“That is not even important,” the queen said. “It is the lie that is an issue.”
“Your majesty, we have no excuse,” Colonel LeBlanc said.
“We need to take care of the annulment as soon as possible and restore the image of the royal family,” Bridgette said.
“I concur,” the queen said.
“That should be left to Macee and me to decide,” the prince said. “Besides, we still need to unveil the culprit,” he added. He was annoyed that Bridgette was rushing things along.
“This involves the whole royal family,” Bridgette said.
“I think we should find out if there is any truth to these stories first,” Princess Katherine said.
“Is Liane pregnant?” the queen asked.
“Yes, your majesty,” Colonel LeBlanc said.
“Is there some truth to Macee's past?”
“Absolutely not. She was a virgin before me and I can confirm that,” Prince Louis said. It was clear that he was angry as everyone looked at him. Bridgette raised her eyebrows. Macee looked down, as she couldn’t look at all those angry stares. Her only comfort was the tight hold the prince had on her hand.
“Well there is that,” Princess Katherine said.
“Besides, if Liane is pregnant, then let her be. What should it matter now?” Now that he was married to Macee, he could not picture being married to her sister. It was as if this was the way it was meant to be. Liane’s pregnancy was meaningless to him.
A maid walked in with Francesca who was holding a brown envelope. She looked furious. She curtsied and apologised for the intrusion but it was necessary as she had important information for the crown prince. She handed him the envelope.
“Could it not wait?” the queen asked her.
“I am afraid not, your majesty,” Francesca replied.
Prince Louis opened the envelope and took out the contents. He grew more and more angry as he read the file. He threw it down and banged his fist on the table. The queen gasped and placed her hand on her heart. “What is the matter?” she asked. Prince Louis looked at Bridgette.
“So all these leaked rumours were your doing?” he asked her. Bridgette's eyes flew open; she picked up the paperwork and read it.
As Francesca was trying to reveal the identity of the culprit, she ran into some roadblocks. The person had gone to great lengths to hide his or her identity.
“What?” The queen turned to look at her sister. That could not possibly be true.
“She made up rumours about my sister because she did not approve of her,” Francesca said.
“Macee is not suitable for this position,” Bridgette said.
“So you tarred her image and the image of the royal family to get what you want?” the king demanded.
“In addition, you leaked Liane's pregnancy instead of telling us,” the prince said. He was disappointed and disgusted by her.
“It is her family you need to direct your anger at,” Bridgette screamed. “They hid the pregnancy and lied about it.”
“I am disappointed in you, my own sister,” the queen said. She stood up and left the room.
“We will discuss this deception another day,” the king said as he dismissed the LeBlancs. The king left the room followed by Prince Louis, Macee and Katherine. Francesca was left in the room with Bridgette.
“How dare you!” Bridgette shouted at Francesca.
“No, how dare you try to ruin my family like this!” Francesca shouted back. Bridgette rose up from her seat and walked over to Francesca.
“You have no idea what you have done.”
“No, you have idea what you have done. The prince will probably have your head on a stick for drawing all this unwanted attention their way. Good luck with that,” Francesca replied as she turned on her heel and left the room.
Prince Louis and Macee went to the palace gardens, away from everyone. He stopped and looked at her. “I am sorry,” he said to her. He finally understood what she had gone through. She went from living a normal life to being a crown princess by force. Then she had her character tarred by his aunt. His family had turned her life upside down.
“For what?” Macee asked him.
“Because of my family, your life has been shaken up.”
“It's not your fault.”
“I played my part. I was the one who chose you to be my bride.” Macee could actually see that he felt bad. This was a new look for him. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest.
“If you had married Francesca, this might be happening to her instead. There is nothing you could have done to change it; your aunt was determined to cause trouble.”