Chapter Twenty-Eight

The last year of her life had been unlike anything Ruth had ever imagined. For all the privilege that being a princess afforded her, she had not ever truly believed that she could find any sort of ordinary happiness. She was bright, she knew, and she was hardworking; satisfaction from her work was not in short supply. But she was uncomfortable with the demands placed on her to engage with the public life of a royal, and she had all but convinced herself that her introversion and awkward intelligence and complete lack of princess-like glamour would leave her to be alone with her cat for the rest of her life.

And though she had met Harry a full three years ago now, she had always dreaded that he would tire of her, that he would see what everyone else always did: she was not worth the effort of putting up with all the royal nonsense, and the excitement of royal life was not worth putting up with Ruth herself. But Harry had proved her wrong. When she had expected him to turn her away, he had instead held onto her that much tighter. He loved her and wanted her in a way that Ruth had not thought possible. It was the stuff of fairytales, she knew, that the princess could fall in love and live happily ever after. Somehow, in spite of her father's cancer and Juliet's unpleasantness and all the other potential pitfalls for them, it seemed that their happily ever after might finally work out.

The wedding was only a week away, now. People from the palace had been busy planning everything, which Ruth both appreciated and despised in equal measure. She didn't want to plan the thing herself, but neither she nor Harry gave a wit about all that pageantry that palace-planned events always entailed. About a month ago, she had to excuse herself to keep from throwing a fit when they tried to get her to choose which doves to release. Not only did she not care a single bit about the type of doves, the assumption that they needed doves at all nearly sent her over the edge.

Thankfully, Ruth's maid of honor was extremely helpful in situations like this. Strong-willed and clever and creative, Catherine was a stronger force at fifteen than Princess Louisa could manage to be at twenty-five. Ruth had been content to meekly question whether things were necessary while Catherine was perfectly pleased to protest and demand whatever it was Ruth wanted. It turned out that Ruth did not actually want much. Harry didn't care at all, of course, insisting that he only wanted to marry Ruth with their loved ones surrounding them, so whatever she wanted on her wedding day, he would gladly accept. So the task fell to Catherine to keep the palace planners from going overboard on everything.

All the planning also allowed Ruth the opportunity to spend more time with her soon-to-be stepdaughter. Ruth had given her a movie camera for her birthday, and Catherine now shared all her projects with Ruth. The two of them had become quite close. Despite their age difference and the fact that Ruth was going to marry Catherine's father, they were able to become good friends through it all.

Graham, too, had grown very close to Ruth as the wedding got closer and closer. He was a sweet boy, growing up and needing more guidance along the way. He, much more than Catherine, looked to Ruth as a mother figure. It was not a role Ruth had ever found herself in before, but she did her best to be patient with him and to answer his questions and give him what he seemed to need from her. Harry had told her on more than one occasion that she was the best thing that had happened to his children in years. And for Ruth, all that mattered was being a part of this family and loving those children as best as she could.

And now the wedding was only a week away. She had spent all day with Catherine on the final details of everything. Her mind was positively spinning from all of it, particularly because Catherine was still in school and Ruth was still working as fulltime as she could possibly manage. They only had the weekends to fully devote to things.

Today, after running all their errands, Ruth had treated Catherine to dinner out at a restaurant, just the two of them. They talked and laughed and enjoyed the small reprieve from all their other stresses, focusing on anything and everything but the wedding. Catherine told Ruth about a boy at her school she had a crush on, and Ruth did not know what sort of advice to give, having never been much good at that sort of thing.

"You can't be too terrible at it, you're getting married next week!" Catherine reminded her.

"I still don't quite know how that happened. I think if Harry hadn't met me at work and seen me first for doing what I'm actually good at, he'd have never given me a second thought. I've never been very outgoing, always really shy around boys. The only boyfriends I had when I was young were ones who asked me out and I learned to like them a bit. I never knew what to do when I liked someone," Ruth explained.

Catherine thought about that for a moment. "Is it a bad idea for a girl to ask out a boy?"

Ruth certainly did not have any definitive answer to that, but she did her best. "I think it depends on the girl and it depends on the boy. Some might be too insecure to not be in charge all the time, and if that's the case, he's not worth your time at all. And you are so strong and independent, and you go after what you want. I think you're the right sort to ask out a boy, and that Thomas ought to know what kind of girl you are. If you want to ask him out, maybe you should."

"What if he says no?"

"Then you'll have your answer," Ruth said simply.

Catherine seemed to appreciate that response. She smiled. "Thanks, Ruth."

