Third In Line

Chapter Fifty Eight - Home Movies

It was just after nine o'clock in the evening when the last of the guests had finally left. The atmosphere inside Amner Hall was steadily opening up again, everyone relaxing as the party winded down and the house started feeling like a family home once more. Everyone had had a chance to get changed into more casual clothes and the royal masks had been put away for another night. Now it was a proper family time. Ellie kissed her cousin Eugenie on the cheek and said good night, then tiredly closed the front door.

She stood for a moment in the relative quiet of the entrance hall, finding some time to be alone. Ever since she'd got back to the party, surrounded by all the guests and her family, she hadn't had the chance to really deal with what happened. She floated along with the celebrations, forcing a smile whilst her mind was somewhere else, thinking about Abby.

All that mocking talk about 'Rich Blood' and she ends up being just as rich as any of us.

"Come sit with the family Ellie." Her dad called to her.

Ellie followed the sounds of laughter back towards the living room, pausing briefly to look down the corridor to see her sister Alex taking Taylor Swift on a tour of the house with Kate following along. Alex was so excited to be spending time with Taylor that the singer ended up staying much longer, even when all the invited guests were gone and it was just family left, Taylor was still there. She hadn't had the heart to leave and, as far as Ellie could tell, she was thoroughly enjoying being given a tour by an overly excited young Princess. Kate stayed with them, being a good host and correcting anything that Alex got wrong, as well as pointing out more interesting things than a scuff mark on the floor where Alex had slipped over a few years back.

Ellie giggled quietly as she heard Taylor say, "That's lovely" for what seemed like the hundredth time before the three of them disappeared into another room. She would have followed, but her feet were tired from so much standing and she wasn't in the mood to hang around with her mother even more.

Instead, she headed into the living room and found her Dad sitting back on the sofa, chatting with her Uncle Harry and Aunt Emma, who were together on a smaller chair opposite Will with Emma sitting in Harry's lap. The television was on showing a Basketball match of all things, but the three adults were only half watching as they talked.

Ellie slumped down on the sofa next to her Dad, pulling her legs up underneath her and resting against him whilst he instinctively put his arm around her.

"Is that everyone gone then, honey?" He kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah, just Taylor left but I think she's staying the night. Alex is only half way done with the tour."

"Half way? She's been with her for almost two hours!" Emma laughed, making her pregnant belly jiggle gently.

"You know what Alex is like, she'll talk for hours if it's something she's interested in." Will reminded everyone with a wave of his hand.

"Jamie's like that with Baseball, too much American in him." Harry said, pretending to be annoyed with his wife.

"Hoping our next little nugget is a bit more British, aren't you?" Emma gave him a look.

Harry looked up to the heavens, placing a hand on his heart. "Just as long as they don't call football 'soccer'."

Soon the adults returned to what they had been discussing before. Apparently, Emma was working in the film industry again and had been putting together a documentary over the last few years, but the production had been slowed down by the government getting in the way. Ellie didn't listen much, half watching the television and half distracted by her own thoughts.