A/N: Mia learns some more truths. Thank you for the reviews.

"Grandma?"

"What is it, Amelia?" Clarisse asked as she continued to stare out the French doors of her suite. The gardens from this view had always been her favorite, but now all she could see were the gardens of her home in Spain, the home she had shared with Joseph.

"Why did you and Joe go wherever it was you went?"

"We went to Spain, Amelia."

"Alright. Why did you go to Spain?"

"To try and learn what happened to our…daughter." Clarisse's voice was so low it was barely audible in the stillness of the room.

Mia lifted her hand to her chin and physically forced her mouth to close. "Grandma?"

"I'm sorry to be so blunt."

"Just explain a little more." Mia was still in shock.

"You've already guessed that Joseph was my angel. He was also my personal guard. He had been the King's, but when King Edmund saw how Rupert treated me, he assigned Joseph to me instead." Clarisse stopped to gather her thoughts. "Our friendship grew out of his care, and our love grew out of his gentleness."

"Grandma." Mia touched Clarisse's shoulder, interrupting her explanation for a moment.

"Yes?"

"Here." She handed Clarisse the locked diary. "I didn't go snooping around trying to find another diary. I just happened to find this in the small library in the unused wing of the palace. I wanted to see what it was like over there. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Mia." Clarisse took the book, caressing its worn leather binding. "So many truths, all your answers." Handing the diary back to Mia, she reached up around her neck and unclasped the necklace hidden beneath the collar of her blouse.

Mia was surprised, she'd never noticed her grandmother wearing a necklace like this before. "I never noticed that necklace before."

"I keep it hidden." Clarisse told her as she held out her hand. "Here, it opens the lock."

Mia stared at the necklace in her hand. It was just a simple gold chain with a charm. Holding it closer, she realized that the charm was in the shape of hand holding a heart in its palm. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Oh Grandma," she whispered after figuring out who had given the necklace to Clarisse.

Clarisse turned back to stare out the window, the sight of Mia's tears too much for her already shaky control. "He gave it to me a few weeks after Philippe was born. He wanted me to know that he would always be there for me, to take care of me. I've never been without it since that night."

"How old is she?" Mia whispered as she continued to stare at the object in her hand.

"Who?"

"Your daughter." Her words brought Clarisse back to the original subject of the conversation.

"Oh." Clarisse sighed. "She's twenty three."

Mia looked up at her grandmother. "Twenty three? That means,"

"That means that she was two when you were born." Clarisse ran a shaky hand through her hair. "When Rupert died, I felt nothing but relief. My tormentor was gone, I was free. Out of duty to my country, I had to act like I was grieving. During the week following his death, Pierre somehow stumbled on the truth about his father. Being the loyal son that he was, he went straight to Philippe and told him all about his precious mum's lies. By the time he was finished, he had completely turned Philippe against me." She covered her mouth to stop the sob that tried to escape. Calming herself, she continued.

"I came back from a meeting with Parliament to find my sons waiting in my office. They started throwing accusations at me the minute I closed the door. I tried to tell them the truth, to make them understand, but Pierre would have none of it, neither would Philippe. When Joseph came to my office several hours later, he found me huddled against the window crying. Once again my angel took care of me. He managed to get me back to my suite without anyone noticing. I was so out of it, that I didn't realize until I woke up in the middle of the night, that he had put me to bed."

"Grandma, stop. Please, this is hurting you." Mia begged as she moved behind Clarisse and wrapped her arms around her.

Clarisse rested her hands over Mia's. "It's alright, Love. You need to know the truth." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as that night came back to her. "I hurt so badly. My beloved Philippe, the only son that I had been allowed to have some contact with as he was growing up, had now turned against me just like his brother always had been. That on top of having to portray the grieving widow – it was just too much. I felt like I was going to go mad, the pain was so great. I didn't even know what I was doing until I found myself standing beside Joseph's bed." She paused and turned to look at Mia. "Understand, Amelia. Joseph didn't take advantage of my emotional state. I went to him. It was I that begged him to make it all go away, and it was I that took advantage. Joseph refused over and over, but finally gave in when I started crying. That night was the first time Joseph and I were together, and the night that our babies were conceived."

"Babies?" Mia felt like her head was spinning.

"Yes." Clarisse nodded. "Our daughter had a twin brother who was stillborn." A tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of Joey. "We named him Joseph H. the second, but called him Joey when talking about him, or to him at his grave."

"That's why." Mia whispered as she remembered her first limo ride with Joe in San Francisco.

"That's why, what, Amelia?"

"I called Joe, Joey, during our first limo ride in San Francisco. He told me, "No, Joe." I just thought it was because he didn't like the name, now I know the real reason. That must have hurt him." Mia felt her tears returning. "Oh Grandma, I'm so sorry. Can I ask how you and Dad worked things out?"

"We didn't work things out, Mia. Your father still hated me, but for the sake of his country, he tolerated me."

"I wish I could have met him. Maybe…maybe I could have helped him like,"

Clarisse's hand caressed over Mia's soft hair. "Like you helped me?" She smiled through her tears. "Maybe you could have, my darling, but even if you couldn't, having you around would have brightened those years for me."

Mia wrapped her arms around Clarisse. "I love you, Grandma, and I will make this better."

"Shh, don't worry about it now. It's late and you need your rest." Clarisse kissed Mia's head.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, Darling?"

"Come stay with me?"

"I would like that very much." Clarisse hugged Mia tighter to her, thankful for the young woman. She hadn't wanted to be alone in the bed she'd shared with Joe.