It was not late enough to order food in and besides, Anna Margaret supposed Frederick would be counting on her to join him at home. She had warned him she might be a little late, but of course it had run very late. She was just considering texting Frederick when one of her staff came in to say that Reception had phoned to ask if she was expecting her boyfriend, as there was someone there they were not sure of.
"But they know him," she said.
"Apparently they're not sure."
"How can they not be sure?" she wondered, getting up. "They've seen him before. But never mind. I'll go home."
She went down to Reception and found Frederick sitting there with an amused expression. He was wearing running clothes. No wonder. "What was the problem?" she asked the fellow behind the desk. He was relatively new, of course, and undoubtedly operating under strict orders while his partner was off doing something else for a minute. He had been here long enough to know her, though.
"Madam," he blushed and stood up. "This man says he has come to see you, but he's not carrying any ID."
She looked at Frederick. The policy was not to let anyone in without ID, although even people with ID could be nutcases. She did not see his bodyguards, although they were almost certainly carrying.
"Sorry, I forgot. Rules are rules." He did not seem to care much. Apparently he had counted on someone coming down to let him in. "I thought maybe we could eat somewhere on the way home."
She turned back to the guard and considered saying he could let Frederick in next time, but what if he mistook someone for Frederick? "Thanks," she said therefore.
"Are you hungry?" Frederick asked.
"Are you planning to eat out in that?"
"What's wrong with it? We don't have to go anywhere fancy."
"Um, no. They wouldn't let you in."
"And no ID with me to prove I really am classy. Are you done?"
"Yes. Won't you be cold? You have no real coat."
"I don't know. I'll find out." He took her arm.
"People will see us."
"Yes."
There was no one waiting outside, however. They could walk away without being spoken to. "So where did you want to eat?"
"There are a couple of places this way for quick meals. I didn't feel like cooking. I'll go for an extra run tomorrow to burn it off."
"And me?"
"You can come on that run too," he grinned.
She left the choice of eating place to him, but she ordered, since she was the only one carrying money. Frederick sat down in a plastic chair. Apart from some students eating or waiting for their food, it was not busy. She sat down as well as she waited and picked up a magazine. Not a tabloid; she did not want to know.
It was not a place they would ever be expected to eat in, but she had been in such places when she was a student. Not too often; her budget would not have allowed even cheap take-aways on a daily basis. She wondered about Frederick. "Did you ever eat in such a place?" she asked when she set the plates on the table.
"This is the only one I've ever been to."
"As a student? Or simply as an act of rebellion?"
"Rebellion. Slumming it."
"Or you could view it as a useful life experience. I wonder if our child will be curious about such places." She spoke softly, although the students would not be listening and the man who had come in to order two bottles of water was one of Frederick's shadows. They had a lousy job actually, she reflected.
"I wouldn't recommend it for frequent visits, but I would be OK with it if it went once a year."
Once a year sounded good. Just enough to satisfy curiosity. Frederick's nieces and their cinema trip came to mind. They would have to wonder about all kinds of issues in the future, but she pushed them from her mind. They had plenty of time for those. "By the way, George is getting married next Saturday. Did you remember?"
"It's on the calendar."
"I can borrow one of your sister's dresses. Saves me a shopping trip."
"Do I have to go in a suit?"
She really wondered how he could be asking that with his upbringing. "You were probably born in one. But no, as long as you won't wear that." She indicated his running tights.
"I was born naked."
"OK. But wearing suits was bred into you."
"No, in my case it failed." He might an attempt at looking regretful, but that failed too.
"You look good in suits."
"I look good naked too, but that doesn't mean I'd go to a -"
"Stop," she requested. "I get the point. You'll wear something suitable." And she knew he would. It might not be a suit and tie, but he would manage neat trousers at the very least.
She had her back to the rest of the place. She hoped no one could guess what they were discussing. On the other hand, she should not pretend she was sixty, because she was not.
"Remember France?" asked Frederick.
"What about it?" Did he mean he had worn something suitable there? It had been a little casual for a wedding.
"We ate in such a place."
"Not really. That was one class up from this."
"Really? It's both fast and no service."
"Well, if you look at it that way, yes. I thought you meant something else."
"What?"
"That I saw that you look good naked - which I didn't."
"That's what you say," he said with a shrug, but then he smiled. "We sat in that bath together. That was fun."
"You thought the entire trip was fun." The consequences had been good, but she would not say it had always been fun, especially when she had felt he was not seeing the seriousness of the situation.
"Yes, sorry. But it was useful, don't you agree? We got to know each other a lot better. Actually, I didn't know you at all before then."
She would agree with that.
Anna Margaret held his hand as they walked back. "Are you cold?" She was not wearing clothes suitable for running, but she would be able to walk a little faster if necessary.
"No, not yet. I'm glad you took me to that appointment today."
She did not know what else she could have done. "But -"
"You could have wanted to go alone so no one would find out."
"I'd rather have them find out than keep you out of it." Maybe she should let go of the fear that someone might find out. Worse crises had happened. She would be able to overcome this.
"Now we know what it is and we can buy something." He paused. "Will your mother want to take you shopping when she hears?"
She had been feeling quietly happy, but that was instantly gone. "I'll have to tell her at some point." But she was not looking forward to it. That was strange. It was something that daughters immediately shared with their mothers, or so she noticed, yet she did not. And she doubted that her mother would want to take her shopping. It might be because she herself was not one to be enthusiastic about such an excursion. Again, she seemed to be the only one who did not like such shopping trips. Not that she had ever been on one with a baby in mind.
"You know I'm never the first to tell people things, but yes, at some point you do need to tell her. It's easy for me to say that, I realise."
"Before or after Isabelle's announcement?"
"Isabelle was probably winding you up. Though she does know how to phrase announcements."
"We are delighted to announce..."
"I think she might really be delighted, but I don't know what's keeping her. Well, your job might be. She doesn't want you to get into trouble. If you'd been a useless spouse she would have given out a statement already."
"A useless spouse?"
"A year or two ago there was a photo of Philip and me with the caption they never do a day's work and they earn millions."
"Seriously? And then what?"
"Er, nothing. Don't feed the trolls. We looked at it and went on with our business of being useless."
"I know there are people who think that way, but still." She did not know what she would have done. There were many more people who received an income without working too hard for it, and these two did not even have a choice. It was not fair.
"They don't know any better. Maybe some day they'll find out what we do - or didn't do - and they'll have a more reasonable opinion. Besides, we don't earn millions. The state income part is actually quite small."
"Small, yes." Anna Margaret did not know if she could qualify it as such. Not many people would.
"In comparison. But the fact is that people think they are paying for my life and that this gives them the right to comment on what I do."
"They feel that way about everything that is paid for directly by their taxes, or so they think. Do an interview sometimes," she suggested.
"And then what?"
"Then people will know you a little better."
"No, they won't."
She detected the same reluctance she had felt when he had mentioned her mother. She was amused in spite of herself. They both had things to work on, but at least they did not have to do it alone. "Have you got any offers?"
"I always do."
"See? You're interesting."
"No."
"Darling," she decided. "I'll choose a nice one for you. With your permission only, of course." She wondered if she needed Isabelle's.
"A nice what?"
"Interviewer. One who is known for not twisting your words."
"Do they exist?"
"Yes, they do. But think about it. I won't call anyone just yet."
Anna Margaret had decided she had to do it. Soon she would have to make her pregnancy public - Danielle had gone public with hers at a moment when no one had cared to react much, but it was difficult to predict when that might be - but first she would have to tell her mother about it first. There would be serious trouble if her mother had to read about it in the newspaper or see it as an item on the evening news.
She had gone to her parents' house - with Frederick - and she waited for the right moment to bring it up. Both of her parents were home. Her father, although he had been told already, had not referred to the matter since.
Her mother served tea and biscuits. "We're going to have a baby," Anna Margaret said when her mother sat down.
Her mother looked completely astonished. "You?"
"Yes."
"But how is that possible?"
Anna Margaret considered explaining sex and its possible consequences, but she expected a mother of three to know already. "Yes, we're very happy, thank you."
"Er...congratulations, of course. But how will you manage?"
While she had not expected anyone and least of all her mother to go completely crazy upon hearing her news, this was still a bit typical. "We'll manage."
"When are you due?"
"March."
"March?" cried her mother. "How is that possible?"
Again she considered a literal explanation, but instead she shrugged.
"But that is before Irene Louise!"
"Yes, it is."
"Do you mean you have known for longer? Before today?"
"Yes." She felt the urge to explain and apologise, but she resisted it.
The men in the room had said nothing so far. Her father was likely afraid to mention that he had known already and she did not know what Frederick was thinking. Perhaps she did not want to know.
"I never thought you would," said her mother. "I simply can't fathom it yet."
"I have to warn you that you can't tell anyone about it yet," said Anna Margaret.
"People would not believe it if I did."
"Don't try."
"But how will you manage? You work so much."
"We'll see." She had no clear answer to that yet. "But will everyone ask me that? That would get terribly boring."
"Nobody will ask me how I'll manage," said Frederick. "I guess I'm not expected to be involved."
"But you're a man." Anna Margaret's mother still did not quite know how to talk to him normally. Sometimes she half said Your Royal Highness.
"And the father."
They would not stay long, Anna Margaret felt. If her mother wanted to know how they were going to arrange it, there was no answer to that yet. She began to have some idea, but she would not share it with anyone other than Frederick.
"When are you going to make it public?" her father asked.
"We'll have to confer with Isabelle."
They looked impressed that she would call the queen Isabelle. She ignored that. "It will be a family member, so she will have a say."
"Does she know already?"
"Yes."
"Was she shocked?"
"No." She picked up her tea. It would be impossible to leave before it was finished.
"How will it be titled?"
"Huh?" Anna Margaret inquired impolitely. "Titled?"
"Will the baby be a prince or princess?"
"No, just a baby."
"It won't be titled because he abdicated? Or because you're not married?"
"I...really don't care! Why is this a question at all?" Was it more important to know if it was going to have a title than whether it was a boy or a girl?
"Oh, I'm only curious."
"Don't be. You'll find out, not that it should matter a bit."
"Are you going to get married now?"
"We may and we may not." She really wanted to leave now. Her tea was nearly finished. She nudged Frederick and tried to look into his tea cup. "I'd like to see if your sister is in and look at one of those things."
"Oh, those. Yes."
