Cat to pull herself away from his grasp, maybe to even flinch at his touch, especially with the way she had been acting in Tenby. Instead she merely held his hand in return, and he saw a small smile grace her face if only for a moment.
The main living room of the manor was carpeted in thick cream pile; the furniture was mostly navy blue and maroon antiques. It was a lot warmer and far more inviting than the rest of this gigantic and terrifying house. The moment that they were in the room with the door shut behind them, Cat released his hand and stretched her arms above her head. “Peace at last.”
“Tenby wasn’t peaceful enough for you?” he asked, settling himself in one of the huge navy armchairs. After so many hours in the backseat of a car, even one as luxurious as Cat’s Mercedes, his lower back had started to ache and his legs were sore from not quite fitting comfortably, and he found himself sinking happily into the chair.
“Not really.” Cat had moved over to one of the huge windows at the far side of the room, pushing back the thick navy blue drapes so as to look outside. “I’ve been alone for a long time Valto.” She glanced back at him before returning her gaze back through the window. “I’m kind of used to it by now.”
Something cold dropped into his stomach at those words. Valto had been very careful not to think of those three years that he had known Cat had locked herself away in Carreg Cannen; had pretended not to hear the stories of how she was wasting away on alcohol and painkillers. There had been talk of removing her from the line of succession if she didn’t clean up her act, and then the next thing he had known she was sleeping with the fifty two year old King of Moldova. Despite everything though Alexandru was a good man and he had clearly done right by Cat, because soon after she had turned away from the bottle and moved back into Caerdydd.
“Cat you don’t have to be alone anymore.” He wanted nothing more than to go and join her at the window, but he was so unsure around her most of the time that he was afraid of what his reception would be.
“Of course I am.” Valto watched as she shook her head. “I am going to be the Queen. I will always be alone.”
He found himself staring at her in surprise. In all honestly Valto had only considered how his life would change when Cat became queen and he was standing beside her as the Prince Consort; not once had he considered what that would do to her. She would no longer be a person under her own right; instead she would simply become an extension of the country, having no rights to any individualism. Everything she said and did would be monitored and scrutinised. It took him back to a party when he had been a youth in which he had overheard his grandmother and Lady Lowri discussing how the maids were ordered to let the royal physician know when they were having periods. That way if they got pregnant procedures could be put into place before a pregnancy test would even work.
It suddenly dawned on him that every time he made love to his wife it would be known by the staff because they would know what to look for. Privacy was something that was very much in the past, and for a moment he felt panic take a grip of his heart and squeeze it tightly. These were of course all things that he had known six years ago, things that his grandfather had sat down and talked to him about when he and Cat had first started to get serious. However he had forgotten about the finer details, had been more concerned with winning Cat over than looking at what that truly meant. Steph had asked him if he thought that he would gain more than he had lost, and here in this living room in this big draughty house he finally mulled over those words. “We’ll have each other.” It was the honest truth, if she was afraid of losing herself and who she was then it was going to be Valto’s job to hold part of her aside and keep it safe. Give her something that
The main living room of the manor was carpeted in thick cream pile; the furniture was mostly navy blue and maroon antiques. It was a lot warmer and far more inviting than the rest of this gigantic and terrifying house. The moment that they were in the room with the door shut behind them, Cat released his hand and stretched her arms above her head. “Peace at last.”
“Tenby wasn’t peaceful enough for you?” he asked, settling himself in one of the huge navy armchairs. After so many hours in the backseat of a car, even one as luxurious as Cat’s Mercedes, his lower back had started to ache and his legs were sore from not quite fitting comfortably, and he found himself sinking happily into the chair.
“Not really.” Cat had moved over to one of the huge windows at the far side of the room, pushing back the thick navy blue drapes so as to look outside. “I’ve been alone for a long time Valto.” She glanced back at him before returning her gaze back through the window. “I’m kind of used to it by now.”
Something cold dropped into his stomach at those words. Valto had been very careful not to think of those three years that he had known Cat had locked herself away in Carreg Cannen; had pretended not to hear the stories of how she was wasting away on alcohol and painkillers. There had been talk of removing her from the line of succession if she didn’t clean up her act, and then the next thing he had known she was sleeping with the fifty two year old King of Moldova. Despite everything though Alexandru was a good man and he had clearly done right by Cat, because soon after she had turned away from the bottle and moved back into Caerdydd.
“Cat you don’t have to be alone anymore.” He wanted nothing more than to go and join her at the window, but he was so unsure around her most of the time that he was afraid of what his reception would be.
“Of course I am.” Valto watched as she shook her head. “I am going to be the Queen. I will always be alone.”
He found himself staring at her in surprise. In all honestly Valto had only considered how his life would change when Cat became queen and he was standing beside her as the Prince Consort; not once had he considered what that would do to her. She would no longer be a person under her own right; instead she would simply become an extension of the country, having no rights to any individualism. Everything she said and did would be monitored and scrutinised. It took him back to a party when he had been a youth in which he had overheard his grandmother and Lady Lowri discussing how the maids were ordered to let the royal physician know when they were having periods. That way if they got pregnant procedures could be put into place before a pregnancy test would even work.
It suddenly dawned on him that every time he made love to his wife it would be known by the staff because they would know what to look for. Privacy was something that was very much in the past, and for a moment he felt panic take a grip of his heart and squeeze it tightly. These were of course all things that he had known six years ago, things that his grandfather had sat down and talked to him about when he and Cat had first started to get serious. However he had forgotten about the finer details, had been more concerned with winning Cat over than looking at what that truly meant. Steph had asked him if he thought that he would gain more than he had lost, and here in this living room in this big draughty house he finally mulled over those words. “We’ll have each other.” It was the honest truth, if she was afraid of losing herself and who she was then it was going to be Valto’s job to hold part of her aside and keep it safe. Give her something that
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