Clarisse sat on Philippe's tomb and stroked his photo.
"Oh Philippe, I miss you, my dear. I'm so lost. So exhausted. So hurt. Have you seen the mess my life is in? And to make matters worse, Joseph left the Palace. He resigned! He left me alone... And I feel lost, my love. What should I do? where is he? What are he doing? I can't help but feel disappointed on him. I never thought he would be able to turn his back on me. He didn't even say goodbye. He just left without a word. I'm afraid, Philippe. I'm afraid of losing your daughter's Throne. Afraid that she won't even have the chance to show who she is!" Clarisse wiped the tears that ran down her face. The gentle late afternoon breeze brought her the scent of the roses she had brought for her son. The turmoil of feelings that filled her soul suddenly calmed down. It was as if she felt her son's embrace, as if he used the breeze to whisper words of comfort and encouragement to her. Clarisse smiled. "If I close my eyes now, Philippe, I can feel your embrace, dear. You are right! I have to calm down and move on. Your daughter needs me. And that's what's important now. All my life I have known how to overcome and silence my disappointments, my sorrows. And I will continue to do so. I will not fail my granddaughter!"
Pierre watched his mother from some distance. Those moments were just hers and Philippe and the few that brought Clarisse some peace. She felt him almost immediately, turned around and stretched out her arms. Pierre ran into his mother's embrace. He was still amazed how some people called her The Ice Queen ... Clarisse hugged her son as if her life depended on it. It was the first time that Pierre had returned to Genovia since his brother's funeral and Clarisse missed him terribly.
"Pierre! Oh Pierre. I missed you so much. How are you, my love ?"
"I'm fine and I miss you a lot too, mommy. I heard that a lot is going on at the Palace and that you are dealing with a lot of terrible things. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"
"Nothing to worry about, my dear. But who told you that?"
"I called to talk to you yesterday but you were busy. Charlotte told me that a lot was happening at the same time and that you were going through a particularly difficult period in your life. When she refused to tell me details, I made her promise not to say that I had called and asked her to have my room prepared. I can't be away from the Vatican for many days, but in the few days I have, I try to be with you, Mommy."
"Just let me say goodbye to your brother and then we can talk. Besides, I promised Scott I wouldn't be here for to long."
Clarisse turned back to Philippe's grave and, in silence, said goodbye to him in her prayers. Pierre remained one step behind her. On the journey back to the Palace, Clarisse spoke excitedly about Amelia . In the changes she had made in such a short time and in the ones she would still make, in how intelligent, beautiful, charming and sensitive her granddaughter is. Clarisse truly believed that Amelia would be an extraordinary Queen. Pierre smiled.
"I feel sorry for my niece!" Clarisse turned to him in amazement.
"Sorry? What do you mean by that?"
"Mommy, no matter how much my niece does, no matter how extraordinary she is, she will be compared to you… And she will always lose!"
"That's nonsense, my love . You will. You will love Amelia."
The conversation was interrupted by the arrival at the Palace. As soon as Clarisse got out of the limo, Mabrey's limo also arrived, and he hurried to get out. Clarisse only had time to murmur to Pierre "I'll explain everything to you later." He nodded. Mabrey approached them with a smile that turned Clarisse's stomach and bowed.
" Your Majesty , Prince Pierre. "
"Mabrey!" They both responded without hiding their annoyance. Mabrey turned to Clarisse and got a little closer but Scott took a step forward and Mabrey stopped.
" Your Majesty , I want to thank you for the invitation to spend some time at the Palace, together with my family. I believe it will be a good period for us to get used to some changes. I wasn't used to having children and grandchildren…"
"I'm sorry I can't talk, but my health doesn't allow me to. I need to rest."
"You are sick, Your Majesty ?"
"Nothing serious, I hope. Now if you'll excuse me…"
"Of course, Your Majesty . Maybe we can have dinner together?..."
"No, we can not." And Clarisse entered the Palace, followed by an absolutely perplexed Pierre.
