Princess Adeline of Wales

Chapter Twelve: The Phone Call

20th of March 1998 - St Andrew's School, Pangbourne

Staring at her homework, Adeline grumbled to herself trying to work it out; she was really struggling and she hated Maths, she did not understand why she would need it and she wished she did not have to do it. 

She doubted very much that she would ever need to find X in her life and she wished that she could drop the subject; she would happily take extra Literature classes instead. 

Leaning back in her chair, Adeline glanced around her room wishing that Melissa or Oliver were here to help her; she hated that she had to do this alone but there was nothing she could do if her friends were busy. 

An idea formed in her head and she headed for the phone on the wall in her room, her father had said that she could call him anytime and he would help her with her homework. 

Right now, she was desperate and Adeline did not know what else to do; she was really struggling and she knew that they had talked about getting her a tutor to help her since she was struggling so much. 

Pressing the phone to her ear, Adeline dialled the number and waited for her father to answer; she hoped that she was not going to interrupt him while he was busy or was on his way out. 

"Hello?" said a voice on the end of the phone that she did not recognise, she had not expected anyone else to pick up her father's personal line and she was not sure what to say. 

The voice was female and Adeline felt her stomach drop, she wondered why this woman was answering her father's phone and it did not sound like his secretary who would have already recognised the number and got her father; she could not bring herself to even breathe a word. 

"Hello? Is there someone there?" the voice asked again, it made Adeline's heart break as it slowly dawned on her just who was on the other end of the phone and she slammed it down; she wasn't sure what she had been expecting. 

Of course, she knew that her father was still seeing Camilla but she had never thought that she would speak with her; guilt bubbling inside of her at the fact she had even spoken to Camilla. 

Staring at the phone, Adeline felt sick and she had no idea what to think about what had just happened; she wished that she could have known that it would happen so that she could have been prepared.

Her parents had not been together since she was five years old and she had known that her father was involved with another woman; there was no avoiding it but she had never thought she would speak to her on the phone. 

Adeline sat down on her bed as the phone rang, she did not dare answer it knowing who it would be and she could not bring herself to speak to them; she wondered if this was why her brothers had been so odd recently. 

Neither of them had said anything to warn her and Adeline could understand why, it was not something that any of them had talked about when their parents had separated. 

They had meet the men that their mother had dated but their father had always been more careful in that regard and Adeline had often forgotten that he was seeing someone. 

Sniffling she wiped the tears that started to fall, Adeline dreaded having to face her father now; she wished that she did not have to go home and face him when she had to face the fact, he was seeing someone. 

Adeline tried to think of what she knew about the woman that her father was seeing, she could not think of anything other than the rumours that she had heard at school. 

The woman had been part of the reason that her parents had divorced and Adeline was not sure how she felt about that; she knew how miserable both her parents had been while married.