*long sigh* it is now one minute before the clock strikes midnight and I have an early morning tomorrow. Oh well, the 27th chapter of "Not Every Royal Wears A Crown" is now here! It is quite long a long chapter this time, and I hope you enjoy. Let me know with a little review! Now, stay safe and I'll see you soon :)
Sunday 22nd of August 1929
It was pure hate, burning anger inside of him at that moment. He could feel his blood boiling, his fists curling into tight balls at his sides as he tried his best to calm himself.
He couldn't believe his ears. But then again- he could almost see it, could picture that monster of a housekeeper pour something into his wife's glass and then-
He'd kill that woman- that monster, even if it was the last thing he'd do…Because no one could hurt his wife without consequences.
"Your highness?", Mabel carefully interrupted his thoughts, wishing she hadn't done wrong by telling the prince of what she knew.
Charles' gaze found hers, yet his eyes looked distant.
"I know it is a lot to take in, but I do not wish to cause anyone harm. Not if I'm wrong, your highness.", the maid spoke quietly, as if in fear someone might hear them.
Charles very much doubted she had meant her words. Not if the younger woman cared for his wife at all, which he knew she did, or at least that's what he had thought.
A short silence followed as he fell into the waves of yet another flow of thought.
Now that he knew who had done it, what would he do with the information? Tell the police? The king and queen? He just didn't know.
Should he go talk to Elsie, who had asked to be left alone? She had the right to know, of course…No, he didn't want to burden her, not now, not with this.
Charles wanted to strangle that monster, get his revenge…But he knew that wouldn't help anyone, least of all his wife. He simply didn't know what to do next.
Mabel in turn, was intently studying his face, looking for signs as of what was coming next. And yet the prince's face gave nothing away, except for the clear anger raging inside of him. And she didn't blame him, heavens no! It was a terrible thing to do to someone, to a person who had done nothing wrong. She had tried to imagine herself in the same situation, desperately trying to understand the emotions both the princess and prince must be feeling…And she had found it almost impossible. One's mind was a powerful thing, but nothing went past the ability of the heart to take over.
Upon his continuing silence, the conversation had clearly ended, Mabel noted. As she slowly turned to leave the room, one of the spare bedrooms that they had entered just mere minutes ago for more privacy, she feared she'd made a mistake in telling the prince of her knowledge…There was no end for the things one would do for family, she gulped, opening the door promptly and stepping out of the room, pulling the door closed after her just as quickly as she had opened it in the first place. The ball was in the prince's hands now, she mused, only he could play it. And she only hoped he'd play it the right way.
The main library
"Thank you, Wilson.", said the queen with a kind smile as the butler poured her a cup of fresh tea.
"We'll manage from now on, you can leave us alone.", king George said, taking a sip of his tea as he turned around to face the room from his place by the window.
"Very good, your majesty."
The butler then took his leave. Mary sat down on one of the armchairs near the fire that was blazing in the fireplace, glancing at her husband by the window.
"Is something the matter, my dear?", she gently asked.
It took her husband a moment to answer.
"Just a lot on my mind, nothing to worry you with."
"I see.", Mary sighed, taking a sip of her tea, letting the warm liquid calm her.
Maud Bagshaw, who had taken a seat a bit further from the couple, was reading a magazine, and silently listening to the exchange between the king and queen.
"Anything interesting, Bagshaw?"
The lady-in-waiting lifted her gaze from the page, meeting the one of the king's.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, your majesty. The papers are full of-", then she chose not to continue that line of thought.
Yet everyone in the room knew what she had meant.
"That brings up the question as of when we are going to do something about it?", queen Mary said firmly, looking at her husband.
"About what?"
His wife let out an exasperated sigh at his innocence, which she knew he was faking.
"For heavens' sake, don't act as if you don't know what I mean! Your sister- the Princess of Scotland, was poisoned and you act like nothing happened."
"She wasn't poisoned-"
"Well, it looks like she was.", Mary added."Are we going to let whoever it is that's behind all this to get away with what they've done?"
"And what do you propose we are to do?", the king asked, his voice louder than he had intended.
"I don't know, but we must do something, that I'm sure of."
A silence followed.
It wasn't the first time Maud had heard, or seen, the couple fight over the years but nonetheless it was an awkward business however you put it. She felt like the odd one out.
"Suppose they try it again?"
