The Royal Romance - The Valtoria Diaries

Going very secretly

It was getting dark when Jen returned to the main house. She and Hana had just taken Chance for an evening walk and said their goodnights. By now they had completely transformed the cottage into a perfect living space, fit for an accomplished lady. Jen had a few ideas for how she could improve it further, but Hana was delighted with it, and after months of living out of guest rooms, Jen understood that totally. Had the roles been reversed, she would have been just as happy.

It had been so nice just to talk to Hana like in the old days, when they were both simply suitors for the Prince, getting to know one another without any further complications. And it was probably the only way she'd have been able to confide in Hana about the whole Laura thing, and for Hana to open up to her about her new feelings, which Jen found very intriguing. Jen knew that having Hana living so close by could only be a good thing for their friendship.

She made her way up to the bedroom and switched on the light. She noticed straight away that today, while she'd been with Hana, someone had changed the light switch to a dimmer, as per her request yesterday. Handy. She wandered over to the bed, and spotted another dimmer switch there. Perfect. She played with it, nodding with satisfaction. Hopefully Christopher hadn't seen through her excuse that it was because she liked to read in bed. When she lived in New York that had been true, but these days, there was only one bedtime activity she could think about. And now they had mood lighting.

She sighed as she plonked herself down onto the bed. Mood lighting wasn't much fun on your own. And while she'd enjoyed catching up with Hana, today had been a struggle. She was a little annoyed with herself; she was a strong independent woman; she shouldn't feel so lost when Maxwell wasn't there. As life went on, no doubt the two of them spending time apart would happen more often, and she would eventually get used to it. But right now, and with the trauma of what had happened last week still raw, she didn't feel right when they were apart.

She looked at her phone fondly, but there were no more messages since their lunchtime exchange. It is going very secretly, thank you very much. What was he up to? How long would she have to wonder? There was an irony in the fact that she felt that she knew less about her husband now that they were married than she had when they were just good friends.

She decided to get ready for bed, but as she was undressing, she placed her hand on her jeans pocket and felt a rustle. Oh – that letter. I'd all but forgotten it. She put it by her bedside, finished undressing, and perched on the side of the bed. She took it, and opened the envelope.

Hmm. I recognise that font. Oh. I know who this is from. Her jaw dropped and she chastised herself for not opening the letter earlier. And I think I know what this is about.

She got into bed, made herself comfortable, and began to read.