Chapter Six

Bakewell, Derbyshire, Sunday 3rd July 2016, 9am

Elizabeth sat opposite her grandmother in silence eating the breakfast that had been prepared for her. She took a bite of her toast. She couldn't get the Prince out of her head. Why was he being so defensive? What had happened to Princess Anna? Any why on earth had he kissed her? Most annoyingly, she could not get the kiss out of her head. As much as she despised him, there was a weird part of her that was attracted to him. She wondered what might of happened had she not pulled away. She shook her head. She had to get a grip. She was Elizabeth Bennet. Not some school girl with a poster of the prince in her room.

" What happened to you on your run?" Maud Bennet asked, " You've been in a daze since you got back. I thought these runs was meant to awaken you,"

" Sorry Gran, I have got a story on my mind," She lied

" Too much work, makes life rather dull Lizzy,"

" You sound like mum," Elizabeth said and her Grandmother raised an eyebrow at the thought of her daughter-in-law. Elizabeth laughed.

Maud Daphne Bennet was eighty four years old yet she was still very active. She had been widowed in her mid-sixties, but had not allowed her grief to rob her of life. Since her beloved husband's passing almost twenty years ago, she had travelled across the world several times, including a recent trip to northern India where she had been working with a charity she sponsored to prevent human trafficking. Elizabeth admired no other human more than Maud.

The doorbell rang.

" Put the kettle on Lizzy, it's probably Betty coming over to fill me in with all the gossip whilst I was away,"

Elizabeth empty the water from the kettle and filled it up again with fresh water from the tap. She grabbed her mug, her Gran's and took a clean one out from Betty. She knew her Gran was a stickler for making tea in the pot, but quickly put a tea bag in each mug hoping her grandmother wouldn't notice.

" Lizzy," Maud called from the kitchen doorway.

Elizabeth poured the boiling water into each of the mugs, " I know I know, but I promise you it will be a nice cup of tea!"

Without turning, Lizzy finished making the cups of tea, and finally turned to ask Betty how milky she liked her tea. But it wasn't Betty that greeted her in her deep Derbyshire accent, but it was the man she had met on her run that morning.

" Hello Miss Bennet," The Prince greeted

Elizabeth frowned at him. What was he doing here?

" Your Highness," Elizabeth muttered. She was completely lost for words, " How did you, I mean, what are you…"

" I don't want to intrude on your time with your grandmother, but I wanted to apologise for this morning," William explained

" I'll leave you two alone Your Royal Highness," Maud began to excuse herself.

" No need Mrs Bennet. I shall not be long, and please, call me William," William continued and turned back to Elizabeth, " It was wrong of me to speak to you in that manner and it was equally wrong of me to, well you know what,"

Elizabeth knew exactly what he was referring to. She still was unable to think of anything to say. This was a very rare thing indeed. All she could manage to think about was the mugs of tea, " Would you like a cup of tea?"

" No, I won't stay. I promised my sister that I wouldn't be long," He explained and Elizabeth smiled. She could not help herself. Upon seeing her smile, the Prince smiled. In his opinion, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

" Thank you for apologising Your Royal Highness," Elizabeth started, " You really did not need to come all the way here,"

William began to leave the small kitchen when he turned back, " What do you say Miss Bennet, shall we start again you and I?"

Elizabeth could not quite understand what was happening. It was as if she were in a dream. She glanced at her grandmother who clearly had fallen for the princely charms.

" Very well Sir, lets start again," Elizabeth replied, " Although I'm still a staunch republican,"

" I wouldn't expect anything less," He teased and faced Maud, " Thank you for letting a strange man into your home,"

" You're very welcome Sir," Maud exclaimed, " And just so you know, not everyone in our family is like my granddaughter. God save the Queen,"

William smiled and left the room. As the front door closed Maud looked intently at Elizabeth.

" What the bloody hell is going on Lizzy?"

Pemberley, Derbyshire, Sunday 3rd July 2016, 10pm

William sat next to his sister as they binged watched the BBC adaptation of War and Peace. It definitely was not his type of thing, but Anna loved watching period dramas.

" Why is it you can see people for who they really are, once they have ruined your life," Anna asked pointedly

" Your life is not ruined," William reminded her.

