On Wednesday she had a meeting with the inauguration committee first. They had had two days to do things more openly since the speech and she was satisfied with the progress. A date had been set, too. Lists of guests had been prepared and representatives of the media had been informed they could apply for an invitation.
After that André came to tell her she had gone up in the popularity stakes because she had talked to people.
"Wow. I'm so happy," she said with some sarcasm. "But that's not why I did it. I don't only represent people who express themselves in a sophisticated manner." Not that she could ever say that, because it might offend those who could not express themselves in a sophisticated manner.
She tried to look up where this news was and found that she had gone up, while Eric had gone down over his handling of the attack on the king's Italian villa. Apparently it had leaked out that the king himself had questioned the perpetrators. She had completely missed that it had leaked out, but it had been inevitable.
Since Frederick's speech, the papers had worked on portraits of him. Not all were correct. Of course the stories had to fit the facts, which was that His Majesty had apparently been unhappy in his position. The author had then gone looking for reasons as to why this might be the case. It remained a mystery. And clearly there had been a dilemma - be the first to publish, but without depth? Or publish late, but getting more facts right?
This morning an article traced Frederick's youth. She would have been interested if she had not thought it was probably not even close to the truth. Sources who had attended the 'prestigious King Albert School', at a stone's throw from the Palace, at the time said he was always dropped off by a chauffeur. A former teacher at his secondary school said he was once suspected of setting fire to chemistry lab.
She should stop looking these things up. They had nothing to do with work. Not directly anyway.
When it was time, she walked to the Palace, not seeing why she should now order a car for the short trip, even if it was raining. They had umbrellas in her office. If anyone bothered her, she could hit them with one.
She had done as Frederick had suggested and planned an extra half hour. Both Frederick and Isabelle came to the meeting. Anna Margaret explained what she usually did and what Frederick usually did, since he was just sitting there. Isabelle did not seem to expect more influence than she was allowed to have, so that was good. But then, Isabelle might have closely watched how her grandfather, father and brother had dealt with this and listened what they had said at the dinner table or wherever else comments might have been made.
Anna Margaret would have discussed the speech if she had not been eager for some time alone with Frederick. Because his sister was there he had very chastely kissed her cheek. When they were done, therefore, she wished Frederick would take her away, but Isabelle spoke as if he was not there. "What did you think of Frederick's speech? I was surprised at how he handled it."
"Shut up," said her brother.
"I thought that was your doing," said Anna Margaret. She felt her hand being tugged.
"No, I didn't have to do much."
"Shut up," he repeated. "Come, let's have lunch."
"Lunch," Isabella commented in a sceptical tone. "Right."
During the weekend Frederick unfortunately had to leave the country. There was a wedding somewhere in the extended German branch of his family and he had to accompany his mother.
Anna Margaret planned to use his absence to get a dress somewhere. She had rented last year's dress because she had been in a hurry and had not had time to shop extensively. Besides, she had not wanted too many dresses in her closet that she had only worn once, and having one dress she wore to everything was not appreciated either.
She toyed with the idea of asking a sister to accompany her, but then decided against it. They might not see it as a sign of goodwill, but rather as an attempt to show once again how more interesting their elder sister's life was compared to theirs.
When, really, sitting in a cathedral for a few hours was terribly boring.
When she had mentioned the dress to George, he had said Joël was good at picking them out. Therefore on Saturday morning she met Joël by the fountain on the central square. Because Frederick had said there might be pictures from the wedding and he might be linked to one or more female guests because he always was, she apped him a photo of Joël and called him her date for the day. People might make something of that as well, after all.
George had not exaggerated. Joël did indeed have a good eye for what looked good. Together they settled on a simple blue dress with long sleeves. Anna Margaret wondered if it was too tight for the purpose, but Joël thought it might be all right.
He furthermore pointed her to a good hairdresser, about which she had her reservations, but she let herself be persuaded. After a chat with the woman she booked an appointment the day of the abdication, before the inauguration.
Frederick messaged that they were taking more photos of him than they usually did and he sent her some pictures of women who had spoken to him and who might consequently be branded as his new love interests. Just so she knew.
Anna Margaret saw Frederick only on Wednesdays, although she did see him for a little longer then. The next weekend after the weekend of the wedding he had to go to France for a rowing competition. "A what?" was her reaction.
"Rowing competition."
"How can you have time for that?"
He sounded defensive. "I don't, really. Not enough to do it well, but my entire club is going."
"Your..."
"Club."
"Okay."
"I only train, usually, but given that I may have more time soon, I thought I could go too. Do you think I should stay with you?"
"Oh, no," she quickly said. "You don't have to stay home for me. That's not what I meant. But I'd like to see it some time. I hope this isn't your only one."
"The first in about a year and a half."
"I'm just surprised, that's all." Although now they had each other's phone numbers, they had been communicating now and then and he had messaged her once or twice that he was training in Germany. She had not asked why or what for, but clearly she should have.
"You're welcome to watch."
"But how does this go?" She was interested in the practicalities. "Do they know who you are?"
"My teammates? Sure. But they don't care about titles. They're Germans; they have a president. Or maybe they don't care because they're athletes."
"But your name."
"Doesn't ring any bells for them. Remember, we are small, they are big. They read little news about small neighbouring countries. They wouldn't know the meaning of my family name."
"You have an active life."
"I suppose."
"I won't have to worry about your getting bored then. And I shouldn't be worried about knowing so little about you. We've only had a thing for a few weeks." It was surprisingly short and she could indeed not expect to know everything about him already. Still, it did not feel that short and she might not know what he did, but she believed she did know what he was.
"And I didn't want to tell you about this, because you might laugh."
"Er...why would I laugh?"
"Because I actually want to compete."
"I'd laugh if you really wanted to be dropped in the mud."
Anna Margaret had not seen much of Frederick in the past weeks. They had decided to play it safe and keep a little distance, given all the extra attention. People would assume their relationship was the reason for the abdication if they found out, when it was not. Of course they might still think that afterwards, but the period leading up to the actual event would at least be quieter.
The last weekend, however, she was resolved not to say anything if he were to come over. Which he did, for one night.
Today was the day. She pulled on the trousers she would wear for the abdication. It would be work, so it did not require any extravagance like a skirt. Later today she would have a dress for the inauguration ceremony. In between the two events she would have to go somewhere to get changed and have her hair done, eat something and then assemble with the rest of the Cabinet.
Frederick and Isabelle would have to do the same, although Frederick might well stick to the same suit. Nobody cared about men's suits.
She had to be at the location at 10:30. The king and princess would arrive fifteen minutes later and the ceremony was to start at 11:00. It might seem as if everyone had half the day off, but nearly all of them were already busy with something long before. The roads were cleared and the street in front had been cordoned off since the night before.
They had practised the ceremony twice without the royals. It should all go well.
A car picked her up at 10:15. It would take her to the hairdresser's afterwards, so she brought the bag with her dress. There was someone already in the car and Patrick joined her too. She had stressed they might as well all share cars to keep the costs down. The two others were men and would not change clothes in between. They had teased her for having to do so, trying to find out what she would be wearing.
"Is it a dress?" Patrick asked when he saw the bag.
"Yes."
"Shocking."
"I wore one last year."
"That was shocking too."
"You're just winding me up. I have skirts and dresses. I simply don't wear them to work." She sighed. "I'll have to change twice today."
"Are you going to that grand dinner?"
"No. Are you?"
"I got two invitations."
"I got none, actually," she replied. "Although I must be honest and say I was told I wouldn't get the first because I'd get the second, but I haven't really got any particulars so far."
The third person in the car turned. "You're not going to the dinner party? But you're the prime minister."
"I know. It might sound odd."
"But why weren't you invited?"
"I was and I was not. My presence is requested elsewhere, I think. Isabelle knows. She even told me. I didn't know who else would be at this other event." But she looked at Patrick, who said he had received two invitations.
"What sort of other event? Does she have something against you?"
"No, it's not a mutual or even one-sided slight. We get along. But I suppose you could say I get along better with her brother and he does not particularly feel up to this grand dinner."
The third minister was at a loss. "So he's hosting his own dinner party?"
"There's a reason why the guest list hasn't been made public. Some people one would expect to be on it, are not on it. It's going to be talked about, whether I say it now or not," she decided. "Because people might notice I wasn't there. But yes, he will be eating elsewhere. I don't know with who else, but not only me."
"Lea preferred to go to this mystery event, actually," Patrick offered. "Although I still don't know what time or where."
"We don't have a lot of time to be told. There's that reception too. If I don't know by that time, I'll phone."
Frederick and Isabelle arrived in the same car. Isabelle's husband was with them as well, since he would play a larger role from now on.
Anna Margaret smiled at Frederick. He looked comfortable enough and was wearing his other glasses, not contacts, as if he was already in transition. He met her look, but he did not smile. Perhaps he thought it would give too much away.
The ceremony itself was relatively simple. It was televised, naturally, since the room held only those who were really necessary and there was no room for spectators. What would be broadcast between the two events Anna Margaret did not know. She placed her signature when it was needed and in the end they all shook hands with the former king and the new queen.
Frederick looked happy. He was not smiling much, but it was clear a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He held her hand for too long and pressed a piece of paper into it.
"Congratulations," she said. She did not know what else one could say to a king who had voluntarily stepped down. Her colleagues had been in doubt and she had said this was probably the best. For some reason there had still been people who thought he might not be going by his own choice, but she had stressed that he was and that it was probably all right simply to congratulate him.
"Thank you."
She moved to Isabelle. "Congratulations, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, and you too."
She wished Isabelle's husband good luck. After all, he was now elevated to prince, but he did not seem to mind. He always went along with everything, like a suitably blank accessory.
There were now two hours until she was picked up at the hairdresser's.
Outside the room she inspected the piece of paper. 18:00 green entrance corner of Charles Street, wait for A.M. Partners/children welcome. Casual clothing required. Inflatable pool on site. Frederick. Wait for A.M.? Who was to do what, exactly? She looked up, puzzled, and noticed that Patrick was reading something as well.
"You A.M.?" he inquired.
"I guess so. Oh, I have a key card. That must be it." But she did not know the way from the entrance to Frederick's rooms. Or wherever he wanted them. This note did not say. She remembered the 3D floorplan. She might manage to guide people, but where to?
Anna Margaret had been hoisted into her blue dress. There had been a particular dress code for them, so they would not draw more attention to themselves than people of higher birth. Her hair and make-up had been done. She had had a sandwich too, so she was all set to go.
There would be other people already at the cathedral; some would be sitting there for a long time. Not everyone could arrive at once and the lowest-ranked guests would be there the longest. The thing she disliked most about these occasions was that nobody ever thought people might need to use the toilet. In any case, the man on the committee who was in charge of this part had looked at her extremely strangely when she had inquired about it.
"We can't have people walking around all the time," he had said. "And there are security issues."
"How? They've already been vetted, the building has been vetted. How? My neighbour is attending and she's pregnant. She will need to go. She told me. I want the hosts and hostesses to take her to a toilet should she ask, before or after the ceremony. Before and after, there are people walking around all the time. That isn't an argument."
"I'm not sure that can be arranged."
"I'm telling you to arrange it. She will be there at least an hour and a half before the ceremony starts and then some time after it has finished. And she won't be the only one who can't refrain for four hours or more."