"We have to go," she announced. "But please remember not to tell anyone just yet." Chances of that not happening were slim, but at least she would have tried.
"What did you think?" she asked Frederick when they walked back to their own house.
"I wasn't expecting to be able to make one of those hysterical videos about a woman hearing she'll be a grandmother, to be honest."
"I would have been scared." She would have run out of the house immediately if that had happened.
"Me too! Luckily my mother isn't like that either. But I noticed that your mother didn't seem to think I could be involved. Your father didn't do much, I gather."
"No, he was working. But in those days he did probably only a little less than average and nobody thought it too little. All the solutions I have thought of will be alien to her."
"Luckily she's irrelevant. I suppose?" he added. "Your solutions don't involve her babysitting?"
"They don't. If she feels any need, she can do that with Irene's baby. I'm sure Irene will need lots of help. Suppose I asked her and then she wouldn't have time for Irene's baby. Then it would all be my fault again. No, I'm not going there."
"You could always borrow one of my relatives. They're all experienced. What was it you wanted to look at?"
"Dresses."
"Oh, right. Do you need me for that?"
"No, unless you're interested." She supposed he would go running or swimming.
"I'll see if my mother is in. I'll have done my duty then too."
"You could tell her it's a boy, if you haven't done that yet." He had not told her he had, so she supposed he had not. It would not do any harm to let that grandmother know. She had known about the baby for a while and she had not told anyone else.
Isabelle turned out to be out, but Philip was in and he seemed to know Anna Margaret would come to have a look at dresses at some point. Either that or he was never surprised by strange requests. He sent one of his daughters with her to show her where the dresses were.
Aurelie took her to a room full of closets. "What type? They're sorted by type."
"Maternity."
The girl's eyes grew wide. Clearly she had still not been told. "You're pregnant?"
"Yes, I am." She looked doubtful. Isabelle must have had a reason not to tell the children yet, but Philip had sent this daughter with her and he must know what sort of dress she was looking for. "They hadn't told you yet?"
"We're not stupid, so we thought you might be, but no, they haven't actually told us."
"Well, that's why I need a dress. You don't look as if you mind that they didn't tell you," Anna Margaret observed.
"We're used to them, aren't we," Aurelie said cheerfully, opening a few of the closets. Some had tiny tags on them that were difficult to read from afar. "But frankly, Mum looks fatter than you. Maybe she's afraid we'll ask about that if she tells us. Or afraid that we'll ask how it works. But most of us had that in biology class. I don't know about Charlotte though. She might not know."
"I'm glad it's all clear to you."
"Did you do it with Mum's permission?"
"It? No, only with Frederick's."
Aurelie giggled. "OK. Here's the closet. It's all mixed in here, though. Long, short, medium. What do you need?"
"Medium? Will your mum be angry that you now know?"
"No. She doesn't really do anger. She'll probably be glad. I might ask deep questions, you know."
"Such as?" Anna Margaret pulled out a purple dress because she liked the colour. She had no idea if the model was going to look good on her, but she was here to find out.
"Oh, I don't know. I can always think of something deep. I mean, annoying."
"I'm going to try this one on."
Aurelie sat down to watch. "You're definitely less fat than Mum. Think there's more she's not telling us?"
"Does she generally inform you of her weight gains?"
"No."
"So why should she now?"
"Point. When is it coming and what will it be?"
"March. It's a boy."
"Cool. Can I babysit?"
"Maybe. Would you like that?"
"I've been telling Flo to get married, but Mum forbids him so much he's going to be even older than Uncle Frederick when he finally gets a girlfriend."
"He's still young. He should not have children yet."
"That's all relative," Aurelie philosophised. "Mum and Dad weren't old, but of course they consider themselves to have been so much more mature when they were young."
Anna Margaret wriggled into the purple dress. It was too wide in places. Next week she would not have grown enough to fill that up. With some regret she took it off again. "Blue then. I'm not sure yellow or pale pink are for me."
Anna Margaret picked out a dress after trying out a few. She chose one that hid her shape, not that there was much of that, according to Aurelie. Aurelie helped her pack it in a clothes bag so she could take it home. She carried it back to the living room of the spacious apartment.
"Ah, you found something," said Philip. "Not surprised. There are so many we could start a shop."
"Yes, thanks. We have a wedding to go to." She wondered what else could be done with sometimes unique dresses except lend them out.
"A wedding? Oh, I thought - when?"
"Next Saturday."
"Oh. That's all right then."
It was a bit impolite to question him about that reaction, so she did not. "Is Frederick still at his mother's?"
"Yes. I haven't seen him."
"I'll go and find him there. Thanks again. Is there a fast way?" She had been to both places, but never gone directly from one to the other.
"I'll show you," Aurelie said, jumping up from the couch she had just dropped down on. She led Anna Margaret through a few doors and up a flight of stairs.
Anna Margaret wondered why the girl was so helpful. Maybe it was her nature, or maybe there was something in it for her. The apartment where Frederick's mother lived was on the other side of a more public part where some of the domestic staff worked. They encountered some of them, even though it was Saturday. It was not far, although far enough to allow both households some privacy.
Frederick was sitting with his mother and aunt and he rose when they entered. "Good, you succeeded," he said, seeing the clothes bag.
"Frederick says you have no time to buy a nice dress," said Aunt Agnes.
Anna Margaret supposed Frederick had not yet revealed why buying a dress was not that easy at the moment, but if Aurelie knew, she did not see why Aunt Agnes could not also be told. "Can you keep a secret?"
Aunt Agnes was always ready to hear secrets. "Of course."
"I'm pregnant."
"Oh my goodness." Aunt Agnes looked thrilled for a few seconds, but then her expression changed. "And everyone knew except me?"
Aurelie laid her arm across the older lady's shoulders. "If it's any consolation, I didn't know either." But clearly she was now thrilled to be in on the secret and she was here to hear more.
"Anna, you knew?"
"Of course," Frederick's mother said placidly.
"Well, now that everyone knows, it's going to be a boy," said Frederick.
"I'll work on something blue," said his mother. She appeared to be her usual unexcitable self, but of course she already had a few grandchildren, both boys and girls.
"I'm going to babysit," said Aurelie.
Frederick gave her a quizzical stare. "You're dropping out of school? Your parents will be thrilled."
"After school. Surely you have things after school?"
Aunt Agnes was still in shock. "But you're the prime minister and you're pregnant."
"Physically I'm quite normal."
"Oh, it's brilliant."
"Brilliant?" Anna Margaret had not expected that. Perhaps she always expected the worst these days.
"Blow them away, girl."
"Er..."
"Marvellous. Of course you should have told me sooner, but I'll let that pass."
"I thought you'd be conservative."
"I am, but I like people who stir things up."
She did not know whether that was good or bad.
At home she showed Frederick the dress. "Now I'm all set for next week." She was happy she did not have to go shopping. There were only two hours left for that anyway and it would be nearly impossible.
"Good. I'll have a suit somewhere."
"Nice."
"What did you think?" he asked after some hesitation. "Do you think my aunt will talk? She has nothing to be proud of."
"I think we're at a point where we can't put it off for much longer anyway, so it would only mean a few extra weeks of interest, not months. I could theoretically take my maternity leave from the middle of January, which isn't so far away." She quietly pondered how quickly time passed and how quickly the baby would actually be here.
They would have to start ordering the more specific baby furniture now. So far they had got the closets and put them together, which had taken time enough. It had been good to spread it out a bit. She was not worried about clothes; those could be bought in a few minutes. Putting furniture together, however, was not something they were really good at.
It always came right in the end, but when the first package had arrived Frederick had realised that in his previous apartment he had always borrowed tools and that he did not own any. Anna Margaret had not owned much more than a screwdriver either. But now they were a bit more experienced and they could probably fix up a crib without too much trouble.
What had kept them was that a lot of those boxes had images on them of what was inside. Neighbours seeing a cardboard box with a closet on it being delivered was no problem. Their seeing boxes with baby furniture was. Or it had been.
"But are you going to take all that leave?" Frederick seemed to think she would not.
"I don't think I need to stop working six weeks before the birth. I can't imagine it. Not now. I suppose I could officially request the leave and unofficially work on. Who could object to that? As long as my replacement knows when I'm there and when I'm not. I'm not doing any physical work. I can read and talk anywhere. I could even do that from my bed."
"And trips?"
"I won't be allowed to fly, so there's that." She had no scheduled trips in January or February. Louis would have to do them if any urgent ones came up. At least Louis already knew about that. "I have China coming up in December and after that I'm done with the far trips for a while."
"China." Frederick did not seem to like that.
"Sorry. It's only a few days."
"I'll survive."
"Of course, darling," she consoled him. "You survived when I went to Paris and Brussels, too. And I survived when you went to Germany. Or maybe you can think of some purpose for yourself in China, then you can come as well. Are you good at promoting the country?"
"Er..." Evidently he did not think he was.
"I'm going with Patrick, so if you think you can contribute to our mission, you should contact him."
"Photo session, wear something nice," Frederick read up a message on his phone on Sunday morning. "Photo session? For what? Usually I know these things long in advance."
"What time?" Anna Margaret was due at the Palace for obscure reasons at eleven.
"Eleven."
Then it was the same occasion. "I knew in advance, but I didn't know for what."
"And you'd go, without asking?"
"I assumed your sister wouldn't waste my time. She didn't give me a dress code, though. Maybe I'm usually presentable and you're not?" she teased.
"How did she even know I'd be home?"
"She probably asked you and you forgot she did. Or you simply never have anything to do on a Sunday in November?" In the summer Isabelle would probably not take the risk, but the weather was not especially good today. Although, she recalled, she had received the invitation two weeks ago at least. There was always a remote chance that it was sunny and not too cold in November, or that they would have to go to someone's wedding, or she would have to go to Brussels for a meeting.
Frederick was still dwelling on the photo session. "What sort of photo session? Is this for our winter photo? We usually do it at some point, but I forgot when. It's not the highlight of my yearly calendar."
"Winter photo? I didn't notice there was a summer photo."
"There was, but I wasn't in it. I didn't go on holiday with everybody else. I can't say I missed the experience."
"Did you always go on holiday with them?" She knew Isabelle and her family had gone to Italy, any damage to the villa having been patched up. Frederick had not spoken of joining them. It might have been because of her and their new house, but perhaps he would not like to go back for a while either because of what had happened there.
