Chapter Thirty-Three
… Four years later…
Queen Helena watched from the window as the helicopter landed in the garden and two bodyguards escorted Princess Eleanor to the Palace.
"I hope you had a pleasant journey." – Helena greeted her daughter in a sarcastic tone.
Eleanor didn't answer, just rolled her eyes so her mother continued:
"You know the Swiss Police has better things to do than to chase a runaway Princess."
"The runaway Princess. Just to be exact." – Eleanor corrected the Queen scornfully.
Helena let out a theatrical sigh.
"Why can't you keep out of trouble?"
The Princess shrugged her shoulders.
"You think that there is nothing you can't fix… so stop pretending that you care about me." – she mumbled.
The Queen looked at her in anger and cried out:
"I do care about you. Do you think I like to be woken up in the middle of the night that you are missing again?"
Her daughter threw herself into a chair and put a chewing gum into her mouth.
"What are you going to do, ban me from your big boring party and send me back to Lausanne?" – she asked and popped her gum.
Queen Helena shook her head in disappointment.
"No. You will stay and attend my big boring party and tomorrow you will go back to your school."
"Mom, it's not fair!" – Eleanor cried out in indignation and got up from the chair. – "Robert and Liam can come home from Eton every weekend."
"You had the same privileges, but you lost them." – Helena remarked coldly.
The Princess looked her mother in the eye and forgot about her pride:
"Please, let me stay here, just a little longer. I miss my family." – she asked softly.
The Queen replied without hesitation:
"You should have thought about it before you ran away from school."
"I hate you!" – Eleanor shouted and she was about to storm out of the room, but her mother stood in her way.
"Sober up before you meet your father. He would be very disappointed to see what became of his daughter." – Helena said to the Princess with contempt.
"I'm sure he is more disappointed in his wife." – Eleanor answered with a shrug and left the room.
"Eleanor is home." – King Simon said to his wife when she returned to their room to get dressed for the party.
"I know I have already talked to her." – Helena replied while she walked into her closet and picked up her gown.
The King frowned and looked at her with suspicion.
"What did you say?" – he asked with a little fear in his voice.
"I asked her nicely not to run away again." – the Queen remarked scornfully.
Simon didn't miss the irony in her voice and shook his head.
"It's no wonder that she runs away. It's a bloody military school." – he mumbled angrily.
"It's hardly a military school…" – Helena remarked with a bitter laugh. – "Anyway, I didn't have a choice. She couldn't behave in the last three schools."
King Simon did his best to hold back his anger and talk to his wife patiently:
"She just wants your attention."
The Queen sat at her dressing table and looked at her husband in the mirror.
"Well, she has my attention."
"You know what I mean." – the King replied and stepped closer to her.
Helena stood up from her chair and turned to him:
"I can't afford to pay attention to each and every one of her little tantrums. I have more important things to do. I am the Queen of England. And now I have a party to attend."
The Queen went to Prince Robert and Prince Liam's dressing room to make sure that they were ready for the party. Three maids helped them into their tuxedos and they were about to put on their necktie when Helena stopped them.
"I'll take it from here." – she said softly and the maids left the room with a bow.
"You should really learn how to do it." – the Queen remarked with a sigh and walked over to her sons. – "This is not the last time you have to wear a tie."
First, she tied Liam's tie, then she was about to do it for Robert too, but her hand stopped halfway in the air.
"What is it?" – her older son asked her in surprise.
His mother lowered her eyes and hesitated for a moment before she spoke.
"Nothing. I… I just imagined you on your wedding day." – she said with a sigh.
Prince Robert and Prince Liam looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Helena stood back and eyed them up and down from a distance.
"You are not little boys anymore." – she remarked with a sad smile.
Liam stared at his mother in shock. He wasn't used to her being so motherly and he was a bit embarrassed by it.
"You won't cry, will you?" – he asked in a sarcastic voice.
"No, I won't cry." – Helena answered in the same tone, then she added: – "Hurry up, I'll see you in the ballroom in ten minutes."
Prince Robert called after his mother as she walked away.
"Mom, I invited someone I would like you to meet."
"I hope it's a girl." – the Queen remarked hopefully.
Her son rolled his eyes as he replied:
"Yes, it's a girl, but please be nice and don't intimidate her."
Helena let out a soft chuckle.
"We'll see." – she said mysteriously.
Queen Helena looked around the ballroom like a watchful chaperon. Prince Robert was indeed with a rather exotic looking girl and they seemed to enjoy themselves. Fourteen-year-old Liam, however, like most boys in his age, was very shy. He stood alone in a corner, trying to stay unnoticed. The Queen walked around looking for her daughter, but she only found her friends instead. Gemma Kensington and two other girls were about to pour some scotch in their cola when Helena surprised them.
"I assume you are all under eighteen, which means that you have no business drinking alcohol." – the Queen began seriously, then she suddenly changed her tone. – "Although you can hardly be blamed if you mistook whisky for ice tea. They look so similar."
The girls looked at her speechlessly as she took three empty glasses and poured some whisky in them. She poured a drink for herself as well and raised her glass:
"Cheers, girls."
The Queen could see that Gemma didn't trust her.
"And you won't tell our parents because…" – the young girl began, waiting for Helena to finish her sentence.
"…because your mother would be very angry with me if she knew" – the Queen replied with ease before she turned to the other girls – "…and as for you two, I don't even know who your parents are."
The two other girls, Isabella and Victoria looked at her in admiration.
"You are so cool." – Isabella mumbled.
"I wish my mom would be like this. Eleanor is so lucky." – Victoria added longingly.
