Chapter 14 #2
But she still wouldn’t trade having her mum back. She loved Mumeleine and the littles, who weren’t so little anymore, and the thought of a world without them made her exceedingly sad.
One of the other siblings drew attention away from the conversation. The rest of the meal went smoothly. Jacob made certain the bill was taken care of.
Their goodbyes included hugs with all of the children. Those photos would be splashed across social media long before their arrival at the lake home.
Jessica would be thrilled. She’d been after Catherine to do more things out and about among the people. As long as some tabloid didn’t take it and make it into something it wasn’t.
She’d seen it happen in Southern Santiero. Frederick had been on his yacht traveling between islands. He’d volunteered to help a family who missed their cruise ship because of a miscommunication with the ride share service followed by a traffic jam caused, in part, by his motorcade.
They’d been running down the dock, but the gangway had already been pulled in.
Frederick saw the mum break down and the father look stricken.
He’d asked his aide to find out what happened then ordered his yacht back to the dock to help out and take the family to the next port, also in Southern Santiero.
Local press had blamed him for causing them to miss it in the first place then to use the situation to his advantage and take attention off of some scandal regarding his relationship with a commoner.
Catherine knew Frederick well enough to know the thought had never crossed his mind.
In fact, she doubted the young lady’s social status had ever crossed his mind until someone else brought it up.
He certainly wouldn’t have used another family’s misfortune to get the attention off something he didn’t believe should be an issue in the first place.
She spent the entire drive to the lake pondering how they would spin her lunch with Jacob and a random family.
Would she ever be able to relax and just enjoy being? Her every move, every decision had been scrutinized since she started making public appearances on her own at sixteen.
Every appearance she made, every cause she chose to support, meant another equally worthy cause wasn’t in the spotlight due to royal patronage.
No matter what she chose, someone - somewhere - thought it was the wrong choice.
Jacob received a phone call from Byron as they pulled to a stop in front of the ancient home. While not nearly as old as the palace proper, it had still been standing for centuries.
While Jacob took the call, Catherine went inside, easily finding her way to the room she’d been using for decades. Once inside, she looked around, puzzled at what she saw.
Though tidy and dust free, it didn’t look like it had been prepared for their arrival.
Confused, she left the room and wandered back to the main entrance.
Jacob waited for her near the doors. “I have no idea where I’m going,” he told her with a grin.
“I’d be happy to give you a tour while we’re here, but my room hasn’t been made up, so first I need to find someone to do that.”
“Pardon me, ma’am.”
Catherine turned to see the steward walking toward them. He stopped to bow toward them.
“The monarch’s suite has been made ready for your arrival.”
With a blink, Catherine knew it made sense, but it still felt weird. That was her parents’ space.
Though, as she thought about it, her father and Mumeleine had never used it.
“Thank you,” she murmured, uncertain of what she should do next.
“Dinner will be served in an hour, unless you specify otherwise. Would you prefer to be served in the family dining hall or the sitting room of your suite?”
A slight nod of her head sent a thank you to the steward. “The sitting room, I think?” A look toward Jacob saw him agree with a nod of his own.
The steward bowed his head before leaving through a side door. Catherine thought it led to the kitchen but it had been many years since she’d gone exploring in the “behind closed doors” portions of the house. She’d been restricted to the non-working areas since her mum’s passing.
Rather than dwelling on it for the moment, she directed Jacob toward the grand staircase.
As they walked, he asked about a couple of pieces of artwork hanging on the walls. She told the little she knew about them.
It only took a moment to reach the imposing doors to her new quarters. Suite was a bit of a misnomer. It had five bedrooms - all with en suite baths - multiple washrooms, two sitting rooms, an office, and a library - and the actual Monarch’s Suite.
As she gave Jacob the tour, she did realize only the Monarch’s Suite had been fully prepared for their arrival.
“You can stay in here with me,” she blurted out before she could change her mind.
Jacob gave her a smile, but didn’t agree or disagree. “Do you want to get a bit of rest before dinner?”
The idea held significant appeal. Catherine nodded and slipped her shoes off. “I do think I’ll lay down until it’s time to eat. You?” She purposely left the statement vague, allowing him to infer whatever he chose.
“I’m not opposed to taking a bit of a nap.”
In just a few minutes, they were both stretched out on the bed.
Pulling the sheet up over her shoulders, Catherine settled into a light sleep, but the entire time, every inch of her being felt an awareness she never had before.
Jacob, her husband, lay so close it would only take the slightest movement to bring them into contact.
As she drifted off to sleep, Catherine wondered what might happen if one of them bridged the gap.
And wondered when one of them would be brave enough to try.
When Jake awoke from the nap, the first thing he realized was that he wasn't on the couch in their cottage.
The second thing was that he wasn't alone.
He'd rolled onto his side. That wasn't unusual, but that his arm wrapped around Catherine was.
Somehow, while they dozed, she'd moved toward him and he toward her, because they definitely weren't overly close in the large bed when he closed his eyes.
