Chapter 6
Queen.
Victoria needed to call her mum and brother before word got out.
But could she tell them the queen had passed?
A protocol officer had joined her in Enzo’s current quarters. She was going over all kinds of things about the coming days while Enzo went somewhere else to do much the same thing.
“Can I tell my family?” Victoria interrupted whatever the woman was saying about their first walkabout the next day.
The protocol officer hesitated. “Let me double check. Given your family’s.
.. leadership positions in Southern Santiero, it may need to wait until after the official notifications.
” She sent a text and in a moment, had an answer.
“You can tell your mum and the king, but ask them to keep it to themselves until the official notifications are sent out - especially the king.”
Victoria nodded and reached for her phone. “Please let me make these calls then we can move on.”
The protocol officer stood. “I’ll leave you to it and will be back in a few minutes.”
Who to call first?
She hadn’t discussed her relationship with Frederick since the news broke. In fact, she hadn’t talked to him at all since his wedding.
Taking a deep breath, she selected his personal phone. If he oculdn’t talk, it would be forwarded to one of his aides.
“Hello, Victoria.” Frederick’s voice sounded amused, not cranky or distracted.
“Hi, Ricky.” Probably not how she should great him even on the phone, but oh well.
“I wish I’d been able to spend more time with you before you had to leave.” She could almost see him leaning back in his office chair.
“I know. I wish the same thing. Is Mum around? I need to talk to both of you, and would prefer to do it at the same time if possible.”
Victoria could hear tapping on his keyboard.
“I think she’s in her office. I sent a message.” He paused. “That was fast. She’s on her way.”
Another pause. A silence Victoria didn’t know how to fill. It took her what seemed like forever to realize she could just ask about him and his family. “How’s Elise?”
“She’s good. I think she’s tired after taking care of me for a few weeks after surgery. She didn’t have to, but she did anyway.”
The affection in his tone told Victoria he’d come to love his wife, no matter their beginnings.
“Mum’s here,” he told her before either of them could say anything else.
“How’s your fiancé?” her mum asked before Victoria could say anything. “I hope you can come visit soon so we can meet him officially and start wedding planning.”
Her brother chuckled. “Mum told me all about it, Kiki. Congratulations.”
The use of her childhood nickname - a shortened version of her first nickname of Vicki - made her smile, but it only lasted a second.
“Mum doesn’t know everything, Ricky.” She sighed. “The official, public story at the moment is that Enzo and I are engaged, but that’s not entirely accurate.”
Certain the two of them were giving each other puzzled looks, Victoria didn’t make them wait.
“We were married in a very small ceremony a few weeks ago.”
This time the silence had a stunned overtone.
“We didn’t want to wait, for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one.
..” She took a deep breath. “Queen Margherita passed a couple of hours ago. This isn’t public information yet, and I need to ask both of you not to say anything - to anyone - until the announcements have been made and communiques have been sent out.
“Wait.” Her brother was the first one to speak. “Queen Margherita is no longer with us, Enzo is king, and... you’re queen?” The tone was surprised not incredulous, which made her feel a little better.
“Queen Consort, but yes.” Victoria needed to make the distinction, though she knew she didn’t need to for them to understand the ramifications.
“Wow. That’s a lot to take in.” Frederick continued to speak. “If you’re happy, I’m happy for you. That’s sure to strain a relationship so close to the beginning. How is Enzo doing?”
“I’m not sure. As I understand it, this wasn’t unexpected, but she hadn’t been ill long. And no, I don’t know what happened.” Victoria hoped she didn’t come across as having an attitude. She meant no disrespect, but really didn’t know.
“Thank you for letting us know, Kiki.” The sound of sympathy in his voice made her feel a little better.
“Please contact us when you know more about arrangements or if there’s anything else we can do to assist either one of you in anyway.
” The words were something he’d say officially, but his tone sounded like a concerned older brother.
“I’ll talk to you soon. I love you both.”
“We love you, Victoria.” Her mum spoke for both of them.
After disconnecting the call, Victoria set the phone on the table in front of her.
It had gone as well as it could have. Catching them off-guard, especially so soon after Queen Margherita's passing, probably had something to do with it.
They wouldn't tell anyone until official announcements had been made.
Frederick would likely be a bit conflicted.
As king, if he knew information of national importance, he had a duty to pass that information along to the appropriate members of the administration.
But the only reason he knew the information because he was also her brother.
It would only be a matter of hours, if that, before the official notifications came out. If it went much longer, he wouldn't have much of a choice - and she wouldn't have put him in that position in the first place.
The protocol officer quietly reentered the room.
"They'll keep the information to themselves for a few hours at least," Victoria told him. "I won't ask them to do that for long. Please make sure Frederick is as high on the list of notifications as possible."
The officer sat down and made a note on his tablet. "I believe Southern Santiero is in the second round of notifications, after the Commonwealth. He's probably the first on the list of the second round. The king will make the notification himself."
Victoria gave a nod. She couldn’t ask for more than that.
The first round of calls was finished.
At least the ones he had to make himself.
There were two sets of lists. Ones for him and ones for other people. The Prime Minister or Chairman of the Council would be making the other first round calls.
Once all of the official calls were made, by whichever party, staffers would begin making the other notifications as necessary - including the media. None of the calls lasted more than a few minutes so it wouldn’t take long.
No one knew his mum had been ill - or at least not gravely ill. She'd been "under the weather" for the better part of two months, but the public hadn't been told anything about the seriousness of it.
