In Sorrow and In Joy - Part 5.
"Remind me," Harry said once they reached the pavilion, "what day does your birthday actually fall on this year?"
"It's on a Saturday this year, but due to a party already being arranged, like there is every year, we can't be away for my actual birthday unfortunately," Clarisse said as she twisted and smoothed her free hand down the back of the skirt of her dress and took a seat on one of the stone benches between two of the pavilion pillars and watched as Joseph sat down beside her.
"Yes, I remember," Harry laughed and sat down on the next bench along to the one Clarisse and Joseph were sitting on. "Talk to us about details then."
"Oh, don't ask me," she smiled and looked across at Harry as Joseph leant to the side, to place Clarisse's shoes down on the ground. "It's all Joseph's idea, talk to him," she said while looking back at Joseph as he sat back up and took a sip of his champagne.
"Well, all I can say at this point, as not to give anything away, is if you fly in on the Friday morning. We can pick you up and go straight there," Joseph said as he looked up at his friend, "but as for details, you'll have to wait and see," he said and looked at Clarisse as she sat smiling at him, "or it will ruin the surprise."
"Ok," Harry smiled and watched Joseph slip his arm around Clarisse's back as he whispered in her ear. "Leave it with us then, we will have a look in the diary when we get home on Monday and let you know which weekend we can make," he said and looked at Sabrina smiling beside him.
"OK, sounds good," Joseph said as he smoothed his hand back and forth across the bottom of Clarisse's back as she took a sip of her champagne.
"Oh I just remembered something I was meant to have told you yesterday," Clarisse said as she rested the bottom of her glass down on her thigh and looked up at her friend, "it's really odd, but this conversation has stuck with me… Do you remember a few years back, you recommended I purchase an off the shoulder jumper to wear when I'm relaxing?"
"Yes, I remember," Sabrina smiled as she remembered fondly and momentarily averted her gaze to Joseph before looking back at Clarisse. "Do you own one now?"
"Yes I do, I took the plunge and bought several a few months after that conversation in my suite," Clarisse smiled as she raised her glass up to her mouth and took another sip of her champagne.
"Ooo look at you," Sabrina smiled as she averted her gaze to Joseph once again, knowing he had to be the reason behind her purchase, "and was I right? Did Joseph find you sexy in one?"
"Oh I do, most definitely," Joseph smiled as he looked at Sabrina then back at Clarisse and watched as she turned her head to look at him, "I love getting to kiss her bare freckled shoulder when she's wearing one," he said and placed a quick kiss to her shoulder as Clarisse bit her bottom lip.
"Behave you," Clarisse smiled at him then looked down at her glass as Joseph leant closer to her.
"I can't help it, you do something to me," he whispered in her ear before glancing towards the palace, "dance with me," he said, looking back at her.
"Out here?" Clarisse asked as she looked back up at him and watched as he bent forward to place his glass down on the ground next to her shoes.
"Yes, out here," he said while standing to his feet and turned to her, "we can still hear the music from here, so why not," he smiled while holding his hand out for her to take, "and it's not like we haven't danced together out here before."
"You're right," Clarisse smiled as she bent forward to place her glass down on the ground before taking his hand and rising to her feet.
Smiling, Sabrina and Harry watched as Joseph took a few steps backwards while gently pulling her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her waist, his hand instinctively going to her lower back as she put her free arm around his arm, her hand on the back of his shoulder. "Be careful not to stand on her feet, she'll never forgive you if you do," Harry said and they all laughed as Clarisse and Joseph looked over at them.
"I won't," Joseph said while looking over at Harry, then turned his attention back to Clarisse as they began to sway slowly together in time with the song that was currently playing in the distance. "Am I staying with you tonight?" He whispered in her ear a moment later and pulled his head back to look into her eyes.
"No, not tonight," Clarisse said quietly with a shake of her head, "not with all these guests staying for the wedding."
Nodding, he moved his head closer to hers and they continued dancing a moment. "I can't wait for us to go away together," he said softly in her ear and pulled his head back to study her face.
Tilting her head slightly to the side, Clarisse looked up into his gorgeous eyes and smiled. "I won't want to come home."
