Clarisse and Joseph stood in the hallway outside the ballroom, waiting to make their grand entrance. Joseph was mildly apprehensive to be on display in a way he wasn't accustomed to, but Clarisse straightened his tie and assured him that everything would be fine. "Everyone will be looking at me, anyway," she quipped, with a graceful shrug.

He chuckled. "That's probably true. You look beautiful as always."

"No doubt some of the fashion magazines will criticize me for not wearing a new gown on my wedding day." She was dressed just as she had been for Mia's twenty-first birthday ball. "But I couldn't care less."

"Good. They're not worth your concern."

"I'm used to it."

"Will they criticize my suit, do you think?" he wondered.

"I doubt it. You look very handsome, Joseph."

"Thank you, my dear."

Charlotte approached from the other end of the hall. "They'll have a double door entrance," she instructed the footmen.

Clarisse leaned in and kissed Joseph's cheek. "You'll be fine, my darling," she whispered.

"I think I will, after such a delightful pep talk."

They were both smiling brightly when the doors opened and the Queen entered the room on her husband's arm. The gathered crowd applauded and Mia proposed a toast to the bride and groom, just as her grandmother had planned to do for her, had she been the one to get married that afternoon. The guests lifted their glasses and the music began. Some sat down with their champagne and others abandoned half-empty flutes in favor of dancing. Clarisse and Joseph belonged to the latter group. A few of the guests considered it the height of rudeness that the Queen danced almost every dance with her husband, but most were simply full of chatter. Some had been hoping for a royal scandal, but even their imaginations couldn't quite turn this unusual marriage into something unseemly. The worst criticism was the simple snobbery of those who considered the marriage unequal and were shocked that the Queen had married an employee of the royal family. However, anyone with eyes could see how much the newly married couple cared for any of this: not one bit.

"Now, my love, I have quite a few questions for you," Joseph was saying to Clarisse as they waltzed later.

"Do you?"

"No doubt you thought you would make me forget all about everything else with your dazzling proposal, but I'm afraid that isn't the case."

She sobered. "Have I upset you?"

"Not today, but recently. Now don't look so worried, my dear. I'm not going to scold you. I'm just curious how things changed."

"Because you want to make sure you did the right thing when you married me?"

"No, I already know I did. But I'd like to understand you."

"I'm sorry that I did hurt you."

"Thank you. I know it wasn't easy for you, either."

"I'm glad you accepted my proposal, Joseph. I'm not sure what I would have done if you'd said no."

He laughed. "There was never any chance of that. I didn't care why you'd changed your mind. I wanted to marry you right away and ask questions later. I know we're going to be very happy, Clarisse. There's nothing you could possibly do or say to change that."

"Not if I were unkind or unfaithful?"

"I said 'nothing you could possibly do.' I don't think you are capable of those things."

She blushed. "I hope you're right. Well, I know you're right about the second, but I'm not sure if I'm always kind."

"You haven't always said what I wanted to hear, and at times you've been harsh with people you love, but that's not the same as being unkind."

"Well, I don't know what to say. Suppose you ask one of your questions?"

"Very well. Why did you say no?"

"I thought it was my duty to stand by Mia."

"And you didn't think you could do that while being married to me?"

Clarisse was silent for a while.

"Have I stumped you?" Joseph teased.

"I'm not quite sure. That's how it always was before. Duty or love. I couldn't have both."

"But now you can?"

She smiled. "Yes, I can. I ought to have seen it before. You'd never ask me to be anyone but myself."

"Because yourself is the woman I love. Duty and all. And you know how dear Mia is to me."

"Of course." She paused. "Oh, Joseph, can you believe it's finally happened?"

"Almost."

"Almost?"

"I'll truly believe it when I've put on my pajamas and we're sharing a glass of wine tonight in your rooms."

"Maybe a dance on the balcony?" she suggested.

He nodded. "And the best part?"

"What's the best part?" she breathed.