"I was usually required to come for at least a few days."
"For the photo."
"Yes. But since my status has changed I didn't think it necessary. Besides, I was busy."
"Are these the official photos you mentioned? You know, if dogs are allowed, so would I be?"
"No. Those are different. Official photos are, well, you had some made as well, I'm sure. The summer and winter photos are more informal are more family. One can smile in them. Not that I ever did."
Anna Margaret smiled. "I know, I have that official photo in my office."
Frederick looked disconcerted. "Aren't you required by law to hang up Isabelle?"
"I've got her too. You're behind me, so I don't have to look at all that seriousness. And I don't think it's required by law; merely a sign of respect. So where is this arched room that I'm supposed to present myself in?"
"It's an odd place for photos." He frowned. "It's the corridor that links the house to the museum and the chapel. It's not pretty. It's not a photo spot."
She shrugged. She had no idea; she had never been in that part of the building. "Maybe you mean it's simply old?" She had the impression he did not always like old things.
"Yes, it's old too. All the generations before us changed and redecorated and rebuilt everything all the time, but we must keep everything as it was a hundred years ago. This never bothered anyone in 1850."
"We'll see what the point is then. Wear something nice."
There was no one in sight in the arched corridor. There was no photographer setting up his camera and lights, and there were no officials guiding the process. The only things they saw were a few chairs and a lectern. If a photo shoot was going to happen, it would not be at eleven o'clock.
"Odd," said Frederick. "These chairs are not in my floorplan."
Because chairs could never be moved, Anna Margaret wanted to say, but she was too busy studying the set-up. It looked suspicious.
At the far end a door opened and Isabelle walked towards them with a woman. Behind them walked two men, who turned out to be Philip and one of the boys. "There you are," Isabelle said brightly. "So good of you." She seemed to study their clothes and to find nothing amiss.
"Where is this photo session?" Frederick asked suspiciously. "Not here."
"Not here," his sister agreed. "Somewhere else, but later. First we have to take care of something."
"Oh no." It began to dawn on Anna Margaret. She glanced at Frederick, but he was looking at the chairs. She had no idea what he was thinking. Perhaps it was the same thing.
"Oh yes. Mrs Meyer here will be checking if everything is done well." The woman beside her nodded gravely. "Do sit down, everyone."
Anna Margaret was by no means convinced she wanted to be there. "What is this about?"
Frederick sat down. He was probably used to obeying such orders.
"A word." Anna Margaret did not care that it was the queen. She took her aside. "What the hell is going on here?"
Isabelle did not look affected. "I have always wanted to do this and when I had a work visit to City Hall, this brilliant idea simply came to me."
"It can't be real," said Anna Margaret.
"It can. It is. Something had to be done. The two of you are so slow."
"Slow? You kept mocking us because we went too fast."
"Slow," Isabelle confirmed. "When did you first meet? That's what I mean. It took months. What it it takes months again to get married? And there was also a risk that you'd do it completely in private and I wouldn't get to attend. This is a brilliant solution."
Anna Margaret did not know if she agreed yet. She did not like other people taking control of her life. "But..."
"Oh, don't walk away to spite me. This has to be done, you know. Resistance is futile."
She knew she had to be angry, but she could not manage to say anything coherent. Isabelle's tone was rather at odds with her words. She spoke as if it was good to be eaten up by the Royal Family.
Frederick seemed relaxed enough. A look around had shown him that no one else was coming. The only people seated to the side were Philip and Florian, and nearly out of sight the woman who had to check that everything was done well. Frederick might actually be happy with this set-up. The alternatives quickly crossed her mind. They would all involve more people.
"You could have told us," she said.
"No. You'd only have been fretting over maybe having to invite your family or something like that. As you see, I didn't invite anybody except two people to act as witnesses. You kept putting off telling your family that you were pregnant. This too would have caused you a massive headache. I know all about massive headaches, although maybe you wouldn't suspect it of me."
In spite of herself, Anna Margaret knew Isabelle was right. She would have kept wondering how her family would have to feature in a wedding. "Did Frederick know? Why isn't he saying anything?"
"Oh, if looks could kill I'd be dead already. But he's too nice to keep that up."
And resistance was futile, of course. She did not know if she should acquiesce so quickly and she frowned. "I need to confer with him."
Anna Margaret sat down on the chair next to Frederick's and leant close to whisper. "This might have been a good idea if I had thought of it myself."
"Is this a wedding?"
"What did you think it was?"
"That's what I thought."
But she still did not know what else he was thinking. He seemed resigned to the idea. "And you'd go along with it?"
"Be honest, it's tons better than the cathedral."
"But she's forcing us!" She did not like to be forced.
"Yes and no." Fredrick gave her a hug. "I'll force you too."
"You would?"
"Yes. I do want to marry you. We might as well do it now. Make use of the opportunity."
"But did you know about this?"
"No."
"And you don't feel..." How should she put it? "Powerless?"
"Darling, we would never be completely in control of our own wedding. That's just how it is."
"Is this the best we could do?" She knew it, rationally, but emotionally it was a different matter. "And this for someone who was once indifferent about it." She had always considered it to be nothing more than an administrative formality. It followed that it could be done anywhere and with anyone.
"This is the best we could do. Well, we could have arranged it ourselves, but I'm not sure that would have gone unnoticed."
She knew that. In the past month or two she had sometimes wondered how to go about it. Outside these walls everyone would be watching, or so it felt. It had consequences that she still had to learn to accept. She had been living with Frederick for months, but she was still not used to this, apparently. Of course there had not been a wedding before and there would not be one after. Living their daily lives was doable. She sighed. "All right."
"That's one enthusiastic bride," Frederick observed.
Isabelle walked towards the lectern. "Welcome, all of you. Frederick, Anna Margaret, Philip, Florian. I do not have any papers to read from," she said, "but that doesn't mean I have nothing to say. I'm very happy to be present on this occasion and very happy to be able to play a role. I'm aware that nobody asked me and I hope you'll forgive me for taking the initiative, but obviously I had my reasons.
"I'll start with what I suppose must have been your first meeting, after my father passed away. I think this was a time of mixed feelings for Frederick. On the one hand more freedom in his private life, if you discount my good advice," she said with a humorous cough, "but on the other hand so much more attention on him from everyone else and, in fact, less freedom to do as he liked."
Frederick said nothing, but perhaps they were also expected not to interrupt.
"I'm not sure what Anna Margaret was thinking or whether she was happy with the change, but I'm fairly sure there was a considerable difference in those weekly meetings, since I also heard there was a difference meeting with me. It's amazing that nothing happened for months, but I do believe them there."
"Thank you," Anna Margaret said under her breath.
"My father had to get used to a woman in that position, but all Frederick ever commented was: 'I just let her talk'. I suppose that was the opposite of what his father did. For this reason the possibility of them getting together never occurred to me. It never did. He was simply too passive and depressed and she was simply a little overly serious. The first indication, in retrospect, was when she phoned me."
Anna Margaret pondered being a little overly serious. It was not a phrase that the queen's editors would leave in a speech, she would say. And was she too serious? Was that a good or a bad characteristic?
"I didn't know why she would phone me. The only reason I could think of was that she wanted Frederick to resign over those preposterous rumours and that, I don't know, Frederick had just let her talk and she had walked all over him. And then when I saw him next he was in such good spirits. Why? I didn't understand it. He had nearly been shot at, the prime minister was forcing him to resign, and there he was, behaving as if it was all good. Very puzzling. And it lasted. I needed to ask Anna Margaret about it. Those were interesting times. Our conversation -" She looked at Anna Margaret. "--gave me some suspicions. She defended him so well. How could she know him? I decided I simply had to see how they behaved together, so I invited her to that barbecue. Frederick didn't like it. Well, he would have liked it if I hadn't been there, but I think he knew I'd be watching."
Frederick looked at his hands.
"Quite revealing. Neither of them spoke much to other people and Frederick did not actually run away from a woman. But all this standing close in near silence, as far away from me as they could, didn't really fool me.
"On the one hand I wanted them to slip up and tell me, but on the other hand I didn't want to ruin anything now that Frederick was finally interested in someone, or so it seemed, and although she wasn't on my list I didn't see any reason to interfere. I couldn't press too hard and I thought I might actually like her, although I couldn't be sure of what her intentions were. What I did see was some improvement in Frederick. Evidently something or someone was having a good influence on him. Of course it was a combination of several factors, but the end result was good."
Frederick rolled his eyes. Perhaps he was thinking he had been considered an idiot before all these favourable influences. Anna Margaret grasped his hand. She was about to marry him - she supposed it would end in that anyway - and she was not about to marry an idiot.
Isabelle gave him a dazzling smile. "Now don't tell me you would rather have had me say all this in front of thousands of people. Or if you would rather have had some well-known person lead the service without knowing you at all."
He shook his head almost imperceptibly.
"I couldn't let this occasion pass without saying anything at all. It would have been possible to stick to the bare minimum - we could have been done already and then what? No. I wanted to let you both know that I have been very entertained throughout and that I am really very happy that Frederick found someone to share his life with. And of course I am happy to welcome you into our family, Anna Margaret, and I think it will be very good for you.
"Maybe I should have prepared a speech. It feels quite disjointed." Isabelle frowned at herself. "Right. I noticed he was more relaxed about attention, when, in reality, nothing much had changed because he hadn't been doing all that much work before. But it helps to have an energising private life. If all is right in your private life, the public life isn't that important anymore."
Anna Margaret wondered if Isabelle was aiming for a specific number of minutes. She fidgeted.
"But not all was right yet. Anna Margaret was still displaying neurotic tendencies about what people might think of her job, her relationship and her pregnancy. If she was considered capable of doing her job before boyfriend and pregnancy, why not afterwards? I realise these are life-changing events for some, but for some reason those people always think they impact one's life in a negative way. Why? Personally I've experienced they affected me positively rather than negatively." Isabelle looked at Anna Margaret. "I could orate on the manner publicly some time if you wish? With some proper preparation."
It might be useful. She was sure that with some proper preparation Isabelle could orate impressively.
"But today we'll get the first obstacle out of the way. Yes, you are serious and yes, you are married and you will still be able to do your job, and we all approve."
Back in France Frederick had not minded people looking on when he had nearly kissed her, so Anna Margaret did not know if he was making an effort or not. She hoped he did not still think her unenthusiastic - she was not, really. But he kept it short and decent and whispered in her ear afterwards. "I love you."
