The Royal Romance - You Can't Uneat The Apple

Wish you were here

"How I wish how I wish you were here

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year"

                            Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

***

"Queen Jen and her unborn child remain in good health after a minor road accident in Lythikos," Jen read aloud from the statement that Madeleine had just presented to her with a smug smile. "She thanks everyone for their concern and kind wishes. As a precaution, she will not be making any further public engagements until the Last Apple Ball in three weeks time." She looked up at Madeleine, who was standing by the door of her private office. "You put this out to the press before asking me?"

"I cleared it with your husband first," Madeleine sneered. "Who seemed more than happy with the suggestion. You know you put yourself at risk, gallivanting around the country unnecessarily in your condition."

"I had Bastien and Mara with me," Jen pointed out, screwing the statement into a ball and throwing it back at Madeleine, who irritatingly caught it with one hand. "It was just a freak accident, and it wouldn't have happened at all if it hadn't been for those stupid journalists who are out to get Rick because of his foreign policy."

Madeleine sighed. "Precisely why it was so important that your attendance at this event remained secret. Your oh-so-public support for the son of Rick's biggest critic was always going to attract their attention.."

Jen huffed. "Ugh, I would never support Barthelemy Beaumont. I don't even like him. Just because Maxwell is my best friend doesn't mean..."

Madeleine rolled her eyes. "Best friend? Please. I've never seen best friends quite as chummy as you two were in that hotel corridor."

Jen inhaled sharply, feeling her anger flare up at this impossible woman. "Did you say anything to Rick about that? On our anniversary?"

"Hmmm. No. I don't think I did... Anyway, you should be relieved. Have you seen the story in the Daily Apple about your accident? They seem to have nominated another passenger as your lover."

Her defences kicked in before her confusion did. "He is not... ugh.. what? And who?"

Madeleine nodded towards the second newspaper in the pile on Jen's desk. It was a tabloid, screaming out the headline QUEEN JEN'S DIANA CRASH!!

"Oh.." There was a picture of her in the limo, just after she'd got into it, between Maxwell and Mara. Her gaze inevitably lingered on Maxwell's precious image for a moment, then she flipped the pages to see the main article inside the newspaper.

"Nice little who's who in there. You're obviously Diana. Then you have the driver, a comparison between Henri Paul and Bastien. Good job Bastien hadn't been drinking. The bodyguard, so here Mara gets a mention as compared to Trevor Rees-Jones, the only survivor, I seem to recall, of the Paris incident. But your Dodi? Of course the real Dodi was a film producer, so the fact that they've gone for Drake Walker is both ironic and.. convenient."

Jen sighed. "I guess they would think that. There wasn't any real reason for Drake to be there."

"Well, you're lucky he was. Rick found the whole article hilarious, by the way. Not sure he would've had the tabloids cast Beaumont as your rumoured paramour." She walked towards Jen and snatched the paper out of her hands. "I just hope you realise now what you're dealing with. This is what happens when you don't take my advice. You need to stay out of trouble, and the papers."