In seconds, the royal guard formed a human cordon around Clarisse. The vast majority of people had not realized the reason for that commotion and tried to approach. Robert and Catherine only saw Clarisse's face but both were sure they saw Catherine's reflection.
"Robert? Have you seen the same as me?" Catherine asked as she helped him to his feet. "Who is she?"
Robert continued to clean the blood that insisted on running through his nose.
"I have no idea, I just know that the husband is jealous. I really thought it was you. And honestly, it wasn't until later that I saw that she was wearing black!"
Meanwhile, Joseph had made Clarisse go into one of the offices.
"Clarisse, are you okay?"
"Joseph, she is just like me… Is it possible? I do not know what to think."
"It would be an extraordinary coincidence."
Clarisse sat up and covered her face with her hands.
"Three weeks…"
"I beg your pardon ?" Joseph said confused.
"Have you seen how my life has changed in three weeks? I want to talk to her, Joseph. Bring her here, please."
"Clarisse… I don't think that would be very wise. Perhaps the best thing would be to withdraw immediately. They'll be confused but they won't be able to be sure..."
Clarisse got to her feet and grabbed his hands.
"I know what you're thinking and under other circumstances I couldn't but agree with you. I want to talk to her. And they don't even know who I am. If they knew or if they had already seen a photograph of me, they would not be so surprised. Please. Go get them."
Joseph lifted her hands and kissed them.
"I understand, my Queen. But I stay here too!"
"Nor would I expect anything else from you, Joseph!"
Joseph returned to the room and addressed the other couple. Without cracking a smile, he looked at Catherine.
"Would you please follow me."
Robert was going to respond to Joseph saying that he doesn't follow orders from people who attack strangers for no reason, but Catherine's hand on his arm, made him silent.
" Very well ." Catherine answered and she and Robert followed Joseph in silence. When they entered the office, Clarisse was standing behind the desk. Silence remained between the four of them. Robert was the first to speak.
"In my defense, I think we all agree that you are the same." He said pointing to both women, "But still, I'm sorry I kissed you."
Catherine immediately turned to him.
" Excuse me?"
"In the neck. I kissed her on the neck! Why do you think he punched me?"
"But she is dressed in black and I am in pink!"
Robert opened his mouth to respond but stopped. She was right. But he hadn't even looked into these 'small' details. Clarisse was enjoying the couple's interaction. But Catherine turned to her at that moment.
"But who are you?"
Clarisse held out her hand to shake and Catherine took it.
"I am the mother of Philippe Renaldi . Clarisse Renaldi ."
Catherine gaped at Clarisse. Robert still didn't understand what was going on and took a step towards the Queen but Joseph was faster and stopped in front of him.
"Jesus, man. But what's the matter with you? I am not going…"
Catherine cut him off at once.
"You are the Queen… I'm sorry , your Majesty . I confess that I only found out about your arrival yesterday and I didn't even look for pictures of you. I imagined you as a sullen and distant person… By the way, my name is Catherine and I am a pediatric cardiologist. And this is Robert. My… (boyfriend? Husband? She thought boyfriend was too light a word for their age. Husband doesn't either. In fact, they weren't married.) " friend … a special friend."
"Nice to meet you both. This is Joseph. My Head of Security."
" Head of Security ? With a punch like that, I thought you are a jealous husband." Robert said while shaking Joseph's hand and making Joseph and Clarisse burst out laughing. Clarisse directed them to the chairs to sit on. She was too tired from the trip to Canada and could use some rest. If they are going to talk for a few minutes, they might as well do it sitting down. Little did she know that the conversation would last much longer than a few minutes.
"But how is it possible that we are so alike?" Catherine asked. Clarisse shrugged.
"They say that in the world there is at least one person just like us. And it looks like we both found our reflection."
"I do not even know what to say. I am truly in awe. And it was all so confusing. We had just arrived and I had to go to the bathroom. I heard raised voices and when I came out, I saw Robert on the floor, bleeding from his nose."
"Joseph tends to be very protective of anyone who approaches me." Clarisse smiled and looked at Joseph. "Normally my security is always around me and doesn't allow anyone to get too close, but as a background check was done on everyone present at reception, I was allowed to be without such tight security. And now I understand why those two nice nurses were talking to me like they knew me."
Now it was Catherine's turn to laugh.
"They probably thought they were talking to me."
Joseph and Robert looked at them with a smile. The two women spoke as if they had known each other forever. Catherine spoke of her late husband, her work at the hospital, her heartache at not being able to have children, the Thanksgiving night she met Robert, how she saved his granddaughter's life… Clarisse spoke of Rupert, of Pierre and Philippe , of the granddaughter that she haven't seen for fifteen years... they were interrupted by a soft knock on the door.
"Come in ."
The guard entered and bowed.
" Your Majesty , Dr. Peter, the hospital administrator, asks if you can see him for a few minutes."
"Oh my …" Catherine said with a smile. Clarisse looked at her.
"For sure. Give me a minute and then let him in, please. thank you ."
The guard bowed again and left, closing the door behind him.
"Is there anything I should know about Dr. Peter, Catherine?"
"Not at all. But I'm already imagining his face when he looks at the two of us. Peter is an excellent friend. He was best friends with Tom, my late husband."
"Let's let him in then."
A few seconds later, the guard let Peter in.
" Your … Oh my God!" Peter was astonished . He looked from Clarisse to Catherine. Then he looked at Joseph and Robert... But he couldn't say a single word. Catherine let out a laugh and Clarisse smiled.
