Author's note: Happy 2016! What better way to start it off than with (for once) a nice chapter? Thank you, everyone, for your support with this story so far. There's more to come but I am always so grateful for your time and feedback.

"Beautiful, Your Majesty," he bowed.

She smiled gracefully at his reflection in the mirror and began to pull on her evening gloves, "Thank you Joseph. I would say the same about you but you need to fix your bow tie."

He laughed and came to stand beside her at the mirror, his fingers nimbly sorting the tie out.

"You really do hate it, don't you, wearing formal attire?"

"Yes," he nodded, examining the perfect bow at his neck, "But I am used to it now."

"Well," she turned to him, "You look very handsome, I think, personally. And I am under the impression that my opinion is quite important in that regard."

"Such inflated sense of self," he teased, "But thank you."

"What time are we looking at?"

He checked his watch, "It's 7.10."

"So we have time for a quick champagne?"

Her smile was terribly inviting, she knew. She could see it in his eyes.

He cocked an eye brow at her, "Now isn't that irresponsible? But I took the liberty of organising a bottle anyway. One of the staff should be here with it in no time."

She smiled at him and reached out to touch his cheek, loving the feeling of intimacy that it brought around.

"No matter what she chooses tonight," he said softly, "You've done all that you could do."

She felt a little despondent then, "I do know that. I do. Why do you still have such faith?"

He took her hand and led her towards the sitting area in the middle of the suite.

"Because I believe in her."

"Are you suggesting I don't?"

She didn't mean to sound sharp but she realised she had as she arranged her skirts around herself.

"Sorry," she shook her head, "I didn't mean to sound so rude."

"An unusual slip," he touched her knee and she was impressed he could find it under the voluminous material, "Listen, you have to have faith."

She shook her head and resisted a smile, "You're so truly irritating."

"Thank you," he laughed, "My faith irritates you?"

"It amazes me," she said quietly and seriously, not looking up as the maid arrived with the champagne and set it down on the table, "Such genuine-"

"Your champagne ma'am," the maid interrupted.

"Yes, thank you."

"Shall I pour?"

Clarisse, annoyed by the intrusion, felt herself lose her typically endless patience with the staff.

She lifted her head and barked impatiently;

"No, that's quite alright-"

But it faded when she recognised that the girl was not a maid at all.

"Hi mama," Anna grinned, starting to pour, "I see you haven't lost any of your patience."

Joseph laughed as Clarisse turned to him, her incredulity clear.

"Your face!" He laughed.

"You organised this?" She asked loudly, her hand darting out to slap his chest.

"Yes," Anna came round and leaned down to hug her.

Clarisse held her, delight and comfort washing over her. She smiled over Anna's shoulder at Joseph, who was obviously deriving great pleasure from the exchange. She knew she should worry about her daughter and how she got here but she couldn't bring herself to panic. He wouldn't have let this happen if he wasn't sure it was perfectly alright.

And that kind of faith wasn't hard to have when he was around.

"So, this is where you disappeared to today?"

"Indeed, Clarisse," he was suddenly a little more formal, setting back in his chair.

She admired his stoicism in the face of their daughter. They were still reserved – still guilty – despite how hard they had worked to diminish those feelings. Joseph was as old-fashioned as she in that respect; that public affection, which once was impossible because of necessity, was now unlikely because he was afraid or ruining it…and admittedly, so was she.

"I missed you both, so much."

Anna settled on the seat across from them, pulling the slit of her dress modestly across her knee.

"So how are you both?"

"We're well," Clarisse answered.

"But tired?"

"Yes," Clarisse laughed, "Very."

"Mama, it will work out how it's supposed to. It will."

Clarisse smiled at her daughter's inherited faith and nodded, "I do hope so."

"I'm looking very forward to meeting her," Anna motioned to Joseph, "Papa tells me she's wonderful."

She eyed Joseph and he offered her an encouraging smile.

Anna called him papa now. She hadn't noticed it before but it made her feel a twinge of sadness that it would never go further than the three of them.

"Yes, she is. But we can discuss Amelia later. You, what about you Anna?"

She examined her daughter; her relaxed face and unforced smile. Despite the horror of it, Anna's decision had been very much the right one. Clarisse didn't need to ask to know that her daughter felt as if her life had suddenly been justified and made right.

"I have news!"

"Oh?" Joseph sat up.

"That's why I brought three champagne bowls," she smiled, "I got into school."

Clarisse felt the delight of every mother at her daughter's achievements but it was compounded by Joseph's joy. He leaned across the coffee table and took his daughter's hand in his own. Clarisse felt a lump of emotion gather in her throat momentarily at his pleasure, his genuine excitement. It had been so long since he'd been like this, unperturbed by worries or misery or problems, that she wanted so badly for that happiness only to grow.

"Anna! Anna I'm so proud," he smiled, "I am just…"

"I have screwed my head on," she vowed, almost embarrassed by his enthusiasm, "And I will work so hard."

Clarisse smiled, "We know you will, of course you will. I am very proud of you. I believe I speak for both of us when I say we were incredibly proud of you already."

She was blushing remarkably, her face glowing, and she smiled sheepishly and took a huge gulp from her champagne bowl.

-0-

Anna had never attended a party where she was not so high on the guest list people bowed to her. It was truly a relief, and just a little odd, to be on the other side of it. Now she was simply Lady Anna Renaldi who happened to be at the party and eating canapés and trying to find people to speak to who weren't old dukes or duchesses. She still had Leon, her security detail, who'd be with her for the rest of her life because of who her mother was, but even at that it was so much more liberating to walk about a ballroom and not have people bowing to you.

Her mother was fielding press frantically, running her hands over her hair every few moments (which was a sure sign of distress) and her father had taken off to try and find her niece.

