Chapter 5
This was getting him nowhere.
Frederick had just finished another lunch with another eligible woman, someone who would be considered acceptable to the old guard, but modern enough for the younger generation to accept willingly.
And she was... fine.
There was nothing inherently wrong with her - or most of the other young women he'd met with.
But there was no... spark. No hint that there would ever be anything but friendship between them at most. He wanted more than that. Not only because of the children they were expected to have, but because he wanted more from a lifetime commitment. He wanted...
A sigh escaped without a conscious decision for him to do so. He didn't know for certain what - or who - he really wanted. All he really knew was that he was running out of time to make a decision.
Given that this situation was one where no decision was a decision, he needed to get it figured out.
"Sir?" George brought him back to the present.
Frederick leaned forward and rested both of his hands on the conference table. Photos of each of the women along with key details about them were scattered on top of it.
"Let's start with the ones that can definitely be eliminated," George suggested.
With a nod, Frederick moved five off to the side. After looking over them for another moment, he moved three more.
"Very good, sir. That's a start." George picked them up and moved them to a file folder before rearranging the ones still on the table into neat rows. "Out of these, are there any who can be eliminated?"
With a growl, Frederick pushed off the table and ran his hands through his hair. "This is no way to decide who I want to spend the rest of my life with."
"I agree..."
"And so will the people of Southern Santiero. And so will the woman I eventually narrow this down to. This is ridiculous."
None of the women had explicitly been told he was looking for a wife, but the whispers had turned to full-blown rumors then unofficially confirmed reports discussed extensively in local media. They all knew.
Which helped eliminate a few of them. They were clearly only interested in the title and prestige and jewels and other accoutrements that came with becoming queen.
A couple of others were eliminated because he had a hard time carrying on a conversation with them for a meal, much less a lifetime.
Two were way too brash and presumptive. Three more decided that being coquettish would be the way to win his heart - or at least his ring.
If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was being manipulated.
Of those who remained, none stood out in any capacity - good or bad.
"Who were the best conversationalists?" George asked.
Frederick moved most of the remaining photos to the side, leaving four in consideration. They all were polite and refined, good conversationalists, and he knew they would acclimate to the responsibilities of a queen. It would take some time, but it would happen.
"Do any of these four stand out?"
He stared at them - two with dark brown hair, one with blond, and another with light brown. Definitely not the main criteria for choosing a wife, but attractiveness in general wasn't to be discounted. At least his perception of their attractiveness.
The photos started to swim together as he found himself unable to focus on all of them - or even just one.
Instead, he turned and walked to the window looking out over the city. If his father were still alive, he wouldn't be facing this kind of decision. It wouldn't matter when he married, as long as he married before becoming king.
His father wasn't to blame. Frederick knew the illness that took him in a matter of months couldn't be stopped. He knew his father would have preferred to grow old with his wife, mentor his children, and play with his grandbabies.
But it still left him in this regrettable position.
"We'll continue this later," Frederick told George. "I can't focus enough to further cull the ranks."
Even without looking, he knew his aide disapproved, but also knew George understood where Frederick stood on the matter.
The side door opened then closed again, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more.
Maybe he should call his mother. She always gave good advice, but had also made it clear she didn't believe it to be her place to advise him once he turned twenty-one.
Mum wasn't a politician which Frederick thought made her the perfect person to advise him.
Especially on matters of a relational nature given that she'd been queen for nearly eighteen years and would have a unique perspective on what it took to handle the role with grace and dignity.
A glance behind showed him that George had left the information on the four remaining women on the conference table.
He didn't want to admit defeat, but perhaps it was time.
Frederick walked back to the conference table and took a seat in the middle of one side rather than the end where he normally would have.
One at a time, he picked up the photos and informational sheets about each of the remaining women.
Taking his time to read it all carefully - again - he found himself no closer to an answer than he had been three weeks ago.
Not really.
On paper, as it were, it looked like things had changed significantly. In reality, he was no closer to choosing one over the others.
They were all... fine. In fact, one could argue that they were fairly interchangeable at this point. None would be the wrong choice.
But none would be the right choice either.
How was he supposed to choose when there was no right answer?
A buzzing sound let him know he had someone coming in to meet with him. Odd. There wasn't anyone on his schedule. His whole day had been cleared for finalizing this decision and to begin making arrangements for a quick wedding.
AIDE2 entered with a file folder. "This item has been added to the agenda for your video conference with Queen Catherine tomorrow."
"Thank you." Frederick took the folder and turned, making his way quickly to his desk where he sat down. After a moment to let him change his focus, he flipped the folder open and began to read. Before he made it to the end of the first page, the buzzer sounded again.
He closed the folder as he waited for someone to enter.
When the door opened to let his next meeting in, the person surprised him.
Frederick stood so quickly his chair rolled back several feet. "Elise!" He rounded the desk and walked toward her. "To what do I owe this immense pleasure?"
An internal wince forced him to admit he felt more intrigued by his visitor than he ought to, given that he should be marrying in the next week.
Elise dipped into a curtsy. "I came to offer a solution to your problem." She held her hands together in front of her, gripping each other tightly.
"My problem?" Was she aware of his dilemma or talking about something else?
"You have to get married, right?"
He nodded his affirmation.
"Then I have a solution."
Confusion remained. "Pardon?"
Elise sucked in a deep breath and spoke quickly. "Marry me."
Years of practice and acting experience were the only things that kept Elise from showing too much of any one emotion on her face.
