A Princess of Wales

Chapter Five: Crumbling

23rd of October 1991 - Kensington Palace

Adeline rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she woke up in her dark bedroom, confused as to what had woken her up and she pushed back the bed covers before carefully climbing out of her bed. 

It was her big girl bed that her mummy said she had to sleep in now because she was nearly five years old and that's what big girl's did according to her mummy. 

Toddling over to the bedroom door, Adeline stood on her tippy toes to reach the handle which allowed her to pull open her bedroom door and peer out into the darkened corridor. 

Reaching the stairs, Adeline held the banister as best she could before making her way down the stairs slowly; the light in the living room was on and she was sure she could hear her mummy talking in a low voice. 

"Please Oliver call me back, it's urgent. I must speak with you tonight," Diana pleaded down the phone, the handset was pressed against her ear by both of her hands as she begged the voicemail. 

A glass of her favourite wine was seated on the coffee table next to the arm chair that she was curled up in along with the half drunk bottle that she had brought with her from the kitchen. 

Placing the handset back into it's holder, Diana was silent for a moment with her eyes locked on the phone waiting desperately for it to ring.

After another moment, she quickly picked it up again and dialled the number that she had already rang three times to the same result each time. 

Diana put the phone back to her ear and listened to it ring, her desperation and anger growing with each ring before it went straight back to the voicemail again. 

"Are you with her? How could you do this to me? You know how lonely I am here and I have to spend the next two wretched days with that man and his family. I need you to call me, I can't do this without you," Diana ranted furiously, tears burning her eyes as she failed to notice the small figure that was now making her way into the living room. 

Surely Oliver knew how much he meant to her, she had made that more than clear when she'd welcomed him into her bed; how could he ignore her, Diana Spencer for his own wife when he had whispered sweet nothings to her. 

"Mummy," Adeline called rubbing her tired eyes, she was thirsty and wanted some milk from the kitchen which she knew that she wasn't allowed to get by herself. 

Diana jumped at the voice, slamming down the phone and whirling around to face her daughter; her face red as she clutched at the arm of the chair. 

"What are you doing up?" Diana demanded harsher than she should have, she had not expected any of her children to be awake when she made those phone calls; fear gripping her about how much Adeline might have heard. 

The last thing that she needed was her daughter knowing what she did in her spare time, she had done her best to hide her unhappiness from her children in the matter of her ill matched marriage. 

"I wanted a dwink," Adeline mumbled, her bottom lip shaking and her eyes filling with tears at how angry her mother looked; she hadn't meant to scare her, she just wanted a drink. 

Her tiny hands fisted the night gown that she was dressed in, shaking slightly as her mummy stared at her with a look on her face. 

After what felt like forever, Diana moved wrapping her daughter up in her arms and pressing a kiss to the top of Adeline's head. 

"Mummy's sorry baby. She didn't mean to snap," Diana apologised closing her eyes, she knew that drinking this time of night wasn't the best thing to do; she hated being alone in the apartments that she and Charles called home in London.