She had nevertheless not drunk much herself. Walking around when the cameras were already broadcasting was not such a good idea. She was not arriving early enough herself to go in search of toilets, but perhaps Lea would thank her.
Frederick accompanied his mother and aunt in. They preceded the new queen and prince and their children. People craned their necks and whispered, but they might have done that regardless of Frederick's casual hairstyle. With the signature he had immediately abandoned some formality. Anna Margaret wondered if Princess Agnes had let him get away with it, but apart from walking down the aisle twice, he had nothing to do except sit pretty - and this way he was very pretty.
She did wonder about his giving up his disguise of sorts, but it was clear he felt more comfortable looking like this, regardless of whether he would be recognised more often from now on.
After the ceremony Anna Margaret was transported to the location of the reception, straight into the queue for the lavatories. There was some polite chatter in the queue. Dresses were commented on, positively, as well as the ceremony itself and the suitability of the new queen. Her own dress received some compliments as well.
At the reception there was an opportunity to congratulate Isabelle, but she had already done so and let others have their chance. There were plenty of other people she knew.
At a quarter to six, Anna Margaret met Patrick and Lea in their stairwell. They would walk to Charles Street and see what needed to be done there. She was still panting from having hurried home from the reception and changing into casual clothes. "I didn't get any other information than that little note. You probably got the same one."
"What's the green entrance?"
"I haven't got a clue. Maybe the door is green? I did have to go in through a green door the other day."
"I noticed he disappeared from the reception just before we did. Maybe he left to inflate the pools."
Anna Margaret snorted. "Did you bring your swimming trunks?" And she too had seen Frederick at the reception, but not after the beginning. Before she had been able to make her way towards him to ask some questions about the mysterious party, he had disappeared. Because she could not possibly have pushed people aside to get to him, she had not been able to get close.
Patrick looked embarrassed. "Yes, but I don't plan to get into any pools unless I'm the only one not going."
"Children were welcome," said Lea. "Maybe the pools are for them?"
Arriving at Charles Street, two people were inconspicuously hanging around in the large doorway of a bank. Anna Margaret joined them. "Oh, hello? Are you here for some specific purpose?" They could not be, because she knew them and they had to be here for the same thing.
"No, we're waiting for you," said Emma. She had her boyfriend and a toddler in a pushchair with her. "That's what the invitation said."
"I know, I know, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Let's just wait until six o'clock and see who else might show up."
"Why did we get invited, do you know? I met him only once. And on the day of the abdication?" Clearly Emma thought Frederick should have better things to do than to invite people he had met only once. Yet she had come.
"I don't know. I wasn't told much either, except that Isabelle wouldn't invite me because I was going to be invited by Frederick. When were you invited?"
"Uh, I don't know exactly. A week ago? But there weren't any particulars. Just the date. We got the rest later."
Anna Margaret looked down the street curiously. "Hey, is that Danielle?"
"Yes," Patrick confirmed. "Is he inviting everyone he met once? You could be waiting for a really large group in that case."
"I think it might be people he's met recently," she said with a frown, "because I've all met them as well." At least she was asked to let only those in whom she knew. There might be others. He could have other acquaintances.
"Hi, A. M.," said Danielle. "I thought that might be you, especially in combination with the name of our host. What is this about?"
"Amazing how many people come here when they don't know what they're coming for."
"Are these all people who know?" Patrick wondered.
"Yes," Anna Margaret answered. "Oh. Is that it? He only invited people who know? What for?" Because he wanted some more people there and only those qualified? But she did not know how large he liked his parties to be. He could be letting others in through another gate and he might want to tell those about her later. She did not like not being in control here.
"What do I know?" Emma asked.
"About me...and..." She gestured across the street at the fence. If she could not even say it here, she would not be able to enjoy having it said to a crowd of strangers.
"Oh, yeah, I sort of guessed that it might be a possibility after he stowed you away somewhere at that barbecue and he didn't want to tell the old ladies where. I mean, he could have said 'taxi', or 'with the butler' or something, but he didn't."
"So what did you think?" She had never really heard what had gone on after she had left the barbecue, except that her mother had feared she was pregnant.
"You were too familiar with him by the barbecue. All the rest just supported that. But where did he take you?"
"His bedroom, so I could lie down. He had planned to take me downstairs later, but I never woke up."
Emma giggled. "I bet he was really sorry."
" I don't know how he had planned to take me downstairs again, because I had vomited over my clothes and he had put them in the washing machine. I woke up at eleven in the morning and by then he had gone to work. And I should have been at work for hours with no one knowing where I was. But it turned out he had even reported me sick."
"Hi there," said George who had approached them somewhat stealthily. He had come with Joël. "What are we doing here?"
Patrick answered him. "We are waiting for Anna Margaret to let us in through the green entrance, but she doesn't know how many people we're waiting for."
"I wasn't told. Sorry!" she said in a plaintive voice. "I don't want to leave anyone behind. Shall we wait another few minutes?"
"Anyone threatening to be late would understand they wouldn't get in without you and they would phone you, wouldn't they?"
"Not everyone has my phone number."
"They really liked your dress," said Joël. "I was watching television to see what they'd say, but they said something about it all right."
"And they wrote something about our shopping trip all right too." André had shown it to her, but it had been written by someone who did not know about George.
He snorted. "I saw."
She waited another minute, but no one else appeared. "Okay, let's go. Would anyone be watching?" She crossed the street and opened the gate with her card. Then she let them all in and checked if the gate clicked shut behind them. "Right, the green door." She led the way and let them all in, resisting the temptation to look down the street to see who had watched them.
"It doesn't look very royal in here," someone observed.
"We're not there yet. These are offices." She paused to look at her phone. "I have a 3D floorplan on my phone and that will tell me where to go."
"You have a 3D floorplan of the Palace?"
"It's not that easy to get in and out otherwise," she said, opening the floorplan. "Okay, straight ahead that way."
She did not quite manage to recreate the route she had taken with Max the other day, but in the end she came to the tennis court. Instead of going inside to the command centre, she turned right and circled a hedge. "Wow. This floorplan really works!"
"Duh," said Frederick. "I spent weeks on it!" He grinned at her and gave her a half hug, because he could not ignore the other people she had brought. "Welcome, all! I'm glad you were willing to come and for some of you, to choose this dinner over the formal one."
This dinner was clearly not going to be formal. He was wearing shorts and they could all see two large inflatable pools. There were also some teenagers playing football a bit further away. Anna Margaret wondered who they were. They could be the children of the security men already seated, although she had not pegged them as old enough to have teenage children. Or, another thought occurred to her, they might be his nephews and nieces. There did not appear to be crowds of people she did not already know.
"Let me show you around," said Frederick. He led them to the French doors. "Here's the kitchen, the toilet's in the hall and there are extra refrigerators with drinks there as well. They've even provided extra towels. And that was it, so you can now get something to eat or do whatever you like. Oh, and thank you for not having talked."
The others slowly trickled back outside and he seized the opportunity to kiss Anna Margaret. "I'm very glad you came."
"It was good of your sister to allow you to hold this parallel party." But from the way he was holding her, she wondered if Isabelle had been fearing that he would do this too at her very formal dinner. A parallel party might have been the wisest decision, preventing any under-the-table displays of affection.
"I could have held it a day later, of course, but I couldn't wait to simply not go to this pompous dinner."
"You just wanted to skip it for the sake of skipping it." She had suspected as much, actually.
"I may go next time. Who knows?" he winked.
"But at least you got this sticker for rebelliousness."
He gazed at her admiringly. "I'm going to throw you into a pool."
"You may do that later, when I'm in my swimwear. You should talk to your guests and tell some why they are actually here."
She went outside and looked around. There were tables, chairs and picnic blankets. Emma was installing her toddler on a blanket. Some of the bodyguards were talking to women, presumably their partners, and two children in swimwear were getting into one of the pools.
It was a small step to come out to people who already knew or suspected anyway, but a much bigger one actually let the public know by some accidental or even contrived way, especially when she had no idea where they were going. Would Prince Frederick end his changes here? Or would he do something about the titles and position he still retained?
He could continue to represent the family at events. If he received an allowance for it he would actually have to do quite a few. It would all come down to whether he disliked such occasions or not. And perhaps whether the prime minister was allowed to be romantically involved with a prince. Princes should theoretically not pose a problem, she thought, even if they did not marry. They had no power and it was 2015.
It was a few days after the inauguration. There had been some interest at first - was it true she had not attended Queen Isabelle's dinner and things like that - but nobody wanted to write about that after the first day when there was so much else, so Anna Margaret had got away with some vague answer and she had not bothered to check what anyone had written. Today was Friday and she was surprised by seeing Frederick in her office when she returned from a meeting. He was chatting to George.
He stood up when he saw her. "There are things we should discuss."
"Oh." She gestured at her office. "What?" she asked a little concernedly when they were in there. He had sounded so serious.
Frederick was studying the windows.
"Not us?" she inquired when he did not speak and he did not embrace her either. She could not imagine what he could be so serious about.
"A bit." He looked away from the windows and back at her. "I was just checking if someone could see us."
"What about us?" But he embraced her and she thought in relief there was not much wrong with them if he could kiss her like that. It must be something else.
"In the past two days I've had discussions about my new role. I don't want to do quite as much as Isabelle used to do. We can't simply swap. So I'm going to have to ask for my allowance to be lowered - even more - or in fact ended. I don't want to let Isabelle down and she says it won't be like that, but the fact is there will be fewer people to handle all the engagements."
Anna Margaret crossed her arms and sat on the edge of her desk. This problem was relatively easy. It was not about them and not what had been written about either of them either. "I don't think you need to feel guilty. Most of those engagements are pretty superfluous anyway."
"They are?"
"Yes, precisely why does a school need you in particular to open their new wing? A well-known former student would do just as well." The latter would have some bond with the school that he would not have and it would show the students what someone like them could become. It was next to impossible to become a prince.
He smiled.
"You couldn't think of that?" she asked.
"I did. I said more or less the same thing. Still. Could you have the options investigated? I'm sure you have people who love investigating options."
"I'll put someone on it. I mean, I'll let them talk to you." They would not take any decisions without him.
"What do you prefer?"
"Me? How?" She did not think she would get a say. They would keep things separate. Each with their own job.
"How often would you like to see me?"
She hesitated and decided to take the risk that he might not agree, but she was too old to wait for it. She did not want to spend months not daring to bring it up in case he had a different opinion. "We need to live together."
His eyes certainly did not contradict that. "We do think the same things."
Anna Margaret was relieved that he did not dismiss the notion. If they agreed on this point, they might as well try to make it happen as soon as possible. "Could you have the options investigated?"
Frederick looked a bit surprised. "I could."
"Meanwhile, where do we go tonight? Shall I come to you again?"
"You're always welcome."
There was something else she should not forget. "Were there any reporters by the front door when you came here, by the way?"
"Of course."
"Did they ask you anything?" They must have, if he had passed them. They would not have passed up the opportunity. They would have tried to ask as much as they could, one of the questions being what he was doing there.
"I'm deaf."
"They will be there when you leave." And then they would ask things again.
"I'll still be deaf."
"Then I'll have to answer them," she decided. They could not both say nothing, or strange things would be invented. It would certainly come out where he had gone. Someone would reveal that. "But that's good, actually. I won't have to wonder what you said."