The knots in her stomach tightened further with each second the king didn't speak and it took far more of them than she would have hoped for him to respond.
"You want to marry me?" Confusion seemed to be the primary reaction.
"I've seen the news and talked with a local friend who told me everything, including that it seemed that you've been having a hard time finding someone to marry." She clasped her hands together more tightly. "Is that right? Or is the rumor mill wrong?"
The king clasped his hands behind his back. "No, the rumor mill is accurate in this case."
"So you have to be married by next week, but none of the women you've spent time with appeal as a lifetime partner."
"Correct. We narrowed it down to a few possible options, but none of them feel... right. I still have a day or two before I really need to make a decision, although that does assume the woman doesn't turn down the proposal."
Elise took a step forward. "Then will you consider my proposal? We spent time together on the trip here. I thought we had chemistry, and it seemed like you felt the same way."
He gave a single nod. "I did feel that way." After hesitating for a second, he went on. "In fact, I don't think I've ever felt the connection that we had with anyone else. I know I haven't."
An unexpected thought crossed her mind. "When did you find out about this marriage requirement?"
"A few weeks ago." A nice, noncommittal answer if she ever heard one.
"Frederick." The first time she used his name and it definitely had a warning note in it.
"The day we got back, not long before you came to my office." He wouldn't look her in the eye.
Her thought had been right. "Were you going to talk to me about this that morning?"
She could barely hear the sighing sound he made. "I had planned on it, but at the last minute..."
Elise moved closer until she was only a couple of feet in front of him. "Why didn't you?"
His dark eyes finally met hers. "I couldn't put that sort of pressure on you.
You have a life and a career that really isn't compatible with being queen.
If that title wasn't an issue, or if my father was still alive so we'd have time to figure out our normal and you wouldn't need to change careers so quickly, then maybe. I would never ask you to give that up."
That made her eyes begin to fill with tears. Taking a half-step more, Elise reached up and placed her hand on his chest. "I love that you gave that much consideration to my well-being. That alone tells me everything I need to know about you."
One of his hands covered hers and curled around it. "You would give up your career, everything you've worked so hard for, to marry me and deal with everything that comes with being a member of a royal family? Not just any member, but the queen consort?"
"I'm used to living in a fishbowl," Elise reminded him.
"It's not the same." As his free hand came up to cup the side of her face, he closed the remaining distance between them.
"I know." Her voice came out a whisper.
His face came closer to hers, and her eyes closed. The first soft touch of a kiss sent a thrill through her and she found one hand flexing against his chest as the other came to rest on his side.
Without making a conscious decision, Elise rose to her tiptoes and grasped the front of his shirt as the kiss intensified.
But as suddenly as it start, it stopped.
Frederick took a step back, but held onto her elbow to make sure she was steady.
With her eyes still closed, Elise blew out a breath. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about chemistry."
A chuckle caused her to look at him. "No," he told her with a crooked grin. "Chemistry won't be an issue, but we already knew that."
"Yes, we did." Taking a small step back. "So what does that mean for you? For Southern Santiero?"
He reached out and took her hand, leading her to the chairs by the large window. Even as they took a seat, he continued to hold on. "What it means for me, for Southern Santiero, is that this - you - may be the solution we've been praying for."
Elise looked at his thumb where it rubbed lightly against the back of her hand. "I'm glad."
"We would need to discuss logistics." Frederick leaned back in his chair and fixed his tie with his free hand. "You're still working. You have commitments that you will need to fulfill. What does that look like for you?"
She hadn't thought that far ahead. "I have to finish this movie, of course, and all of the promotional stuff for it when it releases next year, though I may be able to scale that back some. I doubt I can get out of it altogether, not without significant consequences, but I can probably cut back."
"What other projects do you have in the works?"
"Nothing that I've signed a contract for.
There's supposed to be a SPACE reunion panel at a con next fall.
I've verbally committed to that, but not officially.
I don't think the panelists will be announced for another couple of months.
" She would miss some of that. She loved meeting fans and spending time with her former co-stars.
"We'll need to get with the public relations team and other advisors to decide how all of that needs to play out.
" He released her hand and rested his forearms on his knees with his hands clasped between them.
After staring at them for a minute, he looked back up at her.
"If this is the decision you make, we'll need to be legally married in the next few days. There won't be a big wedding ceremony."
Leaning back in her seat, Elise crossed one leg over the other as she thought it through. "I have a thought on that. It may not be plausible, but something to consider at least."
"What's that?" He sounded skeptical and a little hopeful at the same time.
"We have a very small civil ceremony here in the palace.
It's a legal marriage. Then we plan a big soiree for later in the summer.
I know that a significant portion of the population will feel slighted if there's no wedding ceremony with the pomp and circumstance.
Legally, we'll be married, but we'll consider it more of an engagement with the ceremony marking the official beginning of our marriage, even it won't be the legal one.
" She bit her bottom lip as she waited to hear his thoughts.
After a moment of reflection, he nodded slowly. "That could work. The lack of public ceremony has been mentioned multiple times by my staff as well as the public and the media. This could be a way to honor the letter of the law while still meeting the expectations of the people."
"Then we have an agreement?" Could it really be this simple? Not in practice. In practice, it was anything but simple.
Before she realized what was happening, Frederick was on one knee in front of her seat, taking her hand in his.
"Elise, will you do me the honor of being my wife, mother of my children, and queen of my people?" Only hope remained in his voice.
She smiled at him. "It would be my honor."