The Royals and The Baby

family misunderstandings and relationships(8)

William steps out of the helicopter and then turns around to offer me his hand. I take it and jump down, landing lightly on my feet since I have white pumps on under my sky blue dress. One side of his collar is turned up and he tries to straighten it.

After a few fruitless tries he asks. "Is it alright?"

I smile and shake my head. Reaching up I tug on the collar to straighten it out and then pull my hand away.

We go in through the door and back into the palace. William's phone starts to ring and I take the lead down the stairs with him right behind me talking on his phone.

I reach the bottom of the stairs and turn around to face him. He finishes talking and is putting his phone into his pocket when a voice behind me makes me turn around.

"I was just talking to Molly." Ronald says.

"Yeah, she called me too." Then he mutters to himself. "I hate when she does that."

I sense that there's a long discussion about to start, so I take the opportunity and ask. "Who's Molly?"

William answers me. "She's my aunt and dad's sister."

"Oh!"

He sighs. "Why is she suddenly coming to visit us after what...seven years and not to mention right after I got married?"

His father stares at him. "Can't she come visit her brother?"

"I didn't..." William's cut short as his father shouts. "I perfectly well know what you meant." With this he storms out of the open entrance door.

"What was that about?" I ask William, who is sitting on the stairs staring at the spot where his father was standing a few seconds ago.

"My aunt is someone who one can never understand." He sighs. I raise an eyebrow at him asking for an explanation.

"She has like five daughters. I think three are married. The oldest one she's I don't know...six years older than me and I clearly remember her trying to get us together over the last summer I saw them." He tells me.

I cross my arms. "But she failed. Why?"

I think I see a few tears in his eyes but he wipes a hand over his face and they're gone.

"My mother is what happened. She's the reason Molly failed. Mom was someone who believed in love, real love. And now that I think about it she didn't just save me from my aunt. If it hadn't been for her I wouldn't have you here."

He takes my hand and plays with it. This is the first time I've heard him speak of his mother as someone who actually existed.

With my hand still in his, I sit down next to him.

"But what did your father think you meant that made him so angry?" I ask, softly.

He shakes his head.

"He might be a great king but he was very different from mom. They were complete opposites. I have no idea how they ended up together. My father is a real family man. He believes that your sister comes before everything else even his own family. So, he ignored what she tried doing and every time I try bringing it up, he goes off. And now that I'm married to you, Molly has all the more reason to try and make things difficult for us."

He rubs the back of my hand and then looks me in the eye. "Promise me that whatever she tries, you won't fall for it."

I look down at our hands and then look back up. "I promise."

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I'm sitting at the dining table with William on one side and Helen and Harrison opposite from us. They're helping me out since this is the first visit that I'll be organizing, after this I'll be on my own.