Sticky Note*- The long awaited chapter has arrived and I'm sorry it took so long for me to get back to this fic but I promise it's well worth the wait. Grace…..please tell the audience who you are……..
Despite her better judgment, Clarisse felt good when she woke up. She recounted the previous day's events and decided it was better this way. Joseph had met someone and would soon move on with his life and that left Clarisse free to help Mia.
Great, now I've completely lost what little of my mind I still have left.
She got out of bed and greeted her ladies maids. They seemed relieved that she was in a happy mood. She dressed in beige slacks with a matching cream and beige blouse and donned the now very comfortable tennis shoes.
Mia, Lily, and Charlotte were engrossed in conversation when Clarisse arrived and they immediately stopped when she entered the room.
"Good morning." She said cheerfully. "Croissants and yogurt for breakfast Orlando."
"Very good ma'am." The tall servant said to her and disappeared.
"Grandma, are you all right?"
"Perfectly darling. What are you and Lily doing today?"
"We're going down to the beach and taking to ferry out to the Fanton Hill Lighthouse."
"Phantom Hill as we used to call it. I went there once with—well anyway it was a long time ago but rumors have circled for centuries about an old Sea Captain that crashed his boat into the lighthouse in the 15th century. It was told that the weather was so bad, his beloved Esmerelda was flung into the ocean and he never found her body. Supposedly the sea captain haunts the lighthouse waiting for the day that she will return to him."
"Wow Grandma you should become a tour guide. Did you ever see the ghost?" Mia asked teasingly.
"Not face to face but she convinced herself that the sea captain had followed her home and began to haunt her garden." Joseph said entering the side door.
The room grew silent all except for Clarisse.
"Indeed. My carnations were especially lovely that year. Captain Gerard was a fine sea captain and an even better gardener. Now if you'll excuse me I have some things to attend to before this evening's gala and I need to get started. Charlotte will you meet me in an hour in the throne room. The Michaelson charity is coming up next month and I want to see to it that Mrs. Oppenheimer doesn't have to a thing."
"Yes ma'am." She said glaring at Joseph.
Clarisse left the room and Charlotte stormed out a minute later. Lily sensed the tension.
"I'm going to pack up my backpack and check my camera. See you upstairs Mia." She said and left the room.
"Joe?" Mia said simply.
"Princess."
"What happened to you? I thought you loved my grandmother. You told me you did when you came to see me last spring at school."
"That hasn't changed. I do love her."
"Then why are you doing this to her?"
"That seems to be a popular question these days. Princess, remember when I told that I'd give my life to protect your grandmother?"
"I remember."
"But do you remember what I said after that?"
"I guess not."
"I said that sometimes you have to sacrifice what's most important in your heart to protect someone with your life."
"Is she in danger?"
"All of her life, but no she's not in any danger now. My point is that sometimes you have to give up what you want in order to get what you need. I'm not proud of everything that I've done in my life but I can tell you that I do not regret one thing I've done when it comes to her."
He reached for her hand and the gentleness in his voice made her tearful.
"If you believe that I love her, then believe that I'd never betray her even in the darkest of nights."
Mia wiped away the tears and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'll tell you a secret but you must never tell your grandmother."
She eyes him skeptically.
"After your grandmother and I came back from Phantom Hill, I began to tend her garden at night. My father was a gardener and he passed his knowledge down to me. The carnations were the envy of the social pages. She believed that Captain Gerard had done it himself. That's why your father's middle name was Gerard although she told your grandfather that she'd found the name in his family tree."
"Very impressive." Mia concluded.
"Trust me." He said quietly and rose from the table grabbing a croissant on the way out.
Clarisse walked through her garden with Maurice. The day was beautiful, She thought back to the summer of her youth.
