Chapter Twenty-three: Two Different Worlds
What happened that afternoon between Mary and Maxie was like opening a door into a whole new world. Shy and reserved by nature, the Tudor princess had never suspected she could feel so deeply, and respond with such passionate rapture. Maxie seemed to know her body so well. She could awaken Mary's deepest desires with just the slightest touch.
"Hey," the girl photographer said, shaking Mary roughly. "Hey, it's time to get back to the palace. You'll be missed, baby. Get up!"
"I don't want to go back." Mary moaned and tried to pull a pillow over her face, but Maxie tugged it away, forcing her to sit up and take notice of her surroundings. Worn out by pleasure, the passionate princess had fallen into a deep sleep after letting the clever and streetwise girl photographer make love to her over and over, all through the long, hot summer afternoon. It was quite late now, Mary noticed. The sun was drooping low in the western sky.
"You've got royal duties, and responsibilities you have to live up to, baby doll. Your life is at the palace," Maxie said sensibly. "Besides that, I have a photo assignment tonight, taking pictures of some new band at a music club in SoHo."
"That sounds exciting!" Mary felt like Maxie had so much freedom in her life. She wanted to know her, to learn everything about her.
"It pays the bills." Maxie shrugged, and then she gave Mary a sharp look. "Don't go thinking you can tear loose from where you come from and who you are just by jumping into bed with me. You're a princess. I'm a peasant. Two different worlds. Get it?"
"Right, I get it. We come from different worlds." Mary was hurt by how quickly Maxie brought an end to the tender time they'd shared. But she also knew the sassy street girl had a point.
"This morning's reception at the Royal Gardens was a fabulous success," Queen Jane cheerfully announced over dinner that night. "I'm told that Mary charmed everyone she met." The golden-haired queen smiled at her serious young stepdaughter. All the royals were gathered at the long dining table beneath the glittering chandeliers in the grand dining room at the palace.
"Glad to hear it," King Henry growled, tearing into his meat with two hands and looking and sounding exactly like a great big bear. "I want Mary to get more involved with raising money for schools and hospitals, doing good work for charity and all that sort of thing. That's what you like, girl, isn't it?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Mary managed to answer her father just in time, sitting up in her seat and putting on a polite smile. Throughout the sumptuous meal she'd been lost in her own thoughts, toying with her food as she imagined making love with Maxie for hours in the sexy bad girl's secluded London flat. It was no good trying to think about anything else. Even the wine she drank with her dinner seemed to make her want Maxie more.
"Good, good! Then I'll have the office draw up an itinerary. We'll put you on tour in the North of England for the summer. That'll get you out of the city. An escape from the London heat, eh my girl?"
"Yes, Your Majesty! But . . . but . . ." Mary felt powerless, her mind a total blank. She was so accustomed to giving in to the imperious demands of her father! Now her thoughts went back to Maxie, pushing her out of bed and saying they were from two different worlds. Tears filled the tired blue eyes of the Tudor princess.
"Mary will be a splendid success," Queen Jane proclaimed, giving her unhappy stepdaughter a searching look. "But perhaps a day or two of preparation might be in order. If Your Majesty has no objection, I can help her assemble the proper traveling wardrobe, and make sure she has the right photographer and so forth."
"Yes, yes, whatever you think best." The king was clearly much more interested in eating his dinner than organizing Mary's wardrobe.