"No, it's not good. Nobody expects you to solve every problem."
Her worrying frown was replaced by a questioning one. "What do you mean?"
Frederick's tone was reassuring, almost gentle. "There's no need to feel control over every issue. Especially one as minor as this one. What would really happen if I said something that you didn't know about?"
"I don't know." She guessed he thought nothing would happen. He looked absolutely unworried, both about his ability to appear deaf and his ability to give unsuspicious answers.
"Let it go."
"But..."
"Really. Suppose I said I visited my girlfriend and you later said I visited you to speak about my allowance, to what horrific conclusion could people jump? That's one of the worst, I expect, and there are three options. One, they thought I must have been joking to annoy them. Two, they think you lied to cover it up. Two A, you know about my girlfriend but it's not you. Two B, you are my girlfriend. Three, we were both speaking the truth. Now, that dress was on the sexy side..."
Rationally she knew the dress was mentioned to keep her from refuting his arguments, but she took the bait. "Was it? Nobody said anything about it to me, not even you. I wasn't even aware that you'd seen it."
"I caught glimpses at the reception. And why did I catch only glimpses? Because you were constantly surrounded by drooling men blocking my view."
"You couldn't see they were drooling if they had their backs towards you." Anna Margaret tried to remember if she had been spoken to by more than women, but she did not actually recall. What she did remember was that she had not wanted for people to talk to. Never for a moment had she considered that it might have been due to her outfit.
"I overheard some of them. But my point is, I may not have to say anything to get the gossip going."
"It was not sexy."
"On your scale it was off the scale," he said in amusement.
"You make it sound as if I generally wear grey bin liners."
"No, trouser suits. I don't mind them, but I think you only vary colours and accessories."
"Yes," she said, feeling irritated towards people who might care about something so trivial. "I think I've made it clear from the start that I won't be providing weekly material for the fashion columns, but that I'm concentrating on doing my job. People must be over this by now."
"Which is why the sudden sexy dress stunned them," he explained calmly.
"And why do you keep track of what I wear anyway?"
"Interest. But you're ignoring my point. You've suddenly come out as having sexy potential and then I visit you? After I invited you to my private dinner party?"
"I didn't read anyone was making much of that," she said with a frown.
"No, because they focused on the age of the participants and decided it must be some sort of training event for my nephews and nieces and the younger ministers. I nearly wet my pants when I read it. As if I was teaching you all which fork to use."
"Frederick." Perhaps she should have made the effort to look for it.
"I'm serious. Didn't you read this? But if I start visiting you more often they will look back."
"I'm really worried what will happen if you decide to answer questions."
When she left the building, there were no more reporters left. She wondered if they had given up out of boredom or if Frederick had given them so much that they had returned to their desks to process it all.
She went home, packed a bag and walked to the Palace. There was a small crowd of tourists outside the front gates. Because of the recent changes the interest had increased. She was tired and did not look forward to making her walk twice as long by that circular manoeuvre that even included stairs. If she could go through these gates in daytime and no one cared, why should someone care now? She walked towards the gates as if it was for work purposes and the guards opened them for her.
"Thank you," she said to the one who was closest to the gate. The other was in the booth, but this one had probably stepped out to make sure she was who she seemed to be. "Is there an event going on?"
"The princess has a few guests."
She wondered if he actually meant the queen, but it did not matter. Someone had guests and the tourists might have seen an expensive car driving in. They might now be waiting for the car to drive out, or for more cars to appear.
"Should we call someone to pick you up?" the guard asked. "You look unwell."
"I'm not," she protested. "Just tired. And if they came to pick me up, I'd still have to walk, wouldn't I?" It would not make any difference.
"Oh, no. There are golf carts."
Anna Margaret pressed her hand to her mouth at the ridiculousness of being transported a few hundred metres - if it was even that - in a golf cart. "Wouldn't it take more time to get someone to a golf cart and to have him drive here than for me to walk to the courtyard?"
"Maybe, but you don't look as if you might find it comfortable. Have a seat in the booth and I'll make a call." He took her inside the small booth.
She could look at the public from there. Some were looking at her, but they soon lost interest. "At least now they think I'm staff and not someone important," she remarked after a while. "How often is the golf cart used?"
"Daily. Mostly for goods, but sometimes for people. Anything that is delivered at one of the entrances goes in a golf cart."
"Makes sense."
"We've had a lot of flowers and gifts for the queen being delivered in the past two days, also at this gate."
"That's nice." She mused how there would probably not have been any flowers for Frederick. Had he ever received any and would they have been in his apartment? She had not spotted many things there that could have been 'gifts', but there were cupboards she had not yet looked into. Since the kind givers were never going to see his private rooms, there was absolutely no reason to put everything on display.
"Look, there it comes already."
A woman driving a blue golf cart came around the corner of the building. After taking her on board, the woman dropped her off in the courtyard seemingly without thinking this strange at all. Flowers, gifts, prime ministers, it was all in a day's work.
The door was closed, so she looked for a doorbell. There was only a knocker and a card reader, so she could let herself in. Surprisingly, Frederick was not in. She wondered if she was late, but they had never agreed on a time.
In the meantime she dropped onto a couch in the living room after having turned on the TV. He was not downstairs and she had been too tired to check upstairs. Nobody had been cooking either and by the time she realised she was hungry, she was too comfortable on the couch to walk back into the kitchen.
She did not realise that the French doors had been open all the time until Frederick stepped in from the gardens. He was carrying a plastic bag with something in it.
"Were you in the garden?" she wondered, feeling stupid for not having checked there.
"No, I was at the delivery entrance picking up dinner."
She sat up, though slowly. "Delivery?"
"I was uninspired so I ordered something. Are you all right?"
"Why does everyone think I'm not all right? The guard at the gate even called a golf cart for me."
"You look a bit pale, that's all. And you sound a bit tame."
"It's been a hectic week. Or maybe I'm coming down with something."
He unpacked the food containers and got some plates and cutlery from the kitchen.
"I do wonder," Anna Margaret said lazily, "why they immediately call golf carts for me when you have to pick up your own deliveries." She supposed he would be able to order golf carts if he chose to, but she liked that he did not seem to want to do it. Of course it would be less admirable if the staff here could not be trusted with packed dinners, but she rather doubted that.
"I like walking. Are you hungry?"
"Yes."
After dinner he took his laptop and showed her a house. "I've been looking."
"At houses?" She could barely sit up straight, but he did not seem to mind that she leant against him.
"Yes. The options. You could move in here if you like. It only takes about forty years to get used to everyone knowing everything, but the real disadvantage, in my opinion, that it's difficult to get out. It's in the middle of the city, but it takes far longer actually get to a shop than if you lived in a suburb. And I could move in with you, but that place, I think, is only for government employees and it's upstairs and not very big."
"Yes, I'd have to move out if after this term I went on to do something entirely different." She would not know if it was not very big. It sufficed for one person, but perhaps not for two? He did not actually have a lot of stuff, as far as she could tell. It might be difficult to squeeze a few more bookcases and closets in, but it was not impossible.
"So I was looking at houses."
Anna Margaret looked at the screen. "With whose budget in mind?" The one she saw was fairly expensive.
"I could buy a few, no problem."
"It looks huge."
"It's pretty small, actually. What do you think of it?"
"It's lovely - but it's at the other end of my parents' street." She gave a little snort and reached across him for the mouse. The photos she saw were all good. Had he started with this house on purpose?
"But not right next to them?"
"No." She tried to guess what the distance was, but it was difficult to do from memory because she did not often go down that end of the street.
"Then there's no problem. I'd like to view it." He gave her a questioning look.
"You're fast."
"Am I? It looks empty, but that doesn't mean we could move in next week. There might be some work that needs to be done."
That was true. They would not be moving immediately, even if they bought it immediately. Or if one of them bought it. That would still have to be sorted out. "When did you find this house?"
"Yesterday."
"Yesterday?" she cried. "That's even before I said we should live together. How could you know? But why is it empty? Why isn't it sold yet?" There had to be some catch, but maybe these owners had expected to sell immediately and they had not put it onto the market until they were safely settled in somewhere else.
"It's only been on there since Wednesday. There might not be a lot of people looking in this price category."
No, probably not. She scrolled though the photos and descriptions. It was gorgeous. She had always liked the houses on that street, but they had always been simply too big for her. "Viewing it couldn't hurt. And then you could see why it's already empty. All I've been hearing in the past years is that it's really difficult to sell your house."
"I'll see about that tomorrow. Are you coming?"
Anna Margaret was a little surprised. Did he mean viewing the inside? Or the outside? In either case, going there separately was probably the best option. "Only if I could accidentally meet you there, going to or coming back from my parents or something. Unless you wish to set the dogs loose. And, tomorrow?"
"I figured you wouldn't object to my viewing it, so I have an appointment. I'm going with someone who knows about these things, so he can advise me if he sees structural problems. It would be great if you could accidentally run into us and advise me about the neighbourhood. Have you ever lived there?"
"No. When I was young we lived in a village. But you're awfully fast."
"If we wait it might be gone. It says desirable neighbourhood here. I know all the ads do, but it's probably true in this case. And there aren't a lot of actual houses for sale close to where you work. Most are flats."
"You looked at that? Close to work, I mean?"
"You don't have a car. Of course you could get one, I realise that, but it would cost us a lot of time driving if we were to live somewhere in the countryside. Why waste that time?"
She would agree with that.
Before going to sleep Frederick had said he would go for a run and he would leave her if she was still asleep. When Anna Margaret woke she was therefore not surprised to find him gone. She got up slowly, enjoying her day off. Frederick came in halfway through her shower, of course, but that was no problem.
During breakfast she felt a lot more energetic about looking at houses and she asked to see the house again. "I'll just have to find a reason to visit my parents then."
"Their nagging isn't reason enough?"
"I'll figure something out." She checked a map. "It's right on my way home, isn't it? What time is your appointment?"
"Eleven."
She looked at the clock. "Oops."
"I suppose the estate agent may want to have some of her Saturday free as well. I think she made an exception for this upscale property. Or for me. But eleven isn't particularly early for me."
"It's a woman?"
"I couldn't help that. Definitely coming then?"
Anna Margaret wondered if Saturday was a good day to make a visit to a property on sale if one was reasonably well-known. Everyone in the street would be home and looking out from behind curtains or fancy blinds to see if the interested buyers had enough class to live here. A day when everyone was at work might have been better.
She walked to her parents' house and found they were out. So not everyone was at home. Hopefully this counted for their neighbours as well. This, however, posed a problem, because she now had fifteen minutes to spare before she was due for her accidental meeting with Frederick only a two-minute walk down the street. At long last she decided to circle around the block, timing it so she would ostensibly be on her way back to her parents for a second try just when she was in front of the house for sale and Frederick would drive up.
It sounded like a perfect plan, even it might require sitting on a bench somewhere to spend another few minutes, but some distance from the house she ran into trouble in the shape of her mother. There was no way she could pretend she had not seen her.
She took her time crossing the street, however. Fortunately there were two cars assisting in her delaying tactics, giving her another thirty seconds. "Hi Mum."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was just coming around for a visit, but you were out."
"What are you wearing?"
"Running clothes?" She thought that was obvious.
"Were you running?"
