Chapter Nineteen
The Queen didn't have to wait long for her brother-in-law to show up.
"Well played, Helena. Congratulations!" – he began scornfully. – "But I still have your story."
Helena put her hand on his shoulder and replied with a bittersweet smile.
"Unfortunately, it is not worth a damn now. The King is cheating on the Queen… and in case you don't want to believe, you have a picture of it. You can't possibly beat that. Certainly not with the Queen's alleged love affair…"
"Unless I have proof…" – Cyrus remarked with a sardonic grin.
Queen Helena knew his brother-in-law well enough to recognize his bluff.
"You don't have. No one has." – she firmly stated, then she suddenly turned angry. – "What do you think how stupid I am?"
Prince Cyrus, who put a great deal of work to find evidence for the Queen's affair, didn't want to let it go so easily.
"Where do you meet with him? It can't be the Palace. Maybe the countryside? Your mother's house!... Balmoral?..." – he asked eagerly.
Helena burst out laughing.
"Everywhere. We do it under your nose… in your room… on your bed and you don't notice." – she said sarcastically, then she added more seriously, in a threatening tone. – "I'm joking, obviously. Don't try me again, Cyrus, I warn you. And if you consider going public with your homosexual affair, be my guest. The minute you do this, you will lose all your titles and money, I will make damn sure of that."
Cyrus shook his head in anger mixed with wonderment. He had to admit that in this case the student surpassed the master.
Queen Helena stood on the balcony with a glass of scotch and watched the starry sky. She heard footsteps behind her back, signalling the approach of her husband.
"I assume you saw the papers. What should we do about it?" – he asked straightforwardly.
Helena didn't want to fight with him, but she knew she had to fake the huff. Though it wasn't too hard since she was indeed a bit offended.
"You should start by apologizing." – she remarked objectively.
"For what? I didn't cheat on you. Nothing happened." – King Simon snapped at her.
The Queen shook her head and looked straight into her husband's eyes.
"Nothing, really? You came home and the first thing you did was to rush to her."
"I went to see the children first." – the King replied apologetically like he was guilty. – "Then, I looked for you, but I didn't find you. I thought you were riding."
His wife smiled at him bitterly.
"Then, you went to her." – she said softly.
"We are friends..." – Simon started, but he couldn't finish his sentence.
"You shouldn't be. That's how the rumours and the headlines start." – Helena interrupted, then she added. – "It was a good picture. On the cover."
The King looked at him with surprise.
"How can you joke about this?" – he asked and he frowned.
"No, I mean it was taken by a good camera, probably a very expensive one." – the Queen explained. – "Not many people in this household can afford a professional camera."
King Simon let out a soft chuckle. He saw his wife's questioning gaze so he said out loud his thoughts:
"It seems like that the Agatha Christie book collection I gave you last Christmas really paid off."
Helena couldn't hold back a genuine smile.
"Yes, it proves to be useful in any situation." – she said flirtatiously. – "I will find the person responsible for this very soon or at least his dead body."
For a moment she forgot about their argument and kissed her husband.
"I hope the children won't find out about it." – Simon remarked gently after their lips parted.
"Me too." – Helena agreed softly, then she changed her tone. – "We have to shut down this story as soon as possible. It's damaging to our public image and if they keep coming after us..."
"Us?" – the King asked in surprise.
The Queen confirmed her words with a nod.
"Yes. They judge me as well. You are… you are just a man, but I'm the woman who can't satisfy the King of England."
"You know it's not true, right?" – her husband asked because Helena's voice sounded a bit too convincing.
"Of course." – she answered quickly, then she changed her mind. – "No, actually I don't know. Sometimes I wish it was true. You would have sex with a maid. Who cares? It wouldn't mean anything. But the thing is, Simon, that they are really your friends. You share your joy, your problems… your feelings with them and I feel…"
"What?"- the King asked eagerly.
Helena looked at him and she knew she said too much.
"Nothing. It's nothing, I'm sorry." – she mumbled, then she cleared her throat and continued in a more collected way. – "The point is that we need a lot of public appearances together. We need to be seen as a family, as a couple, more often so that the people could make sure that we are fine. That we are a team."
With these last words, she downed her drink and she was about to go back to the room, but her husband's voice stopped her:
"We are a team, Helena. And just so you know, I heard what you wanted to say to me."
No sooner the Queen got back to the room, followed by the King, she heard her daughter calling for her.
