Chapter Forty-One

"Stop doing that," Harry scolded.

Ruth looked back to him as they danced through the ballroom. "Doing what?" she asked.

"Craning your neck like that trying to see what she's doing."

She sighed in slight annoyance. "I just don't trust her," Ruth defended.

"Neither do I, but she won't make a scene. It'll be alright. You know the worst she'll do is make some backhanded remark in that falsely sweet voice of hers," Harry pointed out.

Ruth sighed again and tried to force herself to look at Harry and not try to seek out Juliet once again. It was a nightmare every time they had to see her. It was only at formal public events where she was ever around the rest of the family. And the king's birthday was unfortunately one of those. Ruth's father was celebrating his first birthday since the coronation—the first birthday since he acceded to the throne had been so soon after Edmund's death that a celebration was unthinkable—so they were having a grand party at the palace. And because it was not a state dinner but a family celebration. So not only were Harry and Ruth invited but Graham and Catherine as well. And, because there were also press outside the entrance and all the distant family comprising the nobility in attendance, Juliet was invited as well. Queen Juliet had never, in all her life, avoided a public event where she could dazzle a crowd.

She'd played the part of grieving widow quite well. Early on, Ruth was quite sure it wasn't an act. Juliet and Edmund, for all their faults, had been quite devoted to each other. She may have schemed to marry him, but he had loved her and it was quite clear that she had grown to love him over the years. But after her tears had subsided, she did a number of public events where she did put her widowhood on display. Something about showing off her strength through grief was very appealing to the public. She was constantly seen at the palace and assisting the new king and attending events. The fact that her husband had died and yet she was still allowed to call herself a queen was quite the boon for her. Ruth and her father both found it exhausting, but she did take a load off their plates, so they did not begrudge her for it. So long as she stayed far away.

The best thing had been when she had finally moved out of the palace, having managed to squeeze two full years of residence from it despite Edmund only having been king for thirteen months, and moved back to her former residence at Harbridge. It was opulent and closer to the capital than Leister was, which served Juliet quiet well. Dad was happy to let her keep the place, since there wasn't any other royal who needed it. Ruth and her family—including an eventual child, god willing—were at Leister, the king was at the palace in the capital, and that was the full extent of the royal family now. It was strange for Ruth to think about. Three short years ago, she and Harry had lived in Pearce manor, Dad was in Leister, Grandfather was in the capital, and Edmund and Juliet were in Harbridge together. So much had changed so quickly.

"Could you please just enjoy yourself? I hardly ever get to dance with you anymore," Harry pouted, seeing she was distracted once again.

Ruth smirked at him. "That's your fault, you know. We've got a ballroom and a perfectly fine speaker system. There's no reason you can't put on some music and dance with me at home." Funny, when did Leister become home again? She'd been calling it Leister for so long. Perhaps she'd gotten used to living there with Harry and the children.

Harry countered, "Well, I like dancing with you when you're wearing one of these fabulous gowns with your hair and makeup all princessy."

She smiled. It wasn't often they had formal events where people came over to dress her and make her up and coif her hair. They liked life better when they didn't have all that fuss. But for Dad's birthday, she'd gone to the royal designer and chosen a gown of periwinkle blue with gold accents. It wasn't a full skirt, so not too 'princessy' as Harry would say. It did have a bit of movement though. And it was cut quite low, which Harry had also noticed right away. The gold beading between her breasts certainly drew the eye. Not normally something she would do, but since she was trying every which way for her husband to get her pregnant, she figured it wouldn't hurt to show off a bit.

Impulsively, Harry leaned in to kiss her cheek. He was careful to avoid her lipstick, since he'd had enough experience now getting it all over his face if he was too eager too early in the evening. And he could kiss her cheek without worry because her hair was pulled back to an elegant and shockingly intricate chignon. Ruth felt quite beautiful, and Harry had told her she was a number of times tonight. And when he kissed her softly like that, she felt beautiful all over again.

Ruth was so caught up in the nice feeling of dancing with Harry and feeling like a beautiful princess that she momentarily forgot all about Juliet. Well, almost. The band had to take a break, so the dancing was through for now. Ruth and Harry applauded politely and went back to the table where Catherine was chatting away with King James.

"And did you know that Mahrain was a district in Jelman before it was colonized by King Edmund II?" Catherine asked animatedly.

Dad, bless him, nodded patiently. "I did, actually. That was my grandfather, in fact. And I've spent some time in Mahrain. I joined my father there on the royal tour a few years ago."

"That was almost seven years ago," Ruth interjected.

He looked over to her as she sat down next to him and smiled. "How do you know that?"

"Because that was the royal tour where I went to Gambon with Grandfather. And I remember that because just before I left, Harry asked me out for the first time. He told me to think about it while I was away and give him the answer when I got back. Grandfather gave me some very good advice."

"Must not have been that good, since you married him," Catherine teased.

Ruth laughed, "Would you rather I didn't?"

"Well I certainly wouldn't rather she didn't," King James inserted, "because otherwise I wouldn't get to have you and Graham in the family."

"And we wouldn't get to have you and Ruth in ours," Catherine agreed. "All worked out for the best."

With a happy chuckle, the king kissed Catherine on the cheek. He then turned back to Ruth and Harry sitting on his other side. "Catherine's been telling me about her university courses. Apparently there's one about the colonies, their history prior to colonization. I know a bit here and there, but it sounds fascinating."

Ruth nodded. "The history and culture of the colonies is very interesting. Catherine, I'm glad you're taking that class. I'm sure it's very valuable. Don't you think, Harry?"

"Yes, it should be taught much more," he agreed.

Catherine frowned. "How do you know about colonial history?" she asked accusingly.

