Henry's POV
Henry McCord watched his feet as he strode through The White House corridors, he couldn't bare to lift his eyes from the floor. He was scared, no apprehensive even, at what the reception would be from his work colleagues. He felt as though a huge storm cloud of emotion was above his head raining its crap down onto him.
He let out a huge exasperated sigh when he closed his office door. No one said good morning to him and he felt as though every single person fell silent as he approached. It angered him… Feeling the frustration flow through his veins he shook his hands out attempting to dispel some of the alien emotion from his body.
Come on McCord, you know it's not true. You have been through worse together, she wouldn't have done that. Taking 5 deep breaths Henry repeated this same matra as he had on the car ride over here, as he fell into a troubled sleep last night and as he got ready this morning. He knew deep down that this rumor couldn't be true, however deep in the pit of his brain, under all the dusty crap, there was a small but deadly seed of doubt and he couldn't help but allow it to take root within him.
He pushed through his morning work, ploughed head first into reviews, reports and read the news briefs that came through to his inbox. As he scanned the latest reports on in house farming Elizabeth's picture caught his eye on the bar at the top of the page.
White House Affair - The Spy who loved me.
Henry huffed, a pang of annoyance shot through him and he felt frustration rise once again. He was a little shocked at how quickly someone had come out with a slanderous article. Elizabeth hadn't even officially announced yet and someone had already tried to drag her through the mud. He thought about what Elizabeth had said to him "Just don't read it, keep away from it. Please" He remembered how her hand had felt on his arm and the way she squeezed it ever so gently as she spoke to him late last night. The way her eyes filled a little which made the blue shimmer in the dim light of their bedroom, the unfallen tears pooled dangerously close to falling. His heart broke for her and he felt annoyance at himself on top of everything else. How could I doubt her? But there must be some embers still burning to cause this smoke…
Hovering the mouse over her name Henry felt disappointment wash through him as he clicked on the link and brought up the article. All thoughts of work and his surroundings left his brain and he was just a husband having to muddle his way through cheating allegations on an epic scale. His eyes scanned the article and it was mostly speculations that warranted no real evidence. Henry needed to speak with someone that was there at the time and he thought about Isabelle. Elizabeth had mentioned that they used to laugh about the rumors together and Isabelle was direct and truthful. I can trust her…
A snap decision and he had his office phone clasped in his hand and was calling his secretary to cancel his afternoon meetings. He then rang Isabelle before he second guessed his actions. I need to know one way or another. I can't not. As the call connected Henry fiddled with his wedding band that had been in place for more than a quarter of a century, a simple symbol of their love and commitment. It's not true Henry.
...
Henry sat in the restaurant feeling a little uncomfortable. The noise of the other patrons drowned out the constant pounding of his heart. He felt as though he was cheating on Elizabeth's trust just by sitting here waiting for Isabelle. He knew that he was in the wrong being here and in that moment he realised that the rumours weren't true. Henry was about to leave when Isabelle finally showed. Henry decided he would use this lunch to see if she knew who could have come forward with the rumours. Taking a deep breath he threw himself into the standard pleasantries and attempted to read a trained spy.
tbc