The Royal Heir - The Valtoria Diaries 2

The headquarters of the Cordonian Sweater Vest Enthusiasts Club

The March meeting of Cordonia's Royal Council was held two weeks later at the palace, and the hot topic was the bold approaches that had been made by Bradshaw, Isabella, and Amalas at the ball. Whilst nothing was officially decided by the Council, it was clear that they were in agreement with the initial responses that had been made in Valtoria; and while certain Council members (Godfrey, Olivia) were now calling for the mobilisation of Cordonia's troops ahead of any potential military action, the others were content to wait and see what their neighbouring royals' next moves would be.

The secondary matter in hand was the fact that the press would still not leave Jen and Maxwell alone. Admittedly, the timing of the general release of Maxwell's book had not been great. It was selling well beyond the publisher's expectations, and knowing how interested the public were in their love story so far, the media were clearly taking it upon themselves to continue it on their own terms.

Reporters would follow them around every time they left the grounds of Valtoria, showering them with questions, meaning a stop to any trips into town, much to Maxwell's distress as he'd had to abandon his Zumba classes for the time being. The tabloids and magazines continuously ran features about what Jen and Maxwell's children might look like, what they might call them, and whether they'd make good parents. Luckily most of these articles had come out in their favour so far, but it was still disturbing, especially when they had delved back to speculate on the relationships that Jen and Maxwell might have had with their own parents.

"This is why I think it would do us good just to get out of the country for a little while," Jen explained. "So we've decided, next week, we're heading out to New York, spending a few days there, then we're going to travel over to Texas for Bertrand and Savannah's wedding."

She glanced at Maxwell happily, seeing the excitement in his eyes as he spoke. "My own big brother, finally getting married.. sometimes thinking about it makes me so happy I could cry..."

"You have been crying," groaned Drake. "On me."

Maxwell pretended not to hear Drake as he grinned back at Jen. "Bertrand's wedding better be almost as awesome as ours."

Madeleine huffed. "You think the press won't hound you in America too?"

"Hopefully not," Jen said. "Assuming nobody tips them off as to our whereabouts."

"I intend to join Jen and Maxwell for the first few days of the excursion," Rick said. "I will then return to America for Bertrand and Savannah's wedding a few weeks later."

"You'll miss a council meeting," Madeleine said with a frown in Jen's direction.

"We'll dial in to it," Jen assured her. "As long as you don't have it too early in the morning."

"I think it's a good idea," Landon pointed out.

"Moi aussi," Kiara piped up. "The last thing you two need is more stress, no? A romantic trip for two sounds good." She glanced at Drake for a second, then looked away.

"Well, not exactly. Hana's coming with us," Maxwell said.

Madeleine looked happier. "Thank you, Hana. Someone needs to make sure those two don't make a complete embarrassment of Cordonia when left to their own devices in a foreign country."

Jen glared at Madeleine. "Hey, that's my country, remember?"

"Then all is agreed," Rick said. "And hopefully on their return, they will have some happy news to share."