Chapter 12
It shocked Victoria to realize Enzo was already asleep when she returned from the fundraiser dinner.
Of course, it had to happen sometime, but it hadn't in the weeks since they were married.
Hoping he felt okay, she quietly prepared for sleep herself then slid quietly into the bed next to him. It didn't take long for her to drift off. When she woke, light filtered around the edges of the curtains. Even before looking, she knew Enzo no longer slept next to her.
She supposed that's why she was spending so much time learning about the history of her new home.
When she entered the office, her instructor held up a finger as he spoke rapid fire Italian into the phone.
Though she wasn't truly fluent, Victoria knew enough Italian to understand there was a problem with an upcoming event.
If she expected him to discuss the problem with her, she was disappointed. Instead, he went straight into a lecture about the conquests.
Victoria scribbled notes as he rambled on. She managed to ask a couple of questions, but his responses were curt bordering on rude.
Something definitely wasn't right.
Though he was always intense and passionate when discussing the history of Dellisole, he was also approachable and congenial at the same time.
"Any questions?" His tone clearly didn't invite her to actually ask.
"Not at this time." Victoria did her best not to respond in kind.
He stood, dismissing her. "I'll let you know when our next meeting will be."
She chose not to say anything but simply nodded as she put her things back into her bag. Her next stop was her new office. Chiara, the Head of Household waited in the outer office and stood as Victoria entered.
"Good morning, Your Majesty." The woman curtsied in her direction.
"Good morning." Victoria nodded her direction. "I apologize for the delay. My previous meeting ran a little long." The woman followed her into the inner office. "Could you remind me what's on our agenda for the morning? I haven't had a chance to look at my notes."
"The biggest item is finalizing temporary members of your staff."
Victoria took a seat behind her desk and opened the file waiting for her. "Which positions?"
"Aides, a stylist, dresser, social media manager, ladies-in-waiting, equerries, and your personal secretary."
Right. She knew all of those positions were important, but she didn't know that many people, much less ones qualified and eligible to work in Dellisole.
"The ones I have been working with won't stay?" She'd asked the question before but couldn't remember the answer.
"You can choose them," the other woman confirmed. "However, if there are any who simply aren't working out already, it would be best to choose someone else to replace them rather than wait. Even if you're uncertain, or questioning, the best option would be to pivot now."
"Of course." She looked over the list of those who had been working with her in the last weeks. "I have no strong feelings one way or another about most of these people. There's only one or two that I would not want to continue and only a couple I definitely do want to remain with me."
"Can you tell me who each of those are?"
"The only aide I know I would like to have stay is my personal secretary.
The others are fine, but nothing stands out about them.
The stylist is excellent as is the dresser.
None of the ladies-in-waiting have impressed me so far, but I haven't had much opportunity to work with them, so if you think there are any that should stay for the time being, please let me know.
Same with the equerries." What did an equerry even do?
Didn't they take care of the horses? Maybe that was the traditional role, but it had morphed into something modern in the last century and a half?
She'd met them, of course, but nothing more.
Or maybe she was wrong all together.
Chiara made some notations on her notepad. "I will have alternates placed for each of those positions by this afternoon."
If Victoria had to guess, there were already alternates lined up and waiting. "Thank you."
They discussed a few other minor things before Chiara left. As soon as the door closed leaving Victoria alone in her office, she slumped into her seat.
Despite her heritage, despite being the daughter of a king, she was not cut out for all of this. Ladies-in-waiting? She knew the duties had been modernized, but it still seemed... antiquated. Couldn't the title have been updated as well?
But even if she was comfortable with having so many people helping her with daily and mundane tasks, she still didn't know if she'd ever fully settle in to the role and expectations.
Too late now.
The side door to her office opened without warning.
She didn't sit up straight. The only person who should be coming in from that direction was Enzo.
"Is everything all right?" The concern in his voice made her straighten more quickly than anything else would have.
"Yeah. Just contemplating my life."
A fleeting look of panic crossed his face. "Contemplating your life?"
"Not in a bad way, necessarily, just trying to wrap my mind around everything that's happened in the last few weeks and what it means for all aspects of my life.
" She picked up the file folder then dropped it back down.
"Like how many different assistants and aides and everything else I'm supposed to have. "
"It's different than any other life out there," he replied slowly. "Even those in the public eye because of their careers, like actors and so on, can choose to take their life and live it out of the spotlight at some point. That's not something we can choose."
"No, we can't." She slumped back again. "It's just a momentary melancholy. I'm fine, I promise."
"Would you like to have lunch with me?"
He was asking her to have lunch? She'd joined him a few times, but never the other way around. "That would be lovely."
Enzo pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Have you ordered yet?"
She nodded. "I can have them send it to your office if there's enough time to change the delivery. Or I can just bring it over after it gets here."
Enzo shook his head and held out a hand to help her to her feet. Once on them, he pulled her into a comforting embrace. "I've already arranged to have mine sent here, unless you'd rather go somewhere else. Maybe eat outside?"
Victoria looked around - at least as much as she could with her cheek resting on his chest - and made a decision. "I'd rather not eat in either of our offices if we don't have to. Maybe just up in your quarters?"
"You mean our quarters?" he corrected. "We can do that."
With her arms wrapped around his waist and his around her, she couldn't think of anything better than some time alone with her husband.
It struck Enzo as a bit odd that Victoria hadn't mentioned her history lessons in several days.
They'd taken to talking about them in the evenings.
He remembered things he'd learned years earlier and details she hadn't heard before, though there was nothing lacking in the Royal Historian's lessons.
Different people found different things important.
