Chapter Thirty-Four
After she took care of Beck and Eleanor, the Queen went back to the party to talk to her guests. She engaged in a long conversation with the Swedish ambassador and her husband when Rachel appeared out of nowhere behind her.
"I think you should come, Your Majesty." – she whispered discreetly into her ears and stepped back.
"Why?" – Helena asked, looking over her shoulder.
Her assistant looked hesitantly at the ambassador then turned back to the Queen and replied:
"It's Princess Eleanor. She had a…a rough night."
From what Rachel said, Queen Helena thought that Eleanor probably got too drunk and now she was suffering from the consequences, but nothing serious. She wasn't prepared for the scene that welcomed her in her daughter's room. She could hear the King's shouting long before she got there:
"Who was it? Who was it? I will kill that boy!" – King Simon asked, beside himself.
By the time Helena arrived, her whole family was there. Eleanor sat on her bed, visibly shaking and sobbing while her father and brothers gently rubbed her back in an awkward attempt to comfort her.
"What happened?" – the Queen asked in surprise.
"You happened." – Liam answered with anger mixed disgust in his voice. – "If you hadn't had Beck thrown out like a criminal, Eleanor wouldn't have lost her virginity to a total stranger."
Queen Helena was shocked for a moment, then she turned to her other son:
"Did you know about her and Beck too?"
"Yes, and I know that Beck would have never hurt her." – Robert replied and looked at his mother with real anger for the first time in his life.
"They wanted to have sex." – Helena mumbled in her defence.
Her son shook her head with contempt as he remarked:
"And now she had sex with a drunk asshole who could be anyone."
"Who was it?" – the Queen asked in a firm voice.
Robert didn't answer so she turned to her husband.
"Eleanor refuses to tell." – King Simon said shortly.
He didn't sound as angry as Robert, but it was clear to Helena that he also blamed her for what happened.
"I want to talk to her alone." – the Queen said after a moment of silence, looking at her still crying daughter.
She stepped closer to the bed, but Liam stopped her:
"She doesn't want to see you."
"This is ridiculous. She is right there. Let her decide!" – Helena cried out in indignation, then she turned to her other son: – "Robert, please!"
At her surprise, Prince Robert didn't take her side as usual. Instead, he got up from the bed and firmly led his mother out of the room.
"I think it's better if you stay away for a while. You really screwed this up, Mom!" – he said with a sad sigh.
It was a long night. The party was over and the guests were gone, but everyone was still awake. The Queen saw maids everywhere with empty trays or vacuum cleaners and the noise they were making made it impossible for anyone to sleep. Not that she could have slept after what happened. Simon probably stayed in Eleanor's room for the night because he showed no sign that he would return to their bedroom anytime soon. After a long walk in the garden, Helena finally found a quiet room where the maids have already finished. She poured a drink for herself and sank into a chair. She heard that her security detail closed the door and took his position outside the room.
The Queen poured herself another glass of whiskey and she suddenly realized that she didn't want to be alone. She decided to call for her bodyguard:
"Ralph?" – she asked in a tired voice.
Her security detail answered her call immediately:
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Please, sit down. Would you like a drink?" – the Queen asked, motioning towards the crystal decanter with the whiskey on the table.
The bodyguard shook his head as he said:
"I can't. I'm on duty."
"Me too, but who cares." – the Queen answered with a short laugh and poured a drink for him anyway.
They sat in silence for a while, drinking their scotch, lost in thoughts. After eight years of service, Helena barely knew her bodyguard. She didn't know what to say to him so she ended up asking about his family:
"Do you have children?"
"Two daughters." – came the answer.
The Queen nodded in acknowledgement, then she said:
"What would you do if you caught one of them with a naked boy in her room?"
Ralph, who witnessed the whole scene with the Princess and her boyfriend, hesitated for a while before he answered.
"Can I be honest with you?"
Helena looked at him with surprise, but she motioned him to continue.
"Please."
"Your Majesty went easy on them. If I caught a boy like that in my daughter's bedroom, I would punch him in the face and throw him out myself with my bare hands." – the bodyguard replied passionately.
The Queen seemed to be amused by this answer and gave a dim smile to her security detail, then she became serious again.
"Too bad my family doesn't think the same way." – she remarked with a sigh. – "They are blaming me because Eleanor ended up with that other boy."
Maybe it was the alcohol or the unexpected chance to speak to the Queen, but Ralph suddenly became very talkative.
"They are all wrong." – he remarked in a firm voice. – "Prince Robert and Prince Liam have always been very protective of their sister, but the King… well, he didn't do much in the past few years other than criticizing you."
"Careful, Ralph, this is treason." – Queen Helena replied in mock indignation.
Seeing the encouraging look in the Queen's eyes, Ralph shrugged his shoulders and answered in the same tone:
"I'm sorry. I thought you allowed me to speak honestly."
Helena decided to keep on with the pretended seriousness as she continued:
"I did… but your honesty insults the monarchy."
"No, it insults the King." – the bodyguard protested and got up from his chair.
"Isn't it the same thing?" – Queen Helena asked back and she also got up.
Ralph took a step closer and whispered into the Queen's ears:
"Is it? You tell me."
"It's hardly an appropriate attitude when you are protecting the King of England." – Helena remarked in a flirty voice.
The bodyguard let out a soft chuckle.
"Then, I'm glad that I'm protecting the Queen."
He was so close that Helena could feel his breathing on her skin.
"In that case… you could check my bedroom, see if there is any potential threat in there." – the Queen said seductively and grabbed her bodyguard's hand.
"As you wish, Your Majesty." – Ralph replied with a satisfied grin and he allowed the Queen to lead him through the secret passages, all the way to her bedroom.