Walking out onto the back balcony a little later that night to get a bit of air, Rupert was surprised to see Philippe stood out there with one of his university friends. "Sorry, hope I wasn't.. I'll go back in," he said and turned to go back in.
"No, father it's okay," Philippe said and watched as his father turned back to him before looking at his friend, who bowed his head and began to walk away.
"He didn't have to leave, he could have stayed," Rupert said as he stepped closer to his son.
"It's okay, I can catch up with him later," Philippe said as he leant back against the balustrade and looked at his father now standing beside him. "You okay?"
"Apart from being a little drunk, I'm good," Rupert said with a small laugh while looking down at his glass of champagne a moment before looking up at his son, "you?"
"I'm a little drunk too," Philippe smirked.
Nodding, Rupert watched his son a moment as he took a swig of his beer. "You know, I have one more bit of advice for you, my son," he said while putting his free hand out onto Philippe's shoulder, "about tonight."
"Oh god father, not you as well," Philippe exclaimed while looking at his father.
"What do you mean, not you as well?" Rupert asked in surprise and watched as Philippe stood up straight and turned to face him.
"Well mother's already talked to me about tonight," Philippe said. "Told me from a woman's point of view."
"She has?" Rupert exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, she has," Philippe nodded and took another swig of his beer while turning to look out across the gardens when he caught sight of his mother, Harry, Sabrina and Joseph under the pavilion in the distance. Smiling, he placed his beer bottle down on top of the balustrade and turned his head to look at his father. "She told me how I must take her feelings into consideration regarding events that lay ahead tonight, because women are different to us men."
"Well that does surprise me," Rupert said with a small shake of his head. He was completely shocked to find that Clarisse had talked to their son about the wedding night. "But yes, she's right. They are completely different to us and you must respect that."
"I do father, and I always will," Philippe nodded as he looked back out across the gardens, watching his mother dancing and laughing with Joseph a moment. "It seems to have become a tradition hasn't it? Mother and Joseph sharing a dance together out here whenever a party is hosted," Philippe said as he turned his head to look back at his father, watched as he looked out into the distance at them. "They've done it on several occasions in the last couple years, and now again tonight," Philippe said while picking up his beer and took a swig.
"Yes I suppose it has," Rupert nodded and watched them a moment before looking back at his son, "you will be happy for her, won't you?" He asked while turning to lean back against the balustrade.
"What do you mean?" Philippe asked as he also turned to lean back against the balustrade like his father.
"Well.. Her and Joe, they're going to end up together once I'm gone," Rupert said as he looked at the palace a long moment before turning his head to look at his younger son, "and I want to make sure you'll be happy for her."
"Come on father, I'm 21 not six," Philippe laughed.
"What do you mean?" Rupert asked in surprise and studied his son's face. Did he already know about them, or was he bluffing. He didn't know, but he did know that he had to tread lightly just in case.
"Let's just say I've seen, and heard, things I shouldn't have over the last few years," Philippe said as he nodded slightly while looking towards the palace.
"From the maids?" Rupert asked and watched as Philippe looked back at him, "they always seem to know everything."
"No, not from the maids," Philippe said and shook his head while looking back towards the palace, he couldn't believe that he was having this conversation with his father today of all days, but knew it was only because they had been drinking. "But with my own eyes, and through the walls," he said and shuddered at the thought of his mother being intimate with Joseph.
"Well, how do you know it's not me and your mother?" Rupert asked quietly as Philippe looked back at him.
"Father, I know it's not you and that you and mother have been living separate lives," Philippe said, "have done for the last couple years."
"But how?" Rupert asked, shocked over his son's confession and watched as he looked down at the ground.
"I accidentally caught them once," Philippe began as he looked back up at his father, "I had returned from America and wanted to surprise her, I think you were away for a few days, or out of the palace for the day at least, can't remember which, but anyway I went up to her suite, she wasn't there so I went out on the balcony for a few moments. When I heard a door closing, I came back in and saw them together in an embrace. I tried to back out back onto the balcony unnoticed, but I ended up knocking into the door."