After they finished their meal, Ruth and Catherine took a walk around one of the many lavish courtyards in the capital. They had ice cream and wandered as they ate.

"This was where Dad's company was defending, I think," she said. "During the war."

Ruth took a moment to realize they were in fact in Albert Plaza, where a grant bronze statue of Albert the Emancipator stood high above an elegant fountain. "Yes, I think you're right." She shivered, knowing the kind of atrocities that Harry had faced in the war and what horrible things had probably happened right where they were standing.

Catherine pointed up at the statue. "Is he a relative of yours?"

She smiled. "Yes, we're still House Everard today. He was the first one. I don't know if I'm a direct descendant or not; sometimes there are cousins or whatever who end up on the throne due to whatever line of succession. But yes, he's a relative of mine."

"Would you ever want to be on the throne?" Catherine asked.

"Oh no, I'd be awful," Ruth answered immediately. "It's not an easy job. Very little freedom or choice or independence. You've got to follow the rules very closely and always be on your best behavior and make sure everyone likes you."

"You already do all those things, Ruth," Catherine laughed.

Well, in a way Ruth had to agree. "Even so. I don't like being the center of attention. And the monarch is always the center of attention wherever he or she is. Besides, I like my job and I don't want to leave it."

Catherine shrugged. "Might be nice to be important though."

"There are plenty of ways to be important without a crown on your head. The work your dad and I do is important. And you are important, too."

"How do you figure?"

Ruth put an arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "I don't know where I'd be without you, Catherine. You might be young and still in school, but you are very important to me."

Catherine just smiled at that.

The two got back to the house very late. Tom had been driving them and following them all evening, and he was grateful to finally have Ruth safe inside a well-guarded house. Catherine went up to her room and Graham found Ruth and wanted to sit and talk with her a while. Ruth made them each a cup of chamomile tea, and they had a nice long chat before Ruth realized how late it was.

"I know you don't have school tomorrow, but you're a growing boy and you need your rest," Ruth chided, sending him off to bed.

It was then that Ruth realized she hadn't seen Harry all day.

She knew the house very well by now, having spent such a lot of time here while they were engaged and having moved most of her things in already. She went first to Harry's study but found it empty with the lights out. He must have already gone to bed. Goodness, it was late!

Sure enough, Harry was already in bed with the lights out. He'd left on the lamp in the walk-in closet so that she would not be left completely in the dark to get ready for bed. She quickly changed to her pajamas and brushed her teeth before getting into bed beside him as quietly as she could.

"There you are," he said sleepily, rolling over to greet her.

"Shh, yes, I'm sorry. Go back to sleep," she whispered.

"Tell me about your day first," Harry insisted.

Ruth smiled. "We had a very busy day. Most of it isn't important, but one thing was."

"Oh?"

"They finished my dress," she told him excitedly.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I love it. I think it's perfect. Catherine really liked it, too. And her dress is finished, too, and she looks beautiful in it."

Harry reached over to cup her cheek in his hand, as he so often did when he wanted to show a bit of gentle affection. "Tell me about your dress, Ruth."

"You can't see it until the wedding," she reminded him. It was a silly superstition, but she sort of liked it.

"So just describe it. I'd like to know a bit of what to expect so I don't faint upon seeing you in your wedding dress."

She laughed lightly. "Well, I did succeed in insisting that it not be anything like what they'd think a princess should wear. I hope you like it, even though it's different from the gowns I wear to events and things."

"Is it like the burgundy dress?"

Ruth felt herself blush, recalling all too well that burgundy dress he loved so much. "I don't think that would be very appropriate."

"I don't either, but I thought I'd ask."

"Well, my wedding dress is not like that and there's no ballgown skirt thank goodness. It's got lace and it's beautiful and I love it."

"That's all that matters. I can't wait to see you in it," Harry said.

"Next week," she reminded him.

Harry leaned in to kiss her softly. "Next week," he whispered on her lips.

"Tell me about your day," she requested, having told him the highlight of hers.

"My day was uneventful. I helped Graham with a project for his history class and I went into the office for a few hours to review some reports that have been piling up, and then I had dinner with Graham and Malcolm, and I was reminded that while I do love them both, I much prefer the company of women."

"Is that so?" she teased.

"Well, I like my family all together. You and Catherine were both missed," he told her.

"We're all home where we belong now."

Harry sighed, obviously still on the verge of falling asleep. "That's good."

Ruth kissed him one more time and settled in to follow him to slumber.