"Mum! Mum!" – Eleanor cried from the distance.
"We should seriously consider buying walkie-talkies to find each other." – Helena remarked to her husband, then she shouted back to the Princess. – "We are here."
The next moment the little girl was there, panting and flushed from running.
"What is a maidstress?" – she asked, gasping for breath.
A little later, her older brother appeared in the door, following his sister.
"I told you not to ask them." – he snapped at her angrily.
"But I want to know." – Eleanor snapped back, then she turned to her parents. – "Why is daddy's picture in the newspaper?"
Queen Helena looked at her husband, then she looked away.
"I will kill Rachel." – she mumbled.
Her daughter didn't hear or didn't care about her comment as she continued:
"I thought that only famous people are allowed to be in the newspaper. Does it mean that our maid is famous now? More famous than us?"
Helena let out a sigh of relief that the discussion took a less awkward turn.
"No, she isn't." – she reassured the little Princess.
"Then why her picture is bigger than mine?" – Eleanor inquired further since her picture was also on the cover along with the rest of her family.
Simon felt that he was the one who should handle this case and be the subject of her daughter's interrogation, but he didn't know what to say.
"Because she was with me." – he finally replied to the little girl.
"Why?" – came the next question from Princess Eleanor.
Robert saw his father's agony so he grabbed his sister's arm and tried to pull her away.
"Come on, Lenny, we know enough." – he whispered to her.
Obviously, Eleanor couldn't be convinced so easily. Her brother knew that and her mother knew that as well, but as long as they dealt with innocent questions she didn't mind. It was just a matter of time and patience.
"By accident. She was there when the picture was taken." – she replied with ease.
The Princess thought about it for a while, then she said:
"She shouldn't have to be."
"Yes, she shouldn't." – her mother agreed.
"Because she is not famous enough." – Eleanor added.
The King and the Queen were relieved.
"Exactly." – they said almost at the same time.
Their daughter, however, had more information than they thought.
"That is why people are angry with her." – Princess Eleanor remarked innocently.
Helena was about to confirm her words with a nod, then she realized what she just said.
"Who is angry with her?" – she asked nervously. – "Where did you hear that, darling?"
"Under the table." – answered the little girl, taking the question literally.
She managed to distract the Queen, who cried out angrily:
"What did I say about crawling on the dirty floor?"
King Simon was more concerned about their previous topic, so he diverted back the conversation in the right direction.
"What did they say?"
Eleanor smiled at her father and willingly repeated back to him what she heard earlier:
"A kitchen maid said that the King and Lucy will be in big trouble and she can't imagine how the poor Queen feels right now. And then another one said that the Queen is a bitch and she deserves this." – she said proudly, then she frowned. – "What do you deserve, Mom?"
Helena was caught off-guard by her question and suddenly she didn't know what to answer.
"Your mother deserves love and respect." – King Simon came to her rescue. – "If anyone says anything else, that person is lying."
"Sooo you are not angry with her?" – his daughter asked suspiciously.
"Absolutely not." – Simon reassured her.
Eleanor then turned to her mother and asked:
"And you are not angry with Daddy?"
The Queen shook her head.
"I'm not." – she replied and hugged the little girl.
"Good." – Eleanor remarked, still in her mother's arms, then she decided to change the subject. – "Can I show you my painting?"
"Sure. Where is it?" – her mother asked curiously.
The Princess smiled sardonically which only his brother could see.
"In the kitchen. I did it with whipped cream." – she said proudly.
"Eleanor!" – Helena cried out and backed away from her daughter.
The King, however, only laughed about that and followed the little girl happily as she ran toward the kitchen. Helena and Robert were left alone in the room, lost in thoughts.
"Are you all right, Mom?" – the Prince asked after a while.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" – his mother asked back with ease.
Robert wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer, but he needed to know.
"What happened between Dad and that maid?"
Helena felt incredibly guilty. That was the situation she wanted to avoid at all cost.
"Nothing. It was just a misunderstanding." – she replied and looked straight into her son's eyes. – "The newspaper wanted a story so desperately that they published a lie that someone sold them."
"Do you believe this?" – Robert asked and the Queen could see that he wasn't fully convinced.
"Yes. People will talk, but we know the truth and this is the only thing that matters." – she said confidently and she stroked her son's hair. – "So please, give more credit to your father, Robert. He is a very, very good man."
