

“Vague. Is that all you know?”

“Yes. She says she’s fine.”

He trusted his sister. “Then she probably is. Listen. I’ve been told some presents were delivered to the Palace for us. We should have a look at some point.”

“Are we required to take them all?”

“No. They have addresses for things that remain. But we don’t have to look right away. I’d say during the weekend. After George’s wedding. The day after, I mean.”

The next morning Anna Margaret was at the Lamotte Clinic at eight. She did not have to present herself at the reception desks, but a woman in a hostess uniform came over to greet her. “Madam? Good morning. My name is Henriette and I’ve been asked to accompany you.”

“Morning,” Anna Margaret replied. There were sometimes advantages to being known.

Henriette took her into an elevator marked Staff Only that could only be operated with a card, and up to the fourth floor. Anna Margaret guessed they were in a private wing of sorts, because it was very quiet. A man sat reading a newspaper on a couch placed in a niche across from a couple of vending machines and at the end of the short corridor there was a small nursing station. She was taken to the left.

Henriette knocked on a door marked 4A and held it open. “There you go, Madam.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be bringing you tea and coffee in a minute. Will you be wanting breakfast?”

“No, thank you.”

The inside looked like a hotel suite. Isabelle sat on a couch reading the newspaper. She smiled when she saw her visitor. “Thank goodness you wanted to come. I lack for nothing except rational company. People are in and out all the time with things, but that’s different.”

Anna Margaret sat down in one of the easy chairs opposite the couch. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be in bed.” There was a bed in the room, but the room was so spacious that you did not necessarily notice it.

“I was. But I got up before they came to collect my blood and urine.”

She also was not wearing pyjamas, Anna Margaret noticed, although her clothing was comfortable. It was clear Isabelle was not going to spend the day in bed. “Are those jogging trousers?” That would be ironic, given how she often criticised Frederick for wearing them.

“Yoga tights,” Isabelle said sternly. “And I’m not going out in them, so they’re okay.”

“Why are you here?”

“Blood pressure.”

“And because you’re the queen, they hospitalise you?”

“Something like that,” Isabelle agreed.

Henriette came to bring them tea and coffee.

“Was Philip here with you?” Anna Margaret wondered.

“No. He stayed home. He’ll come here as soon as he’s seen them all off to school.”

At the end of their meeting Philip arrived. Isabelle looked very happy to see him, happier than Anna Margaret would have expected from someone with whom nothing was the matter. She put the documents back in her bag. “When can you go home?”

“I expect at 20:00 tonight. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Yet they are keeping you here,” she dared to say. She was still not reassured.

“It’s easier to do that if you have a few appointments on the same day with a few hours in between.”

Philip did not comment, but Anna Margaret had seen some silent communication between the two. She felt as if she intruded on what they wanted to discuss. “I’ll go back to work. Will you let me know if you need any help?”

“I will. Thank you.”

Anna Margaret found her driver and went back to work. She reflected on the Lamotte Clinic as a place to have a baby. It was not as quiet as she had imagined. Everyone could come in indeed. A simple thing like tea required three visits from the hostess. First to ask, then to deliver and finally to take away. If she added similar visits for meals, medical things and delivering the newspaper it would really add up. And then she had not even taken housekeeping and cleaning into consideration. At an ordinary hospital there would be fewer people, she was tempted to think.

Posted on 2016-08-06

Chapter Twenty-Nine

In the evening she was curious if Isabelle had been released. She asked Frederick to phone. He did so reluctantly, but he made it clear where the order had come from. “Margaret wants to know if you’re home.” He listened for a while and then said goodbye.

“What!” cried Anna Margaret. “You didn’t ask her anything.”

“I asked if she was home. She was.” He acted as if he had done his duty.

“Well, that’s a relief. Did she say anything else? Such as what was wrong?” She wondered if he cared. He must, so she was probably overreacting.

“She said all subsequent measurements were good – or better, I don’t exactly know – and she could go home for a few days.”

“For a few days! But that means it’s not good at all.”

“She says it was.” He returned to the cot he had been putting together.

She watched as he screwed on the wheels. She had been excited about this package until she had remembered 20:00. The mattress was ready; she had covered it with a sheet and it was ready to go in. A bit useless, maybe, since it would not be used for a while and the sheets would still have to be washed. But it looked much better with all the bed linen. “Did your package arrive as well?”

Frederick looked amused. “Yes.”

“You didn’t tell me!”

“Well…when? You just got home.” Between her coming home and eating dinner and their setting up the cot there had not been much time.

“All right. Once you’re done with the bed you must show me.”

“You’re curious about the clothes.”

“Of course!”

He set the cot on its four wheels and she made up the bed. It now looked ready to receive an occupant. They stood looking at their work and Anna Margaret could not suppress a grin. “It makes it look so real now.”

“Now we can start trying out the best place for it.”

It had one side that could be lowered and she practised that for a bit. In the meantime Frederick had gone to collect the package he had hidden away.

“You haven’t opened it yet!” she said in surprise.

“No.” He went to their bed and sat down on it. “I waited for you. You can do it. You were so curious about it that I couldn’t start without you.”

She was definitely curious and she struggled to open the package. “Aww!” she exclaimed. “I never knew I could do this.”

“What, open a package?”

“No! Go all silly over baby clothes.” She loved them. He had chosen well. Their baby now had three outfits. They looked terribly tiny and they made her go all soft inside.

He pulled her closer. “You’re not silly. You’re cute.”

On Thursday the family photos were released. There were two. One of everyone and one of Isabelle’s family. André came to tell Anna Margaret about it. “You’re even in the photo,” he said. “But you’re not wearing a wedding ring.”

“You’re descending to tabloid depths.” She did indeed not have a wedding ring – they were apparently not required – and she really could not remember how she had held her hands the moment the photo was taken.

“I’m only reporting on what I read,” he said defensively.

“I had to get married to be included in the photo,” she said with a very serious look. “So it was after the wedding. I don’t know if people are still asking you about it.”

“They had just stopped, but now that this has come out they will find something else to ask me. Or you. I have some requests for interviews.”

“As always.” She was not looking forward to the same old questions. There always seemed to be a surge in requests after something personal. She thought she had answered all conceivable ones lately, so if anyone wanted to know something they could simply do their own research. “Nothing original, I suppose?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

During her lunchbreak she was beckoned by the Pitbull in the company restaurant. She placed her tray on his table, since that was what he seemed to want. He only ate here sometimes, it seemed.

“You’re going to China soon, I heard,” he said. ”Are you going to mention environmental issues?”

“Not specifically, but I may mention something if it comes up.”

“There are things you could mention.”

“No doubt.”

“I have a report. Shall I send it to you?”

“I always wonder what people think we could achieve. Their largest cities are larger than we are.” They might not be taken seriously if they criticised anything.

“But shall I send you the report?”

“Yes, why not?” she said wearily. “I always lack for interesting reading materials. You’re aware that we’re going on an agriculturally-themed mission?”

“Which is closely linked to the environment.”

“It’s all dairy and education, but yeah, it’s all linked if you want.”

“Good. I’ll have done my duty.” He looked satisfied.

She ate something. “How did the snake story end?”

“I reported my findings and they gave up on seeking publicity. They realised they had nothing to say to permissions that had been granted in the correct manner.”

“Good.”

“But I was a bit surprised to find no one really seems to know about this rowing course.”

“What do you mean? It’s a relatively unknown sport, I suppose. Not likely to excite national rowers since we don’t have any except Frederick and people who don’t row might not see the potential or what it’s for.”

“It’s nearly done. I’ve been back.”

She wondered why. “I haven’t, but he told me so.”

“The main building should be done by March and the whole complex is expected to be operational in April. But who’s going to use it?”

“Frederick?” It would be rather wide for a single boat, so she expected he would invite rowers he knew to make use of the course.

“Wouldn’t he need a bit of publicity?”

“The Germans know, I know that much. They already have rowers. They can easily come over to train. He now trains with a club who train on a river, so a real course would be interesting to them and if he can go there, they can come here. It’s not that far away. I think some of them will also be available to train local rowers.”

“He won’t get any if he doesn’t advertise.”

“I think he may know that. But before it’s finished, there’s no point. People like to try things right away. They wouldn’t like to hear they could come and try it in a few months. They’ll have forgotten by then.”

“My son is a rollerskier in the summer. I think the ring road around the lake has some potential for rollerskiiing.”

“I don’t know any details,” she said apologetically.

“There will be a road around it, said the foreman I spoke to, presumably for taking the boats to the other side, or access for emergency vehicles, but it won’t be used by regular traffic. It will be tarmacked in April or May.”

“I suggest you ask Frederick. I know he’s planning to fence the whole terrain off.”

“Why?”

“To avoid accidents with people swimming or playing in rubber boats. And because it’s private property, he can. But he might allow access to people wanting to exercise on the road.”

“I’ll do that.”

She copied Frederick’s email address on a piece of paper and pushed it across the table. “There you go. I didn’t know you had a son.”

“I never knew your husband rowed until I went there.”

“That’s because his father didn’t want anyone to know.”

The Pitbull, who had just revealed himself to be a father who had some interest in his son’s sport, raised his eyebrows. “Yes, he implied something like that when I spoke to him. But Papa is dead. Nothing to stop him now.”

She shrugged. “Old habits are hard to break, perhaps.”

Frederick messaged her during the day that Isabelle and Philip would be coming to dinner. Anna Margaret was glad, because she still wanted to ask what had been wrong. Perhaps Isabelle was now going to tell them. She asked if she should do any shopping, but he replied that it would all be taken care of.

It made her feel a little guilty. He always took care of those things. Most days she could simply take her place at the dinner table without having to do anything else. Yet he also had his own activities during the day. He was visiting a town up north today, but apparently he had enough time to buy and cook food when he came back.

Fortunately he did not have to clean because they had a cleaner and he only had to do laundry if he ran out of something before she did it during the weekend. It was not as if he was some sort of housekeeper.

She walked home and saw from a distance that there were extra cars in her street. Ever since she had moved there she had been extra watchful. It was only a house, after all, and not a palace hidden behind a high fence. There were two men in one of the cars, but she could tell they were security. Isabelle had probably already arrived.

“We’d like to tell you something,” said Isabelle. “The past few months have been quite difficult for us.”

Anna Margaret hoped they were not going to announce a divorce or something like that. She looked alarmed, because she had never noticed problems between them. They were always genuinely nice to each other. Even now they did not look uncomfortable.

“For many reasons we couldn’t share these difficulties, but now they seem to have been resolved to some extent.”

“I really can’t guess,” said Frederick, for whom it was taking too long.

“No, I had guessed that already,” Isabelle said with a wry smile. “Anna Margaret never picked up my hints either.”

“Hints?” she wondered. “When?”

“Philip had a vasectomy.”

“You hinted about that?” She did not dare to look at Philip. If there had any hints about that, they had been so extremely subtle that she had indeed never picked them up. But she did not know why she would need to be told about such a private matter.

“No, that was where the whole thing started.”

“Right. And then you had to go to hospital?” The connection was not immediately apparent to her.

“He had it twelve years ago when we felt our family was finished.” Isabelle looked at them expectantly, but continued when nothing clicked. “Apparently it came undone.”

Posted on 2016-08-11

Chapter Thirty

Anna Margaret and Frederick stared. She was aware they were both doing it, but neither of them seemed certain enough of Isabelle’s meaning to say anything.

“Yes,” Isabelle went on. “You’ll understand why it was such a difficult time and why we had to keep it to ourselves.”

“Er…but what happened?” What happened when it came undone? She had no idea. She could guess, but that did not mean all subsequent developments had been good. Why it had been necessary to keep it a secret?

“The thing that they cut –“ Here Frederick winced and Isabelle turned towards him. “Not that thing. Whatever they cut – I forgot what it was exactly, but it doesn’t really matter – it grew back together.”

Anna Margaret ventured a quick glance at Philip, whose thing was under discussion. He seemed to take it calmly enough, but presumably it was not the first time it was being discussed. Or he might take some pride in owning a body that did not allow doctors to interfere.

“And then what?” asked Frederick.

“I felt what it was, immediately,” said his sister.

This only confused her brother. “How could you feel his thing grow back together?”

“Are you genuinely obtuse or are you out to annoy me?” Isabelle demanded.

“Genuinely obtuse. Seriously. I’ve never researched what’s done,” he defended himself. “That would have been a far too drastic measure for me.”

“Even the straightforward measures were too drastic to use for you, it seems,” Philip mumbled, which earned him a chiding look from his wife.

Frederick tried to pull a straight face. “But what did you feel immediately?”

“That I was pregnant!” she almost yelled.

“Oops,” Anna Margaret said very softly.

Isabelle continued speaking. “But I expected it to go wrong in the first weeks, so I simply waited. So did Anna Margaret, but you didn’t know it about yourself.”

“Oh.” Anna Margaret tried to make sense of what Isabelle was saying. If she understood correctly it was beyond those first weeks now. Earlier she had mentioned the past few months, but how many?

“I didn’t want to get any attention for nothing, or for something that wasn’t going to go anywhere, so I only went to see a doctor when nothing went wrong, but my doctor wasn’t positive on account of my age.”

“Obviously we could not tell people because we had agreed to break it off if something was wrong,” said Philip, who appeared to be more talkative when Isabelle was not, “and because there are always people who won’t allow you to make your own decisions in this regard.”

“Yes, if it had all gone wrong we wouldn’t have told anyone, but we would have dealt with it quietly. And values kept being borderline worrisome, although I felt good. And the baby never cooperated in the ultrasounds, so not everything could be checked. We didn’t know where we stood at all. Of course everything might still go wrong at a later point, too.”

“How far…” Anna Margaret managed to say. She tried to pick up the clues in retrospect, but she did not know how far to go back. There had been non-alcoholic bubbles recently, which was one clue, she supposed. But only if you knew.

“A few days behind you, I suppose.”

“But how is it now? What happened? Are you still pregnant?” She tried to see Isabelle’s stomach, but could not make much out. Her blouse was wide. Of course that now made sense.

“Yes. I’m not allowed to exert myself, but everything seems fine otherwise. Again, borderline, but on the right side.” She looked cautious, however.

“But we’re not there yet,” said Philip. “We still have to tell everyone. The children know, but their reactions were epic. We told them before coming here, so we quickly escaped.”

“Aurelie was probably not that surprised.” Anna Margaret recalled the girl’s comments about her mother’s figure. Apparently the blouse did hide something.

“But they think we’re old. We don’t do these things. Charlotte was physically ill at the thought.” Isabelle looked almost ill herself at this unfavourable reaction. “And all the conspiracy theories to explain it away in another manner! You were having twins but you only wanted one because you’re too busy to have two, so we’d pretend we were having the other. Or it was secretly Florian’s. Or Murielle’s.”

“No, I’m shocked too,” said Frederick. “Do you still do that at forty-seven?”

Philip did not seem to think it an inappropriate question. “It’s when you have more time for it…”

“Why couldn’t you tell us? We wouldn’t have talked.”

“I wanted to wait for the scans. And half of I what was laughing at you for or telling you to do that you weren’t doing, happened to me,” said Isabelle. “So how could I tell you to tell everyone while at the same time telling you I wasn’t going to do it myself? But he finally cooperated.”

“He.” Anna Margaret supposed that was the baby, not Philip. In that case they would both be having boys. Two cousins the same age. That was nice. Or it could be – she hardly saw her own cousins.

“Yes.”

“Well done. I’ll be happy if all is going well.” She leant across the table and touched Isabelle’s arm.

“I feel fine. It’s just doctors and tests that were being obnoxious.”

“When are you going to announce it?” She did not detect enough certainty to think it might be soon.

“I don’t want to announce it at all. I understand you perfectly.” Isabelle laughed self-deprecatingly. “I really don’t want the comments. But I know I must. I have been talking to you about your announcement all the while thinking about mine. My age! Your job! They will be about equal when it comes to reactions, although I think mine might be the worst. If we had to do it at all, why couldn’t we take adequate measures to prevent a pregnancy?”

“Four of the five that I now know of, seem to have failed,” Frederick said ominously.

“That is what I’m saying. Why not the fifth, people will say?”

“If you’re concerned about that, pretend you’re an actress. They all want babies at your age. Or, you wanted one not to make ours so lonely. Take the focus off the unplanned angle.”

Anna Margaret gestured to stop the silly conversation. “A double announcement would be best if you don’t want the attention only on you.” She was willing to sacrifice some of her comfort for someone who was even worse off. Her situation was nothing compared to this.

“Philip and Frederick could do it,” Isabelle suggested.

Frederick did not look enthusiastic. Announcements of any kind still made him uncomfortable, especially if they were supposed to be public. “Why?”

“Because I’m not going to admit that I had – and Philip doesn’t – he thinks it funny if people react funnily. But since he cannot do your news because it would be strange, Frederick must do that.”

“I can do your news,” said Philip. “But Isabelle simply doesn’t trust me with it. I wouldn’t know why.”

“It’s just that…” Isabelle sighed. “Queens don’t do these things. They have arranged marriages and they get separate bedrooms once they’ve produced the heirs. They stop when they’re done.”

“So apparently since you did not stop, you were not done,” Frederick commented. “That’s what I just said.”

“And it’s a massive parenting fail. None were happy. Aurelie was the best – how did you know? – but the others were all looking sick and appalled.” She nearly cried.

Philip laid his arm around her. “They’ll come around. They simply need to get used to the idea. And maybe they were simply worried because you’ve had to stay in hospital.”

Anna Margaret was too impressed by seeing Isabelle nearly crying to say anything.

“But…” Frederick said. “So you’re having a boy?”

“Yes. Well. That’s what they think. He showed his head and heart all right the last time, finally, but he kept his legs crossed.”

“Nice. But you sort of offered to look after ours. Not that we cannot do that ourselves, but – I don’t really know what I mean.”

“Do you think I won’t be able to watch two?”

“You may not want to.”

“Because I’m old. I’ll let you watch both of them.”

Anna Margaret chuckled. “He’s bought a jogging suit for ours.” She imagined Frederick take two sporty-clad toddlers out running. What would Isabelle say to that?

“You know what you’re getting now,” Frederick warned. “Please don’t dress the poor boy in a lace gown.”

“You’ve already bought clothes? You?”

“Not much. But come and have a look when we’ve finished eating. I suppose you haven’t prepared anything yet?”

“No, of course not, given the circumstances. But we’ve still got all the traditional things.”

“Please! You’ve already used them for the other children. Now you can use new stuff for this one. I know I wore that thing, you wore that thing, we all wore that thing, but I’ve still got a trauma from it.”

“Frederick,” said Isabelle, shaking her head. “Traditions.”

“They only came into being when someone broke with an earlier ‘tradition’,” he said. “It can happen again.”

Anna Margaret felt lucky she did not have to debate the issue with her husband, since she was all in favour of ordinary clothes. She focused on her dinner as they discussed which traditions could be abandoned and which could not. That was their decision, not hers. She had every faith in Frederick not to subject their baby to undesirable things.

“I’m curious,” she said to Philip. “Did your family have traditions and was there any room to follow them? I can’t think of any in my case and I doubt we’d have to be as strict as you may have needed to be, but…”

“There would have been no room for them. Suppose all male firstborns had been named Philip in my family ever since the 1700s, there was no way they would have allowed me to name my eldest son that. Fortunately the issues were much smaller than that, because my ancestors were not that silly.”

“Such as?”

“My mother-in-law was not allowed to speak German to her children and I was not allowed to speak English to mine.” He winked. “But she told me to do it anyway, because it would only benefit them to be fluent.”

“I noticed some animosity during the photo session,” she nodded.

“Silly, isn’t it? My children are three-quarters foreign. Probably more. And you can’t raise your child in a language you’re not yet speaking well. At the time I wasn’t fluent at all.”

She would agree with that. “But they wouldn’t see this?”

“No. By the way,” he said, interrupting Isabelle’s conversation with Frederick. “What would your grandmother say?”

“I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Have you all finished eating?” Frederick asked. “I’ll show you the room. Oh, and my grandmother would love to make the announcement.”

“Undoubtedly,” Isabelle said drily. “But I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

Posted on 2016-08-16

Chapter Thirty-One

Frederick showed them the bedroom. He was proud of the furniture he had put together too. He wanted to show his sister he had succeeded at being independent. Anna Margaret could understand that. There would not have been a lot of independence in his life otherwise. He had always had to do what others wanted and there had been staff to take care of the difficult or mundane things. He had always had money and he had never had to work for it. First he had got his own apartment, with its kitchen and washing machine, which had been one step, but even there people had done things for him. Now, in his own house, he was even more independent. And the baby was something else he had done – almost on his own.

Isabelle murmured her appreciation for the room. “Nice. Simple. Not overdone.”

“It’s not done yet, but it won’t be overdone,” Frederick assured her.

“Toys. There will be toys. Anna Margaret got a gift card.”

“Nice gesture,” he agreed. “But there’s plenty of time to buy toys. If we need to buy any at all. We might get presents.”

“I had a look at your wedding gifts,” said Isabelle.

“Anything interesting?”

“I’ll leave that to you to decide.”

“Did you unwrap them?” Anna Margaret did not know how it worked.

“No, they are all unwrapped and checked for safety,” Isabelle explained. “And then displayed for you to decide what you want to do with them. Someone will write back to the senders, so you don’t have to do that.”

“But do you also expect baby things?”

“Even more. If the public ever comes to know about the babies, that is.”

“We need to do up a room as well,” said Philip. “But since Florian has moved into Frederick’s flat, we have one. Well, he sleeps there. He hasn’t cooked a single meal for himself yet, I think. Maybe we should send him to my parents for a few weeks. Even Isabelle learned to cook there.”

“Hush,” said Isabelle. “It’s not my favourite activity.”

Frederick took the clothes out of the closet. “Look!”

Isabelle guffawed. “All set for mini Frederick.”

He beamed. “But maybe he won’t look like me. I hope not.”

“Have you thought of a name yet?”

“Yes,” said Frederick.

“No,” said Anna Margaret at the same time.

“It doesn’t mean I have one,” Frederick explained. “It means I’ve thought about it. But we’ll let you know if we beat you to it. Unless you have a name already.”

“Yes, we do, as a matter of fact, but I’m not telling you yet. You wouldn’t pick it, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Ludovic.”

“Really. It’s not awful, but you won’t be able to guess. Or maybe you will, but you won’t want to use it yourself.”

“I won’t seriously try to guess,” he reassured her.

“Did you really think of a name?” Anna Margaret wondered when their guests had left. “Are there any traditions you have to follow there?”

“No. You missed the outcry over Florian , I suppose?”

She worked out how old she must have been at the time of Florian’s birth. “I think I was studying abroad, because I don’t remember it much. What about it?”

“It was a not an established princely name. People had expected Albert or Henri. They fell over themselves linking it to Florence and wondering why Florence of all people, the royal by marriage only. And then came Murielle, which couldn’t be linked to anyone, so that was a complete mystery to them. We’re considered to be a very unimaginative bunch of people, really. There’s only a short list of names we’re supposed to choose from.”

“Are you expected to give a child several names?”

“Do you mean like Anna Margaret ?”

She snorted. “And then two more to be really classy.”

“You married me. You know I have four.”

Yes, she had looked at that document when she had signed it during their wedding. “That’s what I meant. Are you expected to give him four names and are you supposed to name him after people?”

“It’s not in the law, so no.”

“But personally you would go for…” Not four, she hoped. She could not come up with four, unless they took his father’s and grandfather’s names, but she did not think he would want to do that.

“I don’t know. We can’t use all the good ones up in one go.”

Anna Margaret gave him a warning look. She did not yet know if there was ever going to be more than one go. “It’s not likely we’ll go for six boys. And you wouldn’t go for something really rebellious, would you?”

“No. I wouldn’t want to call him Storm or something. It needs to sound good and that doesn’t. Prince Storm.” Frederick shook his head.

“Prince?”

Frederick gave her a look. “Yes, what did you think he’d be? There has not been a change in the law. This is a dead end when it comes to succession – although you never know – but titles are a different matter.”

“I knew there was a possibility, but I hadn’t thought of him with a prefix, just a title.” To her there was a difference.

“Well, it needs to sound good with that prefix. Prince Storm and Prince Hercules are out.”

Anna Margaret shuddered at the awfulness. “Sorry, darling. Those would have been out even without a prefix. I’d like something more normal.”

“We’ll think of something normal. Baptism?”

“No.”

“Now that could be more of a problem,” Frederick said thoughtfully. “In conservative circles. I wonder what Isabelle will do.”

“Will she force you?”

“No, of course not. I wondered what she will do herself, since when her other children were born she wasn’t given a choice. But a baptism is typically an occasion to invite a lot of prominent people, so maybe she’ll just pretend it has some meaning as a gesture to the public, who can then watch hats and dresses.”

“But you don’t want it?”

“It has no meaning to me.”

That was a relief. She would certainly not want to do it just so the public could watch hats and dresses. “But can you get away with not doing anything?”

“No engagement, no public wedding, no public baptism? I’ll post a picture of the baby in his favourite outfit on social media instead.”

“But I wouldn’t want Isabelle to feel obliged to do it to her son because you’re not doing it.” She had no idea how much of an expectation it was.

Frederick did not care. “I doubt she would feel that kind of pressure, because she’ll probably have excellent arguments to explain her decision, whatever it will be.”

“I never thought I’d have to consider this issue,” said Anna Margaret.

“There will be more. Will he make public appearances, and so forth?”

“What did I get myself into by sleeping with you?” she wondered. Sometimes it dazzled her. She had only seen the simple things.

“I knew what I was getting into – and I think you can handle it.”

“But you didn’t go over all this when we conceived this child?” He had not thought this far, she was sure of that. He was teasing her.

“I can think enormously fast,” he said seriously.

“Right.”

“It has been drilled into me from when I was eighteen and by then Isabelle had had one or two babies as well. I had every faith in my ability to explain it to you and your ability to deal with it.”

“Of course. You’d hardly have thought ‘Stop the snogging! She’s against baptism!’”

“There wouldn’t have been a lot of good reasons to warrant a stop, no,” he agreed with a laugh. “We’ll sort it out. I’ll explain why we’re not doing that to Storm.”

“It would be an announcement. You hate them.”

Frederick kissed her. “Don’t worry.”

She would not. It would be fun to have this child with him, but that was a really undignified thought.

During the past few months Anna Margaret had politely refused most invitations to informal dinners and parties, because they tended to run on too late and, quite selfishly, she had preferred to spend time with Frederick. People had accepted it, because they assumed she was always very busy and no one really knew her evening schedule anyway. Turning down invitations from the same people twice had been a little more difficult, but sometimes she had had a really good excuse.

At the moment she was still as ambivalent about late activities as earlier in her pregnancy, but they still had George’s wedding coming up. Luckily that started early in the day. They had the morning for their regular things, but directly after lunch Anna Margaret pulled on the dress she had borrowed from Isabelle. It was good that both of her winter coats still closed, because the weather had taken a turn for the worse.

Frederick chose a suit with a tie in a colour close to that of her dress. She was surprised at his effort, which made him laugh.

First there was going to be a ceremony, followed by a reception, dinner and finally a party. She had been sure they would give the party a miss, so she had indicated that a few weeks ago, but so far the dinner had seemed doable. They had to eat anyway.

The ceremony was in the town hall of a small town half an hour away and the reception was close to that, but dinner and the party were in a location just outside that town. They drove there and parked. Joel was a TV presenter, of course, but Anna Margaret hoped that did not mean that the guests’ every move would be in the tabloids. When she got out of the car, however, no one paid any attention to them other than a man walking his dog.

A young man with a name tag greeted them inside the town hall, checked their invitation and his list, and showed them to the large room where the ceremony was going to take place and to the cloakroom. This was not a way they could have done it, Anna Margaret reflected, because anything this size would have drawn the press, but it was interesting to imagine what their own wedding would have looked like here.

There were a few faces she recognised from George’s engagement party or from television, but most people near them were strangers. She did not mind. George’s mother came to say hello, but she wondered if Joel’s family had ever accepted the relationship.

When it began, it turned out not all of them had. She did at least not see any older people on the side where Joel’s family were supposed to sit. There were only younger people, who might be siblings or friends. It would have been painful to leave those chairs empty. She wondered if they had been invited and they had not come, or if they had never been invited at all. In either case she felt for poor Joel and she was glad some people were there for him.

Storm kicked in the middle of the – pretty fun – ceremony. He had not done that before. Her hand went to her stomach, as if that would entice him to do it again. They should change ridiculous working titles every week, or she might get used to thinking of him as Storm and that was something she definitely did not want. She definitely did want to let Frederick feel the baby kick, but this was not a good place. It was too exposed.

Posted on 2016-08-20

Chapter Thirty-Two

The ceremony was touching, or maybe Anna Margaret was touched more easily by things these days. It had been funny as well, so there had been enough occasions to laugh. Outside, after the ceremony, there were suddenly cameras. She had expected them sooner, so she was not really surprised. They were photographers only, so they were relatively harmless. Everyone had to wait outside to let the newlyweds walk out, so they took up a spot.

Inside nobody had spoken to her except George’s mum, but perhaps outside she was less daunting to approach. It was cold and snowflakes were falling down. It might make for pretty pictures if the rose petals mingled with the snow.

“Thunder kicked,” she whispered at Frederick when they had taken a few steps back.

“Thunder?”

“We need to rotate names before they stick.”

One of the photographers had taken a picture of them – probably several – but she was used to that happening somewhere in her peripheral vision. Captions for work photos were usually boring. Here, they might write something that contained a reference to her own wedding. That was all she was about this week in the media.

A fancy car pulled up at the end of the walkway for the married couple to get into.

“It’s freezing,” said an older man near them. “I hope they hurry.”

“Why don’t you wait inside, or better yet, already walk to the reception?” she suggested. “Unless you really want to see this?”

The old man lowered his voice. “We’ll have to spend more time outside later, I’ve been told. I want to go in and have a schnapps.”

Anna Margaret was more in favour of walking than standing in the cold herself. “Then let’s go.”

“What about your prince?”

“He’ll come if he wants to.” She pulled Frederick’s coat.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“We are already going to walk. Are you coming?”

“Go right ahead. It won’t be long now. I’ll take a picture and catch up later. I know it’s cold, but we can’t all leave.”

That was true. There were supposed to be people there when the couple came out. The planner had planned it that way. “OK.” She consulted the map on her invitation. “That way, I think.”

“So you are George’s boss, are you?”

“Yes and you are George’s…” She assumed, at least, that he belonged to George’s side of the family.

“Grandfather. On his mother’s side.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, likewise. Everybody is always asking more about you than about his job.”

“Even after the first time? I didn’t know I continued to be so interesting. It’s not as if I have weekly fits of ridiculousness.” She thought she never had them.

“Oh, no! Not weekly! Ha ha, joking!”

They crossed the street and turned right. “I couldn’t imagine what it would be.”

“No, you seem to be pretty normal.”

“Thank you.”

“Or George doesn’t tell us. He didn’t tell us about the prince either. He only confirmed it when we had all read about it.”

They turned into a side street. It was one-way. No wonder they were supposed to walk to the venue. “It was also not that exciting,” said Anna Margaret.

“Not? He was the king.”

She shrugged, wishing she had a hat. The melting snowflakes felt cold on her head.

“But he’s not jealous. He lets you walk away with other men.”

She suppressed a comment about his age. Of course Frederick would not mind this. She doubted he would even mind her walking away with a younger man. He could trust her.

“I hope they have a schnapps,” he said. “Or something to warm me up.”

“What did you think of the ceremony?”

“Very nice, very nice. It was a good speaker. But of course Joel will know some of those more theatrical types.”

“Joel’s nice.” She would not call him a theatrical type and the speaker had not been one either – not really – although perhaps it depended on what you were used to. Some parts of the day might be a little over the top to George’s older relatives.

“A very nice boy,” George’s grandfather agreed. “Is this where we go? Those balloons?”

That was one of the things that might be over the top, she reflected with a smile. They entered the conference centre and one of George and Joel’s friends was already there to show them the way. The young woman looked a little surprised, however, to see them first. “Grandpa?”

“It’s cold outside!”

“It is! But we had expected George and Joel to come first, so they can take up a position in the room to receive everyone. I don’t mind if you go in already, but stay to the side.”

“Do they have schnapps for me and my friend?”

“Oh, no schnapps for me!” Anna Margaret said quickly. “But maybe we should get rid of our coats first? Let’s find the cloakroom.”

She hung up her coat and then found a seat to the side, as the young woman had asked. George’s grandfather ordered a schnapps and a coke from a waitress who did not seem ready yet, but who was nevertheless willing to bring them something to drink.

“Brilliant,” said the old man. “Now we can just sit and watch everyone come in and queue and we shall already have our drink. Why do you drink cola? You’re young but not that young. You should have a distinguished drink.”

“You should meet my grandmother-in-law.”

“Who’s that?”

“Or are you married?” She had not yet wondered about a wife.

“I’m a widower. I don’t think my late wife would have let me go for a schnapps. Do you let your prince?”

“Er…I’ve never seen him drink schnapps. He doesn’t drink at all, actually. An occasional beer, but I think it might even have been non-alcoholic.” She had not felt the urge to check. She watched as the staff prepared the room for the imminent guests by straightening chairs and setting out trays with snacks. The waitress who had brought them drinks also set a tray on their table. She checked what was on it, but it looked safe enough to eat and she was starving. Already.

After a few minutes George and Joel came in. George made a little detour past her table. “Did Grandpa kidnap you, Madam?”

“I volunteered to accompany him,” she said, standing up. If she congratulated them now, she would not have to queue. It was not that she could not queue – she was not that pregnant – but if she could avoid it, she would. Of course if Frederick decided to join the line, she might too. He was not here yet. “Congratulations. It was a lovely ceremony. Very…er…can I say entertaining? I don’t know if it was supposed to be entertaining.”

“Thank you. We liked it too.”

“But we hoped we would,” said Joel. “I’m very happy you could make it. You got married too last week. Congratulations. Where is your husband?”

“He’s probably walking here right now.”

“He let you go with Grandpa?” George chimed in.

“Sure, why not?”

George and Joel took up their spots at the end of the room and she sat down again, wondering when Frederick would make it. He would walk faster than some of the their guests, but he would not run ahead of everybody.

Finally when some people had already come in, she saw him. She half rose from her chair to wave at him.

Frederick handed her his phone as he sat down beside her. “There. Look up what you missed.”

She checked the short video. “Nice.” She took another snack. It would be some time until dinner and she did not even know how much she would be getting there.

“So…Thunder?”

“He’s not done it again,” she said regretfully. “I don’t think he’ll do it if I ask. I’m sure the frequency will increase so that at some point you can catch him.”

Frederick watched the line that was forming in front of the couple. “Of course there are people who leave after the reception. We should let them go first. We’ll talk to the couple later.”

“I just talked to them very briefly.”

“We should sign the book.”

“Which book?”

“As we came in, we were told there was a book in which we could leave a personal message.” He looked around. “I’m not sure where. Maybe just outside, so people see it when they leave.”

“A guestbook. I don’t want to be the first. Everyone would read it.”

“That’s the idea, yes. You don’t have to sign with your name. If you wrote a recognisable message you could simply sign You Know Who .”

“Except if they see me write.”

“Then do it now. When everyone is inside. No one will leave yet.”

It was a lovely book. It would not do to cross out words. This had to be right immediately. Anna Margaret picked up the pen, which was chained to the book with a silver chain.

“Or you could write on a page in the middle,” Frederick suggested.

She contemplated doing it, but in some way she would feel incredibly silly if she did that. No, she would go on the second page. Someone had already beaten them to it. If she left blank pages in between, people might think they had to do that too.

Dear George and Joel,
We wish you all the happiness in your married life.
George, you were there when I met my husband.
Yes, I have to thank you for not talking her out of that 6am run. That changed our lives.
And now we’re even writing messages together. Hoping you will have similar fun,
You Know Who
and You Also Know Who

Anna Margaret critically judged their handwritings. They wrote neatly enough, although she never managed to write really elegantly without effort. Someone had that skill, others forever wrote like schoolgirls.

But it had worked – they had been alone when they had signed the book.

“I’m so hungry,” she whispered to Frederick as they returned to the main hall. She looked for the most accessible plate of snacks. Unfortunately she would have to sit or stand at a table with others, but they might wonder why she ate so much.

Frederick guided her by pushing her in the back towards one of the standing tables. Apparently he had not only looked at the plates because when Anna Margaret tore her eyes away from the blocks of cheese she found she had met at least one of the persons standing at the table before. It was Clara, who hosted Time For Coffee.

“Sorry,” Anna Margaret apologised with a confused smile. “I hadn’t seen you. I was looking at the snacks.” She shook hands with Clara and the man with her, who was introduced as her partner. Anna Margaret introduced Frederick as hers.

“But you were on my show,” said Clara. “I remember that.”

Anna Margaret decided she could now safely eat some cheese. Frederick would have to answer if her mouth was full. She realised there had to be people from her office here somewhere, but that she had been too focused on food. Eventually she spotted them somewhere behind her. Frederick would not have recognised them, so he would not have thought to take her there. “Sorry, people I work with. I wondered where they were.”

Posted on 2016-08-26

Chapter Thirty-Three

“I mean, people George works with,” Anna Margaret corrected herself. “We have some overlap, but I don’t work with all of them directly myself. Do you still work with Joel?”

“Sometimes. He’s our regular stand-in. They appreciated his getting you for the show. They’re always asking him if he can’t get you again.”

“I appreciate the fact that he’s never asked me,” Anna Margaret said with a smile. At least Joel would not do anything to get ahead. She approved of that. “Is there anything new to talk about?”

Frederick nudged her. “You got married.”

“Yes, but how is that exciting to someone else?”

“You’d be surprised.” He took out his phone. “Florian posted this picture of us and it had 1400 likes the last time I checked.”

“I don’t think Clara’s programme would be happy with only 1400 viewers. But what do you mean, Florian posted a picture? Is he on social media?” Did his mother let him? She would expect there to be rules. They might have someone post updates for them, just like Frederick used to have, but letting young people manage their own official account was asking for trouble.

“Everyone is on social media except you. He was there, he took a picture and he waited a few days but then he posted it online.” He looked it up.

“People like that because it’s somewhat artsy, not because it’s us in it,” she decided after studying it. The light was great. She wondered if Isabelle had known about this in advance. It had seemed a strange location for a wedding until now. It could be a coincidence, or either Isabelle or Florian were brilliant planners.

“It has comments.”

“I’m staying away from comments. They bring out the worst in me. I’d want to reply and I shouldn’t.” She handed back the phone and watched as he showed it to Clara and her husband. Although she was kissing in the photo, she felt little embarrassment. You could hardly see it was her anyway.

“That’s the dress you’re wearing in the family photos.” Clara appeared to have studied them well.

“Yes, it was the same morning.”

“I suppose you got lots of people asking you why you married in private.”

She picked a glass of juice off a tray that a waitress carried around. “Oh, all week. I don’t think we could have done it differently. While it’s nice to attend this type of wedding, in practice we could not have done it like this ourselves. It would have turned out public anyway. Even now I saw photographers outside. There would have been even more if we had done it this way.”

“But your family,” Clara said to Frederick, “didn’t they want a say in it?”

“They did,” he smiled. “My sister had a say in it.”

“Really?”

“The whole family is fine with my preferences except my grandmother. I got quite a speech from her last week. You should invite her for a chat – monologue, by the way. No need to ask anything. She will talk. It will be entertaining.”

Anna Margaret was appalled. “No!”

Frederick laughed. “What do you think she will say?”

“She likes to stir things up.” She did not think it was a good idea to let her appear on a talkshow. “Do you work in television as well?” she asked Clara’s partner.

“No, I work for the town.”

She was sure she had seen his face before. It must have been in a work-related setting then, but ‘for the town’ was very vague. It led her to think it was either not something that sounded good compared to the jobs of the others at the table, or something he felt she ought to know.

“Ha, I know where,” Frederick said surprisingly.

“How can you know?” she wondered.

“One of my previous jobs…it didn’t last long but I did pay attention now and then. Oh and it’s in your line of work in some way.”

Clara’s partner seemed to think it funny as well.

Anna Margaret felt a bit left out, but she never begrudged people an innocent joke at her expense. She merely smiled graciously instead of demanding to be clued in and ate another block of cheese.

“There’s a girl looking at you and looking lost,” said Frederick. “Do you know her?”

“It’s one of the interns,” answered Anna Margaret, looking in the direction he indicated.

“She looks as if she doesn’t know anybody.”

“That’s possible. She only just started.” She beckoned the girl, who looked alarmed but who approached nevertheless. “Hi. Did you only just arrive?”

“No, I went to the toilet and when I came back they were gone.” The girl looked around wildly.

“They are –“ Anna Margaret looked towards where she had last seen them. “They were there. I…have no idea where they went. They were there a few minutes ago. They can’t have left yet.”

“No, we still have to give the gift,” said the girl.

“They might be signing the book,” Frederick suggested and pointed. “It’s out the other door.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll have a look there.”

“That’s how I would look if you left the room without me,” he commented as the girl hurried there.

“Seriously.” She wondered if he was implying she should on no account leave him alone at this reception, but she was sure he would manage. It was immensely frustrating to be told it would be all right, she knew, especially when someone had no confidence in this matter, but she did not think that was still the case here. It might be so for Julia the intern and he might simply be showing he understood – or explaining how awful it really was to have this condition.

“Seriously,” he confirmed. “At least nowadays they invented phones to mask our utter despair.”

She patted his arm. “I’ll take you with me if I go to the toilet, all right?”

“Very nice of you. She’s not coming back. I might have been right. I couldn’t imagine what they’d be doing otherwise. She looked a bit afraid to approach you.”

“She’s only been there for like two weeks. They always stay out of my way in the first weeks. I’m not sure why.” She made some comments about the town and the venue, which led to some more conversation. See, it was easy.

“The queue is getting shorter,” Clara’s partner said to her after a while. “Shall we?”

Anna Margaret supposed they were not staying for dinner. She would wait a bit herself because they had plenty of time. “Nice man,” she said to Frederick when the couple had left them. “But do tell me what I’m supposed to know him from.”

“I don’t know if you are, but he’s a mayor.”

“A mayor? Really?” She studied his back. “Now that you mention it. Not from my party, obviously.”

“I hope not,” Frederick commented. “Because you’re probably obliged to recognise them.”

“Yes and luckily I think I do! We have gatherings and annual conferences. And half of them go to parties at my parents’ house.”

“We’ve never been.”

“No, sorry. I declined the last two or three times. I know it’s just down the street, but it was too late for me and too alcohol-centred.” She checked her phone. “I think there’s one invitation I’ve yet to respond to. It’s when I get back from China, so I’ll have to give a response before I leave. You tell me. Drinks again, but they know we’re pregnant now. It would be easier to go without drinking.”

“We could give it a try. I could always put you to bed earlier and test the baby monitor.”

“Funny. Let’s join George’s grandfather.” She pulled Frederick with her when she saw two vacant chairs at George’s grandfather’s table. She would like to sit down. “How was your schnapps, sir?” she asked. When she had left him he had not yet finished, but now he had.

“Thank you for asking. I’m not driving, so I’m letting it sink in and then I’ll have another at the dinner party. I’ll be dancing like mad tonight.”

“Dancing! You’re staying for the party?” She was amazed. She had been expecting only young people to stay for that.

“You’re not?”

“No, I like to go to bed early.”

“A prime minister? I always hear they work late.”

While that might have been the case with some of her predecessors, she had always walked home at a decent hour if there were no meetings. “I start very early.”

“I’m surprised you’re so boring. Don’t you dance?”

“I can’t remember when I danced last.”

“And His Royal Highness?” When Frederick was with them in person he did apparently not dare to speak of him as ‘your prince’.

“A few months ago with my sister.”

“Your sister!”

“She made me.”

“But you don’t dance either?”

“Not really.”

“Not even together?”

They looked at each other. “Er…no?” said Anna Margaret.

“But we’ll go running at seven tomorrow morning,” Frederick commented. “Together.”

“At seven!” George’s grandfather shuddered.

“Or maybe eight if we’re lazy.”

“Why so early?”

“I want to go shopping in Maastricht,” Anna Margaret explained.

“That’s a bit far.”

“But it’s open on Sundays.”

“Awful. I heard that the city is open on Sundays as well nowadays.” The old man shook his head at this despicable development.

“Yes, some things are, but I can’t go there. At least abroad no one will know me.” She wondered if Isabelle would like to come. It was even more important for her sister-in-law to be able to shop in peace.

Posted on 2016-09-01

Chapter Thirty-Four

Frederick had wondered for about two seconds if he wanted to come shopping after Isabelle said she would come, but then he had declined the invitation. On Sunday morning it was therefore only Anna Margaret and Isabelle who took their places in the car. They had chosen to be driven, not knowing how tired they might be afterwards.

“What do you need?” Isabelle asked.

“Shirts, I think. If you buy them online you never know how they will look.”

“It’s good that I’m with you and not with Frederick. I don’t know how critical he would be.”

“Not much.”

“I need some new ones for next week. At home I can simply wash them very quickly and alternate them, but I won’t be able to have anything laundered in China. We’re only staying everywhere for one night.”

“Don’t you fit anything anymore?” Isabelle studied Anna Margaret critically. “I’ll take your word for it, but I don’t see it from here.”

Anna Margaret held her fingers a few centimetres apart. “If my buttons need to cover this more distance, they still struggle. What about you?”

“I can always find something in any shop for myself or the children, so I have no particular list.”

“But you can’t be seen in clothes you wore thirteen years ago.” Not only would someone have documented them – there were nutcases like that – but they would look outdated.

Isabelle gave that a confident shrug. “I don’t have those anymore anyway, except dresses for special occasions. You don’t give those away to staff. Still, what someone is wearing during her fifth child is not that interesting. I doubt anyone took note of it, so if I still have something I could still wear it.”

It turned out they were not the only shoppers, even though it was cold. Anna Margaret had never been shopping with a ‘tail’, but Isabelle had two women with her, who did not attract any attention among other women looking at maternity wear. Even bored-looking men might not have looked out of place. But at any rate they simply followed unobtrusively and Anna Margaret only noticed them because they had been in the car with them.