"Some bits." She was not lying about that. She had indeed run some bits, but whenever she had thought she might start looking like an idiot, she had walked. It was imperative to stand here for a little bit longer, so she effectively blocked her mother's way. "Been shopping?"
"Yes."
"Where's Dad?"
"He's at the golf course."
That was good. He would not come here and interrupt things. "Oh."
Her mother made to walk on, obviously expecting her to follow. "At least we'll be able to talk without him trying to talk politics all the time."
"Hang on. I feel some cramp." Anna Margaret stretched her leg. She did not know if it was logical for cramp to appear when one was standing still, but her mother knew nothing about running anyway. A car sounded its horn. "Was that at us?" she wondered. It could be Frederick, letting them know he was here, but she did not know why he would draw such attention to himself.
Her mother looked embarrassed. "Anna, you're bent over in tight leggings. What do you really think they were honking at?"
Anna Margaret placed a hand on her apparently shapely derrière. "This is hardly the street for such primitive behaviour." She looked down the street where the car was parking. "Well, damn."
"Don't tell me it was someone who lives here. Wait. They stopped at that house for sale. Oh my goodness. I hope we won't get such people living here."
"Let's investigate," she said briskly, trying not to roll her eyes.
They walked on. Arriving at the car, all its occupants had got out and were studying the house. A woman had joined them, having come out of a car that had parked there shortly before. They had just introduced themselves. Anna Margaret was fairly sure Frederick was waiting for her to join them. That was what they had agreed on, after all.
"Hi! What are you doing here?" he asked Anna Margaret when she was close enough. It did not sound too fake.
"My mother lives in this street. You met my mother at your sister's barbecue, I think."
Her mother and the estate agent were equally shocked at realising whom they were dealing with, although the estate agent had a head start and she was probably capable of saying something soon.
"I'm going to look at a house. Why don't you join us? It's great - I'll be able to talk to a local resident without them calling the tabloids. Because your mother won't, will she?"
"Are you - are you thinking of moving, Your Highness? Here?" Anna Margaret's mother could hardly believe it.
"I am thinking of moving," he confirmed. "Since it was in this morning's paper that my allowance is likely to be reduced by Madam Prime Minister over there. So I'm looking around."
Madam Prime Minister had not had time to read the newspaper that morning and she had not seen him doing it either. It must have been when she had been changing into her running gear, since that had been the only time he had not been with her.
"Are you all ready to go inside?" the estate agent inquired.
Anna Margaret wondered if she was afraid more people would join them. She hung back with her mother until Frederick would have any questions about the neighbourhood, taking her time to look at the house in detail. One of the men had come in with Frederick and the other remained by the front door, keeping an eye on the street.
"It's lovely. Do you think he likes it well enough to take it? Imagine him living in our street!" whispered her mother.
It was best not to mention that one of these men had sounded the horn at her backside. It might not be best not to say that if he was living here, she would be too, but at the moment it was the best course of action. Breaking the news gently was the way to go. "That's starf*cking, Mum!" Anna Margaret hissed and it would be a serious reason to vote against this house should it come to that. It might be the only reason, though. The house itself was great.
"I read that you didn't go to the queen's dinner. We were really puzzled."
"I had another dinner to go to. I went with my neighbours." Of course, her father would never choose another dinner over a formal dinner at the queen's, so it was understandable that he had been really puzzled.
"Oh, that farmer's boy."
That was quite annoying, since the 'farmer' had probably never sat on a tractor himself. "His father has one of the largest and most sophisticated farms in the country. It's a huge business."
"But you were all dining with the king - prince, weren't you? Did the paper get that right?"
"Yes."
"Did you upset the queen?"
"Not recently. I could have gone to her dinner, but I chose not to."
"But what did she think of that?" Her mother was horrified.
"She didn't mind." She moved closer to the other group, so her mother would not be able to say anything without being overheard.
"-- it's in fact large enough for any kind of purpose," said the estate agent.
Anna Margaret wondered if she usually asked prospective buyers about children or hobbies to suggest which rooms could be used for what, and if she had done so already in this case. If she had, Frederick had not given her any clues.
"But if you'll be living here alone you'll have plenty of space," the woman continued. "Or will you have live-in staff?"
"I cannot comment on that, really." He turned to Anna Margaret's mother. "What's the neighbourhood like? Any people who'd give me trouble? And by that I mean people wanting to become my closest friends because of my name?"
"I'm sure some people will be thrilled -"
"I don't want people to be thrilled; I want people to be uninterested," he cut in, though his tone was not unfriendly.
"They've certainly never bothered Anna Margaret when she came to visit us. It's probably all right," said her mother. "It's very much live and let live here."
Frederick walked to the window and studied the garden. "Is this close to things?"
"The supermarket is about 800 metres away. Then there are schools..." Her voice trailed off, clearly doubting whether he would need the proximity of schools. "And the city centre is a ten-minute walk."
"Good." He progressed to the next room.
Anna Margaret looked out of the window as well. She could not see the end of the garden due to all kinds of trees and bushes, but if she guessed the end to be about halfway between this house and the one behind it, it was reasonably large. It was all looking very good.
There might not be any chance to fool her parents into thinking she was out if they lived so near, but she would no longer have to hide the fact that she was with a man, so there would not be any reason to keep them out. If they behaved, she would let them in.
"Why does he need a house?" her mother whispered.
"Ask him."
"Are you not allowed to live at the Palace anymore?" her mother asked Frederick. It surprised Anna Margaret, who had thought she would not dare. She had been expecting more questions for herself, but perhaps her mother did not trust her to answer any questions properly anymore.
"The things I am planning to do require me to have a real house," he answered.
There. It had begun. Anna Margaret squeezed herself against the wall as if that made her invisible.
"Oh," said her mother, although she could not possibly be thinking that answer satisfactory or even comprehensible
They visited all the rooms, the cellar, the garden and the garage. Then the estate agent locked the front door again. Frederick said he would be in touch and she left. He then spoke with the other man for a few minutes, after gesturing at Anna Margaret.
Which meant he did not want her to walk away. Anna Margaret braced herself. He was going to spill the beans, she was sure.
"Where are you going?" he asked her finally when one of them had left and the other had got into the car. "Running back?"
"With a stop, maybe." She did not know if she was going to manage to run all the way.
"Thank you for the input," he said to her mother. "I'll be consulting my girlfriend later. Goodbye."
Anna Margaret and her mother stood watching as the car drove off. "Did he say girlfriend?" asked her mother.
"Yeah." Surely this was the moment right before the penny dropped? She a boyfriend, Prince Frederick a girlfriend? She could say these things were connected, but there was a reluctance that she still needed to investigate. Of course it might be satisfying to drop an unexpected bomb, but then they would never know or care why she had a boyfriend. It was that snobbishness of theirs that held her back. They would love it if they heard, but they would never wonder if he was good for her.
"You knew?"
"Yeah. Listen, I need to visit my lover later as well." That was another coincidence hard to ignore.
"Must you?"
"Yes. I'll just run home."
She wished her mother would ask pertinent questions. Such as what they would do together. If they were going on holiday together. If she could bring him to dinner some time, so they could meet him. Anything. But "oh" was all her mother said.
"See you." Anna Margaret walked away. She hated it, but she would really like to cry. She could not, of course, but she had trouble breathing and her cheeks turned bright red from the effort of suppressing everything.
Around the corner a car stopped for her and she was not even looking. "Anna Margaret?" someone called. It was a woman.
She looked. It was Isabelle. She had a driver and a child, albeit not a young one, in the backseat. Anna Margaret hoped she did not again look as if she needed a golf cart. She could run. She was simply not doing it right now.
Isabelle got out. "You look as if you broke up with Frederick. Tell me you didn't."
"I didn't." It was uplifting that breaking up with Frederick was apparently a bad thing, but it was less good that apparently she looked bad again.
"You look upset. What is it?"
"My parents live around the corner."
"Did one of them die?"
"Emotionally they are already dead." She spoke as indifferently as she could because she was not used to sharing her troubles. She did not even want to do so. "Although my mother does like drama. I can't seem to tell them about Frederick. Not until they display some interest in his character or why we are together."
"Surely they would know if they saw..." Isabelle tried.
Anna Margaret shook her head. "Would you believe my mum and I ran into Frederick looking at a house - I hadn't planned to have my mother with me - and he invited us to look at the house with him and she never picked anything up. Never. I feel as if I don't know them any more than they know me."
Isabelle took her hands. "Well, my mum thinks you're nice enough. And Frederick is developing qualities he never used much."
"So am I," she said with a grimace. "But I don't know if they're good ones."
"My aunt's informants did say you were emotionally repressed."
Her eyes widened. "That doesn't sound positive."
Isabelle probably thought some degree of repression was a good thing. "It means it will all come out. Like, now. Do you need a ride? I'm dropping my daughter off at a party first."
"Yes, please." The girl had been at Frederick's dinner party too, so they had met. And she would prefer sitting in a car over being seen by more people wondering if she was all right.
Anna Margaret wondered who Aunt Agnes' informant were and what they had said. Emotionally repressed? Quite a diagnosis. She had no idea if it was true.
When young Charlotte had been dropped off - at the beginning of a driveway, no mother was allowed to go further - Isabelle addressed her again. "I didn't want her to hear. She was shocked enough by the fact that Frederick had a girlfriend when I had always said he wouldn't."
Evidently it was not important that the driver heard, even if Isabelle had got into the backseat with her after not being allowed to progress beyond the mailbox. "You thought he never would?"
"No, I meant useless ones, but to teenagers all crushes are the love of their life. I don't want them to think they could do what he did."
Anna Margaret did not know if it was going to work that way, but she had no experience raising teens. "It was all very teen-proof. I met him about a year ago." And she could not understand how for months they had never exchanged more personal comments. Something, though, must have motivated her to fly to Italy. She had thought it was her aggravation, but had it really been only that?
"If you don't mind, I wouldn't want my sixteen-year-old to get pregnant by someone she met a year ago," Isabelle said dryly. "And Charlotte is even younger."
"The comparison..." Anna Margaret frowned. "It's really off."
"Just think about it."
She leant back. "It's still off."
"I'd still be concerned about my sixteen-year-old," said Isabelle. "Because I know from experience that contraceptives are no guarantee."
With five children, she had probably never used any, but Anna Margaret stuck to thinking that only; she did not dare to speak the words. It was best not to encourage Isabelle to say more about the subject anyway. "Why does your aunt have informants and why does she ask them about me?"
Unfortunately this led right back to the subject. "Because you're in a relationship with Frederick." To Isabelle it was apparently the most normal thing in the world to do such research.
Then it was best not to say anything. She did wonder who the informants were and why they thought she was emotionally repressed. They might be from the world of politics, as Princess Agnes' other informant was, but those people would know nothing about her private life. Or maybe not letting anybody know counted as being emotionally repressed. And not getting overexcited during debates probably did not help much either.
"It's a bit nosy, perhaps," Isabelle conceded.
"Oh, just a little bit, but considering the claims other women make you can't be too careful. You wouldn't want him to be snared by a title digger."
It was another ten minutes in the car until they drove through the gate. She was dropped off outside Isabelle's door and she thanked her. Isabelle had something to say, however. "You don't want a title?"
"No, but it's irrelevant because he doesn't want to get married."
"And you?"
