Chapter 4
Where had the pictures come from?
The day after the family had gone to see the first performance of Come from Away in the Quad Countries, the only pictures that should be in the news were from that event.
The only pictures that should be on the tabloid sites were ones trying to decide if her sister-in-law or Queen Catherine from Eastern Novigradia had a belly bump or a big dinner.
Victoria closed her eyes and drew in a breath. "How did you get these?"
The PR Director had come to the hotel to meet with her. "They're already online with all of the outlets. There's no getting around it."
The series of ten photos clearly showed her along with a man, though his identity wasn't as apparent. Someone would figure it out soon enough. Enzo's out of focus features would be cleaned up by someone with a photo editing program and then the whole secret would be out.
"What's the reaction?" Did she want to know?
"Given the nature of the photos, the assumption is that you're pictured with your fiancé."
The pictures remained family friendly - they couldn't have been anything else - but there was clearly a romantic connection between her and the man in the photos. "Is the reaction favorable?"
"Cautiously. They want to know who it is and more about him before deciding for sure. They're very protective of their youngest princess." A smile crossed the PR Director's face. "We all are."
Victoria had known that people still saw her as the youngest, as an adolescent at best. It was partially because she'd disappeared for so long, and they hadn't seen her continue to grow and mature. But it was also the nearly-universal tendency to see the youngest in a family as an eternal baby.
"Is this your fiancé?" The PR Director brought her back to the issue at hand.
"He did ask me to marry him." She didn't want to outright lie if she didn't have to. "And I said yes."
"Will you tell me who he is?" This question was gentle. The PR Director had known her for years and felt just as protective as the rest, if not more.
Victoria closed her eyes and sighed. "It's not to be released to the public until he says it can be."
The PR Director looked disappointed but agreed.
"Vincenzo Gianni Raphael of Dellisole."
Victoria didn't think the PR Director had ever been caught so off-guard.
"The Crown Prince?" the other woman clarified.
"Yes."
The PR Director slumped back in her chair.
"Is that even legal? A lot of incredibly bad things would have to happen for you to become queen here, but you're still fairly high in the line of succession.
Child of one monarch, sibling of another monarch then married to a future monarch in another country?
An ally and trading partner, but not even part of the Quad Countries. "
That thought had crossed Victoria's mind briefly, but she'd pushed it aside and married him without looking into it.
"As far as I know, it's not illegal. He said it wasn't an issue in Dellisole - only if it was reasonably expected that I would be the heir presumptive at some point.
As you said, that's highly unlikely. Frederick has multiple heir presumptives before they get to me, and that's before any of them have children. "
"So it's not an issue there, but we need to make sure it's not here." She made a note on her tablet. "If it is an issue, you'll need to speak with the king's attorneys to see if there's a way around it or to change it."
Victoria did not want to have this conversation with her brother. She suspected her mum had looked into it as soon as their conversation ended. If there was a problem, her mum would have let her know already.
"There will be someone who figures out who he is by the end of the day. You'll want to talk to him to make sure he knows it's coming." She made another note on her tablet.
Victoria pulled her phone out and sent a text.
I need to talk to you as soon as you have a minute. It’s not an emergency. I’m fine. But it is urgent. Let me know when you can call.
Nothing else she could do for the moment.
All she had was his personal cell phone number.
If he was in a meeting, she wouldn't want to bother him.
In fact, it would probably turned off or given to an aide.
She didn't have a number to get to his assistants or someone else who would know if Enzo was busy or if he could take a call. That was something she needed to fix.
Her phone vibrated and she saw he'd put a thumbs up on the text, but no actual reply.
"I'll let you know when I hear something from him or if you need to be in contact with their PR Department. I don't know who he's told so please don't reach out just yet." She continued to stare at her phone screen, willing the dots to appear.
"I won't. I won't tell anyone who doesn't absolutely need to know." She leaned forward again. "Does the king know?" the woman asked gently.
Victoria shook her head. "Only Mum. She may have told someone, but I think I would have heard from Frederick if he knew."
They spoke for a few more minutes then Victoria was alone in her suite again.
