Chapter 7 – The prodigal son
´Do you like being in charge Mr Teballi?´
The acting head of security wondered whether Viscountess Margoli was making conversation or whether she was mocking him.
´I'm not really in charge madam. Only until the chief returns.´
The Viscountess smirked. ´The physical recovery of the chief may take several weeks alone.´
Teballi shook his head. ´He won't stay away for long.´
As if she had not heard his reply the Viscountess mused: ´And I suppose it's up to Her Majesty to decide if and when he may return.´
Charlotte entered the meeting room.
´Of course he will return,´ she said, not doubting the identity of he.
´Does our Queen confide in you Miss Kutaway?´ the noblewoman asked.
´I am not aware of Her Majesty planning to fire Mr Romero,´ Charlotte replied in a tone that was meant to silence the lady-in-waiting.
´It might be a wise thing though. With that horrible woman having found out that he left the country and the article she wrote about it… She just wants to get back at Valmont of course. Still - ´
´I suggest we start our meeting,´ Charlotte said.
OoOoOoO
´As if she's your boss!´ Stephanie baroness d'Artagnan cried out when Caroline Viscountess Margoli had repeated what Miss Kutaway had said.
´Exactly! That little upstart isn't going to shut me up,´ Caroline replied. She took a sip of her sherry.
´What is all this about Romero?´ Stephanie quickly inquired. ´Elsie P suggests that the Queen sent him away to stop the gossip.´
´For all the good that did. Penworthy is mistaken though. The Queen allowed Romero to have a holiday because he was unfit to work. A maid caught him crying in the gardens! He must have hurt his head pretty badly. His man-servant said -´
´He has a man-servant?´
´To help him dress. Other people have to manage all by themselves when they break an arm. It was considerate of Her Majesty to assign him a helper.´
The lady-in-waiting's words were more or less neutral but her expression wasn't.
´She did that did she?´ Stephanie said with glee. ´I wonder why…´
´They are friends.´
Stephanie picked up the newspaper with Elsie Penworthy's article and studied Joe Romero's picture.
´He is… attractive. In a way.´
Caroline made a throatily sound. ´Half the women at the castle want to date him.´
´Does she?´
´They are friends.´
Stephanie threw the paper to her friend. ´It's just the two of us!´
´Would you have married a commoner?´
´I'm not thinking about marriage Caroline.´
The Viscountess giggled. ´Who would have thought the Queen to become the centre of a romantic gossip again?´
´I always thought that she was an Ice Queen but she is a fine looking woman…´
´She aged well and she is gracious. Still, her having a lover -´
´Is that what the gossip at the castle is about?´ Stephanie said. She applauded herself for her casual tone of voice.
´Some people think that there's no smoke without a fire.´
´How ignorant those servants are!´
´Indeed! Of course I investigated it. And who better to question than - ´
´Miss Kutaway?´
´Good Lord! She may fancy herself important, but she doesn't see the royal sheets or the love marks on Her Majesty's body, does she?´
´Caroline!´ Stephanie shrieked in delight.
The Viscountess smirked. ´Unlike Missy K the dress-maids know everything.´
Stephanie leaned toward her friend.
´I questioned them without them being aware of it of course. Now rest assured: there is nothing going on between our Queen and Romero. And that is the way it should be.´
´Absolutely,´ the disappointed baroness replied. She had no delightful information to share with Arthur Mabrey but she hoped the nobleman would appreciate her efforts.
OoOoOoO
´Do you know what this means?´ Joseph asked his sister-in-law. He gestured toward a picture of himself in the local newspaper. The photo showed him talking to some of his acquaintance on the village square. Sofia reasoned that Joseph referred to the subscript which mentioned that the Genovian Queen had denied having married him. She was not sure what sort of an answer her brother-in-law expected her to give, but Joseph didn't require her to reply.
´Our town can't boast to have famous citizen, so someone like me will have to do,´ Joseph said with a twinkle in his eye.