"Close your mouth, Peter. You are not a codfish!"
A completely flustered Dr. Peter bowed and walked over to Clarisse, kissing the back of her hand.
" Your Majesty , forgive my lack of manners but in fact your resemblance is amazing. I didn't count on your arrival so early and therefore I wasn't present to receive you. Please forgive me."
"This hospital was a project that my son had very close to his heart. And it was only two days ago that I decided to attend the inauguration. It wasn't me who should be here, it was Philippe. But unfortunately, this tragedy happened." Clarisse took a deep breath to control the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. "Not being an official visit, there was no need for the normal pomp. However, and to my great surprise, I found my twin."
Peter immediately looked at Catherine.
"You are sisters?"
Catherine let out a laugh and Clarisse felt uncomfortable. Joseph felt the need to get closer to Clarisse. Not that there was any danger but because IN FACT, Catherine could be her sister.
"Of course not Peter. This situation only proves that in the world there is at least one person exactly like us."
Clarisse had all her senses on alert. This was a delicate situation. She didn't know Catherine and the fear that she would talk to the newspapers, saying that she was the twin sister of the Queen of Genovia , really scared her. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to have talked to her. She should have followed Joseph's advice and withdrawn at once.
"Gentlemen, I think we have a problem here not only with the safety of Her Majesty , but also Dr. Catherine." Joseph said.
"A security issue? I don't understand…" Catherine interrupted.
"Yes. Your physical resemblance could be a future issue. Especially for you, Dr Catherine."
" Please , only Catherine."
"Thank you, Catherine. I strongly recommend that what happened today stays between us. And especially not a word to the press. Believe me, if your resemblance gets out, it will be a real nightmare."
"I understand and rest assured, none of us will say a single word. You have my word of honor."
"And mine too." Said at the same time, Robert and Peter.
"Contrary to popular belief, being Queen is not a fairy tale. Every movement, every word, every thought is scrutinized down to the smallest detail." Clarisse stood up indicating to the others that she was ready to leave. "Dr. Peter, as you can understand, I'm afraid I can't go out and say goodbye to everyone who was kind enough to attend the opening, I'm afraid. But I want to thank you for the fantastic job you did. I am sure my son would be very proud, as I am."
" Your Majesty , I had the privilege to contact Prince Philippe several times and it was an honor for me! An extraordinary man. And it was a huge honor to be able to count on your presence today. thank you so much ."
"Catherine, I really enjoyed meeting you and I'm sorry that the circumstances don't allow me to chat a little longer, but who knows, maybe one day we can meet again?"
"I feel the same. This is surreal… I would love for it to be possible for us to meet again."
Clarisse smiled and held out her hand. Catherine was at a loss for what to do. Surely women weren't supposed to kiss the Queen's hand, were they? She decided to shake her hand.
"Robert, it was nice meeting you too."
"Likewise, Your Majesty . Although now Catherine won't stop bothering me…" Clarisse raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant. "I usually say the wrong things. Now I also do the wrong things." Catherine couldn't help but laugh and Clarisse smiled.
" Your Majesty , we really have to go."
"Yes, Joseph. You are right."
Clarisse left the office escorted by a wall of men, who prevented other people from being able to see her well. The last to leave were Robert, Catherine and Peter.
"This was the strangest thing that ever happened to me." Catherine said. The three stood at the exit of the office.
"If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it, that's for sure."
"Peter, I think we should all tell the same story… Robert got too close to Her Majesty and that's why they called us inside."
"But there were people who saw you and certainly noticed your resemblance…"
"We can all say no, Robert. That we have one or another resemblance but that's all. She hasn't been here long. I honestly liked her a lot. Furthermore, this situation could have turned into something very complicated and she handled the matter remarkably."
Everyone immediately agreed.
"But you could really be sisters…"
"But we are not Peter!"
C/J
"You're very quiet, Clarisse. Is everything ok?"
Joseph's voice brought her out of her thoughts.
"Don't worry, Joseph. I was just enjoying the ride to the airport."
Joseph lowered his head slightly and remained silent.
"I hope I haven't made a colossal mistake, Joseph. If any of them speak…"
"I left Ian at the hospital. At the end of the evening he will give me a report of the conversations that took place. If they decide to take advantage of the situation, then we should have at least a few hours to try and do some damage control."
"I liked her. I really liked her. And she might even be my sister! What are the chances that, one day after I'm sure that my mother is not the person I thought it was, I'd find my sister. And probably a twin sister."
"In fact, this sounds like a story from a soap opera."
"Oh Joseph. You are incorrigible!"
C/J
Joseph slowly approached Clarisse. He knew she wasn't sleeping but the journey was long and she had her eyes closed.
" Your Majesty ?"
" Hello Joseph. I'm sorry, I'm afraid I was sleeping. Is something wrong?"
"I've already been on the phone with Ian . The story he heard from everyone present was that Robert got too close to you and that they were taken away to be questioned for your safety. There were those who said that the two of you were similar but all the three of them, denied, Claiming that they were close to you and that even if there was one or another resemblance, you were not alike."
" Good. I feel more relieved now." Joseph looked at her with a worried expression. "And what else happened?"
"Well, now you're not going to like it… Your mother and your sister are in the Palace. Since Charlotte doesn't know what happened and as we won't be arriving until dawn, they'll sleep at the Palace and, apparently, they have an appointment so that you can receive them tomorrow morning…"
Contrary to what Joseph expected, Clarisse did not react.
" Very well , then."
Sooooo? What do you think?
30 sec to leave a review, please
xoxo
Maria
