Chapter Forty-Eight
It did not escape Ruth's notice that this was her first time leaving Leister in three months. She'd been on bedrest the last few weeks of her pregnancy and now with Emmy just ten weeks old, there hadn't been much cause or opportunity for escape. Not that being away from her child was any escape. Ruth could hardly bear to let the baby out of her sight except to sleep, which had thankfully started becoming a bit easier for everyone now. And if it weren't absolutely necessary, Ruth would not have left her now. But Emmy was safe at home with Fiona and Ruth was needed elsewhere.
In a way, it was good that Ruth was the only one available. She worried about how Harry would take all of this. She wanted to figure out what was going on and then tell him what he needed to know so he could make a decision going forward. That was how they did things. That was the heart of their relationship, one of the things she was proudest of. Harry trusted her and relied on her, and she could be honest with him and rely on him to do what needed to be done.
Harry was so good at doing what needed to be done that he was off giving a speech to a committee on economic expansion on behalf of the king. Dad was in treatment today, meaning he'd be unable to do much of anything until next week. Harry and Juliet took over whatever needed doing during those times, coordinating with Jo at the palace and Sam and Malcolm at Leister. They'd all done very well so far. As far as Ruth knew, there wasn't anything odd about other members of the royal family taking on various duties and public appearances.
Yet another thing weighing on her mind. Dad's health had not improved. They all knew it wouldn't. But he was starting to get slightly worse. The treatments were taking more of a toll on him now than they had at the beginning. She worried about him more than he would want her to, she knew, but she couldn't help it. She was a brand-new mother and she was rapidly approaching the day she'd become queen. And she was absolutely bloody terrified. She could scarcely think of something she wanted less than become queen. But of course she would do it and somehow muddle through as best she could. Harry tried to convince her she'd be a good queen but who was he kidding? She was not born to be queen. It was a blood clot in her uncle's brain that had thrust this destiny upon her. And there wasn't a single thing she could do about it.
"Remain in the car, please. I have to speak to Zoe for security before I can let you go in."
Ruth looked up when Dimitri spoke to her from the front of the car. "Yes, that's fine."
Her mind was brought back to the present. Her first venture off the Leister estate had to be this. The phone rang at the house, asking for Harry or Malcolm. But of course neither of them were in. So Ruth was summoned instead. After all, someone needed to know that Graham had been arrested.
Zoe, Graham's bodyguard, had been able to get the charges dropped and have him sent into her custody to return to his dormitory at the university. The press had not gotten wind of it, thankfully. As far as they knew so far, at any rate.
When Zoe had called Leister Palace to tell Ruth what had happened, the poor woman had tried very hard to explain it away, to say that exams had just finished, that Graham was just out with some mates, that she'd been with him the whole time.
"Was he drunk?" Ruth asked sharply, interrupting whatever else Zoe had tried to explain.
"He…well, yes," she admitted.
Ruth felt her heart sink in her chest. "Does that a lot, does he?" She didn't wait for Zoe to answer that. She knew the answer already. "What was he arrested for?"
"Public intoxication. He was pretty belligerent to the officer."
"I can imagine," Ruth muttered. That boy was more like his father every day, it seemed. Ruth had only seen Harry properly drunk on a small handful of occasions. Usually, they were having fun. But if anything at all didn't go his way, Harry had a stubborn streak that made him absolutely impossible. Ruth wasn't surprised at all to hear that Graham, in a state of intoxication, had argued with a police officer and gotten himself arrested.
Despite Zoe's insistence that everything was alright, Ruth could not just let this go. She needed to talk to Graham. And so here she was, waiting in the car in front of Graham's dormitory hall, waiting for Dimitri to come collect her and bring her to go speak to her son. Stepson. No, she shook her head at that correction. Graham was her son in all the ways that mattered. She loved him fiercely and wanted more than anything for him to be safe and happy. Right now, she'd wager he was neither.
Dimitri returned a moment later, looking grave. Ruth felt a wave of nausea overcome her so quick, she had to press her hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting on his shoes as he opened the car door for her. He took the hint and pulled her out of the car and turned her toward a clear spot on the drive where she threw up all her breakfast.
"Jesus, are you alright?" he asked with shock and concern.
