A Right Royal Mix-up
I'M SORRY!!! SORRY!!! My three year old cousin spilt juice all over my keyboard, so I haven't been able to type anything for nearly a week! And it's my prom tonight, and I've had tons of coursework, and I just haven't been able to update…
But, I now have a nice new chappy for you, with some extra long bits to say sorry… I've added a little subtle L/J bit for you…Enjoy!
Chapter 12
Henri was very pleased about the way things were going, after Robert told him what had happened that afternoon. Lily was cleaning up Gabrielle's image, and James was behaving better than anticipated, considering the prince's own reputation as a playboy. Henri only hoped Gabrielle could be persuaded to keep up the momentum – once they finally located her.
He was charged with excitement and relief when the princess telephoned only a few minutes later. "Gabrielle! We've been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been hiding?"
"Never mind that. How dare you hire somebody to impersonate me?" she asked furiously.
"You didn't leave us much choice."
"That's no excuse. I couldn't believe it when I read about my engagement to James. You had no right to do such a thing! I blame you for everything. My father would never have conceived such an outrageous idea."
"Obviously we couldn't have done it without his acquiescence."
"That's unbelievable! How could he do that to his own daughter? It's like disowning me!"
"He would welcome you back with open arms, I assure you."
"As long as I'm a good girl and do as I'm told," she said bitterly. "Well, I can be as stubborn as he is. I told him I would never marry James and I meant it."
"Why don't you come home and discuss it with your father?" Henri coaxed.
"What good would that do? He wouldn't listen before. I told him how I felt about James and it didn't make any difference to him."
"You and the prince haven't given yourselves a chance to get to really know each other. Why don't you come back and see for yourself? You might not be as adamantly opposed after you've spent a little time with him."
"Forget it!" Gabrielle answered curtly. "There's no way any of you can talk me into marrying James, so you'd better call off the engagement and fire your actress, or whatever she is. Where did you find her?" In spite of her anger, Gabrielle sounded curious.
"The resemblance is quite remarkable, isn't it?" Henri replied evasively.
"Not to anybody who really knows me, I'm sure. I don't see how you got away with it."
"The young lady is very convincing. Your subjects love her."
"Because they think she's me." Henri's strategy had worked. Gabrielle sounded definitely miffed. "Wait until they find out she tried to take my place."
"You intend to go public with the story?"
"Count on it! Nobody steals my life and gets away with it! I'll see to it that she can't get a job anywhere. She'll end up as a curiosity – the girl who had her fifteen minutes of fame by trying to impersonate a princess."
"That's rather harsh, considering she was only doing your father a favour. Your flight caused him a great deal of worry and embarrassment, and could have had serious diplomatic repercussions."
"That's what this is all about, isn't it? An alliance between Beaumarre and Grandalia. James and I are just pawns in the game. Our fathers don't care about us. We're only bargaining chips."
"You can't believe that, Gabrielle. The king worries constantly about you. It isn't only the escapades, with all their attendant publicity. He wants you to know the happiness that comes from a home and a family of your own. The kind of happiness he had with your mother."
"I know I've done some foolish things in the past. Maybe I was testing the boundaries, seeing how much I could get away with. But that's all over with. I've turned over a new leaf."
"I'm delighted to here it." Henri's polite response didn't hide his scepticism.
"No, really, I mean it. I agree that it's time I settled down. If father will call off the engagement, I'll come back and he'll see a difference in me."
"If you really are serious, you can prove it by coming home and assuming your responsibilities."
"You haven't been listening to me!" she said in frustration. "I'll get married, if that's what Father wants - but to someone of my own choice, not to James."
"I'm sure your father will be willing to talk about it. Why don't you let me send somebody to bring you home? Where have you been all this time?" Henri tried and failed to sound casual.
Gabrielle's conciliatory tone hardened. "Don't insult my intelligence, Henri. Don't you think I know what you're doing? You'd love to find out where I am so you can drag me back like a naughty child. Well, it won't work. I'm not coming back until you announce that the engagement is off. If you don't, the whole world will know about your despicable plot."
