Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“I love you, Queen Adeline, even if you do drive me crazy most days.” He grinned. “Probably because you drive me crazy most days.”
I laughed as he took my hand and slid the ring on my finger. I marveled at it sitting there. The stone was large and navy blue and the band was encrusted in tiny diamonds around it.
“It fits perfectly.” I wiggled my fingers.
“As it should.” He kissed my forehead, and then fell into a fit of infectious laughter. “We’re getting married!”
“We’re getting married.” I grinned so wide, my face hurt.
Chapter 44
Two Months Later
Elias
I sat down in front of the camera with a grin I couldn’t seem to wipe off my face, but as soon as the countdown began, I managed to bring my expression to a more neutral position.
“Hello again. It brings me great honor to inform you that our efforts to make France a Commonwealth Monarchy is underway. With an outstanding show of support and great effort from the candidates from all regions, we hope to have it up and running before the year is over. My hope, as King, is to create a structural government in which every single one of you will become constituents and have your voices heard. I want you to bring forth your concerns without fear, in a peaceful way. I hope this will end the riots and disturbances that have become common. I hope this brings peace to us all.
“Now”—I paused and took a breath, my lips turning into a smile—“for the news that I’m sure you all tuned in for. I have another announcement to make. I have asked Adeline Bouchard to marry me and she has accepted my proposal.” I paused again, laughing when the seven reporters in the room erupted in cheers. “I asked a couple of months ago, but we wanted to keep it to ourselves for a little while before letting the world in on it. I hope you’ll respect that. That’s the only news I have for now. I’m going to let the reporters here ask questions while we’re live on television, which has never been done before. Please bear with me if this doesn’t go as expected.” I grinned at the camera before turning my attention to the first reporter. My mother was going to have my head for this, but I spoke about this with Pierre and Adeline, who agreed this was a good way to earn the people’s trust. Adeline, her mother, my mother, my brother, Pilar, Joslyn, Etienne, and Pierre were all in the room as I made the broadcast. Adeline had yet to come around to accepting her father back in her life, but she was working her way there slowly. He’d been apologizing to her the last couple of months and coming around more often, not solely on business.
“May we ask Adeline questions?” the reporter asked, catching me off guard.
“This is why doing this live may not be such a good idea.” I chuckled. “Adeline is off-limits, unless she says otherwise.”
“I’ll answer a few questions,” Adeline responded.
My head whipped in her direction. She was wearing a navy-blue knee-length dress that matched her ring perfectly and her hair was up in a low bun. She looked beautiful, but I couldn’t wait to mess up that hair and rip off that dress. As she walked over to me, Pierre grabbed a chair and placed it beside me. She took a seat and smiled at me before turning her attention to them.
“I must warn you that I have not been advised on how to do this, so I may not be a very good interviewee,” Adeline said to the reporter. “But I’ll try.”
All of the reporters laughed lightly.
“We’ll go easy on you,” one of the women in the back said.
“Go for it.” She straightened her posture. “I’m ready.”
“When did you meet the King?”
“That’s quite a story, actually.” Adeline blushed. “We met at a party right before I went off to college in the States. We hit it off right away, but didn’t see each other again until last summer.”
“Was it love at first sight?” another reporter asked.
“For me it was.” I set my hand on Adeline’s knee while I answered.
“He’s just saying that because he spilled juice on my favorite blouse earlier,” Adeline quipped with a wink.
The room laughed.
“Will you live here in Versailles?”
“Heavens, no,” Adeline said. “All of this opulence and open space will give anyone nightmares.”
“Not to mention the history,” a reporter added.
“Right. I’m not quite sure I want the ghosts of past kings to watch me while I’m in the bath,” Adeline said.
They laughed again.
“I know they’re ghosts, but I may have to kill them anyway.”
They laughed louder.
The entire interview went off without a hitch. When we’d answered enough questions, Pierre interrupted and told the reporters to wrap it up.