Chapter 11
The weekend away together hadn't happened.
Jake wished they'd been able to, but Catherine's assistant reminded them about an event with members of Parliament.
The dinner was heavily political in nature, though it wasn't designed that way. All of those in attendance - leaders from every party and faction - were vying for his wife's attention and favorable opinion.
They all wanted to be on her good side, to be the person she listened to about this agenda item or that one. They all wanted to be her new best friend - or even a surrogate parent. Whatever it took to get the chance to be her biggest influence.
He did his best to protect her from the worst of the monopolizers, but knew he hadn't been fully successful. A few of the members tried to cultivate a relationship with him, as though they expected him to influence Catherine and the decisions she would make in any number of situations.
Jake didn't like that he was rapidly becoming jaded. He suspected he would always question the motives of anyone who tried to get a little too close to him too fast. He'd be looking for ulterior motives all over the place.
Would either one of them ever be able to develop true friendships without wondering what motives another person might have?
He suspected not.
The next two weeks were incredibly busy, with the upcoming birthday ball and wedding celebration taking up most of their time.
As he looked in the mirror and tugged at the sleeves of his dress shirt, making sure the cuff links with the royal family's crest were turned the correct way.
"You look fantastic, sweetheart." His mother moved in front of him and tweaked his tie just a bit. "Your father and I always knew you'd be involved in something important one day, but we never imagined it would be in part because you married Queen Catherine."
"I married Catherine, Mum. Kins, even." He tweaked his own tie again.
Not because his mother had messed it up, but because he needed something to do with his nervous energy.
"The reason we married when we did is because she's the queen, but I would have wanted to get to know her and marry her someday even without any title or inheritance or crown jewels. "
She swatted at his hand and straightened the tie he'd messed up.
"I know, but you are the Prince Consort.
That means at least some of the influence you have on any variety of topics in any variety of settings is because of who you married.
You can support causes important to you in a way you wouldn't be able to otherwise. "
"I know." He shook his arms and bounced up and down to release some of the nervous energy.
"Sir?" His new assistant, a man named Byron, entered the room. "They're ready for you and your family to make the trip to the Cathedral.”
"Thank you. We'll be there in a moment." He took a deep breath and looked from one parent to the other and then at his younger siblings. "Let's go."
With his mother on his arm and his father on the other side, they went down one corridor then another until they reached the door to the car waiting for them under the main portico.
As soon as they exited the building, he could hear the crowds beyond the gates. Was this real life? It took him so far out of anything he'd consider ordinary that he didn't know how to process it.
The windows of the auto covered nearly the entire vehicle, making it very easy for onlookers to see inside.
Unsurprisingly, Jake was placed in the most visible position, but they all waved and smiled as they slowly drove from the palace to the Cathedral.
Once the auto pulled up to the front entrance, he was the first one out, followed by the rest of his family.
They were met by two of the most powerful members of Parliament as well as the Senior Councilman. The handshakes were real.
The smiles were not.
All of them resented his quick marriage to Catherine and how it interrupted any plans they may have had to influence her.
Regardless, they walked together through the narthex and up the stairs to the holding room near the balcony above the front entrance. He wouldn't exit until Catherine had entered the building.
His family gathered around him and talked quietly, while the politicians clustered in another corner giving them the side eye.
"This is the part I'm not crazy about," he said softly enough no one could hear him. "Catherine is amazing and her family is wonderful, but I could do without the political side."
"It's part of the life," his father told him. "I know you know that. I saw enough of it when I worked here at the palace, and I wasn't even a part of it, not really."
"I'll learn to deal with it, but that doesn't mean I'll ever like it or become fully comfortable."
Before the conversation could continue, the minister from the Cathedral joined them to make a bit of small talk.
Catherine had to have left the palace by now.
She was supposed to be about ten minutes behind him, if that.
She would have entered her car as he exited his.
Any second, they would hear the increased volume from the supporters outside as her motorcade neared.
He could see some photos hanging on one of the walls and went over to get a better look. Children were doing some kind of sporting events at camp somewhere. It looked like a lot of fun, if a bit muddy.
Jake looked toward the glass doors leading to the balcony. He could hear the volume from the onlookers start to increase. Catherine had to be getting close.
His father clapped a hand on his shoulder. "It's almost time."
"Are you ready, Jakey?" His youngest sister reverted to her childhood nickname for him.
Jake grinned and picked her up, spinning her in a circle.
Once.
Two or more and she might lose her lunch all over his fancy clothes.
Byron motioned toward the doors. It was time for them to exit.
Once at the rail of the balcony, Jake waved at those gathered until he was told to turn.
Here came his bride.
Inside the balcony doors, Catherine waited to be last on the balcony. Her half-siblings went first followed by her full siblings. Mumeleine and her father went last.
With a deep breath, she held her bouquet in front of her and took the first step onto the lighted balcony.
Her heart leapt when she saw Jacob waiting for her near the railing. The way his face lit up gave her hope they could find a way to be compatible and have a long, happy life together.
As she neared the railing, Jacob held a hand out to her.
She handed the flowers to Mumeleine, took Jacob’s hand, and stepped to his side.
Her arm slid around the back of his waist as his went around her.
The cheers of the thousands of people gathered to watch them stand there and wave for a few minutes.