She'd been restless one night when Rupert had left for Portugal. She wrapped herself in a shawl and went to sit on the balcony. The moon was full and she could see the garden. Movement in the garden caught her attention. Two days before, she and Joseph had taken a trip to the haunted lighthouse and she'd felt an odd peacefulness when they'd left. She teased him saying that Captain Gerard had returned with them. Clarisse however was no fool. Just the nearness of Joseph made her calm. His bad boy undertones and fierce warrior inclinations were merely a disguise over his tender heart. Wasting no time, Clarisse climbed down the balcony and quietly and carefully walked to the garden. She was a little frightened at what she might find but her sense of adventure overruled her common sense. She hid in the darkness and there by moonlight was Joseph. He was working hard at transplanting some of the carnations that had been uprooted by the windstorm the night before. In all her life she'd never seen something so wonderful. She knew that he was doing it to make her happy but he'd never admit to it. She in turn continued on with the charade of Captain Gerard. By the time Phillipe was born, Clarisse was head over heels in love with Joseph. She kept her heart carefully guarded from Rupert and from Joseph. When the nurse asked what they were going to name the newborn Clarisse spoke the baby's name and in the midst of it she added Gerard. Rupert had a great great uncle named Herman Gerard and she'd told him that she loved the name but secretly it was Clarisse's way of naming her son after Joseph because in her heart Joseph embodied the spirit of the brave sea captain. Phillipe knew the tale and later on he found out the real story about his name.
Charlotte paced back and forth in the throne room. She'd begun recounting the argument she and Joseph had shared but something had bothered her worse than that. The woman, that had been with him at the restaurant looked acutely familiar. Yet she couldn't place her.
"Hello gorgeous." The voice boomed.
Dom had stopped by after all. She'd called him back after missing his call while at Joseph's. She been upset and he could sense it. Though she didn't tell him what had happened he still wanted to help. She'd declined his offer saying that she was going to bed.
"What are you doing all the way up here?" She was referring to his restaurant in Philligran.
"I brought you some bagels right off the press and these." He said handing her a bouquet of lilies. They were her favorite flower.
"Someone's being extra thoughtful this morning. What's the occasion?"
"No occasion sweetheart, I just heard it in your voice how upset you were and I needed to see that you were really all right."
"I'm all right." She whispered. But Dom was unconvinced. He moved closer and Charlotte all but disappeared in his arms. He smelled of fresh bread and marinara sauce mixed in with the soap he washed with. This was what comforted Charlotte. The world could all but fall down around her but Dom would never change. Her Dom was a fortress and she loved him completely.
"You gonna tell me what's a-matta you?" He said in his Brooklyn accent.
"Everything's messed up. Joe's not talking to the queen, I'm not talking to Joe. The queen isn't talking to hardly anyone unless it's related to duties. I can't stand it anymore."
"Honey, listen to me. What a man and a woman do to each other in the name of love is nobody's business but theirs. You can't get in the middle of it because it makes you a pawn. And pawns are dispensable."
"How can I not be in the middle? This is between two of the people that mean the most to me in my life."
"I know, but because you love them both you can't take sides. And you can't get torn apart trying baby. You're mad at Joe but you don't even know why. And as much as I love Clarisse, she ain't innocent in this either."
"I know that but do you know what I've gone through to help them be together?"
"Yeah I do and it's all because of that promise you never should've made you-know-who."
"And just whom would that be Charlotte?" Clarisse asked startling Charlotte out of her next answer.
"Your Majesty. Forgive me. I shouldn't have been talking about you behind your back."
"No, I'm not immune or ignorant to the comments that people make when I'm not around. Fortunately I do know how much you care for me and for Joseph. But I want to know who you made this promise to and what the promise was."
"Please don't make me tell you. I swore an oath to protect this secret."
"I see. It seems as if there are one too many secrets floating around between the people I love these days. I can only imagine the secrets that are hidden within the rest of the kingdom. Fair enough Charlotte you may keep your word for now. I have a feeling things are coming to light anyway. Now Dom if you will excuse us, Charlotte and I need to work."
"I'm gone like the wind darlin'. Am I still permitted to escort you to the benefit this evening?"
"As long as Charlotte agrees I would be honored."
She nodded at him tearfully and he winked at her.
Charlotte suddenly realized that she didn't have a date but she didn't care.
The benefit was held in the Carlisle Room of the palace. Clarisse and Dom had already arrived followed by Mia and Lily. Charlotte kept her eyes open for Joseph but had yet to see him so she headed into the party. Just like the man in the dress shop, Dom's jaw dropped at the sight of Charlotte in her new dress.
"Are you trying to kill me? Seriously I'm having a hard time breathing. If I see a guy blink near you I'm rearranging the order of his chin and forehead."