Anna Margaret leant against him and reflected how he had been nearly the first person to hug her ever and certainly the first person whose hugs had been significant, and that she still needed it. "I love you too."
After this they accepted the congratulations from those present. And then Isabelle announced they were now expected in the State Room for pictures. "You're legal now," she said to Anna Margaret. "You must be included."
"So the message about a photo session wasn't a ruse?"
"Only partly. This was a good way to get Frederick to look a little less sour in a picture, I thought."
Frederick tried to stop smiling. "You think you can make me do anything now."
"I am the Master Strategic Plotter," his sister acknowledged.
"Your dog gets to sit in without being legal."
"Why now," said Isabelle, looking a bit perplexed. "That's because it's a dog."
"Who else will be there?" asked Anna Margaret.
"My grandmother and my mother."
"Why didn't you invite your mother to the ceremony?" She had not yet wondered until now.
"If I invited everyone with some claim to being related, it wouldn't be private anymore. Besides, she won't mind. We're not the best of friends, but I did inform her beforehand."
"Oh." It had never occurred to her that Isabelle might not be the best of friends with her own mother, but she supposed their characters were different enough for that to be understandable. Isabelle might have given up on her mother, where she had not yet given up on her brother.
Of course it would have been easy to inform Queen Anna that her son was going to be married without her; the likeliness of her protesting against it would have been practically non-existent. Her way to cope with other people taking over her life seemed to have been to drop all pretence to having a will of her own. In the days when she had married Frederick's father it must have been much worse than now. Isabelle was reasonable, but the older generations might not have been. To a young girl there might not have been any other option than to go along with everything, especially when saddled with a mother-in-law like Queen Florence.
Although she was holding Fredrick's hand, she moved closer to Philip, a fellow outsider. "How was your wedding? Did you have any input?"
"No, I was kidnapped, forced to convert and then made to marry."
"I wouldn't convert." At least she had escaped that, either by never having bothered to have herself removed from the register, or because the religious requirement had been dropped for those no longer in line to the throne.
"It wasn't such a big deal," Philip said with a shrug. "I went from nominally Anglican to nominally Catholic."
"But did you realise marrying into this family would be the end of your self-determination?"
He laughed. "It wasn't."
"But -" Anna Margaret lowered her voice. "--Isabelle decides everything."
"No, she doesn't. The stunts she pulled before we were married are nothing compared to nowadays, believe me. I knew what I was getting into." And he laughed, as if it looked much worse than it really was.
She wanted to ask him about that, but Isabelle approached them.
"To prevent people from losing their composure, I'm not telling them what happened until after the photos are taken," Isabelle said.
"Would it be such a shock then?"
"I can't take the risk."
"All right. They wouldn't ask why I'm there?"
"Leave them to me if they do."
The first Palace officials or staff came into view. They must be approaching the State Room. Although Anna Margaret had never paid attention to the background of images of the monarch receiving high guests, she supposed some of the room might look familiar if she saw it. Then again, there might be a dozen rooms with a suitable background here.
First they had to sit for two make-up ladies, who worked fast but who nevertheless needed quite some time to get everyone ready. The two older queens were already done and sitting on an ornate sofa, around which a photographer was busy setting up his equipment.
"Pimples again, Charlotte?" asked Queen Florence. "Eat less chocolate. Did Julian pick his own clothes, Isabelle?"
"What about them?"
"Oh, nothing. He seems to be learning."
The sofa seated three and apparently the previous time Frederick had shared it with his mother and grandmother, whereas the times before that it had been his father sitting between the two ladies. It was an unwritten rule that the older generations got the sofa, but that the ruling monarch was central, and Anna Margaret watched Queen Florence and Queen Isabelle go head to head on the issue of the third person.
Whoever had decided that widowed queens retained their titles had never considered that a ship could not have two or more captains. It could have been worse if Queen Anna had wanted to be part of the action, but she simply sat there looking bored.
Isabelle would not be Isabelle if she had not long decided on where everyone was to stand and sit. Unfortunately it did not quite coincide with her grandmother's ideas on the matter.
"You sit here," Queen Florence said decidedly. "You are the queen."
While there was some logic and order to that, having three generations of queens seated on the sofa, Isabelle would not have it. "I am going to stand with Philip."
"Why?"
"Because I want to."
Queen Anna stood up when the argument continued. She could not be rebellious, so there must be another reason. Julian and Aurelie were chasing a dog and the photographer was looking increasingly worried that his camera might fall over.
"Is it always like this?" Anna Margaret asked Frederick in a fascinated whisper.
"You should have seen them when they were all under twelve."
Florence and Isabelle were still discussing the matter and Frederick's mother had walked away. She lured one of the dogs - for all of a sudden there were two - with a biscuit and some peace returned. The last child was having her face and hair checked over and they ought to be ready to pose soon.
Queen Anna said something to Philip, who nodded. They spoke a little more and then Philip conveyed the apparent message to his wife. All they could hear was Queen Florence exclaiming "ridiculous!" Philip nevertheless sat down on the sofa.
"Hey," said Frederick. "This is new."
"What is?"
"Philip gets to sit."
Frederick's mother took up a position behind the sofa. Evidently she wanted things to proceed. Frederick went towards her. "You're not sitting?"
She answered him in German.
"That language!" Queen Florence gasped. "It was banned from the Palace after the war!"
"So much for people smiling happily at the camera," Anna Margaret remarked. She - like almost everyone, she would say - could understand German. It was more likely to have been an indirect provocation, which was intriguing.
"That's why we shouldn't make it worse," replied Isabelle, who had overheard.
"Are you having Frederick's mistress in the picture?" asked Queen Florence, who had seemingly not yet noticed her until then. Of course with so many other people running around it had been quite busy.
"Yes." She gestured at her children, who knew the drill. They took up their places behind and around the sofa obediently. Then she sat down in the middle between her husband and her grandmother, but she only held hands with one of them.
"The joke is," Frederick whispered in his wife's ear, "that for the next round we all change places."
"No," she responded after a moment. "You're making that up." But she laughed anyway.
Frederick had not been entirely joking; after the main picture several others were taken with smaller groups of people in them. Isabelle and her family, Isabelle and Philip, Anna and her children, and - although Anna Margaret did not see the reason - Isabelle and Anna Margaret. They had had a similar picture done after Isabelle's inauguration and her first meeting with the Prime Minister. But Anna Margaret was not as afraid of photos as Frederick, so she simply posed. She noticed how Frederick had made himself scarce after the first round.
After all that they retired to the bronze dining room for lunch. Not that everything was bronze there, but it came third in terms of size. Anna Margaret was allowed to sit next to Frederick, for which she was grateful. They were seated across from her new brother and sister-in-law.
Queen Florence asked for wine. It was not yet on the table and this aggravated her. "I always have wine with my lunch."
"Yes, we know that, but today we're serving something else," answered Isabelle.
"None of you are driving."
"You don't know that, Grandma. But we're not having wine. We're having alcohol-free bubbles."
"Are you afraid I'll get drunk?" demanded the old lady.
"No. We're toasting Frederick and his wife, who got married this morning, and bubbles is something we can all have, including the children." She nodded at one of the staff and almost immediately a tray with sparkling glasses was carried to the table.
"Did you say married?" asked Queen Florence.
"Yes, I did." Isabelle stood up and raised her glass.
"He married his mistress?"
"Please reserve your questions for after the toast, Grandma." Isabelle managed to look only a trifle annoyed. It was likely that she had expected this behaviour. She toasted the newlyweds and sat down again.
Queen Florence kept her questions until after the toast. She tapped her glass with a spoon. "Isabelle."
"Yes, Grandma?" Isabelle asked sweetly.
"Are you implying the wedding took place in secret?"
"In private."
"Is she having a baby in seven months?" Florence asked very suspiciously.
"No, she's not having a baby in seven months." Isabelle could say that very convincingly. Philip would not have managed; he suppressed a snort.
"Why -" began Charlotte, but she was silenced by a look from her mother.
After lunch they hung about in the sitting room for coffee and tea. Because Queen Florence did remember her manners sometimes, she had not continued to ask impertinent questions across the table, but she had saved them all up until she could corner Frederick personally.
Anna Margaret let them go. It was his grandmother; she did not think he needed assistance in dealing with her. She was more interested in asking his mother a few questions. "Should I be afraid of never being allowed to decide anything for myself anymore?" she wondered, although she knew that in reality it was not that bad. It was mostly an irrational fear. "How did you feel about it?"
Frederick's mother gave her a surprised look. "I did not think it would affect you."
"But it does happen?"
"Not so much anymore. But it did."
"To all outsiders?" It had to be different to those who had been brought up with it, although Frederick seemed to like it less than his sister.
"I have often talked about it with Philip, since we are both foreign as well. Doubly strange."
"Queen Florence was once an outsider."
"Oh, don't insult her. She forgot."
Anna Margaret smiled. She supposed the old lady would indeed not like to be reminded. It had been seventy years ago; perhaps she really did not remember much of it. "And why did you think it would not affect me?"
"You are older. I was young. I did as I was told."
"You were not allowed to speak German?"
"No. But," Frederick's mother said after some hesitation, "she had relatives who were killed in the war. She should not have chosen a German wife for their son, perhaps, but if I did not speak German, I would no longer be German, they seemed to think."
Anna Margaret did not know if all of the children now knew she was pregnant. They would be told, of course, but she did not know about Florence. Frederick was talking to her now. She did not know what he would say if his grandmother asked him outright. Perhaps she had believed Isabelle and she would not.
Surprisingly, Frederick's mother was not yet done talking. "I saw your mother. She said nothing about the pregnancy."
"Good."
"So she knows?"
"I had to tell her. She wouldn't have appreciated learning about it from the media. When did you see my mother?"
"Last week. It was a charity lunch. She was with one of your sisters. Would they have wanted to be present at your wedding?"
"Apparently Isabelle did not think so," Anna Margaret said dryly.
"Isa tried to think of your preferences."
"Did Isabelle keep you out of it because my parents were kept out of it?"
"I think so, but I did know beforehand." Frederick's mother gave a small smile. "Weddings are overrated. I have been to many. The biggest is not the happiest. The important thing is that you would have been happy together without a wedding as well."
"And some could spoil the experience."
"Did you know, my mother-in-law was present at Isabelle's birth?"
