Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Eighty-Three

Rumors were swirling, but that was to be expected. This was what happened when Meredith missed one moment of being in the light. While there was no proof or evidence, immediately the media and the world went to her being pregnant. She was now, but the rumors swirled even before she married Harry. Everyone wanted a child, even though Meredith continued to drag her feet.

She knew that when she stepped out today, the world was going to be watching. The world usually watched, but normally it didn't care about her midsection. And when the world cared about her midsection, they were just calling her "fat."

Until yesterday, Meredith hadn't missed one moment of the action on the tour. There had been injuries and awkward moments, but she had been the one to be the constant. It was Harry who had gotten sick. Meredith had filled those shoes easily and wonderfully. It was clear to see why Harry loved her so much: she had the ability to be charming. However, that didn't mean she wasn't a forced to be reckoned with.

In the morning, it was another dress that flowed past her midsection. It was tight on her aching breasts, but she put up with it. They had already gotten a bit larger, and Harry had noticed but hadn't said anything. Meredith, who naturally had larger breasts, noticed and was unimpressed with them. The dress was a bright green, and she had worn it twice before on this tour. That was fine because of how much Meredith liked the dress. It brought out her eyes.

Her stylist told her to twirl, and she did. The dress was weighed down, so while Meredith twirled, it didn't fly up. Meredith enjoyed that. It added to the weight, and she did feel heavy already. It was even a bit thick, and it was going to be hot. Yet, Meredith knew this was probably the best dress because she felt confident in it.

At the breakfast table, Harry had already eaten, and like most mornings, Meredith forced herself to eat something. She hadn't been feeling too queasy this morning. She went for the plain bread with some butter and some light cheese. It tasted wrong in her mouth, but she forced herself to deal with it anyway.

"You look lovely this morning," Harry said, having the schedule displayed in front of him. Meredith had taken a look at it when her hair and makeup was being done. Carefully, he moved the schedule over some newspapers.

She arched an eyebrow.

"Well, you're looking better than yesterday morning," he amended, trying to distract her.

Meredith continued to give a look. "What are the papers saying that you don't want me to know?"

"Um...." He was a bad liar-- always had been. On the other hand, he was a good actor when needed in the public eye.

"Is it about me missing yesterday morning?" she asked. "There are rumors about me being pregnant?"

Harry glanced at the papers, but that wasn't the correct guess.

"Just tell me, Harry." Meredith stuffed some bread into her mouth just so he may speak.

He hesitated for a second, but Harry knew his wife was able to handle most of anything. Sliding out the newspapers, Harry got up and walked over. Handing it to his wife, immediately Meredith took the paper and looked over the front. Harry told the truth: the headline wasn't about Meredith missing yesterday. The headline was about something happened in Vienna a long time ago. The days blurred together, and Meredith didn't know the date anymore. Either way, it wasn't current, but now those social climbers in Austria were getting their moment to shine.

Apparently, Meredith was "aloof," "rude" and a "typical American," whatever that meant. The article didn't have nice things to say about her. Once again, these things didn't bother her. Rumors were made up about her every day. As for that night that the Austrians referred to, it was true because Meredith had been all of those things. The most Meredith remembered about that night was her killer outfit of red: red dress, red lipstick and red jewels. People had stated that royals weren't supposed to wear such bright and vibrant colors like red or even wear red lipstick, but Queen Letizia and Queen Maxima wore it too. Princess Margaret donned red lipstick too.