"Fine," she answered weakly. She was anxious about this whole thing with Graham. And not to mention the fact that she was still breast feeding and her hormones were still going absolutely haywire. She'd been sick on and off the last three days, but it passed quickly. Just as it did now. Dimitri brought her some water and a handkerchief to clean her up, and other than some lingering butterflies, she was all better. "Right. Sorry. Let's go," she insisted.
Ruth found Graham in his dormitory, lying on the bed in a sprawling position that was only feasible for an eighteen-year-old boy. If Harry were here, he'd probably bark Graham's name and scare him witless. Ruth did not have the same sort of natural gravitas or temper as her husband. She took a different approach.
Zoe and Dimitri were standing watch by the door, giving Ruth her privacy. She sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on Graham's calf. He was wearing pajamas, so at least he'd managed to get himself to bed properly. "Graham," she called softly.
He moaned in response.
"Graham," she repeated, a bit louder, giving him a gentle shake.
The boy snorted and scrambled upright. "Wha…?"
She waited patiently for him to orient himself. He probably had a splitting headache.
After a moment, he blinked and looked at her. "Ruth? What's going on? Why are you here?" he asked, voice hoarse.
"You were arrested last night."
He started to laugh. "Oh, that? Nothing to worry about. You should have seen Zoe with those officers. She's amazing. Best benefit to all this stupid royal bullshit, I think."
Ruth swallowed the lump in her throat, trying not to let herself get upset. "Graham, I think we have a problem."
"Do we?" he asked facetiously.
"You do. And because I love you, that means it's my problem, too."
Graham rolled his eyes. "Ruth, this isn't a big deal. I was just having a bit of fun. Catherine goes out drinking with her friends after exams."
"Catherine doesn't get arrested. And Catherine doesn't spend half her nights out drinking with her friends the way you do."
"So?" he challenged.
She chewed on her lips, feeling a little nauseous again as she tried to find the words. "Do you think…just for me, just so I don't keep worrying…do you think you could take a month off from going out drinking with your friends? Just one whole month without alcohol?"
He stared at her incredulously. "What? Why would I do that?"
"Please, Graham."
"No, I don't want to!" he protested.
"But could you, if you did want to?" she asked in return.
Graham faltered.
Ruth exhaled slowly. "That's what I was worried about."
He recovered quickly. "Fine. One month. Tell Zoe, she never lets me out of her sight. She can report to Adam. And after a month, you'll give up this insane worrying?"
"Yes," she agreed. "One month without a drop of alcohol and I'll stop worrying. Then you can do whatever you want so long as you stay out of trouble. And I'm quite serious about that, Graham. I know you've got no interest in anything about royal life, but it is the life I lead and it is our family duty, so please show a bit more respect for me and my father at the very least when you're in public. That includes not getting drunk and shouting at a police officer. Zoe might not be able to get the charges dropped next time, and all we need is for your transgressions to be in the newspapers along with everything else."
"Screw up in private, is that it?" he glowered.
"Don't screw up at all. And count yourself lucky that it's me coming here to talk to you and not your father."
Graham scoffed, "Dad doesn't care."
That statement hurt Ruth very much, but she could not dig into it just now. "Try this again and see if that holds true," she warned.
The nausea was starting to return, and Ruth knew she needed to leave this stuffy little room as soon as possible. She stood up and tried to take some deep breaths.
"I'll leave you to sleep it off. But remember what I said. One month, Graham."
He nodded. "Yeah, one month."
She gave a tight smile and turned to leave.
"Oh, Ruth?"
"Yes?" she replied, pausing and turning back to him.
Graham smiled. "Give Emmy a kiss for me."
Ruth would have smiled back at him, but the mere mention of the baby was nearly too much for her. The nausea threatened to make her vomit again and tears pricked her eyes. She had to get home right now.
As she sat in the back of the car, taking slow breaths of the fresh air from the open window, Ruth tried to hold fast to Graham's promise. One month. If he could go a whole month without drinking, perhaps she was worrying about nothing. This was a youthful transgression, and he'd get over it soon enough. Yes, everything would be just fine. She had to believe that. If she didn't…well, she'd probably just end up vomiting again either way.