When they were having a cup of tea after the first shop – it was some time since they had left home, after all – Isabelle sighed. “I’m beginning to have my doubts about the clinic.”

“Why? I thought you were happy with it. The privacy and everything.”

“Yes, they do that well, but…they don’t seem to take into account that I’ve already borne five children.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was having babies when my doctor was in primary school. I don’t think she ever sees many unproblematic pregnancies, because they are with the midwives, so she’s always expecting problems. The fact that I have experience doesn’t seem to count for much. She is focusing too much on my age, but the risk is much less if it’s not an older mother’s first child.”

Anna Margaret listened. She had never investigated the matter more deeply herself than sometimes reading articles in the paper that mentioned how it was not a good thing that women had their children later these days.

“I have the feeling she’s doing a lot of things ‘just to be safe’ when they’re not really necessary,” Isabelle went on. “I’m not sure it’s because of who I am or because of how old I am. Or both.”

“Or because of money.”

“That’s not an easy thing to bring up in conversation, but it did cross my mind. Let’s to be safe, subject her to a lot of tests and hospitalisations, and make money while we’re doing so. They would never have to admit the measures were unnecessary, because obviously I’m in a high-risk category, objectively speaking.”

“Do you have a team of doctors there or just one?”

“Just one who does the boring things – the youngest, probably – but I know she confers with the head of the department, who was already there during my other pregnancies, although he wasn’t the head then. I saw him only on my first visit. Of course after the birth all the credit will go to him. That’s how it goes. There are always more high-ranking people present at the birth than you’ve ever seen before. Well, they try. I managed to bring down that number a little more every time.”

“So…” Evidently she was not entirely satisfied, but what options did she think she had? Anna Margaret could only think of switching hospitals completely.

“I’d like to get a second opinion. But I don’t know where. I don’t know anything about public health services.”

Anna Margaret checked her schedule on her phone. “I have an appointment next Monday. When I get back from China. Maybe bring your file and come with me?”

“What do you mean, bring my file?”

“I have an envelope with my file in it. Well, a sort of card. They mark my progress on it. I always have to carry it with me in case something happens, but I haven’t begun to do so yet because…well, I don’t expect anything to happen and it’s in my work bag so I don’t forget to take it to actual appointments.”

“I don’t have anything. Except photos I took with my phone of the results when she was out of the room.”

“You…” Anna Margaret bit her lip as she imagined that happening. “Bring that.”

The nice thing about sitting here was that no one could follow them if they came close enough. There would also be very few people who would recognise them. They would see her first, thought Anna Margaret, since Isabelle was wearing glasses. “Do you usually wear contacts?” she asked.

“No, these are just glass. I have reading glasses, though.”

“I know.” She had seen those.

“It’s purely a disguise. Because of the type of shops we go to.” Outside she had also worn a woollen hat. Nobody would find that odd; it was cold.

Anna Margaret reviewed her purchases. A light pink blouse and a white shirt that would go well with a business suit. They had not had suitable trousers, so she would still have to look for one or two she could grow into. Isabelle had not yet bought anything. Anna Margaret wondered if she had a more expensive taste than had been available in the first shop they had come across. “Don’t you need clothes?”

“I do.”

“But you didn’t buy anything.”

“No. I heard people talk when you were trying on the shirts. We’re not the only ones who drove all this way here to go shopping.”

“Did they recognise us?”

“No. I’ll have a look at clothes in the next shop. If they follow the same route they should be out of that shop by then. Unless our entire country has a great need to shop on Sundays and they are all here, but I didn’t see that many of our number plates.”

“Oh I thought the shop might not have been expensive enough.”

“I don’t care,” Isabelle assured her. “As long as it’s nice and good quality.”

After finishing their tea they continued down the street, once stopping to decide on how to tackle the extended shopping area. Towards the end of the street they encountered a small shop with children’s clothing. Even Isabelle got something there, but Anna Margaret was sure that was mostly because she had been urged to do so.

They crossed the river and got some baby basics on the other side as well as the trousers Anna Margaret was still looking for. She was pleased to notice that Isabelle finally seemed to get into the shopping mood. First there had been some hesitation, but once she had got some things for the baby she got the hang of it.

In the end they had a more or less complete maternity wardrobe and Anna Margaret was pleased that Isabelle had pointed out the existence of nursing bras and shirts to her, because she had never heard of them before. There were other items on which she had taken notes so she could order them online. It was hard to carry it all back across town as it was, after all, but at least they would not have to do anything anymore in the car and they could rest.

“I’ve spent more in these past months than I’ve done in the rest of my life,” said Anna Margaret. And she knew there would be lots more to buy in the next few weeks.

“Just wait until they start secondary school or university,” Isabelle smiled. “At least the stuff you got now could be used for every next child.”

“I was going to say I’ll be nearly thirty-eight when this one comes along, but of course that’s not a valid argument for you anymore now.”

“Apparently not. But you make enough money.”

“Yes,” Anna Margaret sighed. “I could probably afford it.”

“And if you can’t, you let us know.”

“No. I can’t do that if I feel objections to giving my sister large gifts simply because I’m expected to on account of my higher income.”

“The key word is being expected to. But it’s all academic. You won’t need money. Unless Frederick decides to build a five-star hotel next to his rowing course, but I doubt it. Philip has his expenses in hand.”

“Philip?”

“What did you think he does all day? He manages our money. If after you’ve bought everything you have some money left he can manage it for you as well.”

Frederick took her to the airport on Monday. The government plane was not suitable for far trips to China, so she would be taking a regular flight and not even a direct one at that. She was expected to arrive on Tuesday morning. Frederick dropped off at the VIP service where the travelling party were supposed to present themselves.

He would pick her up again on Sunday. She wondered what he would do in the meantime, but he said he did not yet know. Soon she was among her colleagues and staff. As soon as they got off the plane their programme would start, so these spare moments were supposed to be used to prepare themselves. Fortunately the fast reader could get it all done before bedtime.

Anna Margaret was nevertheless exhausted when she was woken the next morning. Before they were picked up they would first get the opportunity to refresh themselves and have some breakfast in the VIP lounge. It would be awful to start the day in the clothes she had slept in.

On the return trip she slept better because she was more tired. They had to change planes twice, once in China and once in Europe and she changed into fresh clothes for that last hour. Although she had had two hours off for shopping, like on a school trip, she had not bought any clothes for herself in China. Her interpreter had shown her a few amazing shopping areas, but she had chosen to stick to two small baby items because they took up less room in her luggage.

Of course instead of the plush panda she could have squeezed in some other things, but the panda had been pretty much inevitable in the area they had visited. Half of her group now went home with pandas of varying sizes, although Patrick had said she had now outed herself as being pregnant. She did not know about that. Nobody else had said anything about it.

Due to the time difference she had not exchanged many messages with Frederick, so she was very pleased to see him. He had taken his mother to Germany in her absence and he had only just returned the night before himself.

“What did you think, if I’m alone I might as well go?” she asked, hooking her arm through his. She had already known, of course, because he had messaged her about it.

“They’re family. I have to visit them sometimes. They were sorry I didn’t bring you.”

“But they’re not close relatives, aren’t they?” It would be something like aunts and uncles and cousins. She could not imagine them to be enormously interested in her.

“We stayed with my mother’s sister and all her children came to dinner. Not on the same day, but they all came.”

“How old are they?”

“Around my age. It’s a younger sister of my mother’s. Most of them have small children.”

“Did you get some practice playing with them?”

“Only a little bit. But I took pictures of all of them so you will know who they are if you see them. They invited me for Christmas, but I had to say I wasn’t sure you’d like to sit in the car for that long by then.”

“Ah, so they know.”

“Well, the cousin who invited me does.”

“I bought a plush panda, so it seems some more people know now as well because apparently I would not have bought it otherwise. And Isabelle is no closer to announcing the news?”

“I didn’t talk to her about it this week. But we have some socialising to catch up on.”

Anna Margaret was amazed. “You?” She wondered if he wanted to do this himself, or if he felt other people expected it of him.

“Well, it’s true,” he defended himself. “We haven’t received any people at home either because we were busy.”

And she was always busy on work days, so that most of their time together and the time they had to work on the house had been during the weekend, and they had consequently kept this time free. She had always thought he preferred it that way as well. “What do you propose?”

“A dinner party in December at our place?”

It was December. “For whom?”

“We’ll have to think about that.”

“And who’s cooking?”

“You could help me.”

Anna Margaret made a sound that approximated a snort.

“You could.”

“How many people?” She was sure she could not. He had had that barbecue at the Palace, but he had had food brought in then. If he was thinking of the same number of people now he would have to do the same.

“Have you never entertained?”

“For about four people at most.”

“So we could do eight?”

Posted on 2016-09-08

Chapter Thirty-Five

Anna Margaret had passed the time of her appointment on to Isabelle. It was now up to her to find a way to get there unnoticed. Isabelle did not seem to think so, however, because an hour before the appointment she presented herself in Anna Margaret’s office.

“Er…” said the latter, taken aback because she had not expected the visit. “They’re not making house calls, you know. Now I have to smuggle you across town.”

“If you can smuggle yourself across town I’m sure you can smuggle me.”

“That depends on how you arrived here. Fancy car and police outriders?” Now she had never seen such a thing, but one never knew. The distance was also too short for an entire convoy, but maybe Isabelle had arrived from somewhere else.

“No, very low-key. I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s snowing. Everyone is hidden under hats and scarves.”

“All right. Then we might make it unseen.” Anna Margaret wondered if Isabelle realised they would go on foot. “But people know you are here.”

“Yes. It’s surprisingly impossible to get into this building without identifying yourself.”

“That’s to prevent undesirable elements from bothering me.”

“It would help to have someone at the desk who actually recognises well-known people.”

Anna Margaret thought it might help if well-known people were actually recognisable and not hidden under scarves and hats, but she did not know how Isabelle had come in. “Maybe it was the same guy who told Frederick to wait because he had been running and he didn’t have any ID on him.”

“Frederick,” said his sister, as if this was to be expected of him.

“He didn’t mind. But you did carry some ID?” She was curious about that – and about what was on it.

“Of course. When do you leave?”

“In forty-five minutes.” She eyed her work. “Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you. Can I just walk around all these rooms here?” Isabelle gestured around.

“And unnerve everyone by looking over their shoulders? Be my guest.”

“I won’t look at what they’re doing. I need to see how much room you’ve got here.”

“For what?”

Isabelle waved at her. “Work on. I’ll tell you later.”

“That’s a good way to stay incognito.”

“There are more important things than that.” Isabelle deposited her outdoor clothes on the couch and left the room, leaving Anna Margaret a little baffled.

When it was time to leave, Isabelle had still not returned. Anna Margaret peered out of the door, to check whether she needed to pick up that coat and look for her, but she saw her sister-in-law chatting to George. They seemed to be having a good time. She would never have thought it of George, who still addressed her formally.

“We need to go,” she announced.

“Thank you for the tea, George. It was very kind of you.” Isabelle fetched her coat and joined Anna Margaret. “Are you taking a back door?”

“Yes. It’s shorter too.”

Anna Margaret noticed that two security types followed them. She wondered if they were not more noticeable with them than without, but she could hardly say they were not needed if she was ultimately responsible for Isabelle’s safety.

She left the building through a side door. People watching – from where, though? – would only see two bundled-up women walking. Nobody would see who they were. People working here might know her coat, but they would not know her companion.

“I suppose the days when I could simply move around without anyone going with me will never return,” Isabelle commented with a hint of sadness in her voice. “What sort of world will our children grow up in?”

“I…don’t want to think about that much. At least I’m in a position to influence it a bit. For a bit. I won’t be in this position for years.”

“And while you are, you must make use of it. I examined the layout of the building and –“

“Don’t tell me you have an app as well,” she interrupted, although she had no idea what the app and the layout of the building had to do with their children’s future.

“I do. Frederick put it on my phone ages ago.”

“What did you use it for?”

“To map your workplace,” Isabelle said cryptically.

“Why would you want to?”

Isabelle looked at her as if that was obvious.

Anna Margaret felt clueless. “Sorry, I don’t see it. Is my desk in the wrong place?” She had moved it from where it had been before. Or rather, she had asked for strong men to move it to a place where the light was better, even if it then did not make it look to visitors as if she dominated the room. She had also made the room less brown. It had cost some money, but she had justified it by having to spend long days here. She could, however, not justify another overhaul of the office.

“It may be. I looked at who you could most easily move in order to make room for the baby’s room.”

“Baby’s room? At my office?”

“Yes. While you could put it next to your desk, you may not get much work done. There’s this nice little niche off the anteroom that might be suitable. There’s now a reading corner, but that might move to the corridor. I don’t think many people read there anyway.”

“Suitable for…”

“A playpen if you need to be elsewhere.”

“And why…” Anna Margaret inquired carefully. She did not want to offend and ask why Isabelle seemed to want to reorganise her workplace. “…would you be looking at these things?”

“Well, I was thinking we need to make our time-consuming engagement asynchronous, so that I can take your son when you’re busy and you can take mine when I am. I think it would be better for them if they were together, rather than each of them alone. It wouldn’t be every day, but sometimes only. Assuming, of course, that mine is delivered without problems.”

“Ah.” She needed some time to process that, but she was not really given it.

“It may, of course, be more work for you to have two babies at work than one. It may not work out in practice. I mean, you can have one in your lap while you read, but hardly two. And you will almost certainly need someone to look at the baby or babies if you have a meeting.”

“But you would actually trust me – or my office – with your son?” The idea of the queen’s son being kept in a niche of George’s room was faintly hilarious. It was not what people would expect.

“Why not? Would you not trust me with yours?”

“I would.”

“And you need a fridge in your room to keep the milk cold. At least you have your own office.”

“And you have thought about this?”

“Someone should.” Isabelle implied that Anna Margaret had not.

Which was not entirely true, although she had certainly not considered it in as much depth as her sister-in-law. She had had vague notions of putting a cot by her desk and looking into it now and then, but she had not yet thought of what would happen if she received people who found the presence of small creatures disturbing.

“I’ll whip something up in the app,” said Isabelle, “and print it out. Assuming this app is user-friendly. Frederick says it is, but I’m not as savvy as he is.”

“Does he know what you needed it for?” If so he had not told her.

“No, I’ve had it for a while. I never saw any use for it until I got to your office and it suddenly struck me.”

As they had been talking, they had covered a good deal of the distance. Anna Margaret always chose the last appointment of the day, so there would be fewer people in the waiting room. She had done the same this time. It meant that it was an hour at which some people were already leaving work and the streets were pretty crowded for this kind of weather. But they had hats pulled down low and scarves pulled up high.

“I used to live here,” Anna Margaret gestured to the right,

“That’s a very ordinary building.”

“It is, but it served my purpose. I didn’t need anything bigger. And it was close to work.”

“A lot of your colleagues have bigger houses.”

She knew; she had been to a few. “A lot of them have bigger countries as well.”

“But it would have been difficult to invite people.”

“There are restaurants to take them to.”

“But in your new house you can receive people.”

“You’ve been talking to Frederick, haven’t you? He wants us to cook for eight people.” Or so he had said. He might increase the number if she said yes to eight. What difference could two more make, right?

“Poor dear. Order in?”

“I’d hate to admit defeat.”

“You can’t excel in everything. I couldn’t do it either,” said Isabelle, implying perhaps unwittingly that she excelled at a lot of other things. “Not a three-course dinner for eight, anyway. Although three courses won’t be too complicated if you have cans of soup and –“

“Cans?” Anna Margaret was amused. Surely the queen did not serve canned soup?

“It’s a lot quicker than making soup from scratch, which I would never attempt in a million years.”

“Do you ever attempt to cook at all? I really have no idea.”

“There was a time that I tried, but it may be too much information as to why I got distracted and why the food got burnt, and why every single time I try again I must be reminded of this. Anyway, I wouldn’t ever try to cook if I had guests. The children will eat simple food. They don’t care. Florian should learn, but he avoids cooking. He either eats with us or at the university. I’d say the quality of my cooking will be about equal to large-scale meals provision, though.”

“He could be bored on his own.”

“He was the one who liked the idea of moving into Frederick’s apartment.”

“Maybe you should invite yourself to dinner. Oh, this is where we go in.” Anna Margaret walked to the door and went inside.

“Here? This looks like a house.”

She supposed it had once been a house, so that was why it still looked like one from the outside. She nodded at the woman behind the reception desk and proceeded to the waiting room. There was no one there. “Sit here,” she said. “I have to get myself weighed.”

“Weighed. Oh my goodness. What for?”

Anna Margaret took off her coat. “Don’t you have to do that?”

“I said no thanks. I weigh myself at home. Not too often. But it’s nobody’s business how much I weigh.”

“Hmm.” She went back to reception with her card, so her weight could be noted down. It was nobody’s business how much she weighed either, but nobody was told except people who might draw important conclusions from it. Then again, if this was Isabelle’s sixth longer pregnancy she might well be able to draw conclusions from her weight gain or loss herself.

She did not like this weight gain either, as it had again increased a tiny bit since last time, but it happened to everyone here. The assistant saw it every day she worked. She took the card back to Isabelle, who was still in her coat. “It’s hot here. Take it off. It wouldn’t be considered odd for you to be here. We’re now related. A lot of people come with a relative.”

“True.” Isabelle removed her coat. “But dear me, do they really weigh everyone in public?”

“It’s not as if they yell my weight across the waiting room. Did you hear anything?”

“No.”

“So it’s just me and the assistant who know. And the midwives when they look at the card.”

Isabelle picked up some leaflets from a rack and put them in the pocket of her coat. She seemed to find her foray into the public health system rather interesting.

It was Maya who called them in. Anna Margaret had seen Maya once before. She should; she would never know who was on duty the moment she went into labour, so it was useful to have seen them all at least once before. “I brought my sister-in-law,” she said.

“Welcome,” said Maya, who did not seem to know who she was greeting. Or perhaps someone announced as s sister-in-law should be treated like any other sister-in-law.

First she did all the usual things to Anna Margaret and Isabelle watched. After this Isabelle asked about the possibility of a consultation and she explained why.

Maya looked as if she could not decide what surprised her most: that this was actually the queen or that she appeared to be pregnant. “Are you…pregnant?”

“Things apparently still worked,” answered Isabelle. “But I should like you to examine me in an unbiased way and tell me if you see any risks. Without wondering if it’ll be the end of your career if this pregnancy goes wrong. I simply cannot shake off that suspicion when it comes to the clinic.”

“Do you have a card? They don’t always provide them in hospitals.”

“Anna Margaret told be about her card. It was the first I ever heard of one. So no, I don’t. I have a photo of the file on my phone.” She gave it to Maya.

Maya squinted at it. “Can you email that to me so I could see it on a big screen?” She wrote down her email address.

Isabelle sent it.

“Thanks. I’ll have a look at it when it comes in. I’ll do your blood pressure first.” With one hand she opened her email and waited. “Your blood pressure is fine today.” She looked at her computer screen. “But these are your previous values, as far as I can tell.”

“I was hospitalised because of them two weeks ago.”

Maya traced the figures for two weeks ago with her finger. Anna Margaret suspected that Isabelle would like Maya to say the figures were all fine. She could see them, but they had never meant anything to her. She had always forgotten in which range they ought to be by the time of the next visit – by the time they moved onto another subject, really. She hoped for Isabelle’s sake that Maya really did not consider them worrisome, since Isabelle was determined to prove the private hospital wrong.

“I wouldn’t have gone so far as to advise that,” Maya said eventually, “but I would have monitored you more often.”

“I can measure myself at home. It’s always much lower there. Until Philip hid the damn thing.”

Posted on 2016-09-17

Chapter Thirty-Six

Isabelle had been checked out and although there was no record of how she had been before, she had been considered fine. She had paid for the consultation in cash, not wanting to register at the practice. After this she had walked with Anna Margaret back to the office.

“I may now have to find someone to break the news,” she said.

Anna Margaret wondered why one visit had made such a difference. Surely Maya had not looked at anything that was not covered during Isabelle’s regular visits? “Who or what were you thinking of?”

“I’m going to have to write it down. Say, I’d do it, what would I say, how would people react? Say you’d do it, what would you say, how would people react? And then for everybody I could think of and then make the best choice. Suppose Frederick did it, he would look annoyed and say ‘so yes, my sister and my wife are pregnant.’ And then everyone would be waiting for the rest, but he wouldn’t know what else to say.”

That might happen, Anna Margaret agreed, unless he was coached. “And how would I do it? I’m curious.”

“I can’t decide. Either you’d be all girly or you’d be overly business-like because you didn’t want to appear too girly.”

Anna Margaret considered that. She had never been girly while making announcements, not even when she had said she was in a relationship with Frederick. “I have no idea. By the way, are you operating on the premise that whoever announces it, announces both pregnancies?”

“I was. You could hardly announce yours and not know I’d have a similar announcement to make.”

“The public always suspects politicians of knowing far more than they let on anyway. I doubt anyone would be surprised if I neglected to mention something I already knew. But rationally thinking I agree with you. Who, by the way, is your replacement? Do you have maternity leave? I could at least announce that for health reasons I’ll be taking some leave. But I wouldn’t go on television for that. Do we have to? Wouldn’t Facebook suffice?”

“Facebook. Seriously.”

“There’s an official account, I’ve been told.”

“And there are unofficial accounts.” Isabelle paused. “If our official account posted that we were pregnant, the public would think we got hacked.”

“You could have them post that one picture of the two of us during the photo session, with a good text to go with it.”

“You know, people’s idea of a good text differs somewhat. You have no idea what rubbish I see on my timeline. And it’s all written by relatives.”

“Timeline?” Anna Margaret nearly had a fit of hysteric laughter, but she was in the street, so she suppressed the urge.

“My Facebook timeline. My private Facebook timeline? Oh for god’s sake, Anna Margaret, get yourself into the twenty-first century. Get yourself an account, befriend me, and judge for yourself whether you think someone in the family should be trusted with announcing this news.”

It was beginning to be quite normal, walking through town with the king or queen. They were quite normal people, of course. Or so they thought. “What sort of texts would they come up with?” Anna Margaret supposed those would also be quite normal texts.

“I don’t know. I only know it might not be suitable. But you think we won’t have to go on TV?”

“I go on TV for some things, but not for everything. I don’t always decide that myself. I wouldn’t go for this. This is private. Did you announce your other pregnancies on TV?”

“No, but I wasn’t the queen.”

“I don’t think it happens anywhere. It’s faster to reach everyone through other channels. Assuming you think they have to know at all.”

“They think they have to know,” Isabelle corrected. “Although it might be a little odd if suddenly I appeared somewhere with a child, so they’d have a point. But she who doesn’t do social media, says social media?”

“I don’t personally do it. It’s being done for me. I have no time.”

“Or so you think. I’d add you. Unless you’d indiscriminately add every citizen and they would all see through my anonymised name.”

“Which is?”

“I’ll tell you when you sign up.”

The next day she had a meeting with Louis to discuss which parts of her work he would take over during her maternity leave. The new thing was that their assistants were now present as well to note it all down. The pregnancy might be new to them.

“I have twelve weeks to go. I cannot say how the situation will develop,” Anna Margaret said with a shrug. “But I do think it likely that I won’t be completely absent in a few weeks.”

“Are you aiming for a reduction in hours?”

“I think it would be wise first to reduce my work visits to leave more time for other matters.” Usually she had one or two per week, but they also required preparation and briefing in advance. It would give her several hours if she skipped that. She usually enjoyed them, but they did take up a lot of time. “Of course I’ve already got some planned and I can still do those, but it would be best not to plan any new trips out of the office. Unless some sort of catastrophe happened, of course.” And she could always plan last-minute ones if she felt up to it.

Her assistant Kristina noted this down and checked her schedule. “They should be blocked in six weeks’ time?” she asked.

“Preferably.”

“There’s a period already blocked for flights?”

“George probably did that.”

“I wonder why I never noticed.”

“So.” Anna Margaret had made a note herself. “I’ll reduce the number of work visits. I could either use that time to prepare which work should be transferred or to go home if I need it. There is no official provision for pregnant ministers, which is both a good and a bad thing. But we’ll evaluate that afterwards.”

“I had looked that up,” Louis confessed.

“So it allows me some flexibility. I’m entitled to being sick on full pay up to certain number of weeks. I’ll have to look into that, but I doubt I’ll reach the maximum. I don’t plan to, at any rate. I don’t plan to sit at home on full pay when I could just as easily come in and work. But since it will be on full pay, it actually doesn’t matter money-wise how much I’ll work. It will only matter workload-wise.”

“But you don’t know how you’ll feel,” said her assistant.

“No, I don’t. So without an official maternity leave provision, there is nothing I could predict about my absence. I don’t expect to become completely incapacitated, but you never know. I have been advised to take the baby to work some days.” She kept an eye on Louis’ face but he did not react. “As I’m in my office for a good part of the day and many meetings could be transferred to my office as well.”

“There is a day care centre over at Health,” Kristina offered helpfully.

“I don’t need one; I have a husband. But in the first weeks it might be best to keep it with me as much as possible, so I could either stay home and skype, or I could come to the office and put the baby in a corner.”

Louis gave this a funny look.

“What else?” Anna Margaret inquired.

“Nothing, nothing.”

“I’ve had a list drawn up of all my tasks and responsibilities and I’ve already marked them according to their priority.” She passed the photocopied list around. “It includes the frequency and the commitment in hours per week, on average.”

“Women in Politics Work group?” Louis read up.

“Check the priority,” she advised. “Although you’re free to make it your top priority if you so desire. But there are several things like that. We could simply skip them. When it comes to the important things, I’d prefer not to travel to Brussels anymore in the last two weeks and any further is out of the question because I won’t be allowed to fly, so those will be your things for certain.”

“I don’t suppose you could plan your labour so we know precisely when these two last weeks will be?”

“Louis, do you have children? Of course I can’t.”

“Make a schedule in which you start reducing your workload at eight weeks before your due date. First the work visits, for example. The next week something more. People need to know where they stand. I see your point of view, but it would be unworkable to wait each morning and see if you’re fit enough to do your duties.”

“I understand that and I did plan to go over this with you once a week to plan the week ahead. I think you’re making more of this than there really is, because it would simply be the way it was when I was in China, except then twice or three times as long. I’ll be in town. I can be emailed. I can be phoned. I could come over with the exception of one or two days.”

“But you could have serious complications,” said Kristina.

“Yes, I could die too. Louis could be run over by a bus tomorrow as well.”

The others sighed.

“You managed China and other trips. This will only be a bit longer.”

“This is a life-changing event,” Kristina tried. “It does things to women, I’ve heard.”

“ Apparently pregnancies do things to women as well, so we can all conclude that I’m not a woman,” Anna Margaret retorted. “So that I’ll be just the same as before.”

In the evening she had the drinks at her parents’ house that she had not turned down. She was not really looking forward to it, but some degree of socialising with them could not be put off forever. It worried her slightly – or more than slightly if she was honest – that they might bring up her pregnancy, but her father at least might know how to be discreet.

She had hoisted herself into a dress after work and had a quick dinner with Frederick. She did not know how he felt. He had been the one to say they could give it a try, after all, and he seemed calm enough as they walked there.

“Just a few drinks,” he said, squeezing her hand.

“Not too many, or I’ll be up all night peeing. I think he’s pressing down on my bladder.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“No.”

“It means he’s growing. But get a drink you don’t like. Then you won’t drink of it.”

“You didn’t bring the baby monitor, did you?”

“No. There’s no way I’m going to stay there alone.”

She went into her parents’ door. It was open to allow all the guests to come in or perhaps someone had just arrived who had not closed the door behind them. Her mother could be the perfect hostess. She greeted them warmly, although she did not take too many liberties with Frederick. There were other people still in the hall. If this was like other times, there would be about twenty people in all. Behind her, the next ones could already be seen, so her mother could not ask her anything personal.

She moved into the sitting room with Frederick. Some furniture had been moved aside so there was more room to stand. As always, a few waiters or waitresses had been hired to allow her parents to mingle with the guests. One such young man offered them a drink. She took a glass of water and then spotted Irene Louise hanging on the couch in the corner.

Posted on 2016-09-23

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Anna Margaret felt it was some sort of duty to greet her sister before she talked to anyone else in the room and to inquire how she was doing. She carried her glass over to the couch and sat down, leaving a place for Frederick. “Hi Irene, how are you?”

Irene was not sitting very elegantly. “Fine, considering.”

She could not remember how far Irene was, but her pregnancy probably had something to do with why she was not completely fine. “Four months?”

“Something like that. It gets hard.” She eyed Anna Margaret suspiciously. “Mum told me you seem to be pregnant.”

Of course as long as she did not wear maternity clothes with a colourful belt around her belly there must always be some doubt, Anna Margaret conceded. Personally she thought such belts came in once one had grown to balloon size, not before. “Yes, apparently.”

“Is that a publicity stunt?”

It continued to be interesting. “How?”

“Do you have elections coming up?”

“Being pregnant is an advantage?” She would never have thought it.

“It could make you look more feminine – softer.”

“Oh. Where’s Nick, by the way?” She could not imagine he had been allowed to stay home. He would have been needed in some capacity. Either to drive the car or to fetch drinks.

“He’s getting me some ice cream.”

“Oh.” All clichés would come true in this case. It was best not to say anything about it. She pulled the corners of her mouth into something that resembled a polite smile.

“And you don’t seriously think I’m capable of getting her pregnant?” Frederick cut in. He sounded friendly, but since Anna Margaret had never known him to be fond of small-talk she seriously doubted that he had good intentions.

Irene looked a little taken aback by his interruption. “Well, it’s just that she always seems to know how to get attention. She’s got a talent for it, you could say.”

“She has a lot of talents. That’s why I got her pregnant.”

“Oh look,” said Anna Margaret, who felt she should step away from this conversation immediately or something very bad was going to happen. “It’s our chairman. Of the party,” she added for Frederick’s benefit. She had no idea if he knew they had a chairman and who it was. “I should say hello.”

“Of course,” he said and stood up with her.

“Mathieu,” she said, approaching the chairman. “Nice to see you. I don’t think you’ve met Frederick yet, at least not in this capacity?”

Once the introductions to Mathieu and his wife were made, she wondered if she should tell him she was pregnant, but on second thought she decided he had nothing to do with the day to day running of the country. It would be nice of her to tell him, but unnecessary. Since they were acquaintances only, she decided not to tell him just yet. Although if he guessed, for some reason, she would not deny it. If she had now been in the position that she might be put forward for something, it would have been different. In such a case it would not be appreciated if she held back any information. But by now she had had the job for a while. There was nothing Mathieu could change.

Mathieu and his wife Cecilia were rather curious about Frederick, she could tell, perhaps because he was not too talkative. She did not think he was especially silent, but they might think otherwise. When he was taken away by her father – what on earth for? – Cecilia dared to speak about him.

“He seems a bit quiet,” she said. “But your parents did say that.”

“Yes, he’s always a bit quiet,” Anna Margaret replied. “They mentioned him then?” She could not really be surprised about that.

“Yes. We had already heard about him from your parents, of course,” said Mathieu.

“It takes some getting used to, of course, such a son-in-law,” said Cecilia.

“A quiet one?” Anna Margaret wondered.

“No, a prince. And all the rumours.”

“I don’t read those.”

“Nobody knew if it was serious.”

“That must have been such a strain on my parents,” Anna Margaret said understandingly. “Throwing away my entire professional future over a man.”

“Well, to be honest your father wasn’t the only one in the party who was afraid of that,” said Mathieu. “Several people were wondering what on earth you were doing. Luckily it was just before the summer and everyone went on a break.”

“I know. Some dared to make inquiries. Directly or indirectly.” She gave that a shrug. “It only goes to show that sexism is still rampant.”

“Sexism?”

“Yup, sexism. But people seemed to have got over the shock.” There might be a greater shock still to come, but she did not mention that. “When they saw it didn’t affect my work.”

“The opposition doesn’t always care if it does.”

“I’m glad we’re still fairly decent in this country.” She glanced around to see where her father had taken Frederick, but they were out of sight. “I wonder where my father went.”

“He probably has a computer problem. That’s what I always ask my sons or sons-in-law to look at.”

“Could be. I doubt my mother would know how to fix that. Or my sister. My brother-in-law maybe, but he’s been sent out to get ice cream.” She frowned. She did not think they could be having a conversation Frederick enjoyed. Her father was still too formal.

“I heard your sister’s pregnant,” said Cecilia.

“There’s no way of getting around that,” Anna Margaret nodded. She looked at the couch, where Irene Louise was still pretending to go into premature labour if her ice cream did not arrive soon. She had sat up a little straighter, however, to speak to someone. “If someone doesn’t notice, she’s bound to tell them.”

“Will you be attending the Christmas dinner?” Mathieu asked. Apparently talking about pregnant women was not his thing.

“I think I had about a dozen invitations for Christmas dinners at the last count. I cannot go to them all, but I haven’t decided yet. Time and location will probably be deciding factors. And my weight,” she said jokingly. “I don’t think I’d be happy if I had to sit through six in a week. But there were still invitations coming in – even two balls! – so I was still waiting to decide. I can’t remember if it was this bad last year. I doubt it.”

“You came to the party’s dinner last year.”

“Yes, I thought I might have. But thanks for reminding me that I should look at all the invitations and respond to them this week. Christmas is too soon. Where is the dinner this year?”

“We got a château in France.”

“Oh.” Anna Margaret clicked her tongue. She supposed they might have exhausted all the local scenic locations, but France did not sound good. “If I’ve got a simultaneous even in town I’ll prefer that.” That would be at least an hour shorter, but probably more. She hoped they would not wonder why. By the time the dinner took place they would undoubtedly know why she could not make it, if she did not go. Isabelle could not suck in that belly forever and neither could she.

“Of course your schedule is always very busy,” Cecilia nodded.

“I can say no to the social events and I have. We haven’t really been to many in the last six months. Of course were busy moving into our new house and fixing it up.”

“You did that yourselves?” They looked impressed.

“Some. Painting. Not the heavy things. But still. I didn’t want to give up my weekends to attend some meaningless event. Not that they were all meaningless, but I had more meaningful things to do, I mean.”

“You live in this street now, don’t you?”

“That was a coincidence,” she stressed. “I didn’t do that on purpose. If anything, it was a strike against the house.” Her parents appeared to have talked about a lot of things, including the house, but she had not yet discovered if they had also talked about her pregnancy.

“It could be useful to be so near.”

She faked a smile. Did they know or did they not? “If their computer is broken.”

“Your sister would like to live nearer, I heard.”

“Oh, for babysitting purposes?”

“Yes. Your mother would like to do that, she said. Would you like to babysit your niece or nephew? Not that you have a lot of time for it.”

Anna Margaret noted that apparently it was not yet really known what it was going to be, even if weeks ago her sister had decided it was going to be a boy. Or they did know and they had not disclosed it to others. “I don’t think they would trust me with it.” There. If they knew, they would contradict her, would they not?

Fortunately Frederick appeared again, as people only seemed to want to talk about things she would rather not talk about. “Back,” he announced superfluously.

“What was it?”

“Patronage.”

“Do you do that?”

“I have about a hundred, but they weren’t looking for me in particular. My sister has bred a whole load of possible patrons all coming of age this decade.”

Anna Margaret made an indistinct noise. The poor kids. But then again, they might like it and it might be expected of them to connect their name to something. “But a hundred.”

“I don’t know, really. It doesn’t take me much time and if it makes those people happy…” He shrugged. “But I’m not taking on new ones unless I feel a special connection.”

“Well, hello,” said her father, who evidently first handled business before he greeted his relatives. “It’s good to see you finally.”

“You know why I didn’t come before,” she defended herself.

“Have you finished all the rooms?”

“Not exactly, but we’re no longer painting or putting together furniture every weekend. A book case takes us half a day, sorry,” she said for the benefit of the other people listening.

“That’s because of your shelving system,” said Frederick. “But I think we have one more bookcase to go.”

Because he looked straight at her she gathered there was a special meaning behind his words. It was not just any bookcase. She smiled. “Oh, that one. That will take less time.” They did not have any books for it yet, but there would undoubtedly be some. And it could hold toys too.

“Now about Christmas…” said her father.

“Party or family?” She wondered why everyone suddenly wanted to speak to her about Christmas. Granted, it was December, but there were other things to take care of first.

“Family.”

“Not sure that will be fun. Can we talk about it later?”

“I agree with you, because Irene has already indicated that it will be too much for her to come and prepare a dish, so we probably won’t be doing anything.”

Posted on 2016-09-30

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Anna Margaret was tired of it all. In three weeks Irene would not even be five months pregnant yet, yet it would already be impossible to sit through an informal Christmas dinner where everyone would be allowed to leave the table at any point. Even not bringing a dish would be negotiable, so that did not have to be a reason. “I’m sure she’d magically be capable if I hosted it somewhere impressive – which I won’t do,” she added quickly in case someone would think that an excellent plan.

Frederick clearly did not. “Thank you. That is someone I have no intention of inviting with all her fake pregnancy symptoms and nasty jealousy.”

Anna Margaret’s father looked surprised.

There were other people still standing with them, so Anna Margaret did not want to go into the issue too deeply or even at all. She felt Frederick’s hand on her hip and she sipped her water. She was surprised he had said it, but not that he had been feeling it. She supposed he must have been seriously annoyed by her sister. Of course she had been too, but she knew from experience which effect different types of reactions had and so she often no longer reacted at all.

“I’m not going to cook some pregnancy-proof dinner,” said Frederick.

“You would cook?” asked his father-in-law.

“For a small group of people, yes. But I will ask for help.” He squeezed Anna Margaret’s hip.

“Maybe you’ll get it.” She smiled and excused herself with a gesture. There were other people she knew. She was not planning on staying long, so she should at least try to speak to a few.

She looked for Frederick when she was ready to leave. “Are you all right?” she asked. He had been on his own for a while. Without her, that was. He had of course not been completely alone.

“Yes. Although your father did later ask me about your sister, so I told him.”

She could imagine what he had said. “What did he say to that?” She had not spoken to her father afterwards.

“He had to admit that it got worse after me. Before me it was apparently all right?”

“Not as noticeable,” she corrected. “But there’s nothing she can do about that except suck it up, because I’m not going to get rid of you because you outshine Nick.” She looked for her mother to say goodbye. “Where’s my mum?”

“Over there.”

“Mum, we’re leaving.”

“Already?” she asked predictably. “You haven’t even seen everyone yet.”

“I’ve tried,” Anna Margaret replied, although she could have said the purpose of this party was not for her to see everyone. Not entirely, anyway. “Early start tomorrow, you know.”

“You shouldn’t still go running. It can’t be good.”

There were people nearby, so Anna Margaret did not want to discuss her pregnancy and what she could or could not do. “I’m fine.”

She did not bother to say goodbye to Irene Louise, who for all her complaints did not seem tired enough to leave the party. Perhaps the ice cream had given her a boost.

It had been dark when they had arrived, but it looked even darker outside now. The cold air made her yawn too. “Maybe I’ll sleep in tomorrow.” Nobody except Frederick would consider that sleeping in, but it would still mean fifteen to thirty minutes longer in bed.

He did not mind. “Whatever you want.”

“Did my sister ever get her ice cream?”

“Yes. Don’t ever try that with me.”

“No?” she teased.

“I’d show you the way to the nearest supermarket unless you had broken your leg or something.” A taxi slowly passed them. “What’s that?”

“Ordered by people who had something to drink, I suppose.” She looked over her shoulder. “Yes, it stops at my parents’ house. It wasn’t looking for us. We’re not leaving that early then, if others are leaving too. I must have talked too long. I’m sorry. Were you really bored?”

Frederick took his time answering. “I am capable of letting you know when I’ve had enough. And that would probably be after one extension on my part. So if I’ve not yet said anything…”

“All right. Yes, I noticed you’re capable of speaking up when you’ve had enough,” she said in a meaningful voice.

“Sorry. I couldn’t resist. I don’t know what those other people thought of it.”

She tried to remember who had been standing with them. “Mathieu and Cecilia?”

“The woman spoke to me later, but that was about my niece.”

“Why would she speak to you about your niece?” Anna Margaret wondered as he opened their front door.

“I wondered the same. Her concern seemed legitimate, but still. I’m not going to discuss my family with someone too much. I said I would send Isabelle a message. Apparently they didn’t show up at the parent-teacher conference, so this woman, who apparently teaches Charlotte, wondered if she could send them a message or if you couldn’t ask the queen why she hadn’t shown up.”

“Were they too busy to go?”

“Either that or Charlotte doesn’t pass on information.”

“Is there any reason why she would not?”

“She’s not doing well this year. Some very bad marks. Which could be due to Isabelle’s new position, or her pregnancy – although I didn’t comment on either thing to the woman. I only said I might know.”

“What if it is her position?” Anna Margaret asked. “Would you feel guilty if that was the reason for her bad marks?” She would almost feel guilty herself. The decisions they had made did not only affect themselves but they rippled outwards. Although she had not affected Isabelle’s getting pregnant, she might have played a role in Frederick’s decision to abdicate. It might just have pushed him over the edge.

“Yes. Not that there’s anything I could change. But I don’t think they got so much more attention since the summer. Not so much that it would lead someone to fail all her classes except English. So I don’t think it was me.” Frederick sounded a little relieved.

“Oi. So you think it was the pregnancy?”

“Given that she was the one who threw up over the news of getting a little brother or sister, I strongly suspect they need to look for an explanation in that area, yes.”

“But Charlotte didn’t know until recently.”

“She could have sensed something. Worries. Unexplained doctor ‘s appointments. So I’ll send Isabelle a message to contact the teacher.”

“And was Cecilia hoping you’d actually tell her something or was this enough?”

“Oh, she wasn’t probing. I usually know when people are.” He paused. “But I was reminded a bit of my own school days when she said some of the other teachers had said that Charlotte was probably merely stupid and that there was nothing going on. The fact that this teacher seemed to think there was something going on was actually a point in her favour.”

“Would Charlotte like it if you discussed her?”

“You know, if Isabelle and Philip can’t make it, or if they have too many children in school at once, they are in the habit of asking the grandmother or uncle to go,” Frederick said in amusement. “I have been, in the days when they could not split themselves in five. They have it easier these days.”

“So actually if they could not make it they would have asked you to go.”

“Yes. Of course now they’re all in bed and I didn’t want to ruin her sleep by messaging her this evening, so I’ll do that tomorrow.”

They had got to the bathroom and she undressed. It was time she went to bed as well. “I need to take lessons in family relations from your family.”

“Even though you’d cede control of your own life?” he asked teasingly.

“It only feels that way sometimes. At other times I think it’s wonderful how your family trust each other.” She would never ask her parents or sisters to go to her child’s school. She could not imagine it.

“Either that or we have no other option than to rely on ourselves.”

In the morning she was meeting the queen. She had counted on sitting down with a cup of coffee, but it was not to be.

Isabelle met her with her coat on and by the door, as if she was ready to leave. “For time and planning purposes, we need to take a trip.”

“How?” Anna Margaret wondered what time and planning purposes were exactly. She had wondered if she should ask if Isabelle had received Frederick’s message yet, but she decided it was none of her business.

Isabelle decided otherwise. “To school.”

“Does this have anything to do with Frederick talking to one of Charlotte’s teachers last night?”

“Yes.” Isabelle pushed her back out of the door. “We are on a tight schedule.”

“Why? How? You knew you were meeting me and we could theoretically have a lot to discuss.”

“Theoretically. And we still do. We’ll talk in the car.”

“Oh. Do you have coffee in the car?” She felt she might need that coffee this morning. Not too much, naturally. Just one or two cups would do to get her started.

“No. Not even a champagne bar. It’s a very plain car.”

“And at this school, what am I going to do? Or will we be done by then?” She had no idea where the school was, but it was a given that if they were going by car they would get stuck in the slow-moving morning traffic.

Isabelle fastened her seatbelt. “Document one, please.”

“You’re even faster than Frederick in his best form,” Anna Margaret commented when all documents had been signed most expeditiously. She was not unfamiliar with efficient work and she had to admit she preferred it over those much longer meetings in which Isabelle’s father had always given his irrelevant opinion. The signing had, after all, over the years become a mere formality.

“I’ll catch up next week,” Isabelle promised.

“So what do I do now? Are you going to drop me off at a bus stop?”

“A bus stop?”

“Considering that we’re effectively done.”

“No, no. Maybe you can have some coffee there and on the way back I can ask you some questions that I’ve put off for the time being. About the euro, nothing personal.”

Anna Margaret held up her hands. Of course it would go as Isabelle dictated. She wondered why she was even trying to think for herself here.

The car pulled up in front of the school. It was so close to the door that not many people would be able to see who got out. Most of the children would be in their classrooms anyway. Cecilia waited for them inside the doors, but she came out to greet them.

“Anna Margaret would like some coffee,” said Isabelle when they had been greeted.

“Of course. Come on up to the staff room.” It was likely that Cecilia had already been told that the meeting could only take place if Anna Margaret was brought over as well, because she did not display any surprise.

The staff room was not completely deserted; there were two teachers slowly starting the day in one of the corners. They did look a bit surprised by the high visitors and Anna Margaret noted that her presence was apparently more curious than Isabelle’s. It was curious to herself as well, she remarked silently to herself.

Cecilia got her some coffee and she sat down at a table where she could read. Cecilia and Isabelle would undoubtedly sit elsewhere.

Posted on 2016-10-08

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“Anna Margaret? Could you come over?” Isabelle called.

Anna Margaret had just installed her laptop so she could read a few things, but that was not the only reason why she was reluctant to be involved. “I only know about dysfunctional families,” she answered. She would rather stay out of other people’s family business, because she had nothing sensible to add.

“I need to ask you something.”

“But it’s not my family.”

“Yes, it is.”

Anna Margaret decided her reluctance stemmed in part from the fear that getting involved in their family business had consequences. The involvement would be reciprocated. “But if I do that, you will do it to me. Someone will stick their nose into my business at all times.”