The king almost choked on his tea upon hearing his wife's words.
"What!?"
For a moment the queen lowered her gaze as if she was gathering her thoughts, before speaking up again;
"We can't take the risk that something would happen to her. Nor to him. Not again.", she repeated more calmly."Hire a detective, call the police, I don't care, only that something has to be done!"
"And where would a detective, or the police, start looking? There is no evidence, or else something would have come up already!"
"There was an attempted murder right under our eyes, there must be something!"
The library was now filled with raised voices, two agitated royals pacing the room, their teacups now long forgotten.
"And I'd rather not burden the princess with such nonsense now, she's still recovering.", said the king.
"Well, that is all very fine, but she is made of much sterner stuff than you think. She, and her husband, both have the right to know who has done this!", argued his wife.
George simply turned his back towards her, gazing out the window. His wife in turn was breathing heavy behind him, annoyed by his faked innocence...
Seeing the lack of progress, she decided to try another way of persuading her husband;
"What if I was the one lying in that bed now, barely having the energy to lift my hand? Would you do something then?"
"That is not fair!", the man shouted, his voice ringing in the otherwise quiet room.
The force of his voice had caught both his wife and her lady-in-waiting off guard; both of them now looking at him with bewildered looks on their faces.
"I- I'm sorry-", he said quietly after a few moments, ashamed of himself.
The look on the queen's face at that moment could be easily mistaken for hurt, but the truth was that she was disappointed. So very disappointed indeed.
"I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright. I'm sure you will do what you think is for the best.", his wife said coldly, turning away to take a seat on the couch where she had been sitting a few moments before.
"Now Mary-"
And then the door to the library was pushed open, silencing him before he could continue. It was Laura Woodley, the princess' lady-in-waiting.
"Am I interrupting something, your majesty?", she asked carefully, sensing the tension in the room.
"Not at all, Woodley. Do come in and have some tea, for what you've probably come here for in the first place.", came the timid reply from the queen as she absentmindedly forced a smile at the younger woman by the door.
"Of course, your majesty.", she shut the door, walking towards the table where the tea was laid.
"Let me pour you a cup-", the king suddenly offered, turning to pour Woodley her cup of tea.
"Thank you, your majesty, that is very kind."
She took the cup from the king, smiling up at him as she made her way to sit next to lady Bagshaw, who greeted her with a sympathetic smile of her own.
"Has something happened?", Laura asked Maud, her voice just a whisper as she sat down on one of the wooden chairs.
The older woman simply shook her head, and she could see the worried look on Laura's face. But undoubtedly, she knows that marriage isn't always just peaceful sailing, being a married woman herself, Maud thought to herself.
The couple continued their wordless fight; the queen giving her husband a cold shoulder as he simply looked at her with anger…Maud hated those kinds of moments, it would be much better to have them shouting and yelling at each other, rather than this…Whatever it could be called. Instead of watching them intently and realizing the situation wouldn't change in the next few minutes, Maud turned her attention back to her fellow lady-in-waiting, only to find her staring at her feet.
Surely the fight between the king and queen hadn't gotten to her- or had it?
"Everything alright?", she decided to ask; doing so very quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the other two in the room.
However, her voice had not gotten Laura's attention either and she kept her gaze fixated on her feet. There had been a lot going on these past days, and she worried for her. The princess wouldn't be much of a challenge, but everything else would really, and she couldn't blame the other woman.
Maud then gently placed her other hand on Laura's leg, pulling her out of her reverie and bringing her face up to meet hers.
"Did you say something?", came the immediate question.
Bagshaw showed her a smile at this.
"I was only asking if everything was alright? You are quite absentminded today."
"Oh that-"
"I hope you won't let their fight get the better of you. They're human too, at least that's what I've gathered.", Maud said gently.
"Oh, no it is not that. I know what it's like to be married.", Laura shook her head.
"Well, that's what I thought."
Then what was the matter?
"And to answer your question; I'm alright- I just, I've only heard something quite…Surprising…And I don't really know what to do about it."
"Can I help?", the older woman offered.
Laura hadn't known any of the people working for the royals for a long time, but she already knew her majesty's lady-in-waiting to be a very kind woman.
"I don't think so, no, but thank you.", Woodley smiled, as her mind took her back to the conversation she had had with Mabel Rutt a few moments ago."Only-"
Maud who had already moved her gaze from their conversation upon hearing Laura's reply, turned to face her again;
"Yes?"
