Chapter 3

He spent the rest of the morning in his office to plan the security arrangements for the Queen's Birthday Ball but he couldn't concentrate at all. Clarisse was on his mind all the time. Clarisse and what she was doing with the guy in the library. A quick look at his watch told him it was almost time for lunch. It was a beautiful day, so he assumed she would eat outside on the terrace… with that author of hers of course. A pity the library had no surveillance cameras… he desperately wanted to know what was going on in there.

He talked to Charlotte who told him that the Queen had postponed lunch till 1.30 pm and it was only 12.30 pm which meant that she was still occupied in the library.

"Do you know what this is all about, Charlotte?"

"Excuse me?"

"Mercier. Why has she been talking to him in the library…," he looked at his watch again and added, "for almost three hours now?!"

To his disappointment Charlotte shook her head. "I have no idea, Joe. She calls it her "project" but don't ask me why and what it is." Rising from her chair she grabbed her purse. "If you'll excuse me now. I have an appointment for lunch!"

"Have fun…," he mumbled grumpily and tried to decide what to do now. He was too distracted to work properly. But his job was to protect his sovereign… who was in the library, unguarded with a stranger…

His next step was to tell the gardeners via intercom to leave the garden for an extended lunch break. He didn't want anyone to see him when he peeked into the windows of the library to see what was going on in there.

Carefully he sneaked along the big bushes at the palace wall until he reached the first window that belonged to the palace library and archive. He liked the room very much. It carried the history and pride of the Renaldis on its shelves and the smell of dust and destiny impregnated the air. He also knew that Clarisse loved the room. She always retired into it when she needed peace or time for herself.

Right now he was just glad that it was on the ground floor of the palace and not on the first floor or even higher. He heard a low scream that came definitely from Clarisse and panicked. He stood on his tiptoes as he tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening behind the window. His jaws dropped as he saw Antoine rising from the floor behind the chaise lounge followed by Clarisse who he offered her a hand to help her getting up. Joe swallowed hard when he witnessed how a laughing Clarisse fixed her skirt around her thighs… he literally jumped back and pressed his back to the wall before they noticed he was watching them from outside.

That was too much. He couldn't take it anymore. Not after San Francisco, not after last night or this morning. He was nobody's fool; not even his Queen's… the woman he loved and would give his life for without hesitation. In his mind he repeated what she had told him at breakfast…

"…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 that!"

Maybe she had meant that San Francisco had been the wake up call for her. She felt alive again – thanks to him and his skills in bed – and didn't need him anymore. Heaven, that almost kiss in the morning meant "Goodbye, Joseph". She was grateful but now she had found someone else to fulfil her needs. Someone younger, more handsome… with more stamina and hair.

***

Within two short minutes he stormed into the library and didn't even wait for the doormen to open the door. The double door slammed open and in his rage he didn't notice that he didn't run into them. The library was empty but untypically untidy. The ladder on casters stood lonely in front of the shelves and some books lay on the floor and the antique desk…

"Have you seen Her Majesty?" he barked at the footmen who both shook their heads.

"But she must have left through the door!"

"No, Sir… unfortunately not."

"Perfect."

Enraged he roamed the library and picked up some of the books that were spread on the floor. He rolled his eyes when he read the title of the first volume he held in his hands and threw it on the desk…

"Lady Chatterley."

But where was Clarisse? And where was Antoine? Or should he call him Sir Chatterley by now?

***

Still angry as hell Joe stood in the library and couldn't stop thinking about Clarisse. Where the heck was she? He sensed somehow that she wasn't in real danger but the fact that she seemed to have vanished from the face of Earth a few seconds after he had seen her fooling around with another man worried him nevertheless.

He picked up the other books that were lying around. It was a mix of historic novels he hated and Clarisse loved, as well as some biographies about Queen Victoria, Marie Antoinette and one unofficial biography about King Rupert (May he rest in peace!) the palace never acknowledged as worthy enough to worry or comment about. But of course the court knew everything and read and archived every single piece that was written about the royal family.

He put the books on the desk and sighed as his gaze fell on the place behind the chaise longue where he had seen Clarisse and Antoine before.

He still couldn't understand it. Since when was it Clarisse' style to lock herself in with a man who could easily be her son and actually sleep with him? That simply wasn't her.

Clarisse Renaldi was the personification of grace and decency. He never knew exactly about the King, but he was absolutely sure that Clarisse had never been unfaithful to her late husband. She was a lady and had been raised to be a Queen. To lead, rule and behave. He had been following her as bodyguard and head of security for over 15 years now and she had never even looked at other men…aside from him. Before the King had died they had flirted occasionally, they had danced when no one else had been around to avoid the usual palace gossip, but they had never crossed certain lines until San Francisco.