Anna Margaret considered Queen Florence hovering around the bed. "I think I'd have found that pretty awful."
"The second time I was older and I didn't tell her it was happening. And that was the boy they had been waiting for. Too bad."
"Were you alone?"
"No, Isabelle was there and the doctor, of course."
"Isabelle? But she was a child." She could not imagine a child being there.
"That never bothered her."
"And Frederick's father was not there?"
"We had to call him, of course," Anna said as if it had been her duty to do so. "But he was only just in time."
"You were not at home?" She could not imagine no one in the Palace informing Frederick's father, even if Princess Anna had not requested them to.
"Yes, I was at home, but I was keeping it quiet."
"Isabelle went to a private clinic to give birth, didn't she?"
"Yes. It is much quieter there. I think she remembered how many people came in for silly reasons at home after Frederick was born. Her first baby was still the first baby of that generation, so she feared people would see him as the new heir and be all over him as well, just like they did with Frederick."
"Do I have to go there?" Her son would play no role in the future. He might not be interesting.
"No. But wherever you give birth, unless you lock the door, people will come in."
"I must keep that in mind." She watched at Frederick still speaking with his grandmother. "I'll go and see how he's doing."
"I was just asking Frederick," said Queen Florence when she approached, "how you will now be titled?"
"Titled? Not?" She had no desire to be titled. "It had not occurred to me yet today to wonder."
"That's very odd."
"Yes, I am very odd." She checked whether the arm rest of Frederick's chair was sturdy enough to support her. It was not. She sat on his leg instead. He slid his arm around her hips and pulled her closer. "Shall we go home?"
"Did your grandmother ask if I was pregnant?" Anna Margaret asked.
"No. She asked me why I didn't have a large wedding. I explained."
"And that was that."
"It was not that easy, but in the end that was what it was." He led her out of one of the side gates.
They still did not take the car for the short trips. Anna Margaret had never been stopped by anyone, although she had been looked at. She wondered if people could now see they were married. They did not have rings, but she wore gloves anyway. There might be something in the way they walked together. It almost made her self-conscious. If she was not imagining things people now glanced twice when they normally only glanced once. To those who lived in the city centre she was an ordinary sight, she supposed, but she did not often go out with Frederick.
"How could it have been real?" She hoped tomorrow it would still be real. "They say queens don't have any power."
"Although you're supposed to give notice yourself, nobody can check who gives the electronic notice, as long as he or she provides the correct details. And anyone can conduct the ceremony, as long as it's supervised. I asked." He paused for a second. "I'd rather not do it again."
"Was it that awful?" she teased.
"No, but it would feel as if they took you away from me. Silly, isn't it?"
She squeezed his hand.
"What did you say to Isabelle before the ceremony began?" he asked curiously.
"I wanted to express my...er...reluctance to be manipulated? But she said resistance was futile."
They arrived home without having been spoken to. Anna Margaret thought one or two people might have taken a photo of them with their cell phones, but she could not be sure. There were always tourists on Sunday snapping pictures of the old town. A picture might pop up somewhere later, but it would be nothing compared to the news they were married that Isabelle was going to spread later.
Isabelle had not said much about it, except that she would probably receive some questions about it tomorrow morning and that she had to be prepared when she went to work.
Anna Margaret was happy to be in their own house again, where the sofas were not ornate. They spent some time in the bedroom and then Frederick went to work out on his rowing machine while she tried to nap. She had had to learn to give in and try, but it did not always work. Sometimes she was not tired enough.
After an hour of half dozing off and imagining headlines - of small columns to the side - she left the bed and went to see if Frederick was finished. She rowed for fifteen minutes herself and then they showered.
Looking sideways in the mirror when she dressed in comfortable clothes, she tried to guess if people could see she was pregnant. Obviously she saw and felt the difference with how she had been before, but other people might not, unless they were people who knew her from the public swimming pool where she went once a week. They had not said anything so far, although not always going at the same time meant that sometimes people would not have seen her for a month until they saw her again.
"Did you know Isabelle saw you being born?" she asked.
"Yes. I can't imagine why she wanted to, but it explains why she always thought she was one of my mothers."
"Your mother said to lock the door, or else all kinds of people would come in."
"Yes. There'd be the head of the department who'd get all the credit for it, but he or she wouldn't be doing the actual dirty work, I'd say. You'll have to ask the midwife at your next visit, but I doubt she'd be left alone if we went to the hospital with her. Professor Doctor Head would probably come and Doctor Deputy Head and Nurse Head and Nurse Deputy and - it would be a complete freak show. I have been to hospitals, you know. Then there's cleaners and meal people and blood people."
"And I'd be lying there half naked." Anna Margaret shuddered.
"I only had an injured knee. But if you want, I could throw out anyone who made you uncomfortable."
"Please do. This is supposed to be a natural process, after all. I'll see if I can find a good book about it. Oh, and let's order the cot."
Frederick smiled. "You're ready?"
"I'm ready."
They ended up ordering more than only the cot. After searching for a while Anna Margaret had found one that was immediately available, when most others had a delivery time of at least three weeks. She also found lists of what to buy and although some differed when it came to the small, mysterious items, they were mostly in agreement about the large ones. She combined them into one list and printed it out. Sleeping was now covered - in a very basic way. A cot had been ordered, bed linen, one very basic but colourful outfit in the smallest size and some maternity clothes for herself.
"When we get close, we'll have to buy nappies, but otherwise he's all set for the first night," she remarked to Frederick. "Clothes are easy. I don't have to research them. I just got these so he'll have something to wear in case we never get around to it."
He laughed.
"Of course I just wanted to cross some more off that list," she admitted.
He picked up the list. "I'll look into car seats. We might want to take him home from the hospital in case we go there, I suppose. Any colour preferences?"
"No."
It took him half an hour until he announced that he had found one. "And I added some baby clothes from the brands I wear."
"You?" She did not know men bought baby clothes, but if they could buy their own clothes, why not?
"Yes, if I like it on me, I'll like it on him, won't I?"
The reverse would not exactly be true, so she chuckled. "Can I see?"
"Surprise," Frederick teased.
"Tracksuit bottoms."
"Not only those, although to get a reaction out of you, yes, I got some of those too."
"I'm curious." It made her wonder just how much he had ordered.
"The package will be here in a few days."
"So many packages."
"Making progress."
"Although we could afford it," Anna Margaret said cautiously, staring at an image of a ridiculously overpriced baby set. "I don't want to get more things than he'd actually be able to wear, so I probably won't buy too much myself."
"My mother will knit some as well."
Anna Margaret's experience with aunts knitting clothes was not very good. She looked doubtful. "But is it actually wearable? My aunts for example spend a lot of time knitting things you wouldn't want to be caught dead in."
"Yes, it's wearable."
"You think tracksuit bottoms are wearable."
Frederick looked down at his legs. "Because they are. Trust me. If your aunts will be knitting anything, you will see the difference."
"All right." She gave his mother the benefit of the doubt. "But I don't know if they will. I haven't seen them for ages."
He picked up the list she had printed out and went over it. "I only know what the things at the top are."
"That's why they're at the top. I know them and they're necessary. All the things I don't know might not be necessary. I'll have to ask some experienced person what they are and what they could be used for, and then I'll decide if we need them."
"I'll take the list to Germany some time and shop anonymously," said Frederick, putting the list on the table. "Next weekend, if you're free."
"I don't even want to think about the dazzling amount of money we spent since June." She had no idea how she had come to be so careful with her money. She had not grown up poor; her parents had always been well-off. For some reason, however, she was afraid to add up what they had spent on the house and furniture, and now on baby things. It was odd, because her sisters would have carelessly spent much more if they had been in her position. They would not have felt guilty for a second.
"Considering that you spent next to nothing before June, it all evens out," he reassured her. "And don't worry. We won't be buying a house or having a baby every six months. And we saved quite a bit of money with that wedding today."
"Phew. I was just thinking, my sisters would have emptied your bank account in an hour and thought nothing of it, yet we grew up in the same family. How could I be so different?"
"It was nice to finally meet another normal person, isn't it?"
Anna Margaret hugged him. "Yes."
Presumably the Palace's media office did not work on Sundays, because when Anna Margaret read the newspaper on Monday morning there was no mention of a wedding. When she got to work nobody said anything either. She thought about informing her own media office, but no one had come in yet. All of her rehearsed reactions were useless.
They soon came, though. Andre came to see her as soon as he got in, phone in hand, looking disconcerted. "Shi-i-it. What happened?"
"Don't know. Another terrorist attack?" She hoped they had had enough of those for 2015. He was probably talking about the news of her wedding.
"The Palace just told me you got married and they are releasing a statement in..." He checked his watch. "Ten seconds."
"It's nice of them to inform you."
"Why didn't you let me know?"
"You only just got to work," she pointed out. She would bet he had not even been to his desk yet. He was still carrying his bag.
"I have a phone! The Palace didn't have any more information that what's in the statement. Shi-i-it."
"Will you get over yourself?" Anna Margaret said irritably. His dramatic air was rubbing her the wrong way. "You act as if I have to consult you over every move." And she really had not considered informing him yesterday.
"But we'll be receiving questions. And what about the implications?"
"What does the statement say, literally?"
"I don't recall it literally; I'm waiting for it to appear." He looked at his phone again. "It was something about your having got married in private this weekend and that you'll continue to use your own name."
"Oh." That last bit was new to her, but she could not find fault with it. "That sounds very clear to me. What implications could it have?"
"Where? Who? Why? And so forth. People will want to know."
"Once the statement is released, you simply copy it," she suggested. "Don't anticipate on the questions we might get. Besides, you never have to answer questions about my private life. You're not obliged to."
"But surely if you became a princess it would affect your job?"
"How?" She wondered if she was technically a princess now. She did not feel it and as such it would be completely irrelevant. "And I suppose that is why that line about keeping my name was included."
Andre was reading something on his phone. "It hit Twitter."
"Retweet, or whatever the action is called."
"I need to be at my desk," he said absentmindedly.
"You do that. Don't add any information to the statement."
"I have no information I could add!"
"Good! Oh," she said as an afterthought. "Send the statement round to everyone here, so they'll have heard from me somewhat personally."
At her weekly meeting with all the ministers, she was given an envelope. "I heard you no longer drink wine, so we got you a gift card. Congratulations!"