"Oh," Rupert replied.
"I must say it was a shock, but it confirmed my suspicions I'd had about them," Philippe said, "it was then mother sat me down and told me everything, and that Pierre also knew, but swore me to secrecy."
"I see," Rupert nodded and thought a moment, "and you're okay with it? With them being together."
"Well I wasn't at first, at first it freaked me out but then I saw how happy he made her, and that's no offence to you, father, but things hadn't been right between you for a long long time," Philippe said sorrowfully.
"You're right, they weren't and that's why I agreed to this arrangement," Rupert said and watched as Philippe nodded, "does Pierre know that you know?"
"Yes, he knows," Philippe nodded.
"Alright," Rupert said and watched his son a moment, "listen though, this needs to stay between us. Okay?"
"Oh of course," Philippe nodded, "I'm not going to tell anyone, I mean I haven't yet and I never will."
"Thank you," Rupert said and took a sip of his champagne as Pierre slowly approached them.
"Here you are," Pierre said as both his father and brother looked up at him, "Helen's looking for you."
"Oh, is she?" Philippe said and looked at his father, "I better get back in to make sure she's okay."
"Yes, you better had," Rupert nodded.
"You coming in?" Philippe asked.
"In a little bit," Rupert replied.
"Alright, I'll see you later then," Philippe said and began to make his way towards the palace. Leaving his father and brother alone.
"I'm surprised you want to be out here with me after our chat this morning," Rupert said as Pierre stepped closer to him leaning back against the balustrade. "You've been avoiding me all day."
"I haven't," Pierre replied simply and Rupert nodded his head, knowing that it was a lie.
Taking a sip of his champagne, Rupert watched his son step next to him and lean against the balustrade while looking across at the pavilion. "I saw how you looked at them talking in the ballroom earlier," he said, knowing exactly who he was looking at. "You still don't approve of them, do you?"
"No," Pierre said with a shake of his head, "and I probably never will."
"But why?" Rupert said with a slight shrug as Pierre finally looked at him, "you seemed fine with me and Ruth being together, so why can't you accept your mother and Joe."
"Because he's here, constantly," Pierre said and watched as his father raised an eyebrow, "with you and Ruth, you saw each other away from the palace but Joe, he's not only here working for us, protecting mother, but he's her lover too. You may have accepted it, but I can't."
"He may be her lover, and her bodyguard, but he makes her happy, Pierre, he always has and he always will," Rupert said and watched as his son looked back out across the gardens. "Something I could never do and he protects her, looks after her and in the whole time that they've been together, she's not once put him first. She's never taken a day off to be with him, she's still taken her duty very seriously and she always will. Just like her role as your mother, when you was sick a few months back, who was there for you? She's never ignored you or your brother and put Joe first like some people do in these situations. Even though you are now both old enough to take care of yourself she was still there for you," Rupert replied. "I just don't get why you can't accept it. Your brother has, so why can't you."
"With all due respect father, me and Philippe are completely different people. I.. I want to abdicate and become a priest, live my own life without orders and rules, and Philippe, well Philippe is destined to become King. And he should be, he should become the next ruler of our country. He's married now, he can produce an heir," Pierre said sadly.
"And so can you, there's still plenty.."
"No," Pierre snapped as he looked at his father angrily, "this isn't the path I want to take. I don't want to become King, father!" He exclaimed and momentarily looked away. "Anyway," he said more calmly as he looked back at his father, "you never told me earlier. How come it didn't work out between you and Ruth?"
"Oh, she wanted more from the relationship," Rupert replied and took a sip of his champagne. "Something I couldn't give her."
"How'd you mean?" Pierre asked.
"She wanted me to divorce your mother and marry her instead," Rupert said, "and I told her that I couldn't do that and if that's how she felt then it ends now. So there you go."
"She what?" Pierre exclaimed in surprise.
"You may not approve of their relationship, Pierre, but just remember that your mother agreed to stay as my Queen, when she could have left, and nearly did," Rupert said and watched as his son looked back across the gardens to where his mother was dancing with her friends. "All for you and your brothers future."