"I'm fine with either option. But I have my own job. I don't have the time for more obligatory appearances, which I would be expected to make if I were married. That is, I'm already not going to half the things I've received invitations to, because I'd like to keep some part of the weekend to myself." She would say that at the moment she leant more towards staying unmarried, but if he asked her, she might say yes. It all depended on the conditions.
Isabelle looked at her in a considering way. "You know Frederick is planning to reduce his 'workload'? I read that he went to see you yesterday."
Anna Margaret frowned. "You read? Do you mean he did talk to reporters?"
"I'd have to reread. I don't know what he wants to do instead, although I could guess. In any case, you wouldn't have to accompany him all that often. I don't think it would take as much time as you think."
"Who decides, anyway?"
"I do. That is, I decide whether to make a comment about it."
"I think I could handle that." If Isabelle had allowed Frederick's parallel dinner, she might not be too strict.
Isabelle read her mind. "But next time Frederick won't get to play in baby pools when everyone else is being an adult."
Anna Margaret laughed. "How do you know he went in?"
"Remember, I had no less than five informants there." Isabelle paused. "The reason I let Florian off the hook is because he had exams, but he couldn't convince me that he studied there."
"I did see him look into a book."
"Well, I'm sure that's one paragraph more than he would otherwise have managed," his mother said with a sigh.
Fortunately Frederick was home already. He followed Anna Margaret upstairs when she went to change out of her running clothes. "You don't look as if you ran," he commented.
"I got a ride. Your sister saw me and thought I looked too bad to walk. What is it with people? Everyone thinks I look bad." It occurred to her that she could have said no, but that sitting in a car had been more appealing to her. It was her own fault.
"What did your mother say?"
"Nothing. She didn't notice a thing."
"Amazing. I thought as much. Too impressed by seeing me there to actually think. So we can focus on the house."
"For the time being. She might be phoning my flat, although I did say I was going to see my lover."
"And she didn't ask who he was?"
"I suppose she was still in shock about your having a girlfriend." And she had walked away too soon because she was a coward. She was not afraid of their reproaches, but of the ones she could make herself.
"It will take some time for her to process it. What did you think about the house?" Frederick asked. He looked a little anxious. "I have to say I really liked it. Martin said no work needed to be done apart from aesthetic touches like painting."
"I liked it. But isn't it a bit big? Or does your house have to be big for status purposes? Or do you have a lot of stuff hidden away somewhere? Like gifts that were once left at the gates for you?" She looked around, but here in the bedroom there were only clothes. Unless those closets hid more.
"Status purposes? What's that? And any gifts I couldn't use have been handed out to people who could." He sighed. "I've had a lot of birthdays by now and there are people who send me a present every year. I could have had a lot."
"As long as you'll help me clean."
"I'll try. But we'll find some use for the rooms upstairs, I'm sure."
"Tennis?" Anna Margaret said as she read the newspaper when they were having lunch. "Right, I had tickets for that."
"That tournament at the stadium? Tickets?"
"Yes, I often get tickets for events. I put them in a jar on my desk until I go or give them away. I forgot about these."
"Are they still valid?"
She was already on the next article. "I don't know. I didn't look at them that closely. This was a busy period. And certain people distracted me."
"Oh, give them to me. I didn't get any."
"Really?" She looked up. "Would you like to go?" If he wanted to go, she would make sure he could.
"Yes, yes, I would. I've read that it's fun to watch the old stars. I've never been. What time does it start?"
She checked if the paper mentioned a time. "The first match starts in an hour and a half." They would have to hurry if he really wanted to go, but it was not impossible.
"Oh!"
She checked her lunch plate too. It was not yet empty. "You want me to run to my office and get them?" She could walk there and when she got back they would probably call the golf cart for her again.
"I'll drive you there - and if the tickets are no longer usable, we'll just go for a drive."
"But if they are usable, we're going together?" she asked carefully.
"Yes? Would you dare to?"
"Would you?" She deduced he would. They would have to go through this some time. Why not now? She had been nearly ready that morning, but she could not put it off forever.
"Of course."
She smiled. "I'm on."
"Do you need to change?"
Anna Margaret examined her clothes. "It's Saturday. I'm not working. I think it will be fine." Now that she knew him better, Frederick did not really have a habit of only wearing tracksuits on his days off either. She judged him good to go as well.
Anna Margaret had gone to her office to pick up the tickets. Frederick stayed in the car. Of course there was a car following them, so he was not entirely alone. He was safe. She studied the tickets as she walked back, but there was no date on them, only that they were VIPs. "Damn, VIP," she said as she got back into the car. They would probably be on display somewhere. She did not know why she was so ambivalent about that. It was not the first time she would be on display.
"In your name?"
"No, but they may have a VIP list. We may not be able to swap them in the car park. They may keep track of who used them." And then the innocent people they had swapped them with might not be allowed in. They could not risk that.
"Swap them in the car park," Frederick repeated approvingly. "But if you go in to ask how it works you could always come back out and swap them. Although if the seats are better, don't swap."
"I think it's a given that the seats will be better."
"Never mind the swapping then. We'll manage. We're there for the tennis. Just watch that. We're both used to being watched." He drove to the indoor stadium, where, surprisingly, they also had VIP parking. "So much for swapping in the car park anyway," he joked.
Anna Margaret presented her tickets at the VIP entrance and she was welcomed by the two hostesses on duty, one of whom even walked with her to show her where she might find the bar and the buffet, and where she could sit. Since they had just had lunch, she opted for sitting down. There was a boy whose sole job was to fetch drinks for the people seated in the VIP stands. Since most of them were still in the bar and hospitality areas, he approached them immediately to ask what he might get them. They asked for water.
It was good to be among the first to take their seats. They had been able to choose a good place and a table that was moreover for two people only, so they could talk undisturbed. Of course it would make people think exactly that, but now that she was sitting here, Anna Margaret found she cared less about that than she had done at home.
They sat through all three matches. Twice they had - separately - left their seats, but not encountered anyone apart from the security guards preventing the normal public getting into the VIP stands. Whether they had been seen by the public, Anna Margaret did not know. She had of course seen a few people she had met before, although she sometimes had trouble remembering which company they worked for.
Although some had probably wondered, none had asked any direct questions so far. It might have been easier for other people if Frederick and she had been all over each other, but both of them had been raised to think one should not be doing too much of that in public. They had also not set foot in the hospitality lounge, because they were fine with their bottles of water and the occasional snack that the boy brought around. People could only speak to them if they passed directly behind them and that suited them fine.
"Oh, not Twitter again?" she asked when she came back to her seat and found him looking at his phone.
"Yes. We've been seen."
"What are they saying?" She was curious in spite of herself.
"Some just mention our presence, some wonder if there's anything to it. And then there are some who think we're having a good time. I replied to the nicest of them."
"Aww!" she cried. "As yourself?"
"No, as you."
"What?"
"Joking. I don't have your password. I obtained my password and new user name from our media person this week. He wasn't sure it was wise and I'm sure it wasn't."
"But what did you reply?"
"Well, he mentioned us and asked if it was too boring in the VIP area. I suppose because we mostly sat in the box. I replied that I was here for the tennis and that I don't drink wine."
Anna Margaret hated being the practical one here, but there was one thing that came to mind immediately. "Considering that they're on the third game of this match only, there's more than enough time for people to come to the stadium to ambush us when we come out. Or you could post a photo yourself to beat them to it."
It was not a problem as such, she told herself a second later; there were other exits and there was pretending to be deaf. She had done it all before.
Frederick obeyed and took five photos until she deemed his effort good enough to be shared. "Useful friend with tickets to tennis classics," he said as he typed.
"I'm glad I have some use."
"Ricorico asks if you will buy me drinks if I disagree with you."
"Tell Ricorico we need to watch the match."
"I'll do that from my other account."
Anna Margaret pulled an uncomprehending face at her water bottle. How many accounts did he have? She hoped the other one was more private.
Frederick was busy for a bit longer, while occasionally glancing at the court. "There. I said you said he needed to watch."
"Of course now he will ask you about me," she predicted.
"Not everyone wants to know about you," he teased.
"And the rest of the world will now know your other user name."
"No. It's protected."
"But Ricorico now can."
"He's got a good profile."
She wondered what a good profile was and applauded for a particularly good point. Thankfully it brought Frederick's attention back to the game as well. That was what they were there for, after all.
After the match Frederick took her aside after they had left the stands. "Remember, you're not obliged to answer questions, should there be anyone there. This is not work. You're not playing with anybody's money and you don't own anyone an explanation."
"I know."
They walked outside and ignored the only photographer who was there. "Just one?" Frederick asked when they were in the car. "I hope we're really that uninteresting, but I always fear there's more to come if there's just one."
"Probably." She looked in the mirror, but only his bodyguard was driving after them so far. There were no other cars setting off in pursuit. The one photographer had taken pictures, but nothing could be deduced from those, except that they left in the same car.
"Listen. I think you need to tell your parents. Or do you want them to learn about it from the media?"
"No, but..." She did not know what she wanted, but he had a point. Her parents were bound to find out this weekend that they had attended a tennis match together and whatever speculation accompanied the pictures.
He briefly rested his hand on her leg. "You need to do it."
Inside the tennis stadium he had not touched her deliberately at all and she had likewise refrained. She would take his hand now, but then he could not drive. "All right," she sighed. "It has to happen sometime."
Anna Margaret rang the bell at her parents' house. Frederick had chosen to wait in the car.
"Hi. I'm not staying long. I only want to tell you something," she said when her mother let her in.
"Oh my goodness, you're pregnant," said her mother.
Anna Margaret was more than a little annoyed. "Could you just stop jumping to ridiculous conclusions and let me speak? I am so done with this stupidity. If you can't behave like a normal, sensible adult, I am out of here."
"What's the matter?" asked her father. "You appear to be rather touchy."
"Of course I'm touchy." She chose a spot on the couch, sitting on the edge so she could easily get up and leave. She felt tense and hard inside. "I came here to say I'm moving in with my boyfriend."
Her mother gasped. Her father only looked at her.
"For the time being, that is, until we find a suitable place to live."
Her father frowned. "Does this have any connection to what you were apparently up to this morning?" It seemed he had been told about Frederick's viewing a house on their street and contrary to her mother he had no problems adding things up.
"It does."
"You're moving in with Prince Frederick?" her father asked, which made her mother gasp again.
"I am."
"Why?"
"Because I want to live with him." She studied her mother, who seemed overcome by shock, which was odd given that the clues had been hard to miss.
"With Prince Frederick? Is that why he asked us to look at this house with him?"
"Actually, he was only going to ask me, but you happened to be there. We thought you would get the hint, but apparently you did not."
"This must have been going on for a while if you're moving in with him," said her father.
"Yes."
"And you didn't think to tell us about it?"
"No. You might have told someone. And you will realise why that wouldn't have been a good idea." She was trying to keep her voice even and detached throughout.
He did not deny that he might have told someone. "And now you will resign."
Anna Margaret was a bit surprised. "And now I won't. This is 2015. Why on earth should I resign? Did you manage to do your job with a wife, and even worse, three children? If you did, and everyone else did, why shouldn't I be able to?"
"You will have other obligations if you marry him," said her father. "They will cost time."
"Even if I did marry him, which I won't, I would not have other obligations." Neither Frederick nor Isabelle would expect her to go to useless engagements to wave at people.