"Thanks." She peered in the envelope. Inside there was a gift card for a chain of toy shops. "Uh..." Was this meant humorously, because often a baby followed on a wedding, or did they really know? She thought there were only three who knew: Louis, Patrick and Danielle. If there were more, either one had talked, or she had given herself away. She could not imagine how, because she had never complained, waddled or mentioned it.
"We thought it might come in useful."
"How did you know?"
Lucie, who had handed her the gift, answered. "Lucky guess. No wine!"
"It's not as if I was some sort of alcoholic, was I?"
"And you suddenly got married, of course. And the different clothes. But were we right?"
She could not imagine the rest of them discussing this together before she had arrived. They all worked in different places. It must have been only a handful who had talked about it. Of course, now everyone knew. "Yes."
As she was congratulated again, there were more questions. "How far are you?"
"Er...just past halfway?"
"Jesus," said Lucie, studying her waist, but the points of a long scarf were artfully obscuring most of it. "You're joking?"
"No."
"And when were you going to tell us?"
Anna Margaret pulled a face. "I told Louis. But I was to wait with other announcements until Isabelle's people had discussed it with my people, because she needs to make the announcement. Can we now get on with the meeting?"
She phoned Isabelle after the meeting. "All the ministers know. They gave me a gift card for a toy shop."
Surprisingly Isabelle found that funny. She laughed. "That's nice of them. But will they talk?"
"I have no idea. I didn't ask them not to talk. Should I have?"
"To someone who's intent on talking that's not going to make any difference."
"No, I suppose not." She went over them one by one in her mind, but she could not think of anyone who would think it at all interesting to spread the news. But then, perhaps she was not very good at imagining what someone else would do. They might always let it slip by accident. "I did say you had to make the announcement."
"Again, that won't make any difference." Isabelle sighed, thinking. "I'll just have to split it up."
"What?"
"Never mind. Just let it go."
"What you said or what people will do?"
"Both. There's nothing you can change about it now."
After the phone call, she went to see Andre when she returned to her floor. "How's it been?"
"The announcement is keeping people rather busy. Surprisingly people have called me to ask if it's true. And there are a lot of them asking for comments."
"What could be said?" she wondered.
"We don't comment on your personal life, I keep saying, but I have confirmed that it was true."
"Bizarre, really, that they would doubt an official communication from the Palace."
"That's what I thought as well."
"I don't know if it's going to happen, or when," she said hesitantly, "but at some point there might be someone asking you if it's true that I'm pregnant. I'm telling you so you won't be taken by surprise."
This was interesting enough for Andre to look up from his screen. "Seriously? Do you expect them to ask because you got married, or for some other reason?"
"Some other reason. Maternity leave is covered. I've just discussed it in more detail." Actually in no detail at all, she reflected, because she had told the ministers she would take each day as it came, once the official leave period kicked in. The older ones had found this strange, but the younger ones had accepted it without questions.
"You're - congratulations." Andre shook her hand. "I never guessed."
"You're usually glued to your screen," she answered with a laugh.
"But when will you go on maternity leave?"
"I could go in the middle of January, but if I feel fine I'll just work on."
"This is not a reaction to those people who kept saying women in their thirties shouldn't be appointed in positions of some importance?"
"Oh, you remember."
"It's sort of my job to."
"It might be, but I wouldn't try to prove them wrong at the expense of my health of that of the baby's."
She might have to appoint someone to keep an eye on her, however, she reflected as she returned to her office. To prevent her from doing just one more thing before she went home, when she had already reached her maximum. Or to set time limits that she would really have to stick to. It was always too easy to do that one more thing.
When she had sat down at her desk, George phoned. "It's your mother. I thought you might want to take this call today. Congratulations, by the way."
"Thank you. And yes, put her through. It's best to get this out of the way." She stared at the wall as she waited. "Hello."
"Anna Margaret!"
"Yes, that's me."
"Your father told me that he read on the internet that you got married!"
Her mother was strongly suspicious of the internet, Anna Margaret knew. Sometimes, however, the internet spoke the truth. "Yes, I did. Yesterday."
"Yesterday? On a Sunday? Where?"
"At the Palace."
"So the queen knew? Why there? Who were there?"
Here they got to the important part. "Hardly anyone," she answered cautiously. She had yet to look up what the statement said. "Didn't it say it was a private ceremony?"
"I don't know," her mother said crossly. "I don't go on the internet. Your father found it. What do you mean by 'private'?"
"Private means that there weren't any guests."
"But surely you could have invited us? We are your parents! What do you think people will say if they find out we were not there?"
"I have no idea," Anna Margaret said wearily. "If it's any consolation to you, Frederick's mother wasn't there either. It was a private ceremony."
"Private does not mean without parents!"
"What, then, does private mean?"
"Private means small, not alone!"
"I wouldn't invite people only so they could tell others they were there, do you understand?"
"No," her mother said predictably. "What nonsense is that!"
Anna Margaret only sighed.
"But what if people ask to see pictures?"
"Why would people ask to see pictures?" She could genuinely not imagine it. "Pictures of the wedding of someone else's child they don't even know personally?"
"Some people know you personally."
"But still! Why would they want to see pictures?"
"Are there any pictures?" her mother inquired.
"I have no idea. Perhaps one of the witnesses took pictures, but I didn't see them do it." She could ask them about it some time.
"Witnesses! Who were they?"
"Just...random people related to the person conducting the ceremony."
"Anna Margaret!"
Anna Margaret now felt a strong desire to mimic Andre. Shi-i-it. Maybe she was going too far now. The idea that random people had attended while her mother had not was really aggravating her mother. "What?" she asked.
"Who were those random people?"
All right, perhaps she should give her mother some information. "The queen married us." Would that make it all right?
She heard from her father on Monday afternoon. "I read that you got married. I wanted to phone, but your mother already did and finally I decided to do it anyway. Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"Your mother said the queen married you. Does that mean she didn't approve of your status?"
She supposed it would sound different if her parents had to admit to other people that Isabelle had forced them to marry, but she had not even considered that option before. "She just wanted to do the speech."
"What do you mean?"
"Literally that. She wanted to do the speech. Marry us."
Although she was pleased that her father had at least congratulated her, she felt the need to say this. "Because she's happy for us."
"If you got married this weekend, why didn't you tell us afterwards?"
Anna Margaret braced herself. "I'm sorry to say I didn't feel the need and given how Mum reacted I really don't feel guilty about that. I hate to think how Irene and Claire would react if I'd rung them to say hi, I just got married."
"They hadn't counted on being left out."
"Because we're so close?" she asked sarcastically. They had only grown further apart since she had started to see Frederick. Before that it had been doable. "I didn't get married to increase their prospects or social status. And I'd never get married just so they could wear a nice dress. Do they know I'm pregnant, by the way?"
"Yes, they didn't like hearing that from your mother."
Anna Margaret felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. "I could never have told them before Mum did. She probably phoned them right away. The only way I could have -" But she stopped herself. There was no reason to take the blame for not having properly considered their fragile egos before telling her mother. This was not her problem to solve.
"I have been trying to tell them that your job makes things more difficult, but..."
"It's not only the job." She did not want to hide behind that. They must not think that if it was not for her job, she would let them be a great part of her life. "It's also knowing I'll get crap no matter what. Mum hasn't even congratulated me, as if everything that happens in my life somehow has the intention to upset her. Tell me, does she expect to see a lot of her grandson? Because the way she is carrying on that is not going to happen."
Her father was silent.
"I'll take him to see people who are nice to me. People who are not..."
"Are you threatening to keep him from us?"
"I'm saying that if I have the choice, it won't be her." She tried to keep her voice unemotional, but failed. "I fear she would only show him off, as some object. As opposed to people who would see him as a person. Besides, Irene would only measure any contact with a stopwatch."
"She wasn't very happy to hear you were also pregnant. At first she said you were faking it to spite her."
"Because she would. I cannot believe how ridiculous that is. And she didn't understand why she wasn't invited to my wedding? Seriously?"
Andre had complied a list of reactions for her. As usual he had left the worst ones out. She preferred the congratulations in her mailbox; people doing it publicly via social media did it only to be seen. If they also had her email address, that was.
"We'll need an intern to read it all," George joked. "I've been putting those emails in a separate folder."
"It wasn't that much, surely?" she asked.
"I won't get that many."
"You don't know that yet."
"I've thanked them, and so forth, but the ones that remain flagged have a question or something that you may need to look at."
"All right. I'll have a look later." She first glanced at Andre's compilation.
Some foreign leaders had congratulated her. Nice, but relatively meaningless. It only meant they had staff reading social media and they had their own versions of Andre and his minions reacting to their tweets.
Some national celebrities had retweeted the news. Some had even commented on it. She did not even know half of them by sight.
Politicians and professional critics were sometimes less positive. Of course they would be remembered if they stood out from the rest, so it really had nothing to do with her. Someone in the opposition said it should not be allowed. But she was not clear on the why.
The Pitbull tweeted not surprised, good decision. Although whether that referred to their marrying in private or marrying at all, he did not clarify.
When she left work she had to pass the usual reporters. They would undoubtedly ask her something, so she was prepared.
"Can I ask you to comment on your wedding, Prime Minister?" called one.
"Comment? I got married."
"But are there any specifics to be shared?"
"No, not really."
"Why did you choose a private wedding?"
She knew that question would come in some form. "Because it suits us." That was the simplest answer. It did not matter that Isabelle had chosen for them; they would have chosen this themselves as well, only later.
"Who were invited?"
"No one."
"No one?" cried one, surprised.
"No one," she confirmed.
"Are you now Princess Anna Margaret?"
"That's not relevant to me. I would not be using that title in any case."
"You will not?"
"No."
"Have you read what people think?"
"People will no doubt be falling over themselves to have the wittiest reaction. In most cases it's more about the reaction than about what they're reacting to. If they congratulate me, thank you, but I don't follow social media myself. I get a summary from my staff."
"What did your colleagues say?"
"They congratulated me. Thank you." She walked on.
Isabelle phoned her on Tuesday. "Listen," she began, not sounding relaxed. "I'm at the hospital. I can't attend our meeting tomorrow unless you come here. I have to be monitored for twenty-four hours starting this evening."
Anna Margaret was a little taken aback by the news. "Er...what's wrong?"
"Not much. They simply want to monitor me for twenty-four hours."
"But why?" She had a feeling, though, that she was not going to be told if Isabelle did not want to tell her. "Are you all right?"