It would catch them off-guard.
He remembered keeping an eye on the media when Queen Elizabeth II passed.
Though no one knew for certain when it would happen, it wasn't a surprise.
Many members of her family rushed to her side.
Online speculation ran rampant in the hours leading up to the announcement, which came about three-and-a-half hours after she passed.
His mum wouldn't have garnered the same worldwide attention, but in their country - and the Commonwealth at large - it would have been of great interest.
With a sigh, Enzo leaned forward and picked up the handset of his phone when it buzzed.
Time to talk to his new brother-in-law.
"Frederick?" The call should have been connected already.
"You have my deepest sympathies, Vincenzo."
He already knew?
“Kiki called a little while ago," the other king explained. "No one here knows except myself and Mum and won't until you've finished with official notifications."
"Thank you." Enzo pinched the bridge of his nose. "I suppose you know better than anyone what this is like."
"I suppose I do," Frederick responded slowly. "But unless I'm mistaken, I had a lot more notice than you did that the promotion was on its way."
"Likely. I don't know for certain how long she was sick, but I've known for a couple of months."
"Which is why you married my sister, so your mum would get to meet your wife." There was a certainty in Frederick's voice that told Enzo it had been discussed.
"Correct." Mostly. There was more to it than just so his mum would get to meet Victoria, but that didn't need to be part of the discussion.
He hadn't even told Victoria about how the Council would have a say in who he married if he wasn’t married before ascending to the throne.
"If there is anything I or my staff can do to assist you in any way, please be sure to reach out. My family and I would be honored to attend the service for the queen, but we also understand if you'd prefer to limit foreign dignitaries to those from the Commonwealth."
Those thoughts hadn't occurred to Enzo yet. Most of the service would have been planned far in advance, including much of the guest list. The Southern Santierians would likely have been included anyway, but given their new familial nature, it seemed a given. But until he was certain...
"I don't know much of anything about the plans just yet. I appreciate the support, in whatever form that takes. As soon as we know more, someone will be in touch. Likely Victoria, but possibly staff. It just depends on..."
On so many things.
"I understand."
Enzo didn't detect a note of annoyance or any other negative emotion - only understanding and compassion came through in Frederick's voice.
"I know you have many things on your plate that don't include a long, drawn out conversation with your brother-in-law. Please give my sister our love, and reach out when you know more about your needs and the timelines."
Grateful he didn't have to find a way to end the conversation, Enzo agreed and disconnected the call.
After taking a moment to collect himself, Enzo let his assistant know he was ready for the next person on the list.
None of the calls took very long. The other leaders understood the pressures he was under, though more than one of them had been a minor when they became monarch. At least that wasn't an issue for him.
Finally, he reached the end of his list and leaned back in the chair at the conference table in the monarch's office. The calls needed to be made from this office, though Enzo couldn't quite define why. Those on the other end of the line would never have any idea.
Knowing why he didn't want to sit at the desk was much less complicated.
After stretching his back one more time, Enzo sent a message to his aides that he was going back to his quarters for the evening.
The response told him the announcement had been made, but he didn’t need to do anything else at the moment.
He left out the side door and worked his way back to the apartment where he knew Victoria would be waiting.
When he entered, it seemed empty. Where could she be?
His siblings likely needed his time and attention as well.
Some were adults, though two were not quite there yet. He would have preferred to be the one to tell them, but he'd been whisked away before he had the chance. In his stupor, it hadn't occurred to him that he could fight back as it were.
Perhaps Victoria was with them.
After a quick check of the rest of the apartment to confirm no one was there, Enzo left again while texting Cap to find out the location of the rest of the family. The quick reply told him they were in the Rainbow Reception Room, one of his mum's favorite places in the palace.
The walk didn't take long. Steeling himself for the emotion sure to be on the other side of the door, he put on an appropriately happy face. Not too happy, of course, because he couldn't be too happy. He wasn't happy. But he needed to be the strong one for the rest of the family.
Ignoring that he had broken down completely in front of Victoria, as both the eldest child and now the king, he would set the tone for the rest.
In private, he could release his true emotions. He'd never done so with anyone else, not even when his father passed, though he'd been much younger.
Face fixed into an expression he hoped exuded confidence, gravitas, and calm, he opened the door and entered the room.
Around the central seating area, his siblings were gathered with Victoria, though she wasn't saying much. Instead she listened to them as they reminisced.
It only took a few seconds for them to realize he'd entered.
They all stood and everyone but Victoria gave their first bow or curtsey his direction since he became king.
A part of him wanted to dispense with the custom in private, but his mother never had - not even with his father as far as Enzo knew.
He acknowledged them all with a nod.
Working his way from oldest to youngest, Enzo gave each of his siblings a long hug and shared a quiet word or two.
Victoria was the the last one he approached. They exchanged a short hug, then he took the seat next to her.
"I'm glad all of you were able to be home today," he started, wondering exactly what he was going to say to them. "I'm glad all of you had the chance to see Mum." Slowly blowing out a breath, he continued. "Have all of you met Victoria?"
"Yes," his eldest sister said. "We've all met several times over the years and again a short while ago, but..." She nodded toward Victoria. "With all due respect, why are you here? We appreciate the care and support, but it seems a bit odd."
Enzo glanced at the woman next to him and reached over to take her hand before dropping the bombshell. "She's here because she's my wife."