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“Thank you for having me,” Alexandra said a bit quietly. “My grandmother sends her best regards.”
“Of course. Of course,” Mamma said. “Come, come, sit. How do you take your coffee.”
“As black as her heart,” I joked.
It was true. Alexandra took her coffee black, but I was also trying to get her to come out of her shell. She looked nervous.
“Be nice,” my father said to me.
Meanwhile, Alexandra snickered.
We settled in for coffee. Marie, whose English wasn’t the best, tried to engage with Alexandra. Alexandra was either ignorant or otherwise disinterested. It occurred to me I had little to go on knowing how my future wife would handle normal social situations. She struggled when confronted with a man hitting on her younger sister. She wasn’t sure how to read it. It hit me that this all might be overwhelming.
Alexandra did not lack manners. She was pure perfection but could be wooden in social situations. I knew she was capable of being funny and charming when she let her guard down, but she had little experience talking to outsiders and tended to freeze up.
Meanwhile, if she was reading the room’s vibes, she fed off how awkward this was. My brother was noticeably agitated. His wife was acting off. My parents were trying to make the best of it. It was not helping.
“I heard you called off Windsor,” Mikkel said. “Best season of your life and you called off Windsor! What a dumb idea!”
I shrugged. “Not a lot of time for polo when you’re about to get married. You know that.”
Truth was, I was disappointed about missing it but also wanted to save the family name. That required Alexandra and I to be open to speed bumps. She wanted to go, too. She desired a big international week away as much as I did—far from both of our families. And, selfishly, I thought if we’d managed it, things might have taken off.
“How are the wedding preparations… happening?”
Marie was nervous about her English.
“How are they going?” Alexandra asked, voice kind. “So far, we’re talking to dress designers. All my sisters are excited. We had a meeting with the bishop.”
That was awkward as hell. But, for the first time in my life, I could add celibacy to a list of held virtues. Although, I was struggling with that more than ever. Since the beginning of adulthood, I had sex quite regularly, never contemplating holding back. The more time we stole away, the more I prepared to lie to the bishop about being on good behaviour. While I feared Celeste’s wrath, Alexandra became more and more tempting. The fact that we hadn’t done much was odd but also made me want to do a lot more in a big way. Maybe there was truth to some things being worth the wait?
“You met with the bishop. Will you be converting?” Mikkel joked in our mother tongue.
“Look, it may be funny to you, but it must be done,” I replied in English. “And no. I don’t have to convert. We must go through this awful conference process. I don’t much care for it.”
“Neither of us does. A box to tick,” Alexandra said. “I loathe that.”
“You are not very religious?” Mikkel asked.
Alexandra shook her head. “Afraid not. Piety is a virtue beaten into our heads by my grandmother, but I find it tiresome. Anything that is reinforced primarily by guilt seems unfair.”
Her candour surprised me. It was also kind of hot. I loved off-the-cuff Alexandra. Whenever she came out to play, I encourage it. I squeezed her knee to let her know I concurred. She met my gaze with a devious smile.
Mamma changed the subject. “If we can be of any assistance with the planning, please let us know. We are very excited for the wedding, Your Majesty. I am sure you have things under control. I also remember being a royal bride and the extreme pressure.”
“It is very much,” Marie said.
“It’s not without stress. The good news is, as a monarch, you sort of do what you want. And please, call me Alexandra.”
It was partially true and partially not. I suspected we would cross bridges that Celeste would fight us on. We hadn’t hit an issue she much cared about yet. I was surprised we hadn’t gotten more pushback. It made me wonder what the old bitch was up to.
“Well, we are happy to have you with us,” Pappa said. “Alexandra, we have put you in the apartment directly next to us. If you need anything?—”
“She will not be coming back to Blauhus with me?” I asked.
“The request made by the Palace—the official demand—was the Queen must be stationed here for security reasons,” Pappa answered.
I assumed we’d have a bit of an awkward first evening together sharing a bed before things got off to a roaring start. Since Alexandra couldn’t keep her hands off me, I wanted to get the show on the road. She was ready, but my plans were thwarted.