Laura seemed hesitant. She glanced at the king and queen, as if making sure they weren't paying them any attention.
"Woodley?", Maud asked again.
"Only-", the younger woman gulped, looking back at Maud's confused face."-do you think some of the servants here could be capable of causing…the princess…harm?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's just that no one knows who put the drug into her majesty's drink, do they?", Laura continued quietly, studying the other woman's face.
"No, no one knows."
Laura was hoping she'd make the connection herself, saving her from having to say it aloud. She didn't want to have to say it. And she didn't have to wait for long; the moment the realization dawned to the older woman was written on her face. Laura could only guess she had looked much the same upon hearing of it the first time…
"Who knows?", Maud asked, her voice slightly shaky in her shocked state.
Laura shook her head;
"Only her majesty's maid, Rutt, and maybe the prince. Rutt wasn't sure if she should tell him. She told me just because she knew I was on her majesty's side, and she wasn't sure what to do-"
"Where is he now?"
"Who? The prince?", she was taken aback by the question.
Why did she want to know?
At Bagshaw's eager, encouraging nod, Laura spoke up again;
"I don't know. Probably with the princess, I'd presume…I haven't seen him since this morning, why?"
Laura didn't like the look on the other woman's face when she heard her words.
"Well…Now that I think of it more closely- I wouldn't put it past a few of the servants around here."
That alone alarmed Laura, so she made it to ask;
"So you think-?"
"I'm not sure, but I think we should make sure."
And in that the two women were in agreement.
Back in Charles and Elsie's bedroom
Elsie let out a sigh in agony, turning to lay on her back and stare at the ceiling. Her hand came to brush a loose hair from her forehead, feeling how warm her skin was under her touch. Surely the fever wasn't rising again, she frowned.
Her headache was getting worse, and her thoughts were invading her head, making it impossible to try to get any sleep. And where was Charles? He said he'd get her the powder, but the whole man had disappeared somewhere. She glanced at the clock on the mantle; he'd been gone for over half an hour now. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was angry with her…But surely, he knew that she only needed some time alone, some time to think? She sighed. She'd probably made him angry. Which was all wrong of course, she hadn't meant to be unkind. It was all just…so much…way too much for her to take in, and he made it worse, pampering her like a child.
She leaned to pull the cord next to the bed, ringing for Mabel and then she waited. Almost five minutes passed, and no one came. Odd, Elsie thought. She tried to listen to any sounds coming from the hallway; searching for Charles or Mabel's footsteps. However, she heard none.
What was going on?
The whole palace seemed to be silent. Way too silent for her liking…
Had something happened?
Elsie carefully sat up on the edge of the bed despite feeling dizzy. No one had come when she had rung, and her husband had disappeared somewhere; she decided to take it upon herself to get to the bottom of this.
Her eyes scanned the room in search of her dressing gown, soon locating it draped on her dressing table chair. Elsie scooted over to the end of the bed, taking a hold of the headboard as she slowly stood up.
Not as bad as it was before, she noted with a sigh. The room stayed steady, no spinning this time.
She pulled on her dressing gown, tying the small ribbon around her waist. Glancing at the mirror, she tucked a few loose hairs back in her braid to make herself look a bit more respectable.
Now.
Where was everyone?
Bagshaw and Woodley
"Did Rutt say who it was that put the drug in the princess' drink?", Maud asked, as she and Woodley made their way through the main hall.
The two women had made it out of the library without too many questions from the king and queen, who were still in the midst of their silent fight.
"What difference does it make now? We must find the prince-"
"Woodley-", Maud said firmly, taking a hold of the younger woman's arm in attempt to stop her.
Laura turned to look at her, reluctantly then whispering;
"Apparently it was Mrs. Webb."
"Goodness.", Bagshaw cringed."Is she sure?"
"Rutt saw the bottle in her hand. There's no question about that."
"I suppose."
"Neither of us know the prince, Bagshaw, and we don't know what he can do in an agitated state. His wife is lying in bed because of that drug…And true love does all sorts of tricks to common sense."
"That's true.", Maud nodded absentmindedly.
She knew that better than most did.