" I suppose at least the monarchy won't be polluted with my scandal,"

William refused to engage in his sister's self pity. He knew she was broken. It was his job to fix her.

" Mummy can finally look at me again," Anna continued and started to cry. William wrapped his arm around his sister as she nestled into his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.

He was still trying to deal with his guilt. When he had first received the call from his mother that Anna had lost her baby, his immediate response had been relief. He hated that it had been. Of course, relief had been overshadowed by grief and pain for his sister and her baby. Regardless of the child's parentage, it would have been his niece or nephew.

" I think I will always wonder what if," Anna admitted and turned to William, " Thank you for having my back Will. I'll never forget what you did for me, and what you continue to do. Even this weekend, you cancelled several engagements,"

" I'll always have your back Anna," He replied and she smiled, " Right, come on, we're about to miss Pierre being the hero,"

Guardian Offices, London, Tuesday 5th July 2016, 1pm

Elizabeth sat typing up her latest piece of the brexit process whilst trying to finish eating her salad. It had no dressing and was not much joy to eat. She re-read what she had managed to piece together but wasn't happy with it. The next couple of years were going to be dominated by the UK exit from Europe, and she was already sick of it.

" Lizzy, my office now," Jack Gardiner instructed and Lizzy followed him into his office.

" I need you to interview the Prince of Wales on Friday about his save the Rhino initiative. Be at KP for 10am sharp," Jack explained as she entered his office, " You can take Jemima to take some photos,"

" Why are you asking me? This isn't my gig Jack. Why don't you send Steve,"

" KP requested you,"

" The Palace asked for me?"

" I think it came straight from the top. The Prince's press secretary seemed pretty pissed to be honest. You're still tarnished by that article," Her boss explained and Elizabeth's heart started beating faster, " Maybe the Prince wants to prove you wrong and show you that the pompous twit can be useful,"

Carluccios, Covent Garden, London, Thursday 7th July 2016, 9pm

Elizabeth sat by the window waiting for Lydia to show up with her new man. It was rare for her to actually meet one of Lydia's boyfriends, so imagined this one was serious.

" Would you like a drink whilst you are waiting Madam?" the waiter asked

" Can I have a glass of prosecco please," Elizabeth replied and at that point Lydia walked into the restaurant causing the usual scene she made wherever she went.

" I am so sorry Lizzy," She bellowed across the room, " Bloody Taxi was stuck in traffic,"

Elizabeth stood and kissed the cheek of her dear friend. Behind her followed what she could only assume was George, George Wickham.

" George this is Lizzy, my respectable friend," Lydia introduced

" Your reputation precedes you Lizzy. I hear you really caused that palace foundations to shake with that article you wrote," He replied and kissed her cheek.

" Apparently,"

The threesome sat at their table as Lydia explained the various fiascos that had dominated her day. Their was always a drama with her.

Over their appetizers Elizabeth quietly listened as Lydia and George recounted how they had met, and reconnected over the recent months. Elizabeth could already tell that George was a smooth player.

" You'll never guess who George grew up with," Lizzy began, " Prince bloody William. They were best friends, and went to Eton together. Prince Edward was George's godfather,"

At the mention of Prince William, Lizzy's attention was pulled.

" His late Royal Highness was a true gentleman,"

" Unlike his son," Lydia quipped

" Lydia, we can't talked about it,"

" Oh it's only Lizzy. She'd never reduce herself to writing scandal. You can trust her with your story," Lydia explained and with that George's countenance changed. He suddenly spoke as if he had a full audience.

As George finished telling his tale, Elizabeth had so many questions.

" How is he able to get away with that?" She asked

" He is our future King, our laws don't apply to him," George replied and took at sip of his beer.

Elizabeth was enraged at the injustice. She had to talk to Jane. Perhaps she knew some of the Prince's shady dealings. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and shook her head. How could she have been so stupid to begin to think the Prince had feelings. He was part of the machine of the institution. All the quesitons around Princess Anna made sense now. She felt sorry for her.

" And you thought I couldn't shock you anymore Lizzy," Lydia commented and smiled at George who kissed her neck.

To be continued...