Title: Issue
Rating: T
Category: AU, Richard/Camille, Romance, Humour, Family
Summary: Third in the "Succession" sequence, picks up where "Properly" ended.
A/N: You will need to have read Succession and Properly to understand this. This story will use the character of Prince Edward quite heavily and I say character because though he is a real Prince this is in no way an RPF story. I know very little about him or his personality, and chose him simply because he studied History at Cambridge and did used to film documentaries about it. Everything else is entirely made up and hopefully I will not get sued.
Chapter One: 4 weeks
From Properly:
As his mother was leaving she paused to add, "Just think, perhaps next time we come to Saint Marie it'll be to meet Viscount Ipswich!"
Richard more than a little embarrassed by his mother's comment, but Camille was smiling politely and nodding. Once his parents were out of ear shot (about 5 metres given how noisy the party was) Camille turned to him and asked, "There is some sort of Viscount coming to live on the island?"
Oh, well, that explained her lack of embarrassment – she hadn't actually understood what his mother had been saying. He smiled, somewhat ruefully, and told her, "No, my mother was taking the opportunity to remind us of her desire for grandchildren. Viscount Ipswich would be the title given to our first born son."
Camille gave him a long look, before saying firmly, "I don't like that."
After her little pronouncement, which was not what Richard had expected in the slightest, Camille had turned neatly on her heel and stormed off. There was a time when Richard would have thought this meant he should her alone until she had calmed down, but he had rapidly learnt that she always expected him to follow her and makes amends. Except on this occasion, he couldn't quite figure out what he had done wrong. He therefore allowed himself a few moments to wrack his brain, but when he continued to remain clueless, he hurried after her. He located her in a relatively quiet corridor of the hotel where the reception is being held. She was visibly upset.
"Camille!" He cried, distressed by the fact he had somehow reduced his wife to tears on their wedding day. "What is it?"
"It's just," she sniffed, attempting to get her emotions under control. "I didn't realise that our child would get the title from birth, you know. I thought it was something that they weren't entitled to until they were 18."
"Right." Richard was glad Camille was talking to him, but he couldn't quite figure out what the problem was yet. Eventually he was forced to ask, "You feel this will make a difference?"
"Yes!" Camille replied, her voice increasing in volume. She seemed annoyed he didn't understand her issue. "Of course it does. Don't you see? You never expected to be a Duke one day, but if the child knows from a young age what they are going to eventually be it could, could, give them some sort of complex!"
Richard decided it was best not to point out that Camille was accusing some members of his family of 'having a complex', firstly because he was sure that wasn't what she was trying to do and secondly because he wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that. "Well, I mean, they would know their Grandfather was a Duke and I was an Earl irrespective of when the title is granted, so…"
"Yes, but there is a difference if people are calling them Viscount Ipswich! That will give them a feeling of entitlement!" The tears were back, and he was starting to panic. Suddenly, there was an awkward clearing of the throat from further down the corridor, and to Richard's horror HRH Price Edward appeared from around the corner. The man looked about as embarrassed at having been forced to witness the exchange as Richard felt about him having heard it.
"Excuse me, Madam, I had stepped out here to make a phone call and I couldn't help but overhear. You do rather have the sort of voice that carries, especially when upset…" He might be a member of the royal family, but that didn't mean he wasn't spared Camille's glare. Having been exposed to it on many occasions himself, Richard winced in sympathy. Prince Edward took it rather well, clearly his throat again and bravely continuing. "As somebody with children who have titles, I thought I might be able to offer you a little reassurance."
He placed a hand on the small of Camille's back and gently guided her to the doorway of the ballroom where the majority of the guests remained, "Now you see that small boy, there, the one my dear wife is trying to clean up because he has somehow managed to get more cake on his face than in his mouth? And my daughter, Louise, who is dancing with that gentlemen who I believe is on your own police force and his daughter?" Camille nodded silently. "Do they look like they even realise they are ninth and tenth in line for the thrown?"
"Well, no, not really," Camille admitted.
"I can assure you that they act like any other child," the Prince told her kindly. "Sophie worried in much the same way you did, and perhaps you would like to consult with her on the matter, but I really don't think there is any need to distress yourself so - even if I do understand your concern."
Camille looked up at Prince Edward, obviously relieved, and Richard found himself more than a little jealous that the man had managed to comfort Camille where he had failed. He added, largely in an attempt to feel useful, "Besides, we may have all girls anyway!"
"Well that would also solve the issue!" Prince Edward agreed cheerfully. "And you know little girls are wonderful, though slightly more demanding than boys in my experience…" Once again the Prince trailed off after he received a sharp look from Camille, one that was then turned in Richard's direction.
