Author's Note: just a short chapter this time, but it's all about resolving this issue with Mabrey and Laura....
Thanks to all my readers- you all rock!
The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!
The press were strangely quiet for the next few days- since they had never discovered Joseph and Clarisse's separation, there was no coverage on their reconciliation- but even Laura and Viscount Mabrey were 'unavailable for comment', and so it seemed that the scandal was dying down, although Joseph was still apprehensive.
"I won't be completely satisfied until Laura tells me personally that the book won't be published and the manuscript is destroyed," he said firmly. Laura was no longer the woman he had dated years earlier, and he wished he had listened to Clarisse's instincts when she had met her, rather than thinking she was silly for overreacting and not liking her. The book was Laura's way of exacting revenge on Joseph for ending their relationship (even though it hadn't been working for a long time, and he had let her down gently), which angered him (particularly when Clarisse was dragged into it), but he had no intention of retaliating- all he wanted was it to be over.
Clarisse didn't respond to his comment, only smiling vaguely as she played with Shelley on the lawn and Joseph, a little confused as to why she was unfazed by this silence, decided to press the point.
"You don't seem too concerned that Laura hasn't withdrawn the book," he said carefully and she looked up with a smile. "I mean, if this book DOES get published, we could have to go to court and details of my relationship with her will be discussed...."
"There was nothing sordid in your relationship, was there?" she asked calmly, looking as though she already knew the answer.
"No... saw each other a couple of nights a week for three months before I ended it."
"Then I'm not worried at all- besides, this won't end up in court," she said confidently with a calm smile.
"But what if it does?"
"Then we fight," Clarisse's eyes hardened slightly as she rested her hand on his knee. "I won't let her ruin our marriage, your reputation and Mia's reign... and I'm not leaving your side," she added, giving him a defiant look and he had to grin.
"You really can be a tough lady, can't you?"
"Not tough, just determined to protect those who I care about..." before her eyes softened and she smiled as she stood up and stretched. "But now, I'm determined to have a nice cup of tea."
"Does tea solve all your problems?" he teased gently as he followed her and Shelley into the house, and Clarisse laughed as she switched on the jug.
"You sounded exactly like Phillipe when you said that... in fact, he said those words on more than one occasion," she remembered with a warm smile, her eyes turning nostalgic as she recalled the many times Phillipe had teased her over her choice of beverage....
"Come on, Mama- surely you like other drinks besides tea... I bet if you ever have a blood test, you'll have tea coming out rather than blood!" he teased, a mischievous look on his face, and Clarisse only laughed before retorting quickly:
"If anyone tests YOUR blood, I would hate to know what it is!" but Phillipe only grinned at that.
"What are you thinking about?" she suddenly heard Joseph's voice from far away, and she pulled her thoughts back to the present as she turned to smile at him.
"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about Phillipe and what he said when I had cups of tea...." she trailed off, but she didn't sound or look sad as she poured the tea and sat down opposite him at the table. She took a sip of her tea before she realized that Joseph was looking at her pensively.
"What are you looking at me like that for?"
"I was just thinking... until not so long ago, you always looked and sounded sad when you talked about Phillipe, but now you don't seem to be...."
"Yes, for a long time, Phillipe was a painful subject for me, not because of who he was, but how he died, and what he's missed since then... But if I'm not sad now, it's that I don't want to be sad when I remember him, and I do want to remember him- and I always will."
She meant it- she would always miss him, and always feel the pain when he missed milestones and special occasions, but Phillipe wouldn't want her to be sad, and she did want to remember him, particularly for Mia's sake.
"You really didn't deserve all this happening to you," he said after a moment, referring to Rupert, Pierre's abdication, Phillipe's death, Charlie and the past mess with Laura, but Clarisse smiled as she leaned over and caressed his cheek.
"Yes there have been some difficult times over the years, but there have also been some good times as well, enough to outweigh the bad times... namely Mia, you and your family...." before she leaned over to brush her lips on his.
Before the kiss could deepen, however, Joseph's phone began ringing, and Clarisse groaned slightly as he left the table to answer it, and he grinned at her before speaking:
"Hello....hi Scott, what's up?" he paused as he listened, his smile slowly disappearing. "I see... both of them?... No, just her... solicitors... Fine," he glanced quickly at Clarisse. "We'll be there... good... see you then...." before he hung up and looked at Clarisse grimly.
"Laura called Scott- she wants to meet us in Pyrus this afternoon.... I said we'd go, but you don't have to...."
"Joseph my love," Clarisse began as she joined him at the bench. "We're in this together, and I'm not going to let you go through this alone- I'm coming too," she nodded decisively and he put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed tightly.
"Thank you sweetheart." While he didn't necessarily like the thought that Clarisse had been dragged into this involuntarily, he also needed her with him....