Charlotte feigned shock but deep inside she was exceedingly happy. Suddenly Mia nudged Charlotte in the direction of the front doors. Joe entered with two females on his arm. She recognized Sierra and her grandmother Rose. Sierra was fourteen with down syndrome. Dom and Joe paid them regular visits. He escorted both of them over to where Charlotte and the rest of the group stood. Dom's face lit up.
"Sierra my beautiful bambina. Look at you in that dress you are so pretty. Did your grandma buy you that dress?"
"Yes." She announced proudly.
"You look like a princess just like Princess Mia."
The girl grinned excitedly. Mia was Sierra's hero and she wanted to be just like her.
"Sierra, how would you like to wear a tiara with your dress?" Mia asked.
"I want to!" She shouted clapping her hands.
Mia removed the tiara she was wearing and carefully placed it on Sierra's head.
"Princess Mia and Princess Sierra, may I please take a photo of you both together?" Joseph asked.
Mia and Sierra linked arms and stood close for the picture. Sierra could hardly contain her excitement.
"Sierra sweetie let's go have some juice and we will see Princess Mia later. Tell her thank you."
"Thank you Princess Mia." She said and without encouragement she hugged Mia who was genuinely touched and hugged her back.
"Sierra will you come and dance with me?" Dom asked. Sierra again nodded with excitement.
"I can't thank all of you enough for inviting us. Sierra talks about you all the time Princess Mia. And she loves the queen too. Look at the smile on her face. I've always wanted to make her dream of being a princess come true."
"And so you have my dear Rose." Joe said.
"Will you and Sierra be at the mud volleyball game on Saturday?" Mia asked.
Clarisse had nearly forgotten her commitment to play in the game. A lot had happened in two weeks.
"Yes. Dominic is letting Sierra change the scoreboard. She loves numbers and when you give her a job with numbers she focuses really well." Rose said happily.
Charlotte was relieved that Joe had used his better judgment and hadn't brought Grace. Dom asked her to dance and pretty soon she had forgotten all of her worries. Mia was dancing Eric when she saw her walk in. Charlotte was dancing with the Prime Minister and wasn't paying attention. Joe walked over to the woman and kissed her hand. A moment later Charlotte was at Mia's side.
"I'll kill him myself!" Charlotte said through clenched teeth. Clarisse had finished her dance with Dom and walked over to Charlotte and Mia without seeing Joseph. Charlotte had only one chance. "Mia get your grandmother out of here quickly!"
"Uh Grandma can you come with me to the ladies room. I can't get out of my dress on my own."
Joe and Grace began to walk towards the group and Charlotte began to panic. Clarisse was telling Mia that Olivia was available to help her. Charlotte had to stop Joseph before they got to Clarisse. She moved to intercept only a few feet from Clarisse.
"You have some nerve showing up with her." She spat at him.
"Charlotte calm down before people start to notice."
"Good let them notice you and your new girlfriend!" She reached up to smack him but Joe hadn't trained with Master Ya-Moto for nothing. He caught her arm in the air and gripped it tightly.
"Charlotte what is going on?" Clarisse asked before she saw Grace.
But instead of the angry betrayed reaction, Clarisse smiled.
"Carmen?" She asked.
"Hello your Majesty." The other woman said.
Dom didn't give them time to figure it out. He quickly ushered them all outside onto the balcony and closed the doors. He knew what was coming and everyone began to talk at once from outside.
Charlotte was the first to get everyone's attention.
"What do you mean Carmen?" She asked. "Who is Carmen I thought she was Grace."
Joe smiled at Carmen and looked back at Charlotte. "Carmen is my little sister. And if you've paid attention at all Lotti you would know that Grace is really Clarisse."
Everyone gasped out loud except for Clarisse who turned in embarrassment.
"Is that true Grandma?" Mia asked.
Clarisse looked at Joseph with tears in her eyes. And then she nodded slowly. "How did you know?"
"Well usually I don't reveal how I find things out but in this case I didn't know until you had me retrieve the ring when we were in San Francisco."
Dom knew everything but he also knew that this was a private conversation. He caught Carmen and Lily's attention and ushered them back into the party. Then silently he returned and gathered Mia and Charlotte who he literally had to drag away.
"What are you doing?" Charlotte demanded standing next to Mia.
"It's what I told you, the things of love between a man and a woman are no one's business but their own. You know the truth now; let them talk about the details. I'm sure they'll tell you later. And don't even try to cross me." Charlotte and Mia sighed in defeat and hoped they would be party to the story. Dom went to check on his catering crew.