“We’re already doing that,” Isabelle said matter-of-factly. “I need an objective look – and Frederick might have told you what he thought. Because I think he tells you things.”

“He did.” She thought the other two teachers were too near. If she was going to say anything she would have to walk over.

“Do you think he was right?”

All right, blast it, she would walk over. She left her coat and her laptop. “He said it was your health,” she said, not sitting down. She was going to return in a second. She was not good at this family business. Most of the time she preferred to stay out of things and keep it more superficial. In her own family of course that had led to trouble.

“But how could Charlotte know? We didn’t tell her until recently.”

“Frederick’s guess is that she picked something up anyway. I have no opinion on it,” she said, in case she was asked to give it. “But Frederick thought it was very plausible.” And she made to return to where she had been sitting.

“It could be.” Isabelle pondered it.

Anna Margaret returned her attention to her laptop, but found it difficult to focus. That was exactly why she should not get involved in such things, she told herself in annoyance. After a while she saw Cecilia walk to a phone and make a call.

“Charlotte will be coming up,” Isabelle announced, standing beside her. “What’s your schedule?”

“As if I could do anything about it.”

“Not in the best of moods today, are you?”

“Well, you practically abducted me and you’re forcing me to give my opinion on things I’m not qualified to give an opinion on.” She took care not to speak too loudly.

“Did you have a short night?”

Anna Margaret scrolled through the document she was trying to read. She wondered if Charlotte had had the same problems – trying to read something and finding it impossible to make sense of the words. She did not know if she was crabby because of the shorter night or because her coffee had not kicked in yet, or maybe because she was here against her will. She checked the time. There was still a while until her next appointment, although it was a bit inconsiderate of Isabelle to have abducted her in this manner.

“I didn’t want to do this alone, but Philip had to go to the bank. He still sometimes thinks teenage girls are aliens, but at least he would have known what I wanted.”

There were lots of people who would have been a better stand-in than she, Anna Margaret thought. She stayed where she was, although it was more a question of principle than anything else. “You’ll be fine.”

It had taken Isabelle fifteen minutes to speak to Charlotte. They had done so in front of Cecilia, which had made Anna Margaret wondered how much about Isabelle’s health had been revealed. Just when she was contemplating catching a bus, the conversation seemed to be over.

“Done,” Isabelle said curtly as she walked to the door. Charlotte had already escaped.

Anna Margaret had seen the signs and was already busy sliding her laptop back into her bag. She had to hurry to catch up, wondering if she was going to be forced to catch a bus anyway. Of course if she asked how it had gone, she would be told she could have joined in, so she did not.

“I don’t think we lost much time,” said Isabelle. “Although really you could tell anyone it was my fault if you were late to something and they would all accept the excuse.”

“Well…” It was not really other people’s reactions that were her problem, but the fact that she had had no say in being abducted.

“Well what?”

“I don’t know. From not involving close family in your…er…things,” she said for Cecilia’s benefit, “you went to involving innocent bystanders.”

“Innocent bystanders?” Isabelle exclaimed. “Do you call yourself an innocent bystander?”

“I’d like to be.”

“Too late, you’re producing one of their cousins now.”

“Oh!” Anna Margaret exclaimed. Apparently it was all right to reveal her pregnancy. She did not doubt that Cecilia knew what this meant. It might even have been revealed to her before, although she could not quickly see why. But she was being too nice, she decided. “And here I was, trying to be discreet about your condition.”

Isabelle stopped in her tracks. “Er… well…”

Anna Margaret stopped as well. She had no experience with cat fights herself, but she wondered if Isabelle was the type.

“I suppose,” Isabelle said with some resignation, “that it sounds a lot better than making me sound terminally ill or on the brink of a divorce. Although your sitting with us could have prevented that impression from being given.”

Anna Margaret guffawed. “You won’t let that go, will you?”

Isabelle turned to Cecilia, who clearly did not know whether to move away or to stay with them. “Tell me, you thought I must have cancer or something like that, didn’t you?”

“It was one of the things that crossed my mind, Madam,” Cecilia admitted, although she still looked as if she had no idea what the situation really was. “Divorce is also a frequently disruptive factor for our students.”

“For a teenager this seems to be far worse.”

“Not Aurelie,” Anna Margaret reminded her.

“See? That’s why you needed to sit in. Maybe you can take the girls to the cinema during the Christmas holidays again. Under the circumstances I don’t think I should ground her for not passing me important notes from school. Of course she will have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on.”

“I’ll see if I have time.”

“I trust,” Isabelle said to Cecilia, “that the particulars of a student’s home life is not considered something to be freely shared with colleagues. In this case I’d rather you didn’t. Not yet. If you have to discuss her with other teachers, just say the issue has been resolved and that she will be put to work in the next few weeks.”

“Of course, Madam,” Cecilia nodded.

“And my sister-in-law is still resisting assimilation, but we keep trying.”

Anna Margaret raised her eyebrows.

“I’ll be in touch,” Isabelle said to Cecilia, shaking her hand.

Anna Margaret shook her hand too. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“I see why a dinner all the way in France wasn’t so appealing.”

She gave that a wan smile. “Obviously I don’t do well with evening parties anymore.”

Isabelle put an arm around her. “Come sister, or else your critics will say you’re my lapdog.”

“Or your critics will say you’re desperate to become a princess. Little do they know!” Isabelle said in the car.

“I have no particular –“

“We know,” Isabelle reassured her. “But we like you anyway.”

She did not doubt that, really. “Even if I refuse to – if I insist on minding my own business?”

“You’ll come around. We’re nice. Although I think that woman thinks we are very odd,” said Isabelle. “Did she get it or not, do you think?”

“She got the reference to me .”

“I did perhaps not think that through very much before I spoke, although I don’t know how else I could have explained why you can’t not be one of us. You’re quite stubborn. Which is your job’s fault, of course. You can’t be seen to drop everything because of some teenage angst.”

No, she supposed not.

“But we didn’t waste any time. Of course I forced you to come, so for some people that equals forcing you to increase our allowance to two million per year. Do I get an increase if I have another child, by the way?”

“That’s likely.”

“And Frederick too. Oh, brace yourself, sweetie. Someone is bound to say you got pregnant so he could have more money.”

She was not much later when she got to her office than if she had had her meeting at the Palace. Isabelle’s car had dropped her off there and secretly she was glad she had not had to walk. It was cold this morning. She hoped her fitness was not already declining. There was still so much time to go and December was a busy month socially.

She survived until lunch and although she had never set any time aside for it specifically, just taking it the way it came, she now always made sure to eat something at regular intervals. She ate something in the restaurant – Frederick would say she should bring something from home, but taking her lunchbox there was taking it just a little too far, she thought – and spoke to a few people, and then it was time to get into the car for a work visit.

When she felt like sleeping she wondered if it was a good or a bad thing not to have too many of them anymore. On the one hand she might be able to doze off in the car, but on the other hand she would not be at her brightest. She checked the speech she was to give; fortunately she had it on paper and it had been written a while ago. They never left that until the last moment. If she was too tired to think she would at least be able to follow it to the letter, something she did not do if she was particularly alert.

Because she was going to a diploma ceremony, she might have to talk to a few graduates afterwards. They were supposed to be sharp and she would not get away with dull questions. That might pose a problem, but at least she could always try to let them talk.

“Madam, we’re arriving in two minutes,” someone said when she had half fallen asleep and she had had a succession of strange thoughts.

Anna Margaret sat up straight. It would not do to wake up only on arrival. Luckily she did not have the type of hair that became a mess, but she brushed it down with her fingers anyway. She was to be one of the first in the hall – before the students and their families anyway – and hopefully she could squeeze in a visit to the toilet as well.

Before the ceremony and after the drinks. It was not always comfortable to have a growing baby pressing down on your bladder and to have a job in which people did not seem to pee at all. It had been rather new to her staff in any case.

After the birth she might need to have them schedule in or requests even more breaks. She wondered what they would say to that.

Posted on 2016-10-20

Chapter Forty

Anna Margaret arrived home to find Frederick had not cooked. She stopped herself from asking why not – he was under no obligation whatsoever, of course, and asking him would make it sound as if it was his job. She found him hanging listlessly on the couch, watching a TV programme he was not normally interested in.

“Broadening your horizons?” she asked, because it sounded a lot better than what she was really thinking.

“I was feeling a bit sick.”

“Want to eat?” She supposed she had to do the cooking now. He was not really responsive.

“No, I don’t think so.”

She wondered what to do with him. He did look a little pale and if he did not have an appetite either it was probably real. She cooked herself a quick meal, running a bath in the meantime. Then she ate, checked the living room and went upstairs. Frederick had gone there before her and she found him in the bath. “Hey, that’s my bath,” she protested.

“Oh.” But he made no move to get out or make room.

She groaned and brushed her teeth first. “Darling, I really believe you are unwell, but it was my bath and if you stay in too long the water will be cold.” She did not know what to do if he was behaving so strangely.

Frederick did not seem to think this bad at all at first, but then he got out and shivered. “I thought you had filled it for me.”

“I would have told you. Go to bed,” she advised kindly and tried the water. She wondered if she should have done it for him, but she had been tired and hungry, and if he could still watch stupid television he was not helpless. She should be nicer, she realised, but she was tired.

Frederick was not asleep when she came to bed, but he was buried under some extra covers and unwilling to hug. “It hurts,” he said, although he did not really push her away.

He had not been ill before during their relationship and this was her first time experiencing a sick man up close. She had no idea what to do or how she could be of help. “Have you taken something?”

Frederick merely groaned.

Anna Margaret decided he was old enough to know what to do and that if he did not ask her to do anything he was probably still fine.

She stared at the ceiling in the dark and wondered if he needed special care tomorrow during the day – whatever that special care might be. If he was sick, should she stay home? It had never occurred to her that she might have to do so some time. But if she did not, she would feel a little heartless – depending on how ill he was. He had taken care of her as well when she had felt sick, so some reciprocation might be in order, even expected.

She also wondered what she might need to do. Make breakfast, maybe? She could do that before she went to work, supposing she could go to work. He did not look too bad now. If he was the same tomorrow she could go to work without feeling guilty. She would only have to reckon with having to cook.

During the night Anna Margaret had already felt a little worse when she woke – which she had at the time ascribed to not having slept well due to Frederick’s tossing and turning – but when her alarm went off she was really unprepared to leave the bed. Her head hurt, her throat was beginning to feel sore and her body was simply opposed to moving. She gave a little whine.

Frederick seemed to have been woken by her alarm as well. Clearly he had not set his own, or he would have been up already. “What is it?”

“I don’t want to go to work.”

“Then don’t.”

“But…” She tried to get up to go to the bathroom. She would have to do that even if she stayed home. It felt awful. She could hardly put one foot in front of the other and she was shivering.

When she returned to the bed, Frederick touched her. “Are you staying home?”

She realised she had not even been able to finish her thought because she had been focusing on getting her limbs to work. She did not want to go to work, she had been thinking. It was not the first time she had been ill, of course, and usually in about eight out of ten cases she ended up going to work after all. She sat on the bed – getting back under the covers would almost certainly mean she was never going to come out again – and pondered if this was one of those eight cases.

“Stay home. It won’t go away yet. I’ve had it since yesterday lunch time,” said Frederick.

Anna Margaret started at the beginning and went over what she might or might not be able to do. Getting dressed, while not comfortable and almost certainly very slow, would be manageable if she chose simple clothes. Eventually. Walking to work was an impossibility. She glanced back at Frederick. He would not be able to drive her either. There were other ways to get there, but she could not think of any that did not involve walking at least some of the distance.

“Come.”

“I’ll have to –“

“Call in sick.”

She hesitated. It was so tempting.

“You can always go if you feel better later.”

“But I can’t just stay home if I need more sleep.” What kind of work ethic was that?

“You’d rather collapse at work.”

She rather feared she would, if she went. She looked at her phone.

“Or get up and try to read your email over breakfast and then decide.”

“Breakfast,” she mumbled. The mere thought of eating put her off. But she could try what he suggested, although she thought she knew what the outcome would be.

She got up and walked to the stairs, sitting down and descending like that because she did not trust her legs. As she was going down, she vaguely realised this was a ridiculous venture. There was no way she could do this at work. Before she got halfway she had gone back to her bedroom.

Frederick did not stir and the room was in darkness. She fumbled for her phone and sent off a message. Then she crawled back into bed.

Frederick had got up at some point, but she had hardly noticed. When she regained full awareness it was 10:36. She considered getting up, but it would be cold. After trying to sleep some more she gave up after half an hour and tried to walk. It was not much better than earlier that morning. She went to the bathroom and reached for the paracetamol.

But perhaps she was not allowed to take it because she was pregnant. She would have to look that up. She stuck the strip in the pocket of her bathrobe.

Frederick was downstairs and she went down the same way she had tried before. She found Frederick on the couch, rolled into a blanket and watching television.

“Tea?” he asked gesturing at the teapot. “With honey?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Drink something.”

She noticed he had already had a cup for her. “I was wondering if I could take paracetamol.”

One arm protruded from the blanket to start up his laptop. It was directly next to the remote control and their phones. Everything was within reach, so he would have to move as little as possible.

Anna Margaret wished she had a blanket as well, but she had no idea if they even had two in the house. She sat down and poured some hot water into her cup. Holding that would at least warm her up a bit.

“Yes, you can take it,” Frederick informed her.

She pushed a pill out of the strip and tested the water. It must have been there for a while, because it was no longer very hot. But then, he had been up for at least half an hour, probably far longer.

“Give me one.” He took one too and then leant back. “And now what? We sit and wait till we get better.”

“That’s my phone.” She suddenly remembered she had left her next to her bed and now it was here.

“I took it, in case it rang.”

“Did it?”

“Three or four times,” Frederick said indifferently.

“Who?”

“I didn’t feel like asking them too much. I said we were ill and could they please phone your office, thanks.”

“And that was that?” She would have at least tried to remember their names.

“Well, I hung up, so…”

“You hung up.”

“If they were still trying to get somewhere, yes. I’m ill too. I don’t want to play secretary. I want to watch TV.”

Anna Margaret gave Fireman Sam a dubious look. It was possible, of course, that Sam was more interesting than whoever had called – although she supposed that if anyone had called an hour ago they might have been competing with Postman Pat rather than Fireman Sam.

“I don’t want intellectual shows when I’m ill. I just want something I could follow without paying attention.”

“What would you have been doing instead? Today, I mean.”

“I watch this every day. Kidding. I was supposed to see a wood-processing plant. Seriously. I get ill on the only day of actual work and it’s entirely coincidental.”

“You don’t sound too ill now.” He was making long sentences with long words. She was not sure she could do it.

“I can manage a few bursts of energy. After lunch I’m going back to bed.”

Anna Margaret wriggled herself under the blanket and tried to muster up some interest in what Fireman Sam was up to.

Predictably they missed lunch. Frederick had first turned off the sound and then they had closed their eyes. Anna Margaret was woken by the sound of the doorbell. She dragged herself to the door. Through the little window she could see it was Isabelle, so she opened the door.

“I heard Frederick was ill,” said Isabelle. She was carrying a bag. “And you don’t seem to be all that well either.”

“No.” She shivered in her bathrobe when the cold outside air hit her.

Isabelle took off her woollen hat and scarf. “Where were you? Not upstairs in bed. It didn’t take you that long to open the door.”

“On the couch.”

“All right, go back. Let me do my thing.”

Anna Margaret hesitated. “And what is your thing?” She could not even come close to imagining it.

“You’ll see.”

Because she did not feel like standing around in the cold hall or wherever else Isabelle was going to do her thing, she dutifully returned to the living room. Frederick was awake. “It’s Isabelle,” she said. “I don’t know why.”

“Oh, someone must have told her.”

“You.”

“No.”

“Why would she come to see how you were? Aren’t you my responsibility?” She felt a little miffed, but she did not know if she had a right.

“Do you think so?”

“Well, if you were half dying I wouldn’t go to work,” she said defensively. “And if I haven’t asked for help, then maybe we don’t need it?”

Frederick pulled her under the blanket. “Just…let it happen. I’m sure it’s not a criticism of your abilities. She was probably just in the neighbourhood.”

“She lives in the neighbourhood,” Anna Margaret muttered in protest, but she gave in. She did not feel well enough to get worked up about it. Maybe she should simply enjoy someone helping them out.

Posted on 2016-10-28

Chapter Forty-One

Isabelle came to them with two bowls of fruit and two glasses of orange juice. “There, and I’ve aired your room for a few minutes.”

Anna Margaret had no idea how long ago she had been let in and whether it had been possible to do all of that in that time.

“My room?” Frederick protested. “But we could have been –“

“No. She said she was on the couch. Don’t be silly. I’ll send someone around with dinner at about six. You won’t have to worry about cooking. But I was in the area myself right now.”

“Thanks,” said Anna Margaret, but Frederick kept looking put out that his room had been aired.

“What was that?” she asked when Isabelle was gone. She had not expected him to be so silly. “You don’t like her going into your room?”

“Bedrooms are private. She should know.”

“Why?”

“When I was young, I – never mind.”

“Who walked in on whom?”

“Who was doing things when I was young? How could you even wonder? She was.”

“All right. But she knew I wasn’t there.” She leant towards the table and drank the orange juice. “She probably went there to find you, not to peek into your room.”

Around six o’clock, as Isabelle had said, someone came to the house with a tray and a bag. Frederick went to open the door.

“A tray,” Anna Margaret said when she had dragged herself to the kitchen. “And are they going to pick it up afterwards?” She could not see anyone waiting for it, but perhaps they were trained to be invisible.

“No,” said Frederick. “And here’s another blanket.”

Anna Margaret lifted the lid off the tray. “I’m not sure I’m hungry, but we cannot not eat it. They went through so much trouble.”

“You need to eat at least a bit for the baby.”

“I have reserves,” she protested. “It was brought to my attention that I have plenty of reserves.”

“I’m too sick to know what you mean.”

“It means I get emails calling me fat.”

“Fat?”

“Even you –“

“But I didn’t mean that!”

“Yeah, I know,” she smiled. “And it’s one of the more innocent types of emails, so I don’t really care.”

She watched how Frederick got an extra plate. The thing under the tray was a kind of plate as well. Ordinarily it would not be enough for two, but given that they were ill Isabelle had probably instructed the staff to prepare a smaller portion. There were two closed containers with soup, however.

After the soup she tried a few bites of the food, but she could not manage much. The television was still on and they watched a news show. Frederick wrapped himself in the blanket his sister had sent over and Anna Margaret had the other one.

Apparently after visiting them, Isabelle had been to a military parade where she had not looked well. Anna Margaret was worried. “That wasn’t because of us, was it?”

“Can someone pick it up that fast, whatever we have?”

She wanted to feel relieved. “I doubt it. Maybe you both got it in the same place? If she’s got anything at all. It looks as if she only sat down a lot, which may not mean she felt ill. I may have to request a high stool for debates as well in a few weeks.”

“She might have to go public with it soon.” He picked up his laptop.

“What are you doing? You’re not going to do it for her, are you?”

“This morning my secretariat posted that I had to cancel my appointment, but that was on the general family page. I maintain my own page, but I haven’t said anything about it there. I’ll just see what the general tone of the reactions is.”

“Why do you maintain your own page?” She would think that a lot of work, unless he posted only once a week when he actually had a work visit or lunch.

“So I can block deranged people. If you look at the official family page, it’s full of nasty comments. I’m not sure why they don’t get deleted. I do that on my own page.” He typed something.

“What are you typing?”

“That unfortunately I was ill today, but that you were too.”

“How often do you post?”

“I post after I’ve been somewhere in an official capacity.”

“Which is pretty infrequently. So if you post you spent the day on the couch, you’re bound to get people saying you spend all week on the couch.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes. Trolls are predictable. I get my fair share of them. Maybe you should write a bit more now and then and give an impression of what you really do.”

“And then what?”

“I don’t know. But no one is going to imagine you do a lot of other things if you don’t write about them. Have you posted it yet?”

“No, I was still typing.”

“What were you doing yesterday morning before you started to feel sick?”

“I went running, I had breakfast with you and then inspected the lake project on site. After lunch I compared the prices of office furniture, although I was feeling unwell by then.”

“Write that,” Anna Margaret advised.

“Why?”

“Try it for once.”

“But it’s so much longer than what I usually write.”

“People read your page to have something to read, no? How could they complain if you actually give them more text? But if you think it’s too much at once, try a picture of the rowing lake first and say you went there yesterday and that it’s progressing according to plan – if it is.”

“You’re probably better tomorrow,” he decided. “You have too many ideas.”

“I could – and should – probably get my own laptop to check my email,” she said with regret, feeling she was shirking her responsibilities. “I feel as if I might be able to compose articulate replies.”

The next morning neither of them went running, but Anna Margaret had set her alarm at a normal time to see if she was up for a day of work. While she was not completely recovered, she was feeling much better than the morning before. “I’ll give it a try,” she said.

“So will I.”

“Will you do your trip today?” She tested leaving the bed.

“Yes. It was late morning yesterday, so if I phone early enough that should work. And when I get back I’ll take a nap.”

“You lazy thing.”

“Come home and nap with me then.”

“I probably can’t.”

That was right: there was a debate. “Did you watch it on TV yesterday?” someone asked.

Anna Margaret smiled wryly. “No, I wasn’t in control of the remote.” She had completely forgotten to think of the debate anyway. It was not one she was expected to get involved in.

Today’s debate was not much different and she had painkillers and tissues to get her through. She also had a cardigan to keep her warm, but she was still cold and tired by the time it ended. At least people had seen her use up two packages of paper tissues and they would know she had not stayed home without reason yesterday.

In the restaurant she chose soup for lunch, because that was at least hot and she could warm her hands.

“Your cardigan looks like a bathrobe,” said Louis.

“It’s open and it’s not as long!” But she checked it anyway. It did not look like a bathrobe.

“It wasn’t my opinion. I just read it on Twitter.”

“Twitter.” She sighed. “People watch live debates for what we are wearing?”

“And yesterday, was this the normal flu, or…”

“Or the beginning of the end, you mean? I think it was a normal heavy cold.” She did not think it was related to her pregnancy or even made worse by it.

Other people joined them and Louis was forced to give up that subject. Not all of them knew about her pregnancy yet. She was glad for his consideration.

“I read on your hubby’s Facebook that he was ill,” said the Pitbull.

Anna Margaret thoughtfully twisted a strand of hair around her finger until pulling on her hair made her shiver. “My hubby,” she said with some distaste. “I hope he didn’t use a similar term for me?”

“No.”

“Good. But yes, he was ill. You follow him on Facebook? On his official or his personal account?”

“Er…he has two? It’s in the name of Prince Frederick. There’s another?”

She did not doubt he would start to look for it immediately. “Apparently. I don’t have one myself, so I haven’t looked for it. You’ll have to ask him.”

“Do you mean you don’t write the Prime Minister’s own posts?”

“Nope.”

“But he does write Prince Frederick’s own posts?”

“He’s been doing that for a few months, I think.”

“I thought he might only have done yesterday’s one, because it was a bit different.”

“I told him to experiment.” She tasted her soup and ate some.

“Is he better? I have someone who could be of use to him.”

“Yes, although by now he might be taking a nap.”

“Great, I’ll contact him.” The Pitbull moved on.

He was not the only one who thought she had an intriguing husband. Now she had to satisfy the curiosity of the rest of the table, who all wondered what a staunch republican like the Pitbull could want with a prince.

Posted on 2016-11-18

Chapter Forty-Two

“You’re not looking it up on Facebook now, Sarah?” Anna Margaret asked one of her companions who had suddenly taken out her phone.

“I was. I met him, you know. You let us ask him questions.”

“Oh right.” Now that Sarah mentioned it, she remembered. “The phone call.” She had asked Sarah about it at the time.

“Did your father ever find out?”

“Who answered the phone, you mean? No.”

“I’m glad he did it, though. It made him look different.”

“No doubt.”

“You don’t like talking about him.”

Anna Margaret examined herself. She was not really opposed to it, she thought. “I don’t know where it’s going if I do. Some things are not for public consumption.”

“I guess. On the other hand, you get people like my mother-in-law who think your marriage is a fake because you never go anywhere together.”

“I suppose your mother-in-law doesn’t live in my neighbourhood.” She supposed anyone in their street could see them together if they kept an eye out.

“No.”

“We often go shopping together on Saturday. And we go running together almost every morning. It’s just not very…glamorous, I suppose. And yesterday we spent half the day on the couch together. We don’t eat out and we don’t go to parties, so it’s all very boring. What would be the point of faking a marriage?”

“She’s into conspiracy theories,” Sarah said with a shrug. “I try not to encourage her. She’s probably read it somewhere. If you don’t provide a little news they will make it up.”

“I’m not really bothered unless it’s too outrageous.”

“By the way,” said Sarah after a few moments. “You know one of my committees has begun to look into maternity leave for ministers…”

She did. They had discussed this in their Women in Politics Workgroup after Danielle had raised the issue a few weeks ago. She had stayed silent about herself so far and she had not said much about it in general either. “And…?”

“Most of the young people are all for it, but people like Rita would vote against.”

“Rita…” Anna Margaret said with a sigh.

“She says that theoretically a minister could be appointed and never work at all in those four years.”

“Including parental leave, I suppose? But she’s never looked into it what it actually entails? Such as how many hours you could take off?”

“No, apparently not. She argues that four months of maternity leave, followed by six months of parental leave, followed by four months of the next baby’s maternity leave…”

“She does have a point if parental leave is allowed and someone takes the maximum – although even then they would still need to work – and they breed constantly but I doubt that would occur in practice.”

“Theoretically we could also appoint one man after the other who die of heart attacks,” said Sarah. “But she said it was not the same. Women, when they have babies, bow to the patriarchy.”

Anna Margaret studied her soup in bemusement. “Er, really. Has she got therapy yet?”

“She is of the opinion that if someone takes on such a highly important task for four years, she ought to refrain from getting pregnant. And that you should have made a thorough risk assessment of the prospective ministers before they were appointed.”

“I did,” Anna Margaret said with a guffaw. “But based on other criteria. Whether they were sane and whether they were likely to blow up, and so on.” Rita was going to blow up if she found out, assuming that she did not already know. All the ministers knew, but she did not know if any of them had talked. “I thought this crap would come from men. The same who protested when I was made Minister for Transport.”

“It does too. You continue to be dangerous. Anyone under forty.”

They might have to stretch that up a bit, she commented silently. She blew her nose. “So women who have babies are evil?”

“Oh no, just dumb,” Sarah said cheerfully.

Anna Margaret knew she had two or three children. More than one, at any rate, but they were no longer small. “After the birth? Or when does this set in exactly?”

“Conception, probably.”

“Does someone recover from this loss of brain cells, or are they forever impaired?”

“I asked the same thing, but she couldn’t very well insult me to my face. Although she was, but she wasn’t realising it. Apparently you recover some of your brain cells when they go to school, so I got a few back. But it’s still a sign of mental instability to want to stay home if one of the children is ill.”

“Oh.” Anna Margaret finished her soup. Something occurred to her that was quite similar. “And how about going to a child’s school if the child has a problem that needs to be sorted?”

“Surely that cannot be more important than work?”

She tapped the spoon against her mouth. “Poor Rita, living in a country where the queen prioritises visiting her child’s school over discussing things with the prime minister. But then, the queen is a mother of so many children that her brain cells have probably suffered irreparable damage.”

“She stood you up?”

“No, I had to go with her. When we were supposed to do country business we were sitting drinking coffee in a teachers’ lounge.”

“Rita would be appalled.”

“It would so prove her point. Let’s not tell her. Let her think we are really stable and committed and we have compartmentalised the family in another section of our minds that only opens up when we go home.” She paused. The only other person at the table was Louis and he already knew. He had let them talk, perhaps guessing wisely that he should not interfere. “Had you heard anything? About me?”

“I hear a lot.”

“ Not from your mother-in-law. I mean around here.” She gestured vaguely around the restaurant, although she meant the entire government district.

“Related to…?”

She nodded.

“Once or twice someone speculated,” Sarah said carefully. “Different clothes and all that. Although you recently had some trousers again.”

Anna Margaret pulled her cardigan closer. Not because she was trying to hide anything, but because she felt cold. “Yes, I’ve been shopping. But what people said might have been right, depending on what they said.”

“Er,” said Louis.

“What? Don’t mention my brain cells, thanks.” She turned back to Sarah. “But yes. I’m not saying when, because I’d like to avoid the issue of maternity leave altogether. I knew there’d be people against whatever I’d decide, so I’d rather not give outsiders any say in when I should go. But you don’t seem surprised.”

“Well, my husband predicted it back in June.”

“He did? But he didn’t tell his mother.”

Sarah laughed. “No, his mother has no idea I met the king. There are some things you just can’t tell her. But I told him – and I told him exactly what was said and so he jumped to certain conclusions, which he felt were justified when you began to wear wider blouses. Men pay attention to such things.”

“Apparently.” Anna Margaret raised her eyebrows. She thought she had never worn really figure-hugging blouses in the first place, just ordinary ones. “Now I’m wondering what was said. Wasn’t it simply ‘do you have illegitimate children?’ and then ‘no, I was never alone with women and besides, my sister doesn’t approve?’ But it took too long for that.”

“It was quite close to that,” said Sarah, looking impressed. “A bit wimpy, wasn’t it? Nobody bought it at first, but you can’t say that to a king, can you? You can only look underwhelmed. He explained what his sister would not like and that did make a little more sense than a grown man saying he wouldn’t do something because his sister wouldn’t approve.”

“She’s ten years older. They are not always equals.”

“But he did have ideas of his own, so he started to look better as he went along. Oh, there’s Rita.”

Anna Margaret resisted the urge to look over her shoulder. It might be misconstrued as an invitation.

Rita came anyway. “Well, Your Royal Highness, or can we still say Miss Rendinger if you lunch in the company restaurant off a plastic tray?”

“Anna Margaret will suffice, thanks.” She wished she had bought more food to concentrate on, but she was still not very hungry today. Soup had at least been easy to swallow. Now she only had an empty bowl and a spoon to play with and she could not feign being busy.

Rita sat down in the empty chair. “I’ve heard some rumours,” she said.

“Oh?”

“But first, I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to take a title.”

“Well, isn’t it fortunate that I don’t want one?” She tried to sound polite. Rita, though annoying at times, had always sort of approved of her, she had felt, until Frederick, who was the exponent of the obsolete money-guzzling institution that was the monarchy.

“I have heard…” Rita lowered her voice. “You might be taking maternity leave.”

Of course the first thing people talked about when someone might be pregnant was that , exactly. “I can’t,” Anna Margaret answered. “The proposal is still in its research stage. There is no such law yet. Sarah was just telling me about it.”

“I doubt it will be passed. However…”

“Yes?” She wished she had bought a muffin or something else that was not good for her at all. She might finally be acting pregnant, because she had never before felt like eating a muffin after her soup.

“Do you realise people will not take you seriously anymore if you start having babies?” Rita articulated very clearly, as if she was speaking to someone who might otherwise not understand. “And if you take a lengthy period of time off?”

“It was brought to my attention at least five years ago, yes.”

“I have said the same to Danielle. We shall never get rid of male supremacy if you get pregnant. But she didn’t understand what I was saying. Power is in the hands of men. We shall never get our fair share of power if there are women who don’t take their jobs seriously.”

“I disagree,” said Anna Margaret, although she did not want to start a discussion with Rita at all. “Maternity leave makes it possible for women to hold positions of power.”

“No. Because once we introduce maternity leave for ministers, no one is going to appoint women anymore.”

“And if we don’t introduce maternity leave, women will refrain from getting pregnant?”

“Yes. You –“

“That doesn’t seem to be the case in practice.” What with two pregnant members of the cabinet who had no maternity leave.

“Do you realise that if someone is appointed just before her maternity leave and she takes parental leave and –“

“And she breeds constantly, she’s hardly ever at work?” Anna Margaret cut in. “Yes, that could happen. But there are a lot of things that could happen. Your point is that no one should get pregnant at all. I don’t know what your issues are precisely, but I don’t think I have time for them.”

Posted on 2016-12-25

Chapter Forty-Three

Anna Margaret cancelled an interview and went home early. She was still not feeling a hundred percent and spending most of the day at work listening and sitting upright had been taxing. Frederick seemed to have recovered enough to make dinner, although it was a simple meal. He had been away too and afterwards he had had not done much, he said, except plan for Christmas.

“Plan?” she asked. “Plan what?”

“Last year we weren’t expected at the castle anymore, because my father had just passed away, but we went anyway. This year we can decide for ourselves. Isabelle is inviting all of our German relatives –“

“All?” Anna Margaret cut in. She had no idea what to imagine. Five? Twenty-five?

“All close ones. My mother’s siblings and their children and grandchildren. If they go to the castle we could see them there.”

“They were never invited before?” He made it sound as if it was a new thing somehow.

“No, they’re German.”

“I thought we had put that all behind us.” But his grandmother seemed to think the war was only just behind them, if her behaviour to his mother was anything to go by.

“She’s also inviting all of Philip’s relatives, but in his case limited to his parents and brothers and their children.”

“Gee.” She had heard of the castle, of course, but she had no idea how large it was. All she had ever seen of it were photos of the front, but she had no idea how far it stretched at the back. She supposed, at least, he was referring to the castle of which she was thinking. The family might have more properties. “And will they all stay at this castle?”

“If they like. We won’t have to.”

“She’s taking on quite a lot then.”

“She can afford it.”

“I meant in terms of energy.”

“Oh, but the more people there are, the more they can entertain each other. It’s always been an obligation to go there, but it did have something nice to be there. Only it’s better with more people.”

“Is this when she going to tell everyone she’s pregnant?”

“I don’t know.”

“I can’t keep it a secret much longer. Every day there are new people finding out. Or letting me know they already know. Every day I grow fatter too, I suppose.” She glanced down at her waist. She did not mind leaving the announcement to Isabelle, but it would have to be soon.

“Not really,” said her loyal husband. “Anyway, I don’t mind.”

“My growing fatter or people finding out?”

“Either.”

“Sure. And did you still have this plan to entertain people in our own home?”

“We could do that as well. On another day. We could simply go over to the castle for dinner one day and do whatever we like the rest of the time.”

“It’s not as if I have three weeks off.” There was a recess, but that did not mean she was free. She had trouble taking time off, right now especially. While she could still work, she should. She would feel lazy otherwise.

“Maybe you should look into appointing one or two extra state secretaries so you can all have normal family lives,” Frederick suggested.

“Extra?” She had never thought of that. “Is that possible?”

“Are you asking me? I don’t know. Why not?”

“But it would mean I didn’t have a good idea when I started.” She had appointed the number she had thought reasonable. Would it not look incompetent if it later turned out to be insufficient?

“You did. Only some of you are having babies now. You didn’t know you would, did you? When we have too much work in my family we use an extra family member. The difference is that we don’t appoint them. You could, though.”

Anna Margaret considered the idea. “And shift some portfolios around. But holding meetings with too many people is very…”

“One or two more, not ten. But –“ He seized her by the waist. “You’re not going to phone anybody about it now. I’ll give you permission to send an email and then we’re off to bed.”

In the morning, Anna Margaret was curious if her emails had been read. Frederick had given her permission to send one, but she had sent two because he had not checked. It was Saturday and she would not be seeing anybody today. There was no opportunity to talk it over in person. She would need to talk to people on Monday, unless she could ask them to come over today.

She contemplated that. It was work, of sorts. It might be given precedence over their Aunt Annie’s 66th birthday, but she would not feel comfortable if they really skipped something important for something that would predominantly make her life easier.

“Coming?” said Frederick, already in his running shoes.

“Yes, I was just thinking…”

“It’s becoming too hard?”

“No – though maybe it is. I’m slowing you down. I could take my bike. But that wasn’t it. I was thinking I could invite someone over today to discuss that idea. Assuming they’re free.” She would not have hesitated a year ago, but now she had someone else to consider.

“I had no plans to take you anywhere, so…”

It was not extremely early, since they were both recovering from illness, so by the time they got home from the run, she thought she could safely call people. She wheeled her bike out of the garage and wondered why she had not thought of this option before. While she was not yet showing much, her muscles felt the occasional strain. It was better to ride her bike than to skip their outings altogether.

“You know,” said Frederick as he jogged beside her. “I post one more personal post and I immediately get requests for interviews.”

“And?” She doubted that he was going to grant any.

“I haven’t replied yet.”

“Who were the requests from?”

“Two magazines, a newspaper, freelancers…”

“What would be so horrible if you did talk to them?” She would not push him, but it did sound as if there were people interested in who he was.

“Well, I have nothing to say.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t.”

“It wouldn’t be a speech. They would ask you questions and you would only have to answer them. It’s not very scary. I do it a few times a week and if there’s something I can’t or won’t answer, I just say so. I’m not saying you have to do it, mind you. I’m only saying it’s not a big deal.”

He did not look offended, but smiled. “Probably.”

“There are apparently people who’d like to know more about you. You must have given an interview before.”

“No.”

“Didn’t your father make you?”

“He tried. I said nothing. He gave up.”

“How old were you?”

“Twenty-one.”

“That’s a long time ago.”

“Thanks.”

“I didn’t mean to say you were old, but that you might have improved by now.”

“Of course. But I may still not see the point.”

“And Isabelle?”

“She’s done some.”

“I meant, didn’t she make you?”

“She tried. I said no. I said she could talk about me if she liked. Which, all things considered, was far more efficient.”

“If they want to talk about sport, would you do it?” Anna Margaret suspected people might have a larger chance that way.

“I might. Although even then things would come up that I shouldn’t talk about. We were taught not to air our dirty linen in public.”

“What’s dirty about rowing?”

“Family relationships. They do play a role in the whole story.”

“I see.” She was silent for a while. He could probably not refrain from mentioning his father’s disapproval, which was likely to be a shock to a lot of people. His father had been a respected figure. If it came to light that he had not been an exemplary father, people might not even believe it. “So you’d rather have people think badly about you than badly about your father?”

He glanced her way. “Do they?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they don’t think about you at all. On the other hand, some would like to talk to you.”

He sighed. “You want me to do it.”

“No! All I’m saying is that it wouldn’t be as awful as you think it is. I had an interview yesterday, but I cancelled it. I’ve asked her to contact me this weekend for another appointment. Just sit in then and see.”

“Blah.”

“Blah?”

“What would it be about?”

“My ideas on 2015.”

“I’m sure that’s highly interesting. And where would this take place?”

“A café? Maybe the library? Not at home anyway.” She could see Frederick appreciated that it would not be at home. “It was going to be at my office, but if I’m not at work it could be anywhere.”

“You give interviews in cafés?”

“Not so much lately. I used to do it sometimes before we moved in together.”

“And then you thought I might not approve?”

She smiled. “No. If I have a proper dinner to go to, I don’t need to combine eating with giving an interview. I would have been home very late if I hadn’t combined things. Interviews especially. But I used to say yes to most and I haven’t been doing that in the past months.” She reflected that while she had not exactly been afraid of airing the dirty linen, she had also had things she would rather not talk about.

“Oh.”

“Do you have thoughts on 2015?”

“Not spontaneously.”

“But things happened that you could refer to.” If he gave it a minute he would realise it was not as complicated as he thought.

“I suppose,” Frederick said reluctantly.

“But then again, there are things we cannot mention.”

“We?”

“You and I.”

“I hadn’t yet agreed to sit in.”

“I know.” And she was not counting on him to do so, really, but she was keeping her options open. He was likely to give in if she pushed too much, but that was not her intention.

“Will there be photos?”

“I don’t know. I don’t mind photos. I didn’t ask. Usually magazines have photos of whomever they interview, so if they don’t have any ready they have to take some.”

“Will you do a Christmas speech?”

“No. They post a message on my site. Should we do Christmas cards together?”

“I’ve never done that. I usually get included in the family’s wishes.”

Anna Margaret widened her eyes. He was no longer a child. But then, he might not care about Christmas cards at all and leave it to someone who did.

“Do you do Christmas cards?” he asked.

“Yes. Do you mean I could or should include you? But I have to say, I refuse to write your name. If you want to be included in them, you sign them yourself.”

“I can do that.”

Posted on 2016-12-29

Chapter Forty-Four

Anna Margaret called Louis, Patrick and Danielle after the run. She had decided they were the most important ones – Louis as the vice prime minister and the others as people who might benefit from some time off soon because they were having babies. It was not to say they were the only ones. She had gathered that teenagers might cost as much time, but so far she had not heard anyone with teenage children complain about their workload. First she would see if Patrick and Danielle were likely to do so. Patrick might not; he might leave it all to his wife. She thought he was more modern than that, but if she did not have a job that paid as well as his – which was unlikely, to be honest – it might be practical to leave most to her anyway.

They might think it an entirely silly idea, but in that case she would not pursue it any further. She had got dressed into something neatly casual, but Frederick had changed into jogging trousers. Of course. She decided not to say anything about it, even if he might have to keep the partners of her guests busy. She had said it would be all right to bring them if that was easier.

“You could serve them carrots,” Frederick observed.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you serve your guests a snack?”

Trays with drinks and biscuits were always brought in at work and she rarely did any shopping at home anymore either. It was nevertheless stupid of her not to think of it. Frederick did not buy biscuits and they were not in her system at home. Maybe it was one of those pregnancy symptoms that other people seemed to have. “Oh, right. I’ll run out and get something. Could you entertain anyone who arrives while I’m away?”

“Certainly.”

When she came back with a roll of chocolate biscuits – it was all right to go wild once in a while – she found that Louis and Fabienne had already arrived. It was not surprising to see Fabienne had come. She would be curious to see how a former king lived. It was probably disappointing how normal it was.

She left the biscuits on the kitchen table and found the others in the sitting room. If Frederick had been saying a lot she could not tell, but at least he was not looking uncomfortable.

“Coffee ready?” he asked.

“Almost.”

“I’ll go and get it.”

“It’s so nice of you to come,” Anna Margaret began, ”At such short notice.”

“Your husband explained the issue to me,” said Louis.

She wondered if that had been another issue than the one in her email. “Did he? That’s nice of him. Or do you mean the issue with the biscuits?”

“Both.”

“Then what do I still have to say?” Had she been away that long? He could not possibly have covered everything.

Frederick returned with a tray with their nice cups, the ones they never used. He set it down and went back for another tray with the coffee, the tea and a glass of water.

“Well,” said Louis after a pause. “It’s a good thing to discuss. It might be a good option. You and Danielle will both be out for some time. I know you’ve said not for long, but you never know that in advance. You may not get any sleep.”

She knew that. It happened to people. She simply preferred not to think about it yet.

The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” said Frederick.

“We’d have to discuss whether this is going to be a temporary measure or a permanent one. Temporary promotions are nothing new,” Louis continued.

“Are there others who might like to give up a few tasks, or would that be seen as a…as a lack of competence?” She could not come up with anyone unwillingly swamped with work. She would have noticed. There would have been complaints.

“I don’t know, but I guess we’ll come to hear about it soon enough.”

Frederick brought in Patrick and Lea. The latter looked very obviously pregnant. Of course she was a few weeks ahead of her. They all greeted each other and Frederick got a few extra chairs while Anna Margaret poured the drinks. She was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with everything he was doing. Maybe she should tell him to sit down, unless he was doing it all so he did not have to say much.

“Interesting proposition you had there,” said Patrick. “I’m all ears. Not that I’m overworked. An hour less per day would be nice, but I might even manage that without delegating any tasks.”

“It’s important to get everything covered without having to confer with twice as many people,” said Anna Margaret. “And I could go down a considerable number of hours by never going anywhere anymore, but that would hardly be acceptable.”

The doorbell rang again. They waited for the new arrivals, but it was only Danielle. “Oh my, it’s chilly, isn’t it?” she said. “I can almost not close my coat anymore. Er, should I have brought Alex? He’s playing volleyball.”

“No, that’s all right. Only if it suited you better. I didn’t want to split people up on their day off,” Anna Margaret explained, realising she had become reluctant to being separated from her husband on her day off. “But would you be interested in shedding some work in the new year, Danielle?”

“Well, I took on this commitment…” Danielle was clearly too cautious to jump at the chance.

“I know. We all did. And you did consider things before getting pregnant, but it’s never clear how it will really work out at that point, I’ve been told. Going down to 100% from 150% isn’t bad either.” The glass of water still stood untouched. Perhaps it was for her. She had not poured herself any coffee or tea, so she picked up the glass and took a sip. Then she continued. “We should make an inventory of how much we could give up, which areas, and see how this adds up.”

“Do you think you won’t be able to cope?” Danielle asked.

“I’m not sure. Of course at this point I believe I could handle everything, but thinking reasonably I know some things are going to be highly impractical, such as long foreign trips. Now I can’t give someone the sole task of representing me abroad…”

Nobody contradicted that.

“But there might be portfolios we could shift around. For example, it’s not that time-consuming, but the Royal Family could perhaps be moved to Culture.”

Frederick choked audibly. “Culture?”

“Or some other aspects of General Affairs.” For a second she wondered if it had been wise to have their partners present. Her partner was not going to stay silent, it appeared. Their input was really only required with regard to how many hours their partner should be working, not with regard to what they should be working on. “We’ve got some random tasks.”

“Random,” he said.

Although there had been snickers at his first reaction, people now began to look anxious.

Anna Margaret was unruffled. He was not going to be a nuisance, she trusted. “Random in the sense that they don’t belong to any theme or department specifically. It would be convenient if the three of us could find some overlapping areas of interest that one person could take over.”

“Perhaps,” said Louis, “you could all write down the areas that are your responsibility and mark the ones you could or would get rid of.”

Frederick got up.

“Sit,” Anna Margaret ordered. She was surprised to see he obeyed. Still, it was her meeting and her responsibility to fetch paper and pens, and not his. She found some in a drawer and handed them out. “You too, Louis. Because if I drop some tasks, they might go to you. Also, it doesn’t have to fit the traditional frameworks. It may be a completely new set-up. And why not? Things change.”