"But what is going on here? And why isn't Joseph here with you?"
"Come with me to my office. I'll tell you everything."
Pierre sat on the sofa, next to his mother and listened, for more than an hour, to a summary of what had happened in the last few months, except Clarisse's involvement with Joseph. Pierre grabbed his mother's hand and brought it to his lips.
"Oh mommy, why didn't you tell me before? Why do you have to carry so much weight alone?"
"My dear, this burden is not yours to bear. I would never bother you with situations that I have to deal with."
"Philippe and I always suspected that you and Joseph had feelings for each other, much stronger than a simple friendship…" Clarisse was about to speak but Pierre continued "and that's why what shocks me most, in the midst of all this, is joseph resignation."
"So do I, my love !"
"Has anyone spoken to him yet?"
"I don't know."
"And why don't you call him?"
"It was his decision, Pierre. I asked him to stay. I asked him to give me time to find a solution. I can't do anything else, Pierre. We both made a decision… I decided not to face the consequences of not letting Mabrey come to the Palace. He decided to leave…" Clarisse got up and went to the window, looking at the garden. The tears insisted on flowing and she didn't want Pierre to see. He got up too, went to his mother's side and hugged her. There were too many emotions and Clarisse couldn't control herself, letting the tears flow freely. After all, it was Pierre who was there. Her first child. Of the two brothers, the one was more like her, both physically and emotionally. And Pierre would never judge her. Pierre patted his mother's back and let her cry. Then he kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear. "You're in love with him, mommy!" It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "And I'm sorry that he doesn't deserve your love and that he's making you suffer so much."
"I don't want you to worry about me, honey. I'll be fine. This initial period is being more difficult because everything caught me off guard. What interests me is that you are here and that gives me superhuman strength for everything. This is the power that children have over their mothers… They heal everything!"
"I love you so much, mommy !"
"I love you too, my darling. And now I'm really going to rest a little until dinner. Can we both have dinner?"
"I would be very disappointed if you didn't invite me."
C/J
Shades was just turning off the computer, to end his shift, when his phone rang.
"Scott here."
"Scott? Since when did you stop being Shades ?"
" Boss ?"
"I'm no longer Boss …"
"Of course you are. Where are you? What's wrong with you? Are you insane?"
"I don't like that insinuation."
"I'm sorry but it's the only thing that can excuse you leaving the Queen alone!" Scott was furious with Joseph. For the rest of the staff, Joseph was solving urgent family problems. But he and Charlotte knew the truth and that was enough for him to be unable to hide the irritation he felt towards the man who was his mentor and best friend.
"Things are not as you think…"
"You're absolutely right, things may not be the way I think they are, but neither are people!"
Joseph was silent for a few seconds.
"That doesn't matter now. How is she?"
"She is just as you left her… surrounded by enemies!"
"It was her choice!"
"For Heavens sake , man! And did you give her any choice? And even though it was her choice, your obligation, as a friend, was to be by her side to support her! You were dating her sister for months. Did she turned her back on you? You yelled at her at the Consulate in San Francisco, did she fired you? I've seen you fire men for much, much less! I think she has very strong feelings towards you and you don't even respect that! You are not the Joseph that I knew, that I admired and tried to copy! And now, for the last time, when will you be back?" Joseph was so stunned by Shades ' harsh words that he couldn't even respond. "Your silence says it all. And I have nothing more to say to you. Goodbye!" And hung up the phone.
Joseph looked at his cell phone for a few minutes. There was nothing Scott said that he hadn't thought on the minute he walked out of the Palace gates, but his pride and arrogance prevented him from going back. And if this was Scott's reaction, he didn't even want to think about Clarisse's reaction. Joseph wasn't well but being away from Clarisse was driving him crazy. He had a house by the sea, near Pyrus and it was there that he took refuge. Initially, he had thought about going to Spain but was unable to go that far. This was a lose/lose situation. Joseph leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes.
C/J
"Mommy, bring a coat, please. I don't want to have dinner here. There's a restaurant in Pyrus that I want to know."