"Ok now we get the truth." Charlotte said.
"We promised not to go out there."
"We aren't but we have a suspect to question, Carmen."
"Good idea! Charlotte, how could not know that was his sister?"
"There's eleven years between them. I haven't seen Carmen since she was three!"
"Can you say spitting image of Joe?" Mia questioned.
"That room is fairly dark and I was angry I didn't examine her. Come on let's go."
"How did you know it was me from the ring?" She asked sitting beside him on the bench.
"You forget just how proud of your sons I am. When Phillipe was in school he wrote you letters and you used to show them to me. When he finished the letters he always signed them with a simple letter G. You told him the story of the famous sea captain named Gerard and how he'd gotten his middle name. He loved that name and since Captain Gerard was a secret, he signed his letters that way. The letter with the ring was not your handwriting it was Phillipe's. How could it not be you?"
"He showed me the ring the night you'd lost it. Rupert and I had a quarrel about something and you were off fighting some intruder. I wanted to see you so I snuck down to your cabin and Phillipe was sitting on your steps waiting for you. He was surprised to see me. I tried to lie to him but even at a young age my son knew me so well. Rupert loved both of his boys but Pierre was his pride and joy as heir to the throne. Phillipe resented Rupert for it but he adored you. He said he'd overheard you telling Dominic about buying the ring and that one-day you were going to propose with it. With all his heart Phillipe wanted you and I to be together. It only made me feel guiltier about loving you. I asked him to protect that ring and that when it was time I'd give it back to you personally. He wrote that tiny little note and put it in the box. Then to keep it safe he'd given it to Mia's mother Helen. She gave it to me when we went the first time to see Mia."
"So why did you give it back?"
"Because I didn't want you to leave Genovia and yet I had no right to ask you to stay. You've always been so honest with me and I've treated you terribly. I thought if I gave you back the ring and you remembered why you bought it then perhaps you wouldn't go."
"So you made up Grace and the Myspace profile and all of that to get me to stay? I had no intentions of leaving then."
"No, I made up Grace so I could talk to you. As the queen or as just Clarisse I had difficulty telling you things the way I used to. When you told me you had tattoos I realized that despite the many years we'd know each other, I knew little about the man you'd become. So I researched it and I learned how to create a profile and then I sent you that request. In two very short days I learned so much about you. I never knew you wanted to buy a Mustang or that you'd driven one off a cliff. I nearly fell off my bed when you told me that. I didn't know that Dominic saved your life or that you were so close with my father. And suddenly getting to know you was like a drug. I used facts from a novel to create Grace's life and suddenly I was trying to convince you that I wanted to be with you."
"Taking the queen out of her element you mean?"
"I was thinking you'd ask me to go fishing, the food fight and the shower was not only out of my element but out of this world."
He smiled for the first time and nodded his head.
"I thought if I could keep talking to you on the computer and we would get closer outside of it, then maybe I wouldn't be afraid to be with you. But when you kissed me in the shower, food dripping off our clothing, and the fear that we'd be caught, something else arose inside of me. I was having a hard time maintaining my focus and I was starting to lose touch of the queen I'd become."
"It was what I was hoping for but not the way you thought I was hoping. When Phillipe died you shut yourself down. I don't think Genovia has ever had such a mighty queen but Clarisse was gone. You never laughed when were in the garden walking together. You stopped coming to my cottage to have dinner. You began to treat Charlotte like a servant again and not even Dom could get you down to his restaurant. I wasn't trying to be selfish Clarisse. I just wanted your heart to fill with light again. Phillipe's death crushed everyone and I couldn't pretend to know the pain a mother feels but as I said when we buried him, we buried Clarisse too. When you and I were throwing food at each other it was like when King Rupert left on business and we'd stay up late and have popcorn fights and go mattress surfing at all hours of the night. You were laughing and happy again and then you sent me that letter about seeing other women. How could I see anyone else but you? I love you. At first I thought you were just resisting but then I realized you had every intention of locking down again. So I staged the call about me being arrested and Charlotte kidnapped but when you arrived at Mia's place you were angry and didn't seem relieved that I was all right. So I told you I was leaving and actually I am."
"What? Joseph please!"