Anna Margaret studied her list. She was too much of a control freak to part with responsibilities easily. Frederick came to lean over her shoulder and took her pen. He marked a few lines. “What do you know about it?” she asked in surprise.

He kissed her cheek. “My previous job, maybe. I did pay attention now and then.”

They were exactly the tasks she might have marked herself. She still looked a little stunned.

“Culture,” he said a little scathingly. “We are people, not cultural objects.”

“Ow, are you angry with me now?”

“No darling, you mean well. You’re just not very…”

“What?” she asked, aware that people were listening.

“Inefficient.”

“Not inefficient?” She was clueless.

“Yes, come and help me get more drinks.”

“Not inefficient?” she asked in the kitchen.

“It’s a kind of insensitive efficiency,” he said reflectively. “You do have feelings, but they’re not in your way. But you do have a heart. It’s here.” He placed his hand on it.

“That’s my breast.” But her heart responded by beating faster.

“Things happen,” he observed. “Feelings. It’s very inefficient sometimes. You get confused. Should you drag me onto the kitchen table or not?”

“Really?” She was indeed confused. They were not feelings. They were physical sensations. Although she did have feelings as well.

He shook his head. “It wouldn’t be efficient. Besides, I don’t think I’d like doing it on the kitchen table.”

“Well, take your hand off then.”

He smiled. “Yes, we’re here to get drinks.” He removed his hand. “I’m more stable. I feel things all the time but not quite so outrageous, whereas you jump from considering me a cultural object to taking me on the kitchen table in a minute.”

She knew he was teasing her a little. “Do you think I’m insensitive?”

“No. Business first, feelings second. Which is something else. I suppose I’m too sensitive about being considered business, although I realise that professionally you really should consider me business. But it stings.”

“It was not my intention,” she said contritely.

He filled the coffee pot. “I know. And in a sense we are cultural objects on display, which makes it even worse. Bring some more tea bags, will you?”

“I don’t think I’d like it on the kitchen table either and we have visitors, but put the tray down. We can hug, can’t we?”

Frederick had no objections.

“I used your toilet,” said Lea when they returned. “I thought that might be all right. I couldn’t ask – you were busy.”

“Necessary business,” Anna Margaret said brightly. “We had to wait for the water to heat up.” She was happy they – or at least Frederick – did not heat up as fast as the water did. Lea had apparently glanced into the kitchen when she had looked for the toilet.

“Of course.”

Frederick, although he was dressed in jogging trousers and said he did not care for politics, had casually scribbled a solution on one of the sheets. It was the best one Anna Margaret could find with regard to Patrick’s and Danielle’s portfolios and the others seemed to agree. They knew she was not the one who had come up with it, which pleased her, but nobody made too much of a fuss about it. Partners were not really supposed to interfere in work matters, were they?

He had not commented any further on moving the Royal Family, but Anna Margaret had come up with a state secretary for national culture, who could deal with anything from the Royal Family to equality. It was vague enough for different domains to be moved there and therefore quite useful.

“Ironic,” said Frederick.

“Yes.”

“The monarchy and equality under the same roof.”

“It’s possible.”

“If you view us as cultural objects.”

She thought he had got over the insult, so she did not take it too seriously. “The monarchy is part of our culture and so is equality,” she explained once again. It did not yet sound very convincing, but it could undoubtedly be made so.

“I was all for equality within the monarchy, too.”

“You were for primogeniture. Which makes the first born more equal than the second.”

“But it did make female firstborns equal to male firstborns.”

She sighed when she felt she should not be distracted by a discussion with someone who was really not supposed to take part in the discussion in the first place. “Okay. Is your sister going to object?” It was Isabelle who officially had to appoint people. If she did not agree with becoming someone else’s responsibility, she would simply refuse to appoint that person.

Posted on 2017-01-29

Chapter Forty-Five

Anna Margaret had spoken to the journalist who wanted to interview her and agreed to meet in town. It was Saturday and December and it was bound to be crowded. Still, she wanted to get it over with and not put it off. It would leave her Sunday completely free if she handled everything today. It crossed her mind that something else might occur to her, but in that case she would deal with that when it happened.

She had agreed to meet in a café just off the shopping streets. It was usually frequented by well-known people, which meant there was always someone who attracted more attention. She did not go there to socialise, but for meetings it was useful.

Frederick had not yet said if he wanted to come, so when she pulled on her coat she called him. “Are you coming?”

“A bit. I’ll go and buy new shoes.”

“All right. So you’ll walk me into the centre. And when you’re done shopping? You’ll come to Fritzie’s?” She tried to imagine where he might buy his shoes. It might be quite near Fritzie’s. The shops there were expensive and she could not imagine him needing to buy cheaper shoes.

“You think I’ll be done before you?” He looked surprised.

“Normally, yes. Maybe you’ll take extra long now.” She would not put it past him.

“I might.”

“And do you really need new shoes?”

“Actually, yes.” He pulled on his coat and a woollen hat. “Because I could easily stay home and let you go alone.”

“True.”

“Are we walking?”

“That’s easiest.” She looked around when they left the house, but apart from a neighbour there was no one in the street. They did not pass him, going in the other direction, and no cars followed them. “I don’t think I’ve ever been followed, or maybe I simply didn’t notice,” she remarked, not counting the men who always followed him .

“You probably didn’t notice.”

“You think? I probably don’t go anywhere exciting, so if they ever tried they tried only once.”

“That doesn’t stop them from inventing a story,” said Frederick. “But if they were here when your visitors came, they’ve probably left already to craft a story. They could publish a photo of one of the visitors entering the house and speculate on an affair.”

“Considering a career change?” She was not sure she would be able to come up with such devious stories.

“No, thanks. That I can predict the nonsense they can come up with doesn’t mean I want to inflict it on someone else.”

If there was no one to see them leave, there would be no one to recognise them along the way. With hats and scarves they could only be recognised by people who knew what coats they wore. That would make it a quiet trip.

When they could see Fritzie’s, Frederick went in another direction. “Remember, we could always have a drink there,” she called after him.

He merely smiled.

She expected he would phone first to see if she was finished. It was not yet annoying, but it might be in twenty years. Not that she thought she would be interviewed in twenty years. She actually had no idea what she would be doing then.

She entered the café, which was pretty full. Luckily the journalist stood up and beckoned her when she took off her hat. She made her way to that table. They greeted each other and she sat down.

When she was done, she checked the time. Frederick had not yet called or appeared. She buttoned up her coat and went outside as if she had somewhere to go. She phoned Frederick. “Where are you?”

“In the bookshop across the street.”

“How awful!” she exclaimed. She guessed he had been done for a while and he had been hiding there. “Doing what?”

“Avoiding being asked questions. What did you think?”

“It’s safe now. She’s gone.”

“What did you talk about?” asked Frederick when he came out of the shop. He was carrying a plastic bag.

“Work.”

“Not 2015?”

“Work in 2015. If they ask me because of what I am, I won’t talk about who I am. If I’d been a man no one would have bothered to ask me about my marriage. It would have been considered irrelevant.”

“But were you asked?”

“Yes. It was apparently a memorable event in 2015 – or should have been so for me.” She felt she was perhaps trying too hard to keep things separate, but she also felt she had to. Even this journalist had tried to sneak the question in, but she had feared that if she had said anything at all, the entire piece would be about her private life. “In these times, people want to know if they can continue to live in safety and relative prosperity, not that I got married.”

“I suppose. Though with prosperity comes a desire to buy tabloids.”

“If you don’t want to talk about yourself, don’t suggest that I should.”

“Am I suggesting that?”

“No,” she admitted. “Maybe I’m just undecided.”

“You think it would be too unprofessional or too feminine.”

“Yes, but blah blah blah attacks in Paris blah blah blah but I got married blah blah blah. It simply won’t do. I could discuss both things, but preferably not in the same interview. Because the thing I’ve mentioned in passing may end up constituting the bulk of the article.”

“Er…all right,” said Frederick. “How did you handle this before? Before 2015? I have no idea. I didn’t read everything.”

“I didn’t have a private life, so there was no danger of it influencing my job.” She supposed it was aggravating that her private life was going to influence her professional life now, as much as she had always said and believed that it would not. Marriage was irrelevant; a baby had some impact. “But it still happened that I spoke ten minutes about something that only got one sentence in print. So I always want to see the printed text before it goes.”

“So if you mentioned getting married, you’d be afraid the piece would focus on that alone?”

“It would happen if I did so much as answer a question about getting married. And it was not even the most life-changing event of the year.”

“No,” he agreed. “But you can’t pretend to be a man without a private life if you’re a woman with a private life. I also don’t think there’s any need for it. You were on the right track.”

“I was?” Anna Margaret tried to see how. And when. Perhaps he meant she had been on the right track before their relationship. She had not been as cautious then. There had been much less of a need.

“You were trying to find out how you could make some changes to adapt to your changing situation,” he reminded her. “The job itself might have been created to suit a man living decades ago, but that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.”

She had indeed said something similar earlier that day and she wondered why she seemed to have forgotten. “True.”

“So you could apply that to interviews.”

“Except –“

“No. Well, I don’t know how it would work for interviews, because I don’t do them, but it should work. Or are you trying to counter the revelations that are still to come?”

“It’s possible. When is Isabelle going to tell everybody? It would make things a lot easier if she did it soon.”

“She hasn’t told me yet, but you could tell her you’re going to do it if she isn’t.”

“What would she say to that?”

“Don’t know.” They came to a point where they had to choose between going home or going into town. “Are we going back home or are we going to do some Christmas shopping?”

Anna Margaret halted. “Do we have to buy some? I hadn’t thought about it yet. My family are not doing anything this year, I suppose, so I wouldn’t have to buy anything, and how do yours usually handle presents? Do we have to buy something for everyone?”

“With the numbers Isabelle is inviting? No, of course not. If we get something for the hostess and the children, that will be fine.”

“Until what age do they count as children?”

“Eighteen. Unless you run into something really good.”

“Have you got them anything yet?”

“One or two things that I happened to see online.”

“Big? Small?” Anna Margaret had no idea. She was sure they all had money to spare, although they were not the types to give each other race horses. She would have been completely wrong about them if they were.

“Small. My mother generally knits something for a few people. But I don’t think anyone will get socks if there are two babies on their way.”

“But…they’re not actually there yet, or will I get a tiny woollen cardigan?”

“Probably. Shall we have a look? You might know what the girls would like.”

It was quite busy in town, but then it usually was when she had time to shop. Because of their hats people did not pay attention to them at all. It did get a little hot whenever they were inside a shop, so after she had got some things for the youngest nieces she gave up.

When they were walking home, Isabelle phoned Frederick. Anna Margaret could only hear his side of the conversation and that was not very enlightening. She waited patiently if she was going to be told. Perhaps it was not important, or perhaps she was telling him she was going to make an announcement.

At last the call was finished and he spoke. “Florian has published a calendar.”

Anna Margaret had nearly been sure it was going to be about babies, so she was thrown off balance. “What?”

“Florian takes a lot of pictures. He made a calendar with some of his pictures in it. He had five thousand copies printed. They are in the gift shop.” Frederick sounded as if he could barely contain his laughter. “Isabelle is flipping out.”

“Because they’re strange pictures?”

“She didn’t say they were. I think it’s the fact that he did this on his own. But there’s nothing she can do about it now. Copies have already been sold. We are in it.”

“We are?”

“That’s what she said. I’ve never seen him take any pictures of us, so it’s probably nothing to worry about. All he will have is that picture of the wedding. If you like, we could stop by the Palace and have a look.”

“Five thousand copies?”

“Yes.”

“And he didn’t think his mother would mind?” The children would have been trained to be careful in what they published on social media – or in calendars. It was probably not that bad.

“I have no idea what he was thinking. Shall we have a look?”

Posted on 2017-02-28

Chapter Forty-Six

Anna Margaret followed Frederick into one of the side gates. “We were seen,” she observed.

“No doubt. It’s not the first time I’ve used this gate. The people who live across the street probably know all about it.”

She looked over her shoulder at the buildings across the street. The ground floor was occupied by architects, but there were flats above it. The people living there would probably have seen this gate being used indeed. “But wouldn’t people wait here until you came out?”

“For some reason, no.” He opened a door and went inside. “And see this door, you can look out but not in, so if there was a crowd waiting I’d simply turn back. I don’t much like being asked for selfies.”

She followed him out of the building at the other end. The route was still not very familiar to her. The problem was that there were so many different ones. Just like at work, really, where old buildings were connected to newer ones in the same manner. They did occasionally still come here, for the gym or the pool or for family visits, but it never seemed to be the same route.

“What happened, Florian?” Frederick asked when they had got to the terrace of Florian’s apartment. Knocking on the window had produced his nephew.

“I suppose Mum called you?” Florian asked with a smirk.

“Yes.”

“I published some of my photos,” Florian said with a shrug. He invited them into his living room. It was Frederick’s old apartment, but with different furniture it looked different. “In the form of a calendar. It’s funny. Mum just doesn’t have any sense of humour.”

“Funny,” Anna Margaret repeated. It was clear that Florian and Isabelle did not consider precisely the same things funny.

“Yes, she doesn’t agree. She’ll come around, though. It will sell like mad.”

“Is that a good thing?” Frederick wondered. “Have you got a copy of this calendar?”

“I used to, but sadly Mum found it when she inspected my flat and she ran off shrieking, taking it with her.”

“It had photos, right? What kind?”

“Nice ones, really.”

“You took them. You would think so.”

“I wouldn’t put my crap stuff in there, no,” Florian quite agreed. “I put in one of you two kissing, in the month that you got married. I don’t think that was the one that freaked Mum out, though.”

“You put in one of your mother kissing?”

“I might have done,” the boy said innocently. “But it was with Dad, so who could object? Well, that’s what I thought anyway.”

Anna Margaret sat down and pressed her hand against her mouth. She would like to offer some reassurance, but it seemed the only one who needed to be reassured was not here. “And how is your father taking it?”

Florian shrugged. “I don’t know. He doesn’t get upset over trivialities. Look, I know better than to use pictures of him and Frederick drinking beer. I’d get disowned for sure. But public displays of affection are sure to sell. I put your photo online and people loved it.”

“Beer pictures sell too.”

“But not to the public we’d like.”

“I don’t know. The people who think we have nothing in common with them might be pleased to find that sometimes we do,” said Frederick. “Although we are very civilised beer drinkers and we drink the 0% type.”

“Why does your mother inspect your flat?” Anna Margaret had been looking around, but she could not see anything wrong. It was tidy and clean. Of course this said nothing about the other rooms and it might well be tidy and clean because there were regular inspections.

“She wants to make sure I live properly. And I suppose ever since a certain someone hid someone in his room, she wants to make sure I don’t do the same. Or she wants to make sure I don’t live like a loser. Empty pizza boxes are not allowed.”

“Do you ever order pizza?”

“I did once. And I can’t leave the lights on if I leave the room. It costs money . I swear they lie in wait on the terrace to see if I do. They make me pay the bill now so I’ll learn what it costs to leave the lights on.”

“Let’s go and see Isabelle,” Frederick decided. “And then we’ll see if we’ll defend you.”

Florian spluttered. “Thanks.”

They found Isabelle in her sitting room. She jumped up when they were shown in. “Oh! You came to see!”

“Yes,” said her brother.

Anna Margaret studied Isabelle. She was not flipping out, but she did look as if her agitation was renewed by their arrival.

Isabelle hurried to a sideboard and picked up a booklet. “This is it. This is the calendar. Just have a look. It’s impossible .”

Frederick took it from her with a curious look and sat down. Anna Margaret hung over the back of the couch so she could see it better. The front was an unremarkable, though pretty, picture of the front of the Palace. Thousands of postcards bore similar images. This was not the shocking bit.

“January,” said Frederick, flipping over the page ever so slowly. “It’s a calendar.”

“It says that on the front,” Isabelle hissed. “And I told you already. Look at the photos!”

“Very nice,” he said of January. It was Charlotte on her horse. She had her birthday in that month.

“And the captions.”

“Nothing wrong with January.”

“Oh, he started out deceptively innocent.”

Anna Margaret was curious now. She could see Isabelle could hardly wait for Frederick to turn the page. “Where are we?”

“November.”

Frederick moved to November. “Cute. Where are you?”

“Wait.” Anna Margaret laid her hand on his shoulder. “What does it say?”

“Prince Frederick got married in November.”

“Shocking.”

“Yes, isn’t it.”

“February,” said Isabelle.

Frederick turned back to February. “And what is wrong with that ?” he exclaimed.

“I like it,” Anna Margaret commented. “You do too, Isabelle.”

“That’s not the point. It has no place in an official publication!” She had the decency to blush somewhat.

“But I thought it was a photo of a kiss that you were upset about and you’re not even in February’s photo.” She reached out her hand to stop Frederick from turning the page.

“I didn’t know someone took this photo.” Frederick still tried to move to March. “Is there a similar one of the girls in the family?”

“People who buy this are women, I suspect. They wouldn’t care about the girls.”

Finally he managed to get to the next month. “Well, that’s a bit of a let-down for the public, isn’t it? It’s Grandma with a glass of wine. Well, we ought to be glad she’s not on a sunbed in her bathing suit, but still. But it’s nice Grandma was included.”

“I can sort of see your point,” Anna Margaret said to Isabelle, “but they weren’t naked or anything.”

“People are bound to say we don’t do enough work. That we go on too many holidays. When we do not!”

“No.” She thought people – of the female persuasion, at least – might appreciate a photo of four males in swimwear.

Isabelle turned away as they moved through the other months. Everyone made an appearance, sometimes more than once if a photo contained more people. They were nothing like the extremely posed winter pictures, of course. Anna Margaret quite liked them. Florian had taken them all, she suspected, except the one he was in.

“He should have conferred with me,” said Isabelle.

“I suppose he knew you’d say no. But it’s a nice photo. What’s wrong with it? You’re not fully kissing.”

“I don’t do that in public.”

“I suppose not, if Florian thinks this is kissing.”

“And I was not in public. It was in a family setting where one would expect one’s privacy to be respected.”

“So what happens to Florian? He has to hand over his camera? He’s a good photographer. That would be a pity.”

“I don’t know yet.”

“But you have some good-looking sons.” She found Frederick looking at her questioningly. “And a good-looking brother, of course. There’s nothing wrong with advertising the fact.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m surprised you don’t want yourself cut out of the picture,” she teased. “They see far too much of you and outside you said you wouldn’t like people taking selfies with you.”

“That’s different.”

“Oh, all right. Do we have to go to the museum shop to buy this calendar?”

“You want to buy it?” Isabelle inquired.

“How else should we get it? But don’t punish Florian. I think the pictures are very entertaining. They show the family in a more human light. I think he’s going to need to have extra copies printed. Of course you could always ask him not to use swimwear photos for next year’s edition – not to mention no childbirth ones.”

Isabelle’s mouth opened and closed. “There is no way he would attend the birth. He can come and visit when it’s over and we have been patched up. I would advise you to do the same.”

“I wasn’t actually planning to have someone take pictures of me at my most awful,” Anna Margaret shuddered. “Did you hear that, darling?”

“Noted,” Frederick replied. “I might faint anyway.”

“But you will be there?”

“Of course,” he reassured her. “I want to be there.”

“When…” Anna Margaret asked, looking at Isabelle. When were they going public with it? She still had no idea. It had to be soon. If Isabelle did not do it, she would have to do it herself.

“Soon, soon. It’s having a growth spurt this week. I wish I was ready, but there are a few little things I need to work out first.”

“All right.” She would wait another day or two. “How’s the hospital? Are they still making you unnecessarily worried?”

“I had a word and amazingly they’re treating me as if I were ten years younger.”

“That’s good. Are you still staying with them?”

“Yes. If necessary I’ll have another word with them.”

“Or threaten to leave them.”

“Which is what I did.”

“And what does Philip think of the calendar?” Frederick wondered.

“He hasn’t seen it yet, but over the phone he didn’t sound as if he might think anything.”

“We’ll go and get one from the shop,” Frederick decided.

“Right now? It’s open!”

“How else could we get one? Have you got time for a tour?” he asked Anna Margaret.

“I suppose so. I haven’t received any phone calls about pressing matters. But what if people talk to you?” People in the street might not be interested in him, but people visiting the Palace actually might.

He looked confident. “I’ve been there before. They never do.”

Posted on 2017-03-11

Chapter Forty-Seven

Anna Margaret wondered how he had gone into the souvenir shop on previous occasions and when. If he had not done his hair, people might not have recognised him. It was then no wonder they had never spoken to him. They had simply not known who he was. Now, however, he had been wearing his hair this way most of the time and people might have seen photos of him like this. Or they might recognise her first.

Frederick led her through more doors and corridors and suddenly they were in the Palace souvenir shop. “So you can just go through this door and end up in your sister’s private rooms?” she wondered. He had used his card to open doors a few times, but it had otherwise seemed fairly easy.

“No. Or, yes. It’s all one building. But most people don’t have the keys.”

“And the staff are not surprised by our materialising from that door?” She glanced over at the counter. Nobody was looking. “But in that case they wouldn’t see anyone go in there either.”

Frederick did not think there was much of value that way. He shrugged. “Let’s look for that thing.”

She looked for a pile. The shop was small. The Royal Family had not yet reached the point at which there was an incredible demand for mugs with their faces on them. There were some with Isabelle, but most other memorabilia had only the family weapon. It was fascinating. She did not feel any inclination herself to buy mugs with the queen on them, but evidently some people did. “What kind of people buy this? American tourists?”

“I have no idea.”

“Where did the mugs with your face go?”

“Priced off and sold out?”

“Ah, here?” She pointed at a pile in front of which a group of women had gathered. There was a neatly printed sign that said the calendars contained photographs made by Crown Prince Florian himself .

The women were discussing it. The Americans seemed a trifle disappointed that the family wore no crowns, tiaras or velvet robes in their spare time, but that these might as well be photos of any random family. The local women, however, were in awe. How wonderful their Royal Family were, being so normal!

Anna Margaret tried to get to the pile without having to ask someone to step aside.

“Yes, get one before the queen will have them destroyed,” Frederick said a little too loudly.

She was not sure he meant to be overheard, but he was. Two women turned. “Will she?” they asked. “Why?”

“I heard she wasn’t too happy.”

“Oh why?” cried one. “She looks lovely.”

Anna Margaret tried to ascertain whether they realised whom they were facing, but if she came too close they would certainly realise who she was. Luckily her phone rang and she pressed the calendar into Frederick’s hand. She took the phone out of the shop. “Yes?”

When she had finished her conversation, she found Frederick had been taken to the tea room. “Seriously?” she muttered. She did not know why older ladies all liked him. He must have talked to them when she had taken her call. It had been too busy in the shop, so she had stepped out and he had not come after her.

She slowly walked into the tea room, which was rather small. Clearly they did not expect hundreds of visitors all at once. Frederick was seated with three women who were at least two decades older. She approached them hesitantly. Maybe the women simply liked to invite random men for tea. It crossed her mind briefly that he might have asked them , but then she dismissed that as ridiculous.

He waved a bottle of water at her, so evidently he had counted on her joining them. “Hello,” she said, sitting down.

“This is my…er…wife.”

If they rarely met people together, she thought, he might never become fluent at saying that.

The three women introduced themselves. They had not been to the Palace before, so they had thought they would give it a try. “It’s so nice and quiet, and this tea room is lovely.”

It was done up in what Anna Margaret considered to be a royal style. Nobody would know that Isabelle’s living room did not look like this at all and Frederick’s even less. The china, too, looked to be precious and was more like what would be used at official dinners than at family gatherings. She would like to ask Frederick if any of it was real, but she did not know if she could. A closer look at the chairs around her revealed that not all of them were the same, although they seemed equally worn. “The bottle of water looks a bit incongruous,” she remarked.

“That’s right,” said Frederick. “They don’t actually sell bottles of water. Plastic is not stylish.”

“Now I see why she was miffed about the photos.” A calendar with informal photos would seem out of place in a shop that sold only stylish things. Or so some people might think. “Yet whoever stocks the souvenir shop obviously didn’t care.”

“Or they are obliged to do as the family say.”

“Hmm.” And if the family wanted a plastic bottle, they got it. She wondered if he had been allowed to pay for the calendar.

“It’s amazing that you would actually go here,” said one of the ladies.

“There was unfortunately no other way to obtain the calendar,” Frederick answered.

“I think it’s amazing too,” said Anna Margaret, “as I was giving an interview an hour ago and he stayed as far away as possible because he was afraid they might ask him something.” She raised her eyebrows at her husband in a good-natured manner. “And here I find you talking to no less than three people, who,” and she lowered her voice, “might all be journalists.”

Frederick shifted in his chair.

“Should I hold the plastic bottle under the table or what?” she inquired. “Will they let me drink from it in here?”

He tapped his finger against a glass, but seemingly he still did not know how to defend himself.

“But it’s okay, darling, I’m just amused,” she said, unscrewing the top and pouring the water into the glass.

“You do not like journalists?” asked one of the ladies. She looked at Frederick.

“Most of what they write is not true. But then, I’ve never spoken to one.”

“Problem, meet solution,” Anna Margaret commented in between sips. But maybe he was practising. He was quiet and polite, but he looked to be at ease. That was good.

“Well, we are not journalists,” said the woman across from her. “Which would be silly because we couldn’t have known we’d see someone. And we almost didn’t, but then your phone rang.”

And then they had seen her and who else could be with her except Frederick? She drew a rubber band out of her pocket and tied her hair back. That would change her appearance a little – in case Frederick cared. “Yes, work, sort of. I don’t have to go into the office for it, so that’s good.” She looked at the cakes the women were having and Frederick was not. They looked delicious.

“They’re very good,” the woman confirmed. “They’re called the Queen’s Favourite Pastries.”

“I think that might be Queen Florence,” said Frederick. “One of these and a glass of wine is her lunch of choice.”

“It seems to work well for her. How old is she?”

“Er…old. I’d have to look it up,” said her grandson.

“She doesn’t still live here, does she?”

“Oh, no. That would –“ But then he checked himself. “It would be a bit crowded.”

“I wonder why it’s not crowded in here on a Saturday,” Anna Margaret remarked, looking around. Of course it was not the high season for tourists and their own country was small enough for everyone with an interest to have been here already.

Frederick knew. “Because it’s expensive and no children under eighteen are allowed in.”

“But you get free tea,” said the third lady. “And the cups look like the queen drank from them.”

Anna Margaret wondered how much the entrance fee was. She supposed the tea was not really free, but included in the ticket.

Frederick looked at his cup. “She might have. They use the old and incomplete sets here.”

“She might have?” the woman said excitedly.

“When the china sets become incomplete – even famous people break something now and then – they go into the attic,” Frederick explained. “And when this tea room was set up, they were taken from there.”

“I’ll remember that for the next time someone complains about the costs of the monarchy,” Anna Margaret commented. “Does anyone know you’re not wasting money but actually saving it?”

“Probably not.”

He was saying rather a lot, she observed. She smiled.

Frederick got a message on his phone and frowned at it. He did not tell her what it was, however. Probably because they were not alone.

“It’s wonderful to see you here,” said the middle woman. “We hadn’t expected that.”

“We hadn’t expected to go here either,” said Anna Margaret. “We were in the centre, but that’s just outside the gates, really.”

“I didn’t know you walked around normally.”

She suppressed the urge to ask how one walked if one did not walk normally . “I do. He doesn’t.”

“I do,” Frederick protested. “But nobody notices. I bought shoes and nobody noticed. Not that I mind. I do only boring things so they probably wouldn’t care anyway if they saw me doing them.”

“I read you didn’t do things together.”

“Never, as you see.”

“Everything outside work hours, I think…” Anna Margaret added. “But nobody sees that. Or maybe they don’t expect us to eat at home.”

“I suppose it’s not interesting to write about people eating at home,” said the first woman. “But I’ve always wondered why else they thought you would be married.”

Woman two nodded. “You don’t read the magazines, Ellie?”

“Don’t waste your money,” Frederick advised. “Just ask me.”

Anna Margaret raised her eyebrows. Was he inviting them to ask him things? That would be quite a step.

He turned to her. “That’s what you did. I appreciated that. In some way.”

“True. That was an epic conversation. You told me I could lose some weight.”

“Yeah, sorry.” He groaned a little. “You’re not still upset about it, are you? But I did appreciate the fact that someone talked to me instead of about me, although I wished it wasn’t necessary for people to meddle in my business at all.”

“Well, I thought asking might be more efficient.”

“So we can ask you things?” asked the middle woman.

“Yes.”

“Is she pregnant?”

That, unexpectedly, made Anna Margaret giggle. Of course she had not said they could ask her things.

“Er…” Frederick looked at her. “Does she look pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“Then she probably is.”

Anna Margaret looked a little surprised that he was telling them, but he showed her the message on his phone. Isabelle was going ahead with her statement. Soon everyone would know.

“My sister will announce it soon, so I might as well say yes, I thought,” Frederick explained. “And they told me they were not on social media.”

“But how very nice! Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” Anna Margaret murmured.

“When are you due?”

“Ah, that. I don’t get any maternity leave, so I was planning to work on as much as I could. If people knew my due date they would comment on my working too much or too little, so I’d rather they didn’t find out until it happened. It would postpone a lot of unnecessary discussions.” She looked at Frederick. “Unless your sister is revealing that as well?”

“The message doesn’t say that.”

“And we were just there. I wonder why this couldn’t wait until we were back to pick up our coats.”

Posted on 2017-03-17

Chapter Forty-Eight

They finished their drinks and said goodbye to the three women. Apart from those three no one else appeared to have noticed them. Anna Margaret began to think it was not so strange that Frederick had been here before without being noticed. People were not all that observant if they were not expecting anything. She had thought that maybe he had been unrecognisable, but they did not even see her here. Of course most might be foreigners; she reckoned with that possibility.

Frederick decided not to go back the same way. He went outside. Contrary to everyone else they did not have coats and Anna Margaret shivered. “Is this a good idea?” she asked. It was December. Not to mention that they could be seen from the street and they were clearly not tourists without their coats.

“It’s not far.”

“I hope not. What sort of announcement could it be?” she asked when they were sufficiently away from the nearest people.

“That’s what we’re going to find out. I wonder why she didn’t tell us when we were there, or was she too upset about the calendar?”

“What sort of announcement would you make?”

“I’ve never made an announcement.” He opened a door and they went inside.

She sighed and lightly punched him. “You have. You just didn’t write it on your own. You’ve never read any and you couldn’t copy the general style of them?”

Frederick sighed. “Yes, but the general style was the old style. Isabelle has a new style, but I can’t predict that yet.”

“I thought they all had the same style. We are delighted to announce, and so forth. But so far her style has been not to let someone do it alone. However, I can’t imagine the four of us sitting and holding hands and announcing there are babies on their way.”

“I’d follow that up by saying I’m divorcing all of you,” Frederick said with a look of utter disgust. “Four people holding hands?”

She laughed. “By the way, I’m proud of you for speaking to people.”

He gave her a look. “You make it sound as if I’m some kind of idiot.”

“No, no! But it’s great that you were practising in case you ever have to speak to someone in an official capacity.”

“I do that every week.”

“But not about yourself.”

“No,” he agreed. “Apart from some platitudes about my trip and the weather.”

“So, that was good. How did they recognise you?”

“They recognised you and you couldn’t possibly be cheating on me, they thought, so I had to be me. And I did look a bit like myself in the calendar, so…they offered me some tea, because obviously someone had to keep me busy while you were on the phone.”

“Yes, party crap, sorry. But it was nice of you to talk to them. They appreciated it.”

“I don’t know what else I could have done. You spoke to them too.”

“I speak to people. Even to journalists. If Isabelle is really making an announcement, I’ll have plenty to speak to on Monday. Supposing she’s making it today or tomorrow.” She imagined them all waiting for her at the entrance to her building. They would be there. The questions would be fairly predictable, but they would be repeated over and over again. It required some patience, but not a whole lot of preparation.

“What was the party crap? It took pretty long.”

She had not timed it, but he had been able to do a few things while she had been on the phone. “That’s because he wasn’t listening. A local treasurer gave himself a trip to New York with party money. They think I’ll let that pass because of my position, but I won’t.”

“What’s wrong with your position?”

“Nothing. It’s just that whoever told me thinks others can accuse me of being a hypocrite. I don’t see how, so…”

“Is the news of your pregnancy going to make it worse?”

“Possibly – if you’re of the opinion there’s something wrong with it. Of course the person who told me says it could be argued that I have equally dubious morals so that I’d best not react to it very strongly.”

“Someone told you that you have equally dubious morals?”

She was grateful that he looked as if that was the most ridiculous thing ever. “That’s what he implied – well, what he implied people might think.”

“Which is nonsense.”

“Yes.”

“So what did you tell him?”

“I’m not sure it’s what he thought; he might simply be paranoid.” Anna Margaret felt she was paranoid herself as well at times. She knew it was not impossible for someone to point the finger at her, but that did not make it any less annoying. “We could go over that entire discussion again about the possible conflict of interests. Some people never tire of it. It might start anew when I turn out to be pregnant. Or it might not, because I’m doing exactly what the conservative dinosaurs predicted.”

They found Isabelle pacing her living room. Philip and Charlotte were looking on. “What were you apping me about?” Frederick asked.

“I decided I’m going to make the announcement.”

“Yes. That’s almost literally what you wrote. So…is there anything new?”

Anna Margaret wondered if he was afraid that Isabelle was going to make him announce something. He did look a bit anxious.

“Mum will do it.”

There was some silence. Then he spoke. “Does she know?”

“Of course she knows!”

“Alone?” Evidently he imagined himself sitting beside her saying nothing. The prospect did not seem to be appealing.

“Considering that there’s no one else who wants to, yes!”

“Is she going to tweet it? I didn’t know she did those things. Or what is she going to do exactly?”

“She has an interview and she’s going make this a part of it.”

Anna Margaret studied Frederick’s face. Either it was either unbelievable that his mother had an interview – to be honest, she could not recall seeing or reading any before either – or that the announcement was to be slipped in. “It sounds good,” she said cautiously.

“Of course,” Isabelle agreed. “No one else was volunteering. Grandma would, but she cannot be trusted.”

“Does Grandma even know about the pregnancies?”

“No.”

“How is she going to like hearing it from Mum telling the rest of the country?” Frederick asked.

“If you think she’s not going to like that –“

“I know it.”

“—then you should go and tell her personally, preferably about five minutes before the interview starts, so she can’t screw things up.”

He looked at Anna Margaret, but she was reluctant to interfere. If it was considered best to go, they would go. In so many ways this was just like work. She shrugged and sat down, assuming Frederick and Isabelle had not yet finished talking about it. “Don’t you have advisors?” she asked when a message from one of the party’s advisors popped up on the screen of her phone.

“She fired most of them,” said Philip. “I mean, they went into early retirement.”

“Nice. They can be a pain when they have ideas of their own.” She scanned the message. It was more of the same and a request to call. “It’s going to be a busy day on Monday…” she said when Isabelle and Frederick left the room, presumably to speak to their mother.

“Could be,” he agreed.

“The party has a situation, sort of. Inappropriate use of party funds. Some people think I shouldn’t say anything about it, because my morals might be considered dubious. I rather think my morals would be dubious if I let it pass. Sorry, I’ll just type back a message.” She tapped away at her phone for a while, also giving instructions to her direct staff. She would condemn it, no matter what some people might then say about her.

“Dubious. I was thinking about that,” said Philip. “Very dubious.”

She had no idea what he meant. “Who? Me?”

“It would be a dubious allegation.”

“Yes, that’s what I would think. But then of course I would. I’ll just have to see what they come up with. If they really come up with anything at all.”

“They might not. Most people seem to be fine with how you wriggled yourself out of it.”

Anna Margaret looked a little offended. “I wriggled ?” She had not wriggled.

“Yes, wrong word perhaps,” he said reflectively. “You went on straight ahead and they wriggled around you.”

“That’s better, I suppose,” she said, looking doubtful. She checked her phone again. Hopefully the party chairman would handle things swiftly and allow everyone to have a quiet weekend. It was really his job and not hers. She was only supposed to be aware of it in case anyone asked, she supposed. “Are we really going to have to visit Frederick’s grandmother tonight?”

“No. Unless you like her.”

“You don’t,” she guessed.

“I’m not volunteering to go. But you could always claim to have a crisis you need to solve.” He indicated her phone.

“Except that it’s not my crisis to solve. It’s Mathieu’s crisis, I guess. He’s married to Charlotte’s teacher, by the way. I’d rather go to bed early than sit somewhere and argue why I won’t drink wine.”

“Yes, that never stops.”

“Who could she call? She’s not online, is she?”

“She is online and she has tentacles – I mean, numbers. I’m not sure she would wreck things, because she could have done that many times before. She’ll just be annoying when she talks to us.”

“Then you could go. You know her better.”

Philip shook his head. “I’ve already had too many comments on my…er…” He glanced at his daughter. “On the number of children I have.”

Posted on 2017-03-22

Chapter Forty-Nine

“I wish you would consider me,” Charlotte complained. “How do you think people at school will react? This is just what you do when you’re ancient, pretending you’re young by having a baby.”

“I’ll put it in the basket of my rollator when I come to pick you up from school,” said Philip.

“It’s not funny!” cried Charlotte and left the room.

“I doubt the children at her school will care at all.”

“I can’t remember what girls cared about at that age, but I don’t think other people’s parents were ever a part of it.” Anna Margaret looked at the door. “What are they doing? Are you sure Frederick’s mother will agree to this plan?” Or rather, she meant would Frederick’s mother like the plan to which she was agreeing? She always seemed to do what she was told.

“Yes, she suggested it herself. Probably thought it was taking too long for an announcement to be made.”

“I was under the impression that she gave as many interviews as Frederick did.” Which meant none at all. She must not enjoy them much.

“True, but the persons affecting their willingness to speak have mostly been removed. Did I put that very tactfully?”

“It raises some questions, but on the whole I understand what you’re getting at,” said Anna Margaret. “But if she’s had no practice, how could they know she will not say too much?”

Philip shrugged. “It’s not as if we have secrets. We’re quite boring people, really. You have no secrets either. You did not have an affair with the king for months. It started exactly when you said it did. I know, because he went missing. Wait, I do have a secret.”

“Which is?”

“They came to ask me where he was.”

“And did you know?”

“No. But I later heard where they had picked him up and at what time. And I didn’t tell Isabelle.”

She raised her eyebrows. It was possible he had been told more than that, because she did not see how he would have concluded much from it. “Well, Isabelle seems to lose it even over small revelations like the calendar. Her mother could unleash a few verbal equivalents of that.” She did not doubt there were things that could be said about how Frederick’s father and grandfather had behaved.

“I still maintain that we have no secrets. But actually, I wish someone would say too much sometimes. Florian was on the right track.”

“You approved and Isabelle did not?”

“This is going to happen to you at some point…”

“Is it? Frederick is more relaxed about the…royal things.” She could not think he would be like his sister. There would not be enormous disagreements.

“I didn’t say he’d be the uptight one.”

“Oh, shut up,” Anna Margaret said with a laugh.

“Did you know that my grandmother-in-law insisted that everyone address her formally and with a bow just because she was married to the king?”

“You didn’t introduce that, did you?” If he had, she was exempt.

“No. Although I did briefly consider subjecting my British relatives to it – the rich side of the family, that is. The side I am not from.”

“You could try.”

“I was so tempted. The way they pretended to be my friends after I got married.”

“I was afraid my parents had a bit of that,” she revealed. “I think they did, a bit. One of my sisters expected me to buy her big things for the baby she’s expecting and my mother seemed to think that normal. And we’re hardly – you know, we could be considered part of the elite ourselves. It’s hardly ten steps up the social ladder.”

“I’m sorry. My parents wouldn’t even accept a loan.”

“But you would have given them something?”

Philip shrugged. “I’d never have considered giving them much, because I knew they wouldn’t accept much. That’s not how they are. But a little bit, yes. I tried. To no avail.”

Frederick returned. “Mum will do it.”

“Surprising.”

“A bit. But it’s not that much to slip this in. It would distract her nicely from having to speak about herself. She will not say too much.”

“But sometimes they trick you.”

He did not look concerned. “And then what?”

“See?” said Philip. “We have no secrets. Only things they don’t yet know.”

Anna Margaret reflected that it was good that she was used to overturning her schedule at the last moment when they drove to Queen Florence’s home. The only thing she was a little concerned about was dinner. She would rather not sit through a few courses with Frederick’s grandmother. It would take too long.

They had not announced their visit, so Frederick hoped she was at home. “Hopefully she’s not out with her beau. Or at a concert.”

“I thought,” she said cautiously, “that she was in a home because things like that were no longer real options.”

“Things like that are always options. It seems,” he added.

“She has a beau?”

“Not unthinkable. She had one a few years ago, but I think he might have died. Or she got bored of him.” He rang the bell at the gate.

“We have come to tell you something, Grandma,” said Frederick when they had been let into the apartment.

“You’re getting a divorce?” Queen Florence cried.

He was glad the hostess had already left the room, although she might well have heard it nevertheless. “No, calm down. We’re not getting a divorce.”

“Sit down, sit down.”

Anna Margaret sat down. Although Frederick had given his grandmother an obligatory kiss on the cheek, she had not bent over and merely held out her hand. At least she had not been ignored or reprimanded.

“We came to tell you something,” Frederick repeated.

Florence peered from one to the other. “You’re not sitting together. You’re not pregnant.”

“Right, I’m not pregnant,” Frederick answered immediately. “But what does that have to do with sitting next to each other?”

“But she ’s pregnant?”

“I am, yes,” said Anna Margaret.

“At least you’re married. I knew you had to get married because you were pregnant! When?”

“I’m not telling.”

“You can trust me,” said Queen Florence.

Anna Margaret wanted to giggle. People who said they were untrustworthy were usually the opposite. “I’d still rather not.”

“Well, well. I’ll have to conclude that you married because you were pregnant. So how seriously can we take this marriage then? You’re not even holding hands.”

“We can do that if you like, Grandma,” Frederick interjected.

“Sssh. But you had to get married to save face because Frederick had to make a conquest. He wouldn’t be the first in this family. May I ask why you didn’t use contraceptives?” she asked Anna Margaret. “You seem to be one of those modern girls who are in control of their own bodies or whatever nonsense they claim nowadays. Did you have to make a conquest? Because modern women can do whatever men do. He’s a bit of a simpleton in these matters. An easy catch for a calculating woman.”

“Sure,” said Anna Margaret, who was determined not to take the bait.

“Is it?”

“Well, he’s quite nice, wouldn’t you say?”

Queen Florence was not yet buying it. “Was it an accident?”

“No, of course not,” said Frederick. “I was ready for it. But that’s not all we came to say.”

His grandmother sighed. “Oh, don’t tell me you already have a child together somewhere.”

“No. Isabelle is also pregnant.”

“Are you trying to kill me?” she screeched. “Isabelle?” She pressed a button.

Frederick said nothing. Evidently he knew what the button was for. Anna Margaret leant towards him. “What’s going to happen?”

“Someone’s going to come in.”

They waited and eventually a neatly-dressed middle-aged woman entered the room, looking fairly unalarmed. The button was probably used a lot. “Yes, Your Royal Highness? What can I do for you?”

“I need a drink. Good Lord. What is happening in this family? In this country ! They make some girl the prime minister and the first thing she does is lure the king into bed. What is this country coming to? And then this apparently modern woman hasn’t ever heard of the pill – even I have heard of the pill! – and gets pregnant and –“

Anna Margaret shot a look at the nurse-companion who was stoically pouring a drink. This was likely not the worst she had ever heard. Her hand was not even trembling.

“—and then the story gets even worse! Isabelle! Dear God, how old is she? And still with that Philip. Not exactly Casanova, is he? Is that drink ready, Hilde?”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.” Hilde handed her a small glass.

Anna Margaret wondered why Hilde’s assistance was required, since both glass and bottle had been in the room. Apparently the old lady had simply needed someone to hear her venting.

“I’ll need more. Good grief. Isabelle. And the prime minister.”

“How much does the Eye pay you to write their headlines, Grandma?” asked Frederick.

Queen Florence gulped down the drink. “Don’t you become cheeky, now. You’ve been had. And your sister…”

Anna Margaret waited.

“How far along is she? Can she have an termination? The Pope wouldn’t like it, but he wouldn’t have to be told.”

“Actually,” said Frederick. “If anyone had opted for a termination, you wouldn’t have been told either.”

“You forget, that in these matters, you are to consult the older family members and they decide.”

“Well, that might have been the case in the previous century, but these days Isabelle decides.”

Anna Margaret thought that might possibly be worse news to the old woman than hearing that Isabelle was pregnant. But now they had said what they had come to say, she saw little reason to stay. It was not as if they were having a nice chat here. “Are we done?” she whispered to Frederick.

“Almost.”

Queen Florence held out her glass to Hilde, who was still standing half behind her chair. Evidently one glass was never enough. “So you are saying Isabelle makes the decisions about her own behaviour?”

“Yes.”

“Ridiculous. See what choices she makes. And does she decide about you as well?”

“I do that.”

“Ridiculous. And she couldn’t have stopped you from succumbing to the prime minister?”

Anna Margaret brushed invisible specks of dust off her trousers. “I think she might have encouraged the whole thing.”

Posted on 2017-03-25

Chapter Fifty

“They let me keep my title, so that means I still have power and authority,” Queen Florence said commandingly. “Someone had best remind Isabelle of this.”

Frederick was not going to be that someone. “Three captains on a ship has never worked.”

“Three? Who? I realise she appears to be the queen, but I am still the mater familias. Who are these three?”

“Well, there’s Queen Florence, Queen Anna and Queen Isabelle. It’s a bit of an overkill to have three queens, but when they came up with the idea to let you keep your title –“

“Nobody came up with that idea! It’s my right!”

“But when it happened, they didn’t know you’d be one of three a few years later.”

“Oh, but your mother doesn’t count, Frederick.”

“Why not?”

“Because she doesn’t. She’s German.”

“She was married to the king. Just like you.”