"That's when I kiss you good night, but I don't have to leave you."

"Just the first part of that will be divine."

"I've been waiting years for it."

"When will this party be over?" Clarisse asked.

"It seems to be winding down." At least half of the guests had left. "You're the Queen. You can declare the party complete, can't you?"

She laughed, looking around the room. "Mia!" she called out when she found who she was looking for.

A smiling Mia appeared at her side. "What is it, Grandma?"

"Mia, do you think you can preside over the rest of the party on your own? I'm ready to leave, but not all the guests are."

The young woman shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not. But can't you just wave your hand and make them all go home? You're the Queen, after all."

Joseph laughed, but Clarisse was not amused. "Mia! That is not what it means to be Queen!"

"Relax, Grandma, I'm kidding. Yes, I'll be fine. You and Joe just slip out and be on your way."

"Just leave, without saying goodbye to anyone?" Clarisse was doubtful.

"I do it all the time," Joseph put in.

"Yes, but our guests…"

"Will be fine without you," Mia assured her.

"We entered your way, Your Majesty," Joseph told her. "We will depart my way."

She smiled. "Very well. Just tell me what to do."

"You'll go out through that door." He pointed. "And I'll go out through a different one. We will meet in the library."

"Perhaps I should bid Prime Minister Motaz good night," Clarisse suggested.

"No, you should not," Mia replied.

"Thank you, Princess."

Clarisse raised her hands in surrender. "All right, all right. I'll see you in the library."

The three of them nodded together and went their separate ways.

#####

Clarisse and Joseph hurried in the dark from the library to the Queen's suite, dodging maids, footmen, and various other denizens of the palace. When at last they were safely shut away from the rest of the world, they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, backs against the door, and laughed.

"I can't remember the last time I sneaked through the palace like that!" Clarisse remarked, gasping for breath.

"I can't believe you've ever sneaked through the palace. You're not very good at it," he teased.

She pursed her lips. "Not everyone sneaks around for a living."

"True. I do have more practice. But once we'd stopped so you could take off your shoes, you really should have kept up with me."

She didn't argue, just laughed again.

Joseph turned to face her and she followed suit. "You've gotten shorter," he observed.

"The shoes," she reminded him, letting them drop to the floor with a clatter

"I don't suppose I've spent much time around you in your stockinged feet," he murmured.

"Slippered feet sometimes."

"Yes," he agreed. "In the kitchen at midnight. But I never noticed."

"Maybe because you weren't standing quite so close to me," Clarisse murmured, reaching up to touch his face.

"That must be it." Joseph placed his hand on her shoulder, then smoothed it up the side of her neck and into her hair. He paused only a second before kissing her fiercely. She was not surprised, but she stumbled a bit and grasped at his lapels to steady herself. He wrapped his free arm around her waist.

"Joseph," she sighed.

"Mmhmm?"

"Didn't you say you wanted a glass of wine?"

"When did I say that?"

"Don't you remember? The best part of the night? Pajamas and a glass of wine? Dancing on the balcony?"

"That is what I said."

"Yes."

"But I couldn't really tell you what the best part of this evening will be. Not right there in the ballroom."

Clarisse tilted her head to one side and raised her eyebrows.

"The best part of tonight will be figuring out how this complicated little dress of yours comes off."

"Don't you have more questions to ask me?" she asked innocently.

"Later."

"As you wish, but I'm afraid you might be disappointed," she said pertly.

He kissed the side of her neck. "Impossible."

She turned her head so she could whisper in his ear. "I'm sorry to tell you that this little dress isn't nearly as complicated as it looks."

Joseph grinned. "Well, isn't that a shame."

Clarisse pushed away from him and walked into the middle of the room. She detached the train of her dress from her right hand, removed her glove, and dropped it on the sofa, before continuing to her bedroom. She had started to tug at the fingers of her other glove when her husband caught up to her. He removed the second glove, tossed it on the floor, and pulled her the rest of the way into the bedroom.

To be continued…

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