´You're the bodyguard of a head of state!´ Sofia exclaimed. ´Most men envy you!´
Joseph shrugged but Sofia sensed that he was pleased by her defending his stature and she continued: ´Remember four years ago when you went to your old high-school for the job fair? Your classroom was always loaded with children and you had to give two extra performances.´
Sofia's phrasing made Joseph laugh.
´How many of those teenagers do you think chose a career like mine? I doubt there's even one.´
´You weren't a head of security at age twenty either.´
Joseph smiled and inclined his head in agreement.
´So you remember talking to those children?´
´Yes I do.´
Sofia hesitated. Before his arrival Joseph had mentioned in a call that he was emotional now and then but neither Sofia nor her husband Miguel had been prepared to see him cry when he entered their house. His obvious embarrassment at his "weak" behaviour had made his family decide not to mention the accident and not to tease him about the gossip. Right now Joseph looked relaxed and his expression seemed to invite Sofia to talk about his illness.
´What's still missing?´ Sofia tentatively asked.
´Eight, nine months.´
´That long?!´
´It was a little inconvenient when it came to interacting with colleagues, but at least I didn't lose touch with the requirements of my job.´
Sofia picked up on his first remark: ´But most colleagues have worked at the castle for years, haven't they? So -´
´True,´ Joseph interrupted, ´But during the first days after the accident…´
´Your memory needed to reboot?´
´Ha! Where did you learn that phrase? I thought you hated computers?´
´My children don't.´
Joseph returned Sofia's smile but she could tell that he forced himself to.
´I didn't even know my own name,´ Joseph confessed. He swallowed hard.
A startled Sofia wanted to hug him but she thought the better of it.
´And you let the chance to style yourself Juan Alberto Enrique Pablo d'Parma go?´
After a moment Joseph laughed.
´I never thought of it. And I wouldn't have had much time to find myself a name. Charlotte Kutaway came to see me not long after I'd arrived in the hospital and she called me Joe. She brought me a letter that said Joseph and that seemed fitting too.´
Sofia smiled in reply. ´Coffee?´
´Coffee Romero... No, that's just not right.´
Sofia grinned. She rose to walk to the sink and in passing Joseph she briefly put her hand on his shoulder.
Joseph picked up the paper again.
´It's Thursday today,´ he discovered, ´I thought it was Wednesday.´
´I lose track of time too when I'm on holiday.´
The door of the refrigerator closed with a thud.
´That letter!´ Sofia exclaimed. Joseph turned to face her.
´Was that the letter from - ´
Ashamed at how eager she sounded Sofia stopped talking.
´Yes,´ Joseph said. He folded the paper. ´It said that she was glad that I wasn't injured badly.´
´That's nice.´
Sofia poured coffee and thought of something more to say. She settled for: ´Her being so busy, it's really kind that she took the time to write you a note.´
´Yes. And right after she heard about my accident she told Charlotte to bring me clothes. And Charlotte is her personal secretary. She could have sent anyone.´
´Well, you are friends, right? You and the Queen?´
´Friends. Yes.´
Not in my too vivid dreams though, Joseph thought.
´Here you are,´ Sofia said as she placed Joseph's cup in front of him, ´I didn't believe, we didn't believe that gossip Joseph. You know that don't you?´
Joseph didn't eye Sofia but he nodded and said: ´I wish the people in Genovia would not have taken it seriously either. I'm sure the aftermath upset Her Majesty.´
´It didn't get you in trouble, did it? She won't sent you- ´
´No. You want me to go with you to buy dog food? Those bags are very heavy.´
´With your arm?´
Joseph looked down and saw his sling. Angry with himself he tried a sip of his scolding hot coffee. ´Caramba!´
OoOoOoO
When the topics of her meeting with the Prime Minister had been ticked off, the Queen inquired after Mr Motaz's weekend. His tale about his attempt to go surfing made her smile.