Downstairs
Charles climbed down the servants' staircase, step by step, until his feet were steadily on the stone floor at the very bottom. He had tried to be discreet, but undoubtedly the servants had already seen him wandering down here. But that wouldn't stop him. And he was the prince now, they had no good reason to stop him from doing what he wanted…His eyes searched around the hallway…And soon his eyes bore holes into what he thought must be the housekeeper's sitting room door. That monster-
"Your highness!"
Charles turned around, fury in his eyes for whoever it was that had dared to approach him. It was Mr. Wilson. How wonderful, Charles thought.
"Is there anything I can do for you, your highness?"
Charles stared at the man with a cold gaze;
"No. I don't need anything, not from you."
"Their majesties are having tea in the library, would you care to join them, your highness?"
I don't think so.
"I don't think so, no."
Tea was not what he wanted right now.
Wilson was now staring at him, confused as to why the prince was downstairs.
"I've actually come to see Mrs. Webb.", Charles stated suddenly.
Wilson looked more than shocked by this revelation. Mrs. Webb? Oh, surely not-
"Oh?", was all the butler said.
"That is correct."
The determination in the prince's voice caught the butler off guard. There was something about him…Did the prince know?
"Your highness, Mrs. Webb is extremely busy at this time of day. I can take you back upstairs and I'll tell Mrs. Webb you were looking for her-"
"No, Mr. Wilson, I need to see Mrs. Webb-", Charles told him firmly, leaving no room for further arguing."-now!"
"What's this?"
The voice belonged to Mrs. Webb, who was now standing behind the prince wearing a judging look on her face.
All this commotion had alarmed one of the maids, who was passing in the hallway when Charles had come down, and she had gone to find the housekeeper…She didn't know any better, now did she?
Charles had turned around upon hearing her voice and was now staring at the woman, his teeth gritting together, his breathing becoming shallow by the minute. There she was, standing right before him.
"The prince here has come to see you, Mrs. Webb.", Wilson said anxiously.
"What have I done to earn such an honour, your highness?"
It was the way she stood there before him, the way the words left her mouth that made his blood boil even harder…
"You've not done anything to earn my presence, Mrs. Webb!", Charles shouted."Absolutely nothing!"
"Your highness, I do no understa-"
"Don't you dare highness me! I know what you've done and don't think I approve of it because I do not!"
"This is the servants' quarters, you've no place in here.", the housekeeper mumbled, crossing her arms before her.
That woman- that monster- how dare she! If he wasn't such a gentleman, Charles would have hit her right there on her disgusting face just to shut her up.
"Don't play innocent with me, Mrs. Webb. I know everything you've done; I know all of your nasty plan!"
Mrs. Webb huffed;
"How interesting-"
That was it, she had overstepped yet another line; Charles sprang at her, his hand coming up to push her against the wall behind her back. He didn't give another thought on the yelp that escaped her mouth as she was flung backwards.
"You monster! How dare you!", his hand had taken a hold of the black collar of her dress, pushing his fist against her neck.
"Let go of me!", the housekeeper yelled, trying to free herself without much success.
"You drugged my wife! You- you tried to kill her! The hell is wrong with you?!"
"Your highness!", came a voice from the staircase.
Bagshaw and Woodley had heard the shouts coming from the servants' quarters and both were immediately alarmed; they had quickly made their way down only to find this horrifying scene unfold before them.
"How dare you hurt her! How dare you even look her way- You bitch! I swear I am going to kill you-"
"Go fetch the king and the queen, and tell them to hurry!", Maud told her fellow lady-in-waiting who didn't hesitate to run back upstairs.
"I've done nothing wrong! She is not a real princess, the wife of a butler, so full of herself that one! Thinks she's better than everyone else!", the housekeeper shouted back at the man holding her against the wall."I've done everyone a favour. She deserved what I did-"
"Shut up, you bitch- my wife is none of those things!"
Mrs. Webb eyed him, kicking his knee, but Charles did not falter.
"As if no one cares if she had died!"
"Then you are very wrong, you bitch-", Charles pushed her harder against the wall, not minding one bit if he hurt her."My perfect, beautiful wife is the most wonderful person on this planet and you- you monster, better know that or else-"
"I'm not afraid of your threats. You wouldn't have the nerve to carry out any of them!"
"I would kill you with my bare hands if that would do any good to anyone!"
That erupted a laugh from her;
"Then do it, kill me. It would prove my point that neither of you are real royals…I'm not afraid. Kill me and I hope you and that bitc-"
"If I was you, I wouldn't finish that sentence, Mrs. Webb!"