It seemed Phillippe's daughter was as spirited as her father.

"You're Anna, right?"

A girl, with short hair and a black dress in which she looked rather awkward, thrust out a nail-polished hand. For a moment Anna recoiled – she wasn't used to people trying to shake her hand – but she realised she had no good reason to reject her.

"I am, yes."

"Lily, Lily Moscowitz," the girl said nervily, "I'm Mia's best friend. I don't know where she is. Do you know anything? Her mom's frantic. I don't know what to say."

Anna felt a little bombarded, canapé still wedged between cheek and gum, "I don't. Where's her mother though? I should like to offer any comfort I can."

Lily motioned with her head to a small, and obviously out of place group, huddled in the corner. One boy had a shock of vibrant almost-pink hair and the other two were obviously older.

"Helen?"

"Hmmm," the woman said from behind a shaking hand.

"I'm Anna, I'm Phillippe's sister."

"Oh! Oh! I am so sorry Princess A-"

"It's Lady Anna, and anyway, that doesn't matter. I am sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner. I always wanted to meet you."

"It's okay," Helen's eyes darted around the overflowing ballroom, "It's just that my daughter had said you would be staying in Europe. It was Lily who said she knew you from the internet. Phillippe always spoke about you."

Anna looked at her neice's purported best friend and raised a brow. The girl simply smiled.

"Joseph, my mother's Head of Security-"

"I know who he is," Helen interrupted, not rudely.

"You do?" Anna smiled, "Well he's gone after her. If there is anyone you can trust to bring her back, it's Joe."

Helen nodded, attempting to feign her encouraged belief, but it just seemed pathetic. She stood with them a while longer, learning that Lily was quite involved in Green Peace (so was Mia when she wasn't AWOL) and that Mia would be a great queen if she'd only stop 'barfing' when she was public speaking.

For the first time in her life, with a sardonic smile, Anna felt old.

-0-

It was always going to go this way, he'd believed, but he hadn't imagined Mia's performance and acceptance speech would be quite as spectacular as it was.

"Listen," he turned to Charlotte, "Let Clarisse field the press, stay with her and get Lady Anna to her side, I'll make sure Mia is ready to go."

Within forty minutes Amelia looked every inch the Crown Princess, in a beautiful white ball gown, that she was, and Clarisse had smoothly answered the immediate questions of the world's press, Anna standing dutifully by. All in all, he was rather pleased with the smoothness of it all. They were only running an hour and a half behind schedule too, which was a success of epic proportions.

He touched Clarisse gently on the arm as she left the press cordon and came into the quiet of the hall between the ballroom and dining room. Now they would enter the ballroom to begin the dancing.

"Stop for a moment."

She didn't even dare to disagree as she fell into the chair and bent down to slip her fingers into her shoe and press the muscles. He watched her for a moment, a laugh lingering at her antics.

"Sore feet?"

She nodded but when she lifted her head there were tears glimmering in her eyes.

"Hey," he fell onto his knees beside her chair, ignoring the pain of an old knee, "Hey, it's alright."

"Oh I feel so silly," she shook her head, "But it is such a reli…"

A little sob gurgled from her throat.

"A relief," he took her shoulders in his hands, "I know. That is alright. You are allowed a moment darling, you really are."

"Oh! So many moments of tears," she shook her head and took the handkerchief he volunteered.

She dabbed the cotton against her cheeks then turned her face either way, "How do I look?"

"Flawless," he whispered, more genuine than he imagined he could be, "Beautiful."

She smiled bashfully then took his offered his hand and stood.

"Tonight, you'll have to massage my feet. Whoever thought these shoes were a good idea may well find themselves facing charges of treason."

He laughed and kissed her hand in the privacy of the corridor. She was so radiant, so truly beautiful, that he felt himself without words.

"A few dances," she nudged him, "Then we can retire?"

"Yes," he nodded to the ante chamber of the ballroom, "Mia's in there. I was going to go and grab Anna, so they could meet quickly before the dancing started. But I thought you might want to have a moment with Mia."

She smiled and nodded, "Thank you. You make everything so much easier."

"That's my job."

His typical defence, his normal modesty, came to the fore.

She stopped him for a moment and touched her lips to his, "No, it's not. It never has been. You do it because you love me. Don't ever think I don't understand that."

He bowed then and turned from her.

-0-

Clarisse thought her granddaughter looked truly breath-taking.

"I'm nervous," Mia whispered, running a gloved hand over her voluminous tulle skirt.

"You have no reason," Clarisse touched her shoulder softly, "You were wonderful out there tonight Amelia. Far better than I could have managed at fifteen."

The girl's smile was hopeful, "Really?"

"Really," she vowed, "I promise you."

"Thanks Grandma."

"You are welcome," Clarisse nodded, "There is someone I would like you to meet."

"It's not another hairdresser, is it?"

Clarisse laughed, "No. Someone far more important to me than another Paolo. My daughter, your aunt, arrived on a surprise trip this evening."

Mia's smile was dazzling, "No way! Really? Shut up."

Clarisse winced.

"Oh, sorry," Amelia apologised, "I just-"

"That's quite alright," she touched her hand lightly, "I understand your excitement."

Mia nodded enthusiastically, "Definitely."

The door opened just as Clarisse was going to ask her how she was feeling now but she didn't have time. The two young women embraced heartily, as if old friends, and she took a moment to wonder, to feel humbled by, the circular nature of it all.

Perhaps she was meant to have felt the pain of this as fully as it was supposed to be felt, as acutely as it was supposed to have been experienced.

Standing there, watching the patchwork of family that had come from the left-side of most of her decisions, she felt another wedge of guilt dislodge, extricate itself from her.

She looked over their heads and saw it in his eyes too.