"You're going to live with Prince Frederick without marrying him?" He blinked.
"Yes. It's 2015."
"But how will you be dealt with in public?"
"I'm not sure I need to be dealt with in public." Whatever that might mean.
"And if you have children they won't have titles."
"If," she stressed. "And if I have children with someone else they wouldn't have titles either, so this point is completely irrelevant to me."
"Are you refusing to marry him out of some feminist misconception?"
She could not believe it, but she actually had to laugh at that. "What on earth is that anyway?"
"Well, you'd like to remain independent and all that."
"Marrying no more makes you dependent than not marrying makes you independent." She moved closer to the edge of the couch, feeling she was nearly done here. For self-protection purposes she had best not stay too long. "But now you know. I'll be off then. I still have things to do."
"But -" said her mother.
"But what?" She stood up.
"But at that barbecue where we all were..."
"Yes?"
"What was going on there?"
"I had a jetlag. I threw up. He took me away. No. He took me away and then I threw up."
"So you were already together?"
"Sort of." She was getting the timeline confused sometimes.
"No wonder you were so impertinent to the man," said her father. "And he's still going to live with you?"
"Yes." She moved towards the door. "I have to go now." There was no reason to stay and chat if there was nothing to chat about.
Frederick was playing with his phone when she came back. "How did it go?" he asked, putting his phone away and starting the engine.
"Difficult to say." She checked whether her parents had come out of the house to see how she was leaving, but they were probably inside behind the windows. She was glad they were not parked directly in front of the house.
"They were not happy for you?" he guessed.
She clutched his hand. "Oh, what's that? If I'm not married, how will I be dealt with in public?"
"Do you need to be dealt with in public?"
"That's what I said, but actually I don't know what it means to be dealt with in public." Not really, anyway.
"I think mistresses are dealt with in public - or not - not girlfriends. You know, where can they and their illegitimate offspring sit during a wedding and so forth. It's not the first question that would come to my mind, actually. I only suspect that is sort of what he means because it was an issue at that wedding I recently had to go to."
"And was I going to resign, because I would have other obligations?"
"If," he said emphatically, "you will have other obligations, I'll take care of them, since it will be my fault."
"You'll wave at people in my stead?"
"No, I was thinking of something else. But never mind. I'm sorry they didn't congratulate you. Maybe they first want to ask me to a brunch to ascertain whether my intentions are pure."
"Did your family think my intentions were pure?"
"What do you think?"
Joël, who had obtained her number from George, called her on Sunday morning. "Sorry to disturb you, madam, but I have a question." He paused so she could give him permission to ask the question.
Anna Margaret did him that favour, even if she had thought that since they had shopped for her dress together she had stopped being madam. He had not even called her madam then. "All right."
"I'm replacing Jules Simon on 'Time for Coffee' for a few times this summer and I've just been told that tomorrow's guest was taken to hospital with appendicitis. Do you know 'Time for Coffee'?"
"I've heard of it," she said cautiously. That meant: she knew it existed. It aired in the morning and usually at a time when she was already at work. Presumably people watched it while they had coffee.
"It's aimed at people who have time to start their day at leisure."
"Old people."
"Not necessarily only old people."
"And let me guess, you need a new guest?" Did she appeal to old people? Or were they simply desperate to get anyone at all at such short notice? She would not blame him for trying.
"Yes!"
"What would it be about?"
"Oh, just a chat about things, nothing heavy, and viewers can ask you a question as well."
"Can I check this programme anywhere and think about it?"
"Sure!" He seemed delighted that she was willing to consider it. "It might be on YouTube."
Anna Margaret checked YouTube and speed-watched a few episodes. There were never any nasty or probing questions, as far as she could tell, only people having cosy chats. She could do that. She glanced at Frederick. "I have a TV offer tomorrow morning. Joël is subbing on 'Time for Coffee'."
"Oh, I know that programme."
"Should I? Go, I mean?" She hoped he would understand she meant that going would also mean saying something.
"Why not?"
She called Joël back. "Frederick says I can do it. Are you asking me because I was seen with him?"
"I did read that, but we're not the sort of people who'd make you talk about it." He paused. "But would you say anything about it, if it came up in conversation? Or do we have to be really careful?"
"If it came up, I might. I mean, I might as well." It had looked as if they were going to be nice about it.
"But we could mention the tennis?"
"Of course."
"That's wonderful. Can I call you back with the details?"
"Are you asking Frederick as well?" She thought that perhaps simply sitting there would reduce the need for most of the questions.
"Could I?"
"He'll come," she said before she had even asked him. She would talk him into that.
"What?" cried Frederick, who heard some disconcerting things. "Are you talking about me?"
"If I go, you'll come, won't you?" Anna Margaret gave him a slightly pleading look.
"If you make me."
"I'll make you." She spoke to Joël again. "He will."
"Aww," she said to Frederick after the call, aware that she might have gone too far. "You don't have to say much. You can nudge me and I'll speak."
He gave her a mock glare.
"You could have said no, but you said 'if you make me', which doesn't mean no."
"I can't say no to you."
"I'm not taking advantage of that, really! I said I'd never do it again and now I have. But I thought that if we sat there together and non-verbally conveyed that we are nice, sensible people -"
"You want to sit there non-verbally?" Frederick raised his eyebrows. "On a talkshow?"
"You could! I'll talk. Until you stop me. But you know what I mean. If we sat there together - and then sensibly, because if we were always touching they'd think I was out of my mind or approaching a midlife crisis - we wouldn't even have to say much about that."
"Hmm."
"And, of course, I'd be afraid of saying too much or too little. I don't usually talk about myself in public."
"I don't at all."
"Well, then you sit there non-verbally."
On Monday morning they presented themselves at the studios, where they met Joël and his co-presenter, a woman in her fifties named Clara, who told them how it would go. Then they were prepared for the show. It was not scary; there was no studio audience. Anna Margaret had done this before. Only the type of conversation would be different.
"Good morning," said Clara cheerfully when it began. "Holiday time is fast approaching and Jules has already gone, so Joël will still be with me this week, like last Friday."
"Good morning," said Joël. "I'm still enjoying it and I'm looking forward to this week as well."
"Today we have two guests for a change."
Anna Margaret guessed they usually had only one because there simply were not enough interesting people in the country to fill a year otherwise. She listened as they were introduced and gave a polite nod and smile at the right moment, but she nearly snorted when she realised that they were a show item just like the household tips.
Although Clara and Joël had cards, they were not reading anything up. They first took up a newspaper and mentioned what had struck them in the news. Then there was a bit about the weather.
"It's not looking too good this week, but I suppose we've already had some good weather in the past few weeks," said Clara. "I understand your summer recess has begun," she asked Anna Margaret. "Have you got plans?"
"It's only begun for the MPs," Anna Margaret answered. "I still have a few more weeks to go, but I don't have any plans to leave yet. I already have to visit lots of places for my job, so I don't mind staying home." She wondered if she should say she now had a lot more to stay home for.
"Do you enjoy having to travel so much?"
Anna Margaret hesitated. "To be honest, not always. Usually they have a very interesting programme, but for example I either get something to eat at every turn, or I get nothing at all for hours. I always turn vegetarian on such trips, so I can turn down offers of food if necessary."
"Like insects," Joël said with a shudder.
"Instant vegetarian," she nodded.
"I was going to make that tonight," Frederick commented in a mock disappointed tone.
She stared at him in amazement. Not only had he spoken, but he had said something unexpected too.
"But, but, but," Clara cut in. "Do you cook?" She was of course of the age to have sons who needed to be prodded into action and perhaps she had trouble doing that.
"Yes, I cook," Frederick answered.
"You don't have a cook? I thought you'd have staff to do that for you."
"I grew up that way," he nodded, "but at some point I was always getting into trouble with the kitchen staff, for silly things like misusing dishes after hours."
"They would dare to speak to you about it?" Joël was stunned.
"I didn't know my father had a favourite bowl until I broke it," Frederick said dryly.
Anna Margaret was proud of him. He was actually talking about himself and he did not seem to mind. Of course she had never noticed him having trouble with it; she had only his word for that. At the same time she wondered why on earth he had not simply been allowed to use the kitchen and everything in it. True, that one time he had cooked for her he had made a good mess, but she had not noticed much of that in his own flat.
"And then you were banned from the kitchen?" Clara asked.
"Yes, but my sister told me I could use her kitchen, as long as I didn't wake anyone up."
"Did you eat during the night?"
"No, at 5:30."
"That is during the night! Don't you think that's too early?" Clara asked Anna Margaret.
"Oh, if I think it's too early I stay in bed. If I don't think it's too early I go with him," she shrugged with a smile. She did not know what to make of this conversation. "I usually start work early anyway."
"And you? Will you still have official tasks?" Clara now asked Frederick.
"Yes, some, but not as many. I still have to go over that with my sister."
"Or will you now have to act as a sort of spouse at Anna Margaret's events? Not that I ever noticed we did that sort of thing here."
His eyes widened. "Are you joking? Can we keep that separate, please? And we're not married." It sounded as if he would like to keep it that way - at least to avoid having to accompany her.
Anna Margaret chuckled. She trusted they would judge it case by case anyway. "If I've always done that on my own, I can continue to do it on my own. I don't receive foreign dignitaries at home anyway - my place is too small - but we go to restaurants. But he's said he will go to sports events with me."
"I'm inconsistent like that, yes."
"But would you go and buy a dress with her?" Joël asked. "I had to do that now."
"I can't say."
"You can't say?" his girlfriend exclaimed.
"If it's a short errand, all right, if it's a long one, I'd better do something useful in the meantime."
"And it's time for an email!" said Clara. "Gertrude would like to know how long you've been going out. Thank you, Gertrude."
Anna Margaret received a nudge from Frederick's knee. She supposed that meant the question was for her. "I think about five weeks. And we never went out. We only stayed home."
Frederick hid his face behind his hands.
"What?" she inquired.
"Nothing."
"But it means," she continued briskly, thinking this needed to be said. "That we were really doing serious work at our weekly meetings in the past year. Doing something else didn't even occur to me."
"But it did to you," Joël said to Frederick.
His smile spread. "No, not really. I was afraid of her."
"And then..." Joël prodded. "You weren't."
"Well," said Anna Margaret when Frederick did not seem inclined to clarify. "We happened to see each other on an off-duty sort of occasion and we agreed to meet again - outside of work, obviously, since we already have to meet professionally once a week."
"But that was all not very long ago."
"It was long enough for me." She remembered something that might also be useful to say. "And it was after he told me he was going to resign, so he didn't do that because of me."
"Did it play any role for you?" asked Clara. "Dating a king is different from dating a soon to be former king, I would imagine."
"I can't say. That he was going to abdicate was a given before I thought anything at all. Well, by the time I was thinking something I knew he had to resign for the sake of his own mental wellbeing. I had seen him exist and I had seen him live."
Frederick acknowledged this with a small nod. "I had told my relatives before I was inaugurated that I wanted out and afterwards about once a month. It didn't suddenly occur to me because an unsuitable woman appeared."
"Unsuitable?" Anna Margaret inquired.
"According to certain people, having a demanding job of your own makes you unsuitable. Also, people would fear for their jobs. You know how many were involved in writing my speech and you know you would have written it alone if anyone had let you."
"Yes, but - oh, all right." She saw his point.
