Chapter 16
By the time they returned to the yacht, Frederick found himself more than ready to get some sleep.
Over the course of the day, he’d found it increasingly difficult to keep up the sunny persona expected of him on a day like this.
As soon as they were in a vehicle, he let the mask slip.
It wasn’t anything he could put his finger on, just a lingering sense that something wasn’t quite right.
Maybe he was coming down with a cold.
Once back on the yacht, he told Elise he was going to take a quick shower then go to bed and hope he felt better in the morning. At least they didn’t have any official engagements for three days. He could rest on the yacht and then again at his mum’s house and the resort.
It wasn’t just the motion of the yacht that kept him tossing and turning. He’d managed to eat most of the meal they’d been served at dinner with the VIPs, but he didn’t think he’d be able to keep it all down.
After about twenty minutes, he went and found a bin to set next to the bed.
He finally dozed off without needing to use the bin, though he slept fitfully.
When Frederick woke in the middle of the night, he realized Elise hadn’t come to bed with him. The urge to go find her almost compelled him to get up, but ultimately, he decided he needed the sleep more than he needed to locate his wife.
By the time he woke to the sun beginning to stream through the windows, Frederick felt better. Not back to normal, not completely, but enough to text Elise and ask where she was.
A minute later, she walked out of her bathroom area. “Good morning.” She kissed his cheek. “Are you feeling better?”
He nodded as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Much better. I don’t think I want much to eat until I know my stomach has settled, but I could handle something light.”
Elise reached for the phone on the side table and called the steward. After sharing the request, she hung up then turned back to him.
She rested the back of her hand against his forehead. “I have no idea what you’re supposed to feel like.” Her grin made him smile too. “I just know this is how my mum always checked to see if we had a fever.”
“Do I feel warm?” He pushed up until he was seated against the wall behind the bed.
“Maybe a little bit? You’re not burning up.” She went around to the other side of the bed and sat criss-cross facing him on her side. “Do you know when we’re supposed to reach your mum’s?”
“Before lunch, but I’m not sure exactly when.” He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. “The sooner the better. I don’t get seasick, but with my stomach the way it is, I’d rather be on solid ground.”
A knock sounded on the glass doors behind them.
“Come,” Frederick called.
The steward himself brought the breakfast in. “Good morning, Your Majesties. How are you feeling this morning?”
Frederick knew the question was directed at him. “Somewhat better, but not fully myself just yet.”
The steward bowed. “Chef sent some tea that he hopes will help settle your stomach.”
“Thank you, and thank him for me.” Frederick would make certain to thank him personally later.
“I will, sir.” The steward bowed again. “Please call when you need something.”
“Thank you,” Elise chimed in. “We appreciate it.” Once the steward left, Elise turned back to Frederick. “Do you want to eat here or over at the table?”
Getting up to walk over to the table seemed like too much work. “I think right here is fine.”
A worried look crossed her face. Frederick waited for her to say something but she chose not to. Instead, she swiveled and swung her legs over the end of the bed.
She helped him get situated a little better, then handed him a tray table. The steam from the tea curled upward as he took the cup from her. He cradled it, relishing the warmth in the palms of his hands.
“Thank you.”
She went back to her seat on the other side of the bed, her own table sitting on the bed next to her.
As they ate, Elise carried the conversation, talking about her experiences the day before. She seemed to be quite excited about a project she wanted to get involved with, but Frederick couldn’t focus quite well enough to understand what exactly it would entail.
The phone on the table beside him buzzed quietly. He reached over and answered. After listening for a moment, he thanked the captain and hung up. “We’ll be docking in about an hour,” he told Elise. “Mum will be waiting for us at the house.”
She nodded, but her mouth was full so she didn’t speak.
They finished eating. Elise took their dishes and cleaned up.
Frederick convinced himself to push the blankets off and move so his legs were dangling over the side of the bed. He propped himself with his hands on the edge of the mattress and closed his eyes.