She flipped through her options of streaming services and eventually settled on a movie she'd seen a thousand times before.
Focusing on something new likely wouldn't happen at the moment, though if she tried to focus it might take her mind off waiting for Enzo to get back in touch with her.
About the time reached the Rodents of Unusual Size, her phone buzzed with a video call. She swiped across the screen and smiled as Enzo's face appeared on the screen. "Hi. How are you?"
He smiled back at her, though he seemed both tired and distracted. "I'm okay. Tired. There's a lot going on here."
"How's your mum?"
Enzo sighed. "Not well. Most of the time she's okay, just very weak, but sometimes..." He shook his head and sighed again. "I don't know how long it will be, but I don't think it'll be long."
"When do you want me to leave for Dellisole? I can pack enough for a couple of days and be on my way to the airport in just a few minutes then have everything else sent to me in a couple of days."
The smile widened a bit, taking on more of the carefree persona that had immediately drawn her to him. "Miss me, do you?"
Victoria felt her face heat a little bit. "I do miss you, but I also want to be there for you when you need me."
The carefree part of him slipped just a bit. "Whenever you want to come, I'd love to have you here."
"Would it be best if I was there before..." She didn't know how to finish the sentence.
He nodded. "That would be good."
She sucked in a breath. "I hate doing this while you've got so much going on, but you need to know what happened."
"What's going on?"
"The Director of Public Relations was here a little while ago. Ten pictures of us were released on a local tabloid site. They don't know who you are - yet - but the presumption is that I'm with my fiancé." She bit her bottom lip waiting for his reaction.
Weariness slid onto his face then off again just as quickly. "Thank you for letting me know." He looked at someone beyond his camera. "I have to let you go, Victoria. I'll talk to you soon."
Before she could say goodbye, the call was disconnected.
Mind made up, Victoria stood, went to the bedroom and pulled her suitcase out of the closet.
It was time to join her husband.
Enzo looked up from his desk when the door to his office opened.
“There’s someone here to see you, sir.” His aide stepped to the side to allow the person to enter.
He blinked, smiled, then stood and moved around his desk. “Victoria.”
She took his outstretched hands and accepted his kiss to her cheek. “Hi.” Her voice seemed a little... something. Shy? Awkward?
They hadn’t seen each other in a couple of weeks - after knowing each other only a couple of weeks to start with. Could that be it?
“What are you doing here so soon? I didn’t think you’d be here for a couple of days.” He’d told her there was no reason to rush, though soon would be good.
“I was able to get a flight almost immediately, so I thought I would pack a few things and come now. Everything else will be here in a few days.” A look of uncertainty settled on her face. “That’s all right, isn’t it?”
His smile remained fixed. Always happy. But in this case, he truly was. “Of course.” He squeezed her hands then let one go as he turned to lead her to the sitting area of his current office. It wouldn’t be his for much longer.
He would be getting a new one. It came with the promotion.
“How are you?” Victoria asked as they each sat in one of the chairs.
The smile slipped, just a little bit. “I’m all right. Worried about my mum and my siblings. My papa passed a few years ago, so at least he doesn’t have to see her decline.”
“I met her a couple of times, years ago, but it’s probably been ten years or so.” She reached her second hand over and covered their joined hands with it. “But how are you? Really?”
Could it be that she didn’t completely believe the happy smile? He fixed it more firmly into place. “I’m all right. It’s challenging learning to take on more of her job than I ever have before.”
“The palace still hasn’t released a statement?” she asked gently. “I don’t know much about the culture here or the relationship your family has with the press and people, but...” Victoria didn’t finish her thought but Enzo knew what she was asking.
“I’m following the directions of my advisors,” he told her. “My mum hasn’t wanted to make an announcement just yet. She’s still trying a couple of new treatments. Until she knows for certain they won’t work...” His smile started to slip, but he wouldn’t let it fall completely.
Enzo knew Victoria would follow what he wasn’t saying. The treatments weren’t working. They wouldn’t work. His mum refused to admit that to him, and likely not to anyone else either, even herself. Her doctors might be the only ones who truly understood.