Part 4
"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you feeling all right?"
Nanny mumbled irritably in her sleep and rolled over, then cried out as she felt herself sliding out of the bed to land with a thump on the floor.
"Oh! Oh, Ma'am, we're so sorry!"
Instantly, even before she managed to pry her eyes open, Nanny was beset by firm hands gripping her arms and hoisting her to her feet. Swaying a little, Nanny peered blearily into two frightened faces. "No, that's fine, fine, fine," she muttered.
"We were sent to wake you up and bring you down for breakfast if you are feeling up to it," the dark-haired girl explained.
"But I TOLD her we weren't supposed to wake you up, just see if you were ALREADY awake!" the fair-haired girl added.
"Who...?" Nanny began.
"I'm Brigitte, Ma'am," the dark-haired girl bobbed a quick curtsey, then took Nanny's arm again to help steady her.
"And I'm BrigittA," said the other, curtseying herself as she added an extra emphasis on the end of her name before firmly gripping Nanny's other arm.
Nanny yawned. "I'm just Nanny, not Ma'am," she said, trying to free her arms so she could rub her eyes. The girls both hung on tightly.
"We've just been promoted," Brigitte explained. "We're no longer kitchen maids. Now we're going to learn how to be ladies' maids, Ma'am, and when Princess Amelia comes, we're going to be HER ladies' maids!"
"Good, good, good," Nanny nodded, trying again to free her arms. At last she said, "May I sit down for a moment?"
"Oh, Ma'am, we're sorry!" Brigitta cried, and pushed Nanny backwards, still holding her arm.
Nanny stumbled when Brigitte didn't react as quickly as Brigitta, but she landed on the bed and managed to keep her seat without tumbling back onto the floor. The two girls released her at last and stood stiffly before her. Nanny stared at them for a moment. "What?"
"Queen Clarisse and her guest, Sir Wilkes, are awaiting your presence in the breakfast room," Brigitte spoke rapidly, as if reciting something she had learned.
"But you were sleeping, and I didn't think we were supposed to wake you up, Ma'am," Brigitta said.
"Since you're awake, what would you like to wear?" Brigitte moved over to the closet and opened it, looking at the few outfits hanging there. "Oh my! Ma'am, I thought Americans had more clothes than this! Should we see if we can find more for you?"
"Oh, Brigitte, she's only here for a few days!" Brigitta protested.
"But she doesn't have an elegant evening gown, and you KNOW there's the Spring Ball tomorrow. She won't be properly dressed!" Brigitte argued.
"Maybe Charlotte could find something?" Brigitta wondered.
"Probably," agreed Brigitte. "We should ask."
"Or Joe might know." pondered Brigitta.
"Joe? He's Head of Security! What would he know about women's clothes?" Brigitte asked incredulously.
"But he and Queen Clarisse are so close. That's what Olivia says. Maybe there was a time when the Queen was a little bigger ... she might have some outfits that Ma'am could wear, with a bit of altering. They're about the same height."
"What does any of that have to do with JOE?" Brigitte was still puzzling.
"Oh, Brigitte! Don't you know anything? Haven't you heard the gossip? Joe has a thing for the Queen, and we are ALL watching to see if she returns his regard. I think it's terribly exciting."
Nanny looked from one girl to the other. Joe ... and the Queen? My, my, MY!
"Well, I never heard about Joe and her, but I know SOME people think it's scandalous that she would even look at someone not in her station," Brigitte argued. "Wouldn't he be King if she married him?"
"Don't you know ANYTHING?" Brigitta sighed. "It's ROMANTIC because it's hopeless. He can't possibly marry her. But I say they should be allowed to be married. It's obvious to me they love each other."
"Well, I think this Sir Wilkes who has come now is maybe a better prospect, if the Queen needs to marry at all ..."
"Really? I thought everyone thought Joe was hot. Don't you like him?" Brigitta stared at Brigitte.
Nanny put her head in her hands, and wished fervently for a cup of rawther hot coffee.