Gemma rolled her eyes at her minions and she decided to make them jealous by bragging about her insider status in the Palace.
"You should see her room. It is full of dresses… and jewelleries… and she has a waterbed." – she said proudly.
"It must be good to be a Princess." – Isabella whispered with a sigh.
Helena looked from one to the other, then she remarked:
"Being born into the Royal Family is not the only way to become one."
Gemma knew the Queen and she wasn't afraid to provoke her a bit.
"We can get married to a Prince. Robert is clearly a good catch." – she said with a defiant smile.
"Who is talking about marriage? You are so young." – Queen Helena cried out in mock astonishment. – "Besides, I'm afraid Robert prefers more mature girls. I just say that Liam might enjoy the company of some nice girls."
The smile disappeared for a moment from Gemma's face.
"Liam?" – she asked in shock.
"Yes, Liam." – repeated the Queen.
The three girls looked at each other.
"He seems kind of a wallflower…" – Victoria said in an uncertain voice.
"Then it's your job to open that flower. Maybe it is a long time, but who knows what the future holds? " – Helena replied with ease and downed her drink.
The others did the same and frowned when they felt the bitter taste in their mouth.
After she made sure that the girls would keep company for Liam for a while, Helena walked over to her other son.
"Mom, may I present you, Lady Damara Croft. Her mother is a Baroness from India and her father, Lord Croft is an Army Major." – Robert said in one breath.
"I know Major Croft. He has a well-deserved reputation as a soldier and he is a great storyteller. It's nice to meet her daughter."
"It is an honour to meet you, Your Majesty." – Damara answered with a deep bow.
The Queen eyed her up and down, then she said to her:
"Walk with me."
Robert watched his mother engaging in a conversation with Damara. He hoped that the girl would keep the Queen busy for while until he could talk to her assistant.
Rachel was looking around the ballroom to make sure that everything was all right and under control when she heard Prince Robert's voice behind her.
"You look beautiful tonight." – the young Prince complimented her.
The assistant gave him a dim smile and replied softly:
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Robert leaned on the wall and continued the conversation.
"How are you?"
"Good." – Rachel answered shortly, then she added in an indifferent tone. – "I saw your new girlfriend."
Prince Robert was a bit offended, but he didn't let this remark stop him.
"She is just a friend. I asked her to pretend to be my girlfriend for Mom, just for tonight." – he said and shrugged his shoulder.
Rachel let out a scornful chuckle.
"Very mature. Your mother is not stupid, she will find out." – she said with ease.
"Eventually, but until then…" – Robert replied and put his arms around her.
The assistant roughly pushed him.
"Stop it!" – she hissed and backed away from him. – "At first it was funny, but now it's getting to be very annoying."
"I'm sorry." – the Prince mumbled and lowered his eyes.
Rachel looked at him with pity as she answered:
"It's okay. You had too much to drink."
They were silent for a moment, then Robert remarked, ashamed:
"Otherwise, I never would have had the courage to talk to you."
The assistant didn't know what to say, then she told him in a serious tone:
"You have to get over me and find a suitable girl before your mother will."
"I know." – Prince Robert agreed with a sad sigh, then he added with a charming smile. – "She has pretty good taste though. She chose you for her assistant."
Rachel shook her head disapprovingly.
"Good night, Your Highness!" – she said with a smile and turned her back to him.
"Good night, Rachel!" – Robert replied and looked after her as she left the room.
The Queen searched almost the whole Palace until she finally found her daughter in her room. At her surprise and disappointment, she didn't find her alone. Princess Eleanor was lying naked on her bed with her brother's best friend, Twysden Beckwith.
"What is going on here?" – Helena cried out when she saw them together.
"Mom, I can explain." – Eleanor mumbled and quickly grabbed a pillow to cover herself.
Her mother, however, didn't care about an explanation, she pushed the panic button on the wall without hesitation.
"You have ten seconds to get dressed before they come here and throw you out." – she said in a threatening tone, addressing her words to Beck.
The young Lord Beckwith quickly started to put on his clothes while the Princess burst out in tears:
"It was my fault, he didn't do anything wrong. Please, Mom, there is no need for this. Just let him go." – she begged her mother.
The Queen ignored her daughter's plea and stayed focused on the young lord in front of her.
"The poor girl you knocked up wasn't enough, Twysden?" – she asked scornfully. – "You needed my daughter for your trophy collection. Your mother will be heartbroken when she knows about this."
"We didn't even have sex. You can't tell his mother!" – Eleanor shouted in indignation.
Helena shrugged her shoulders.
"I won't, but the Palace is full of journalists." – she said with ease, then she added: – "I can't promise that they will stay quiet after they witness the guards throwing out Lord Beckwith's only son and heir from the Royal Palace."
"You are such a bitch!" – the Princess screamed and threw the pillow that covered her at her mother.
Queen Helena caught the pillow without looking at her daughter.
"I really believed that you are different from your father, Beck… but here we are." – she remarked in a sad voice.
"I'm nothing like my father." – Beck replied angrily and looked the Queen in the eye.
Helena didn't let herself intimidate by the young boy and continued in a provoking tone:
"Are you sure? Eleanor is only fourteen. The same age that the girl he tried to rape."
"God forbid the world finds out who that girl was." – Beck hissed scornfully.
Queen Helena gave him a disdainful smile as she repeated his last words:
"God forbid… Your family name could hardly bear any more shame."
The young Lord Beckwith didn't have time to answer because five armed bodyguards arrived and dragged him out of the room.
"You will regret this, Mom, I promise." – Eleanor shouted after she watched her mother's men take away Beck.