"I'd be careful, Gabrielle. Your impulsiveness could backfire on you badly. If you exposed me, you'd have to explain why the deception was necessary. That you threw one of your tantrums and ran away from home, virtually on the eve of your engagement."
"I had no other choice!" she shouted into the phone.
"People will find that very hard to understand. Prince James is extremely popular in Beaumarre. He and the young lady have been very gracious to the crowds, and just today the prince saved a little boy's life." Henri didn't mind exaggerating the truth slightly.
"Did you stage that, too?" Gabrielle asked witheringly.
He didn't bother to deny it. "The prince is handsome and charming, he cares about others. Your people will begin to wonder just exactly what you want in a man. Or if you know yourself. They might begin to view your escapades less indulgently."
"Are you threatening me?" she demanded.
"That would be presumptuous of me. I was merely warning you of what might happen if you acted hastily. You've always enjoyed great popularity, but the public is fickle. I don't think you want to lose the esteem of your subjects."
There was a long silence at the other end of the line. Finally Gabrielle sighed. "I really don't want to cause any more trouble. I just don't know what to do. Everything is such a mess."
"Then come home and straighten it out," Henri urged.
After another silence she said, "I'll think about it."
"Where are you, Gabrielle? I'll arrange for – " But it was too late. The princess had hung up.
Henri immediately requested an audience with the king. Claude was relieved to hear that his daughter was all right, but depressed that she still refused to come home. Like James's father, Claude began to have second thoughts.
"We'll have to call off the engagement," he said heavily. "I had no idea Gabrielle was this opposed. I thought she was simply defying me again."
"Have you thought of the consequences, Your Majesty?"
"They'll be horrendous, but what else can I do? My daughter's happiness is more important to me than a diplomatic crisis, no matter how ugly it will be."
"I succeeded in making her at least consider returning. That would break the stalemate. If she'd just meet with the prince I'm sure she'd change her mind. Everyone is charmed by him."
"It's a possibility, and that's what I originally thought would happen. But now that she refuses to come home, how long can we continue deceiving James in this way?"
Henri's smile relieved some of the tension on his face. "The prince seems to be enjoying himself. After a somewhat rough start, he and Lily are hitting it off well."
"I've noticed that and it's another thing that bothers me. It isn't fair to use the girl like this. I agreed in the beginning because I thought it would only be for a day or two, that Gabrielle was merely being rebellious. But there's no end in sight."
"I'm sure Lily won't mind staying longer. We've done everything possible to make her comfortable."
"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm afraid she's getting too fond of James, which could only have unhappy consequences for her."
"He's a very handsome man. It's natural for her to find him attractive, but Lily is a level-headed young woman. I'm certain that she realises they could never have a meaningful relationship. Even if he weren't engaged to Gabrielle."
"It might be the shortest royal engagement on record," the king remarked morosely. "We can't wait much longer before telling James."
"There isn't any immediate need."
"When do you propose we tell him? On the eve of his wedding to a woman he thinks is Gabrielle? That's a likely scenario, considering the way things are going."
Henri knew the king's sarcasm masked his deep concern for all the parties involved. "The wedding won't take place for months, Your Majesty. That's plenty of time for the princess to realise this is in her best interests. Just give her a few days to think it over."
"I don't seem to have any other choice," Claude answered bleakly.
A royal engagement followed strict protocol. During the next three days Lily and James attended public functions, like making appearances at charity luncheons, or cutting a ribbon to open some civic project.
"This is what I do back home," James complained on the drive back to the palace after a particularly dull ribbon ceremony. "You must get as tired of it as I do."
"I guess this is what royalty does." Lily had never stopped to think that maybe these functions didn't give their lives enough purpose. Perhaps that was why so many of the young royals went on a restless search for a more meaningful existence.
"There has to be something more," he said, confirming her surmise. "These are supposed to be the most productive years of our lives."
"What would you do if you weren't a prince in line for the throne?"
James told her as he had in the bistro that first night, about his dream of building a hospital. It hadn't been an idle daydream. He'd been serious.
"I know it's unrealistic to think I'd be allowed to spend all day, every day as a medi-wizard, but there has to be some way I can get into the game. I don't know how much longer I can continue to sit on the sidelines."