Time to move.
He managed to stand, but the yacht rolled suddenly.
Not overly much, but in his weakened state, enough that he began to topple.
“Whoa.” Elise hurried to grab him and help stabilize him. “You okay?”
He nodded. “Just not very steady on my feet at the moment.” By the time he moved carefully to the bathroom, he’d taken a mental inventory of his body.
No pain. Discomfort in his abdomen, but the upset stomach could explain that.
His personal aide met him in the dressing area.
Accepting help getting dressed in casual clothes took some convincing, though the argument took place only inside his own head.
Once dressed, he decided to lay down again until it was time to disembark.
It only took a few minutes for him to fall asleep. When Elise woke him gently, he felt somewhat better than he had when he awoke the first time.
The island was secluded and private. From the dock closest to his mum’s house, they were driven in an electric golf cart.
Once inside, his mum disregarded his directive given many years earlier and curtsied.
He rolled his eyes and held his arms open for the hug he knew would be coming.
Remembering his conversation with Elise on the plane after right they met, Frederick closed his eyes and let himself just enjoy the moment.
His mother released him and greeted Elise before turning back.
She gave him one of those looks only mothers have mastered. “What’s wrong?”
Frederick just sighed and shook his head. “I was a bit under the weather yesterday, but I’m doing much better this morning.”
The look relaxed only slightly. “You wouldn’t lie to me?”
“No, ma’am.” Frederick put his arm around his mum’s shoulders. “I promise I’m feeling much better.”
“Very well.” She put her arm around his waist. “Let’s go have a seat and talk for a bit.”
Frederick walked with his mum into the other room and sat in his favorite chair. Reaching down to the side, he pulled the handle and flipped the foot rest out.
He’d let his mum and his wife do the talking.
He just might take another nap.
When Elise looked at Frederick, she realized he’d fallen asleep in the recliner at his mum’s living room.
“Is he feeling all right?” the Queen Mother nodded toward her son.
“He seemed off last night, said his stomach was a little funny, but he felt better this morning.” She remembered how he stumbled when he stood and the yacht hit a wave.
“His balance seemed off, but he’d just stood up for the first time so it could have just been his equilibrium was still catching up to being awake.
I know mine does that on solid ground sometimes, much less at sea. ”
The Queen Mother nodded. “I suppose, though I’ve never known him to have trouble with his sea legs.” She frowned as she stared at her son then reached for her phone. “I’m going to have the resort doctor come over to look at him.”
Elise didn’t know Frederick well enough to know for certain what he’d think about that, but she felt pretty certain that he wouldn’t be crazy about the idea.
“He’ll be annoyed, but he’ll put up with it for me.
” The Queen Mother sent a text then set her phone down.
“They’ll let me know when he leaves to come here, but they usually move me to the front of the line.
I don’t ask for it, and I’ve told them not to, but they do it anyway.
If they’ve been told my son is on the island, they’ll likely move that much faster. ”
One thing Elise had avoided most of the time was overly special treatment because of her status as an actress. She hadn’t contemplated how that would likely change now that she’d become a member of the royal family.
They made small talk as they waited. The Queen Mother asked about their stops the day before.
Elise broached the topic of the combination residential facilities.
The Queen Mother listened intently, nodding along as she did. “That sounds like a fascinating idea. How would you match up a university student with a retiree?”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet,” Elise admitted.
“Probably some kind of questionnaire, just like you might do for any kind of matchmaking service. Find out what people like and dislike. If someone’s allergic to cats, you don’t match them with someone who loves cats.
You don’t match someone with a dog phobia with someone who has three Havanese.
You match people who love classical music or game shows or baking. ”
“That’s good in theory, but it won’t always work in practice.”
Elise had thought of that. When trying to fall asleep in one of the other suites so she wouldn’t bother Frederick, she’d turned it all over in her head. “You could have a probationary type period. Or a meet and greet. Some sort of social gathering. Maybe like a speed dating thing.”
