Chapter 2

Well, that had been a great day. Joe sat on his bed and tried to figure what to do next. It was late and he had learnt from Shades that Clarisse was having dinner with Antoine – alone in her suite. And so far the young man hadn't left that very same suite. What the hell was she thinking? The next day the whole palace would talk about her "dinner" with the young man in her rooms. That Clarisse of all people behaved like this was unbelievable. She knew how her maids spread gossip around and a widowed woman who had passed 60 having dinner in her suite with a young, attractive man was the perfect topic for kitchen talk. Not too mention the fact that he hated the guy and the way he was all over Clarisse. And she made jokes about his age… she hadn't complained about that when she had her legs wrapped around him and had begged him to make love to her again and again…

He had come home today believing they would spend the night or at least the evening together and what did she do? She spent her time with another, younger man instead. Hadn't she told him she loved him only four weeks ago? Hadn't she made love to him… kissed and cherished every inch of his body? And now nada… no message, no smile… no, nothing that showed any of the affection she had professed for him all those weeks ago. He had told her exactly how long he had waited for them to be together and how much he had loved her since the very first time he had laid eyes on her. She must know how he felt right now. How could she ignore the fact that she was hurting him with her actions?

Knowing he was too restless to fall asleep he rose from the bed and got fully dressed again. He couldn't walk into her suite and demand answers from her but he could wait in front of it until that guy bothered to leave…

***

Half an hour later the door of Queen Clarisse's suite opened and Joe quickly hid behind a tall flower that stood in the hallway. Through the big foliage he could witness how Antoine-whatever-his-name-was kissed her hand again and talked in a rather low voice to her. Of course, she looked fabulous in her long, blue, simply shaped dress. Her cleavage was maybe a bit too deep, but her hair and jewellery were still perfect which calmed Joe down a bit. It meant that nothing inappropriate had happened between them. Well… hopefully not. Clarisse chuckled. He couldn't remember that she had ever chuckled like that before and he hated it. Antoine left with quick, almost inaudible steps and Clarisse leaned against the doorframe. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for some seconds. A strange smile appeared on her face and then she said aloud…

"You can come out now."

He blushed and did what she had ordered him to do. Actually he felt like a caught thief, although he had done nothing but his duty…

"Your Majesty."

"I think I just got a reminder of what I missed while you were away."

She gave him a smile and crossed her arms over her chest. She was still leaning at the door and she was so beautiful that he was lost of words.

"Well… It was a coincidence that I …"

"Sure it was…"

She turned her head and looked down the empty hallway. He took it as a sign and waited for her to invite him into her suite. Impatiently he made a step forward.

"Please, can we talk?"

"Tomorrow, Joseph. I had a long day. Ask Charlotte for an appointment."

Appointment… since when did he have to ask for appointments to speak to her? In general, he hardly left her side. No need for any kind of appointment…

"Excuse me, your Majesty but why should I…"

He couldn't say much more because with one very quick step she stood right in front of him and kissed him. He didn't think and only pressed her to him returning her kisses with the same passion that her mouth professed. And just as quickly as the kiss had started it ended. She freed herself from him and vanished into her suite. He could hear that she locked the door not only once but twice. Defeated and confused he leaned against the wall and took a deep breath… whatever was going on, it was driving him crazy. And that wasn't good… how was he supposed to be able to find any sleep after such a kiss?

***

Hoping and praying the stranger would have breakfast alone in his suite or had simply died over night Joseph went to Clarisse's rooms to speak to her. If he was lucky not even Charlotte would be around so that they could talk openly. Her kiss had confused him and he really needed to know where the two of them were standing. Living in terms of uncertainty wasn't what he wanted or pursued. In fact, he was tired of waiting for her. He wanted assurance - and he wanted it now. Now it depended on her and the way she would react when she saw him.

The open door to her suite told him that she was already prepared for the day and so he slipped in and gave the doormen a silent hint. They closed the doors behind him and he smiled for the first time that morning when he saw her. She sat at the breakfast table and read the newspaper. She didn't lift her head but he knew that she knew he was there. He heard the soft scratches of dog's claws on the wooden floor and greeted Maurice, Clarisse's new pet, a proud French poodle puppy, and patted his back.

"Good morning, old boy. Did you take good care of Her Majesty while I was away?"

Maurice barked once and ambled back to his place in the corner of the room.
Clarisse still didn't pay any attention to him and his smile widened. Her cool behaviour of last night had annoyed him, now he found it highly amusing and arousing.

"Good morning, Ma'am," he said and crossed the room without taking his eyes off her.

"Good morning, Joseph."

She answered absent-mindedly and continued her reading.

"Have you slept well?"

"Yes, thank you. You?"

"A bit restless… maybe my mind was too occupied with something else…"

"And what could that be?"

Finally, finally, she dropped the newspaper and looked at him. She gave him a smile and the sun rose for a second time for him that day. He reached out to take her hand and lifted it to his lips.

"It was a certain lady that I couldn't get out of my head."

"Mhhh…interesting. Do you want to join me for coffee?" she asked gently and he took the seat right next to her.

"I thought you would never ask…"

Her heard her husky laughter and held her hand to his cheek.

"Would you care to explain what all this is about?"

"I beg you pardon?"