O o O o O o
Following a breakfast which Nanny found exhausting because she was trying so hard to be as elegant and refined as Queen Clarisse, the two ladies went out walking in the gardens with Sir Wilkes. The Queen's white standard poodle, Maurice, raced around them. Nanny stepped carefully, her feet encased in the new shoes once again. She had wanted to wear her old, sensible shoes for comfort, but Brigitte and Brigitta had been horrified at the thought of her wearing 'granny shoes'.
"Queen Clarisse IS a grandmother, and she doesn't wear those shoes!" Brigitte had declared.
"You may be a lot older than her, but you don't need to be any less elegant!" Brigitta had added.
Not having bothered to tell them that she and the Queen were the same age, Nanny had acquiesced to their wishes and had allowed them to put the stylish shoes on her feet. Looking at herself in the mirror, she had acknowledged to herself that she DID look better, but she had a long, long, long way to go before she would even begin to touch Queen Clarisse. She had a lot more flesh on her bones, even after having lost some during her illness, and she felt so much older and more awkward than the other woman. No wonder the B's, as she had secretly begun to think of them, had thought her to be so much older than the Queen.
The gardens of the Genovian palace were every bit as lovely as Sir Wilkes had promised. Nanny exclaimed over the bushes of beautiful mauve roses which the Queen admitted were Queen Clarisse roses. "I love flowers," the Queen said, "and love having them around me."
"I had noticed all the bouquets inside," Nanny nodded.
Clarisse smiled. "Yes. I know I should be paying more attention to other things, but so often I just have to pick off some dead-heads or re-arrange a bouquet to show off a particular flower."
"I used to arrange flowers, a long, long time ago," Nanny said, her eyes going dreamy as she thought back to her youth.
"Perhaps you'd like to assist Charlotte this afternoon, then," Clarisse said impulsively. "I'm truly not suggesting you work, but I have a meeting I cannot postpone, and the ballroom is to be decorated for our Spring Ball. If you would LIKE to do it, I'm sure Charlotte would appreciate your help with the flowers."
"I'd, er, I would be most happy to do what I can."
"You WILL, of course, be attending the ball as my honoured guest. You and Wilkes."
Nanny flushed slightly. "Well, I would like to, but I'm afraid ..."
Sir Wilkes patted her hand which was tucked in his arm and interrupted Nanny to speak to Clarisse, looking back at Nanny for confirmation at the end of his sentence. "We've been to a fancy ball before, haven't we, Nanny?"
Clarisse eyed them, her eyebrows raised. Wilkes had gone to a ball with Nanny? WILKES? She had thought he HATED dancing! My, Nanny must have changed him!
"I-I was only there as a, a, a chaperone for Eloise," Nanny stammered.
"And I was only there because you were," Sir Wilkes blushed painfully. "Mrs. Daniels just sent me the invitation because she heard you call me 'sir' in the elevator, you know, and she wanted ... that is, until the Prince came, of course. Then she only danced with him. Oh, I didn't want to dance with her anyway," he added hastily. "I was so happy when YOU asked me ..."
Now Nanny's colour deepened. Clarisse was fascinated by the fragments of the story she was getting. Wilkes had not talked about THIS the other night! She wondered what other tidbits she would be able to learn this morning, very glad indeed that she had some free time.
"Your Majesty?"
Clarisse sighed before turning around. So much for her time! "Yes?"
It was Joseph's second-in-command, Shades. "I'm sorry to bother you, but Joe sent me out to say that the Prime Minister is here and needs to see you about this afternoon's meeting."
"Very well. Please excuse me, Nanny, Wilkes. I'll be back as soon as I can. Shades, would you please show them the fountain and over to the Betrothal tree? I'll meet you there." Clarisse turned back to the palace, leaving the others to enjoy the fresh air.
Shades introduced himself easily, and directed Nanny and Sir Wilkes along a path. He talked about how King Rupert, may he rest in peace, had put in the fountain to celebrate the birth of his first-born son, Pierre. Nanny interrupted to ask if Pierre was the one who had been killed in the accident, and Shades gave them the correct information with regards to the royal family. As they wandered through the gardens, the three talked about anything and everything. Nanny discovered that Shades loved to watch boxing, and that a bout was scheduled to be on television later that very evening.