The Queen Mother took another sip of her tea then glanced at her phone. “That’s an interesting way to match. You’d also have to account for opposites attract somehow. One person who loves to cook but hates cleaning up with one who hates to cook or can’t but doesn’t mind cleaning up.”
“There has to be someone who can help with that sort of thing.” Being a part of the royal family had to have some perks. Maybe getting in contact with someone who could help with that sort of thing was one of them.
The Queen Mother glanced at her phone again. “The doctor is here.”
Someone else opened the front door and let three people in. Elise suspected it was the former queen’s security who had done so.
“Good morning, Your Majesties.” A gray-haired gentleman entered the room first, followed by two other medical professionals. He introduced himself, his nurse, and his assistant to Elise.
Frederick hadn’t woken up.
The nurse took what vitals she could without his cooperation. His temperature, taken on his forehead, was a little high, but not concerningly so. His O2 was fine, but his heart rate was also higher than normal.
As she removed the sensor from his finger, he stirred.
Elise and her mother-in-law watched and listened as the nurse took the rest of his vitals and the doctor asked a few questions.
Frederick grumped at them, insisting he felt much better and didn’t need their assistance.
The doctor didn’t listen and continued to ask questions.
“I’m fine,” he told them once more, trying to return the recliner to it’s resting position.
“You’ve had a big month, with the wedding and everything else.” The doctor went on as though he hadn’t heard Frederick’s words. “You’ve been at sea. Have you had anything unusual to eat? Any activities out of the norm?”
Elise looked at the doctor, but in her peripheral vision, she’d seen Frederick glance her way.
“Not really. I don’t often eat some of the dishes we’ve had the last few days, but I’ve never had any issues with them before, either.
Besides, Elise is fine. We’ve had the same meals, so if it was the food, both of us should be affected, not just me.
” He hadn’t managed to get the chair back to its normal position and he finally gave up.
After a few more questions, and listening to Frederick’s heart and lungs, the doctor asked him to recline the seat all the way back.
He palpated different areas of Frederick’s abdomen, watching for a reaction, but there was none.
“I’m fine,” Frederick insisted again. “There’s nothing wrong with me, except for possibly a slight bug of some kind.”
The doctor stood back and crossed his arms over his chest and watched Frederick for a moment. “I would like for you to go in for some tests or let us send some out, but I suspect you won’t agree to that.”
“You suspect correctly.”
“Then I will leave you with some fairly simple instructions - for now. Stay hydrated. Rest. Call me if anything changes. If you experience any pain or discomfort at all, and send for me. I’d much rather you call me for nothing than not call me and have it turn out to be something.
” The doctor gave him that glare many authority figures had mastered.
“I will.”
After a moment of discussion with the Queen Mother, the doctor joined his team who’d moved to the entrance. They all gave a final bow or curtsy then left.
Frederick looked at both of them, but his gaze came to rest on his mother. “Mum, I told you I was fine. After a short nap, I’m much better than I was even when I woke this morning.”
The Queen Mother arched one eyebrow and didn’t wither under his gaze. “And I’m your mother. If I feel a call to the doctor is warranted, I will make it, even if you are the king.”
Elise tried not to shift uncomfortably as he turned to her, but she looked him straight in the eye. “Don’t look at me. I agree with her. We’d both do it again if we thought it the right call to make.”
It took him three tries to get the recliner closed and four more to stand.
Elise shared a look with her mother-in-law. He clearly wasn’t feeling his best.
With a glare at both of them, he stalked to the stairs and then up them.
More slowly than normal.
This time when Elise looked at the Queen Mother, the other woman shook her head.
“His father was the same way. Refused to admit when he was sick and hated to take time to the see the doctor. I often had to go around him to make it happen. Perhaps my son will eventually come to his senses a little easier than my husband did.”
Elise turned that thought over in her head. It was definitely something to keep in mind, but she really hoped it would be a long time before she had to override his wishes on something like that.
A very long time.