"What if you started some type of foundation to fund hospitals in needy areas of the world? It wouldn't be hands on, like doing the work yourself, but actually you'd accomplish more. You could have several projects going at once – in Africa, South America, the Middle East, and so on."
"It would take a lot of money," he said slowly.
"You could raise it. You have all sorts of connections to the rich and famous. A lot of people would contribute just to have their names associated with yours. Especially as it would be tax deductible," Lily added with a grin.
James was staring at her with growing excitement. "It could work! We could start on the Continent and eventually build hospitals all over the world."
"Nobody would ever accuse you of thinking small," she laughed.
"That's for people without vision," he said dismissively. "Gabrielle, you're a genius! Together we're going to improve the lives of a lot of people."
"This is your project. You're the doctor, not I."
"You don't have to be. You have talent in other fields."
"Like what, other than a fluency in languages?"
"That's important. One of your strengths is communicating with people. You come across just the way you are, warm and sincere. You'll raise a fortune for the foundation, especially when you can give a speech to an audience in their native tongue."
"I'm not sure I'd be as good as you think."
It sounded both fascinating and rewarding, but Lily was wary of agreeing. She had a feeling Gabrielle wouldn't be interested in humanitarian work.
"You're good at everything you do." James took both her hands in his. "I can't believe what a jerk I was when I first came here. My only excuse is that I didn't really know you."
"We still have a lot to learn about each other," she murmured.
"I'm looking forward to that," he said. Lily would have been, too – if he would be getting to know her. But by then, Gabrielle would be back, and it would be she who James was getting friendly with. Where was that wretched woman? It was time to stop this charade. Lily had a terrible feeling that her attraction to James was becoming more than just physical.
After the public events during the day there were private ones in the evening. All of Bienville society wanted to entertain the engaged couple. Hostesses vied with each other, trying to think of something more novel than just another dinner party or dance. One night the Duke and Duchess of Armante gave a beach party.
"This I can't wait to see," Ariadne remarked as she lounged in Lily's bedroom, waiting for her to finish dressing. "Somehow I can't imagine these people getting sand between their toes while they toast marshmallows on pointed sticks."
"Don't worry, the servants probably laid down red carpets this afternoon. And the marshmallows won't be toasted on sticks – they'll use silver skewers."
"I could tell this wasn't your average beach party when I heard there would be limos to take us to the shore. I wanted to tell Remus that we used to just pile into somebody's van, but I didn't want to blow my cover."
"Speaking of that, we'd better get together a background for you – what your father does, where you live, that sort of thing. Remus asked me," Lily said.
"He asked me, too, and I managed to avoid answering," Ariadne said.
"I did the same thing, but we can't keep doing it. Gabrielle went to school in Switzerland, so how about saying you live in Zurich? You've been there, so you can answer general questions."
"Okay, and let's say my father is a banker. As long as we're inventing him, I might as well pick somebody rich," Ariadne joked.
They discussed other details, fabricating a whole new identity for her.
"I wish I didn't have to lie to Remus. It would be such fun to exchange stories about our backgrounds – our first date, where I really went to school, that sort of thing."
"I know. It's difficult to always have to be on your guard."
"I really like Remus. It's too bad I'll never see him again after we leave here," Ariadne said wistfully.
"You never know. You could tell him you've been offered a job in England," Lily suggested. "That way you could keep in touch."
"There's no future in it."
"He might invite you to visit him in Grandalia after… after James and Gabrielle are married." Lily had trouble saying the words.
"I couldn't accept. Gabrielle won't be too pleased with you, or with me, either, when she finds out I was part of the deception. I could scarcely count on her to pretend we were friends."
"I suppose you're right. Well, look on the bright side. There are plenty of other men in the world," Lily said with determined cheerfulness.
"Not like Remus." Ariadne sighed.
Or James, Lily added silently.
Well, there you are… Next chapter we have the beach party, complete with large waves, illicit hot dogs and lots of L/J!
Flip the fandango!!!
He's the mongoose to my snake… or the snake to my mongoose, I don't know, I don't know animals…
