Page 20 of Falling for the Widowed Prince

Madeleine turned to see Prince Anthony walking in. He came to stand next to her, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans.

"You've met my kids, spent a little bit of time with them. I know it's not remotely fair to you, or any of us, but have you made a decision?"

She had so many questions about logistics, how things would work, and started to ask them, but when her mouth opened only one word came out.

"Yes."

After Ms. Woodw...no, Madeleine. She'd insisted that, if they were going to be married, he needed to use her given name. She'd also informed him that afterward, she would take his last name rather than hyphenated with the Armstrong name like he'd used since his marriage and which his children would use whenever they needed a last name outside of the royal world.

Anthony shook himself. Since she left, he'd spent most of his time staring at the lights of the city and the bay that could be seen from this particular window. How was he going to tell his children? The people would be easy, though they'd have to work on exactly how and when and the precise wording of the announcement so they understood why he was marrying so soon after the death of his wife. Their opinions would vary wildly, but he believed that, overall, they'd be supportive.

His little family would be different. Neither of their maternal grandparents still lived, and his parents had long since moved to Southern Santiero for his mother's health. They would understand, but wouldn't be around to assist. They hadn't made the funeral service, sending their regrets that his mum was unable to travel. Even with the offer of the royal jet, the cold would be too much for her. Every summer they visited for several weeks, but they wouldn't make it back to Eastern Novigradia until at least June. Whenever official business required them to travel to his parents' adopted home, they took the children with them, but it was, at most, once a year.

Even Nessa, who felt her mother's loss the most vocally, was enamored with Ms. Woodw... Madeleine by the time she left to go back to her suite. He'd asked the nannies to get the childrenready for bed then went to tuck them in. Since she'd agreed to marry him, he asked Madeleine to go with him.

Nessa and Issy currently shared a room - by choice. While he sat with Issy for a few minutes, Madeleine had perched on the edge of Nessa's bed, talking quietly with her. He didn't know what she said, but Nessa hugged her when it was her turn to be tucked in.

The next morning, he waited in his own office for the Prime Minister and the 18th Duke of Lancheshire to arrive. He'd asked Madeleine's professor friend to be the one to explain what they'd found. Madeleine couldn’t be part of the process, and she couldn't be the one to make the presentations.

Once all of them had arrived, Anthony, the Prime Minister, Duke of Lancheshire, and Maxwell took places around the conference table with a telly hanging on the wall next to the professor.

The professor proceeded to walk all of them through the details of what they'd found in the letter, book, and other documents that made more sense once they knew what to look for. All of them listened intently, asking only for a couple of clarifications until the presentation ended.

"Let me make sure I understand," the Prime Minister said. "The royal lineage as we know it isn't accurate because they erased the real King Gilead I from history. Only this book mentions him in detail. The other sources refer to him more obliquely. The references in those sources have never been quite clear to historians until this new information came to the surface."

"Correct." The professor hesitated and glanced at Anthony who nodded slightly. "There's also information to suggest that the king we've always believed to be King Gilead I was assassinated. That bit of knowledge isn't relevant to why we're here today, but now that it's come to light, it will be released tothe public within the next six months at the latest. Statute says there's a bit of time to fit the information into what we already know before copies are published and the original is available to researchers, in controlled conditions under the oversight of the Royal Historian."

The duke looked at Anthony, his eyes shifting slightly. "Why isn't the Royal Historian giving this presentation? I understood she was one of the best. Shouldn't she be here?"

"The prince and Ms. Woodward thought it best for an outside source to confirm the information. In fact, myself and two other historians were with Ms. Woodward when the relevant portions of the book were read for the first time. Once she read the table of contents and showed them to the prince, they wanted others to be a part of the process."

"Is there proof that Ms. Woodward or anyone else didn't doctor the book?" the Prime Minister asked. He sounded more curious and cautious than suspicious like the duke.

"Everything in the archives is recorded," Anthony told him. "There's not even a bathroom in there so absolutely everything is recorded from multiple angles. From the time the book was brought to the palace, it's been visible to surveillance at all times."

"Good." The Prime Minister swiveled in his chair to face Anthony. "I have my suspicions about why you're having this meeting, but I don't want to be presumptuous. Can you tell us the real-world implications of this information?"

The duke narrowed his gaze as he looked expectantly at Anthony.

Anthony looked straight at him. "The real-world implications are that, if married, I am legally required to be my daughter's regent. Unless my choice of new spouse is objectionable for very specific reasons, the proposal cannot be denied by either of you."

"The Letters Patent doesn't say anything about a prince consort," the duke pointed out.

"No, it doesn't," Anthony admitted.

The professor jumped in. "If you read it closely, there's no reference to gender or other reason to believe it only applied to a queen consort. We've searched for anything that supersedes it, but there is nothing."

"You're going to get married? So soon after your wife's death? The wife you've always said was the love of your life?" The duke's icy tone surprised Anthony. He knew the man would be harder to get on board than the Prime Minister, but he hadn't expected open hostility.

"Yes." He leaned back in his chair, doing his best to project an air of confidence and ease he wasn't certain he felt. "As soon as arrangements can be made."

"Who?" The Prime Minister's voice was tentatively optimistic.

Anthony nodded at Maxwell who stood and went to a side door, motioning to the person waiting there. A second later, she entered.

He stood and reached out a hand.

Madeleine took it and came to stand at his side.

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