(A/N): Thanks so much to my Beta RandomatGedz

Disclaimer: I do not own twilight...:'(

Living Royal

Chapter Twenty-Two

Bella gradually recovered from her bout of pneumonia with Edward and Dr Webber's help. Dr Webber had made several more visits to the couple's home in order to check on Bella and make sure that the medications that he had prescribed left no side effects.

Alice helped Bella catch up with her class work when she felt strong enough to be able to study without feeling too weak or dizzy. Exams were coming up and Bella needed to cram and cram hard if she was going to keep up her good grades. Luckily for her, Edward was an excellent tutor.

Edward stayed with her the first couple of days of her illness, but Bella had insisted that he should not miss any classes because of her. He left her reluctantly for a few hours each day but only if Alice or Jasper stayed with her in case she needed anything. Bella thought it wasn't unnecessary but Edward had given her no choice, so all she could do was grumble and scowl in silence.

"So did you think about what I said?" Alice asked during one of her 'babysitting' days, as Bella called it. They were sprawled across the bed with several text books strewn on it in front of them.

Only two people other than Bella and Edward knew about their engagement; Alice and Queen Esme. Esme wanted to tell Carlisle but Edward had thankfully convinced her to wait. Alice on the other hand wanted them to tell everyone so they could refute Jacob's claims in the press that Bella was dating Edward to get over him.

How delusional could one guy be?

"Um, no not yet." Bella replied.

"Bella!" Alice whined, "Come on, you know that it's a brilliant idea. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

"I don't know, Alice. I have to talk to Edward first. We agreed to keep it a secret for a while because it's a lot easier this way. The media's already been going crazy since we started officially dating; imagine what they'll do when we announce that we're engaged." Bella paled at the thought.

"You're just gonna have to trust me, Bella. I have a good feeling about this." Alice replied confidently.

Bella had to admit that whenever Alice had a feeling, it usually ended up being right on the mark.

"I still have to talk to Edward first." Bella somewhat conceded.

Bella did broach the subject with Edward when he came back home from the University that afternoon. He was hesitant at first, but eventually admitted that it might actually be a good idea. He just wanted to wait a couple more months before doing it. Bella agreed, she wasn't ready for the media onslaught she knew would happen as soon as they made the announcement.

During the next few days Bella began to get restless from staying at home all the time. She eventually convinced Edward to let her go out with Alice for a while. He only let her out after dressing her in layer after layer of warm clothing. She would've object to being treated like a child if it weren't so damn cute how much he worried about her.

Alice picked Bella up and they headed to the nearest mall. Bella wore dark sunglasses, but she was still recognized by a few people. Thankfully though, they all kept their distance and the road was paparazzi free.

If it were up to Bella she'd spend the next few hours in the nearest bookstore, but Alice, of course, was having none of that. She said that now that Bella and Edward were engaged, she had to dress accordingly. Bella tried to argue that no one even knows about the engagement yet, but Alice wouldn't back down. She led her to one of the most expensive shops in the area and when Bella protested that she couldn't afford buying anything from there, Alice revealed that Edward had given her his credit card so that Bella could buy anything she liked.

"But why did he give it to you and not me?" Bella asked, confused.

"Honestly, Bella. Do you have any idea how you act whenever the subject of money comes up? Edward knew that you wouldn't have taken the card if he had given it to you directly so he took a roundabout route. He's very diabolical, you know."

Bella chuckled at Alice's assessment of her fiancé.

Fiancé. Bella would have to get used to that word. It wouldn't be such a hardship though.

If anyone had told Bella a year ago that she would meet, fall for and become engaged to the Prince of England in a matter of months, she would've laughed her ass off. But it wasn't about him being a Prince, it was about him being Edward, the kind, faithful and loving person that he is.

I really hit the jackpot, didn't I? Bella thought with a smile.

"Bella," Alice whined, "I need you to focus, not go off into dreamland with that creepy smile on your face."

"What creepy smile?" Bella frowned.

"The one you were smiling just a few seconds ago while you were probably dreaming of that hunky fiancée of yours."

"Shhh," Bella hissed at Alice worried that someone heard. The mall was pretty crowded and anyone could've recognized her.

Okay, maybe she was getting a bit paranoid but could you blame her? She and Edward's photos had been plastered on the covers of every tabloid magazine in the country. She couldn't even go to the grocery store without being recognized anymore.

"Don't worry, no one heard anything." Alice rolled her eyes.

"Can I help you ladies with anything?" A very well dressed sales lady approached them.

"No, thank you. We're just browsing." Bella replied. She realized too late that she really should have kept her mouth shut and let Alice handle it since the moment that the sales woman had a good look at Bella's face she realized who she was.

"Oh, you're..."

Bella cut her off before she could continue, "No, I'm not. I look a lot like her but I'm not her."

"Oh, I could have sworn that you were..." The woman spoke again still skeptical.

"Well, I'm not." Bella spoke quickly. Then she pulled Alice out of there before the woman could say anything else.

"There goes our favourite store." Alice grumped.

"You mean yourfavourite store. I will gladly settle for something much cheaper." Bella smirked glad she was finally getting what she wanted.

She ended up buying a couple of dresses and a pair of jeans that Alice said looked 'fantabolous' on her. Yup, she used those exact words.