"I don't suppose Queen Clarisse enjoys boxing," Nanny murmured.
Shades grinned. "Not a whole lot. I watch it in the kitchen. Occasionally I can talk Charlotte into watching with me, but she claims she's too busy to watch much television. Sometimes Joe joins me. He used to box, you know."
"I didn't know that," Sir Wilkes commented.
Nanny was silent. She had known. She had been dreaming about Joey last night, their short time together and how they had learned so much about each other in the brief time they had had ...
"Nanny?" Sir Wilkes nudged her gently.
"Hmmm? Aoww, I'm sorry, for sure, sure, sure. I should be paying more attention." Nanny smiled at Sir Wilkes. "Thank you for bringing me here. It's a beautiful place!" ... and I have finally met up with Joey again, she concluded in her thoughts.
Clarisse joined them again at the huge old pear tree which Shades told them had been planted centuries before. Sir Wilkes and Nanny sat on the bench and Shades added that all the royal betrothals had been finalized on that very bench beneath its spreading branches, which is why it was called the Betrothal tree.
"Yes," Clarisse chuckled, "in fact, it is said that any couple who sits on that bench cannot escape wedding each other, whether or not they are royal, because it is imbued with close ties of commitment and love."
Shades withdrew to a respectful distance, out of earshot. When the Queen's words registered with Nanny, she wondered if she should leap off the bench in a panic. What if Sir Wilkes suspected her of trying to coerce or trick him into marriage? What if Queen Clarisse thought she was getting above herself when it came to Sir Wilkes? What if ...?
Before Nanny could make a move, however, Sir Wilkes leaned back and asked Clarisse, "This is where you and Rupert ...?"
"Yes," the Queen nodded, her face grave again. "Although our parents had arranged the marriage when I was born, this is where Rupert gave me his ring."
Nanny stared openly at the Queen. Her marriage had been arranged from her birth? Nanny had heard of such things, of course, but she had never met anyone before who had not married for love. Not that she knew about, that is.
Aware of Nanny's surprise, Clarisse sat down beside the other woman. Her smile was wry, not a bit condescending. "I'm sure you know, Nanny, that sometimes people in the so-called upper classes are not necessarily concerned with personal relationships. It's so refreshing to meet someone who thinks of people and their needs and desires rather than business relationships or personal gain! Wilkes has told me about your little charge, and how you look after her so well. She must have missed you a great deal while you were in the hospital, and still will be now that you are here."
Nanny flushed, not knowing what to say, and unsure what exactly Sir Wilkes had said to the Queen. But for the first time since arriving in Genovia and finding out that Sir Wilkes' friend was Queen of the country, for Lord's sake, Nanny found herself warming up to the other woman and genuinely desiring her friendship. Oh my Lord, aren't I reaching high, she grimaced inwardly. First wanting the love of a knight, and now the friendship of a queen!
O o O o O o
That afternoon, Nanny followed Charlotte to the ballroom, and stood staring around, her mouth open. "How are you planning to decorate THIS, for Lord's sake?" she demanded.
"Well, with lots of spring flowers ... and maybe some streamers and things?" Charlotte smiled at Nanny's awe. "I'll just go get the boxes ... no, you can stay here, Nanny. I'll get some of the men to carry them."
She vanished and Nanny began walking slowly around the vast room with the open double staircase on one side. She stopped suddenly, and pretended she had just been asked to dance. Dropping into a rawther awkward curtsey, as she acknowledged to herself, she pretended to fan herself, then accepted her phantom partner's hand and began to dance. Then she repeated her curtsey, trying to get it right. Again she teetered and almost staggered. Once more she tried to curtsey, then heard Charlotte's soft, sympathetic chuckle.
Straightening abruptly, Nanny breathed a sigh of relief that Charlotte was alone. Three men came staggering in with boxes, and Nanny recognized Shades as one of them.
"Aoww, she's got you being a packmule, has she?" Nanny grinned at the man.
Shades sighed dramatically. "The things I do for Charlotte! You'd think she'd at least repay me with a KISS, if nothing else, but she keeps turning me down!"