“That doesn’t matter. She was German. She could never be the mater patriae. I’m surprised you didn’t resign,” said Queen Florence to Anna Margaret, possibly to prevent Frederick from protesting against his mother’s exclusion.

She wondered if there was any point in repeating it, although of course Frederick’s grandmother might not have heard her say it any of the previous times. “I didn’t see why I should. So he’s the queen’s brother and she might exert some influence on me that way, but actually people like my father, who really look up to the Royal Family, are much more likely to be influenced than I am.”

She thought she was more level-headed in this regard than people like her father. He would have done almost anything the king had asked. She, at least, would only do it if it was sensible and if it did not conflict with anything. Raising their allowances was one thing of which she would have to stay very clear. Most of the public did not think any further than that anyway.

“The republicans may still not agree with you there.”

“They are a sort of watered-down version of republicans anyway and I know how to play them.” Of course there were some marginal characters who made some fuss, but they did not have any power. She was not afraid of them.

“You sound very confident, yet you didn’t know about the pill,” observed Frederick’s grandmother.

She considered contradicting that, but what would be the point? “No, I can’t know everything.”

“But Isabelle, what happened there? I told Philip long ago that two children were more than enough.”

Frederick was surprised. “Why?”

“Because she had other duties and she refused to get a nanny. I told him to get a mistress to take care of excess needs, but he simply looked at me.”

“Are you making that up, Grandma?”

“No. But,” she said a little disparagingly, “your generation is a bit allergic to duties. Duties first, children second. Your mother couldn’t grasp this concept and it seems she hasn’t properly instructed her children either. You didn’t do enough, Isabelle had too many children to do enough and now that they’re older and she could start doing enough, she goes and has another child. It’s all your mother’s fault.”

Anna Margaret rose when she felt she might be tempted to defend her mother-in-law. Sometimes it was best to avoid such discussions, especially when there was no chance the other side was going to be persuaded to another way of thinking. “I’m sorry, Frederick. I cannot listen to this any longer. I’ll see you outside. I hope, I really hope, your mother dishes the dirt tonight. By the sound of it she really didn’t have an easy time.”

Hilde showed her out and stayed out. “I am sorry,” she whispered apologetically. “She does at times say very odd things. We are no longer surprised. But we don’t believe everything either, if that is any consolation."

“It’s difficult to believe anything , I’d say. She’s completely out of her mind.”

Hilde’s pager went off. “Oh.”

“I’ll take care of myself. You’d better pour her another drink.”

Frederick looked a little flushed when he appeared. Anna Margaret had installed herself in the reception hall, leafing idly through some magazines – health, country living, interior fashions and a mildly opinionated one. The latter was also available at work, so she had kept that for last. She closed the page on an article extolling the virtues of electric bikes and stood up. “Done?”

“I think she’s getting worse.”

“Did anything interesting happen after I left?”

“No, more of the same. She was a little puzzled that you left and she wanted to know what dishing the dirt was about, but I didn’t explain. She would have made me stay and watch TV, but I’m hungry.”

“Good.” She was hungry too.

The girl at the reception desk opened the door for them – at night, the elderly residents were not free to walk out – and wished them a good night.

“Home?” Anna Margaret asked hopefully. No more visits to relatives of Frederick’s today. If he suggested they go back to the Palace she would tell him to drop her off at home first. His relatives took too much of her energy.

“I’m not sure I want to watch,” Frederick protested when Anna Margaret looked up which channel the interview would be on.

“Fine, then you’ll cook. Wait. You may have finished cooking by the time it starts.”

“Prime time?”

“No, just a five o’clock show.” She checked the time. He could, depending on what he would make, have finished cooking before the show was over.

“They don’t think anyone will be interested. She’s the least popular of the family.”

“I think your grandmother did a good job of preventing your mother from outshining her. It sounds as if she had a desperate need to be the most popular and most powerful woman in the family,” Anna Margaret reflected. “With that mater familias and mater patriae stuff. I feel so sorry for your mother. Could that be hormones? I’ve never noticed hormones before.”

“Do you feel like crying?”

“Yes, I almost felt like crying. Awful, wasn’t it? I had to leave the room. I’m not like that.”

Frederick bent over her to kiss her. “I don’t mind.”

“And I completely forgot to check my phone because I was thinking about your family.” She got up to retrieve her bag. It was in the hall somewhere. She had dropped it upon coming in, eager as she had been to lie down on the couch. “Hmm. I think that maybe I should do some laundry today. Too much came up today to do it before. No,” she said, waving Frederick back to the kitchen. “I can’t let you do everything. I’ll do it.”

“I was only going to push you up the stairs.”

“I read a riveting article about stair lifts while you were still with your grandmother, but no. I should keep moving. I’m only tired, not handicapped.” She grabbed her phone and climbed the stairs.

“Don’t put your phone into the washing machine,” Frederick called.

“Thanks for the warning.” She checked her messages and missed calls and with the other hand she loaded the washing machine for a short programme. There was no time for long ones today. Then she went to the ironing board. There was a pile, of course, but if she started to work on it she would miss the chat show. At long last she settled for carrying the ironing board and laundry basket downstairs.

When she had set it up in front of the TV – as much as that was possible with the cord—she called Mathieu. He had called twice and left one message. "Hi, it’s me. Sorry I didn’t look at my phone. We had to meet the family and I was a bit distracted. I got your message. What did you want to talk about?”

Frederick came to see what she was doing, but left again.

“There are people who say we should just ask for the money to be repaid,” said Mathieu. “But it seems your staff has already posted in your name that you think he should have his membership revoked.”

“Because I do.” She set down the iron with a clang.

“What are you doing?”

She considered lying. It was too stereotypical for a woman to be ironing, but perhaps not so for a prime minister. “Ironing.”

“Ironing?”

“Let me guess, you have a wife for that?”

“We have someone to do it for us. I thought you would have as well. But let’s not get domestic. You had things posted.”

“It should have contained something to the effect that of course the executive committee decides, whatever my opinion might be.”

“It did.”

“So…what’s the problem?”

“Some people disagree with you.”

“Oh, what’s new?” She shifted the shirt she was ironing so she could tackle another part of it, deciding she would only do one for her and one for Frederick. That was her goal. If she then felt like doing more, she would, but she was not counting on it.

“They think you should have waited until we had formed an opinion.”

The iron clanged again. “Really? It’s not a difficult case, is it? I don’t see how anyone could see it as something other than misconduct. But really, if people start phoning me about it before they’ve decided on the party line, this is what you get.”

“They feel that in this case they were superfluous, so to speak,” Mathieu explained. “Because you had already decided on the party line for them.”

“And this being their domain, sort of, they were miffed? Or is this your grievance as well?”

“Well, I did think your statement was a bit premature, although I do agree with you in principle.”

“It’s a good thing we don’t have such situations more often, or we would have been fully coordinated and harmonised. I still don’t see the problem. If the executive committee decides otherwise, I’ll just have to go along with it.”

“That’s not how they see it.”

“I’m expected to have an opinion,” she said with a shrug he could not see. “Preferably before I’m confronted with the news, or else it will be interpreted as an attempt to sweep it under the carpet. If I’d still been on Transport I could and would have kept silent about it. Now, you know I cannot. But I was also told I’d be considered a hypocrite if I said anything about it at all, considering that my morals are equally dubious.”

“Oh, yes.” Apparently Mathieu had heard this as well.

“I thought it was a little overly paranoid. The integrity guidelines are a bit vague, but I should think stealing is never a good sign. Nobody, except the thief, could consider stealing equal to having possible conflicts of interests. Who would take a thief seriously if he pointed at me and said ‘but she slept with the king’?” It could never hurt to repeat it once again.

Frederick brought in an empty plate.

“You tell them that, if they insist on being stupid,” she said to Mathieu. “It’s not my intention to bypass the committee, but the media don’t care about the committee. I have to go now. I have so much to do.”

Frederick brought in a glass a bit later. She had nearly finished one shirt, wondering if she had done the right thing. Perhaps she should look up the reactions to her post, but there was the ironing, the load in the washing machine, dinner and TV.

She thought he was able to carry more at once. “One glass, one plate? Aren’t you watching with me?”

“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Are you afraid your mother is going to say something you won’t like?”

“No, that’s not it.” He shrugged, as if he had trouble putting it into words. “But I don’t want to see her not liking it. She might feel uncomfortable. Or she might be made to feel so.”

“In which case she could have said no,” Anna Margaret reasoned. “Surely she’s old enough to know what she can handle?” If his mother had agreed to do this, she must know that she could.

“What if she can only manage very short answers? What if it doesn’t make her look good at all?”

She understood. He did not like it and he felt his mother was like him. Or the other way around. “Well, you start out in the dining room then, or in the kitchen, or wherever you can’t hear, and if I judge her to be sufficiently talkative, I’ll come and get you. All right?”

“All right,” he said hesitantly.

When she was working on the second shirt, the announcement came up on television – later they’d be having a surprising guest. Queen Anna would be there to speak about retirement and doing less. She was not retired as such, but retirement was the term that described it best. The audience of the show would be able to relate to that.

They even showed a picture of Frederick’s mother. If he did not hurry with their dinner, he would walk in when it started and he would be silly about it. She set down the iron and checked things in the kitchen. “It starts after the break.”

“Dinner is nearly finished.”

“I’ll pick it up then?”

“If you want.”

She returned to the living room and finished the shirt, wondering why she had a plate if she was to carry it back to the kitchen to get it filled. Had bringing it here simply been a statement? Or had Frederick been planning to bring her a dish she could load her plate from? They really did lead an exciting life, she reflected.

In the end she left the plate where it was. There was indeed a larger dish she could take, but there was no Frederick. He was probably upstairs. If he could see to the laundry that would be even better, but she did not feel like shouting to find out where he was. When she sat down with it, she wondered why she actually needed the plate. She might as well spoon everything up directly from the dish.

The chat show was just beginning. The presenter introduced the topic and her guest. Frederick’s mother looked enormously handsome. Of course she had probably been chosen to marry the prince because she had been so pretty, but she had aged well. Unfortunately she had not had social skills that matched her looks and she was not the most popular royal – although Anna Margaret had not kept up with who that was.

“The past year was of course very eventful,” said the presenter, who was a woman in her sixties. “Your husband passed away quite suddenly and then you suddenly had to take a step back, in a sense. How did you experience that period? I suppose it might be easier than suddenly becoming the queen, but then there was your son who suddenly abdicated.”

Anna Margaret supposed they had discussed the general topic in advance. Perhaps even the type of questions. It was probably already clear that mentioning the deceased husband would not lead to floods of tears. At least she hoped so. She wondered if Queen Anna was going to drop the bomb – that could not have been discussed beforehand, she was sure – somewhere at the beginning. It was possible.

“My son did not abdicate suddenly,” Queen Anna said. “We knew he would.”

“You knew he would?”

“Yes, but not when.”

Anna Margaret did not think it was already time to call in Frederick. His mother was not speaking in long, flowing sentences yet.

“But you were not surprised when he did?”

“We knew for years that he didn’t want it. He was very depressed about it.”

“Which must have been difficult for you as a mother.”

“Yes.”

A thought occurred to the presenter. “Could your daughter have been made the next in line before your husband passed away?”

There was a flash of something across Queen Anna’s face, but only very briefly. “Yes. If my husband had cooperated.”

Anna Margaret was pleased. She did not know exactly why. For some reason she suspected they were diverting from the planned questions. But it would be foolish to stick to them in this case.

Posted on 2017-03-30

Chapter Fifty-One

“But did he know his son was depressed?” asked the presenter.

“Yes, he did. But he was brought up to believe certain things – about duties. Only outsiders can see that maybe those solutions don’t always work.”

“That sounds difficult indeed,” the presenter agreed, although she might have meant cryptic. “And, Your Royal Highness, what did you think? As a mother? When your son wasn’t happy with his life?”

“My opinion didn’t really count because I was an outsider – and foreign, so I just…” She shrugged. “The best I could do was keep quiet about things that I knew and they did not.”

The presenter could have gone into that, but she did not. “But then…he became the king. Did that make it worse?”

“Yes. It had been going slightly better because some of the people with the largest influence were no longer there and everything had been such a fight before – from being allowed to keep on studying to preparing his own meals. So it was obviously an enormous blow to think he might lose all the achievements.”

Anna Margaret supposed the people with the largest influence had been his grandparents. She wondered when his grandmother had moved out. It might have made a small difference as well. She would not have stopped interfering when her husband had died, but removing her from the palace would have helped.

“He would have abdicated the day after the inauguration if he hadn’t feared it would look bad,” Queen Anna continued.

“He didn’t do such a bad job, did he?”

“You can dislike something and still not be too bad at it,” said his mother. “I’m sure he could have learned to like it better. If it had happened when he was sixty, it might have been completely different. He might have had a wife and children by then. Or maybe not -- he really wasn’t making any effort and the pressure find a wife would only have got worse as he got older.”

“But he has a wife now.”

“Yes, it’s amazing what happened when the pressure was lifted. Yes, I was quite relieved about that; that he could now settle. So, now he has a wife and soon a baby.”

“Soon a baby?” The presenter raised her eyebrows excitedly. “Are you predicting that, Madam, or do you know something?”

“Yes, I know something. My son and his wife are expecting a child.”

“Wow, that is some news. Congratulations!”

Anna Margaret was pleased to note that the news seemed to be received favourably. Of course presenters would look happy about anything that increased their ratings and it might not be personal, but there was no horror there.

Queen Anna smiled. “Thank you. And my daughter is also pregnant, so we’ll have plenty to do next year. I don’t think I could start playing tennis or golf all day yet.”

“Your daughter?” The presenter looked as if she was not sure there were more daughters besides the queen.

“Isabelle.”

“But…”

“Yes, I know. It’s a bit unexpected on account of her age.”

“Congratulations again. So there will be two babies in the family?”

Anna Margaret felt that while there was still no horror, there was more shock than there had been after the first disclosure. It was Isabelle’s age, she was sure.

“Yes.”

“And we’ll talk some more about this news after the break,” said the presenter to the viewers. “Don’t go away.”

Anna Margaret thought Frederick could easily come in and watch. She called out into the hall. “Commercial break! You can come in. She’s doing fine.” She assumed, at any rate, that the interview would continue in the same vein and that there would not suddenly be any critical questions after the break.

“I was following it on Twitter.”

“You and Twitter. But what does it say?”

“ It is a lot of people. They say different things.”

She was aware of that and bit back a comment to that effect. “Positive?”

“Mostly.”

“She has just said we’re all pregnant. As if it was planned like that just before the break. Has Twitter covered that yet?”

Frederick read up a few comments. “ I want to grow old like that. So he was depressed and his father thought he should just suck it up and be king? She speaks the language a lot better than I thought. Did she just… Yes, she did. What? Yes, she did what?”

“Reveal something?” Anna Margaret guessed. “I have no idea.”

“ Interesting how they knew Prince Frederick didn’t want the job but they just let him get on with it. Oh, I quite agree. It was amazingly cruel. But obviously some will say I’m getting well paid for it and I ought to shut up.”

“She could have complained a lot, but I think she tried not to.” Anna Margaret herself tried to finish eating at the same time, because it was much easier to listen if she was not chewing. “Clearly your family had a lot of issues.” She wondered if it was good or bad for the continuation of the monarchy that this came to light. Some people still believed it was all a fairy tale.

“I’m sure she hinted at them well enough, if I read the reactions right.” Frederick was still glued to his tablet. He had brought his plate with him, but he was not eating from it.

“Oh, yes. And she could have said more about you to make you look good.”

Frederick looked relieved that it had not happened. “But then, the interview wasn’t about me.”

“There will be more about those babies after the break. There might be some more about you as well. Wait,” she said when she realised she might be scaring him away and she did not want to do that. “Or not. It’s Isabelle’s turn to be talked about. But what did your mother mean when she said she didn’t tell them things she knew and they did not?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see that bit.”

“I took it to mean she kept things from them. A sort of passive-aggressive protest. Rather than give her opinion, because they wouldn’t listen to her anyway.”

“Oh.” Frederick thought about it. “I suppose she might have done that. She knew about the rowing well before my father did, for example.”

“Did they never listen to her?”

“Rarely. You find ways around that, though.”

As he had done, she knew. “But do you wish she had stood up for you more?”

He shrugged. “Could she have?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I’ve only heard things from you. She said she was quite relieved that you had settled. And what will she have to do with the babies next year?”

“I’m quite relieved to be settled as well,” said Frederick. “I hope she didn’t make it sound as if I was wild?”

“No, she mentioned something about not making any effort.”

“If you’re wild you’re also not making an effort.”

“Oh well, that reading didn’t occur to me.”

“Because you know me.”

“You could have been secretly wild,” she teased and finished her dinner.

“Your plate,” Frederick suddenly noticed.

“Yes, saves washing up. I know, we have a dishwasher. More room in the dishwasher then. I used to eat straight out of the pan a lot, really. I won’t do that at important dinners, I promise.”

“Are they continuing again?” He gave the TV an almost fearful look.

Anna Margaret wanted to kick him. “Grow up. Sorry. I know they would have told you similar things and that didn’t work. I mean: just watch and walk out if you need to. And eat.”

The presenter was back on and she welcomed back the viewers with a short recap. “And now we’re all very curious about those babies. I was amazed when you told us before the break,” she said. “I guess that was the last thing I was expecting.”

“Well, if you had asked me a year ago when Frederick was still in the ‘all girls are stupid’ stage…”

“Mum!” cried Frederick. “They put something in her drink. I’m sure of it.”

Anna Margaret put her dinner aside to comfort him. She did not think so, although his mother did seem to look a little more relaxed than before the break. The drink looked harmless from here. It was not a wine glass. The difference might simply be that someone had said she was doing fine.

“So were you surprised?” the conversation on television continued.

“Yes and no. We had front-row seats from day one, so after that not much about them was a surprise.”

“Because we’re transparent simpletons,” Anna Margaret muttered.

“See, you too think her drink was spiked,” said Frederick.

“But two new grandchildren. Will you, like a lot of grandmothers, be babysitting?”

“I have been babysitting for years, but I suppose there is more competition now that some of the children are old enough to do it themselves,” said Queen Anna. “I may be more likely to be asked to do an extra official engagement here and there.”

“And your daughter-in-law?”

“You will see,” Frederick’s mother said with a slight smile. “But I’m not telling you.”

“Thank you,” said Anna Margaret. She could not recall ever having discussed it at length with her mother-in-law, but perhaps Frederick had. Or perhaps they really were transparent simpletons.

“Your Royal Highness, you mentioned extra engagements. You do not mind having to do more rather than less at your age?”

“Oh, I have some plans, but they can wait. I’ll have the energy for them next year as well. I make sure I get enough exercise to stay fit –“

“Did she get that from you or was it the other way around?” Anna Margaret interrupted in a whisper.

“—and if I do an extra excursion here or there won’t matter much. Unless it’s a night event. I think those will just have to be held at an earlier hour.”

Anna Margaret quite agreed.

Posted on 2017-04-04

Chapter Fifty-Two

There was some more talk about how they were feeling and when the babies were due, but Frederick’s mother deflected the latter question politely. She was not at liberty to say, she said, and she asked for their privacy to be respected.

“It’s not likely that anyone is going to care about our privacy,” said Frederick. “Or think that we have any right to some. Normal people tend to be all right, but the media, I mean.”

“It’s not that bad, is it?” asked Anna Margaret. “I haven’t been harassed outside working hours yet. I might have been photographed and written about, but they didn’t enter my personal space. And I can choose not to read what they write.”

“They could write a lot more about you now that they know you’re pregnant. But we’ll see how many are outside the house tomorrow morning.” He finally picked up his plate and did not seem to mind that it had cooled off.

After the show and dinner, Anna Margaret checked her phone. She did not know if she knew anyone who would watch a chat show aimed at an older audience, but they might have picked something up here or there.

Her parents might have seen it, but they did not have her phone number – not even that of the landline, because they lived down the street. Perhaps they even assumed she did not have a landline. Because they already knew she was pregnant, there was no reason for them to walk over to discuss the news. Even her mother might think it went too far too come and discuss the queen’s pregnancy immediately.

People who had her number were mostly not close enough to her personally to call. She did not know how it was for Frederick. His phone certainly rang before hers.

“It’s my mother,” he said, but then she did not hear much. He gave only brief answers.

“What did she say?” she asked after the call because he might not realise that she was interested.

“She explained why she said what she said and she tried to not say too much about me, because people might then find out my schedule and I would not be able to go anywhere unnoticed.”

“Oh, of course. Like if she said you run at six.” It might not be wise to reveal such details about their life, although it would make him look nice and normal.

“Exactly. There were some things that we had forbidden her to say, of course, although this wasn’t one of them.”

“What was?” she asked curiously.

“If it was planned or not and things like that.”

“It was all right, wasn’t it? And now I want to go to bed.”

“Already?”

“I’m tired.” She gave him a kiss. “We did a lot of things today. We had visitors, we went into town, we went to your family, to your grandmother. I’m dead.”

In the morning, Anna Margaret saw no one when she peered outside through an upstairs window. That did not mean there was no one sitting in a car, but the street did not look unusually full with parked cars. It was early, of course. She had slept long and she was ready for a run. Frederick might do two runs and she one.

He looked around himself when they stepped out of the front door. “Looks quiet.”

“Great.” They would be followed, of course, so nobody would get the chance to bother them physically. Anna Margaret did not know if that could even happen here in this small country. She had been walking through town too often to be a curiosity.

“And then we can stay home the rest of the day.”

“You have no other plans?”

“No.”

She thought of all the things she had to do in the house. It would be nice not to feel rushed.

After her run she prepared breakfast and she checked the online newspapers. The news of her pregnancy was there, but not all of the papers had had someone working late to provide more information, such as if there had ever been any pregnant prime ministers and queens before.

“As if anyone gets pregnant just to be the first,” Anna Margaret said to her cup of tea for lack of a human being to talk to. Frederick had continued on an extra run and she had estimated it would take half an hour at least. Keeping up with her pace was no more than an easy warming up.

The breakfast things were all laid out and there was nothing to do when she had checked the main news sites. Showering and getting dressed would be done when Frederick was back and they had had breakfast. She could only take so many versions of the same news. The articles about her especially were nearly all the same. The lines about Isabelle varied somewhat, depending on the type of news outlet. Undoubtedly there would be more tomorrow and everyone would be frantically at work producing opinionated pieces about it all.

Taking a pen she began making notes. There were things they still needed to buy and things that might come in handy. The baby’s bedroom was finished – the furniture was in place, although they might need one or more extra sets of linen. She had no idea how many would be needed. That was night time.

Now for day time. The baby would need to be put in something as well. Downstairs and at work. There were things for that. She wrote it down.

As for transportation, travel by car was covered. Travel on foot still had to be. Considering the amount of walking they did, they would need a pram. There was a shortlist of prams, somewhere. Frederick might have it. She wrote it down anyway. As she was looking on the internet, she came across baby carriers. Those would have to be investigated as well.

When Frederick arrived home, she was on her second cup of tea. “Thanks,” he said, indicating the table. “Feeling good then?”

She pushed the list towards him. “Is there anything I missed?”

He went over the list as she poured the coffee. “Life jacket.”

“He’s not going into a rowing boat with you.”

“I was only joking.”

When she googled whether it would even fit, she found sites selling baby clothing with rowing prints. She did not have to tell him about that; she could imply order. Frederick was still looking at the list anyway.

Before they were dressed, someone rang the doorbell, but neither of them was prepared to hurry to see who it was. It was only ten o’clock on a Sunday morning. Although they might have done a lot already themselves, it was not a decent hour for social calls.

When Frederick went downstairs some time later, he found a note that had been pushed through the mailbox. The mailman never used it – there was another mailbox next to the gate – so someone must have opened the gate and walked to the door.

“Oh, it’s for you,” he said when he read it. “Your mum came by to drink coffee.”

“On Sunday morning?” Anna Margaret screwed up her face into something uncomprehending.

“Well, she thinks we must be up because she saw me or both of us run by.”

“And she came prepared with pen and paper?”

“Apparently.” He handed her the note.

“Why would she want to drink coffee this early?” she asked, in spite of having drunk coffee herself less than an hour earlier. But that, at least, was not at someone else’s house.

“My guess is she want to discuss last night’s news.”

“I thought about that last night, but I thought she wouldn’t need to. But maybe my father wants to give me some advice.”

“Would you take it?”

“That depends on how useful it is.” She studied the note. “They are home until one. Well, good for them, but I just want to stay home today. I have things to do.”

“They’ll try again, no doubt.” Frederick shrugged and took the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard in the hall.

“They should come right now and see that,” she remarked. She did not know who would be most shocked: her mother or her father.

He studied the vacuum cleaner. “It’s all part of living independently. It’s not that I particularly enjoy it. But I did bring in some mud with my running shoes, so…”

She went to the dining room, which on most days served more as a study. She did not particularly enjoy going over her finances either, but it was also part of living independently and it was typically a Sunday chore.

After half an hour, during which she had heard music and the vacuum cleaner alternating from other rooms, Frederick came to disturb her. “Your parents came over again.”

“They’re in the house?” This surprised her. She had not heard either voices or the doorbell.

“I put them in the living room.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. I have to finish this first.” If she stopped now, she would find it hard to pick it up again and she was almost done. “Could you make them some coffee?”

“Yes. And we have two biscuits left over from yesterday’s visitors.”

“Brilliant.” She hurried making the last payment, then tidied up her papers and closed her laptop.

Her parents were sitting on the couch, not looking very relaxed. “Ah, there you are,” said her father and stood up to greet her. “What were you doing?”

“Paying the bills.”

“You have to pay the bills?”

That was a strange question. “Yes?” She did not want to go into detail how they had arranged their finances. It was none of their business. They probably thought Frederick paid for everything.

“I thought you had a cleaning lady,” her mother said in a low voice.

“We do. That doesn’t mean everything stays clean in the meantime.”

Frederick came in with a tray. There were two cups of coffee on it, two biscuits and some fruit. He sat down. He was of course dressed in something extremely comfortable and casual. If they had seen him run down the street they would already have seen him in worse.

“You’re not having coffee?” asked her mother.

“We’ve already had coffee,” Anna Margaret explained. “And I can’t have too much coffee.”

“Yes, I thought you must be in, because I had seen you run, but you must have been in the garden when I rang the bell.”

Or naked, Anna Margaret added silently, looking innocent.

“The garden will still need a lot of work. But I didn’t come to talk about your garden. We were watching television last night and we saw the queen, the previous queen, talking about you. And she also said –“

“Was she allowed to disclose the secret?” her father cut in. “There’s going to be a lot of trouble tomorrow.”

“Trouble?” Quite frankly, despite disliking trouble, she was more inclined to continue her father’s conversation than her mother’s. That, at least, did not discuss Frederick’s mother as if he was not present.

“Everyone’s going to want to talk about it.”

“But why will there be trouble?”

“You thought you could get pregnant without trouble? You’re going to be out for at least six months and you’re the prime minister.”

Anna Margaret frowned. Six months? She wondered where he got that idea and she could see Frederick thought the same. “You are aware that I don’t have any official maternity leave, aren’t you?” Besides, she did not understand why he brought this up now. He had known about her pregnancy for a while.

“Why not?”

“I suppose it was deemed completely unthinkable that there could ever be a female prime minister when the laws were drawn up. So I could refer to the general law…”

“Irene says she will be out for six months.”

“Well, I’m not Irene.” Six months was not long, actually. It was only slightly longer than the official period. She would have expected more invalidity from her sister.

“So you won’t be out for six months?”

“No.”

“How long then?”

She raised her hands. “I have no idea. That depends on how it all goes.” She took a bowl with sliced apple before she could be left with a biscuit.

“Irene will have her ultrasound in two days,” said her mother. “Her mother-in-law and I are both invited along.”

“That’s nice of her.”

“Did you take your mother-in-law? Is she going to babysit? She said something like that in the interview.”

Anna Margaret’s father looked slightly annoyed that she was trying to take over the conversation. “If Anna is out for months no one will have to babysit.”

“I have no idea, I just said. If I did, really, I wouldn’t say it either. Suppose I returned to work after a week, some people would think that too fast. If I returned to work after four months, other people would think I took far too long. I just don’t want to give them an opportunity to criticise me in advance.”

“They will speculate nonetheless.”

“No doubt. It might even be useful to read people’s opinions. I shall go back to work when I feel ready, not when someone else thinks I should be ready.” She trusted that the length of the general maternity leave was adequate for even the worst cases, or else it would not exist.

Posted on 2017-04-10

Chapter Fifty-Three

Some people congratulated her at work, but she had the impression that the ones who worked closest to her and who had not yet been told had already been suspecting that she was pregnant. Few people seemed genuinely surprised. Not at her, anyway. “But the queen…” said one.

“Yes?” Anna Margaret said, as if she did not know what the question was going to be about.

“Isn’t she almost fifty?”

“Forty-seven, I think. It happens.”

“It was an accident then?”

She smiled and did not reply. In her office she checked the status of the things that had been set in motion that weekend. Yesterday no one had bothered her about them. Emails that had come in had been read but not answered.

After answering some she picked up a notebook and her phone and set off for a walk through the various government buildings. She did not expect she would be left alone and she was right.

“In the lift between the third and the fourth floor of Finance,” she answered when someone phoned. “Fourth floor now. Yes. Hang on. I’ll sit down.” She sat on a bench outside the lifts and finished the conversation.

Her stomach said it was time for lunch when she got back to her office and her feet said it was time to put them up on the desk. Not that she ever did so. She checked her notebook. She had seen everyone she had wanted to see, so now it was time to move on to the next subject, although it had better not require another marathon. “André?” she said over the phone. “I’m back.”

“Yes, I was told. I’ll be right over.”

Unless he had been waiting, she knew that always took a minute.

André came in with his laptop and a pile of papers. “As you requested, we posted about the treasurer,” he began. “Reactions seem favourable so far. Though they did get lost in the other news. Mind you, your account has said nothing about your pregnancy so far.”

“Well, I’m not going to contradict the announcement.”

“No, that would be weird,” he agreed.

“Does ‘my account’ have to make any sort of statement about it?” She would say she would eventually have to say something about her replacement, but not about the pregnancy itself now that it had been made known.

“I am getting questions.” He leafed through his pile to find the information. “Most are stupid, as usual. Is it true and everything? Some deal with the future. They’re going to want to talk to you about it.”

“When I go home, as usual. Or, no. I’ll take another exit. I’ll do someone there.”

“RTA?”

“Fine. Set it up. Otherwise I’d just get that,” she said, pointing at his sheet. “Times ten.”

“Good. If it’s any good we can simply link to it tomorrow. And the other questions?”

“Which are?”

“They’re mostly personal or unanswerable.”

“Oh, try.” Sometimes she was curious.

“What will you call the baby?”

“No!” she exclaimed. “Seriously? Already?” She would never reveal the name so far in advance. Or any time in advance.

“Will it be a prince or princess?” he read up.

“To me it will be just its name. Oh, I’m sure your office can think of answers. I don’t think you need my input.”

“Yes, we love giving good answers,” he grinned. “About the treasurer?”

She shrugged. “It’s not up to me and I’ve said my thing. Leave it.”

Anna Margaret could not get out of being interviewed that afternoon. Although she had not known about it before the weekend, she managed to free some time for it. They wanted to talk to her about her pregnancy, of course. She felt she had very little to say – it would not fill ten minutes – but they would find out soon enough and if she did not go they would keep trying.

“Congratulations on your pregnancy,” said the reporter, who was doing a piece for the evening news. “What will you do about work? Will you be taking maternity leave?”

“There is no provision for maternity leave as such for a prime minister,” she answered. “In fact, there isn’t even any arrangement for pregnant cabinet ministers and there is already a committee looking into changes in that respect.”

“But what will you do?”

“I have already discussed this with the vice prime minister, who will replace me when I’m absent and take over most of the tasks that need taking over.”

“How much time will you take off?”

“That depends on the circumstances.”

“Will you be able to combine your job with a child?”

“One of the previous prime ministers had four children still living at home.” She had done her homework. If necessary, she could mention how many children the last few ones had had, as well as refer to the – male – former minister who had had no less than seven children and who had apparently been able to do his job without complaints.

“But he did not give birth while in office.”

“I promise I won’t give birth on an official occasion.” She crossed her fingers behind her back. It might start while she was in function, but she would make sure in that case that she went home very quickly.

“I meant, he did not have a baby during his term.”

“Are you implying that he did not have to give his older children any attention? He still had four children.”

“No, but you will agree that there’s a difference between older children and a baby.”

“No, I won’t. A child of every age needs attention.”

“So you are saying you will be able to give attention to both your job and a baby?”

“I doubt my predecessors ever got that question. But my answer is yes. I will be absent physically – that is almost inevitable – but I’ll be replaced adequately, just like my predecessors were replaced adequately when they were temporarily absent for the type of ills that generally befall older men.”

“When will your maternity leave start?”

“Like I said, I don’t have any maternity leave. Does that mean I shall take no time off at all? No. It only means it’s not regulated.”

“How long will you take off?”

“I’ll base that on my physical condition.”

“Are you saying you will not take the full four months if you feel good?”

“I’m saying I don’t know how I’ll be feeling and I’m saying I don’t have four months.” She wondered why he was insisting on hearing a clearly defined period of time. She supposed it made life easy for people. But anything she said now, would come back at her like a boomerang later.

“When will the baby be born?”

“When it decides to.” She could hardly have given him an exact date, even if she had been prepared to share her due date. There was a four-week window that she would keep in mind in private, but it was none of his business when that was going to be.

“Can you give us a rough date?”

“No.”

“But do you know?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Why won’t you tell?”

“Because while I value transparency, in this case it would only lead to pointless discussions, between people who have absolutely nothing to do with it, about the time I’ll be taking off. The precise date or dates when my job will be affected is irrelevant to most people.”

“Did you have to cancel trips? At some point I suppose you will no longer be allowed to fly.”

“I’ve known for a while, so cancelling amounted to not planning them.”

“You’ve known for longer?”

Anna Margaret gave him a pitying look. “It was obviously news to me when my mother-in-law disclosed it on Saturday.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“And when the country needs to be represented abroad?”

“Someone else will go. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have colleagues who regularly represent us abroad in different fields. It’s not always been me now either.”

“Do you trust them to be informed enough to replace you?”

Yes, that might be a slight issue given her desire to control everything, but she did not want to betray that. And anyway, she had improved in that regard. “We’ll fit them out with buttonhole cameras and earpieces, so I can dictate them between contractions.”

“You’re making light of it.”

“But seriously. We have phones, video conferences, the lot. I won’t be in a tent on the south pole, nor will I be in a coma. We have already discussed which tasks will be passed on to whom – and remember, I’m not the only one in the Cabinet who is having a child – and last Saturday we met to coordinate these arrangements.”

“Last Saturday?”

“Yes, we also work weekends if that is required.”

“Are you referring to the Minister for Transport?”

She nodded. “And the Minister for Agriculture. He’s a man, but I don’t think that makes any difference. The details are not yet clear, but we’re working on reshuffling and reassigning tasks so that everything that needs to get done gets done. We are also striving for a better home-work balance. Most of our jobs were created in a society in which only one of the partners worked. So a minister was able to make long hours because he had a wife at home who took care of everything else. These days, not only are some ministers women, but most ministers – and MPs, for that matter – have partners who are slightly more than merely their housekeepers.”

The reporter stared at her. “And what will this imply exactly? Is this all because you’re pregnant?”

“Oh, not entirely. I did away with most of the late-night meetings already before I got pregnant.”

“But is everyone going to go down to forty hours? Or less?” He gave that a sceptic undertone.

“I doubt it. But I think we do have to make some things easier, make our jobs more compatible with our modern society. Mind you, there is a point at which the number of Cabinet members becomes unworkable, but there is also a point at which the number of hours per day becomes unworkable for an individual Cabinet member. We are striving for a balance between the two.”

It was good that she had personally done the rounds today to talk to the ones she had not yet talked to. The ones without babies on the way had seen it as an admission of failure if they cast off tasks, as she had expected they would. They could reasonably not complain if they kept their tasks. She had also taken note of the one who had welcomed extra tasks.

“Do you think there is no balance now?” asked the reporter.

“There is no provision for pregnant Cabinet ministers.”

“You could argue that their task is so important that they ought not to get pregnant.”

“I think,” Anna Margaret said calmly and not at all shocked by a line of reasoning that she had been expecting, “that a significant part of the population would not be in favour of obligatory abortions for ministers.” She could say more about abortions, but she stopped herself from going down irrelevant tangents. She was already feeling that after they had dealt with the issue of her due date, she was talking far too easily.

“They could resign.”

“Which, in effect, would be because they’re women. In the twenty-first century? Really?”

Posted on 2017-04-15

Chapter Fifty-Four

She had gone to the studios by car and the same car dropped her off at home. There was no crowd outside her house, but when she got out of the car one man still managed to walk up to her. “Anything to say about your pregnancy, Ms Rendinger? Whose child is it?”

The people who usually asked her questions, asked them about her job. It had been a while since the last personal question and it had not been quite as stupid as this one. She wondered why anyone would think that this kind of question would encourage her to answer. The police would remove all unwanted visitors to their street, they had once been told in writing. It had never been necessary before and she doubted that it would be necessary now, but it was nice to know that the option was there.

“Thank you for your interest, but you really need to ask more interesting questions,” she said. She did not expect these types to score well on integrity and decency. There was no making deals with them like with the parliamentary reporters. She opened the gate. It was a pity she always had to remain polite.

It took the man a while to come up with an intelligent question – or so he thought. “Are you going to resign?”

“I refer you to the interview I just gave to RTA,” she said and she closed the gate behind her.

“They found us.” Frederick did not really sound concerned. But then, they could not come inside to bother him.

“What have you been doing?” She wondered if he had been looking out of the window.

“Checking reactions online. Well, not only that. I did some other things as well. I went to the rowing course.”

She cared more about the reactions. “And? What did people say? Do you always check them?” She had not seen much of it the day before. Maybe he only did so when she was not there.

“No. Only because you and Isabelle were both worried.”

“And did Isabelle and I have any reason to be worried?”

“The Palace’s official channels published the news this morning. I suppose that staff doesn’t work weekends or they weren’t notified.”

“And you?”

“So did I. It was something like my wife and I expecting a child in the new year .”

“No happiness or delight?” she teased.

“I forgot. But they’re meaningless phrases anyway.”

“What did people respond?”

“There were congratulations, questions and criticisms.”

“Questions. When? What? That sort of thing?” It seemed to be important for people to know when her due date was for some reason. She did not see why it mattered so much. It was not as if other people had to get their houses ready.

“Yes.”

“What sort of criticisms?”

“Some trolling. We are both gay and covering it up, you know.”

“What if we were? Who cares?”

“Oh and you work too much to have a baby. I’m not a good father. We’re costing too much. You name it. But there are always people defending me. Amazing.”

“You haven’t replied?”

“No.”

She sat down at the kitchen table and read on his laptop while he served dinner. There was nothing about her interview yet, as it had not yet been aired, so it would be all about the baby and not about the maternity leave and the job. Most reactions were from women, congratulating Frederick. She could not tell if they realised he had written that post himself. There were some odd reactions about how much the Royal Family was costing the tax payer and how ridiculous it was to keep funding the family’s hobby of breeding like rabbits.

“Nice,” she decided.

“I’ll do an update to thank them and maybe answer questions.”

“I did an interview with RTA. It will be on the news.” Because she knew what was going to be said, she did not feel inclined to watch it.

“Very good,” Frederick decided. “People don’t have the time to comment on Isabelle this way. There’s just too much going on. Maybe I should also plug Florian’s calendar.”

Anna Margaret pushed the laptop back towards him. She had seen enough. “You do that. Unless it will lead to too many visitors?”

“Not if I include a link to the entry fees. So what was the interview about?”

“Maternity leave, mostly, and how I was going to do it. Quite annoying, really. Nobody’s been asking you how you will be doing your job, I suppose?”

“No. Although I have to say I don’t work that much and I didn’t really see anyone today who could possibly care. I saw the workmen and they didn’t ask me if I could still come and visit the site if I had a baby. It’s just not something that would cross their minds. And I went to the supermarket, but no luck there either.”

She ate her dinner.

Frederick typed something. “ Thank you for your interest and congratulations. Should I say any more? Should I post a picture of your belly?”

Anna Margaret uttered something incomprehensible. “What, with four hands on it?”

“We can’t take a picture if all of our hands are on that belly. But okay, I take that as a no.”

“A picture of your belly will be much appreciated, I’m sure.”

“Not by Isabelle. By the way, the Palace used the photo you two were in together. How convenient that there was such a photo. I say it was all planned. When was it? Last month? You can’t see anything yet unless you know.”

“Are people also asking about her due date?”

“Yes.”

“Does she want to keep it a secret?”

“I don’t know. It’s pretty annoying if people keep asking if you’re feeling anything yet, I suppose, so she may not want to be too precise, but people will keep asking her anyway. Also, there are official things that need to be done after the birth of a child. Not ours, I’d say, but hers.”

“Such as?” The last time there had been a birth in the Royal Family she had not been paying any attention to them.

“I don’t know. Maybe a new coin. New merchandise. A press conference. A page in the newspapers.”

“What would be on that page?”

“A picture of the baby – if released – and measurements, pictures of the older children and their ages, pictures of Isabelle and Philip. A mention of how many grandchildren my mother has. How many great-grandchildren my grandmother has. What the chief doctor has to say about it. What the names are – if released. Whom they are taken from. ”

“Are you making that up or is there some sort of protocol?”

“Making it up,” Frederick admitted with a grin. “I’m just taking my cousin’s children’s birth announcements a little further. They got a column. So Isabelle’s child will get a page, even if it’s her sixth. If it had been her first, it would have got two pages.”

“What will we get?”

“A column.”

“Are you going to give out a photo?”

“Am I the only one who decides on that?”

“No.”

“So only if you agree.”

“You can take a picture. But I’m not sure about sharing it right away if that means people will be all over us right away. Assuming we are at a hospital, people will quickly find out where, if they didn’t already see me go. I’d like to get used to holding him properly before people judge me on things like that. I don’t really believe in natural skills, only in practice.”

Frederick shrugged. “We’ll find out when it happens.”

“But you wouldn’t want everyone all over us either.” Yet she thought he might be proud enough to want to share photos.

“No.”

“What would I do with my phone?” Anna Margaret wondered. “Could I answer it when I’m in labour?” She only knew these scenes from television and she had no idea if they bore any resemblance to reality at all. She could not imagine herself screaming, for one.

“I think you should forward your calls when you feel it might be too much for you. Of course then people would know, but if you answered they would also know. When would you like to receive visitors?”

“Visitors. You mean family?”

“Yes. Your family may want to see the baby. Mine will.”

“Immediately?” Anna Margaret imagined herself not yet recovered.

“No, when you’re ready.”

Isabelle phoned her the next morning when she was walking to work. “There are a lot of things going on. I’m glad people are a lot more interested in what you had to say last night than what I did a few months ago.”

“That’s…good then?” Anna Margaret asked.

“But I haven’t read all of today’s papers yet and of course people might still be working on their clever articles about women.”

“I’m not expecting a lot of cleverness,” she said, thinking about some of the questions she had had.

“No, that’s why they’re still working on it. I remember what people said when I had number five.”

“You’ll never be able to please them all,” Anna Margaret reasoned, as much to herself as to Isabelle. “Suppose we’d had terminated our pregnancies because we prioritised our jobs? But to avoid criticism I, of course, should have resigned, and you shouldn’t have had sex.”

“Neither should you!”

“I know, I know, I should have averted my eyes when he undressed, but I was thirty-seven! I thought I could handle it.”

“At thirty-seven? Maybe at seventy-three,” Isabelle said sternly.

“Sorry. Shouldn’t someone have told me before that he was hot? Before I flew out?”

“No, because then you would have got up to mischief during your meetings.”

“You would have found out.” There would have been small clues to betray them, she was sure.

“Yes, probably,” Isabelle agreed calmly. “You only got so far in France because I wasn’t there.”

“Actually, we got nowhere, except sitting in a Jacuzzi in swimwear.”

Posted on 2017-04-20

Chapter Fifty-Five

The week went past as usual, except for the fuss about her pregnancy. It had taken everyone a while to form an impressive opinion, but towards the end of the week there had been various articles and discussions about what it meant to have a pregnant prime minister. There was nothing new, Anna Margaret felt. She was a bit tired of reading and hearing all the analyses.

She had probably read all possible opinions by now. Contrary to what Isabelle had feared, there were far fewer people with an opinion about the queen at all. Whatever they might be thinking privately, it was at least not being printed. People congratulated her and rejoiced in a new national event, but none criticised her age.

The prime minister, however, was fair game. Anna Margaret realised that it was hardly impressive intellectual reading to state that her pregnancy was nothing but an understandable step in her relationship and that nothing else should be made of it. There was so little that could be theorised and analysed that way. No, the focus had to be on the consequences for all women, or all of the country, or all politicians, or whatever wider angle they were taking. It was all discussed at length and by the end of the week she was fed up with it.

She had not done any other interviews, because she had felt nothing could be added to the first one. There had been a few questions here and there and she had answered them, but it had mostly been more of the same. No, she was not disclosing the date and no, she did not know when she would go on leave and for how long.

When she got home on Friday she found Frederick looking knocked-out on the couch. “What happened?” she asked.

“Hard training happened.”

“Oh. I thought you had to go somewhere.”

“I did. And they asked me things. And maybe I didn’t answer right. So I when I came home I just worked out really hard to forget about it.” He closed his eyes and sighed.

She tapped her fingers on the back of the couch, wondering what to do with him. Working out really hard had apparently not worked very well. “So how did you maybe not answer right?”

“I didn’t answer at all,” he revealed.

“Which might have been the best option, depending on the question. If it was: May I offer you my congratulations? it might have been a trifle impolite not to say thanks, but if it was Are you the father? I don’t see how anyone could expect an answer to that.”

“Am I the father? Who would ask something like that?”

“That guy who was outside a few days ago. So did it lean more towards the first question or towards the second?”