After handing her bouquet to Mumeleine, she waved and smiled then blew a few kisses.
The minister from the cathedral cleared his throat lightly.
Turning to face each other, the minister spoke a few sentences about the sanctity of marriage then handed them their wedding bands.
In turn, they each slid the band onto the finger of the other and repeated the minister's words. "With this ring, I thee wed." The cheers of the crowd reached a crescendo.
Jacob held both of her hands and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You know they want us to kiss, right?"
Catherine nodded, and did her best to speak without moving her lips. "But we're supposed to wait until we're at the palace, on the balcony there."
"We're not doing the balcony at the palace, are we? I thought we were changing clothes and going straight to the ball."
"That's not the last thing I was told, but I suppose you could be right.
" She didn't like that idea. If she hadn't heard about it at all, neither would those gathered closer to the palace.
They would be annoyed as they wouldn't have had a chance to change their viewing location if they wanted to. “A quick one?" she asked him.
"That works. If we do end up on the balcony at the palace, we can do it there, too."
She nodded and looked up at him.
He leaned down and gave her a brief kiss, much to the delight of the crowd gathered.
The whole thing seemed a bit ridiculous to her, but she supposed it made sense to those gathered below.
After another couple of minutes, Jessica called out a reminder that they had only another minute or two before it was time to turn around and go back to the palace.
Catherine made sure to look beyond those immediately below and outside the cathedral. She waved to those in the distance down the street, hoping they knew she was trying to include them.
Jessica called to them softly. The other members of their families turned to go back inside, leaving the two of them to turn away last.
"One more?" she murmured, hoping Jacob could hear her.
"Sure."
As soon as she turned her face upward, Jacob kissed her again - a little longer this time, but not overly so. Nothing even her rigid great grandmother would have objected to.
They turned to go back inside, Jacob helping her with the voluminous skirts. Someone had the brilliant idea to put a covering of some kind on the stone balcony so it wouldn't catch on the train of her dress.
When the doors closed behind them, she realized their families had already left the area, as had the government officials who had joined them. There was no reason to linger, so they went down the stairs, with Jacob holding her elbow, making certain she remained steady.
Their families did wait for them outside of the main entrance. She wasn't quite sure who would ride with who, but she did know the families would intermix for the drive back.
Jacob entered the carriage first then turned to help her in and arrange the skirt so it didn't hang out the door or cause her to sit oddly.
The families and officials immediately went to their vehicles and left while she and Jacob were getting situated.
Once they were out of sight, four mounted guards joined them and created four outer corners of their little caravan. The driver clicked to the large draft horses and the clopping of hooves began.
Catherine waved to the first spectators a few seconds later. For the next fifteen minutes, they both waved and smiled and she blew kisses to those gathered. Jacob didn't do that.
Many of those gathered held signs wishing them well, congratulating them, and more than she would have expected referenced her late mother.
By the time they reached the palace, tears ran freely down her face.
Happy tears, but tears nonetheless.
Once through the gates, they were taken to a side entrance that led to the balcony on the top of the front wall.
"Are we going on the balcony here?" Jacob asked. "I thought the plan had changed."
Jessica shook her head. "I'm not sure why you were told that, but your families have just exited up there."
That would explain the increased volume from those gathered outside.
Going up the stairs in the front wall were more difficult than the ones at the cathedral. These were narrow and curving along the inside wall of the turret. With Jacob's help, she held the hem of her skirt up so it wouldn't drag on the stones placed nearly a thousand years before.
If possible, the mood on this balcony was even more jubilant than the one at the cathedral. They stayed there for about five minutes, just as they had at the cathedral. This time, there were three kisses, all a little bit longer than the ones earlier.
She refused to think about anything that could come after a kiss.
That was too much at the moment, just as it had been for the last few weeks.
With one final kiss blown to the crowds gathered, they followed their families back inside.
The others were whisked off to the left when they reached the ground floor.
She and Jacob were led back outside for the walk through the courtyard.
While they were on the balcony, palace staff members formed a line on either side of the path from the front gate to the main portico.
This walk was slower than Jessica probably would have preferred, but Catherine refused to rush and spoke briefly to everyone she could. She might have missed a few people, but it wasn't intentional. Jacob did the same on his side of the walkway.
By the time they reached the portico, Catherine definitely felt the winter chill. She hoped the staff members hadn't been outside very long, though they were all dressed more warmly than she was.
Once inside with the doors closed behind them, she was joined by her dresser, stylist, and several others as they walked to the throne room where photos would be taken. Jacob...
She didn't know exactly where Jacob went, but she knew he would meet her there.
Her team fussed over her makeup and hair and dress before they spent twenty minutes or so taking photos with family and those who would have been in the wedding party if there had been one.
When they were done, she was whisked away again, this time to a room set aside for the day as a dressing room. Once they'd helped her out of the wedding gown, Catherine reached for the robe that had been left there earlier in the day, wrapping it around herself and tying the belt around her waist.
"I need a minute to just sit, please. I'll be right back."
The looks exchanged among her team contained suppressed annoyance, but she didn't care.
Once on the other side of a screen, she sank into a chair placed there for historic reasons rather than ones of comfort.
Looking down at the engagement ring her mother had worn and the new wedding band placed there by Jacob at the cathedral, it hit her.
Now she felt like she was married.