0
It was a quiet trip into Pyrus, but there was no tension between the couple as they sat, hand in hand in the car, and looked out their respective windows.
"Do the press know about this meeting?" Clarisse asked as they arrived in Pyrus, and Joseph shook his head violently.
"Definitely not- Laura wants this meeting, but Scott arranged the meeting place, and we will have plenty of security... but the press won't be there, that's for sure."
Despite her calm exterior, Clarisse was relieved that the press wouldn't be present- thanks to them (possibly manipulated by Arthur Mabrey, Laura or both), she had almost thrown away the best thing (or, in this case, person) that had ever happened to her.
"Here we are," Joseph suddenly said as, startled, Clarisse looked outside- the car was pulling up in front of a far classier venue than the bar. It was another restaurant, but it was clear that it was still closed, so no prying eyes would see anything, nor curious ears hear anything.
Laura and her solicitor were already waiting for them when they arrived, and Laura's eyes widened slightly when she saw that Clarisse had accompanied her husband, but she managed to stretch her mouth into a warm smile. Clarisse couldn't help but notice, however, that her eyes watched enviously as Joseph held out Clarisse's chair for her before sitting down next to her. There was an awkward silence between them for a few moments before Joseph cleared his throat.
"So, Laura... you called this meeting...." he began pleasantly, but was secretly hard pressed not to demand what was going on now- he was tired of her dramatics and schemes- it was one of the reasons he had broken up with her years earlier. She had been fiery in the beginning, but towards the end, her dramatics had worn thin... particularly when someone else he wanted to be with was much quieter and restrained, keeping her feelings to herself... yet he could read her like a book....
"Yes... I was just surprised that your wife came today..." her eyes lingered on Clarisse again, but Clarisse only looked back calmly.
"This involves both of us, so my wife should be included."
"I was hoping that the other participant in all of this would be here, but I'll just have to press ahead... my publisher and lawyer have advised me not to publish this memoir," she looked down at her hands for a moment, before looking back at Joseph, her eyes somewhat icy.
"They BELIEVE," she sneered the word out. " That your wife is right in regards to releases for people mentioned in this book, and since neither of you will consent...."
"So I WAS mentioned in your book?" Clarisse asked sharply as Laura shrugged uncomfortably.
"A few times... mostly in terms of my theories about why Joseph and I were finished, as well as what my source told me," Laura said guiltily, keeping her eyes averted from Clarisse's alert gaze.
"But since your source was 'outed' and you discovered that you cannot legally use anything he says, since he signed an agreement with the palace, your book as collapsed," Joseph concluded, a note of triumph in his voice.
"It would seem so... and I cannot afford litigation."
"I'm sorry, Laura," Clarisse said sincerely, feeling sorry for her, but was then shocked by the intense look of hatred Laura threw at her.
"You are not- you've always had a perfect life, married to a handsome King, but you couldn't resist stealing another woman's man... I heard you always got what you wanted- I just didn't think you would be so vicious in doing it.. you really are cruel."
"That's enough, Laura," Joseph growled protectively as Laura's lawyer reached over and patted her hand to calm her down.
"And YOU can afford to be protective," she turned to him angrily. "You're set for the rest of your life, married to a former Queen... You ruined my life when you ended our relationship and you ruined it again now!"
Joseph was about to retort to this before Clarisse, gently nudging him in the ribs, stepped in before it really got out of hand.
"Laura," she said, pity flooding her heart as Joseph glared at Laura- no one insulted his Clarisse. "Think and feel about me as you will, but also consider that this book might have damaged my granddaughter as well as our marriage and Joseph's reputation- I could not stand by and let that happen. I AM sorry about the unfortunate situation you are in, but, call me selfish, I also have to consider my family in this, which I assume you would do in the same circumstances.... I know it's no consolation, but in the end, it could be best for everyone...."
"LAURA!" a voice from the doorway interrupted Clarisse, and they all turned to see Viscount Mabrey striding through the restaurant towards them. "What's going on? I thought we had a deal...." he trailed off as he looked down to see Joseph and Clarisse watching him interestedly, and his face went red. "What are they doing here?"
"I called them here to tell them I won't be publishing the book," Laura said simply and Clarisse watched as Mabrey's face went red again, seemingly lost for words, confirming that he had had been Laura's source, and that his main intention had bee to destroy their marriage.
"What the...." he began before Laura's lawyer intervened.
"You informed my client that you were available to discuss Sir Joseph Bonnell and his wife, but this...." he waved a document from a manilla folder Clarisse hadn't seen appear. "This copy of an agreement between you and the palace states that you cannot speak to anyone in regards to Her Majesty and government policy, and it seems that it is permanent and life long, as Mrs Bonnell has mentioned."