"Right, we have another question. This is one is from Cindy," said Joël. "Cindy would like to know if Prince Frederick now has to get a normal job. Thank you for this question, Cindy." He looked at Frederick.
"I don't have to; my girlfriend has a good income." He really looked as if he was serious, but then he smiled. "It depends on whether my remaining official tasks will count as a job, and if that will leave me time to do something else next to the unpaid activities I already have."
"I can also imagine it wasn't one of your priorities in the past weeks," said Joël.
"No, indeed. It's not going to be a priority any time soon either. Some people think I get 'free' money, but I don't. I have to attend official occasions in return, I continually have to read lies about myself and I can't go anywhere alone. If I do, there's a lot of panic and fuss because I'm missing."
"Have you ever gone out alone?" Clara wondered.
"Yes. Everyone involved in protecting me could lose their jobs and so forth. So it's not easy unless you're really selfish."
"And you have to read lies about yourself?"
"Yes, try googling him," Anna Margaret interrupted. "Most of it isn't true."
"She thinks I should correct it all, but I've never seen the point. As if people out there care that I do have a degree. If they liked it that I didn't, they're going to think I didn't deserve one if I did. I know what is always being written."
"That you never passed your first year," she added.
Frederick smiled. "Well, it's true that I never did pass the first year of whatever courses I was announced to be taking, but it's sloppy journalism not to investigate what I did instead. I've just said that I do have a degree and I'll add that I pursued it in that same time period at that same university, so anyone interested ought to be able to find out. It's not that difficult. It doesn't come up on Google directly, but you can use Google to find out."
"Intriguing!" Clara remarked. "And you won't tell us?"
Frederick shook his head. "Not right now."
"Now it's time for a little break and after the break we'll hear which tips Claudia has for us today."
"That wasn't so bad," Anna Margaret said hopefully as they drove away from the studios. She was due back at work, of course, and hoped that she had legitimately done something else. "You even said things."
Frederick laughed. "I had to. I hope I wasn't too negative and unambitious. I tried not to complain too much."
"What will they say at the Palace about this anyway?"
"I let them know I was going, so they will have watched. Some of them think I should have asked their permission first."
"Good luck. Send them to me if they complain."
"And you wondered why you were unsuitable."
The car dropped her off at her building and then continued to take Frederick home. In this quieter summer period she could leave earlier, she thought as she made her way to her office. Now she and Frederick had come out, however, going home might be a little bit more difficult and yet she needed to go there to pick up more clothes. Whatever she had taken to his apartment on Friday could stay there, but she could start taking more things there.
In her office no one had watched TV. André, however, soon picked up the news. "I'm not sure it will be much of a surprise to anyone working around here," he said. "I've already had a lot of inquiries over the weeks."
"Well, you won't have to deny things. There is a relationship and it won't be in the way of my functioning."
"Good."
Anna Margaret retired to her office and started work.
At four o'clock she felt it was time to leave. After checking the front door and seeing reporters there, she turned back and went to one of the emergency exits. It was all very well that people were curious and she understood, but it did not fit her plans right now and the country was not going to suffer if she did not answer. Before she had left André had let her know that quite a lot of media contacts had asked if it was really true. What did they think? That she would go on TV with a fake story, just for fun?
There was no one outside the emergency exit, for which she was glad. She hurried home. Thankfully no one had thought it necessary to wait outside her flat. They never had, so she wondered if they even knew her address. In any case they were probably not expecting her to leave work this early.
She changed into jeans and a more casual coat, packed a bag and checked her fridge. There was never much in it even if she was home, but it might be wise to eat here some time later this week. The first days she might be more comfortable behind the Palace walls, but then it might not matter much anymore.
That reminded her they would still need to talk about that house. They had not gone beyond saying it would be nice. What would it actually be like to live there? It reminded her of her parents as well and she checked the voicemails on her landline. Yes, there they were. They needed to talk to her, they said. But she had not been home and she had not seen the messages any sooner. Her hand hovered over the numbers. But no. Not here. It might take an hour and then she would get caught up in the city's rush hour and be closer to a more logical time for her to leave work.
She shook her head and slung her bag over her shoulder. Downstairs she wheeled out her bike, because she was not sure she could walk away quickly if anyone talked to her. There was still no one out there to bother her, so she could cycle away comfortably. At least today no one would offer her a golf cart, she thought, although she had no idea where she would leave a bike.
She chose the front gates, even if there was a crowd again. Her floorplan did not take into account that the route had to bicycle-accessible and she was definitely not up to carrying it up and down stairs. They knew her, even in jeans and on a bike, and she slipped in quickly with a wave. There were sounds from the crowd, but she ignored them.
She parked her bicycle in the courtyard and locked it, even if it would be unthinkable if someone stole it. But you never knew.
Frederick was not in. She took her clothes upstairs and dumped the bag on the floor. The washing machine had stopped running, she noticed, and she put things in the dryer. Then she thought she had been domestic enough for the moment and she returned downstairs to lie on the couch. Perhaps she needed more vitamins.
Frederick woke her. "Dinner is ready."
"What?" She felt disoriented for a second.
"Dinner is ready."
"Did I fall asleep?" She must have. For how long? But she could not see a clock.
"Yes, I came home and I cooked dinner."
"I didn't hear anything."
"I didn't break anything."
"I'm sorry. I should have started cooking, since I was here first."
"Never start cooking when you're tired. You might burn the entire place down." He pulled her up gently. "What else are you feeling?"
She did not understand the need for that question. "Slightly guilty. Disoriented. Surprised. How long did I sleep?"
"I don't know when you got here, but it's now 18:05. Well, it was when I left the kitchen."
Anna Margaret got to her feet. At least she could stand steadily. "Monday, right? Don't tell me it's Tuesday already."
"I think I might have tried to carry you upstairs in that case. No, it's Monday." Frederick pulled her towards the kitchen.
"I was thinking that maybe I needed more vitamins and I was thinking about that house and I must have fallen asleep somehow."
"What do you want to do about the house?" he asked as he sat down and filled her plate.
Anna Margaret tried to figure out what she was getting. "Er...oh. It's a nice house, but wouldn't we regret that my parents are just down the road? I saw they phoned my flat, but I didn't ring them back yet. I thought it would take too long and I was just so nice and early that nobody was expecting me to have left work. I mean, you want a house, something that's only yours, away from your family, and then you'd practically live next to mine?"
"Frankly, I don't think that would matter. I have no emotional connection to your family and therefore no need to move away from them. I don't expect them to visit all the time. And I don't expect them to be as nosy as my relatives. Whom, by the way, you have not all met."
That sounded ominous and she frowned. "I knew there were more, but I figured you weren't close."
"Oh, they will be close after this morning."
"And exactly who will be close? I'm sure I can handle them. I have no emotional connection to them." They might look into her bag and think she was seventeen, but she could deal with that.
"I'll start at the top. There's my grandmother."
"She's got to be ancient."
"Yes. She's well in her nineties. She also had a few more children besides Aunt Agnes and my father. And they have children as well."
"Well, they can't all have the bossy genes."
"No, but the nosy genes can be spread over more people without causing conflicts."
"Okay. We'll see. But you'd want to buy the house then? What about all that space?"
"Ah. Isabelle thinks it will get filled."
There was something in his tone that she could not place. "Isabelle," she repeated. "She who thinks we are comparable to sixteen-year-olds getting pregnant?"
Frederick gave her a funny look. "Did she mention anything of the sort to you?"
"Yes. She must be really afraid her children will get boyfriends just because you got a girlfriend."
"She thinks I am stupid and she's afraid her children will be stupid too."
"Are you stupid because you got me?" She raised her eyebrows. The impression she had got was rather different.
"No, she thinks you're pregnant."
Anna Margaret sat still. She stared at him. "Me?"
"Well, not me."
"Why would she think that?"
"She says she can tell, and besides, she always knew I'd mess up?" His voice rose a little in disbelief. "She says she was waiting for it. She says she hinted at it to you, but you didn't get it."
"It makes no sense. We were doubly protected."
"Not at all times. We were doubly half protected. I looked it up."
What was doubly half protected? She had no idea. "Why?"
"Because some of it was my responsibility and yes, I did mess up. I've known all along that I did; I simply hoped it would be all right."
Anna Margaret closed her eyes and tried to remember. "When?"
"Shower," he muttered.
Her eyes shot open. "Oops. But that was more than once." How could she not have noticed? She was a sensible, sane person who did not get carried away. "And you knew?"
"Yes. So I thought you were fine with it or maybe your pill was working again. I realised I was fine with it anyway. I did remember in time the second time but I said nothing. Sorry."
She frowned as she tried to work it out. "It should have been working again at some point. I don't think I missed any others, but I didn't really pay attention because we had the other thing! And Isabelle thinks..."
"She can tell, she says."
"Did someone tell her I was tired?"
"No."
"But you didn't want any children."
"I said a lot of things. But you didn't want any, so I'm sorry. I'll take care of it if something really did happen."
She raised her eyebrows again. "This is ridiculous."
"What is ridiculous?" Frederick looked confused.
"I can't be." Anna Margaret could not even bring herself to say what she could not be.
"But what if you are?" He seemed anxious about that.
"Then I am. What if I'm not? Then you'd like me to be," she said, studying his face. It felt like a blow in the chest. She was not sure it was good or bad. "How are we going to get it done?"
"We'll get it done."
"But it's still ridiculous that I'd need to do a test because your sister is thinking something." And she was still not convinced Isabelle had any point at all. How did someone see it when there was nothing to see? It made no sense and she did not like things that made no sense.
"Yes. If you hadn't been so tired I would have laughed at her and left it at that. Now I laughed at her and I talked to you about it."
"You wouldn't let her think that you actually thought she might be onto something?" She might have done the same. "What will you do if she's right? Ignore and deny until I start to show?"
"That was the plan," Frederick said with a sheepish smile.
"I suppose that also means you wouldn't like to send anyone out to buy a test." She preferred to focus on the practical facts first. Later they could go over the horrific consequences. "But we have to. People who are at work in the shops at this hour were all home this morning and able to watch TV and they may recognise either of us."
"Why do we have to do that right now?"
"Because...if I'm pregnant, I should not take the pill. I don't know if that's harmful. And I cannot simply not take the pill, because then I'd get pregnant if I wasn't already." She gave him a cautious glance, to see if he was going to say she should definitely get pregnant.
"Oh." He was a little awed by all this practicality. "Yes. I suppose."
"First we need to know. Then we can think about it."
He looked at his plate. He had not touched it for a few minutes now.
"Finish your dinner first," she advised. "Before it gets cold."
"And you?"
She held up an admonishing finger. "Don't say it. I'll eat."
After she had finished her meal, she pushed her chair back. "I'll see about sending someone to the shops." Having staff would have come in useful now. It was a pity that he thought he needed none.
He gasped.
"Frederick..." she began. "Don't be an idiot. They might think you very virile or something. I don't know how men work. How would I go about sending someone to the shops for me? How do you do this?"
"I never do this."
It was a pity that he apparently never had emergency needs, or that he went out himself if he did. She would have to come up with something. "I think Isabelle's staff is out of the question. Does your mother have staff?"
"Yes."
"Can you take me there? I'll talk to someone and I'll try to avoid your aunt."