"But I'm not dressed appropriately, Pierre."
Pierre laughed.
"Mommy, you look stunning! Plus, even if you wore jeans and a t-shirt, you'd always look fabulous. You are absolutely beautiful, mommy!"
"I have to ask Charlotte to make you an ophthalmologist appointment, honey. But let's get to know this restaurant. But first let me talk to Scott…"
"Scott?"
"Yes, Joseph's second-in-command. He has another name but I can't remember…"
" Shades !"
"Yes, that's it. He always wears those dark glasses... I never understood why."
"It's a style thing." Pierre replied, almost laughing.
Right at the entrance to the restaurant, they crossed paths with a couple. The lady curtsied and the gentleman bowed, but he looked at all the members of the security team, with a worried expression. Clarisse also greeted them, with the friendliness that was characteristic of her and the man, without approaching, spoke to her.
" Your Majesty , is everything all right with Sir Joseph? Has he gotten worse?"
Clarisse was completely taken by surprise and still took a second or two to react.
" My Head of Security had some urgent matters to deal with and it is possible that he will not be able to keep us company for a while."
"Oh my God !" The man was truly worried but Scott insisted that they not stop and go to the table, to avoid other people coming closer. But all of Clarisse's alarms went off. After they sat down, Clarisse called Scott and told him to find out who that man was and how he knew Joseph. Throughout dinner, Clarisse's thoughts were on the man's words "has he gotten worse?" What would have happened to Joseph? Have you had an accident? Would he be bad? Pierre immediately noticed his mother's discomfort and anguish and did his best to shorten dinner. As Clarisse and Pierre were getting into the limousine, Scott received the desired information on the headpiece .
" Your Majesty , that man's name is James Cowell and he's a neurosurgeon. My men couldn't find out anything more, despite insisting. I'm sorry ."
"It's okay, Scott. Thank you very much for your efficiency and your care."
"You are quite welcome, Your Majesty."
C/J
"Viscount Mabrey, you can have the floor!"
"Thank you very much, Prime Minister. As today's session is practically over, I decided to share something with you. As you all know, all the honorable Members of this Parliament are like a second family to me. And so I want to inform you that I have considerably increased my true family…" Almost all the Parliamentarians began to murmur. What was Mabrey planning this time? "I married a wonderful woman who makes me very happy. And with that, I also gained two daughters, a grandson and a great-granddaughter!" Clarisse was having difficulty maintaining a detached expression. My God, the man is truly despicable, she thought. "so, let me introduce you to my eldest daughter… Queen Clarisse Renaldi!" The murmurs became truly audible expressions. Some (fortunately few) applauded but the vast majority were truly surprised, including Sebastian who looked at Clarisse in disbelief.
"I'll explain later, Sebastian." She said softly.
"And my dear daughter was kind enough to invite us to spend some time with her at the Palace, so that we could all get to know each other better."
"Viscount Mabrey, my father passed away a few years ago, as you will certainly know. And his place is irreplaceable. You married my mother but you are not my father, are we clear?"
Mabrey smiled with great effort. He didn't expect this reaction from Clarisse. He thought she would remain silent and that would be great for the other members of Parliament to believe that he would have some ascendancy over the Queen. Damn woman.
" Of course , Your Majesty ."
Clarisse left Parliament visibly irritated. How was she going to bear this for two months? And then? Would Pamela continue with the blackmail? There has to be a way for Clarisse to get rid of these three. She was perfectly aware that she would not be able to deal with this situation in a diplomatic way for much longer and would throw everything to waste... Clarisse was beginning to have doubts whether she would be able to keep the Throne until Amelia was 21 years old. Clarisse entered her office, closed the door with a little too much noise, threw her coat on a chair, took off her shoes and fell onto the sofa. Suddenly, she felt a presence and stood up suddenly.
"Joseph?!"
.
Soooooo?
What do you think?
30 sec to leave a review, please.
xoxo
Maria
