Playing the Royal Game

‘Morning, Zoe!’ He’d called her Zoe, and he must have realised his mistake, for quickly he moved to correct it. ‘Oh, sorry, I mean...’

‘Zoe’s fine—’ she smiled ‘—at least when it’s just us, but when there are others around...’

‘I’ll remember that.’ He gave her a very nice smile; in fact, she wasn’t quite sure, but did Bobby Jackson just wink? Suddenly the queen was acutely aware that she was dressed in her nightdress, albeit with a heavy silk dressing gown on top. Still, he was wearing very little too—shorts and a vest, really—but the queen had far too many manners to even blink.

‘Would you like to join me for some tea?’

Bobby didn’t hesitate; after all, he was incredibly thirsty! ‘I’d love to.’

He glanced over her shoulder, perhaps expecting the king to appear. ‘Out walking, is he?’

‘I’m not sure,’ she answered, and Zoe, unusually, found herself flushing a little—a touch embarrassed that it was perhaps obvious she slept alone. Bobby frowned and then she was suddenly terribly aware of her attire, because the frown and the look he gave her were more akin to disbelief than pity, more a look that Zoe was terribly, terribly unused to. Oh, there was nothing improper—well, not really; his frown seemed to say he had no idea why the king would leave her alone, and it brought a fire to her cheeks and a slight shake to her hand as she sipped her tea while the butler brought over another cup.

‘Did you enjoy last night?’ Zoe enquired.

‘I can’t remember it yet,’ Bobby answered, and he started to laugh. After a brief moment Zoe found herself laughing too, though it faded when he continued. ‘I don’t think my speech went down too well. I didn’t even get to finish....’

‘We’re not really used to impromptu speeches.’

‘You wait till you come to ours,’ Bobby said, and then he glanced up. ‘I’m sorry—’ he blew out a breath ‘—it’s a bit awkward, isn’t it? I mean, you try to get on with the in-laws, but...’ He grinned at the thought of Her Majesty in his mock-Tudor home. ‘We’ll work it out.’

‘I’m sure we shall,’ the queen said, though privately she doubted the wedding would even happen. She had seen the stars in Allegra’s eyes, but whether it was parental instinct or just years living a life void of emotion, something told her that there was more to this engagement than even Bobby knew—maybe Allegra even—for her son was not one to be guided by his heart. There was more going on and she knew it. Still, sipping tea that morning was bizarrely the high point of the party for Zoe—Bobby Jackson was perceptive and funny and really quite charming, and at times surprisingly pensive too.

‘Allegra gets on with her stepmother?’ The queen had approached the complicated subject of Allegra’s rather extended family.

‘She does.’

‘And you still get on with your first wife?’ Zoe’s voice was just a little strained; perhaps she was being impolite asking, but it just intrigued her so, that a man could bring his current wife and his ex-wife to a party, and from the way Bobby behaved with Julie, well, she was quite sure they were still lovers.

‘Julie’s golden.’

‘I see.’ Zoe frowned. ‘And the other boy...’ She blushed because she was fishing, but she’d seen him with Anna, and it was such bliss to gossip. It had been so very long since she had. ‘Leonard?’

‘You mean Leo,’ Bobby corrected. ‘The one making eyes at your son’s ex?’

The queen hardly recognised the sound of her own laughter. ‘A man that takes notice! So...’ She had long ago waved away the butler and it was Zoe that poured more tea. ‘Leo’s from your first marriage?’

‘Er, no...’ She heard his cup rattle as he replaced it in the saucer. ‘His mother’s name was Lucinda—she was a lover of mine.’

‘Oh.’

‘She’s passed away,’ Bobby explained. ‘Leo’s been with me ever since. It took me a while to come to terms with it—I mean, I said that he wasn’t mine. She never disputed it, so I assumed I was right. It turns out that she did a DNA test. I should have been there for Leo....’