Enzo tended toward the personal stories while the Historian generally went in depth about things he considered important on a grander scale.
Geopolitical alliances. Leaders of Parliament and the Council.
Less about the interpersonal relationships between the people involved - at least the ones that he didn't consider important to the overall narrative.
But they hadn't had any of those discussions in days.
He finally decided to broach the subject one of the rare mornings when they had breakfast together. "Is everything going well with your history lessons? What era you studying right now?"
She gave a one-armed shrug. "I haven't had one in a few days. I don't know why. He just told me he'd let me know when to come back."
Enzo frowned. "He didn't give you a reason?"
"No. He was on the phone when I arrived. My Italian isn't great, but I understood enough to know something was wrong. I couldn't tell what, but he definitely acted off the entire time I was there. He said he’d let me know when the next one would be."
He didn't press for more information. She likely didn't have any more to give - or at least didn't know that she did.
The rest of breakfast didn't last long and they went their separate ways.
As he walked toward his office, Enzo let one of his aides know that he needed a meeting scheduled with the Royal Historian as soon as his schedule allowed.
About the time he sat behind his desk, a message came in that the Royal Historian was out of the office and had been for several days.
It surprised Enzo that he hadn't heard about it, but there wasn't really any reason why he should have. He asked his aide to find out more details about the absence and when he was expected to return. He supposed it gave Victoria more time to focus on the rapidly approaching state dinner.
His first phone call of the day was with Catherine, Queen of Eastern Novigradia. They had a trade agreement up for renegotiation. It didn't have anything to do with the change in leadership in Dellisole, but happened to coincide with it.
"We'll all be there for the dinner," Catherine told him.
"All?" That could be a large number. Catherine and Jacob were expecting their first child, but she had four full siblings and her father, the prior prince consort, had several more children with his second wife. Ironically, given Enzo’s first order of business shortly before, the prince consort had married the Royal Historian for Eastern Novigradia not long after the death of his wife.
Though the sole reason for the timing had to do with ensuring he could remain regent for ten-year-old Catherine as she became queen, the two were clearly happy together.
"Maybe not all," she conceded. "Myself, Jacob, Papa, and Mumeleine for certain. I need to double check which of my siblings will be there."
"Mumeleine?" It wasn't the first time he'd heard the name, but didn't know the history.
"Madeleine. She became Mummy Madeleine after my younger siblings started to come along. Eventually, it was shortened to Mumeleine. We don't typically use that in public, but sometimes it slips out."
It made sense, and he told her so.
"How are you doing?" The kindness in her voice reminded him that she would have a unique perspective on his situation.
"I'm better some days than others." Even though Catherine was an ally, he couldn't be completely honest with anyone, except maybe Victoria. "It will get easier with time." Or so he had been told.
"It will," the queen confirmed. "I'm sure you have plenty of other things on your schedule today, so I will leave you to them. We'll see you in a few weeks for the signing and dinner."
"I look forward to it." After disconnecting, he moved on to his next call of the day. It didn't last long then he had some time to prepare for his meeting with the Prime Minister and Minority Leader of Parliament along with the Chairman of the Council.
The statement about Victoria's citizenship would be released about the time the meeting concluded. It felt a little sneaky, but he also understood the rationale behind it. Though technically he had to approve everything, he tended to defer to the experts in each arena.
Twenty minutes before the other leaders were to arrive, his intercom buzzed. He reached over and pressed the button. "Yes?"
"Sir, we have enough information about the Royal Historian for a briefing. Would you prefer to do so now or after your meeting?"
He took a few seconds to ponder. If it was something minor that could be handled quickly, it could have been handled over the intercom. If there was a chance it would run into his next meeting, it needed to wait. "I'd like to discuss it as soon as the leadership meeting ends."
"Yes, sir."
The situation remained in the back of his mind as the meeting demanded most of his attention. None of the matters were overly urgent. All were important to one extent or another, though Enzo had a hard time giving them the same weight.
The meeting lasted far longer than he would have preferred. Just as they were wrapping up, the Chairman turned to Enzo.
"There is one more thing to discuss, sir."
Enzo looked at the agenda in front of him. "I believe that's everything."
"There has been some concerns raised about the queen," the Chairman went on.
"Concerns? None have been brought to my attention." He leaned back in his chair and did his best to look nonchalant.
The intercom buzzed before the Chairman could go on.
"My apologies, gentlemen. Your Majesty, your next meeting has asked to move the time up to the top of the hour."
"Thank you. We've reached the end of our agenda. Please let them know I'll be with them momentarily." He pushed back from the conference table and stood. "Gentlemen, if there are concerns about my wife, please add them to the agenda for our next meeting."
The Chairman tried to bluster his way into continuing the meeting, but Enzo refused to let himself be intimidated as he ushered them toward the door.
"Thank you for your time, gentlemen." As soon as the door closed behind them, Enzo felt some of the tension seep out of his shoulders.
A minute later, his top aide entered from another door. "My apologies for interrupting your meeting, sir."
Enzo shook his head. "The intercom buzzed at exactly the right time, but I didn't think I had another meeting until later this afternoon."
The aide winced a bit. "Technically, you don't, but I didn't think you would want to wait any longer to get an update on the Royal Historian."
A frown crossed his face. That couldn't be good. "Go ahead." He took the folder his aide extended.
"We don't know much yet, but we do know that he left the country in the middle of the night a couple of days ago. He didn't tell anyone, and it seems like he may have taken something important with him, though we don't know what and can't be certain just yet."
Enzo had no doubt there was already an investigation being opened and that no stone would be left unturned until answers were found.