It was the voice of the King of England, who had come to stand at the bottom of the staircase, his wife just behind him. Woodley had made it just in time, Maud sighed.
"Guards!", he didn't hesitate for a moment to capture the traitor.
The housekeeper cried out when Charles released his hold of her, letting her crumble to the floor as realization took hold of him.
He'd almost killed her.
Two guards immediately rushed past the prince and everyone else gathered in the small hallways to take a hold of the housekeeper.
"Let me go!"
"Stay still, Mrs. Webb!"
"That man attacked me, he tried to kill me!", the housekeeper tried to desperately save herself.
"Mrs. Webb, I know the truth. And don't you dare make any accusations now, you are at blame! You are now fired, and I don't wish to see you ever again!"
"But your highness-"
"Enough! Guards, take her away!"
"Yes, your majesty.", the two guards replied in unison, pulling the resisting housekeeper with them as they made their way through the hallway.
"He put me into this! Mr. Wilson forced me into this! If I am going down, he is going with me!", the housekeeper's voice echoed into their ears, the butler looking more than shocked by her words.
"Your majesty-"
"Guards.", the king simply ordered and the butler was handcuffed in a few seconds."I do not know exactly what part you've played in all of this, Wilson, but I am disappointed."
That seemed to silence the man as the guards took him away after Mrs. Webb; the butler didn't resist in a way the housekeeper had.
"My God-", mumbled the queen, her hand coming to cover her mouth in shock.
"Let's find you a seat, your highness.", Maud Bagshaw carefully led the shaken woman into the servants' hall where she pulled a chair for her to sit on."That was quite brutal, your highness, you shouldn't have had to see it."
Woodley in turn made sure the servants, who had gathered around, curious as to what was going on, returned back to their duties with one stern look.
Casting a look at his wife, the king turned his attention to his brother-in-law who didn't seem to be faring too well either. Charles had sat down on the bottom stair, his face in his hands. The king knew Charles wasn't a violent man…He didn't doubt he'd do the same if he was put on the spot of defending his own wife.
George wasn't good with words, so a strong pat on the other man's shoulder had to be enough of a reassurance at the moment…
…
Elsie glanced up the staircase which she had only just managed to climb down, reaching the main floor of the palace. It had taken her almost ten minutes to get this far and all her energy had been drawn from her body in the effort; and yet she hadn't found anyone.
She was very confused. It was just past teatime, usually the palace was filled with action at that time of day.
Is this some kind of a prank, Elsie frowned, remembering her last days at Downton when the staff had thrown her and Charlie a farewell party. But that couldn't be the case this time, she knew that. But then what was going on?
She was about to sit down on one of the bottom stairs in her exhausted state when she heard footsteps and then the opening of a door. Her head shot up at the sound.
It was the door to the servants' staircase, she noted. And through it walked the king itself, followed by her husband.
What on earth had the two men gone down to the servants' quarters for?
It didn't take the king long to see her standing there in just her dressing gown, but probably most of the surprise came with seeing her out of bed.
"What are you doing down here?", the king blurted out, rushing to her side as if she was about to break.
"No one came when I rung and then my husband was nowhere to be found- I was worried sick!", Elsie beamed, looking at the king's worried face.
Realizing he wasn't going to explain the situation to her, Elsie expectantly turned to face her husband;
"Charlie?"
She hadn't realized he had been staring at her, all the while holding back tears.
"Whatever is the matter?"
Her question had broken the dam holding back the tears and he rushed to her side, burying his tear strained face against her neck.
"Oh Charlie, what's this?", she soothed, immediately pulling him closer to her as he cried."Shhh- my love, it's alright."
She had never seen him like this; not even when he had to step down from his position as butler.
"I'm so sorry, Elsie. I'm so sorry…-"
He collapsed against her, and she didn't have the power to keep them both upright, so they slowly slid to the floor. She was cradling his head to her chest, kissing his hair. It broke her heart to see him like this, so helpless…
"Oh, my darling, it's all going to be alright.", she whispered, rubbing soothing circles against his back with her hand.
Elsie lifted her face from her husband's hair to look at her brother, who stood beside them watching the exchange.
'What happened?', she mouthed.
He only shook his head as an answer.
Something had happened, that was for sure…But she had no clue what it was.