The Royal Scandal | Prince William |

The Conversation

June 6, 2005

Elizabeth remembered Wallis Simpson in all her glamour and failure. Her petite figure wound so tightly in clothing Margaret and her used to wonder how she breathed. Wallis had the face of a bold woman, defiance and superiority cloaked her.

Jaclyn Webber... wasn't that.

The Queen was not quite sure what she expected of the girl. People shamelessly compared her to Wallis, calling her conniving but then in the same breath wrote her off to be a dim witted homely American.

As Jaclyn dropped into a respectful curtsy, one trained for the stage, mumbling a trembling "Your Majesty" Elizabeth remembered what Philip had told her. How William described her to his grandfather, and the boy didn't seem very far off.

Her eyes were rapturing seas looking over the queen in terror, and her long hair laid neatly in simple curls. It was hard to believe she had captured William's attention at all seeing how plain she was, like a girl designed to lie in the background. There was no denying she was pretty, but so many girls were pretty.

Why was this one worth so much more?

"I hope I'm not interrupting you, I was hoping we could talk."

"Not at all, please come in," Jaclyn said, snapping from her mind. Instead of The Queen though, a man in simple jeans and a sweatshirt stepped in, and Jaclyn nearly leapt out of her skin.

When he finished his sweep of the apartment and ducked back into the hall, Jaclyn felt foolish for gawking after him. She knew how these things worked, how many times had William's PO searched her dorm when they hung out all those years ago? It felt like a sign flashing reminding her that she wasn't in touch with his life as much as she would have thought. It was still unclear if that bothered her or not.

The Queen surveyed the room taking note of the lack of furniture and decor. There was a wide shelf that stretched across the side of the room, and it was stuffed full of what looked to be scrapbooks. The white wall above was stuffed with pictures. Some of Jaclyn with whom she assumed to be her french friends, others were most likely her roommates family portraits, but there were quite a few of Jaclyn's family.

Jaclyn just watched eyes wide and lips pressed tightly together as the woman made her way through the living room as if she lived there herself. There was nothing Jaclyn could do about it, not when she had so many questions she wanted answered.

Like why on earth was she there in the first place?!?

"Are you a fan of history?" The Queen's voice was even, no hints of disturbance or delight, and Jaclyn's heart plummeted. Her lip turned numb from where she bit into it, and she had to dig her heels into the ground to stop the tapping. The Queen's back was turned, her eyes scanning the book covers.

At first it was just her Harry Potter books, with a few classics like Little Women and Anne of Green Gables, but then there were her biographies...

Two on C.S. Lewis, Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, an examination of Mary I and Elizabeth I, different love stories throughout the monarchies history (Mary Tudor/Charles Brandon, Henry VIII/Anne Boleyn, William III/Mary II, Victoria/Albert) and worst of all there were several modern Windsor biographies.

"Yes, I... I love learning about history i-it was always my favorite subject... in school," she stuttered out.

The Queen moved her hands past the books. It may have seemed odd, but she needed to learn as much as she could about Jaclyn Webber. Anyone could pretend, put on an act of what a monarch would want, especially a performer. However, she could not hide who she was in her belongings. They told the story of the real Jaclyn Webber and who she was.