A few weeks later, Clarisse decided that it was time to talk to Rupert. She walked up to his office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
She opened it and walked towards him, "I have something very exciting to tell you. I'm pregnant!"
He was speechless, "Well…uh…congratulations…how far along are you?"
She smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Remember a few weeks ago when I came into your suite and we…"
"That doesn't tell me anything. I asked you how far along you are, not the last time we had sex."
"4 weeks."
"Really? And it's my child, is it?"
"Of course it is. Who else's could it be?"
"You tell me."
She stared into his eyes trying to figure out what he was thinking, "It is your child."
"Don't lie."
"I'm not."
"Clarisse, I'm becoming annoyed with you. I know for a fact that it isn't mine. So stop saying it is!"
"How do you know?"
"That's something you can figure out for yourself."
She started trembling slightly.
"Clarisse, look at me. I want you to know that I don't mind if you feel the need to have other lovers every now and then, just try to be careful when it comes to contraception."
"You don't care about me having other lovers?"
"It would be hypocritical of me to care."
"Hypocritical?"
"Yes. You do know about my other lovers, don't you?"
"I had no idea. How many do you have?"
"I don't know. I lost count over the years."
"You've been doing it for years? If I had known that, I wouldn't have felt so guilty."
"I'm sorry, I thought you knew."
"No, I didn't."
"Well now you do. So who is the father of your child?"
"I can't tell you."
"Fair enough. What are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know. I want to keep it."
"Ah…I see. How do you plan to do that? Are you stepping down as Queen?"
"I wasn't planning to."
"What were you planning to do?"
"I was planning to raise it as our child."
"Hence the lying."
"Yes. I'm sorry about that."
"Well I think our best option is to go along with your plan and forget that this conversation happened."
"Thankyou."
She walked to the door and it suddenly occurred to her, "You can't have children anymore, can you?"
"Bingo."
"Darn."
Clarisse wasn't looking forward to the Christmas Ball. She still hadn't decided whether to go away with Joseph or not and the ball was only a day away. She was having trouble sleeping with all the thoughts that ran through her mind. There would be the feeling of guilt no matter what she decided to do. If she went with Joseph, she would feel guilty about leaving her family, but if she stayed with them, then she would feel guilty for toying with his emotions and for not telling him about the baby.
The announcement to the public about it was to be announced at the end of the ball.
Clarisse decided to talk to the only other person in the world who understood her; Grandmother Gayle. Even though she had been dead for over ten years, she still visited her grave, which was in the nearby cemetery, and talked to her in times of need.
"Grandmother, I need your advice. I'm in love with the father of my unborn child and he wants me to go away with him. The thing is, I want to be with this man more than anything, but I can't leave my husband and children and the guilt would be too overpowering. What should I do?"
She threw herself over the grave and cried herself into a dream.
She "woke up" in a field of flowers and saw her grandmother standing before her.
"Grandmother? Is that you?"
"Hello my dear."
Clarisse ran into her arms and smiled.
"Darling, I understand you're having some trouble."
"Yes I am. I don't know what to do. I came to you because you always know the right thing to say. Please tell me what I should do."
"I can't tell you what to do, you have to figure that out for yourself."
"I was afraid you'd say that."
"I may not be able to tell you what decision to make, but I can help you."
"Really? How?"
"Remember that song I used to sing for you to get you to sleep?"
"How could I forget?"
"I'd like you to refer to a certain section of it. It is that which will guide you."
"What section is that?"
"I think it goes something like: The one who's right, will be honest and true, and prize your heart of gold the way I do..."
"Are you saying I should be with the one who truly loves me?"
An expression of wisdom surrounded her grandmother's face.
"Is that what you're saying? Grandmother?"
She faded away.
Clarisse then awoke from her dream, "Grandmother? Oh, it was a dream."
She got up and walked back to the palace.
The Christmas Ball had started and Clarisse wasn't feeling too well. No sleep meant drowsiness, delusion and lack of concentration. The fact that she drank 4 glasses of wine didn't really help either. When somebody asked her something, it took a whole minute for her to reply. Many different men came up to dance with her and she kept momentarily falling asleep on their shoulders. Rupert noticed this and decided to lead her off the dance floor and onto a chair.
"Is something the matter?"
"Hmm? What?"
"You seem a little…tired."
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm…"
She started snoozing again.
"Clarisse! Wake up!"
"Oh, good morning. What time is it?"
He rolled his eyes, "I think you should have a lay down."
"No, I'm fine. Really."
"Come on," he said, picking her up, "off to bed."
"But I must attend to my guests. I need to talk to Joseph!"
He carried her into her suite, "Joseph? Why?"
"Because I have to tell him something."
"Can I pass on a message?"
"Jolly good idea, tell him not to leave because I'm still thinking about it."
"About what?"
"Going away with him."
"Where?"
"What do you mean where?"
"Where are you going with him?"
"I don't know. Anywhere."
"Oh, I see. You're in love with him aren't you?"
"Very much so."
"Is he the father?"
"Bingo."
"And are you planning to forget our plan and plan a life with him?"
"I don't know yet."
"Well…I'll leave you alone to think about it and get some rest. Then later, I shall come in, wake you and then ask you what your decision is."
He walked out and shut the door, leaving her to fall asleep.
At 11pm, Rupert slowly made his way over to Joseph and smiled at him, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Excuse me, sir? Tell you what?"
"Why didn't you tell me that you wanted to take my wife away?"
Joseph was shocked that she had told him, "I…uh…"
"If I had been informed sooner, I would have put in a good word for you. I would have convinced her to go with you."
"You're not angry?"
"I'm grateful to you. I've been trying to break off this marriage for a long time now. Don't get me wrong, I'm very fond of her and I do love her, I'm just not in love with her. And now, thanks to you, I'm finally going to be free to marry the woman I am truly in love with, Elizabeth Galen."
"Your Majesty, I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think Clarisse is going to come with me."
"What makes you say that?"
"She has too much to lose."
"Do you love her?"
"Yes."
"Then I wouldn't worry. Did she tell you about the baby?"
"What baby?"
"Never mind. Could you wait here a moment, I have to go and fetch the Queen."
Rupert skipped all the way up to Clarisse's suite and went inside to wake her.
"Clarisse. Clarisse wake up."
She woke up and looked at the clock, "Oh, my head."
"Clarisse, have you made your decision?"
"Hmm? Oh that…uh. What do you think I should do?"
"I think you should go with him."
"You do? Why?"
"Because he loves you and I'm sure you love him."
"But what about you?"
"Listen, I don't mean to hurt you or anything, but I don't want to be with you anymore. I've been thinking about this for quite some time now and I think it would be best for us to…move on. We deserve the chance to find real love."
"I agree, but what about the children. They need to stay here."
"You can visit them anytime you want."
"What do we tell the press?"
"I'll handle them."
"But where are Joseph and I to go?"
"You can have our holiday house."
"But it's so far away."
"I'll buy you a car."
"But what about…"
"Clarisse, must we discuss this now? Just go down and see Joseph."
"Thankyou, Rupert."
She kissed him and then stumbled back down to the party.
"Joseph."
"Your Majesty..."
"Dear Joseph. Am I too late to ask you to accept my hand in marriage?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
They smiled and hugged each other. Rupert appeared at the top of the stairs and waved as they exited the palace to go for a walk.
Yep, to be continued.
Sorry it took so long, but I went on an unplanned holiday then got writers block (again) when I came back. Then had internet problems. Read & Review.
By the way, I was reading something about Princess Diana the other day and she had a secret abortion just like in my other story. She also slept with her bodyguard...
Coincidental?