"What do you mean?"
"Well Louise tends to be a bit more fussy-"
"No!" Camille interrupted rudely. Richard winced again and hoped the Prince would be willing to forgive her. "Not that! What do you mean by the problem being solved by us only having girls?"
"Because they wouldn't inherit the title," Richard explained.
"What?"
"The Dukedom is passed down the male line," he continued, uncertain how this fact could have escaped Camille.
She looked at him aghast, "But, but what about that law your Father spoke about! The Succession to the Crown Act, 2013!"
He shared a quick glance with Prince Edward, "That law only applies to the UK throne. The Duke of Grafton is a peerage and is thus subject to entirely different rules of succession."
"In fact each peerage may have very different rules of succession, depending at what point the peerage was created, though the majority are just inherited through the male line," The Prince added.
Camille stared at the two of them, and it wasn't hard to work out she was unhappy. Her next words confirmed this, "So you are telling me that if we have a girl, followed by a boy, the boy will inherit the title and everything and the poor girl gets nothing? What is this, Pride and Prejudice?"
Richard felt the comparison was a little unfair, not that he would ever say that, "Of course not, I am sure we would make provisions for all of our children in our will no matter what gender they were!"
"I don't think it's fair!" She argued back. "Why shouldn't the girl inherent the Dukedom?"
Prince Edward surprised them both by chiming in, "I quite agree actually, and so would my Mother. You know, I do believe there is no reason why the Dukedom should have to carry on being inherited down the male line."
They both turned to look at the Prince enquiringly now, and he continued, "Well, if Richard here could get his father to agree I could have a word with my Mother who I am almost certain would sign off on an official decree. She was a great supporter of the Succession to the Crown Act, if I tell her how passionately you feel I think she would sympathise entirely."
And there HRH went again, being the hero. Camille turned to Richard and asked hopefully, "Would your father agree?"
"My mother would make him agree, even if he didn't," Richard told her with a small smile. She looked relieved, but he could still tell she was worried. She really was getting herself worked up unnecessarily, he wished he had thought to have this conversation with her sooner. "Honestly, Camille, despite what our Mothers might want we don't have to have children straight away. I mean we've potentially a good couple of years to talk through all your worries and sort out the succession issue." Camille gave a small shake of her head in response. "We don't have years?" He asked, puzzled, before realisation struck. "You're pregnant?!"
She didn't confirm it, instead shot a sideways glance at Prince Edward. His Royal Highness was looking rather embarrassed again. "Ah," he began. "I shall call my Mother tomorrow. And I shall also leave you alone and go help my wife wrestle the children into bed." As he was leaving he gave Richard a friendly pat on the shoulder, which he interpreted as his way of congratulating him.
"How long have you known?" He asked as soon as the Prince was out of ear shot.
"Only a couple of weeks!" She said sounding more than a little defensive. "I was going to tell you tonight, you know, as a wedding present. I thought it would be a nice surprise!"
He didn't reply to that, he was still trying to process the information. They hadn't actually decided on where to live yet, and now they were going to need somewhere that was big enough for the three of them. Then there was his mother to contend with, if she heard Camille was pregnant before she left she may insist on staying on the island for the whole pregnancy. Police officers weren't entitled to maternity leave, so he would need to check when the ISAs he had were due to mature and consider spending some of those to make up for their loss of earnings. He didn't really want to take any money from his parents. Oh, and the Christening, they hadn't discussed what religion to raise any children. If she agreed to Church of England would they need to go all the way to England to have the baptism? Should he learn French so raising the baby bilingual would be easier? Should they hire a nanny, or send the child to day care? Of course that was presuming that Camille did want to return to work…
"Richard!" Camille said urgently, waving a hand in front of his face. The worried look was back, and once she was certain she had his attention she asked hesitantly, "It is a nice surprise, right?"
Richard shook himself out of his revere and realised with a pang of guilt he should really have said something positive in response by now, he was such an idiot. He pulled Camille close to him and told her sincerely, "Yes, it's wonderful, just a little unexpected. You know how I always overthink things, I just mentally started listing all of the things we have to do!" He pulled back to kiss her on the forehead, then smiled down at her – she smiled back.
"There is a lot," she agreed. "But you are so efficient I think we might just cope."
"We'll do better than just cope, we're going to be brilliant!" After a pause, he added, "Ok, I'll try my best but you will be brilliant and thus make up for all of my short-falls."
"Don't be so negative," Camille chided him. "I think you are going to be a wonderful Father. And you know I'm always right."
Actually, they both knew she wasn't always right – but Richard sincerely hoped she would be on this occasion.