“I can perfectly well say nothing to a question that was right in the middle. But really, there were about five different questions at once, all gradations.”

“And you answered none.”

“No.”

“But you think you should have.” She wondered if she ought to be annoyed and she told herself not to. He was struggling with this. It would be useless to tell him to get over it. That was probably what he had always been told by everyone else. This required a more gentle approach, although she should take care not to view it too much like a project.

“One or two, perhaps.”

“Write them down. I’ll be in the kitchen.” She was hungry and he was not her cook. She should not become too used to the fact that often he had already made dinner when she came home.

He did not say he had particular wishes with regard to dinner, so she simply took something out of the refrigerator to make that. By the time she was halfway, Frederick had dragged himself off the couch with a piece of paper.

“I had to speak to children. I mean, I didn’t have to, but it was probably expected of me, and what with the news I thought everyone would be checking if I was doing that well,” he said.

“And they asked you questions?”

“The children didn’t, but other people did. Would I take my child there later, and so forth.”

“Would you? What was it anyway?”

“I don’t think so. It was a type of special day care.”

“Why were you there?”

“It was actually Isabelle’s thing, but she handed it to me a while ago because she had too much to do or because she disagreed with the philosophy behind the institution. I didn’t think much of it when I agreed to do it. But this week it’s all different.”

And, presumably, he could not always pick and choose anyway, or his outings would be extremely limited. Anna Margaret nodded. He had to say yes sometimes, if Isabelle asked especially. “And they asked you if your child was likely to go there?”

“You know how it goes. They have a few journalists who keep asking questions while you’re trying to do something else. Could I change a baby’s nappy for them, please?”

She burst out laughing. “Oh no.”

“So…”

“They would have been really surprised if you had done it.” And she deduced that he had not.

Frederick grimaced. “I’ll do my own child’s, no problem, but not in public. And definitely not some strange child’s.”

“Of course.”

“But I should have said something like that. A lot of good things occurred to me later, but at that moment I was just thinking: what? I was already thinking that all the time anyway. It was like a boarding school for babies. And then there were people saying If your wife goes on a visit to Asia or America, she can bring the baby here! ”

“ What? indeed,” Anna Margaret agreed. “What else could I do? Obviously husbands don’t count.”

“And tomorrow I have to go to a farm.”

She had known he had to go somewhere, but she had not known it was a farm. It would be better than a boarding school for babies, but she could not help thinking of calves being born and people comparing them to her giving birth. She shuddered. “The things they could trouble you with on a farm. At least cows won’t talk. Should I come?”

“Not if you want to see cows.”

“There won’t be cows?” Although she was not a country girl, she was educated and she knew a bit about farms, yet she mainly associated them with cows for some reason. “Other animals that might give birth then?”

“Crops.”

“Those don’t talk either. But let me know in time.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you’ll let me know, or yes, you want me to come?”

“The second.” He grinned.

She grinned back. It was an automatic response. Her mind was not quite in agreement. “I have to warn you, I am fed up with ‘having particular meaning’ to specific subsections of mankind. I am being appointed poster girl left and right. Or so it feels anyway. It’s not being appointed that annoys me; it’s the expectations of what I’ll do because of it. Does it make sense? I don’t want to be pigeonholed.”

“Oh. I don’t know how you could be appropriated for any cause on a farm, but I see what you mean. And the farm is not ecological, so it’s safe in that respect.”

“And if there are only crops, my part-time vegetarianism is safe,” Anna Margaret said, placing a piece of meat on each of their plates. “Although I’m not sure many people know about it anyway. But what I meant was that I might respond rather strongly to people trying to pigeonhole me.”

“I don’t care, as long as I don’t have to say anything.”

She could say something about that, but she did not. “But what I mean, I suppose, is that there was so little about me- me. It was all simply a reason to write analyses and there have been lots.”

“You mean there is nothing about how adorable we are as a couple and what a wonderful baby we shall have?”

“That.” She gave it an affirmative gesture with a spoon. “Although it’s unwise to say that about yourself, but yes, it’s all on the macro-level, not micro. Not that I want them to pry and I realise we provide little information, but in that case: stay silent. If you know nothing, say nothing.”

“It will pass.”

“I know. I wonder why your role has been completely ignored so far. It’s all she has no time for a baby and what will she do with it and what will this mean to young women ?”

“Young women should never trust only two methods of contraception,” Frederick said gravely.

“I know, I know, that is really a more valuable lesson than someone in a totally different type of job making quite specific and non-transferable arrangements at work. But this is a déjà-vu,” she realised.

“It is? You have been pregnant before?”

She pulled a face. “No, of course not. This is just like me talking very seriously about the documents you had to sign and you looking at the chandelier not giving a damn.” It gave one a rather helpless feeling.

“I do give a damn here,” he protested. “And I distilled a very serious lesson from it all. For the benefit of young women all over the country. And young men, if you wish to be equal.”

She looked at him.

“But you’re right,” he conceded. “You’re approaching this with the same sort of single-minded zeal. Which is very admirable, but I do it in other areas.”

“True.”

“Luckily.”

“True.”

For a while he concentrated on his dinner. “Why do you need to know in time whether you’re coming to the farm? Do you need to read up on farms or buy clothes?”

“It’s a clothes issue,” she admitted, although she was not going to buy anything. “Brushing up my knowledge of farms hadn’t actually occurred to me. But you can’t tell me we’re leaving in five seconds when I haven’t yet located my old boots.” She glanced at the window. It was dark, but she could see drops of rain on the glass. Boots were definitely required.

“Queens visit farms in high heels.”

“Does your sister?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” she cried.

“I’ve asked her that. Not about farms specifically, but there are other situations in which high heels are silly. We do not see eye to eye when it comes to clothing.”

“What will you be doing at this farm?”

“I haven’t got the slightest idea.”

“It does help,” she advised, “to inquire beforehand if you want to be able to say something.” She liked to be prepared herself and she could not see any disadvantages.

“But I don’t.”

“Still, you know they don’t have cows, so you must know something .”

“Yes, I do know something.”

“There,” she said triumphantly. “And I am really pretty sure you could talk to this farmer on your own.” But it would be nicer if she did it. She could understand that in a way, but if she did not think it would gradually improve if she helped, she would not interfere.

“I’m sure they selected someone who doesn’t need an interpreter.”

“Argh! You know that is not what I meant!”

“Well, if it was just about farming, I could! I just don’t like all the other things.”

Posted on 2017-04-26

Chapter Fifty-Six

At Anna Margaret’s insistence, Frederick had managed to find some sort of programme for Saturday’s visit. She was sure he had to have something like that and he did. They would not send him anywhere unprepared. It was most definitely going to rain and he would be picked up at 10 o’clock. He would get a tour of the farm and then a farmer’s lunch. It sounded quite easy.

She found boots and a raincoat for herself; what he was going to wear would have to be his own decision, since she was not his mother.

When she was waiting by the door just before ten, Frederick noticed she carried a plastic bag. “What’s that?”

“Towels.”

“What for?”

“To keep the car clean.” She could see it had not occurred to him. “Either you’ve never got dirty or you’ve never had to clean a car.” It had been quite a few years since this had applied to her, but she could nevertheless imagine it.

“Are we going to roll in the mud?”

“No.” She rolled her eyes, though.

Of course he never went alone, so two cars pulled up at a minute after ten. Someone came to the door with a huge black umbrella. Anna Margaret was snugly hidden in an arctic parka. Between the bottom of her coat and the top of her boots she could hardly get wet or cold.

Frederick looked more recognisable and thus he dealt with the apparent surprise that his wife was coming along as well.

Although she had been able to zip up her coat standing upright, sitting down with it proved to be a problem. “I guess I’m growing faster than I thought,” she remarked, trying to pull down the zipper before she fastened her seatbelt. “I wore this a week ago when it was raining! I don’t think I sat down with it though. Next time I’ll have to take one of your coats.”

“You’re always welcome to my coats, but…Isabelle is going to say something about that.”

“She has her job, I have mine.” She took out her phone, assuming it would take a while before they reached the farm from the middle of the city, and began to look up if anything like a maternity winter coat existed. It would not be the first item of clothing she only got to wear for a short period, but it might be worth the expense. “Oh, this one is great,” she said after a few minutes, showing it to Frederick. It even had room for the baby, which for some reason she did not want to mention because there were two strange men in the front of the car. Trustworthy, she supposed, but still not friends.

“Order it,” he said.

“Can’t. Not on my phone.” She had never bothered to make that possible on her phone. Not even in the past few months when she had been buying more things than ever before. Usually her laptop was never more than an hour away.

He took her phone and checked where to find it. Then he looked it up on his own phone. “I can. There.”

“Thanks.”

The farm was nearly an hour away. Traffic was not going very fast in this weather either. There was so much rain coming down that it looked like someone was emptying a huge bucket above their car.

“They did check if the visit was still on,” Frederick revealed. He had not even been running that morning. “But it is. Hopefully there will be fewer people now.”

“I could play the role of onlooker,” Anna Margaret suggested. “I’ll just put my hood on and if you take pictures from the right angle nobody will know there wasn’t actually any public there apart from me. Have you got small flags I could wave?”

“No. And I’m not sure there was going to be any public in the first place.”

“So who are the people who might not be there?”

“The press. The mayor and some of his…I don’t knows.”

“Oh, men in suits,” she nodded. “All dressed for the occasion,” she said with a nod at the front seat, The occupants of that were not wearing rain coats at all. Presumably they were putting all their faith in umbrellas. She tried to see what kind of shoes the man in the passenger seat was wearing.

Frederick himself had opted for being sensible. He was wearing some kind of boots and a coat with a hood as well. She looked at it appreciatively.

At the farm, they did not have to get out in the rain. They drove into a large warehouse and could get out there. Anna Margaret was happy not to have to zip up her coat in the rain. She could have tried it lying down on the backseat, but that would have looked rather inelegant. Frederick was let out first, of course. She did not have to fend for herself. The driver very politely hurried to open her door as well before she could do it. Well, she had already started to open it very slowly, not sure what the procedure was here for uninvited passengers. If she was the guest of honour herself she always waited.

Frederick stood beside her door so she could join him. Or so she could infuse him with courage. She had no idea. The mayor looked surprised to see her. She had met him before. There were quite a few mayors she had met, but that did not mean she remembered their names.

“What a nice surprise, Your Royal Highness and…” Here he evidently struggled with how to address her when they were together. If she had been alone she would have been addressed as usual, because her office had once said that that was how they should do it.

“I thought it was unfair to let him get wet on his own,” she smiled to cover up the awkwardness. Of course that did not solve his problem, but perhaps he would not have to address her by any name or title again.

They were introduced to the farmer and his wife, who were dressed rather more practically than the mayor and his entourage. Three other people who were not in suits were introduced as the media representatives covering the visit. Anna Margaret was surprised there were only three, but perhaps this was what Frederick had meant when he had hoped for fewer people. Inside this warehouse here pictures could be taken, but outside everything would be glum and wet, and they might not have known there was a warehouse at hand that cars could actually be driven into. Even if it was only their car and huge machines might be expected to have some kind of garage on a farm.

They were led to a table where coffee and cake was set out. This answered her question of how the farmer was going to handle mud in his house from all the visitors barging in. He could hardly ask all of them to take off their shoes on the doorstep, as presumably he and his wife did themselves, if her previous experiences with farms were anything to go by.

While they were having coffee and cake the farmer explained something about technology on the farm. Most of the farms in the country had livestock and as such most innovations had to be got from other countries. Anna Margaret was not holding Frederick’s hand, but he managed tolerably well. It was easy that he did not have to say much.

They went outside too. Well, they hesitantly asked him first, but Frederick said he did not mind the rain. They walked out and held an umbrella over his head, of course, although they were the ones who needed it more. She refused the offer of an umbrella herself, preferring not to be stuck under it with someone she did not know. And she had a coat.

She stuck her arm through Frederick’s, which made the umbrella holder uncertain about whom to protect from the rain. If he also held it over her, he would get wet himself – and he was not dressed for it. She half turned and said she had a coat and she did not need an umbrella. He could do with that statement as he liked.

They were told more about how technology was used on the fields these days. It was too bad that it was raining so hard, or they could have sent up the drone. Frederick had been interested in the drone, she noticed, and now he said he wanted to get one for other purposes but his money had run out.

This was a rather surprising addition and most people seemed to think it was a joke. Anna Margaret did not think he had run out, but that he might have a budget for his sports expenses and his drone was clearly not meant to fly over a field.

After their little tour, which had left their bottom halves a little splattered with mud, they went back to the warehouse where the table had been set.

“That was easy, wasn’t it?” asked Anna Margaret when she took off her boots just inside their door. The chauffeur had been pleasantly surprised by her towel, but because they had had lunch inside the warehouse the worst dirt had dropped off everyone’s shoes already. “And I didn’t take over anything at all. I did once say I would not go to your events, but I’m not sure this really counted. Oh and there were not a lot of people there. You must have liked that.”

“Yes, it was all right.” He looked for a place to hang up his wet coat. It had got a little wetter from walking to the front door.

“The man from the agricultural magazine will stick to the facts, I’m sure. I doubt people read that magazine to find out what you wore. Or what I wore, for that matter. I don’t know about the other man.”

“Thanks. Let’s take a shower to warm up.”

The rest of the weekend was spent at home. Next week they would have to make appearances at a few Christmas dinners or lunches. Frederick had decided against holding a dinner party at home during these busy weeks. The end of the year had seemed a good occasion, but considering that everyone else also thought that, there were far too many social events in December.

Christmas recess started at the end of the week, but many of the days between Friday and Christmas were filled with some festivity or other. On Saturday there was the party’s dinner in the French château that Anna Margaret had thought she might as well attend. Of course she had had to indicate if she was bringing her husband and she had said yes, figuring that it was easier to leave him home at the last moment than the reverse.

Then there was a lunch with all of the ministers. She would definitely have to go to that no matter what the hour, but it had very considerately been planned as a lunch. Still two or three people were already away on a skiing holiday by then, but she always felt she could not afford to be absent herself. And she never went skiing anyway.

She had not really taken long holidays since she had this job. There was always something that might come up. It was always easier to return from a weekend away somewhere in Europe than from a month-long trip to another continent – never mind that she sometimes had to go that far away for work. She had tried to figure out what the difference was.

But she should not overestimate her own importance. The country was small. They were not the first to be informed about anything, nor the first to be consulted in a crisis. She could far more easily be away. Of course there were people who said you did not have to settle for such a position and that you had to make yourself seen and heard. But the bigger countries would never accept being bossed around by a tiny one. The big egos did not see that, she thought, and even her father sometimes talked this way. At most she could be counted on to offer sensible opinions and support. It was enough for her.

Now that her pregnancy had been revealed, she still had to be careful when she went to see the midwives. She did not want them to be bothered by people asking them when she was due. It might not happen at all, but it was better to be careful. She would have to take another route. This week she still had to go there during work hours.

With the Christmas recess coming up and some people going on holiday, they had to hurry with the rearrangement of portfolios. First they had discussed what should be moved around and this week they should come to a decision on who was going to be appointed. Of course the person or persons who were going to be appointed also had to agree with it. She had decided they must be sure of everything by Wednesday afternoon, so it could be announced on Thursday and worked out during the recess period.

After the recess she had a few weeks until her official maternity leave would have begun, if she had had one. She took that as a guideline for when things might begin to become hard. It might happen sooner or it might not happen at all. She would wait and see, but she should be ready to delegate tasks in early February. That might leak out and give people a clue, but so be it. She was not planning to give up everything anyway.

Posted on 2017-05-01

Chapter Fifty-Seven

“Apparently,” said Frederick on Monday morning, “we’re now totally cool. Well, according to this columnist, at least. Did you know one of the men at the farm was a columnist?”

“No.”

“Apart from the report on the visit on page five, he also wrote his column. I knew he was a fan of you and not of me, but I didn’t know it was him.”

“That was him?” Anna Margaret cried. “Why?”

“Because the person who was supposed to have gone was ill and this man’s name starts with an A and as such he was the first to be called.”

She looked at the newspaper, but did not pick it up to read it. “He is usually positive.”

“Sort of,” said Frederick, who had not often been viewed positively in those particular columns. “But now – we are so normal!”

“Are we?” She did not see why it had to be emphasised. Perhaps it was mockery.

“You’ve always been normal. You lived small, you walked to work, you didn’t tolerate nonsense – but then you took up with me, of course.”

“When it would have been more in character to take up with a bus driver?” she wondered. “Or someone else in an honest, hard-working job .”

“But this week my family suddenly turns out to have very ordinary human struggles. My mum, my sister, me.”

Yes, she supposed his mother had given a more human impression in her interview, even if she had not elaborated much on most. “So what did we struggle with at the farm? I suppose there was a recent reason for this observation.”

Frederick laughed. “It was considered admirable that we did not struggle with the weather. And then you rearranged the entire visit –“

“I did not!” Anna Margaret protested. She had, she thought, stayed nicely back. “I only said to the farmer’s wife that –“

“I didn’t even notice you doing it,” he agreed. “It was too subtle. But when I read about it, I thought oh, right, yes. And apparently other people thought differently. And I didn’t appear to be either depressed, or stiff, or an idiot.”

“Good.” She thought he had been a little stiff in the beginning, but that seemed to have been forgiven. So only in the beginning she might have done something, whatever it had been.

“And you would certainly be able to handle a baby.”

“Really? Hmm. I don’t even really know that myself,” she mused. If everything went well, she supposed she would learn how to manage, but there might be unforeseen circumstances. “All this because I came with you? And really, still nothing about you? Would you be able to handle a baby?”

“That’s too modern, don’t you think?”

“But what exactly do they think will happen to this baby during the day?” She did not understand how Frederick could not be mentioned in any of these speculations. He was the father. He was supposed to be involved.

“You delegate and manage, I think. Someone else,” he added. “I’m not sure they think it will be me. And they certainly don’t think it will be you.”

She tried it out. “Frederick, please change the child. Frederick, please feed the child. Frederick, please put the child in its red outfit. No, I can’t see that either.”

“I hope he’s easy.”

“I’d rather not worry already. I have to go to work. Oh, now that people know I’m pregnant, I might as well use up my swimming card. I think I’ll prefer that over running now. I’ll be home a little later.”

The work day went by fast. She had a visit to the midwife during her lunch break and everything was fine. By now she had a clearer idea what she wanted during the time of the birth – a few months ago she had been completely clueless. They discussed the feasibility of her ideas for a minute, although she still had weeks until it was really necessary.

After that she spent some time in her office and at a few meetings, and it was time to leave. Well, there was always something she could still do and a year ago she would have stayed to do it, but now she left. She took the bus to the swimming pool and swam for a while. She had had a card for years, but she had gone a lot less since she felt she was beginning to show. Now it would not matter anymore if anyone saw her stomach and she disliked not making use of a membership she had already paid for. There was a pool at the Palace, but she thought it more of a hassle to go there, without Frederick especially.

The only times she went to the Palace alone was when she was meeting Isabelle. The week before Isabelle had not discussed anything personal. This week, however, she started even before the tea had been brought in. “Nobody has mentioned my maternity leave.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Shall we continue to do this until the birth?”

“Yes, why not? It’s hardly hard work.” They drank tea, they discussed a few matters and that was all.

“It’s hard work to amass the information you have to share with me.”

“Oh, not really. How has it been?” She nodded at Isabelle’s stomach.

“It feels as if he knows I no longer have to suck my stomach in,” Isabelle sighed. “Not that one can. I was somewhere yesterday and they congratulated me very nicely. It helps that at least I don’t look older than my age, so that people trust me to manage. But are you out of trouble yet?”

“I’m not sure what kind of trouble you mean.”

“Some people are not happy not to know how far along you are and when you will take a break.”

“Some people have nothing to do with it,” Anna Margaret responded.

“My friends were not as easy. What about yours?”

“I don’t really have friends in the sense of people who didn’t already know. Some people who have my phone number called me to ask. But what did they say to you?”

“Why am I keeping it? And why are you keeping it?”

Anna Margaret looked slightly shocked. “Friends?”

“Yes, maybe it’s better to have only people who have your phone number. Should I include a little reference to privacy in my Christmas speech?”

“That would go over the heads of people who don’t realise they have nothing to do with it.”

“Probably. And there’s the subject of religion. The bishop…”

Anna Margaret had always steered clear of religion and bishops. She hoped she could continue to do so. “What about him?”

“He is remotely related. He therefore thinks he has a say. He’s interested in performing the baptism before he might retire, but I’m just –“ She sighed. ”As far as he knows I might only be at six weeks and he’s already nagging. Or so it feels. I have reasons for possibly reconsidering a baptism altogether.”

“You don’t have to tell me your reasons, but I’m sure they’re valid.”

“Of course they’re valid,” Isabelle said with a small smile. “One of the disadvantages of severing the bond – however gently or tactfully – is that it removes the opportunity to exert any influence, so I’m still in doubt.”

“But was that working?”

“No.”

“Then…” She shrugged.

“I could say why. Or would that place the prime minister in a difficult position? It’s considered to be a sensitive subject by some and perhaps I’m not supposed to speak out on it and then you’ll be held responsible for what I said and did.”

“True,” Anna Margaret said pensively.

“I know. My conscience simply revolts at the idea of a baptism. I now know things that I did not know when Florian was born, or even Charlotte. Although I could not have made my own choice then either – I was expected to follow. But now I’m thinking, you are not going to do it, so why should I?”

“I’ll need to think about this. My first thought it: get out, like the rest of us, but I understand that the traditional ties are a bit strong.”

“I may not want to fight this battle either, what with everything else going on.”

“Simply forget about the baptism then? Never mention it at all, so everyone forgets?”

“That was my idea, but the bishop started nagging because he might retire before it takes place and his successor has no right to it. And I’m sorry, this is not simply a case of pleasing an old man.”

“I thought he served god and not his ego.”

“You tell him that.”

Anna Margaret chuckled. “No. Have a word with the bishop and tell him about your objections? I’m not sure there would be a public outcry. I don’t remember much when the law was changed about whom those not directly in line to the throne could marry.”

“Peripheral figures. But I am the throne.”

“Your son will be peripheral, as your sixth child. Besides, the law only seems to say something about spouses and not about the members of the family themselves. Doesn’t it? I don’t think he has to join.”

“The timing is awful. A year ago I could have done as I liked – or not done. But let’s get to work.”

Anna Margaret herself also had too much going on to research the matter of baptising a child that was not even born yet. It would be at least half a year until it was expected to take place, she estimated, and that gave everyone plenty of time to look into the case.

On Wednesday afternoon they came to a decision on who the new secretary of state would be and what her portfolio was. The announcement would be sent out the following morning. They had planned it that way when they were not sure they would manage to finish it all on Wednesday, but they had.

She went out for a drink with Danielle after the meetings. Frederick had something to go to anyway, so that gave her some time to socialise – which she had not done much lately. She had taken Isabelle’s comment about only having people who had her phone number to heart. Of course she had lunch with people every day, but there was more she could do.

“Do you think there will be any comments on the fact that we appointed a woman?” she wondered. “Given that some have proved they can get pregnant, even at a later age, like my sister-in-law? So she’s not actually safe.”

“Rita might be pissed that we passed her over, given how safe she is.”

“Certainly.” In fact, Rita might also be pissed that she had not known anything about this. Anna Margaret did not know if anyone had told her. “But it’s important that I can work with someone in a constructive manner. Are you all ready at home?”

“Yes, although I still have to wash all the baby clothes.”

“Why?”

“You have to.”

“Oh.”

“But I’ll have plenty of time for that. It’s not as if it’s going to take me more than two washing cycles. I reserved a place at the ministry’s day care too. It’s on the ground floor across the street, which is great for feeds. If you want a place you should get there in time, although I’m sure they could work something out for you.”

“Thanks, I’ll look into it,” said Anna Margaret, who had no intention of making this her first option. And she had looked at the website once. “How many days will you take?”

“Two. We can cover the rest at home. Maybe after the first year I could take three, but we’ll see. You have thought about it, haven’t you?” Danielle asked curiously. “Or are you obliged to leave the baby with some royal nanny?”

“I have thought about it,” Anna Margaret nodded. “And no, I’m not planning on leaving it with a nanny. But if I share my thoughts in public, people are bound to give their opinions and advice and I don’t need that. If it’s a stupid plan, I’ll find out and change it.”

Posted on 2017-05-15

Chapter Fifty-Eight

The time before the new year passed quickly. There were dinners and lunches, and they went to the family’s country residence for a day. Frederick’s foreign relatives had been there and Anna Margaret had met them. On the whole they had been nice, but given that Philip’s relatives were also there, she could never remember whom to address in which language. Nobody seemed to think that at all strange.

And there were some people she could not place in either family at all, which must mean they were family friends. But what with all the other events that took place that week, she had not had the energy or the time to talk to all of them at length.

There was one concert she had to attend on New Year’s Eve, but she left during the break. It was not even real physical discomfort or fatigue – she could have lasted for something really important – but she felt she would be better off going to bed. What this meant for the weeks to come, she did not know. Perhaps she was already saving energy by dropping unnecessary things. If she stayed until the end, she would have to stay until the countdown and that was too much.

During the first week of the new year she worked less. Not because she was pregnant, but because a lot of people worked less during the recess. They wanted to interview her – again – and she had put them off until this week.

She had to go to Berlin for two days, but although she could have got a form from her midwife that allowed her to fly, she chose to take the train. It allowed for longer uninterrupted working time and more space to move around. It took a bit long, however, and she decided it was her maximum. Unless she was asked to come to Lisbon or something next week when she would still be able to fly, she would have to ask Louis to go. Or she could ask to host any next meetings she had to attend.

Frederick had planned a few ergometer competitions and he was gone too, but on different days. That could not be helped, unfortunately, and Anna Margaret had dinner at her parents’ house once because she felt she had to show her face again. Before she had had Frederick she had visited them slightly more often. Now that she lived so near she really had to go once in a while. She did not care what the neighbours might think, but her parents would.

After the expected questions about her job from her father, her mother found a moment to ask a question as well. “Have you thought about names yet?”

“Yes.”

“Oh?” Her parents both looked at her.

“But I’m not telling.”

“Why not? We’re not going to tell anyone about it.”

“I’m not telling because it might still change.” And, of course, because it was nobody’s business. She had never had so many secrets. It was intriguing that she had always been quite open and now she was not.

“You know they have been using the same names for the first-born sons for a few generations in different orders.”

Evidently her mother had done some research. Anna Margaret sighed. “Yes, but he doesn’t have to do something his father and grandfather did, does he? They’re not going to know. They’re dead. Their fathers and grandfathers weren’t dead when they had their sons. It was different. There was pressure.”

“How many names –“

“One,” she said politely but firmly. She was also not going to name him after anyone in her own family. “One is fine.” Well, at this moment it was anyway.

“Which hospital will you give birth in? Will you have to stay?”

“Nowadays you don’t have to stay.” She wondered if Irene Louise had not yet discussed this topic yet, but maybe her sister was counting on getting a complication of some sort which would keep her there. “And I suppose I’ll just go to the hospital nearest to where I am at that point. Or maybe I’ll stay where I am.”

“Where you are? Where will you be?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“But I don’t know what you mean, Anna. Doesn’t the hospital have to prepare for you arrival?”

“I suppose we’ll call them when we leave. I think that’s what everyone else does.”

“But the media…”

She could not say she had not thought about the media at all, but her mother was probably having quite different thoughts about this subject. “There won’t be a showing of the baby, if that’s what you mean. Well, I hope not, at least. I don’t think he’ll be of interest.”

“Of course he’ll be. There will be people watching to see who’s visiting and all that, once they’ve caught on you’re there.”

“Yes, but nowadays you don’t have to stay. You have to leave. So I don’t suppose there will be people visiting.” And she really hoped no one would catch on she was there. She could only imagine that it was horrible to be trying to push a baby out with a crowd of people right outside.

“Where will we visit then?”

There would not be a grand arrival by car, Anna Margaret supposed. They would be able to walk the distance. “Here? I mean, there?” She pointed in the direction of her house.

“But then no one might know.” Her mother frowned.

“I hope not.” She wondered what her mother meant. But then no one might know they saw the baby? Or no one might know there was a baby in the first place?

“But you will have to present the child to the people.”

“We have social media nowadays.” There were too many channels through which they could announce things. They did not have to do it from the hospital’s doorstep.

“But…”

“You could really see the baby much better there anyway. Otherwise you’d just see a bundle of white cloths. Not that I’d put him in that, but a blanket maybe.”

“But will you call us?”

“Yes, I suppose. If you want. When I’ve recovered.” She was cautious about making any promises.

“You won’t need assistance?”

“With?” She did not understand.

“The birth.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Anna Margaret frowned uncomfortably. She really hoped her mother was not offering to be present during the birth. “There’s Frederick, there’s the midwife…”

“What use could he be?”

“There’s the midwife,” she repeated. “None of them have said I need to have other people there, so I don’t suppose there’s any need.”

“Irene said she’d like me there.”

“Good for her. How is she doing?” She had probably been remiss in making inquiries.

“She is gaining so much weight. Is the queen going to be there?”

Anna Margaret thought she must mean Anna, because it would be even odder for Isabelle to be there. “No queens. None of them.”

“Will she be with her daughter?”

“I can’t say. I haven’t asked.”

“Who is going to help you after the birth?”

Anna Margaret could see her father was tuning out. She felt the same way. “A nurse will come to check. Really, it will be like everyone else.” She had no idea how it was for everyone else, but the idea was to make it the same. Which would not completely succeed; she was aware of that.

“So where is Frederick?” asked her father.

She was surprised he said Frederick , but it was exactly what he was supposed to say, of course. “Rowing.”

“In a boat?”

“No, on a machine. There are European championships soon, so he needed to test himself.”

“European championships?”

“Yes.” Anna Margaret hoped they were impressed. She had no idea how many people competed or how hard it was to get there, but it sounded impressive at least. He had not boasted of it himself, but simply stated it as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“What is he going to do there?”

“Rowing.” She hoped they would not again ask if it was in a boat.

“Himself?”

“Yes.”

“Is he that good?”

“He is the best in the country.” She wondered if she ought to say he was also the only one, but she expected they did not invite people to competitions simply because they were the only ones in their country.

“Since when?”

“Since…I don’t know. Oh well, he’s the only one.” She might as well say it. It would come out anyway if they asked further questions.

“I didn’t know he was into rowing,” said her father. “Why isn’t that known?”

“Because his father and grandfather didn’t approve.”

“They’re dead, as you said. They’re not going to know.”

“It’s up to him.”

“Why didn’t they approve? It’s not ballet or anything.”

“Because we had no federation and he had to row for Germany.”

“Oh.” Her father appeared to understand their disapproval. “That would be a no-go. I wonder why he thought that was acceptable.”

“I wonder why someone would think it wasn’t, given the circumstances,” Anna Margaret said sharply. “There was no federation. And his mother is German.”

“ Was . Was German,” her father corrected.

She did not know how Frederick’s mother felt about it, so she was not going to discuss that point. “He had the passport.”

“True. We never did anything about that in my time. Most people seemed to think nothing would happen anyway. They could easily keep their double passports as a polite concession.”

“So it should not come as a surprise that they make use of them.”

“For travel. Not for…”

She shrugged. “We have a federation now, apparently, so it’s a moot point.”

“He doesn’t seem to be taking his duties very seriously. Aren’t you afraid you’ll be raising that child alone?”

That was an astonishing way of thinking. “Er, no? Why should I? These things aren’t even connected.”

Posted on 2017-05-25

Chapter Fifty-Nine

“But you didn’t take him to the party’s dinner last week,” said her father.

“Well, he’s not a handbag,” Anna Margaret answered. She had seen her parents there, briefly, but apart from saying hello she had not spoken to them. There had been so many other people. Still, if they had wanted to know why Frederick was not there they could have taken a moment to ask her.

“But…”

“He didn’t feel like going.” And she did not feel she owed her father a detailed explanation. She had had no problems with Frederick’s absence and no one had really asked her about it, but perhaps people had talked behind her back. Her mother might have wanted appear chummy with a prince and Frederick might have known. He had not given that as a reason, however.

“You were with that other man.”

“Who has a pregnant wife and was also leaving early. Perfect.”

“People talk.”

“Last year I was also alone. I mean, carpooling. I’m sure people always talk.” She shrugged. It was only a minor source of irritation. “I don’t go to all of his things either. Why should I?”

In the old days it had almost been a fulltime job to attend everything with your husband and to pick the right napkins for parties. Anna Margaret could not see either herself or Frederick do very much of that. They had yet to host an event and she would not care very much about matching napkins if they did. But her father and mother might have to get used to that.

Her father insisted on walking her home. It might be dangerous, he said, because there might be people watching. She suspected he only wanted to talk in private, but it took a while before he spoke. “Your mother is quite peeved that you’re not sharing anything about your pregnancy,” he said.

She wondered why he had to play the messenger. Her mother was more than capable of saying this herself, she would think. “There’s very little to share. I’m not paying that much attention to it.”

“Not?” He looked concerned.

“Well, I’m living healthily, of course, but I’m simply not interested in examining every symptom with a magnifying glass and then sharing it with everyone.” Sometimes people asked questions and she answered them briefly. In her mind she had already said everything a thousand times.

“People have asked us when you’re due.”

“I’m not really surprised,” she decided after a moment. Other people would assume her parents knew and she had indeed given them a vague timeframe. “Did you tell anyone?”

“We don’t really know a date, only a month.”

“Which is as much as I know, because they never come on time. It could be any time.”

“But you will let us know?”

“Or you have to learn about it from the media, you mean?” Anna Margaret did not see how it could always be helped. “Yes, I’ll let you know. Probably. I don’t know how it will go, where I shall be, or how I shall feel. It might not be practical to call family if that might attract attention. If you were to leave the house with a huge teddy bear or balloons, for example, they would follow you, ask you questions, try to find out where I was, and so forth.”

“Yes, but the hospital –“

“The hospital,” she interrupted him. “The policy is that you leave as soon as you’re done. I mean, you get to shower and freshen up, but you can’t stay for hours. They need the room for the next birth. Only if something is wrong, you can stay. And I don’t know if something is going to be wrong. So I can’t tell you right now. If I give birth in the middle of the night, I’ll be home long before you wake up.”

“Oh.”

“You wouldn’t want me to phone at three o’clock at night, would you?”

He did not answer.

“And I don’t know if I’m going to want to see fourteen people at once. Also, it’s likely that not all of those fourteen people will be able to visit immediately anyway, so that –“ She struggled with how to phrase it. “So that there might be people who see the baby later than others. And I’m not going to tell people to come later because others can’t come right away. Irene and Claire live further away. Frederick’s family live closer. They will likely come sooner. I know this could be a problem, so I’m telling you this in advance so you can explain it to them if necessary. Would you or Mum be disappointed if Frederick’s mother saw the baby first?”

Her father did not immediately answer. “I don’t know,” he then said.

“It will be the last thing on my mind,” Anna Margaret warned. “I should not like any people getting jealous of each other for no reason.”

“It will be our grandchild,” he reminded her.

“You will see it. I just don’t know when. If I give birth at work everyone will know before our relatives do.”

Fortunately Frederick’s mother was nearly indifferent about it. That was Anna Margaret’s initial impression, although she adjusted that a bit after some conversation.

“When you’re ready,” said Anna. “I’ll have a look. But to be honest, I’m more curious about seeing Frederick with him.”

“Do you think he won’t be able to do it?”

“Of course he will. Maybe when the baby is just there, neither of you will immediately know and that is all right. You can ask, or you can wait.”

“Wait?”

“Wait until you know what works. You try a few things and then something works. But,” Frederick’s mother said, leaning forward. “It’s never what your mother-in-law said.”

Anna Margaret laughed. “Never?”

“No.”

“But then – we should not listen to you?”

“I can make suggestions. But they are based on what I vaguely, vaguely, vaguely remember from a completely different baby, so…” Frederick’s mother shrugged. “But you will find advice everywhere. I have already read it.”

“What, advice for me?” She was not surprised about that, only about Frederick’s mother reading it.

“Yes. Almost literally that. It advised you how to combine a baby with a demanding job.”

“Really?” If they did not know exactly what her job entailed, how could they advise her? But then, she would not have to explain that to her mother-in-law, who seemed to know.

“Such quatsch. I did not cut the article out for you. It advised you what time you should get up, too. To have more time with the baby. Of course your professional nanny would get the baby out of bed and dressed and then you would have ten minutes to cuddle before you went to work. The same after work.”

Anna Margaret shook her head in confusion. “Why…”

“To fill the magazine, of course. And because all special baby classes are during the day, the nanny will go to them. A few suggestions were made. They will be overbooked in no time and no princes will attend anyway.”

“Special baby classes?”

“Classical music, baby yoga, baby massage.”

“And you don’t think I will attend?” That would probably be a correct assessment.

Frederick’s mother shook her head. “Of course not. Well, maybe to meet other babies, but not for the…what it is about.”

“I don’t think I’ll have time.”

“No need. It’s probably not as useful as they claim anyway.”

“I thought I’d read it all,” Anna Margaret said with a sigh. “But there are actually people planning my day? Have they picked out a school for him yet?”

“Not a school, but names, yes. Well, if you mention enough names some will be used by either Isabelle or you, so it’s a fairly safe thing to do.”

“We had planned to stick to one only. Or would someone be against that?” Anna Margaret did not know if she cared in that case.

“The people who placed bets?”

“Not the family?”

“I doubt it.”

January was now underway and it felt as if March was not far off. Sarah their new state secretary had begun her new tasks and she had taken over a few that had previously been Anna Margaret’s. They still had to confer regularly and sometimes it was at work, but when Anna Margaret was asked a question when she was already at home, she did not mind asking Sarah to come over.

She had already eaten dinner, but she did not know if Sarah was hungry, coming straight from her office. It turned out, however, that Sarah making use of some time between dropping a daughter off at tennis practice and picking her up again. “Still, that doesn’t mean you’ve eaten,” said Anna Margaret.

“No, not yet. But –“

“I can get you something,” she offered. In a similar situation she would be polite and say no too, but nevertheless be hungry. “I’ll get something. Just sit down.”

She returned with a plate. Sarah could decide whether she wanted to eat. They sat in the dining room because it had the largest table – and because there was no need for a study while there was a dining room they hardly ever used.

“Thanks,” said Sarah. “Is your husband home?”

“Yes, he was before I let you in. He’s probably doing something.”

“Doesn’t he mind?”

“Probably not. He can still do whatever he always does. We’re not in his way in the dining room.”

But when Sarah took a break to use the toilet, Anna Margaret heard voices in the hall. She stood up and took a look. She had guessed Frederick had stayed out of the way so he would not have to say anything, but either he had been taken by surprise or he did not mind as much as she had thought.

He was demonstrating a handstand.

“Seriously?” she cried.

He got back to his feet. “Yes?”

“Never mind.” She returned to the dining room. She had never known there was room for making handstands in the hall, but who would even think of doing them anywhere?

“Interesting,” said Sarah when she resumed her position. “He looks like a nice boy to me.”

“Upside down?”

“Any way. He was a little flustered.”

“Yes, but who stands upside down? I’ve never seen that before either.” She shook her head as if to get rid of the thoughts. They only had a limited time for their work.

Posted on 2017-06-06

Chapter Sixty

The next morning it turned out that Sarah had been questioned by reporters on her way to her car. Or at least Anna Margaret supposed that it had happened there, if a report could have made the morning paper. There was no mention of anything personal, however.

There was a message from Sarah a bit later. I got questioned last night. They were watching your house. I didn’t tell you because I thought you were off to bed.

She wondered why they had been there. Nothing truly new had happened this week and there was hardly any reason to camp outside her house. The report in the paper was unremarkable. There were no clues there. She sent a message back to Sarah to ask.

The answer came half an hour later. Don’t know what they were doing there, but I was asked if my presence there was a first step in the process of your resignation. I said you were not resigning.

Of course the paper had not said she was not resigning. They wanted to keep their stupid questions out of any articles, she supposed.

Anna Margaret wondered if this was a suitable occasion to ask the police to sweep her street, although she had not yet been really bothered herself. Those who wanted to ask her serious questions knew where and when to do so. They would not waste their time outside her house. While annoying, the ones who did would probably grow tired if nothing happened. And there was no telling if they stayed away if the police asked them to leave. She decided to wait a bit longer to see if they became obnoxious at some point.

At the end of the day she saw the usual crowd at the exit. At least they knew where she answered questions and where she did not. She did not expect them to come to her house. Predictably they asked her again about the shifting of tasks, but she had an answer to that and she was more patient with it than usually, simply because they were here and not at her house.

“And the current issues in the world, do you have enough time for those, Madam Prime Minister?” asked someone.

Not her best friend, she noticed. She knew who uncritically swallowed everything she said and who did not. Being female had that effect on some and naturally she made use of it now and then. “Of course. As we speak, our Minister of Finance is in Brussels, for example, so we’re not ignoring anything. He’s keeping us updated very regularly. But I might remind you that most of our issues are within the country and not somewhere else in the world.”

“But you’re going to work less, so how could you keep track of everything?”

“At the moment, there are more people covering the same amount of work, so I’m not seeing your problem.”

“When will you start working less?”

“I have been asked that question before and I refer you to the answers I gave then,” she said patiently.

“Have you already begun?”

“I have never worked the exact same number of hours each week, so I couldn’t tell you. There’s probably also no point in timing my presence here, because I might work some at home. And I might be here and not be doing any useful work.”

“Does that ever happen?”

“Lunch breaks sometimes? Also, there are work groups that I don’t necessarily have to join, or that I don’t have to join every time over a certain period of time, such as Women in Politics. That runs on without me perfectly well for a few weeks or months. Also, there are always quiet periods and busy periods and never before have you wondered if we have enough manpower to cope with busy periods. So, assuming we managed in the past, we’ll manage now.”

“What do you think of the PSA’s suggestion that we take in a thousand refugees?”

That kept her busy for a while. PSA’s wishes were neither desirable nor feasible, according to the governing parties, but they were quick to condemn anyone who disagreed. It was only certain elements within the PSA, Anna Margaret knew, but the worst of them were quite bad. They had wondered in public why the prime minister was too busy being pregnant by a prince when she could be housing poor refugees in the Palace. They saw a link there that escaped almost everyone else.

“But you’re nearly a mother,” said a female reporter when the reaction was apparently not satisfactory. “Doesn’t your heart bleed when you see the images?”

“Fathers and people without children are allowed not to care?” she asked, eyebrows raised. And that was all she was going to give as an answer.

One of them walked her nearly to her neighbourhood, but she did not mind that. He asked normal questions for an article on a specific subject.

“I’ve got you a nurse,” Isabelle announced over the phone.

“A nurse,” Anna Margaret repeated, not entirely sure why she would already need a nurse. She had excused herself to the journalist before taking the call, who had then thanked her for her time and walked away.

“Yes, for when you’ve given birth. You hadn’t booked one yet, had you?”

“No.” She should have. She had been told that the longer she waited, the greater the chance would be that none were available. This apparent shortage was something she had meant to raise with the responsible minister, but she had not yet got around to doing it. All these personal to-do items were at the bottom of her list. But in spite of possibly finding the nurses all busy, she had not yet been keen on the idea of having someone come to her house every day and she had put off taking a decision. “Where are you getting yours?”

“Through Murielle. You can have her too.”

“Murielle?”

“No, her friend.”

“Oh. Er.” And they were nurses, Isabelle implied. In which case they might be useful, but were they not young? Murielle was young, but a friend did not have to be the same age.

“They are students, but they will know what to do. You know, if there is going to be something wrong you’ll be at the hospital anyway.”

“That’s what I thought too.” She liked hearing that it would not be an absolute disaster if she failed to hire one in time.

“So, you’ll just have to call them and they’ll come over.”

“They? Two nurses?” Anna Margaret wondered if she had had a mistaken impression all along if she had thought one might not even be necessary, and Isabelle now mentioned two .

“Doctors, really.”

“Oh.”

“But yes, they’ll probably both come, unless we need them at the same time.”

“Do you want me to keep things in the family?” She could think of reasons for that. She could also think why strangers would be better than a family member.

“That would be nice. They wouldn’t take secret photos and sell them to the highest bidder. Which might not happen, but you never know. You don’t have to do this, of course. I’m only offering this as a suggestion that may be useful.”

“Yes, thank you.” She would have to assume that this really was a suggestion, not an order, and there was no reason to turn the offer down simply because it came from someone else. “I might make use of it. I hadn’t arranged anything else yet.”

“Fine. I’ll send them around in the coming weeks, so you can get acquainted,” Isabelle decided.

“What about their studies?”

“They won’t need that much time to see you. They can easily do it after their classes or work. Or before.”

“Are you sure?” Well, she was sure they would not need to check much when it came to her – if she was not hospitalised, she would be all right – but they might have obligations.

“Yes, I spoke to them beforehand, of course. I wouldn’t force them to do this for the family. I’m not that crazy.”

“All right. Thank you.”

“Well, now. I’m a bit nervous,” Isabelle said after a moment of silence during which Anna Margaret wondered if she had hung up.

“Why?”

“Philip is going to be interviewed. He might say things.”

“That’s kind of the point of –“

“He didn’t think my mother said enough.”

“Did he volunteer then?”

“Not exactly. And he’s not doing it because he thinks my mother didn’t say enough. That’s just what he remarked when he saw her. Are you still responsible for what we say or do?”

“No, I’ve passed that bit of my portfolio on. Though ultimately, yes, I suppose, if things get out of hand. Do you expect things to get out of hand?” Anna Margaret could not imagine Philip taking things that far. He was not the type.

“No.”

“Well, then.” She did not actually know what she meant, but it sounded reassuring. “But what’s the occasion? Why do they want to speak to him?”

“They’d like that without having any occasion for it, but this time it’s because our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary will be this year.”

“And they would like to know how he survived?” Anna Margaret entered the top of her street. It was not far now and she kept an eye out for strange cars.

“Sort of. They would have liked me too, but I wouldn’t do it.”