Flabbergasted she pulled her hand away to pour some coffee for him into her cup.

"That man you invited to stay…"

She laughed and handed him the cup.

"Black, right? You mean Antoine. Isn't he fabulous? Such a gentleman!"

"If you say so."

She saw his unhappy facial expression and couldn't help being amused.

"I know you don't care much for literature but trust me when I say that he's the most underrated author of this century!"

"I won't argue with you about that, Clarisse. I'm just asking why he is here and why you spend all this time with him."

He didn't want to mention that he felt a bit pushed aside in favour of this guy because she had sent him away last night. Being pushy wasn't in his nature and he didn't want to ruin the tender bond that had created in San Francisco. Maybe she wanted to take things slower than he had expected it. What else could be the reason for her sending him away the other night?

"Oh… huh… you know…" she cleared her throat and he saw that she blushed. "It's some kind of project. It's hard to explain… at least at this stage."

"Project…"

He didn't understand and she shrugged in apology. "Never mind. So how's Mia?"

She took her glasses off and brushed a stray of hair behind her ear. If he didn't know better he would bet she was nervous and he liked the idea that his nearness was the reason for it. But was he the reason?

"Mia's fine. Clarisse, please… you can't tell me anything! After all we're…"

"We're what?" She asked in astonishment. He swallowed and searched for the right words…

"Well…," he coughed. Friends didn't really describe what they had become for one another but the word "Lovers" just didn't escape his throat either. So what were they after one night of love in a strange city?

"I think we both know what we are, Clarisse."

"Joseph…"

She gave him a small, soft smile and turned her head. He knew that was all new to her. He understood her. She wasn't used to talk about love or sex with anyone. The only relationship she ever had with a man had been with her late husband and as fond as she had been of King Rupert (May he rest in peace!) it hadn't been the kind of love that was shouted from the top of the roofs and filled one's nights with ecstasy. But well, she didn't want to talk about it right now; he sensed that. Alright, she had kissed him last night. That should reassure him and still…. He sighed when he noticed that she still wasn't looking at him. He could only accept her reluctance to talk about their relationship. For now… Antoine on the other hand was another matter…

"Well, so what about Antoine? How long will he stay? Charlotte mentioned something about next weekend!"

"Actually I invited him to stay till after the ball."

"That's a whole week longer!" He was shocked. "That's a long vacation." He didn't even try to hide his discontentment from her.

"You think so?"

He drank his coffee and after some moments of silence she faced him again. A certain smile appeared on her face and her eyes started to glitter.

"Tell me, Joseph, why don't you like Antoine? Because he's an artist?"

"I don't have problems with artists," he stated as quietly as possible. The way she looked at him gave him thrills. It reminded him of the night before and how much he had wanted her… how she had kissed him and pressed her body to his… and had left him standing in the hallway all alone… locking her door not only once but twice.

"So what is your problem then?"

"I'm hardly in the position to criticise the Queen if she wants to have a man around her…"

It sounded harsher than he had intended and she backed off. And with that the romantic spell was broken. Too late he realized that he had just screwed it up. He had been too formal. But it had been this cool formality that had kept him from assaulting her with a long greedy kiss just to convince her to send the guy away…

"I'm sorry," he said and this time he avoided her eyes. How could he tell her that he was jealous of a man half her age or even younger? How could he tell her that he hated the fact that she had spent so much time alone with this guy? Even in her private rooms? Damn, he felt hurt by that and he couldn't do anything against it.

"Joseph…"

He heard her chair moving and then he felt her hand touching his face. After a short hesitation he allowed her to turn his face to her. The next shock was that her voice wasn't cold or reserved. On the contrary she sounded soft and very tender…

"I've never told you how happy you actually made me that night in San Francisco. Thanks to you I could discover that I'm still capable of loving and receiving love in return… I want to thank you for that. I'll never forget it!"

He was drawn to her. Those blue eyes bewitched him and the closer she leaned to him the more her scent befuddled his senses. She was going to kiss him again… for a second their eyes met and he smiled at her as her breath swept over his face.

"I won't forget it either, Clarisse…"

He could already feel her lips brushing his, prepared to welcome her gently pushing tongue, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him and then she suddenly rose and said aloud…

"Thank you, Joseph. I'll call the Headmaster of the College to make sure the press won't disturb her! Good morning, Charlotte!"

Joe closed his eyes and swore silently. His heart was still wildly pumping in his chest and his face was heated. Charlotte. Now… damn, couldn't that woman be late just once in her life?

He couldn't believe how that almost kiss had taken him off guard. He felt like a randy teenager. His hands were sweating and his heart was overworking. Controlling his emotions was hard, nearly impossible. Surely, he looked like a fool. If the day went on like that he wouldn't have much time left to live…

"Good morning, Joe!"

"Good morning, Charlotte!"

He rose from his chair and gave her a short nod. Clarisse was already sitting behind her desk with her glasses on.

"Are you alright? You look a bit… red."

"I'm fine. If you'll excuse me."

"Of course, Joseph."

"Your Majesty, I just talked to Monsieur Mercier and he looks forward to meet you in one hour."

"Thank you, Charlotte. Please make sure, he has everything he asks for on my behalf."

"Of course, Ma'am."

Tired of listening to this Joe made a small bow and escaped his Queen's private quarters as fast as he could.