Frederick had taken Anna Margaret to his mother's rooms. As far as meeting the first member of her staff, that was. She had taken this man aside and inquired whether he might know of someone who was willing to go out and buy a sensitive item for her.
"A woman?" he had asked nervously.
"Not necessarily. Preferably someone who would not tell Princess Agnes."
The man had thought for a few moments. "All right. I may know someone. Please wait here, Madam Prime Minister."
Anna Margaret smiled at Frederick. That was how you did it.
He was not so sure. "I'm sure he knows what."
The man returned with two people instead of one: Queen Anna and another woman. Luckily she was not Princess Agnes.
"What do you need?" asked Frederick's mother. "Maybe someone has it?"
Anna Margaret coloured. "I think not."
"Well, I take Frederick to the sitting room. You can tell Yvonne."
She watched as Frederick accompanied his mother around a corner. Then she turned to Yvonne, fearing she was bright red. "I'd like a pregnancy test."
Yvonne was well-trained. She obviously had decades of being discreet under her belt and she behaved as if it was the most ordinary request in the world. "Any preferences as to what types?"
"There are types?" Anna Margaret cringed. She had no idea what type. "A normal one?" She took her wallet and handed Yvonne some money.
Yvonne studied it. "How many would you like?"
"I have no idea how much they cost. Maybe two?"
"All right. I'll be back in half an hour."
Anna Margaret walked around the corner where Frederick had gone. She did not know the way, but the same man, who had discreetly disappeared before, was now hovering there. He politely gestured at a door. "Thank you," she mumbled before entering.
Frederick and his mother were there, either talking or staring at a TV screen without the sound on. "Should I," she said as she sat down beside Frederick, "just say thank you to Yvonne when she comes back? Or do something else?"
Queen Anna looked faintly surprised at the question. "It's her job. Thank you will be good." Either she was not curious about the errand, or Frederick had already told her.
Anna Margaret did not think he had. She would have expected a conversation about that to be still ongoing, or to have been cut off awkwardly and insistently, yet there was no sign of either. She looked around the room unobtrusively. There were pictures on the wall - a wedding photo of Frederick's parents, she assumed, and two large pictures of babies - and more framed pictures standing on side tables. Her eye was drawn to the babies.
"I wish you would take that one down," Frederick said to his mother, pointing at one of the babies. Evidently he feared Anna Margaret would reconsider if she was confronted with what she might bring forth.
There was nothing to reconsider, she mused, because she had not yet considered anything. And there was nothing awful about the baby. If he appeared to be all ears it was because he seemed to be paying close attention to something, not because he had those protruding ears Frederick had mentioned. She could hardly see those.
"Why?" asked his mother. "There would be an empty spot otherwise. There are more on that table," she said to Anna Margaret. "In case you are curious."
"No!" he protested. "I was dead ugly."
Anna Margaret removed his hand from her arm. She would not be pulled back onto the sofa. "Relax." She walked over to study the photos on the table. "Your clothes were, you were not." At some point the boy had got glasses and braces, but otherwise he had remained the same. And the ears were still not really visible.
She sat down again. "Didn't see anything frightening."
"You're just saying that," he said, unconvinced. "They were always bullying me."
She placed her hand on his leg. "I'm sorry."
"They would have tried that in any case," Queen Anna said matter-of-factly. "No matter what you looked like. Until you hit back."
"Has Isabelle been talking to you lately?" he wondered.
"She always talks to me."
"About us?"
"Of course."
"What about?"
"Mother-daughter confidentiality."
"You cannot be serious!" Frederick exclaimed. "Do you apply that the other way around as well?"
"You tell me less." She sighed. "This morning Agnes and I watched TV. We saw you. We did not know you were going."
"She made me," he said, but humorously.
"I could see Clara didn't dare to ask too many questions. But it was all not very surprising. You will live together. Here?"
"I think not. Nothing ever stays a secret here. Not that I have many secrets, but still."
"Ach, it's very useful that you can send people shopping."
"Yes, but it is still making use of people and not doing it on my own."
"What!" Anna Margaret cried out all of a sudden. "That looks like my father on TV!" The sound was still off, so she could not hear what he was doing there.
Frederick's mother turned on the sound.
"Well now, Mr Rendinger, that was a surprising morning, wasn't it? Since when have you known?""I did not watch this morning, but I've known since Saturday evening."
"And what did you think?"
He shook his head. "I really don't understand it. She'd been acting strange and evasive for a few weeks, but I hadn't expected this."
"I suppose I wouldn't inform my parents of every step in budding relationships either," said the presenter.
"He sounds like a sensible man," Frederick commented.
"Well, you're not the prime minister. I suppose it doesn't matter who you sleep with."The presenter accepted this graciously. "Suppose she had told you earlier - even earlier - would you have interfered? You seem to think it matters to her. Because she's the prime minister?"
"We did try. We suspected there was someone, but for some reason she implied that he didn't have a job and then when we didn't react favourably, she stopped answering the phone or she wasn't even home at all, but probably with him."
"That makes some sense," the presenter said carefully.
"I can't believe my father is complaining about this on TV." Anna Margaret was certainly in no mood to appreciate it. "Is he so vain he would go on no matter what?"
"Does it? Imagine your daughter having a wonderful career and then throwing herself away on an unemployed squatter.""A squatter?"
"He has a few rooms in a really big place, she said, when she knew we were concerned about this. You don't think this fellow has got his act together if he's only got a few rooms. Yet she let us continue to worry about this."
There were snickers from the audience.
Mr Rendinger shook his head again. "It was terrible."
"Then surely it was a relief when she told you the truth?"
"Doesn't he know he looks like an idiot?" Anna Margaret was appalled.
"Not really. She wouldn't tell me a lot, except that she's going to live with him and not marry him. She didn't even bring him into the house, even though I think he must have been there. They had been watching tennis, I read on Sunday, so I suppose I had to be told before I read about it.""And has it really been only a few weeks?"
"As far as I know, yes. Only a few weeks and she's already moving in with him. We'll just have to imagine that they know what they're doing."
"He means: if anyone must have my daughter after only five weeks, it's at least a prince," Frederick said to Anna Margaret.
The presenter turned to his other guest. "And with us we also have Anthony Muller, our best-known royal correspondent. Anthony, what were your thoughts about this surprising news?""It has been a surprising month. Prince Frederick has never been in the news more often than now since his birth. There was the abdication -"
"Because when I was a baby I didn't know yet that I had to avoid those people," Frederick said to Anna Margaret.
"Yes, were you surprised about that?""Yes, I was. When he announced it, certainly. But if you look back he didn't always appear very motivated. It now makes you wonder if it wasn't about a woman after all, but they said themselves that it wasn't."
"And what do you think?"
"Doing the math, he probably told her before she says the relationship began, since his TV speech was three weeks ago and she says they started five weeks ago, and anything they do officially takes weeks of preparation. But I don't see why he would plan ahead so much as to first tell her he was going to abdicate before making a move on her. Do you see what I mean? It would have been easier to wait it out and let her resign, if anyone needed to," said Anthony Muller. "And it's always been customary to let the commoner do the adapting."
"Amazing," Frederick commented.
"Well, he cannot be negative or untruthful, or it will be the end of the yearly photoshoots," said Queen Anna. "He knows that very well."
"Do you want to continue to see this?" asked Frederick's mother. "I can turn it off."
"Yes, please turn it off." Anna Margaret would rather not see more of it. She would be able to find out what had been said without having to watch it. People would mention it to her or she would read about it.
Queen Anna switched channels and turned off the sound. "The other two seemed positive, but I think the conversation will be predictable."
"Did they approach you too?" Frederick wondered.
"No, but I would not go."
Although she seemed reserved, Frederick's mother had more insight than her father, Anna Margaret thought. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually this affected. It's depressing. Suppose I've inherited some or I'll pass this on to my -" She stopped. There was nothing to pass it on to. Not until she did a test.
She found Frederick's mother studying her when she looked up and Queen Anna continued to regard her silently.
Apparently it unnerved Frederick. "What?" he asked. "I mean, what is it you're thinking?"
"You seem to be coping admirably, Frederick. Is there any reason why you couldn't go out for this sensitive item yourself?"
"No games. If you know, you know. Isabelle -"
"I don't need Isabelle to add things up. But it will be all right."
Yvonne returned with a small plastic bag. Anna Margaret thanked her and set it on the sofa beside her. She was reluctant to get up and use it, not that she could do it here anyway.
"Would you like to go?" asked Frederick's mother.
"No, it's all right." She could still hope for the best outcome now. Once she had tested, she was stuck with something. It was silly, she knew, since the outcome did not depend on the test. The truth was already there; she simply did not know it yet. But for as long as she did not know, she could think of either possibility.
"I'm curious," said Frederick.
Curious? Well, she was closer to being afraid. What if this was something she could not handle? She wondered why she felt that way. Acquiring a boyfriend had not been quite as daunting. It had gone quite naturally. Did this mean she was capable of handling a child also quite naturally?
But she followed Frederick back to his rooms. "Your mother doesn't seem curious," she said. "Didn't ask you to come back with the result or anything." There was always the chance of it going wrong, she knew, and perhaps some people would not trust in it until three months had passed. She was definitely not there yet; she had not even really known him three months ago.
In the bathroom she read the instructions and then gave them to Frederick. "You do it. The testing." She looked away when she had done her part. It took ages and she kept studying the tiles, wondering what reason he could have had to pick them out, or if someone else had picked them for him. They were plain white, but he could also have gone for a little colour, she thought idly.
Frederick touched her shoulder. She looked into his eyes and she knew. There was no need to check the test.
Anna Margaret curled up to him in bed. All the while she had not said anything and he had not asked anything. They had touched, though, and the silence had not been uncomfortable. "How?" was the first word she spoke.
He could have misinterpreted her on purpose; with such a question that was easy. He did not. "We'll work something out. It doesn't have to be what others do or did."
"So what do you think?"
"It's a purpose."
"We could have got you a dog."
Frederick laughed.
"But when you said..." In Italy he had said he was not sure he wanted children, which she had then taken to mean he did not want any.
"What did I say?"
"That you didn't want any."
He looked thoughtful. "I hardly remember saying that consciously. I suppose I meant I didn't want any to grow up the way I did, but now they won't have to. There wouldn't be any burden on them."
"I was never really against, but my job...and now my age..." She should, but could not, put it off. She was at the age where she could not afford to wait another two and a half years. Of course now there was no question of putting it off anymore, but she would have to go through with it.
"We'll see."
"I hate it when people say that, because it usually means they don't want to commit to anything. I need to know how and...how and everything." She needed to be in control.
Frederick had a simply summary. "Well, you continue to work and at some point you go on leave, you have a child and after some time you go back to work."
Anna Margaret felt that was too easy. "Won't people think I was away for too long?" If she used up everything to which she was entitled, she could be out for months. She did not know how she would feel about it when that time came. Anything was possible.
"Maybe."
"And then what? When I go back, I mean. Where would I leave a child?"
"With me or anyone else you'd trust. Or you'd take it with you and put it in a corner of your office."
"Suppose I have to go abroad."
"I suppose you'd need to take your family along in the first few months. It's all right. I have enough money to pay my own way. Unless you'd prefer to hire a nanny."
"No." She frowned. "I think not. Unless we cannot do it on our own. But I think we have to try first. Would I be home enough?"
"We'll see."
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