"SHADES!" Charlotte went scarlet, and slapped him lightly on the chest as she went past to open the boxes brought by the other men.
"Be persistent, that's what I always say," Nanny advised him. "If you want something badly enough, you have to keep trying."
"I'll do my best, Ma'am!" Shades saluted her, and bowed mockingly to Charlotte. "Later, m'dear?"
Charlotte lifted a couple of vases out of a box, and raised her eyebrows as she looked at him. "Later?"
"Boxing's on at nine. We could have a date in the kitchen."
Rolling her eyes, Charlotte said sarcastically, "Won't THAT be romantic?"
"Well, it COULD be!" he insisted. Then he winked. "With the right man. I'd even let you have one of my bottles of cold beer."
"Get lost, Shades," Charlotte said dryly. "We have work to do."
Laughing the three men disappeared. Charlotte continued pulling vases out of the boxes. Nanny watched her in silence for a moment, chewing on her lip and wondering if she should say anything. Before she had decided, Charlotte looked up and smiled again. "Yes, you may ask," she said.
"Do you like him?" Nanny inquired softly.
Charlotte held her gaze for a moment, then looked away. "I think so. But he's so confident ... and I'm not. Not really. Not with most people. I, well, I feel ... inferior, sometimes."
"WHY?" Nanny was flabbergasted.
Shrugging, Charlotte began working again. "I'm not sure. I've tried not to think about it, and I've certainly never talked about it before." Looking up, she stared at Nanny. "What is it about you that makes me feel like I can tell you anything?"
"I really couldn't say ... but you most certainly CAN tell me anything you like. Just BE more aggressive and confident! Fake it until you make it! Look at me. I never thought I'd be staying in a palace with the childhood friend of a queen, going to a royal BALL, for Lord's sake! So take some streamers, wave them around, dance and sing your heart out ... that's the way Eloise and I decorate the Christmas tree. It's the only way to decorate ANYTHING, for sure, sure, sure!"
"Dance and sing?" Charlotte looked bewildered.
Nanny grabbed a streamer from the box of decorations, wrapped it around herself and began to sing raucously while she swung her hips to and fro suggestively. Charlotte watched in wondering silence for a while, then, as Nanny's actions became more and more exaggerated and she grabbed a broom to use as a microphone, Charlotte began to giggle. Nanny waved at her, and, throwing aside her inhibitions, Charlotte wrapped herself in a streamer, took another broom and began to copy Nanny's movements, raising her voice as best she could while laughing until the tears streamed from her eyes.
Suddenly Charlotte stopped, a look of horror on her face. Nanny faltered to a stop as well, then steeled herself to look in the direction of Charlotte's gaze. Oh, knickers! There stood Queen Clarisse and Sir Wilkes.
O o O o O o
"Charlotte? If you're still speaking to me, and I completely understand if you're not, but may I come to the kitchen with you? I need a beer, and hope to get one from Shades ... and I need to watch some boxing and forget the fact that too many people might want to use me as a punching bag ... yourself included." Nanny whispered to Charlotte, hesitating at the door of the library where Sir Wilkes and the Queen had just retired after eating their evening meal. Nanny had, of course, been encouraged to come along, but she was sure she had seen faint amusement in their eyes all through their late dinner, and she was wanting to escape from her mortification once again. She wondered if she would EVER feel entirely comfortable and able to be herself around Sir Wilkes or any of his friends. Perhaps it was proof of her low beginnings that she couldn't behave primly and properly at her advanced age!
Charlotte, who had just delivered a phone message to Queen Clarisse, took Nanny's hand and whispered back, "Of COURSE I'm still speaking to you, and I wasn't planning to go to the kitchen, but if you want, I'll go with you."
"I'd be ever so grateful," Nanny sighed.
"What happened to your motto, 'Fake it until you make it'?"
"It doesn't always work," admitted Nanny ruefully. "Not for me. You might have better luck. Wait for me while I go in and make my excuses. I'll just get lost if I try to find the kitchen myself!"