"I feel fine. I don't want you to worry about me. Will you come to meet me here? I'm up for it. At the Lamotte. If you are, I'll have someone meet you at the entrance at eight."
"Are you sure you could handle that if you're in hospital?"
"Yes."
"And you're not going to tell me why."
"Not right now."
"But you can't be fine if they want to keep you there," Anna Margaret protested. She had never been asked or ordered to stay in hospital overnight.
"You'll find out tomorrow."
"I hate that!" she exclaimed. "If you're not telling me for my own benefit, do you really think I'm better off wondering all night what it might be?"
Isabelle relented. "It's only my blood pressure. And it wasn't even clearly off; it was borderline. Hence this advice."
"Does Frederick know?"
"Not yet, but I called you first because I have an appointment with you. He won't notice if I go missing for twenty-four hours."
"Is it a secret?"
"You can tell him, as long as he doesn't worry. Did you check any reactions to the announcement?"
"Not much."
"It was all right."
Anna Margaret called Frederick. "Your sister's in hospital! But you are not to worry."
"What for?"
"Something vaguely mysterious to do with blood pressure."
"Vague. Is that all you know?"
"Yes. She says she's fine."
He trusted his sister. "Then she probably is. Listen. I've been told some presents were delivered to the Palace for us. We should have a look at some point."
"Are we required to take them all?"
"No. They have addresses for things that remain. But we don't have to look right away. I'd say during the weekend. After George's wedding. The day after, I mean."
The next morning Anna Margaret was at the Lamotte Clinic at eight. She did not have to present herself at the reception desks, but a woman in a hostess uniform came over to greet her. "Madam? Good morning. My name is Henriette and I've been asked to accompany you."
"Morning," Anna Margaret replied. There were sometimes advantages to being known.
Henriette took her into an elevator marked Staff Only that could only be operated with a card, and up to the fourth floor. Anna Margaret guessed they were in a private wing of sorts, because it was very quiet. A man sat reading a newspaper on a couch placed in a niche across from a couple of vending machines and at the end of the short corridor there was a small nursing station. She was taken to the left.
Henriette knocked on a door marked 4A and held it open. "There you go, Madam."
"Thank you."
"I'll be bringing you tea and coffee in a minute. Will you be wanting breakfast?"
"No, thank you."
The inside looked like a hotel suite. Isabelle sat on a couch reading the newspaper. She smiled when she saw her visitor. "Thank goodness you wanted to come. I lack for nothing except rational company. People are in and out all the time with things, but that's different."
Anna Margaret sat down in one of the easy chairs opposite the couch. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be in bed." There was a bed in the room, but the room was so spacious that you did not necessarily notice it.
"I was. But I got up before they came to collect my blood and urine."
She also was not wearing pyjamas, Anna Margaret noticed, although her clothing was comfortable. It was clear Isabelle was not going to spend the day in bed. "Are those jogging trousers?" That would be ironic, given how she often criticised Frederick for wearing them.
"Yoga tights," Isabelle said sternly. "And I'm not going out in them, so they're okay."
"Why are you here?"
"Blood pressure."
"And because you're the queen, they hospitalise you?"
"Something like that," Isabelle agreed.
Henriette came to bring them tea and coffee.
"Was Philip here with you?" Anna Margaret wondered.
"No. He stayed home. He'll come here as soon as he's seen them all off to school."
At the end of their meeting Philip arrived. Isabelle looked very happy to see him, happier than Anna Margaret would have expected from someone with whom nothing was the matter. She put the documents back in her bag. "When can you go home?"
"I expect at 20:00 tonight. There's nothing wrong with me."
"Yet they are keeping you here," she dared to say. She was still not reassured.
"It's easier to do that if you have a few appointments on the same day with a few hours in between."
Philip did not comment, but Anna Margaret had seen some silent communication between the two. She felt as if she intruded on what they wanted to discuss. "I'll go back to work. Will you let me know if you need any help?"
"I will. Thank you."
Anna Margaret found her driver and went back to work. She reflected on the Lamotte Clinic as a place to have a baby. It was not as quiet as she had imagined. Everyone could come in indeed. A simple thing like tea required three visits from the hostess. First to ask, then to deliver and finally to take away. If she added similar visits for meals, medical things and delivering the newspaper it would really add up. And then she had not even taken housekeeping and cleaning into consideration. At an ordinary hospital there would be fewer people, she was tempted to think.
In the evening she was curious if Isabelle had been released. She asked Frederick to phone. He did so reluctantly, but he made it clear where the order had come from. "Margaret wants to know if you're home." He listened for a while and then said goodbye.
"What!" cried Anna Margaret. "You didn't ask her anything."
"I asked if she was home. She was." He acted as if he had done his duty.
"Well, that's a relief. Did she say anything else? Such as what was wrong?" She wondered if he cared. He must, so she was probably overreacting.
"She said all subsequent measurements were good - or better, I don't exactly know - and she could go home for a few days."
"For a few days! But that means it's not good at all."
"She says it was." He returned to the cot he had been putting together.
She watched as he screwed on the wheels. She had been excited about this package until she had remembered 20:00. The mattress was ready; she had covered it with a sheet and it was ready to go in. A bit useless, maybe, since it would not be used for a while and the sheets would still have to be washed. But it looked much better with all the bed linen. "Did your package arrive as well?"
Frederick looked amused. "Yes."
"You didn't tell me!"
"Well...when? You just got home." Between her coming home and eating dinner and their setting up the cot there had not been much time.
"All right. Once you're done with the bed you must show me."
"You're curious about the clothes."
"Of course!"
He set the cot on its four wheels and she made up the bed. It now looked ready to receive an occupant. They stood looking at their work and Anna Margaret could not suppress a grin. "It makes it look so real now."
"Now we can start trying out the best place for it."
It had one side that could be lowered and she practised that for a bit. In the meantime Frederick had gone to collect the package he had hidden away.
"You haven't opened it yet!" she said in surprise.
"No." He went to their bed and sat down on it. "I waited for you. You can do it. You were so curious about it that I couldn't start without you."
She was definitely curious and she struggled to open the package. "Aww!" she exclaimed. "I never knew I could do this."
"What, open a package?"
"No! Go all silly over baby clothes." She loved them. He had chosen well. Their baby now had three outfits. They looked terribly tiny and they made her go all soft inside.
He pulled her closer. "You're not silly. You're cute."
On Thursday the family photos were released. There were two. One of everyone and one of Isabelle's family. Andre came to tell Anna Margaret about it. "You're even in the photo," he said. "But you're not wearing a wedding ring."
"You're descending to tabloid depths." She did indeed not have a wedding ring - they were apparently not required - and she really could not remember how she had held her hands the moment the photo was taken.
"I'm only reporting on what I read," he said defensively.
"I had to get married to be included in the photo," she said with a very serious look. "So it was after the wedding. I don't know if people are still asking you about it."
"They had just stopped, but now that this has come out they will find something else to ask me. Or you. I have some requests for interviews."
"As always." She was not looking forward to the same old questions. There always seemed to be a surge in requests after something personal. She thought she had answered all conceivable ones lately, so if anyone wanted to know something they could simply do their own research. "Nothing original, I suppose?"
"No, I don't think so."
During her lunchbreak she was beckoned by the Pitbull in the company restaurant. She placed her tray on his table, since that was what he seemed to want. He only ate here sometimes, it seemed.
"You're going to China soon, I heard," he said. "Are you going to mention environmental issues?"
"Not specifically, but I may mention something if it comes up."
"There are things you could mention."
"No doubt."
"I have a report. Shall I send it to you?"
"I always wonder what people think we could achieve. Their largest cities are larger than we are." They might not be taken seriously if they criticised anything.
"But shall I send you the report?"
"Yes, why not?" she said wearily. "I always lack for interesting reading materials. You're aware that we're going on an agriculturally-themed mission?"
"Which is closely linked to the environment."
"It's all dairy and education, but yeah, it's all linked if you want."
"Good. I'll have done my duty." He looked satisfied.
She ate something. "How did the snake story end?"
"I reported my findings and they gave up on seeking publicity. They realised they had nothing to say to permissions that had been granted in the correct manner."
"Good."
"But I was a bit surprised to find no one really seems to know about this rowing course."
"What do you mean? It's a relatively unknown sport, I suppose. Not likely to excite national rowers since we don't have any except Frederick and people who don't row might not see the potential or what it's for."
"It's nearly done. I've been back."
She wondered why. "I haven't, but he told me so."
"The main building should be done by March and the whole complex is expected to be operational in April. But who's going to use it?"
"Frederick?" It would be rather wide for a single boat, so she expected he would invite rowers he knew to make use of the course.
"Wouldn't he need a bit of publicity?"
"The Germans know, I know that much. They already have rowers. They can easily come over to train. He now trains with a club who train on a river, so a real course would be interesting to them and if he can go there, they can come here. It's not that far away. I think some of them will also be available to train local rowers."
"He won't get any if he doesn't advertise."
"I think he may know that. But before it's finished, there's no point. People like to try things right away. They wouldn't like to hear they could come and try it in a few months. They'll have forgotten by then."
"My son is a rollerskier in the summer. I think the ring road around the lake has some potential for rollerskiiing."
"I don't know any details," she said apologetically.
"There will be a road around it, said the foreman I spoke to, presumably for taking the boats to the other side, or access for emergency vehicles, but it won't be used by regular traffic. It will be tarmacked in April or May."
"I suggest you ask Frederick. I know he's planning to fence the whole terrain off."
"Why?"
"To avoid accidents with people swimming or playing in rubber boats. And because it's private property, he can. But he might allow access to people wanting to exercise on the road."
"I'll do that."
She copied Frederick's email address on a piece of paper and pushed it across the table. "There you go. I didn't know you had a son."
"I never knew your husband rowed until I went there."
"That's because his father didn't want anyone to know."
The Pitbull, who had just revealed himself to be a father who had some interest in his son's sport, raised his eyebrows. "Yes, he implied something like that when I spoke to him. But Papa is dead. Nothing to stop him now."
She shrugged. "Old habits are hard to break, perhaps."
Frederick messaged her during the day that Isabelle and Philip would be coming to dinner. Anna Margaret was glad, because she still wanted to ask what had been wrong. Perhaps Isabelle was now going to tell them. She asked if she should do any shopping, but he replied that it would all be taken care of.