Harry was working up to an argumentative answer, Ruth could tell, but luckily the king answered instead. "Harry runs Foreign Intelligence. The colonies are our most important source of intelligence abroad. He and Ruth both have to know every single thing about those colonies in order to effectively do their job. Well, what used to be Ruth's job before I had to drag her into royal life with me," he added apologetically.

That seemed to give Catherine something to think about.

But before anyone could say anything else on the subject, the band started playing again. "Catherine, dear, would you like to dance?" the king asked.

"Me? Really?"

He nodded. "Yes, really. If you want to. You certainly don't have to. Ruth and I will have the final dance to end the evening later. But since we're here…"

"Yes, thank you!" Catherine agreed excitedly. She took the king's hand and stood up. Ruth gazed admiringly at her lovely figure and beautiful blonde hair with the pastel green gown she wore. She was growing into the most exquisite young woman.

Harry sighed sadly beside her. She chuckled. "Yes, I was just thinking how much she's grown up," she noted.

"She really is. She looks just like her mother."

"Do you have any photos of Jane? Maybe with the children when they were young?" Ruth asked suddenly.

Harry frowned. "Malcolm might know where they are at the old house. Why?"

"The children should have more photos of their mother. Something to remind them of her. If they want to," she suggested.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Why should I mind? Jane was there mother. And she'd been gone a year before I even met you. I hardly think you'll be pining after the ghost of your ex-wife if we've got photographs of her in the house. We just don't need them in our bedroom," Ruth reasoned.

Harry chuckled at that and kissed her cheek again, making her smile. "Would you like to dance again?" he asked, whispering in her ear.

"Maybe later," Ruth answered, turning to gaze into his honey-hazel eyes. They were shining with love, which was her favorite way to see him look at her.

He nodded. "In that case, I'm going to get a drink. Would you like one?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you, love."

Harry got up from the table, leaving Ruth on her own to watch Catherine dance with Dad. She wondered, not for the first time, if she would be able to give her father grandchildren. Catherine and Graham were as good as, but they'd come into Ruth's life when they were practically grown. Dad deserved to be a grandfather to a newborn baby, to watch them grow and learn and become a little person. Ruth's troubles were everyone's troubles in that regard. And she worried, too, that even if she did have a child within the year, that Dad might not be able to have much time to see them grow up.

"What a lovely little family you've got for yourself, Princess."

Ruth heard the snide comment from the icy voice of none other than Queen Juliet. Without asking, she took Harry's former seat beside Ruth. "Hello, Juliet," Ruth greeted politely.

"That Catherine Pearce is the spitting image of her mother," she commented, following Ruth's gaze and sipping on her drink.

"How do you know that?" Ruth asked, brow furrowed in suspicion.

"Oh I met Jane a number of times. I had occasion to attend various functions in the capital while she and Harry were still married. Charity benefits and fashion shows and the like. Those sorts of garden party luncheons full of distant nobility who have nothing better to do. Jane liked the Library Preservation Society best, if I remember correctly," Juliet explained airily.

Ruth felt her temper start to flare, but she kept herself calm. "Did she know who you were?"

Juliet shrugged. "She knew I was the Marchioness of Kerswith. Whether she was aware of Harry and I, I don't know. If she did, she was either the most wonderful actress to ignore it or else she just didn't care. Or maybe she didn't know. Though I don't think that I would have pegged Jane Pearce as being so stupid."

"What did you just say about my mother?"

Graham's voice was quiet and dangerous. Harry had that same tone in his voice when he was furious. Ruth immediately stood up to try and prevent the worst. "Come with me, please," she said sternly.

"No, I want to know what she was saying about my mother," he insisted, a little louder this time.

Ruth could not have this happen. Not in the palace. Not in front of a hundred other people. Not on Dad's birthday. "Graham, come dance with me. Now," she demanded.

His gaze was intensely fixed on Juliet who just drank her champagne and watched the scene before her without a hint of bother. But thankfully Graham then looked to Ruth. The anger immediately melted to sadness and confusion. The tension fell from his body in a sign of defeat.

"Come on," Ruth said again, softly this time. She took his hand and led him to the dance floor.

"What was she saying, Ruth?" Graham asked in the most heartbreakingly small voice.

Ruth did more of the leading through the waltz than Graham did, but she didn't blame him under the circumstances. She tried to find the words to explain. Something told her that it had to be her. He wouldn't take it as well from Harry. And Harry would hopefully appreciate her sparing him the chore of doing it himself. She did her best to give as much information as Graham should have. "A long time ago, when you were very small, just after the war, Harry was quite lost from all that he'd seen in battle. He had been apart from your mother for a long time. They weren't very happy together. And because Harry was sad and lost and young and very, very stupid, he was unfaithful."

"With Queen Juliet?" Graham seemed to have already accepted it. Likely he knew, as Catherine did, that Harry's infidelity had been the main cause of the divorce.

"Yes," Ruth confessed. "Among others. She was not married, then, but he was. She treated him very badly, in the end. She is a truly vile woman, but she is unfortunately a member of this family and she is a queen."

"I think she's a bitch," Graham snarled.

God, he sounded just like Harry there, it was almost frightening. "I agree with you, but you cannot say things like that to anyone else. We all have to remember our manners with her. It would be trouble for everyone if we were all bickering openly. We can just continue to avoid her as best we can."

Graham nodded in understanding. And after a moment he realized, "Wait, aren't I supposed to be leading?"

Ruth smiled. "Go right ahead."

As Graham got the hang of leading Ruth through the rest of their waltz, Ruth looked over his shoulder to find Harry. Thankfully Juliet had gone to bother someone else, and Harry was sitting alone at the table. He was smiling, seeing his wife and son dance. He raised his glass in toast to her when they caught each other's eye. Ruth smiled back at him.