Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Eighty-Two

Argentina had been stressful. Meredith was used to the stress, but yesterday had been too stressful. Maybe it was because she had been feeling sick all day. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was because she had to sit so straight that her back hurt. No matter what it was, the next morning, she was absolutely exhausted.

Sun streamed through the curtains. Meredith blinked the light away. A migraine started to throb in her head. She pressed a hand to it and rolled over. Black dots danced across her vision. Her own stomach clenched, and she felt like she was able to vomit right there and then. Sucking in a deep breath, Meredith stuffed her hand to her mouth and ran into the bathroom.

Harry only woke up to a hard slapping of feet across the carpet floor and then the tile bathroom. His eyes flashed open when he heard his wife retching in the bathroom. Sliding out from under the covers, Harry walked over and hovered outside the door. Usually, Meredith tried to be quiet, but that was impossible this morning.

Pushing on it, Harry bent down beside his wife and pulled back her blonde hair. Her face was incredibly pale. When she took a second to breathe, she laid her head against the cool porcelain of the toilet bowl. She came up again.

Eventually, Meredith stumbled out of the bathroom and got back into bed. Harry pulled the blankets up to her neck-- just how she liked them-- and got in beside her.

"How long do I have?" she mumbled.

Harry checked the clock. "Eight minutes, two seconds." Turning back to his wife, he reached over and tucked a piece of her blonde hair back that stuck to her face. He had seen Catherine like this when she had been pregnant, but up to this moment, Meredith had been fine-- a little sick, didn't eat, tired-- but none of it was truly bad when compared to Catherine. Harry still treated Meredith with every respect.

He began, "Mere--"

"No." She knew exactly where he was going.

"Mere," Harry started up again, and she groaned. "You can just take the day off. It's been a long journey--"

"We're near the end," she said. "I'm not quitting now."

Harry sighed. "I took a few days off when I was sick, and--"

"And the media wasn't going to automatic assume you're pregnant," she argued.

"You are pregnant."

"But we're not telling people until people can see." Thankfully, that was going to be a few months.

"Mere, it was in the pamphlets. We should be reducing your stress. Yesterday was stressful. You've been doing a lot of things--"

"Oh my God." Meredith put a pillow over her head and groaned again. She didn't want to hear any more of what he said. A part of her wanted to go back to bed and sleep, but she only had a few weeks left of this trip. Meredith wasn't going to quit now. But as she thought about, Meredith felt her head pounding and her stomach churn. "Shit." She rolled over, deciding it was better to vomit on the floor than the bed. Thankfully, nothing came up.

"How about..." Harry started before he had any idea what he was going to say, "you come join me this afternoon?" Before she was able to say "no," he continued, "It's football, and you hate soccer. You think it's boring, and you get tired watching them run."

Meredith had a hard time arguing with that. Because she felt so bad, she just agreed with them.

Harry slipped out of the room and told the already awake and ready Jessica the plan. She seemed to be against it at first. Poking her head into the master bedroom, Jessica quickly saw that this plan was the best plan for the day.

Coming back inside the bedroom, Harry saw Meredith fast asleep, which was probably for the best. He slipped into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When he came outside again, he paused for a second and then pushed a rubbish bin near her. It was just in case. He left the room again.

In another bedroom, he changed until relaxed clothes for his football clothing for the day. He ate breakfast. But before he left, he checked on Meredith one last time. Her snores were loud, and her face was half covered in blankets. Harry fully knew that if Meredith caught him watching that she was going to have some choice words. However, he wasn't able to help himself.

Leaving, the Duke of Windsor went to a sport center, where Brazil's national soccer team practiced. People had questions about where the duchess was, but the duke stated that she was working on her Portuguese for this afternoon and that "football" wasn't her thing. People were well aware because there were many times that the duchess had been seen playing soccer unhappily. She wasn't very good with foot-eye coordination.

The duke enjoyed his time. While he preferred rugby any day, he played with the football players. Of course, they beat him.

When Harry returned back to the hotel, it was for a fast change and faster lunch. Meredith was awake and changed, looking much better than she did earlier.

Harry stuffed food in his mouth and said, "You have color in my cheeks."

"It's blush." Meredith knew her face was painted so heavily so no one was going to notice.

At the event for the afternoon, the Duchess of Windsor stepped out wearing a bright yellow dress. She glowed and smiled at the crowds. People came out to greet them, and the duchess did a walkabout, accepting flowers and gifts. The duchess, it seemed, had in fact practiced her Portuguese. She had a slight accent on the words, but for the ones that she knew and said, they sounded quite lovely.

In the hospital, the duke and duchess met with hospital staff and patients. The hospital specialized in rehabilitation, orthopaedic and neuropsychological work. The duchess had questions for the doctors and nurses, knowing a large amount of the information.

"How do you know all this?" asked a doctor.

"Grey's Anatomy," the duchess admitted.

After the event, Harry and Meredith changed. There was absolutely no down time. Meredith was in one dress and then another. Stylists changed her hair while reapplying her makeup while putting on more jewelry. Meredith and Harry didn't have much time to talk, but Meredith refused to admit that the break and nap were needed.

At the State Dinner, the duchess wore a tight navy blue dress to the duke's gray tux. They knew how to color coordinate. The duchess dripped in jewels, but none of them shone as brightly as her smile. 

The duke and duchess were greeted by the president and their spouse, and dinner was served. Afterward, the president's spouse stood and gave a speech. The duchess had a printed out copy in English in front of her. Afterward, the duchess stood. The first few and last few words were in Portuguese, but the rest she had to leave in English.

Lastly, the duke and duchess met with Brazilian celebrities, like supermodels Gisele Bundchen and Adriana Lima. The duke knew who these two women were, but the duchess didn't. The famous actress Morena Baccarin came through, and the duchess recognized her easily from her TV shows and movies.

The duchess absolutely gleamed as she talked with the celebrities, looking like such a natural. Even then, she knew what newspapers were going to be saying about her tomorrow and what the internet was going to be saying about her later tonight. The duchess didn't give a damn.