Anna Margaret reflected how she had always thought Isabelle and her family were perfect. Perhaps Isabelle would like to perpetuate that image by not speaking about personal matters. Her husband was of course the one who could afford to tell the most secrets and this would unnerve her. “Are there any secrets to tell?”

“Things no one knows aren’t necessarily secrets.”

“But you’d still like them to stay unknown.”

“Where are you?”

“Walking home.”

“Walking?” Isabelle cried.

“Which is no secret.”

“Alone?”

“No, there was a journalist who walked with me until you phoned.”

“And then you said it was me?”

“No, I said I had to take this call and he thanked me for my time and walked back. I think.” She turned around, but the man was no longer in sight. “Yes. Don’t see him anymore. Some people actually do what they say.”

“But it could be dangerous.”

“I’m in my street. I saw you around here once and you were alone.” She had, at least, not seen anyone with Isabelle that one time. Presumably the hat had been disguise enough.

“Now that is really a secret.”

“So when is this interview?”

“Tonight, but it will be televised later.”

“So you can preview it and demand shocking bits to be cut out? Don’t worry.”

Posted on 2017-06-16

Chapter Sixty -One

Anna Margaret had not heard anything else about Philip’s interview except from what she had read in the newspaper, which was nothing but an announcement of the fact that it would be broadcast. She was also not as worried as Isabelle seemed to be. Philip might be surprisingly amusing to people who had never spoken to him, but perhaps Isabelle did not think that being amusing was befitting of his new role.

There were other things to keep her occupied. Some other government leaders wanted to meet. She quickly offered to host the meeting so she would not have to travel, but it would still keep her occupied for a few days until it had actually taken place. There would be a lunch, then a meeting and a joint dinner because they would not be leaving until the next morning.

Frederick did not have to show up for this kind of thing, which she thought he did not mind at all. He had never attended, not even formal visits, because they had all been planned more than six months before. Nobody had dared to suggest inserting him in those plans. In the case of new ones, though, he might have to entertain the spouses of the visiting government leaders or heads of state. It was the done thing.

To her surprise, however, he offered to come to the dinner with her. She could hardly reject that offer, because he might then never want to come again. And if he made the suggestion himself, she supposed he felt he could do it. The relative informality and the small size of the countries involved had sounded rather appealing for a foray into being the first gentleman.

He joined them only for dinner, as did Louis’ wife Fabienne. Their foreign guests had not brought their spouses. Anna Margaret wondered why Frederick found it so awful, because he managed well enough. He was well-dressed and well-mannered, and he could even converse with the most linguistically challenged of the guests.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asked when they were on their way home.

“I was even prepared to stay if you had to go home. Sense of duty. I don’t know what happened.”

“At least one person told me how nice it was to see you.”

“I think maybe that was because I was the only one he could speak to fluently.”

“What did you and your neighbour speak about?”

“Getting one’s eyes lasered,” he answered surprisingly.

“All evening?”

“No, but that’s what I recall.”

“But anyway, see that it’s not that scary?” Anna Margaret said encouragingly, trying not to sound as if she was speaking to a small child, because she was not.

Frederick smiled.

“Are you considering getting your eyes lasered?”

“I might. I looked into it once, but the recovery time was much too long for me. No exercising for two weeks. I can’t do that.”

“No, you can’t,” she agreed. “Would you become very unbearable?”

“I have no idea. I’ve never tried. The clinic this man went to said two days, though. The difference is just too much. I’ll have to look into it.”

“Maybe they thought that the type of exercising he does didn’t require as much effort?”

The next day she discussed the outcome of her meeting with her ministers. Louis had already been with her, because any follow-up might come down to him alone and it would be useful for him to know what the other countries’ positions were. On certain issues the small ones had to stick together.

Questions were asked in parliament later, naturally. They were not all for her, but she felt she managed to answer quite well those that she did get. Certain MPs had to be reminded frequently that they lived in a very small country that could simply not take the lead in Europe, as much as they would really like to take what they called the moral lead. The moral lead, in its extreme form, was merely stupid, was Anna Margaret’s opinion. She was not alone in thinking that. There was sufficient backing from her colleagues, although the debates left her somewhat drained.

“I need a drink,” said the State Secretary for Immigration.

“Yes. I wish I could drink.”

“Yes, how could you not take five poor refugees into your house?” he teased, but with slightly frustrated undertones at the ridiculous suggestions that had been made.

“Oh, no. They want me to confiscate the Palace, for…I don’t know, fifty of them?” She had no idea how many rooms there were. Maybe it could even house a hundred.

“They could lead by example, but…”

“Yeah. Drink. Just one. Juice.”

“And you married money.”

“He doesn’t have as much as they think he does. He spent some on a large project,” she said. “So yeah, just one juice and no refugees in my home.”

A few others joined them as well. They walked to the pub they usually frequented. Anna Margaret sat down on a barstool. She did not want to stand even more. “Thanks,” she said when Constantin gave her a juice. “I’m really only doing the one.”

“I know. It’s on me. For surviving this temporarily.”

“Hey, I picked people who would survive,” she protested. “Who would stand firm and who would not be swayed by either the opposition or the fossils.”

“The fossils,” he replied, taking a large gulp of his beer. “Do they ever regret pushing you forward!”

“Why? Do they?”

“Don’t play the innocent. Look around. I know we’re not all here, but do you see anyone in their sixties? You’ve kept your team on the young side. Our friends from the coalition are a bit more conservative, which is reflected in their ages – for which I’m glad, or else I should have been the oldest. Isn’t that right, Sarah?” he asked when the latter leant past him to reach the bar.

“Is what right? That you’re not the oldest?”

“I’m not the oldest. Your side has at least one that beats me.”

“Wow. And it isn’t me. But why this observation?”

“I was just saying that the fossils probably regret pushing Anna Margaret forward, because she picked people who were immune to fossil pressure. So, she claims to have picked people for that reason especially, but then she claims not to know the fossils might not like that.”

Anna Margaret opened her eyes wide.

“See?” Constantin pointed with his beer glass. He looked unconvinced. “You’re a terrible actress.”

“Yes, I know.”

He spoke to Sarah. “They thought they could kill two birds with one stone.”

“True.” Sarah gave up trying to order a drink for the moment. “We discussed that internally.”

“What? What did you discuss?”

“Last year, of course. We discussed how they put forward a puppet, before we agreed to join forces with you. You have to know you were considered a puppet.”

“Yes.”

“So obviously when the puppet didn’t play their game, they were a little put out.”

“I thought…” Anna Margaret said slowly. “They sort of came round to recognising I didn’t need my strings pulled?” Their attempts at involvement had certainly become less.

“People who have a need to pull strings never come round,” said Sarah. “In my opinion anyway.”

“I know that it was their objective, more or less, but I’ve never said I wasn’t going to do my own thing. I know they thought they could control me, but that it was clear that they wouldn’t?”

“But they didn’t take you seriously.” Constantin counted on his fingers. “Woman. Young. Good-looking. The reasons why they put you forward are exactly the reasons why they were not taking you seriously."

“That was certainly very apparent in the beginning,” she agreed. “They wanted to appeal to the younger part of the electorate, they told me. And it worked.” They had gone up in the polls and secured a small majority, which was nonetheless nothing like the absolute majority they used to have.

“It was a bold move, but it worked and it did not,” said Constantin, sipping his beer. “Depending on how you look at it.”

Sarah had managed to order two drinks. “They were never as keen on cooperation as you,” she nodded. “I mean, I’m not sure that fifteen years ago with the same allocation of seats I should’ve got this position.”

“I did receive one or two queries about that,” Anna Margaret revealed. “Giving the enemy one extra voice and all that. Not that they literally say enemy, but you know what is implied. So, you’d better not go against me.”

“Wouldn’t dare!” Sarah swung two glasses off the bar and went back to join whomever she had been talking to.

“Cooperation with the PSA is a bridge too far,” Constantin decided. It would certainly be an impossibility in his portfolio.

“At the moment. But I do see people come round. Not the PSA yet, but others. If people with republican leanings like the Pitbull can become more moderate…”

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t heard him nag about the monarchy for ages.”

Anna Margaret nodded. “That’s probably because I am now his direct access to answers. Without answers there’s more room to go wild. If you have a proper answer you just can’t keep up the random objections. Well, you could,” she said after a second. “But it wouldn’t be chic and I wouldn’t let you.”

“What sort of answers does he want? I only remember he nagged about illegitimate children.”

“Yes, that – and there weren’t any. And then there was something about a grass snake.”

Constantin tried to connect that to something that made sense and failed. “What the **** does that have to do with the monarchy?”

“It had to do with the widespread assumption that if a member of the family is having something built, they will obviously not have the required permits and they will not have needed to go through the channels an ordinary member of the public needs to go through. The grass snake activists simply approached an MP without checking the facts, or maybe they had planned to approach a newspaper, I don’t know. In any case, the Pitbull mentioned it to me and I referred him to Frederick and they sorted it out.”

“So what’s he building?”

Anna Margaret finished her juice. She wanted to leave soon. “Oh, a rowing course.”

“What’s that?”

“A channel. For rowing.”

“Goodness, but why?”

“To row on? Listen, I want to go home. I’m hungry.” She slid off the barstool. “Thanks for the drink. There’s Marc. He’ll talk to you when I’m gone.” There were more people too. There were two groups standing right behind him.

“I’ll find someone, thanks,” he assured her. “But a rowing course?”

“Yes. We met the Pitbull there one time and Frederick showed him a huge pile of paperwork, so there was nothing more to say. So my point was, if you show people the facts, they change their minds.”

“They may,” he corrected her.

Posted on 2017-06-29

Chapter Sixty -Two

Anna Margaret got home to find Frederick eating his dinner in front of the television. “Am I late?” she wondered. He usually waited with at least part of his meal, unless he had got too hungry. But that had happened only once or twice when she was really late.

“No. I wanted to see something.”

“Oh good. I was out for a drink. The debates were exhausting. We needed to unwind.” She wondered why she felt the need to explain. He did not seem to mind at all and the time she came home varied from day to day anyway.

“It’s ready. You can heat it up.”

“Thanks. But what is it you want to see?”

“Philip.”

She was surprised. “You’re not afraid of what he might say?”

“He’s not my mother.”

But he was family. If Isabelle was his second mother, Philip was his second father. She shrugged. It was all close enough for embarrassing revelations. “But he could say things.”

“It’s been censored. I mean, checked. I don’t think they cut anything out, but it passed the test. Isabelle said so.”

“Seriously.” She went to find her dinner, shaking her head. How had Philip felt about that? But then she remembered that she had sort of made the suggestion herself.

“Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for being here. This year you and Her Majesty will be celebrating your twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. We have been told you will mostly be celebrating this in private, but we should like to devote some attention to this milestone nonetheless. Let’s go back to the beginning. We were actually never really told how you met, except that it was in England.”

“You weren’t. Oh…”

“Is it a secret?”

“Nobody has ever told me not to talk about it, but I can see why they might not have wanted me to. I was working at a school as an accountant and they sent Frederick there, so that is where we met.”

“But how does one become engaged to a princess?”

“I left that all to her.”

“But how did that go? You met and then…”

“She pretended to be Frederick’s mother.”

“Why?”

“Frederick was coming to the school and she told me how he was to be treated. I suppose she thought someone was more likely to listen to his mother. And then she came to drop him off and we met a few times. Basically because everyone else was on holiday. When the family got wind of it they came over as well. And they were manipulated into forcing an engagement.”

“You were forced to get unengaged?”

“Yes, they didn’t want to take the risk.”

“I’m not sure I understand you here. What sort of risk could there be?”

“We had spent some time alone. When her father did not receive an answer to his question about what had happened, we had to get engaged.”

“But did something happen?”

“It might have. It might not.”

“Did the engagement take place with your consent?”

“Oh yes. I could have got out of it. But as it was, keeping vague was the only way to continue. Besides, it was none of their business. She was twenty-two. Not that my children are the same kind of twenty-two at any point, I have to say.”

“But was there a relationship or merely an incident? This sounds very shocking.”

“Oh, no. It wasn’t shocking at all. I suppose it was a relationship. We even shared a house there. After the fuss.”

“You and Princess Isabelle shared a house in England?”

“Yes.”

“And that was allowed?”

“Did I mention they were manipulated? They – I mean, her father – was merely told that she was going to do it. She had got herself a job there to keep an eye on Frederick and she needed a house.”

“What did your parents think of it all?”

“They had faith in the way they had brought me up. They met all the saner people in the family before they met the more unpredictable ones, so…”

“I think the public were never told what she was doing in England.”

“I’m not sure King Albert knew about the house, so it’s logical that the rest of the country didn’t either. And if he did know, he wouldn’t have appreciated it much. The thing was, my parents, like most parents, were an autonomous unit. If they wanted to do something, they did it. My wife’s parents couldn’t do anything without having to consult the grandparents. Even if it wouldn’t concern these people in an ordinary family. In this case, it might have been kept from them because they would not have approved.”

“Did everyone have to consult them before they could do something?”

“Yes. I was not part of the chain at this point, but yes, this was definitely something about which they should have been consulted. Because her grandfather was the king. After we were married, ideally, I’d have had to consult my wife, who’d have had to consult her father, who’d have had to consult her grandfather. At the very worst he would then have had to consult her grandmother. But that was what tradition dictated. In practice it didn’t happen that way. In practice my wife was not the consulting, but the informing type.”

“Did that lead to conflicts?”

“Yes, but not as many as you’d expect. It was unthinkable to the family that my wife would ever be queen. After all, there was her brother and they were sure he was going to do his duty at some point. So there was a bit less pressure on her. But it was nevertheless not always appreciated if she went her own way. I think in the case I mentioned it was more her father who feared he was going to get into trouble if he allowed her to do things.”

“Is it still like that? These traditions?”

“Not entirely. The children still have to consult us. Frederick doesn’t get away with deciding everything for himself. Everybody who is older doesn’t have to. I think my sister-in-law is less frequently bemused than I was, so it’s probably improved. But I think that if you try to control the whole family or hold them to ridiculous standards they’ll keep things from you. I’ve seen this happen in the past. They told Frederick he had to study something and when he said he didn’t want to, they insisted and what happened was that he secretly went to study something else and then when they found out – after a year – they were afraid for their own image if this were to become known. Whereas if they had listened to him in the first place, they could have avoided this altogether. This is something we will not do with our children.”

“Are you and your wife strict parents?”

“Strict but reasonable, I hope. Although if they don’t keep their cash books in order I cut their pocket money.”

“Do your children get a lot of freedom?”

“Probably not. I mean, their freedom is probably different compared to other children’s. There are things we don’t force them to do that people might think we should, but there are also things they must do because of who they are. But we are careful because we saw how this affected Frederick. We try to keep them out of the public eye until they are old enough to make a choice. If they choose not to attend events, we won’t force them. Two family photos a year are compulsory, though.”

“Would you allow them to move to England?”

“Obviously they won’t have to move to England because if any of our children were to be sent to school there, we’d be taking him or her there in person, and then there’d be no need for a brother or sister to take on the parental role. But if they were a little older and they were to meet someone…”

“What did you have to give up when you married? I assume there were things you couldn’t do anymore.”

“My job. Proximity to my family. I didn’t – and don’t – have any habits or friends that could raise eyebrows, so in that respect I rarely have to wonder can I still do this, being married to a princess – or queen? They wouldn’t let me get a job here, but I have five children and I keep everyone’s accounts; I always have something to do. The only thing I’ve really had to give up was my privacy and anonymity. People share opinions, not because their opinions are worth sharing, but because they can.”

“Does that bother you?”

“Sometimes. If you see what they write you wonder why they feel the need. For example, we have five children. Too many, according to some. They cost too much money and at least three of them are superfluous. It’s not really nice to read for a thirteen-year old that you’re a parasite who shouldn’t have been born.”

“Do you play a large role in your children’s upbringing?”

“Yes, obviously. There are five of them. That takes a lot of time. They have homework, sports, they need to be taken places…”

“I can imagine you do not always have time to attend things.”

“When they were younger we rarely went together, because it meant leaving some or all of them alone, but that’s not such a big problem anymore. They also have an uncle and a grandmother who could fill in for us if we’re absolutely unable to. Or we could change our schedule.”

“Will it become more difficult when you have another child?”

“Of course there will be another little one who can’t be left alone just when all the others have reached an age at which they can, but most of them would be able to babysit. That makes it easier.”

“Are your children looking forward to getting a new brother or sister?”

“They were appalled at the news.”

“Really?”

“Most of them recovered, but yes.”

“Why was that?”

“Teens.”

“Is everything going well? Professor Hermann said the other day that the risk of complications in greater at this age.”

“Yes, that’s the thing with statistics. But statistically we’ve already had our share of being the one in a great many, so I think we’re safe. And as far as I know, Professor Hermann has not been involved in the case.”

Posted on 2017-07-08

Chapter Sixty -Three

Frederick put his plate on the table. “I can’t believe Isabelle allowed all that. She said she previewed it.”

“He can probably get away with things.” Anna Margaret was not yet done eating, but she did not want to run to the kitchen for a new serving. She had underestimated her appetite a little. Thankfully everything was already cold, so she did not have to hurry. “You would be able to get away with things as well.”

“Nice try.”

Well, she did not mean immediately, so she shrugged. It would happen someday. He was beginning to loosen up.

“So there are no complications?”

“The doctors are the only complications.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“They see problems everywhere and carry out a lot of tests.”

“But that’s good, isn’t it?”

“I’m not sure. They’re great on privacy and discretion in a private hospital, but not all their procedures have the desired result.”

“But they employ the best doctors, don’t they?”

“The best-paid doctors, certainly.”

“You do not think they’re the best?”

“If I did not now tell you I had a little procedures in the private healthcare system you would never have found out, given that my wife is pregnant.”

“That’s quite cryptic.”

“Is it? Someone will figure it out, no doubt.”

“But everything is going well then with the pregnancy?”

“Well, this is my wife’s eleventh pregnancy, I think, so obviously she knows a bit about when it’s going well and when it’s not. I did think it might become too much for her, all these things at once in the past year – Frederick’s things, her becoming the queen, the children adjusting to that – but she even had time to tell her sister-in-law what to do, so I suppose she’s managing.”

“Was this a difficult year for your family, would you say?”

“More eventful than difficult, I think. First all the attention turned to Frederick after his father’s death, but Isabelle was doing most of the work. Then she got both the attention and the work load. It did take some time to get used to it and she had to keep an eye on the children to see if they managed, and on Frederick and his girlfriend, make sure they got married and things like that.”

“They did not want to get married?”

“They did, but nothing was happening in that quarter, so they needed to be prodded along a bit. And there have been more such things. Actually, my wife and her sister-in-law both think the other should take some more action about this or that. Good thing they’re not married to each other, but in this manner it’s actually useful. We’ll be a bit more modern and they’ll be a bit less independent.”

“Would you like to, or do you need to, be more modern?”

“Well, we are, or we think we are, bound by some traditions. Some fresh blood in the family can help shake that up. Some things can and should change, but you don’t know until someone points it out. Once you’ve become assimilated, you’re no longer fresh, so after a while you need a new perspective. It’s been twenty-five years since the last outsider came in, so I suppose things were ready for a change.”

“What exactly will change?”

“One change has been that someone will give birth in the public healthcare system. That would have been unthinkable when my first children were on their way.”

“Why is it allowed now?”

“Well, nowadays the members of the family think this is none of their business. There are of course still things that are their business, but there is more freedom to make one’s own choices now. Which leads to less micro-rebellion.”

“Micro-rebellion?”

“Small-scale acts of not going along with too limiting expectations. I have seen a few family members engage in this over the years. For example, when he didn’t have to be the king anymore, I didn’t see Frederick in clothes that were purposely incorrect for the occasion anymore.”

“I don’t think I ever saw it.”

“That’s because my wife sent him back every time.”

Anna Margaret decided that going to the kitchen for a refill was more important than hearing it out. What if he talked on for another hour? She had no idea how long this would last, but she did know she wanted to be in bed in an hour at the very latest.

“You push your commoner ways on us, you know.”

“Like what?” She paused in the doorway with her plate. Philip seemed to be saying something about the future, but that could only be commonplace. She was more interested in Frederick.

“Like giving your child only one name instead of at least four.”

“I can’t even think of four!” she exclaimed on her way to the kitchen. What had her mother said about their naming habits again? Something about alternating the same set of names for the first-born sons. That would be Henri, Albert and Jacques, which would make it Jacques’ turn to be used. Jacques. Jacqueline. Jack. She might have considered the latter if some people in the family had still been alive.

But since neither Albert nor Henry were still alive, nobody was going to demand it. Queen Florence briefly crossed her mind. Since Frederick had already got all the men’s names, Isabelle had named Florian after her grandmother. That had been very considerate of her, but Anna Margaret was not going to do the same. Come to think of it, she had already been named after Queen – then, Princess – Anna herself, so all names were out.

Who had Jacques been married to? Oh, and there was Aunt Agnes and another aunt and uncle. The aunt lived abroad and the uncle was dead, but for naming purposes that would not matter.

“Pointless exercise,” she muttered to herself as her plate was in the microwave. Because she was not going to do it.

“I beg your pardon?” asked Frederick, returning his plate. “It’s finished.”

“I’m not going to name any children after your ancestors and besides, they have all been recycled already, but who was Jacques married to?”

“An Isabelle.”

She groaned. “I knew it. This was the most unimaginative family ever. Tell me, would calling a baby Jack -- and just that – have been considered a micro-rebellion or worse? Not doing it, by the way.”

“Definitely not micro. Where on earth did he come up with this term?”

“He observed you. Apparently you rebelled on a micro scale.”

Frederick tried to look offended.

“Maybe you should have come naked to the barbecue. That would have been macro-rebellion.”

“That would have killed her.”

“That would have killed us all. And you know you would not have done it. Maybe that is why he said micro. You’re not the adventurous type. But was he there? Philip? At that barbecue? I really don’t remember.”

“Of course he was there. He was ordered to observe us.”

“Why?” She would have expected Isabelle to observe them.

“Because apparently he goes unnoticed.”

She sighed. “And what did he conclude?”

“That we had been married for twenty years.”

Her eyes widened. “What did she say to that ?”

“I forgot if she said anything at all, or if he told me,” Frederick said apologetically. “I was busy asking other things.” He picked up his phone. “I’m going to ask what was cut.”

“I’m going to eat.” She sat down at the kitchen table. Given what had been mentioned, she did not think anything had been cut from the interview.

Frederick wandered away. She could hear him speak in the hall, but not what he was saying. He would tell her later. She ate and tidied up. Perhaps, despite coming home a little later, she should make this an early night.

When she stepped into the hall, she found Frederick laughing and still on the phone. Something was apparently funny and that was nice. She passed him and upstairs she first went into the baby’s room. She did not really know why, except that she did it almost every night, just to see if everything was in order. Maybe she would think of something they still needed to get, but most of the time the room looked finished. The closet could do with some more clothes, but several people had said she would be getting plenty of those.

After checking the room she went to the bathroom and got ready for bed. Frederick came in when she was finished. He picked up a towel that was on the floor and took it away. She was glad he did not really always leave clothes and towels on the floor, but she now had a word for it: micro-rebellion . She snorted.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“I phoned Philip. He said nothing had been cut, but that he had been made to pay.”

“Pay? He needs to do the dishes for a week?” She crawled into bed and waited.

It took Frederick a few minutes to appear. “He had to give her a massage. Or so he said. I don’t want to know. But on the whole she did not disagree with what he said, so she let it go. She doesn’t really like those meaningless interviews that anyone could have given.”

“World peace and save the rainforest.”

“I suppose. And he didn’t go on about how she was the most wonderful woman on earth. I’m sure she’d agree, sort of, but she wouldn’t want all that to be said.”

Anna Margaret picked up her phone. It was still early, except perhaps for pregnant women, so she restricted herself to a text message. How many names do your children have?

“What are you typing?”

“Asking how many names her children have.”

Frederick knew. “Two.”

“Oh, you knew. Why only two?”

“I have no idea. It was not something I ever cared to wonder too deeply about. None are named after me, because she thought that unfair to the others. That’s all I know. They’re not Florian Frederick and Murielle Frederica and so forth.”

The answer was quick. Two. Do not give 5 names if you want 5 boys.

“Five,” Anna Margaret gasped incredulously. “I don’t think I have the time.”

Frederick peered at her phone. He needed his glasses for it. “She’s forty-seven.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean she could have got pregnant any year between now and thirty-seven. We don’t know when Philip’s little procedure started malfunctioning. It may well have been four years ago.” She started typing. I didn’t know you had a sense of humour.

If you can handle Freddie you can handle 5. No pressure though. “Are you sure it’s Isabelle on her own phone?” she asked suspiciously.

Posted on 2017-07-22

Chapter Sixty -Four

“Interesting,” the Health Minister told Anna Margaret in the morning. “And thanks for the plug.”

“Plug?” She wondered if he had walked over especially, because he was not usually here this early. Plug. Health. Luckily she could quickly connect the two. But she had had nothing to do with that plug.

“Our health system. The private hospitals are going to be pissed off, though, because he implied they were incompetent.”

“Oh, that. I didn’t put him up to it. He must have been supremely frustrated.”

“About a lot of things.”

“There were some things people will discuss,” she agreed. “But I hadn’t thought much about this one. You would, of course.”

“Did they ever ask you to go to a private clinic?”

“No. Though we did discuss the difference. But I think they really do think this is my own business. My body, my baby. I didn’t think I really had a choice, though really it would be worse for you than for me if you went private and the people had to make do with public healthcare.”

“But was the prince saying he shouldn’t have been able to father another child?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t they do a check-up?”

“I don’t know what’s the usual thing. I’m not a man. But I doubt they would do it every time they went to bed.” She had not checked any commentaries, although there must have been some. Last night she had gone to bed and in the morning there was never much time to read anything other than the newspaper. She wondered if something had been said about this , although it did not strike her as very important.

It turned out that others had seen the interview as well. Sarah came to disturb her a while later. “Now that I’m responsible for what they say, they get more outspoken by the day,” she said. “Just my luck. Will I now get questions?”

“If there weren’t any in your inbox this morning, I doubt it.”

“There were. I rather meant, questions I really need to answer. Obviously there were questions I can simply delete.”

“Obviously he revealed some things the public did not know,” Anna Margaret said pensively. “I thought it might be a shock to some fans. When I first heard certain things I was shocked as well. But that doesn’t mean they cannot reveal negative things from their past. The only thing is…”

“Some distance must be preserved, or else they’d be just like you and me.”

Anna Margaret was amused. “They are just like you and me.”

“On the other hand, they’re showing a lot more human traits than the older generations, who were distant and flawless. Or not so flawless, as we are now hearing.”

“I don’t think there were things he should not have said. Perhaps that bit about the private clinic, but if these are their personal experiences…I think they should be allowed to voice them. Remember that the public gets to voice much worse things about them.”

“Well, sensible people usually agree, but you know how it goes. Which changes was he hinting at?”

“Nothing big, in my opinion. First of all, there must be changes. They cannot live like fifty years ago. You can always throw that one in. And there have already been some changes. The succession was changed. Some of the marriage requirements. And I suppose it might be a change that my baby, at least, will not be presented in a white gown.”

“I think people might be able to handle that. Was there any other way, in the past, without social media?”

“Also,” Anna Margaret added. “He or she will not be baptised. I understand that was usually a grand occasion.”

“Shock. I’m sure some in my party will say something about that, unless you do it privately,” said Sarah, whose party was Catholic in name.

“But it’s none of their business. And it’s not something you need to mention already.”

“No, of course not. But thanks for mentioning it so I have some idea of what he was referring to. I doubt many people will be surprised by you , although they might think your husband’s family would have a greater say in it.”

“This nonsense will never end if we continue it simply because someone in the family was religious a hundred years ago. I’m not even indifferent to the ritual, I’m opposed to it. I’m not sure many people will be waiting for the occasion. The fact that it’s not taking place might even go unnoticed.”

“That’s possible,” Sarah agreed. “We don’t do it anymore either in my family. But thanks. I just needed to check. If I say it’s all personal changes and it turns out to be something major…”

“Florian is not taking over yet, no, and we’re not going to be a republic yet either.”

“Good.”

In the evening when she came home she found Frederick talking to two girls. One she recognised as his niece Murielle and she guessed the other to be her friend. They had come to get acquainted, as Isabelle had announced. Although they were currently studying medicine – which was not quite the preparation for postnatal care, Anna Margaret would have thought – Murielle’s friend Nathalie turned out to have some education in that direction before she had embarked on studying medicine. This was probably why Isabelle had thought of them, although it was remarkable how she would know about it.

“But the care is not obligatory,” Anna Margaret said rather cheerfully. It was mostly to convince herself, she knew. She was still torn between wanting privacy and wanting the best for her baby. “If it’s too busy or you are not in time, you get nothing. Which means you won’t automatically die if someone doesn’t come to take your temperature. The midwife will come a few times as well.”

“Right,” Nathalie nodded. She had needed a few minutes to speak a little more. “It’s mostly for the essential things that you might not be able to do right after giving birth and to keep an eye on the baby and help with taking care of it, but if there’s anything wrong you will be seen by other people.”

“Mum says we won’t have to clean,” said Murielle. “Although we won’t mind something small.”

“Frederick can do that if I cannot,” Anna Margaret said. “And we have a cleaning lady.” She did not think it would get dirty in the meantime.

“We’ll be sure to read up on what to do,” Murielle added. “Mum insisted. But she’ll still much rather have us than strangers.”

“Your mum has done it so often before that she could do it herself.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt she would come here for a second opinion if we asked.”

“That’s a relief. And how are all of you dealing with the idea of a new brother now?”

“It’s…fine. It was their decision to keep it, so we’ll just have to accept it and be thankful that it was not our decision to make. And of course we’ve been requested not to procreate in the near future, because that would make Mum look old.”

“Did any of you have any plans?” She would think they were a bit young.

“No,” said Murielle. “Not while I’m still studying and when I finish I should actually get a job first. I have a feeling people at university and the hospital don’t really want to invest in me much because they think I won’t get a job anyway, so I have to make sure that I show them I really do want to. And there are other things that make it difficult for me, but – although…it would have been better to time it with Mum so she could look after both while I study. I told her that, but she didn’t agree.”

Anna Margaret wondered if she was expected to participate in such a switch instead – and which way it would go – but it really sounded like something Isabelle would come up with.

“They are, of course, a couple,” said Frederick when the two girls had left.

“They are?” It had not crossed her mind for a second.

“Two years or something.”

“Nobody’s ever even hinted at that.”

“No? As if random friends get this task.” Frederick looked amused. “Isabelle is not all that tolerant towards random people.”

“Don’t be smug. You probably found out this evening.”

“No, a while ago. She was there at Christmas.”

“Lots of people were!” Anna Margaret protested. She felt a little guilty for apparently not having paid enough attention to all those people she had never met before. There had been so many people there that she had thought everyone had been allowed to bring a friend, not that everyone was in fact connected to the family.

“Yes, everyone’s secret lovers.”

“Who else?”

“My mother and my aunt have some.”

She gasped. “I didn’t notice that either. Your mother? Who?”

“Oh, just some man you will have seen there.”

She tried to remember. “But we’ve never seen him before at her apartment.”

Frederick thought back. “No. Probably not. My father hasn’t been dead for long enough.”

“And what do you think of that?”

“By now?” He shrugged. “It’s her life. It has no consequences for me. If she has a good time with this man, so much the better. He seems to be nice to her.”

“So many revelations.”

“No, just people doing what makes them happy.”

“True.” She paused for a second. “What if there are complications during the birth? What shall we do? If it comes early? We’re now starting from the assumption that we’ll be great and we can work it all out with the help of two students.”

“I don’t think we should start from any other assumption. If something happens, we’ll deal with it. If it doesn’t happen, we won’t deal with it.”

She whimpered. It sounded more pathetic than she actually felt. Of course they were going to deal with it. It was just that some parts of the future were unpredictable and she still did not like not being completely in control of it. She hoped the baby would not arrive before it was due, as that would bring a lot more time and trouble. This was selfish, she knew.

“Am I selfish? I want it to be on time and healthy.”

“Everyone wants that. It’s also better for the baby, I’m sure. Nobody wants it to be early and having to leave it in the hospital for weeks. That’s not selfish.”

“All right. What if I’m too selfish, though? I don’t believe in the magical appearance of self-effacing motherly feelings.”

Frederick did not appear to take that seriously. “That is because it’s not yet out.”

“But –“

“The moment it comes out…”

“But seriously. You don’t believe in it either. You’re just winding me up.”

“Yes,” he admitted. “But there’s probably some instinct. And if not, reason will help. Anyway, you’re not selfish.”

Posted on 2017-09-24

Chapter Sixty -Five

“I heard,” said her father, “that you’ve dropped a few tasks.”

Anna Margaret did not know who exactly his source was, but she knew he had a few. In this instance it did not matter. It was hardly confidential information and she did not have to follow it up. “Yes,” she replied. They were standing in the street and she did not know if she wanted to stand there for long, so she did not elaborate. It was winter, after all, and fine for walking, but not so much for standing.

“So you’ll be going on leave soon? Or is this it?” He looked a little confused, as if she made these things especially mysterious on purpose.

“It’s possible.” She still did not want to commit to a date because she would like the freedom not to stick to it.

“It’s five o’clock,” he said.

“Yes, I stopped early.”

“Are you going down to zero?”

It kept being the same question in different forms, she reflected. When was she due? Was it very soon? She hoped her belly was not that impressive under her winter coat. It looked large enough to her naked, but objectively speaking it was all right. At any rate she did not think her father had the ability to tell from her size how long she still had to go, so all he could do was ask. “Don’t know.”

“You should not be walking. I assume you walked?”

“Yes, I did. Walking is good for me.”

“You should not be taking the risk.”

“Of what?” She looked left and right. There was no danger here at all. He did not have to be worried that she did not think of these things herself. She was not walking through deserted parks after dark. These were relatively busy city streets at a time when a lot of people were on their way home. And she had always walked and nothing had ever happened, except that some people might walk a little way with her.

“People might do something to you.”

“They could do that anywhere. And they haven’t, so why now?” She was never particularly worried during the day and she considered saying that, but then she wondered if that was what worried him or something else. “And births don’t happen as you walk.”

“Are you taking your leave after the birth?”

“I don’t know yet.” She could explain that it would depend on what sort of baby she was going to have, but she expected him to know. It was of course possible that he had been mostly absent when there had been babies in his family, but she could not remember that far back. It was, however, a fact everyone should know: not all babies were the same.

“But you have to know.”

And she did – it would depend. “Yeah. I’ve got that all covered. Maybe your sources don’t know.”

“My sources?”

“The people who give you inside information.”

“Anna, you make it sound as if I pay them.”

“They might think it will pay off for them in the long run, I don’t know.” They could be counting on favours. She had no idea. They had to have some reason for telling him.

“Will you send Aunt Marie a card?”

The sudden change of subject perplexed her. “Aunt Marie? I hardly know her.”

“She would appreciate it, given how you didn’t tell her about your pregnancy.”

He was channelling her mother now, even if it was an aunt on his side of the family. “A card? I don’t think they send cards.” She assumed the news would leak out and the media would publish it and then no one would need a card. The purpose of a card, in the days before everyone went online, was to inform people that a baby had been born. Now, such cards would arrive long after everyone heard about it. There was no longer any need.

“Do you have to do as they do?”

No, but it was convenient at times. “But I won’t send to people I never see.” Or maybe that was exactly the point of a card. “But we’ll see. Not everyone can be a part of this. I don’t want that. If I’d married the local baker Aunt Marie wouldn’t have wanted a card.”

She discussed it with Frederick at home. “What about all the people who want a part of the baby?”

“My family?”

“No, mine. Pretty distant too, an aunt.”

Frederick found that funny. “Distant. An aunt.”

“If you never see them, they’re distant,” she defended herself.

“True. But what do they want? Or what does your aunt want?”

“I don’t think they would have wanted anything if you hadn’t been you. I can’t explain it otherwise.” It was easier to deal with strangers, she reflected, than family, because they might make her feel as if she had some sort of duty towards them just because she was related.

“Oh, that.” Frederick did not look surprised. “That won’t go away probably. Not even if I ditched the title, because then I’d still be related to my sister.”

“My father said I should send her a card after the birth. Maybe you could set up a Facebook page. I don’t know, for photos? And then people like Aunt Marie could see a photo.” Except people like Aunt Marie were probably not digitally inclined and they would not know how to find it.

“We’re going to have to share the baby with enough people as it is. Let’s not add useless others,” he said after a moment. “A photo would be all right and I rather fear the public will want one or two as well – and we might actually like to show off – but I don’t really see the need to have everyone come over for a look if they are not people who would otherwise come over.”

“You do not believe in blood ties and things like that?” Anna Margaret did not think there was much else that tied her to her aunt. “Your family are pretty close.”

“With the ones they see. You don’t think that a half-cousin would be welcomed with open arms, do you?”

“I don’t know. Do you think there are some?”

“Yes. Well, I’ve heard rumours that my uncle may have been indiscreet, but I don’t think anyone has ever come forward to ask for money. So I don’t know for certain. They may not have told me about it. Anyway, I’ll set up an account already and then you can have a look.”

“At nothing?”

“I’ll post a picture of something else. But then you could add people you would like to be in the know.”

Maybe it was time she started using social media to a greater extent. She sighed. It might actually be useful for keeping them informed about the baby. “All right. But we’re not going to tell them when it starts.”

“I didn’t think you’d want to.”

“But there’s no need to include Aunt Marie yet. I don’t even know if she complained herself or if it was my parents’ idea. She might not be seriously interested and if we then include her, she might think we’re including her.”

Frederick gave that piece of logic a frown. “Uh. In any case, we can’t mindlessly throw pictures on it, because you never know who might pass them on or sell them. Are your parents online?”

“I have no idea.”

“I’ll first add my nieces and nephews then, because they definitely are, and then you can see how it works. It’s really easy. We have a secret family group too.” He sat her down and made her watch.

Anna Margaret was approaching her due date, although she was still determined not to say it. She did not really know why she was so stubborn about it, but she felt she should keep it up. So far there had not been great problems with passing on some tasks to others. The media and the public had not been able to catch any areas that were neglected, although they had tried.

She had been ahead of them, however, and she had very carefully catalogued and delegated her duties. There was a document that people could access that showed which duties were now taken care of by whom. Since she had always needed to take some time to prepare her weekly schedule, it only took a little bit more effort.

The amount of work was not decreasing after a certain point, so people could not infer anything from that. But there was no need to get rid of all of her duties, she thought, as long as she was conscious and mentally fully functioning. Modern communication possibilities ensured that people could always get a hold of her within three hours. Although she knew her schedule by heart, it had taken her a week to defer people immediately to others if they approached her on an issue that she had delegated. Initially it had taken a bit longer and she had either felt guilty or felt that it would save time if she handled this last little bit herself. But it had become easier and faster.

There were things that she wanted to be updated on and those emails she read in the evening at home. It was too much work to ask for summaries of everything, since some civil servants were constitutionally incapable of being concise, so she usually scanned the texts quickly. It was better to read a few emails each night than to have to work through piles of documents that she had to catch up on when she was back to working her regular hours. Because she did want to stay on top of things.

From interviews people would know that she did stay on top of things. Reporters still asked her questions – if they caught her leaving the building – and she always answered. What she did not do anymore was travel across the border. She could do places like Brussels distance-wise, but the evening programmes were too fatiguing. She would simply not stay awake. It was better to let Louis handle such things. Even meetings at home that ran late were a problem. The first time the media had still written extensively about it; the second time it was merely a mention. She was doing better at having herself replaced and represented than a minister who suddenly came down with the flu, after all.

Isabelle did not have as much to do publicly and she did not seem to cut down on her engagements at all. It only looked that way, however, because it was all planned very carefully. People had had opinions in the beginning and it had gradually become too repetitive to be deserving of attention, but Isabelle knew that if she took too much time off she would not only receive sympathy.

She was paid too much tax money to take time off.

Anna Margaret assumed that Isabelle would do a little less after the birth, although it was Isabelle who was offering suggestions about taking her baby to the office and it was logical to think she would do the same. Isabelle, however, had more trips and visits. It was more difficult to take a baby then. Anna Margaret did not know how that would work out for herself either, except that it would need to involve Frederick in some way. Frederick and Philip shrugged at the problem, it seemed, and perhaps one had convinced the other that there was no problem at all.

Anna Margaret, on the other hand, thought babies pooped and needed to be fed regularly. She did not bring ladies-in-waiting to places, although she doubted that ladies in Isabelle’s entourage would volunteer to change a baby. Would it be passed down the chain even further? And would a baby changing room be included in the list of requests that was sent to a location before an official visit?

Frederick thought it would all work out. She reminded him of what he would have to do if he accompanied her and he still thought it would all work out. Strangely enough she thought he might indeed prefer removing himself to a quiet place with a baby over continuing to be part of an official visit. In fact, they would probably never come back until it was time to leave.

It was only when he would have something to do of his own – rowing, for example – that she worried about. He had a few things planned, but she did not yet know about her own agenda. She still liked to be in control and to have it all sorted out beforehand, even if expecting a baby had been a good lesson in that regard. It worried her that they might not have anywhere to leave the baby and she really did not want Frederick to give up his own amusements. He was already extremely pliable.

He said they could always leave the baby with Isabelle and Isabelle herself had said as much as well, but Anna Margaret was still wondering what would happen if they all had something to do. Frederick was more worried what she would do if the baby did not sleep, but he tried not to mention that.

Anna Margaret had felt the occasional discomfort, but she had paid little attention to it. As her work day came to a close, she had more time to notice the cramps. Sometimes she felt one, but she had not timed the intervals – if there were regular intervals at all. She walked towards the exit and waited for her car. Apparently it could happen as a sort of practice. She could only assume that was what this was, because she could continue work without serious problems.

They had wanted her to use cars, for her safety, but she had only agreed when she felt it was too tiring to walk home from work at the end of the day when there was a layer of snow on the pavement. It had seemed lazy to travel such a short distance by car.

The car dropped her off outside her house and she went in. Frederick was still out. He always told her if he was away at night and he had not done that, so she supposed he was due home soon. The cramping in her stomach was more frequent now. She drank something and walked in small circles.

Then it occurred to her to phone. “What time will you be home?”

“I’m already on my way. What’s wrong?”

“Just a little uncomfortable, really,” she said brightly, trying to keep her breathing under control. She could not tell him these were contractions if she did not know they were contractions. It would be silly if she was wrong. And how could she know they were contractions? On television women always made a lot of noise. He might drive too fast and have an accident if she worried him unnecessarily. “I was wondering when you’d come.”

“A little?” Frederick sounded sceptical. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

She walked around some more and went upstairs to run a bath. This house had a bath, contrary to Frederick’s previous apartment, but they rarely made use of it. While she was there, the cramping became more frequent and less bearable. She supposed she could not deny that these were indeed contractions, although she still did not feel the need to scream and pant and fall to the floor.

When Frederick came in, she hardly noticed him, though.

“Have you called the midwife?” he asked. “Should I take you to the hospital?”

“I didn’t call, in case these were not contractions.”

Frederick rolled his eyes. He left the bathroom. Anna Margaret wondered what he was going to do, but after a few seconds she could only focus on her body and getting towels and things like that. When she had gone through three of those excruciating moments and she had a few seconds of clarity, he was back.

“She says contractions. She wanted to know how far apart, but she’ll come over to see you anyway.”

“Not that it will help much.” Anna Margaret tried several different positions in the bath. Bath tubs were supposed to be comfortable, but they were far too hard and far too small for it. She had no idea what was supposed to be comfortable about a bath tub.

“Not far apart,” Frederick concluded. “Why are you in a bikini?”

“Someone’s coming over. And if I have to leave – whoa!”

“Whoa?” He was concerned.

“It’s a bit painful,” she said with a gasp.

He had to wait for her next remark, but he held her hand in the meantime.

“I don’t feel like getting into a car anymore.” She certainly did not feel like getting out of the bath and into clothes.

“No?” His hand was squeezed.

“If I stand up he will fall out.”

Posted on 2017-10-03

Chapter Sixty -Six

Anna Margaret did not really notice what Frederick had gone to do. He had moved about, laying out towels, talking on his phone and she did not know what else. But he was there when she felt it happen and she yelled.

She sat feeling bemused with a tiny baby against her chest when the midwife came in. It was good they had someone downstairs to let her in. Frederick had not done it, at any rate, because he had stayed with her. Now that she was no longer busy, her shoulders grew cold and she shivered.

“Wow,” said the midwife. Today it was Carine, with whom she had had at least two appointments recently. “He was in a hurry, was he? How do you feel?”

“Er…I have no idea.” She was glad it was over, but she was not sure she could get up or walk. Perhaps dazed described her most accurately.

“Mind if I check him?” Carine took a towel and wrapped the little thing in it. He let out a howl. “Did he cry when he came out?”

“Yes. I think?”

“Can I get Anna Margaret out?” Frederick asked.

“Just a minute.” Carine was examining the baby. It took a little while. “Perfect. Now, take him from me and dress him up. Keep him warm. I’ll have a look at Anna Margaret. Oh, don’t forget the nappy. Then bring some clothes for her.”

Frederick took longer dressing up his son than it took Carine to look at Anna Margaret and help her out of the bath. Anna Margaret was in a bathrobe when he reappeared. It was really all quite messy. She did not look down.

Carine ushered her to the bedroom and told her to sit or lie down when she was dressed. Frederick gave her the baby. Then he disappeared.

She looked at the time. It was nine o’clock. She had had no idea how much time had passed since she had come home.

Carine instructed her about some matters and did her paperwork. She also made a list because she was not sure the information would be remembered. “I’ve written things down for you. I’ve got someone else to check up on, but Iris will be coming to see you shortly.”

Frederick joined her when he had let Carine out. He kissed her. “What did just happen?”

She chuckled. “You were there.”

“I know, but I was so busy that I didn’t really stop to think about it.”

“Thanks,” she said gratefully. “I love you.”

“I did have someone on the phone telling me what to do.”