On the drive home Alice kept gushing about how adorable Edward was when she was sick. She told her how he paced around outside her room while Dr Webber was checking on her.

"Oh, I can't believe I haven't asked you yet, but what happened with King Carlisle? How did he change his mind so quickly?"

"I don't really know. I guess Edward finally brought him around, plus it probably helped that I didn't accept the money he wanted to pay me off with."

Alice gasped, "He didn't."

"He did."

"But that's way over the top. I can understand that he's trying to protect his family, but don't you think he went over and beyond this time?"

"I guess, I don't know. I'm just happy he changed his mind and finally believes that I'm not some gold-digger."

"I don't know Bella. I have a feeling that it was more than that. I think you should ask Edward."

Bella regarded her friend curiously. If Alice thought there was something else, then there probably was, but what on earth could it be?

That night when Bella and Edward were getting ready for bed, Bella had a chance to ask Edward about it.

"Why do you ask?" He inquired as he put on his black pyjama pants and white top.

"I just want to know, was it anything I did? Have I ever acted as though I was after your money or that I was with you for your title?"

"No, sweetheart. Of course not."

"I've had my...doubts about something but I'm not really sure if that's why he was acting this way." Edward confessed

"What is it?"

Edward got into bed and Bella followed snuggling with him as his arms wrapped around her.

"Before my mum and dad were married, my father was in a...relationship."

The way Edward muttered that last word implied that that relationship was not a particularly good one.

"Yeah?" Bella prompted him to go on.

"He thought he was in love with someone, a girl he had met while touring Europe with his friends. That's why when his parents suggested an arranged marriage with my mother, he was set against it. He only had eyes for that other girl. He even brought her back with him to the palace to meet his parents but they never liked her. I guess you could say it was hate at first site. They were convinced that she was a scheming gold-digger."

"Hmm, sounds familiar." Bella muttered. Now, she was even more confused. If Carlisle had been through that himself why would he do the same to his own son?

Edward kissed her forehead, "Well, the difference is my grandparents were right."

"What? She really was a gold-digger? How did they find out?"

"They didn't. My father did, which is just as well since he wouldn't have believed it if anyone else had told him. He accidently over heard her one day speaking to one of her friends about how she was one step away from getting him to propose and how she couldn't wait until she was a princess and having all that money."

"What a bitch!" Bella exclaimed. How could someone be so selfish and manipulative?

"You said it." Edward agreed.

"So, that's why he acted the way he did with me? But I'm nothing like her. I would never use you like that."

"I know that, baby." He tightened his hold on her, bringing her even closer to his side. "My father however, needed a little more convincing."

"But why haven't you told me about this before?"

"I wasn't sure that this was the reason why he didn't trust you. I mean Rosalie; I get, but you..."

"What do you mean Rosalie you get?"

"Oh right, I guess I forgot to tell you a crucial point in that story. The woman my father was in love with is now Rosalie's mother."

"What? But Rosalie she's so..."

"Nice? Yes, I know. She takes after her father, I guess, poor bugger."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"When Rosalie's mother found out that in her carelessness she'd lost any chance with my father, she quickly moved on to her next big catch. He was one of my father's closest friends, had loads of money but no title to speak of, that's probably the reason she didn't set her eyes on him first. She went running to him when things fell apart for her with dad and the poor man thought she was genuine. He actually got into a huge fight with dad because he thought that he had mistreated her. That's what she had led him to believe anyway. Him and dad lost touch for a few years after that, during which she had convinced him to marry her and they had Rosalie a few years later."

Bella didn't know what to say. Poor Rosalie, she couldn't imagine having to live with a mother like that.

"Wow, what are the chances that his son and her daughter fall in love? Wait, do Rosalie and Emmett know about this? And how come I haven't heard about this? I mean everything that has anything to do with your family is always on the news."

"The answer to your first question is yes they do know and the second is my grandparents really knew how to keep a secret. It was easy back then, what with the lack of modern technology such as the internet and all that."

"Hmm, makes sense."

Edward moved back do he could look down at Bella. "You're quiet all of a sudden."

"I'm just taking it all in. And here I thought we'd caused a lot of drama, while your father was the star in his own Royal soap opera." She giggled.

Edward chuckled, "Wait until I tell you the story of how my parents fell in love."

Bella got up and sat with one leg on either side of Edward straddling him.

"Oh, I lovelove stories. Tell me!" She whispered seductively in his ear.

"Um, Bella? It's kind of hard to concentrate when you're sitting like that."

"Oh, you want me to get up?" She started to do just that but Edward held her still.

"Don't you dare." He grinned wickedly just before he flipped her on her back.

Bella's last thought before she was lost in the feeling of lust that enveloped her as Edward's hands skimmed her exposed skin and his lips devoured hers was that she hoped she'd remember to ask him about Esme and Carlisle's story again later.

(A/N): So a few of you guys were worried after last chapter that Bella was pregnant, she's not. Not yet anyway ;) I know that the whole antibiotics-led-to-pregnancy thing has been done to death in the fandom world so I'm definitely not taking that route, don't worry :)

So how do we feel about Carlisle now? Any thoughts? And do you want to know more about Carlisle And Esme?

Don't you wish you had Alice's insight? :D

Don't forget to add me on Facebook (Dee Pattinson) :)