It made her feel a little guilty. He always took care of those things. Most days she could simply take her place at the dinner table without having to do anything else. Yet he also had his own activities during the day. He was visiting a town up north today, but apparently he had enough time to buy and cook food when he came back.
Fortunately he did not have to clean because they had a cleaner and he only had to do laundry if he ran out of something before she did it during the weekend. It was not as if he was some sort of housekeeper.
She walked home and saw from a distance that there were extra cars in her street. Ever since she had moved there she had been extra watchful. It was only a house, after all, and not a palace hidden behind a high fence. There were two men in one of the cars, but she could tell they were security. Isabelle had probably already arrived.
"We'd like to tell you something," said Isabelle. "The past few months have been quite difficult for us."
Anna Margaret hoped they were not going to announce a divorce or something like that. She looked alarmed, because she had never noticed problems between them. They were always genuinely nice to each other. Even now they did not look uncomfortable.
"For many reasons we couldn't share these difficulties, but now they seem to have been resolved to some extent."
"I really can't guess," said Frederick, for whom it was taking too long.
"No, I had guessed that already," Isabelle said with a wry smile. "Anna Margaret never picked up my hints either."
"Hints?" she wondered. "When?"
"Philip had a vasectomy."
"You hinted about that?" She did not dare to look at Philip. If there had any hints about that, they had been so extremely subtle that she had indeed never picked them up. But she did not know why she would need to be told about such a private matter.
"No, that was where the whole thing started."
"Right. And then you had to go to hospital?" The connection was not immediately apparent to her.
"He had it twelve years ago when we felt our family was finished." Isabelle looked at them expectantly, but continued when nothing clicked. "Apparently it came undone."
Anna Margaret and Frederick stared. She was aware they were both doing it, but neither of them seemed certain enough of Isabelle's meaning to say anything.
"Yes," Isabelle went on. "You'll understand why it was such a difficult time and why we had to keep it to ourselves."
"Er...but what happened?" What happened when it came undone? She had no idea. She could guess, but that did not mean all subsequent developments had been good. Why it had been necessary to keep it a secret?
"The thing that they cut -" Here Frederick winced and Isabelle turned towards him. "Not that thing. Whatever they cut - I forgot what it was exactly, but it doesn't really matter - it grew back together."
Anna Margaret ventured a quick glance at Philip, whose thing was under discussion. He seemed to take it calmly enough, but presumably it was not the first time it was being discussed. Or he might take some pride in owning a body that did not allow doctors to interfere.
"And then what?" asked Frederick.
"I felt what it was, immediately," said his sister.
This only confused her brother. "How could you feel his thing grow back together?"
"Are you genuinely obtuse or are you out to annoy me?" Isabelle demanded.
"Genuinely obtuse. Seriously. I've never researched what's done," he defended himself. "That would have been a far too drastic measure for me."
"Even the straightforward measures were too drastic to use for you, it seems," Philip mumbled, which earned him a chiding look from his wife.
Frederick tried to pull a straight face. "But what did you feel immediately?"
"That I was pregnant!" she almost yelled.
"Oops," Anna Margaret said very softly.
Isabelle continued speaking. "But I expected it to go wrong in the first weeks, so I simply waited. So did Anna Margaret, but you didn't know it about yourself."
"Oh." Anna Margaret tried to make sense of what Isabelle was saying. If she understood correctly it was beyond those first weeks now. Earlier she had mentioned the past few months, but how many?
"I didn't want to get any attention for nothing, or for something that wasn't going to go anywhere, so I only went to see a doctor when nothing went wrong, but my doctor wasn't positive on account of my age."
"Obviously we could not tell people because we had agreed to break it off if something was wrong," said Philip, who appeared to be more talkative when Isabelle was not, "and because there are always people who won't allow you to make your own decisions in this regard."
"Yes, if it had all gone wrong we wouldn't have told anyone, but we would have dealt with it quietly. And values kept being borderline worrisome, although I felt good. And the baby never cooperated in the ultrasounds, so not everything could be checked. We didn't know where we stood at all. Of course everything might still go wrong at a later point, too."
"How far..." Anna Margaret managed to say. She tried to pick up the clues in retrospect, but she did not know how far to go back. There had been non-alcoholic bubbles recently, which was one clue, she supposed. But only if you knew.
"A few days behind you, I suppose."
"But how is it now? What happened? Are you still pregnant?" She tried to see Isabelle's stomach, but could not make much out. Her blouse was wide. Of course that now made sense.
"Yes. I'm not allowed to exert myself, but everything seems fine otherwise. Again, borderline, but on the right side." She looked cautious, however.
"But we're not there yet," said Philip. "We still have to tell everyone. The children know, but their reactions were epic. We told them before coming here, so we quickly escaped."
"Aurelie was probably not that surprised." Anna Margaret recalled the girl's comments about her mother's figure. Apparently the blouse did hide something.
"But they think we're old. We don't do these things. Charlotte was physically ill at the thought." Isabelle looked almost ill herself at this unfavourable reaction. "And all the conspiracy theories to explain it away in another manner! You were having twins but you only wanted one because you're too busy to have two, so we'd pretend we were having the other. Or it was secretly Florian's. Or Murielle's."
"No, I'm shocked too," said Frederick. "Do you still do that at forty-seven?"
Philip did not seem to think it an inappropriate question. "It's when you have more time for it..."
"Why couldn't you tell us? We wouldn't have talked."
"I wanted to wait for the scans. And half of I what was laughing at you for or telling you to do that you weren't doing, happened to me," said Isabelle. "So how could I tell you to tell everyone while at the same time telling you I wasn't going to do it myself? But he finally cooperated."
"He." Anna Margaret supposed that was the baby, not Philip. In that case they would both be having boys. Two cousins the same age. That was nice. Or it could be - she hardly saw her own cousins.
"Yes."
"Well done. I'll be happy if all is going well." She leant across the table and touched Isabelle's arm.
"I feel fine. It's just doctors and tests that were being obnoxious."
"When are you going to announce it?" She did not detect enough certainty to think it might be soon.
"I don't want to announce it at all. I understand you perfectly." Isabelle laughed self-deprecatingly. "I really don't want the comments. But I know I must. I have been talking to you about your announcement all the while thinking about mine. My age! Your job! They will be about equal when it comes to reactions, although I think mine might be the worst. If we had to do it at all, why couldn't we take adequate measures to prevent a pregnancy?"
"Four of the five that I now know of, seem to have failed," Frederick said ominously.
"That is what I'm saying. Why not the fifth, people will say?"
"If you're concerned about that, pretend you're an actress. They all want babies at your age. Or, you wanted one not to make ours so lonely. Take the focus off the unplanned angle."
Anna Margaret gestured to stop the silly conversation. "A double announcement would be best if you don't want the attention only on you." She was willing to sacrifice some of her comfort for someone who was even worse off. Her situation was nothing compared to this.
"Philip and Frederick could do it," Isabelle suggested.
Frederick did not look enthusiastic. Announcements of any kind still made him uncomfortable, especially if they were supposed to be public. "Why?"
"Because I'm not going to admit that I had - and Philip doesn't - he thinks it funny if people react funnily. But since he cannot do your news because it would be strange, Frederick must do that."
"I can do your news," said Philip. "But Isabelle simply doesn't trust me with it. I wouldn't know why."
"It's just that..." Isabelle sighed. "Queens don't do these things. They have arranged marriages and they get separate bedrooms once they've produced the heirs. They stop when they're done."
"So apparently since you did not stop, you were not done," Frederick commented. "That's what I just said."
"And it's a massive parenting fail. None were happy. Aurelie was the best - how did you know? - but the others were all looking sick and appalled." She nearly cried.
Philip laid his arm around her. "They'll come around. They simply need to get used to the idea. And maybe they were simply worried because you've had to stay in hospital."
Anna Margaret was too impressed by seeing Isabelle nearly crying to say anything.
"But..." Frederick said. "So you're having a boy?"
"Yes. Well. That's what they think. He showed his head and heart all right the last time, finally, but he kept his legs crossed."
"Nice. But you sort of offered to look after ours. Not that we cannot do that ourselves, but - I don't really know what I mean."
"Do you think I won't be able to watch two?"
"You may not want to."
"Because I'm old. I'll let you watch both of them."
Anna Margaret chuckled. "He's bought a jogging suit for ours." She imagined Frederick take two sporty-clad toddlers out running. What would Isabelle say to that?
"You know what you're getting now," Frederick warned. "Please don't dress the poor boy in a lace gown."
"You've already bought clothes? You?"
"Not much. But come and have a look when we've finished eating. I suppose you haven't prepared anything yet?"
"No, of course not, given the circumstances. But we've still got all the traditional things."
"Please! You've already used them for the other children. Now you can use new stuff for this one. I know I wore that thing, you wore that thing, we all wore that thing, but I've still got a trauma from it."
"Frederick," said Isabelle, shaking her head. "Traditions."
"They only came into being when someone broke with an earlier 'tradition'," he said. "It can happen again."
Anna Margaret felt lucky she did not have to debate the issue with her husband, since she was all in favour of ordinary clothes. She focused on her dinner as they discussed which traditions could be abandoned and which could not. That was their decision, not hers. She had every faith in Frederick not to subject their baby to undesirable things.
"I'm curious," she said to Philip. "Did your family have traditions and was there any room to follow them? I can't think of any in my case and I doubt we'd have to be as strict as you may have needed to be, but..."
"There would have been no room for them. Suppose all male firstborns had been named Philip in my family ever since the 1700s, there was no way they would have allowed me to name my eldest son that. Fortunately the issues were much smaller than that, because my ancestors were not that silly."
"Such as?"
"My mother-in-law was not allowed to speak German to her children and I was not allowed to speak English to mine." He winked. "But she told me to do it anyway, because it would only benefit them to be fluent."
"I noticed some animosity during the photo session," she nodded.
"Silly, isn't it? My children are three-quarters foreign. Probably more. And you can't raise your child in a language you're not yet speaking well. At the time I wasn't fluent at all."
She would agree with that. "But they wouldn't see this?"
"No. By the way," he said, interrupting Isabelle's conversation with Frederick. "What would your grandmother say?"
"I don't even want to think about it."
"Have you all finished eating?" Frederick asked. "I'll show you the room. Oh, and my grandmother would love to make the announcement."
"Undoubtedly," Isabelle said drily. "But I don't think that would be a good idea."
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