"Hold on a second, it isn't what you're thinking. I'll explain in a minute."
"Oh and then you insulted me and called me my mother. She hated me passionately because of my father. She left him and then when he finally opened his heart and married Estelle two years later she wanted him back. The rest of her life she was bitter and angry with him and as a result me as well. But you told me I was her. You had to have known how badly that hurt."
"I did but I also know you and I knew you'd dwell on it. And if I could get you to dwell on it you might see that I was right. I just wanted you to come back and find Clarisse again. I promised I'd keep you save and I'd give my life to protect you. One way or the other I was going to rescue what little of yourself you had left and I was going to give you back the throne that this other persona had stolen."
"And what happened in the restaurant?"
"A miscalculation on my part. You see Dom forbid Charlotte from going to the Lotus Lounge ever again. The place was taken over by new management last year. The lounge is just a nice intimate place to eat now. Since the food is so good the place gets crowded and noisy. I wanted to talk to my baby sister without all the noise. I never expected to see all of you in there. By the way I do not like you as a blonde and I better never see that wig again."
"Don't worry it's long gone. But why didn't you just come over and tell me you were with Carmen?"
"Because I didn't think you saw me and there was no reason to get Carmen mixed up in our problems even though I told her everything. When you stood there singing that song I didn't know what to do. Carmen just froze where she was and that's why you didn't see her face. I was just getting used to the idea of knowing you were Grace. I confirmed it on Thursday night."
"Thursday? What happened on Thursday?"
"Well for you it ended with a Nolan Ryan pitch of your cell phone out the window. But for me it was a little different."
She gasped at the reminder. So she hadn't been dreaming about telling him she loved him.
"You didn't text me back!" She accused.
"I was in the process of climbing up the balcony when you launched your phone!"
"What?"
"A funny thing happened. I was laying on my bean bag chair in the dark listening to the radio."
That explained why she didn't see the light glowing in the trees.
"All of a sudden DJ Mackie starts talking to a lovely woman named Ramona. Your voice is unmistakable but then you dedicated the song to Julio. You remembered quite well that my father calls me Julio. Then my phone starts buzzing and amazingly as if I'm dreaming you begin to text me. So I decided to stonewall you because if you were actually coming to me for once then I wasn't going to give an inch until you gave me a mile. So I text you all the way from my cottage to your balcony and I decided that perhaps you'd tell me you loved me in person and the next thing I know your phone is flying out the window. So I retrieved it and erased all the messages between us. I got up into the balcony and I waited until you fell asleep. I logged onto your laptop, found your Myspace credentials and when I logged in there was Grace's full profile ready for me to edit. I shut down the computer. Place your phone on the desk and I went home."
"Good heavens you frighten me. I can't continue to make you angry. Who'd protect me from you?"
He laughed and pulled her close to him.
"Joseph, after all we've been through lately can I ask you a question?"
"Anything."
"Do you still want me? Even as cold as I've become? Even after all I've put you through with this ridiculous game?"
"Oh Clarisse, with all my heart I want you. I love you with the heart of a warrior and a servant. I love you more than my own life. If we can't be anymore than the best of friends then I will hold onto that and I will make sure that it's enough."
"Good, now can I make a request?"
"Please make it."
"Will you put your arms around me and kiss me like you did that night in my suite? I've wanted that for so long."
He rose from the bench and wrapped his arms tightly around her and then he found her lips. The kiss was unafraid, promising, and revealing. She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. When finally he broke the kiss, she moaned in defeat.
"Call the fire department. You've set the palace on fire." She said against his open mouth. His tongue seized its opportunity to advance and when it entered her lips she sucked in a startled but pleasurable gasp. Her hand clenched the vest beneath his tuxedo jacket and it was all he could do to keep from tipping over.
"I have to stop now." He said breathlessly. "Two more minutes of that and I will no longer be able to maintain my sense of honor. We have to get back to the party. I need to talk to you about Carmen and I need to bed Charlotte for forgiveness.
"That was fun. I never knew what reckless abandonment meant until that. My heart might come right out of my chest."
He kissed her one final time. "You think that's fun. Wait until I kiss you that way in the mud!"
Just two chapters left and I promise no more fighting for our favorite duo. Oh all right there is one but you wouldn't begrudge me a fight in the mud would you? Posting within the next day or so…..Onyx