All Josef had wanted was a cup of hot milk- that and a good night´s sleep but when he entered the palace kitchen and found Her Majesty, Queen Clarisse bent over the kitchen table he instantly knew that even though he still was within a chance to get his milk he would have to forget about the sleep.

"What are you doing?"

He asked, trying to sound normal and nervously awaiting her reply.

She straightened up and just looked at him for a moment as though wondering what to answer, then she nodded at the table.

"I´m putting the frosting on Rupert´s birthday cake."

It was now Josef´s time to ponder his answer, finally he decided to simply ask her.

"You are making him a birthday cake?"

"I have made it already- it´s only the frosting" she corrected him, her voice cheerful but with the slight edge to it that told Josef that she was just as upset with her husband as he had expected.

Only that morning pictures of the king and his latest affair had been all over the papers and the queen had been remarkable in control all day long, even when Rupert Renaldi had arrived home in the afternoon and quietly requested to talk to her in his suite.

She had led the way up the staircase without further comment and the king had hastened after her, looking most ridiculous at his attempt to keep up with his wife´s pace.

Josef hadn´t seen Clarisse since then and to other outsiders it might have looked as though she had forgiven her husband, after all she was going through the trouble of baking a cake for his birthday but Josef wasn´t fooled, there had to be something more to this.

"I never knew you can bake" he stated while he poured milk into a pot and put it onto the stove, then he stepped over to the table and to his surprise saw that the cake the queen was covering with frosting looked as perfect as if it had come from one of Pyrus´s café´s.

"Baking was my mother´s hobby and I always begged to help her" Clarisse explained, now adding dainty marzipan roses to the cake.

Josef went back over to the stove to wait for his milk to heat up but still looked over to the table.

"Aren´t you curious?"

The queen asked without looking up from her work, a strange smile on her face as she added yet more roses.

"I´m discreet."

"How boring- come on, I know you want to know, why don´t you just ask?"

"If you know what I want to know you can just tell me" Josef shot back while he transferred the milk into a cup and put the pot into the sink.

"Fine, I´ll tell you- he begged me on to forgive him, it was really pathetic, I wish all those people who think he´s such a self assured person could have seen him."

"So did you forgive him?"

"Josef-" She finally looked up, her smile widening.

"I´ve spend three hours on that cake."

"That doesn´t have to mean anything, I know you."

"You do indeed" she said happily, her smile now real, not the cold, public smile she had had on her face earlier.

Josef drank some milk and took some cookies out of a tin before asking "So what is it with the cake?"

"Oh, there´s nothing wrong with the cake if that´s what you mean- it´s a perfectly fine coconut cake."

She sounded like a cat that had just swallowed a particular juicy bird and Josef burst out laughing.

"Coconut cake? My God, remind me to never get on the wrong side of you."

"Why, don´t you like coconut cake?"

She teased back, finally seeming to decide that her perfect cake wouldn´t get any more perfect and turning back towards Josef.

"Oh, I do" Josef chuckled, now he understood fully what had made Clarisse Renaldi miss out on her evening tea and relaxed hour of reading in front of the fireplace- King Rupert hated coconuts with a passion, if it had been up to him they most likely would have been declared as not agreeable to be served as food.

The king´s assistant made sure that everyone who hosted a dinner with the king present was informed about his despise for coconuts and now Clarisse had baked a coconut cake for her husband´s birthday, a cake that was perfectly representable and since it was made by the queen herself would be the first thing served to the king the next day without anyone being aware of what it was.

"It´ll be such a blast" the queen sounded dreamy and Josef laughed even harder, she was so wonderful, especially when being sarcastic.

"You know, I have a feeling that Rupert won´t share your mirth" Clarisse mused as she reached into the cookie tin and withdrew a chocolate chip cookie.

"No, most likely not."

"If he eats the whole slice I might consider to forgive him, in a month or so."

"How generous of you."

Josef put his empty mug away and looked at his watch while popping another cookie into his mouth.

"It´s late, Your Majesty, you should consider going to bed."

"Oh I don´t know, I don´t think I can sleep right now- you go to bed, you must be exhausted, it was a horrible long day."

"I don´t like the idea of leaving you down here alone" Josef frowned and the queen´s expression softened.

"All right, if you wait until I have put the cake away and wrote some instructions where it is to be placed on the table tomorrow, you can walk me back to my rooms."

"Can I help you with anything?"

"That´s not necessary, I can manage, besides it´s better if I have done it all alone- just in case Rupert chokes on this cake."

She didn´t sound amused anymore now, rather bitter.

"I don´t think that is likely" Josef called after her when she disappeared in the storage room.

"I know that- what a shame, he so deserves it."

She closed the door behind herself and let the way over to the staircase that led out of the basement kitchen and back up into the entrance hall of the palace.

"Now seriously, are you going to forgive him?"

"I have forgiven him countless times, how often am I supposed to do it?"

They were climbing the stairs now, Josef´s hand on the queen´s back like usually, a small gesture neither of them thought about anymore.

"You will have to do it again eventually, you´re married to him after all" Josef reminded the queen who stopped walking and leaned against the banisters instead.

"Why does that mean I have to forgive him? I wouldn´t mind being angry with him for a few more years- so do you really planning to go back to bed now?"

"Aren´t you?"

"No- I think I´ll have a drink- or two- care to join me?"

"You are asking me to get drunk with you?"

Josef inquired, feeling puzzled but the queen nodded cheerfully.

"Yes, I am- so what do you say, we could drink to Rupert´s good health, it´s after midnight already."

"You are starting to scare me."

"I´m sorry about that- nothing some really good Scotch can´t cure, I hope?"

"Probably not."

"Good- so come along, there´s a bottle with our name on it."