Clarisse was momentarily distracted by the sound of her married name- after three years, she still loved hearing it- before she saw that Arthur Mabrey's face had gone from red to purple...
"But I left parliament... or, rather was kicked out," he threw a vicious look at Joseph, as if he was the source of his problems, and was about to continue before Clarisse spoke up again.
"Arthur, it was made perfectly clear in that agreement that you were never to discuss the royal family or anything discussed in parliament ever, even when you retired, and you knew that. In fact, I believe you insisted on that point as you assumed that anything you did in parliament could be kept from the public... both legal and illegal activities....with this book and you named as source, however, the palace is well within it's legal rights to sue you for breach of contract and libel," she said crisply, and Mabrey just stared at her, still looking furious.
"If that doesn't convince you, then... I believe that you owed Rupert a considerable amount of money from an investment that, apparently, didn't take off, but we both know it did very well.... and still does, apparently. Rupert was willing to write off the money, but that may not be legal... although, since I was his wife, you could owe me the money, and I may insist that you pay it back within a certain amount of time, or I will be forced to contact the police or the tax office...particularly as you never declared that money as part of your income...."
"You manipulative..." he began in a menacing voice, glaring at her angrily, but Joseph turned to protect her.
"Do you really want to finish that sentence?" he growled, fully prepared to stand up and deck him, but Clarisse's hand suddenly gripped his arm tightly- she must have suspected that, due to all the animosity between them, he would do something if provoked.
"So, you're blackmailing Laura and I?" Mabrey asked after a moment, calming down somewhat. "We have to give up our dreams to save your reputation... and your marriage?" he almost spat the last two words out.
"We are not blackmailing you," Clarisse said calmly as Joseph stayed silent- he didn't trust himself around Viscount Mabrey, and he had almost lashed out then. "This is the right thing to do, for all involved- yes, save our marriage and reputations, but also prevent you from an expensive court case... or even jail," she finished meaningfully, giving him a sharp look, before turning back to Laura again.
"Thank you for informing us of your decision, Laura- we both appreciate it.... now, if you'll excuse us, Joseph and I have to be going," she nudged Joseph in the ribs, and they stood up together, although Joseph was still glaring at Mabrey.
0
Joseph was silent as they left the restaurant, and helped her into the car, and she looked worriedly at him as the car pulled away- they were planning on seeing Mia before heading home. Maybe she shouldn't have been in total control of that meeting, but she could tell that Mabrey had stirred her husband up to the point where he wouldn't have minded knocking the man out. He may have been justified in that, but she hadn't wanted things to spiral more out of control than they had seemed to be in the restaurant.... But maybe he had wanted to say something to Laura...
"I'm sorry, darling," she began quietly, looking at him with concern in her eyes. "I didn't mean to take over, but...." Before she could say anymore, Joseph smoothly unbuckled his seatbelt and slid over to wrap his arms around her.
"No, I'm glad you took over," he murmured into her hair."If you hadn't, I probably would have decked him..."
"So I thought."
"But you knew what to do and say...."
"I've dealt with a lot of difficult people like him before, so this was easy.... and yes, Mia helped me with some of that information, but I'm fairly sure he will leave us alone from now on....He now realizes I'm still not the pushover he used to think I was!"
"Remind me never to get into your bad books," he teased before leaning over and kissing her cheek gently. "You were rather scary!"
"Thank you dear," Clarisse smiled at him. "But don't worry, I'm rather lenient on those I love...."
0
Mia was very impressed when she heard about Clarisse's second confrontation, and said as much, much to Clarisse's embarrassment.
"I could interpret your enthusiasm as assuming that just because I'm happily married, I've turned soft," Clarisse pouted slightly, pretending to look insulted, but Mia saw through the pretence.
"No, we'd never think that, dearest grandmother... you were apparently a tough lady in your time, and I have witnessed it once...."
"Oh yes, in San Francisco with that ridiculous beach party...."
"Don't forget the time she blew up at you for falling into the fountain with Nicholas," Joseph added with a grin, and Clarisse rolled her eyes at him as Mia laughed.
"That's right, I forgot about that... but, at the time, I think she was justified in telling me off....But I wish I had been there to see you tell Viscount Mabrey off."
"Mia... he is technically related to you," Clarisse said uncomfortably- while she was being praised for her tough stance against Mabrey, she was also rather ashamed of it. "But I'm not proud of what I did- I had to do what was necessary to protect my family, but... unlike how the press sometimes portrays me, I don't like taking pleasure in other people's pain.... but I do think that the whole situation will be laid to rest... Viscount Mabrey cannot be quoted in Laura's book, and thus Laura's book has collapsed... But.... all that matters is that my family is safe."
"Remind me never to get on Grandma's bad side," Mia whispered loudly to Joseph, and Clarisse only rolled her eyes before laughing along with the other two. She was just relieved that it was all over.....