The death of King Rupert (May he rest in peace!) had changed so much for all of them. Had changed her and her perspective of life. She had become stricter and her eyes had lost their lively sparkle. When her son had died only several months later he had thought she would never recover and spent the rest of her life in a cocoon of darkness and pain. And now?

He hardly recognized her. She flirted again. She seemed vibrant and alive although all this was hidden behind her excellent manners and royal etiquette. But he had seen the first signs of it in San Francisco and he had certainly noticed them when he arrived and found her with another man. Him. Antoine, the author who was in her favour now.
Joe couldn't shake the idea that one certain night in San Francisco had not only affected him but also her… Clarisse Renaldi was a free woman after the King's death. Free to live and love if she was discreet enough to hide her lovers from the curious eyes of the public. What if it was his fault after all? Had he created a monster when he slept with her?

Joe swallowed and picked up the phone on the desk…

"Charlotte… weren't you at lunch?.. Ah okay… have you seen Her Majesty?… What? In her office? Since when?… Alright!"

He didn't bother to thank her for giving him the news and hung up. Okay, so the Queen was back in her office with Mercier at her side… unfortunately he couldn't simply storm in there and demand answers from her. If she knew he spied on her she would hit the roof and her rage wasn't something he wanted to experience right now. But if he continued to spy to find out more… before he had finished thinking this possibility through he had already left his office to search for answers.

***

When he arrived at the office Clarisse' desk was empty, but he heard her voice from outside. Trying not to attract attention he sneaked to the terrace door and hid himself behind the curtains.

What he had to see when he peeked outside didn't exactly help to ease his fears. He had expected them to have lunch but they weren't eating. Clarisse sat in a chair at the balustrade. The sun was illuminating her beauty and Antoine sat on another chair about three meters away in front of her. He held a sketching block on his lap and seemed busy using his pen. Sketching a certain someone with marvellous blue eyes and the best-shaped legs he had ever seen. Joe stretched to catch a glimpse of Antoine's piece of art, but he couldn't see a thing. So now the man wasn't only a writer but also a painter. Terrific. Just terrific.

He became nervous and wished he could do something without making an utter fool of himself but in his situation that was hardly possible.

There he was the Head of Security for the Genovian Royal Family and he couldn't act on his wish to know more. He was helpless because he had no chance to satisfy his curiosity.
Aside from that he was caught in a state of angst and jealousy because of a man who wrote books. His gun was useless and his ability to notice everything around him only made things worse. If he was clever he left now… but he wasn't. He stayed and wished he had gone…

Antoine rose from his chair and put the sketch block on the ground (a bit too gentle for Joe's taste) and went to Clarisse. Joe's heart stopped beating for more than just a second when Antoine sank on his knees, touched Clarisse' left ankle and adjusted her leg so that more of her thighs were exposed. He couldn't hear what Antoine was telling her, but Clarisse smiled at him and that really hurt.

Joe made a fist and prepared to go out on the terrace to punch the life out of Antoine for touching his Queen. No one ever touched her like that. Maybe her Ladies' maids touched her when they helped her to dress or undress, maybe the lady who sewed her dresses touched her once in a while, the late King (for that he may not rest in peace) had unfortunately touched her, and so had he done some weeks ago, but no stranger had the right to lay his hands on Clarisse Renaldi. Not ever.

"Joe?"

He heard Shades' voice through his headphone and stepped back in the room.

"Yes."

"Sir, we have a problem here. At the entrance."

"Alright, I'm on my way."

Joe sighed and chanced one last look outside. At least Antoine was sitting in his chair again and kept his hands off of Clarisse… for now.

The problem at the entrance turned out to be a delivery of two big boxes for Antoine Mercier. Of course, Joe insisted on his right to check the contents of the boxes but then Charlotte who was still chewing on the last pieces of her sandwich frustrated his intentions…

"I'm sorry, Joe but the Queen gave orders that the delivery for Monsieur Mercier are not to be checked!"

"Excuse me?"

"Just bring it into the library and wait there for Monsieur Mercier!" she ordered the doormen and gave Joe a pitiful glance and a shrug. "Sorry, that's what she said."

"Very well then. Shades, follow them and try to find out what's in those boxes. And be discreet!"

Shades nodded and left. Unnerved with Clarisse, Antoine, the world and himself Joe returned to his office and slammed the door.

***