“I don’t care.”

“I hope he’s dressed right.”

“He’s not complaining.”

“Is he drinking?”

“Not sure. Practising maybe. I’ve been ordered to let him try. It’s not all that comfortable.” Suddenly she realised something. “I’ve not had dinner yet.”

“Neither have I. Shall I make something?”

“Call me when it’s done. I’ll come downstairs.”

He gave her a look.

“I can.”

Frederick realised something. “I could have filmed him swimming to the surface.”

Anna Margaret had been too busy to wonder about that, but she was glad. “I’m happy you didn’t take any half nude videos of me looking exhausted. And is this proud daddy kicking in already? I’m sure he didn’t swim. I know what. You cook some dinner and we’ll come downstairs and then you can take a picture. I’ll put on some better clothes.”

“I’ve got some of him when I dressed him, but not when he just came out.”

“Brilliant.”

“I’ll carry him down. You might faint.”

“Whatever you want.”

“Should we inform people?” They had discussed what they would do, but they had not counted on ending up in a situation in which they could postpone telling people. Here at home it was so easy not to tell anyone just yet. It was very tempting.

She thought about it. “Not if they want to come over. I’d like some time alone to get used to the situation before people come over to see how I cope.” She did not want anyone telling her she was holding the baby incorrectly or whatever else they might comment on. She would rather be seen when she had managed it all.

“All right.” He went downstairs.

Anna Margaret switched the baby to her other breast. It was just as painful, but she was determined to get the hang of it – or rather, to let him get the hang of it. At some point when she did not feel anything anymore he turned out to have fallen asleep. It was amazing. She studied the small creature lying by her side. Sleeping, he did not look like anyone. It was a little daunting to be responsible for him now. She did not know what she would do if he started to cry, which he was certainly going to do at some point. At least nursing seemed to be one skill he was born with. That was good to know.

The first person to come back was not Frederick, but Iris. “I heard it went fast,” she said, setting down her bag. “I was with someone where it was taking far longer, but Carine is with them now, since the birth might happen on her shift.”

“I honestly don’t know how long it took.”

“You had an appointment only this morning.”

“Yes, no problem yet.”

Iris asked her a few more questions, examined the baby again and looked at the notes. Anna Margaret had the impression there was no real need for her to be there, since she did not do anything Carine had not done. Still, it was a little reassuring to find that nothing had gone wrong after Carine had left.

“One of us will be back in the next few days,” Iris announced as she closed her bag. “You have a private nurse, don’t you?”

“We haven’t actually informed anyone yet.”

“I think you’ll be all right during the night, but if you’re worried you can always call us. Call your nurse first thing in the morning, all right?”

“Yes,” Anna Margaret said obediently. It was Saturday, so that might make it easier for someone to come by.

Anna Margaret dressed in nice pyjamas, the ones she had picked out for a trip to the hospital. Since the baby was asleep, she laid him in his cot and covered him up. Hopefully he would stay asleep while she ate.

Downstairs, Frederick sat her down at the table. “I wonder if anyone is going to notice your belly is gone.”

“It’s not,” she had to point out, although some of it was.

He fiddled with his phone. “I’ll let you check the photo before I post it.”

“Thanks. What will you say?”

“Bedtime snack, or something.”

“I’m not sure what the news value of that is.”

“I’m not sure anything I post ever has any news value, so people won’t notice the difference.”

Despite knowing that he had an account that he used regularly, she still never personally went to Twitter. “I couldn’t tell you.” She quickly ate the omelette he had cooked up. Although she was hungry, she was eager to get some sleep as well. There was no telling what the night might bring.

In the morning Frederick felt tolerably rested. It helped that he had expected a bad night. He had let Anna Margaret sleep a bit longer, since she had been up during the night and he had not. By the time she came downstairs he had prepared a luxurious breakfast.

“Wow,” she said. “Is that just for the two of us or have you invited company?”

“I phoned Isabelle, if you don’t mind.”

She did not. “She’s not coming?”

“Not yet.”

Isabelle had a point. Visitors to this house were bound to get noticed. Even if they did not advertise the birth to anyone outside the family, people would realise what was going on if there was a continuous stream of family members suddenly visiting. They should not let people come here until they were ready for the media camping out in the street. Hopefully the media would not, but it was a possibility they should reckon with, considering how things had gone in other countries. “And Murielle?”

“She said she’d tell Murielle.”

“Any news on Twitter?” she asked.

“About your belly? Yes, someone remarked that you look far less fat from that angle.”

“Hmm. I hope it’s from every angle.” She glanced down, but she doubted it. Everything still had to shrink, unfortunately.

Frederick seemed hesitant. “She sounded a bit busy, you know.”

“Busy like I was?”

“Don’t know. Murielle might be able to tell us when she gets here.”

It was not Murielle who arrived, however, but her friend Nathalie. She congratulated them warmly and examined the latest arrival. She weighed him, took his temperature and asked about his feeds. All was well. “Are you okay as well?” she asked Anna Margaret.

“Yes, I’m fine. He wasn’t awake all night. I suppose it could have been worse.”

“Great. Take some rest. Murielle or I will be back tomorrow. We’ll send a message to see when. But if you need to ask anything sooner, you have the number.”

“Is Isabelle busy?”

“Oh, Murielle’s mother…” Nathalie was clearly not all that comfortable with her first name. “Yes. You know.”

“Did she go to the Lamotte Clinic?” Anna Margaret looked excited. That would mean their nephew was also arriving this weekend, maybe even today.

“She was supposed to…”

Anna Margaret’s eyes widened. “But she didn’t. Does that mean nothing was happening?”

“She ordered the doctor to come over. But they did not send the one she phoned. I mean, the one she phoned, phoned another one and that one came with a complete delegation, even though he hadn’t delivered a baby in like a decade, so Murielle’s mother sent him away.” Nathalie looked impressed.

“Was that a clever thing to do?” Anna Margaret could not decide. She was impressed as well, but she did not know in which way.

“It was certainly satisfying. But there are people there. Probably too many already, so I could go and see you.”

“But she’s forty-seven.”

“I don’t think it’s wise to mention that. She would throw something at you.”

“But things could go wrong.”

“She said it would not.” She shrugged. “What could anybody do? She’s the queen. And Murielle’s father was just sitting there, so we assumed it was all right.”

Posted on 2017-11-01

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Anna Margaret knew that Frederick had sent his sister a photo of the baby and that she had replied a while later. The delay did not need to mean she was in labour. In fact, Anna Margaret assumed she had been doing something official and that good manners prevented her from taking out her phone.

That she had sent for a doctor meant something was happening now. There might not be a response this time and she did not want to frustrate anybody by sending more photos of a baby that was already out while Isabelle was still struggling with hers. If she was.

She wondered for a while if she should notify her parents. They were allowed to know, but she did not want them to walk to her house and reveal it to the world. That was a difficult thing. They would almost certainly give it away if anyone was looking, if they brought flowers or other gifts.

“Ask them over for coffee,” Frederick suggested when she consulted him.

“But we’re not in the habit. Wouldn’t they think that strange?”

“You’re bored. It’s raining. It’s cold. Where could we go? And I baked a cake we can’t eat on our own.”

“Did you?” She had completely missed that. How?

“No, not literally. They’ll forgive you for the lie when they see what we baked instead.”

She emailed her father. They still did not have her mobile number and she was reluctant to give it away at this point. It was even more imperative now to have a safe haven without unnecessary interruptions. If she gave them her number they were bound to call just when she was taking a nap.

Her father might not read the email straight away, so she picked up the baby for a feed. When they were busy – or rather, he was – she heard the doorbell ring. She resisted the initial urge to put the baby back in his bed. She could not; he was busy. Anyone downstairs would just have to wait and make do with Frederick.

She wondered if he minded, but since it had been his own idea, probably not. The baby was not hurrying and she had not yet got the hang of nursing in an upright position. As she was lying on the bed she looked at a YouTube film explaining how to do that. It did not look complicated. Perhaps next time she should try. It would be a rather necessary skill when she was back at work.

When the baby was satisfied, she laid him back in his bed. Before she took him downstairs she would first need to know who the visitor was. Although it was not likely, it might be someone else entirely.

Coming downstairs, however, she immediately heard the visitors were her parents. She walked into the living room. “Hello,” she said, feeling self-conscious for some reason.

“How are you?” asked her mother.

“Great,” she said with a shrug, trying to figure out if Frederick had revealed anything. It looked as if her deflated belly was not revealing enough. She probably still looked nine months pregnant. It was a bit disappointing not to have them point at it immediately. She had a dressing gown on, but it no longer looked as if it could not close.

“You’re bored then?” asked her father.

“Not really.” She did not feel very attractive in her wide clothes and with the huge maternity pad. That thing especially was quite awful. She struggled with taking up a comfortable position. “We just had something to show you.”

“What?” Her father looked clueless.

“Alexander.”

“Who?”

“What?” said her mother, who uncharacteristically seemed to catch on faster than her father. “It happened?”

Anna Margaret had urged her parents to behave normally as they walked home and said that she wanted some rest during the rest of the weekend. She had also asked them not to inform her sisters just yet, because she had no idea if they were able to keep quiet about it.

Her parents seemed delighted with the little boy and she could not even be sure they were going to keep their word, although she had stressed a few times that it was in the baby’s best interest not to be bothered yet. If the birth leaked out before Monday afternoon, she would take the appropriate measures, she had said, although she had not said exactly what she would do.

She was happy, though, that she had taken this hurdle. They now knew and she would no longer have to wonder about an appropriate moment. They had been the first and they could not feel they were being treated as secondary family members simply because they were not royals.

Her mother had asked what she was going to do with the baby. Of course now he was here she ought to know. Tomorrow he was simply going to stay home; that was easy. On Monday she expected to go to work as usual. She could walk, she could sit. There was nothing that prevented her from going.

“Monday…” she said to Frederick.

“You’re taking him.”

“Yes.” That was rather necessary. He needed to drink. “And I have a debate, so I need to go.” She probably had a good excuse if she did not go, but that was her last resort.

“Or should I take him there later, so you can arrive in peace?”

She considered that. If she simply got into the car that was going to pick her up, no one would know yet. Anyone watching her house might move to the office to spy on her there and Frederick would be able to leave unnoticed. If she left the house with a baby, she might be bothered by people wanting to take photos and ask questions and that would hold her up too much. She was not sure how much interest there would be, but it was best not to underestimate anything to prevent unpleasant surprises.

“I need to register him too,” he remembered. “I’ll do that before I come to you.”

“That sounds good. If I feed him just before I go, he should be fine for a while.” She would have to practise a bit more to nurse in a chair. By the time she got to work she would have to be good at it. Well, that was her own goal. Perhaps no one else would even notice or care. “And then what?” It was still really difficult not to be able to plan her day.

“I don’t know.” Frederick shrugged. “I haven’t got a lot planned this week because I knew he might be arriving. I can keep him entertained on Monday.”

Anna Margaret was not sure the baby would already want to be entertained. He was not sleeping as much as she had always heard babies did, but he seemed to be content just lying there. She crossed her fingers behind her back. Hopefully it would stay that way.

Of course he chose precisely that moment to start fussing. Before they got to him it was a full-blown cry.

“All right,” she said doubtfully after she had picked him up and he had gone amazingly quiet. “I fed him an hour ago, didn’t I? Is he tired?”

“Bored,” Frederick guessed.

“Already?” But she sat down with him on the couch and switched on the TV. She could not imagine doing that for six weeks.

By the end of the weekend Anna Margaret felt she had made some progress when it came to feeding the baby. She had also made some progress in finding out what he wanted. When he made a noise, he was either hungry or bored. She spent a lot of time sitting with him in her lap. Which was fine for today, she decided, but in the coming days he would have to be satisfied with something else. It was good that he seemed to like Frederick as well, although he mostly fell asleep when he was sitting with his father.

Florian and Murielle came by to see them on Sunday evening and the latter revealed that their little brother had arrived. She even showed them a photo and apologised that her parents had not sent anything themselves. “Mum wanted to come over, but I think Dad tied her to the bed,” she said as if this was the most normal thing in the world. “He wouldn’t let her go, at any rate. But they could have sent you a message, yes. I’m not sure why they didn’t. Maybe they’re still working on it.”

Frederick sent one to his sister before Murielle finished speaking.

“We were allowed to let you know about it, though. Don’t worry,” Murielle added.

“Is she all right?” asked Anna Margaret.

“Mwah. Physically I suppose, yes.”

“But otherwise?”

“I think it’s quite a relief that he seems to be all right. It’s always a risk, isn’t it? Especially when she sent everyone away. Oh gosh, these doctors must still be thinking it was a false alarm!” she chuckled.

“He was born at home then?” Anna Margaret asked.

“Yes.”

“What did your father think of that?” She expected Philip not to have supported anything that would have endangered the life of his wife and child.

“He probably liked it, because he also had to help with homework at the same time.”

Florian had been fiddling with his bag. “Can I take a picture of yours? I took some of Max and –“

“Some?” his sister interjected. Evidently she disagreed.

“Max?” Frederick asked. “Surely that’s short for something.”

“Surely you’re right,” said Florian. “Florian, Julian, Max – you can fill that one in.”

“But yes, you can take pictures of Alexander as long as –“

“Alex. Great combo with Max.” Florian unpacked his bag. He had come prepared. “I hope you haven’t already released a picture.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s sort of my job and Mum –“

“Well, it’s my child and I decide.”

“I take better photos.”

“I’m not paying you for them.”

Florian grinned. “All right, but I’m not sure Mum trusts you to release a suitably classy photo.”

“I haven’t heard from her, so I’m sure she does.”

“And no one takes the heir to the throne seriously,” Florian sulked for effect.

“I could have told you that,” Frederick informed him. “Do focus on photography in the meantime.”

“And where is the boy?”

“In the living room.”

Anna Margaret was sort of stationed in the doorway, so she could oversee both spaces. Murielle was already looking at the baby. She had just weighed him. “Good,” she decided. “He appears to drink well.”

“Now that,” said Florian, approaching. “Is not royal attire.”

“And what you’re wearing is?” Frederick retorted, although it was a good deal more formal than what he was wearing himself.

“I am not to be announced. Trust me, if I get married or something I’ll wear something that passes muster.”

“I don’t think we bought anything suitable for an official photo,” said Anna Margaret, although she was not worried in the least. Florian was not to be taken seriously and he knew it. He was simply looking for something to do with his life. “But we have lots of things suitable for babies.”

“I’ll take a photo of his head. Or I could just take a few and let Mum decide.”

“Don’t take her so seriously. I went shopping with her and she never said a word,” she advised.

Posted on 2018-04-12

Chapter Sixty-Eight

On Monday morning Anna Margaret was picked up by the car that had been arriving at the same time for the last two weeks. She had not called it off, so it arrived promptly. Her bag was larger today, although she had not even stuffed everything in it that she might need. Frederick would bring the rest.

He had looked up when he could register the birth and planned to do so as early as possible. He had a bag with the baby’s things. The travel cot was already in Anna Margaret’s office and had been there for weeks. She enjoyed being prepared. It gave her so much positive energy to have it all under control. Everything would go well.

She left her things in her office and left for the debate. If Alexander cooperated it would finish before he got hungry, if his rhythm of the past two days was anything to go by. Luckily she would not be expected to speak. At least, she counted on that. It would make it easier to slip out.

She greeted her staff and her colleagues as if nothing had happened over the weekend, although she was slightly self-conscious about the wide blouse and equally wide long cardigan that obscured her belly – or the loss of it – but no one was saying anything. They all assumed that if she was here, nothing was happening yet.

It was good to be seen attending, although she gave the public gallery only a few glances. Those people had not come for her. She was not speaking, although there was always a chance that someone would ask her a question. If Jeannine answered her questions well, there would be no need.

This was one of the files she had kept. She had read it through yesterday and was tolerably up to date. It occurred to her that there now had to be a deadline: after a certain period of time she would have to take all of her tasks back. Louis and she had tentatively put this at three months, the standard for other people. She had gradually done less, but she would now have to build up her workload again. The difficult question was: starting when? She could not yet say how the following weeks would go, based on her experience of only two days – at home, at that.

Frederick had said she should come home this afternoon. He seemed to think she should do that all of this week. Therefore this week was not yet a good time to increase her load. Her mind wandered, but she was not worried. Everyone’s mind wandered at times during debates. Some even replied to emails and she had known people to play solitaire.

George messaged her as if she was not distracted enough. He’s here! That would be Frederick or Alexander or both. They should be heading for her office, where she had stopped only briefly without exchanging more than the customary greetings. If Frederick arrived with a baby it would indeed be a big surprise. She stifled a smile.

Still no one here had caught on. She had already been sitting when most arrived, of course. Planning was everything.

There was a break. She would need to change the pad – goodness knew when the next opportunity might be – and clutched her bag to her stomach. They were hell, those things. Hardly fit into the sanitary waste containers, as if new mothers ought not venture out of the house anyway in such a state. The world outside was not equipped to deal with them. Hopefully she would only need the pads for another day or two.

Jeannine cornered her when she was washing her hands. “What happened?”

“What do you mean?” Anna Margaret asked obtusely.

“You look thinner. Did it go wrong?”

Did it go wrong? Anna Margaret pondered that question. If it had gone wrong, would she be here? Already? Because she had last been here – or somewhere at work, at least – on Friday.

“I’m sorry,” said Jeannine. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I…”

“No, it’s OK. It’s just…would I be here if it had gone wrong?” Was she perceived as being so unemotional that she could do that?

“Well, er…”

“He’s – I don’t know, really.” She was going to say he was in her office, but maybe by now he was on his way over here.

“He? Who?”

“The baby.”

“But – what about him?”

“He’s with Frederick.”

“You gave birth?” Jeannine looked astonished.

Anna Margaret was confused. “But you noticed. You brought it up.”

The women’s lavatory was still the best place for secrets. Coming out of it there were so many more people strolling and waiting for the debate to resume that it would have been difficult to hold a private conversation. Jeannine had said she would be quiet about it, not that anyone would think it acceptable for the debate to be interrupted for an announcement to such an effect. Anna Margaret thought not, anyway. It was not that important.

People trickled back into the room. They had about half an hour to go if no one came up with any delays. That would work, although Anna Margaret began to feel that Alexander should really drink within the next hour.

And indeed, when about half an hour had passed she began to feel uncomfortable. The debate did not show any signs of finishing soon, what with yet another irrelevant interruption. She wished this was a meeting she chaired. She would have been able to break it up then.

Anna Margaret slipped out via the back door. It was in full view of everyone, of course, and it was hardly a good moment, but she had to go or she would start to leak. Now where was Frederick? He had a pass; he could come here. She had instructed him to. It did not take long for him to come into view.

He was not alone, though. George was with him, looking incredibly excited. “Madam!” he said as always, but he hugged her quite uncharacteristically.

“Sshh,” she said, looking over her shoulder and hoping he was not squeezing any milk out of her with that hug.

“This is so wonderful!” George gushed.

“I don’t know you. What happened? You knew he was coming. And I bet you knew I wouldn’t stay home.” She felt a little self-conscious.

“I’ll leave you now. I was told he needs to be fed.”

She looked for a seat. The little boy was not making any noise yet, not until she positioned him in her arms. Then he began to fuss and move his small mouth. It was fascinating how he instantly knew.

Frederick had announced the birth on Facebook on his official account, when the debate was over and Anna Margaret was back in her office. He had wanted her to go home sometime in the afternoon, but that turned out to be impossible: Louis was ill and he had been due to meet an ambassador.

“We’ll just have to stay,” Anna Margaret decided. Someone had to do it.

The ambassador was a very nice lady, who had no objections to a baby being present during a serious conversation, very likely because she understood serious conversations could perfectly well be held with babies present.

The baby was seen by the official photographer who came to record the meeting, but he was not photographed at Anna Margaret’s request. She did not know if his travel cot could be seen in any of the photos, but at least the little noises he made could not be heard in them.

When the ambassador was gone, she packed everything up and had her staff ring for the car.

By now the news had spread. She realised that when the car turned into her street and it was unusually crowded. She suppressed a slightly uncivilised exclamation. “What do you propose we do?” she asked the driver, leaning forward from the back seat. She was sitting next to the baby, of course.

“Oh, it will be all right, madam,” he reassured her. “I’ve seen worse.”

She had too, but that was on official visits when there were people around her to ward off any pushy individuals. Not that she could not deal with pushy individuals, she told herself, but they took too much time. And in this case she did not want people to stick cameras into the baby’s car seat. Would they? She had no idea. People here were not as hysterical as in some other countries, but magazines still competed with each other.

“You get out,” instructed the driver. “Take the baby out and go inside. I’ll be in the way.”

She glanced at the door that they were now approaching. It was still closed. She had her key and got it ready in her hand. People would not follow her through the gate. It was small and it was always open, but it was nevertheless a gate and it signalled that beyond lay private property.

The door opened to a crack when she carried the car seat towards it, though, and she gratefully slipped in. Thankfully it was Frederick holding it open and not someone else. “The rest,” she said, referring to the enormous load of things they now had to shift around.

“I’ll get it,” he said and stepped out to get the bags. Apparently he did not care about the people out there, or they had already talked to him.

“What time did they appear?” she asked when he had brought everything inside.

“I wasn’t home. I went for a run after I posted the news. They were here when I got back – well, some of them were – but they were bugging your parents at that moment. I went in when they were. They missed me running right past. And then I showered and I checked our food supplies.”

“But you went out there as if they had already talked to you.” This had surprised her.

“The neighbours came to bring us a pan of soup. Well, one of them and she didn’t want to come in, so I was just standing there, really, while she went back to her house to fetch the pan – she had first checked with me – and some people shouted questions at me.”

Anna Margaret had finally unwrapped herself and the baby. “Oh.” He must have answered some questions then. “What did they ask?”

“Predictable things, like if it was true that the baby had come. Yes. And when? And where? And did I have photos? I said I had posted the news with a photo, so I assumed they were there because they had seen that photo.”

“They were not?” Automatically she wondered who could have talked, not that it was a serious offence in this case.

“They said there was no text.”

“There was not?” Anna Margaret had not checked. He had texted that he had posted, but she had been too busy to look it up.

“I didn’t know what to write. Which tone. I meant to think about it and add it later,” Frederick defended himself.

She laughed. “So…you just posted a picture and let everyone draw their own conclusions?”

“Yes. But really, there was only one conclusion they could draw! And they showed up here, didn’t they? So I suppose it was all clear. But to humour them I sat down on the fence and added some text.”

“You didn’t tell them the text?”

“That too,” he reassured her. “I did say something.”

Posted on 2018-05-12

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Anna Margaret was quite pleased with how Frederick was handling everything, from dragging the baby everywhere to talking to reporters. The neighbour’s soup came in handy, because it could be eaten instantly and they turned out to be rather hungry.

After eating Frederick said he would cook up a light meal while she went to feed and change the baby. They had been putting him in pyjamas at night, although she was not exactly sure they were hugely different from his day clothes. He was a quiet little thing and protested only when he was being undressed or hungry. Today he had had his first trip outside the house, so she wondered if he was extra tired. She took him downstairs and laid him in his pram. They preferred to have him near when they were not yet ready for bed. She did not know if that was normal, but it seemed to work: the previous two days he had been awake, but quiet.

The previous two days, though, she had not had much to do during the day except read. Now, she had been away for most of it and there were things to catch up on. There were dishes, laundry and other small household chores. The cleaning lady would come tomorrow, but they could not leave everything to her.

It was overwhelming, though, and she suddenly felt like crying. She did not understand why. It should not be overwhelming at all. Everything was going well. She was reasonably organised and they were certainly all healthy.

“What’s wrong?” asked Frederick when he found her.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know.” She disliked this emotional mess immensely. There was absolutely no rational reason for her tears. “There’s nothing wrong.”

The doorbell rang. Frederick looked in the direction of the door, not that he could see it. “Should I have a look?”

“I’ll go upstairs.”

“OK.” He waited until she was gone.

She threw herself on her bed and wondered if she should have taken Alex with her. Suppose they had a visitor and the baby needed her? On the other hand it might be nice to take a shower and see if it calmed her down. Before she had decided on anything, Frederick appeared.

“Visitors,” he said, but it did not look as if he considered them unwelcome.

“Now?” She looked at the clock.

“It’s quiet now.”

She did not know what that meant. “And who have they come to see? You let them in?”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?” She only wanted to cry.

“It’s only my mother and my sister.”

“I…can’t.” Anna Margaret felt incapable of talking to them sensibly without sniffling.

“Can I talk to them, though?”

“Of course.”

He gave her a hug and she was loath to release him, but the visitors would wonder where he was if she kept him here. She tried to recover when he was gone, but it was difficult. Of course she now also wondered what his mother and sister had come to do. A second later she told herself not to be stupid. They would have come to see the baby. But Isabelle? Had she heard that correctly? She pushed herself off the bed. She should not be weak when Isabelle was walking around.

The voices were coming from the kitchen. She wondered why. She had left Alex in the living room. He was still there and she carried him to the kitchen. Frederick had apparently not shown him yet. He might have waited for her to do it.

Anna and Isabelle were indeed in the kitchen. The latter was taking off a hat and a large scarf. “I thought I’d have a look at your son,” she said. “I heard you went to work today.”

“Yes, I…” Anna Margaret frowned. “But I heard you were tied to the bed.”

Isabelle wrinkled her nose, as if she did not quite like it that this bit of information had found its way out. “Not anymore. We haven’t announced the birth yet, so I figured this was the best time to go out. Tomorrow people will be watching.”

“They were outside too.”

“But they didn’t know it was me. So.” She unzipped her coat and turned out to have a bundle wrapped against her chest.

Anna Margaret stared. “You brought him?”

“Obviously. What if he gets hungry?”

Frederick ushered them towards the sitting room. “Sit down.”

Sitting down she again burst into tears without knowing why. Only Frederick looked alarmed, although he was the only one who had seen it before and who could have any reason to suspect it might happen.

“It’s normal,” said Frederick’s mother. “Isabelle will probably go tomorrow.”

“I will not,” Isabelle responded, sounding quite certain of it.

“But it will still be normal.”

Anna and Isabelle stayed only twenty minutes. Isabelle too was tired, although she claimed to be leaving so Anna Margaret could go to bed. The little boys had got acquainted – they had been placed side by side – and they did not differ much in size. There was not much else to say about them, but at least they looked sufficiently different for nobody to get confused.

“And now I have still not done the laundry,” Anna Margaret complained, feeling that the pile must be five metres high by now, even though nothing had been added to it in the meantime. She was also not satisfied that she had been sufficiently coherent to their visitors, although Frederick’s mother had appeared to be quite understanding.

“It’s only laundry.”

“But I should be able to do this.” It was a simple task, after all.

“No.”

“Will you do it?”

“Maybe. There are other things that are more important. Get some sleep. You’ll have time for it tomorrow afternoon if it’s still there.”

That was a good way of saying he wanted her to come home from work in the afternoon. “All right,” she replied. She would come home on time tomorrow and not let anything persuade her to stay. “But it’s not time for a feed yet.” If she went to bed now, she would not be able to sleep.

“Try it anyway.”

To her surprise Frederick stayed with her until she fell asleep, very close.

That, at least, was what she assumed when Alex woke her. Frederick was now asleep and in his pyjamas. The baby’s sounds did not disturb him. She fed the baby and put him back, eager to get back under the warm covers.

In the morning he did not wake either. She was tired when the alarm on her phone woke her – it seemed as if Alexander had only just gone to sleep – but she got up to take a shower. The plan was to go to the office today, with the baby, although they had not really had the opportunity to discuss the particulars of the plan last night.

When she tossed a load of underwear and towels in the washing machine, it struck her that Frederick was not up. He usually was. It was not a problem to fix breakfast for herself, but when she had eaten it and went to dress the baby, neither he nor Frederick were awake. It felt cruel and highly impractical to wake Alexander and she hesitated. Five more minutes and the car would be here. It would wait, certainly, but that would not be considerate of her.

She went downstairs to pick up the car seat. It might work to transfer him asleep. As she passed the kitchen she took a few more sips of her coffee, remembering it was still standing there.

Frederick looked up when she lifted the baby. “Oh.”

“Sleep on,” she advised. “We’ll manage.”

She had tossed a few nappies in her bag, and the baby’s coat. He was still asleep, so it was impossible to get him into his coat. It was impossible even when he was awake, too. She supposed throwing a blanket over the car seat qualified as ‘managing’. When the car came for her, they were ready.

Of course, she realised as she was being driven through town, she had not packed a clean change of clothes for Alexander.

And no wipes. There were ways around that, of course, but it was hardly organised. Yesterday Frederick had packed and brought all these things and evidently he was much better at this than she was. It was George, of all people, who pointed out there were some things missing. She kept her face straight as she listened to him and handed him a banknote when he did not appear to think that wet toilet paper could do the same job as a specially manufactured baby wipe. Perhaps he was right. She had never tried it.

She sighed when she was alone in her office. It was not easy to be organised and in control. It was all new, that was true, and perhaps by the end of the week she would be able to pack everything without even thinking about it.

There were meetings in the morning, but she asked for the ones that involved only a few people to be rescheduled to her office. That was easier with the baby. He behaved himself very well and did not disturb them. When she had a meeting in another building, she left Alexander with George and the rest of her staff.

After that it was almost time to go home. When she had asked George to get her a car, she checked the news. The Palace had released the news of the birth of both babies. Frederick had already done it himself, but apparently they felt that an official confirmation was in order. The dates of birth were given and their names. Maximilian had several names; Alexander only one. It made her regret her insistence, but only for a second. Maximilian would not be using any of his other names for most of his life.

There was no picture of Maximilian, but there was one of Alexander that Frederick had provided. She had not paid attention to it, really, but her staff had. When she came out of her office hung with bags and a car seat, George questioned her.

“Is he all right? Prince Maximilian?”

“Why shouldn’t he be?”

“People are wondering on social media.”

Anna Margaret was glad she stayed away from social media for the most part. “Yes, he’s all right. Why do people think he’s not?”

“On account of the queen’s age. There’s no photo and she hasn’t been seen. Maybe they’re not well and that’s why you have to go there.”

“Go where?”

“I didn’t order your car, madam, because the Palace informed me you would be picked up by them.”

Anna Margaret raised her eyebrows. “And nobody informed me?”

“I’m doing that now, madam. They informed me only a few minutes ago.”

“All right.” She believed him. “I wonder why.”

“I was to cancel any meetings you might have,” he said hesitantly. “It sounded like an emergency.”

“I can’t imagine why. They were all right last night. I was supposed to go home and – oh crap.” Suddenly she realised exactly why she was being picked up.

Posted on 2018-06-14

Chapter Seventy

She had been right. Palace staff took her to Isabelle, who clapped her hands approvingly when she saw her and who then led her to a very neat bedroom.

“You’re not asking anything,” Isabelle remarked.

“I had worked out what your purpose was.” Or at least some of it. Anna Margaret studied the room. The only things that were missing seemed to be pyjamas and a cot for the baby. She was definitely meant to rest here. “But…”

“You give him to me. He will be taken care of.”

Considering that she had left Alexander with her own staff for a while that morning, Anna Margaret did not think she had suddenly developed into the possessive and protective person that she had read some people became after giving birth. She noted this dispassionately. Not being overly possessive did make things easier. And Isabelle was an experienced mother. Unless she was not going to look after the baby herself. “Who…?”

“Me. Good people.”

“But he might become hungry,” she suddenly realised.

“I have plenty, unless you think that’s a problem? Feed him now, in that case.”

“I don’t really.” She did not even know what Isabelle meant precisely by having plenty. She gave nursing a try, but Alex was not interested. It made her wonder if she should have tried harder or perhaps some other way, but she was not yet experienced enough. “He doesn’t seem to be hungry,” she concluded in an attempt to sound knowledgeable.

“That is all right. I’ll feed him when he is.”

“With what? Not a bottle?” She frowned. She would like to avoid bottles for as long as possible.

“Even that could be arranged. But it’s easier to just nurse.”

“Would he want that?”

“He? Oh, I doubt he would care. It’s you who might object.”

Anna Margaret gave it some thought. “No. And what do I sleep in?” Her work clothes were more comfortable these days, but still not comfortable enough to sleep in.

“A bed.”

“I mean, clothes.”

Isabelle studied the bed. “There is a white nightgown on the pillow.”

Anna Margaret looked again. “Oh, now I see it. Thank you.” She figured she had best go with the flow and to be honest a little sleep would be very welcome. It was really more welcome than kicking a fuss for being ordered around. “And what time am I expected to get up?”

“Whenever you like.” Isabelle hesitated. “We are being interviewed in the late afternoon, though.”

“Who is we?” With queens you never knew.

“Me.”

“But what does that have to do with me?”

“If you want to sit in, you can.”

“Is that in the script?”

“There is no script. I’m trying to de-script.”

Anna Margaret tried to imagine what that would be like, but she felt too dull. “I’m not sure. Interviews are rarely entertaining. And I honestly don’t see how many questions you could ask about a baby until you stray into forbidden territory.”

“Actually I should welcome some,” Isabelle said with a dangerous smile. “Just to put people right, you know. The nonsense generator has been working overtime again out there.”

Anna Margaret had been in worse hotel rooms. This guest room even had a private bathroom with all that she might require and a nice view. After sending a quick message to Frederick – although she supposed he had been informed – she closed the curtains and went to bed. There was nothing else to do.

When she woke, she forgot for an instant that she had a baby, although she soon remembered when she wondered where she was. The nap had been very refreshing.

Outside the room sat a uniformed girl reading a book. Evidently she was supposed to help with anything Anna Margaret might require.

“Can you take me to…” She considered how to continue. “I suppose where they keep my baby?”

“Of course, madam,” said the girl, whose name tag made her out to be Gaby. “Could I help you with anything else?”

“No, thank you.” She checked her phone again, although she had checked it after waking up. “Perhaps something to eat.”

“I’ll see to that. What would you like?”

“A sandwich? I don’t mind what’s on it.”

Isabelle was being coiffed and made up. “Ah, there you are,” she said to Anna Margaret. “Still in time. Would you like your hair done as well?”

Anna Margaret had splashed a bit of water onto herself in the bathroom, but suspected her hair did not look too impressive. “Depends. I don’t want to give the wrong sort of impression. That after having had a baby you look better than before.”

“Just a bit of retouching of the blue rings.”

“I suppose I have no say in whether I join in on this interview then.”

“You can choose not to speak, but you won’t manage. It’s not that big. Someone is coming over to see us present the babies and he will ask a few polite questions. That’s all.”

It sounded simple enough. “But you hoped there would be silly questions.”

“Part of me does,” Isabelle admitted. “But another part of me thinks I shouldn’t answer them. You can, though.”

“I see why my presence is required,” Anna Margaret commented dryly. “What happened to Philip showing him in one of those white things, though?”

“That’s a hospital thing. Max was born here. Besides, the white gown is in the museum and we saw no reason to get it out.” Isabelle paused for a few seconds. “And if you’re not dressing yours in one, I am not either.”

“That’s the reverse of what people would expect – you following me,” Anna Margaret observed. “Where are the babies?”

“In the next room. Aurelie is looking after them. She has the afternoon off.”

“Did you sleep?”

“No, I had things to do. I slept all morning.”

“Was Alex hungry?”

“Yes. Are you sure he’s getting enough?”

Anna Margaret felt annoyed – or perhaps ignorant. “Of course. I’m not sure. I’m not an expert.”

“I didn’t mean to criticise. I merely thought him a bit calm. Which could be because he knew I wasn’t you and he didn’t immediately realise what to do – although I don’t know if they’re capable of that yet at this age. He seemed to be studying me first. So if he studies you first you might put him away before he figures out he wants to drink.”

“I haven’t noticed it,” Anna Margaret said curtly. She supposed Isabelle meant well, but she did nevertheless not like knowing so little about this. “He usually attacks me.”

“Then he didn’t trust me right away. But don’t worry. We’re good friends now. But maybe it’s good for your production to pump a little.”

“And where’s Frederick?” She disliked not knowing anything and having to ask questions. She certainly was not going to pump on command. “I suppose he knows where I am?” He had not replied to her message.

“I told him to do whatever it is that he does. Maybe he’s getting some extra sleep himself. He’ll pick you up later.”

A baby cried in the next room. “I wonder who that is,” said Isabelle.

“Oh, there are things you don’t know,” Anna Margaret commented. It was probably too mean of her, but Isabelle could be infuriating. “You can’t even hear which one it is?”

Isabelle clearly considered answering, but she refrained. Instead she called out, “Aurelie?”

Her daughter appeared a second later, already having been on her way towards the door with a baby in her arms. “This one is not happy. He has a dirty nappy, I think.”

“Change him.”

“What? Me?” Evidently Aurelie only liked the fun parts of babysitting.

“Who else?”

“Can’t Gaby do it?”

“She’s getting me a sandwich,” Anna Margaret said helpfully. She wondered if Gaby was the only member of staff around here. Apart from the hairdresser, naturally, who worked on stoically.

Aurelie smiled pleadingly at her aunt. “Can’t you do it? You know how. It’s not yours, but I guess they all operate the same way, don’t they?”

“That is literally what I said to her when I left them with her,” Isabelle whispered to Anna Margaret. “I’m so pleased that apparently some things do get through to them.”

“What are you saying about me, Mum?”

“I’m saying that no way are you allowed to get pregnant in the next ten years.”

“Last time you said it was twenty years, so that’s an improvement,” Aurelie shot back. “But in the meantime…what?” She gave the baby a pointed look. “Who?”

“Where’s your father then?”

“Out.”

“That leaves you no other option than to do it yourself then,” Isabelle said with a shrug.

Posted on 2018-07-04

Chapter Seventy-One

“We are very happy to be given another opportunity to experience this yet another time,” Isabelle said after the interviewer had begun by congratulating her. “It is marvellous to see children develop. They all have different personalities, but there are so many similarities. I always enjoy the journey.”

“And what a wonderful coincidence to have two small babies in the family,” said the interviewer, turning to Anna Margaret who was, like Isabelle, holding her son in her arms. They were seated in one of the official rooms, on a fairly uncomfortable sofa on which one had to sit up very straight and there was no chance of leaning onto an armrest or pillow for some relief. Thankfully the babies did not weigh much yet. “The births were surprisingly close together. Was that planned?”

“It was a coincidence indeed,” Anna Margaret said politely. “It will be nice for him to have a cousin of the same age.” If she had received this question in her professional capacity, she would have reacted differently, but she did not yet know how much room she would have to play. She had been invited to sit in, but how much could she really say? Isabelle knew she was not a dummy. She could not be expected to reply like a dummy.

She was not comfortable, however. What on earth could be said about babies? These babies did exactly the same things as all other babies, she bet. Or was she supposed to say how much her life had changed for the better now that she was a mother and how much she adored her son? She glanced down. He was simply there and he belonged with them, but she was not capable of expressing herself emotionally.

“Anyone with some degree of experience in natural childbirth will know this cannot be planned,” cut in Isabelle, without any sharpness. She was sounding terribly nice about the ridiculous question. “There is so much nonsense being written again these days. It was all natural. Nobody had twins and they are not secretly my grandchildren.”

“Will the boys be spending a lot of time together as they grow up?” asked the interviewer, ignoring the reference to nonsense. Perhaps he did not dare.

“They will benefit from regular contact, obviously, being the only ones so young,” said Isabelle. “They have already met, but there was not much interaction yet.”

“And who do they take after?”

“I can never see that in the beginning.”

The man turned towards Anna Margaret. “There was some speculation beforehand. Many people were certain that your child would be called Jacques if it was a boy, because of the family tradition in naming the firstborn sons. Now it’s a boy and he’s called Alexander.”

“Yes.”

“Does he still get the other names? Albert, Henri, Frederick?”

“No, he doesn’t have the other names. We’ve only given him one name, because we’re not naming him after anybody. It would be useless to speculate on that , on which Alexander, anyway. I was aware of the practice, but I never see the value in doing something only because it’s been done before. I do what I think or feel is right. It might be the same as in the past, or it might not. I didn’t feel compelled to perpetuate this practice for several reasons.” She tried to speak as gracefully as Isabelle, who had not betrayed at all that she thought a question stupid, but she did not quite succeed.

The interviewer looked expectantly at her.

She waited a few seconds, although he clearly wanted her to elaborate. But Isabelle should have the opportunity to interrupt if she stepped out of line. No interruption came.

“The way I see it, one man suddenly named his son after himself and then told that son to name his son after both of them, and then that grandson was told by – I don’t know who was still alive at this point – to do the same. This is merely something one man came up with. We came up with something else. Apparently some people think such a tradition nice. Mostly the pater familias who came up with this idea, I suppose, because it gave him some importance. But, there are several important players whose opinions didn’t matter or who were not even consulted: all the wives and the babies. Now,” she said, feeling she was really getting into it now and unable to stop, “you cannot consult an unborn baby, but you could at least wonder if he is going to be a unique individual or if he’s going to be some sort of clone who needs to be given the same names as all men before him – who may not even have contributed to his life in a positive way.

“As for the wives, as a matter of principle I object to the fact that it’s always the woman who is expected to submit to these types of practices in the husband’s family. I have not done extensive research, but reusing the same limited number of names suggests that they were not sourced from the mothers’ families. This implies that whoever the mother was, she was just an incubator. Her background, wishes or ideas could be completely ignored. What kind of relationship is that? Where the father says, ‘okay, if we have a son, he will be named after my father, grandfather, great-grandfather and me, and you have relatives too, but nobody cares about them’. Not my thing. How could anyone think it was?

“That said, how could anyone think I would marry someone who holds such ideas? So obviously he doesn’t and it was really a non-issue.”

Isabelle had studiously been biting her lip and looking at Maximilian, who had snorted and guffawed at the speech a few times as if he quite agreed with his aunt, and she had fiddled with her dress. Anna Margaret was not sure what she was doing and she did not dare to give it more than a furtive glance. She could guess, but if even she had to guess, the interviewer and the cameraman would certainly not know. Their view was blocked by the baby’s head anyway.

“The child, with his or her partner, are a new and independent family,” Anna Margaret continued in order to keep the attention off her sister-in-law. It was good that it was always possible to find more to say on this subject. This was not a rant; this was common sense. It had to be explained, though. Some people had so little common sense. “You cannot interfere with their personal decisions to such an extent by determining all the small details of their lives. Of course you could have expectations – I am not unfamiliar with parental expectations on other fronts myself – but never could you demand or order something that is really up to your child and his or her partner. The child is fifty percent his mother’s. So his mother should have at least a fifty percent say in things that concern him.”

Isabelle spoke. “At the very least,” she said dryly.

Anna Margaret was envious of her utter absence of discomfort or nerves. One day she might be able to nurse so discreetly that no one noticed. So far, even if she managed to open the flap in her dress with ease, Alexander would bite and she would wince in pain. Max seemed to have better skills. She was still a little shocked, though, and perhaps she ought to shut up before she said something ridiculous.

The interviewer was still looking nonplussed. He had perhaps expected an explanation of why they had chosen the name.

“While traditions are our raison d’être,” Isabelle continued, her expression and composure still completely comfortable. “Times change. There are some that are either silly or outdated. We are not opposed to adapting or relinquishing them, as we have already done. I chose my own partner, for example, although I still had to be a little devious to obtain permission.”

“And are you now the one whose permission they need to obtain, or is there now complete freedom for Maximilian and his older brothers and sisters?”

“No, there can never be complete freedom. People whose beliefs and values differ significantly from our own will have a difficult time. I’d do my very best to dissuade my child, but I understand that ultimately it’s his or her decision. That said, you will not know about any partners until my children are ready to share, so you may not notice what precedes it. In the case of my brother…” Isabelle looked aside. “Well, we kept an eye on them.”

Anna Margaret was amused when she recalled several examples. “You don’t say.”

“Because their particular circumstances didn’t allow for a slow beginning it required some supervision. But…” She looked at Anna Margaret again. “…they are quite proper. And it clearly did him good. So I just let them.”

“And what will you do if you have to travel?” the interviewer asked Anna Margaret.

“That question has been asked many times,” she reminded him. “But I have a husband.”

“Husbands are very useful,” Isabelle agreed. “But nobody ever asks them what they’re going to do about the children if they have to travel. Everyone simply assumes they would leave their wife and handful of children behind and everything will go splendidly – which it will – but if the opposite happens, the wife has to travel and will have to leave her husband and handful of children behind, everybody is suddenly in a panic and wondering how this could possibly go right. But let me reassure you that it will go equally splendidly. And if I have to go away in the next few days and I’m unable to bring my son, I’ll simply leave Maximilian with Anna Margaret. Her office is large enough – I have checked.”

“Will you be returning to work fulltime then, Prime Minister?” asked the interviewer.

“No, not yet. I’m trying half days this week and then we’ll see.”

“Will you be able to do any work if you have a baby in your office?”

She glanced down at her lap where Alexander was lying quietly. “Well, he’s not interfering much now either, is he?” The only thing was that she had had to reposition him because she was getting a sore arm.

“This age is easy,” said Isabelle. “They don’t do much yet, but they do learn a lot from being close to us. That’s very important. I did this with my older children and they have all turned out very well. My eldest daughter even assisted at the birth, which was very nice.”

“Couldn’t you have requested someone who asked more pertinent questions? Although I don’t know what they could possibly ask,” Anna Margaret said after the interview. She was not allowed to go home yet. Isabelle had said that the girls needed to do some check-ups first now that she was here. Frederick and Philip had still not turned up anyway and she might as well stay.

“I didn’t have much of a say in that. I suppose I could have. But I think you threw him off balance too with some of your answers.”

“Sorry. I hope it wasn’t too much.”

“For me it might have been. You probably get away with it.”

“But did you actually let Max drink?” She had forgotten about it and when she next looked, he was asleep. She had then wondered if she had guessed wrong.

“Yes, for about two minutes until he was asleep.” Isabelle shrugged. “I’m too old to care. He would have started to wail if I hadn’t. Be practical. It works a lot better. Now where are those husbands when you need them? I’ve just called them useful, but this isn’t even coming close.”