Carefully, he rolled away from Catherine, doing his best not to wake her up.
"I'm awake." Her sleep-filled voice stopped him mid-role.
"You don't sound like it." His voice wasn't much different than hers.
"What time is it?"
With the question, he rolled onto his back and sat up before reaching for his phone on the side table. "We've been asleep about an hour."
"So it's dinner time?" she asked with a yawn, as she reached for her own phone. Scanning the screen, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "It will be here in a couple of minutes."
His stomach growled as he sat up. "Good. It's been a long time since lunch."
Catherine laughed. "It hasn't really been that long, has it?"
"No,” he admitted, “but I'm still ready to eat."
A few minutes later, they were seated at a small table in the sitting area near the window overlooking the gardens and lake.
Catherine clearly seemed to still be waking up.
He watched her as she ate. Not staring, but just aware of her movements.
That's how he realized something seemed to be weighing on her besides just being slow to wake.
"Something on your mind?" he asked as she pushed her plate away.
"Have photos from lunch already made it to social media?" Catherine leaned back in her chair, her shoulders slumped.
"Probably." Jake pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened it, first checking for a message from Byron before opening one of the social media apps when he didn't find one.
Nothing appeared in the first few scrolls so he swiped it closed then opened the browser and did a search for Catherine's name. There were a couple of photos from earlier in the day intermixed with photos from the last few weeks.
He clicked on one of the recent ones and skimmed the story.
"This one just says that we treated a family to lunch and spent some time with them before heading out of the city for the weekend.
" He tapped a couple of more times to open the comment section.
The ones he read over the next minute were generally positive, but there seemed to be a bit of caution as well.
A few wondered if it was a publicity stunt, but none could quite pinpoint why they thought it might be.
"Overall, seems positive. There's nothing negative, necessarily, just a few not quite sure if it was possible that it could be a stunt of some kind, but no reasoning for it. "
"So that's good?"
"I think so," he confirmed. "Certainly not bad."
Her shoulders slumped a little further, though it seemed like there was more relief in her posture after he spoke.
"Everyone loves you, Catherine," he told her softly, moving his chair to the side so he could place a hand on her arm.
"But being loved by the people of my country isn't the same as having their approval.
You can love someone and think they're doing a poor job.
" She blew out a breath and pushed herself up so she sat a bit straighter.
"I'm doing my best, but I don't really think I'm doing a very good job. I don't know how to know if I am."
"Are you doing your best? Are you surrounding yourself with wise advisers? Are you considering all options then making the decision you believe best for everyone? Even if it won't be a popular decision?"
She nodded.
"That's all you can do, love." The term of endearment slipped out without him realizing it. "The rest of it will take care of itself."
"I hope so." She took another breath and sat up straight. "Is there anything specific you want to do this evening?"
Jake shook his head. "I'd like to explore the property a bit at some point, but it doesn't have to be tonight."
"How about a walk in the garden? Then maybe a movie?" she suggested.
"That sounds perfect." He stood and cleaned up their dishes, placing them on the silver cart.
When he finished, Catherine stood and led the way to a door he hadn't seen. It took them out on to a veranda which led to another sweeping staircase.
What was it about sweeping staircases? The palace had them. This home had them. So did every other upper end home he'd been in or seen in pictures. Why?
At the base of the stairs was another patio area. Catherine kept walking toward another, smaller set of stone steps, these leading into the upper area of the garden itself.
The further they walked from the house, the more Jake noticed the areas near the building were heated somehow. About the time they reached the bottom of the steps, Jake realized they should have brought some outerwear.
"We won't go far." Catherine wrapped her arms around herself and led the way to the top of another staircase. It appeared to be the last one, only a few steps above the pathway leading into rows of planters.
Jake moved to stand behind his wife and wrapped his arms around and on top of hers. "I bet this is beautiful in the spring."
Her head leaned back to rest against his shoulder. "It is. We'll have to come back when everything is in bloom, and we can go out on the lake. It's too cold to swim without the proper gear, but it's lovely to just be out there."
"I can imagine." He rested the side of his cheek against her hair. "I'm looking forward to it, but maybe we better head back inside and finish exploring another time when we have the proper clothes."
"Agreed."
But neither of them moved for several minutes until a shudder ran all the way through Catherine.
"Come on." He loosened his hold and took her hand, walking together back up the sets of stairs and to the veranda.
Opening the door to the sitting room, he stood to the side to allow Catherine to walk in before him. She kept going until she reached the window in the actual Monarch's Suite, looking over the same portion of the garden where they had just been.
Once again, he stood behind her and held her in his arms.
After another minute looking at the same view, Catherine turned to rest her head against his chest as her arms went around his waist.
Jake closed his eyes and breathed deeply. This felt right in a way nothing else ever had.
Catherine must have felt the same way because she shifted back slightly then leaned up and after the space of a heartbeat, kissed him.