´I almost forgot ma'am but will the head of security be able to accompany you on your state visit to the Netherlands?´
´That is in five weeks from now. I contacted Joseph yesterday and he said he felt much better already.´
´I'm glad to hear that. The acting head of security is doing a fine job I believe?´
´He does.´
´Good. Good.´ The Prime Minister cleared his throat. ´Perhaps it would be an idea to let him get some experience in being in charge of security during a state visit?´
´Perhaps it would be an idea to let my life be entirely ruled by gossip?´
The Prime Minister blushed but he didn't wave a white flag just yet. ´With the Luna affair it was clear that the gossip was ill-based.´
´Excuse me?!`
´Had general Coligny been head of your military house instead of Queen Beatrix's than things would have stood differently. Surely you can see that ma'am?´
´Don't patronize me Mr Motaz.´
The Queen glared at her Prime Minister. He looked away.
´I realise,´ the Queen said, ´that on the first day Joseph will work as my bodyguard again, I will have to face a small army of photographers. It will not be pleasant. I'll get over it.´
´Yes Your Majesty.´
OoOoOoO
The restaurant at half an hour's drive from their village was famous in the entire region and the Romero family enjoyed the chef's dishes. They celebrated the birthday of Joseph's youngest brother Federico and the family was complete except for Miguel's infant granddaughter.
The conversations going on were merry but Joseph's mind drifted off to Pyrus until Sofia nudged him.
´Relax, you're on holiday,´ she softly said.
´I know.´
Sofia smiled. ´You touched your ear in search for your ear-plug.´
´Ah.´
Joseph glanced at the rest of the party, but no one seemed to have noticed his behaviour. He told himself to focus on the here and now.
´- only through e-mail and he thinks he has a relationship with her,´ Federico's daughter Christina said.
´What if she is like Cyrano?´ her cousin Magdalena asked.
´Cyrano?´
´From the play. The man with the nose who wrote such beautiful love letters?´
´Oh him! Isn't that a musical? Anyway I doubt my colleague's so called girlfriend is much of a writer. I pity him for living in a fantasy world.´
´You shouldn't,´ Magdalena said. ´He may be perfectly happy.´
´He may count himself a king of infinite space,´ Joseph contributed. Magdalena raised her glass at him.
´And let us hope his dreams are not bad,´ she added.
´Ow you two. Was that a quote from a film or so? Do you still visit that art-house in Pyrus often uncle Joseph?´
Addressing her husband Christina added: ´Uncle Joseph likes Kung Fu films Ernesto.´
Joseph engaged himself in a conversation with his brother's son-in-law. His niece Fabiola joined them and they spoke about films and basketball and various other subjects. When Fabiola readjusted her shawl and simultaneously a waiter stepped on a cracking floor-board and Joseph took a sip of wine, his memory was triggered.
His family pretended not to see that he turned pale and that his brow was covered in sweat. Saying that he needed some air he excused himself.
OoOoOoO
Outside the building Joseph leant against a wall but behind his back he felt the heat of a fire place. His eyes were wide open but he didn't see the English garden in front of the restaurant. He saw the sparkling longing eyes of his Queen. He saw her take a glass from his trembling hand. He didn't hear the church bells to announce what time it was. He heard Clarisse whisper his name.
Joseph shook his head to get rid of his day-dream. His triumphant memory refused to be put aside though.
Clarisse's fingers tickled his chest when she unbuttoned his shirt.
Joseph moaned. It was real! It had been real!
Joseph covered his face in his hands. He wanted to cry out from joy and he wanted to weep.
´Joseph?´ Miguel softly said.
Joseph inhaled deeply and dropped his hands.
´I'm fine,´ he said with a forced smile.
´Sure?´
Joseph nodded. Miguel thoughtfully eyed him and offered him a cigar. Joseph declined it but he didn't go inside either. Miguel smoked for as long as his big brother needed to become his poised self again.
OoOoOoO
At the end of the evening, when Federico had thanked everyone for their company and presents, Joseph said that being with his family had helped him to heal and that he was ready to return to Pyrus.