Charlotte good-naturedly waited outside the library door while Nanny slipped in and explained that she was rawther tired, and if it wouldn't annoy the other two, she thought she would get a nightcap from the kitchen and retire for the night. Sir Wilkes promptly asked if he could see her to her room or fetch anything for her, and the Queen added her voice by saying she truly hoped she hadn't made Nanny tire herself too much, and she shouldn't have asked her to help with the decorations ... Nanny blushed furiously at the reference to that afternoon, stammered her assurances and managed to escape the room.
Fanning herself as they hurried down the hallway, Nanny said, "Aoww, I think I've REALLY earned a beer now, that's for sure, sure, sure!"
It was not much later that Nanny was comfortably ensconced on a kitchen chair beside Charlotte, her feet up on another chair, and a glass of beer in hand as Shades turned on the television then took his place on Charlotte's other side. Becoming instantly engrossed in the boxing and feeling entirely comfortable in the company she was keeping, Nanny began yelling at the television. "Keep your hands up! Up, I said! Yes, that's it! Hit him again! Hit him harder! Come on, upper cut! Yes! Belt him! Get up! Get out of the way! Up! Up! Up! One, Two ... Yes! Yes! Hit him again! Oooh, he's down! Shades, don't you ...?"
At that moment, Joseph walked into the kitchen. He froze as he took in the scene. Nanny's voice died away, and they stared at each other.
"Nan?" Joseph said at last. "Nanny? It IS you!"
"Joey ..." Nanny's smile was tremulous. "I didn't think you had recognized me ..."
"I hadn't until now." He drew closer, oblivious to Shades and Charlotte who were wide-eyed with shock.
"Joey?" Shades mouthed to Charlotte. "JOEY?"
Charlotte frowned at him and nudged him fiercely, indicating the door and that they should leave. Shades looked bewildered. Charlotte nudged him again.
"It has been a long time. You've ... not changed much," Joe said.
He still paid no attention to Shades or Charlotte. Neither did Nanny, who was slowly getting to her feet. Charlotte gave Shades another push, and pointed to the door. Grumbling under his breath, Shades got to his feet and, with Charlotte at his heels, left the room, ignored by Joe and Nanny.
"I've gained a bit of weight. So have you. We've both gotten older, and hopefully wiser."
"Sometimes I wonder," Joe shook his head. "How could I not have recognized you immediately?"
Now Nanny was smiling wryly. "If you had seen me this afternoon, you would have recognized me in a flash, that's for sure, sure, sure."
"This afternoon? Ah ... the dancing and singing." Now Joe began to smile. "Yes, I heard about that. Clarisse said you had Charlotte all decked out in streamers, singing her heart out. You must be a good teacher to have managed to get Charlotte to shed her inhibitions that fast!"
"I had a good teacher," Nanny nodded. "You. Joey, I never DID thank you for all you did for me. And ... and for all you DIDN'T do. I mean, I came to you a young girl, and you made a woman out of me."
Joe raised his eyebrows. "That sounds a little ..."
Nanny chuckled. "Yes, it does, doesn't it." Her eyes travelled over him again. "You look good, Joey." Now that their previous meeting was out in the open, she was much more comfortable with the knowledge. She had secretly wondered if perhaps he was just pretending not to remember her. She hadn't wanted to say anything, though, in case he really HAD forgotten her. That would hurt almost as much as deliberately not saying anything.
"I AM good. Usually," he added with a grin. Then he cleared his throat. "You, umm, you've been in New York for a while?"
"Quite a few years, now. Thanks to your recommendation, I got the position as Nanny to that little girl ... and now I'm Nanny to HER little girl. And you went from looking after me to looking after a Queen!"
"Nanny, I need to talk more with you, but ..." he looked around and for the first time realized Shades and Charlotte had gone. "Oh! I thought they were ..."
"They're probably just outside the door, listening," Nanny grinned. "I would be, if I were them." She hurried over to the door and opened it before the two outside could get further than a couple of feet away. "Charlotte? Shades? You can come back in. Joey and I will finish our conversation tomorrow. He knows better than to get between me and a boxing match!"
O o O o O o
To Be Continued