Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
She shook her head vehemently. “No. He knows about this. We’ve discussed it, and he’s let me...I told him I wanted to apologize to you in person.” She took a deep breath. “You see...I’ve heard troubling things about Camilla Daughtry when Constantijin and I visited you two in England, but I...I chose not to tell either of you about it. I wasn’t sure if you’d believe me.”
Rathe was quiet for a moment before saying grimly, “You’d probably be right. I was a...much harder man then.”
Yanna bit her lip as she tried her best to hold her tears back. “I’m just really sorry. I feel like if I had said something, maybe Mary wouldn’t be...”
“It’s not your fault, Yanna.” Rathe drew her close for a brief, comforting hug. When they parted, he said flatly, “All that’s happening now, it’s my penance. It’s my punishment.”
Cut.
The next was a distant shot of the Dutch couple, Yanna crying in her husband’s arms. Their murmured voices were hard to catch, but subtitles had been provided.
“I just wish there was a way for me to tell Mary how much he loves her.”
****
With each episode, Mary was careful to skip to the next one when it was Rathe’s turn to say the final goodbyes. But when she reached the last episode, she couldn’t help herself, and she went back to the very first one.
Rathe was in the balcony once more, holding a ring out, his voice hoarse as he said, “If you come back to me, little pearl, I’d like to beg for your forgiveness. And if you choose to forgive me, then I’d like to ask you one day for your hand in marriage. It would be my honor to have you as my wife.”
And every episode, it was the same, Rathe having his own private moment wherever he had the time to shoot his final goodbye.
“These days, I find it a compliment when people compare what we...had...to what my parents have. They love each other, and that’s a good thing.” Rathe smiled at the camera, but the pain was evident in his eyes as he said, “I love you, Mary.” He patted his pocket. “And I always have your ring with me.”
“So this episode here in Sweden won’t be complete without a proposal. But this time I want to make it a little different...” The camera showed Rathe leaving his guestroom in the Aehrenthals’ home for a moment. When he came back, he had Saffi’s child, Alexei, in his arm.
“Watch this...”
He started to hum, and Alexei chortled. His tiny fingers opened, revealing a ring. “There you go, Mary. Alexei’s helping me propose.” He snatched the ring out of the baby’s hold. “Can’t be too careful,” he murmured. “He might end up swallowing it.”
After dropping the ring back in his pocket, he faced the camera again. “I miss you, little pearl. I love you. Wherever you are, I hope you’re doing fine.”
“Guess what came in the mail today.” Rathe showed the camera a copy of Time magazine. “Apparently, my mother found the article you wrote, sent it to the editor she knew and here it is.”
Her article was on Time?
“Did that surprise you? I hope it’s a good kind of surprise and you don’t get mad at Mother for it.” He waved the copy on the camera. “If you want your copy, you know where to get it. Also, it comes with a freebie: an engagement ring. You’ve probably memorized – bloody hell, even the kid in the supermarket I bumped into yesterday memorized my lines. Everyone knows my lines, but I’m going to say it anyway.”
“Viewers, feel free to repeat after me.”
“I miss you. I love you. I hope you marry me one day.”
“So...it’s been fourteen episodes and it’s the end of Season 1.” Rathe was alone in his bedroom, seated on the edge of the bed. “I do wonder, though. Maybe the network has Mary hidden somewhere, just so we’d have as many seasons as the Cardigans?”
One of the his cameramen choked in laughter, muttering something too soft for the recording to catch.
A moment later, Rathe flushed. “Sorry, I meant the Kardashians. I keep forgetting.”
“You’re a shame to the reality TV community, Your Grace,” another staff from behind the scenes joked.
Rathe flushed more deeply. “I apologize. I’ll make sure to remember now.” He faced the camera once more. “Back to business then. It’s been thirteen episodes before this, which means I’ve been proposing to you thirteen times. It means you’ve turned me down thirteen times, too. Obviously, fourteen if I still don’t see you after this episode.”
He reached for a couple of gossip magazines on the bedside table. “And in case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a sample of what people’s been saying about me.”
“Magazine #1: Duke of Flanders, Desperate for the Entire Season.”