Chapter 20
Her Majesty was having a very busy year and another overseas tour was due to start the next week. She and her husband would visit several African countries and some islands off the African coast using the royal yacht to island hop and entertain local dignitaries. At the last minute they asked Crystal to join them, her grandmother explaining,
'We feel you would benefit from the trip dear, it's only ten days; part of it is during the break so you won't miss many lectures.'
In her new mood of compliance it didn't occur to Crystal to argue or ask why she was being included so late in the preparations; it wouldn't have done any good in any case. It would be a scramble to get ready but Constance's team went into action immediately preparing the clothes and accessories she'd need for ten days in the paparazzi spotlight.
Jeff received the news just before Crystal did and went into overdrive, working with Her Majesty's detail to co-ordinate the security for the trip. East Africa was considered high risk, anything involving the yacht anywhere near the Somali coast, extremely high risk. But the risks had been weighed and with a two destroyer escort and aircraft surveillance from the mainland it was considered by his betters that the risk of using the yacht was manageable.
He was distracted by the preparations and the daily journeys to and from the campus were as direct and short as he could make them. He and Crystal hardly spoke, which was a pity because she had something to tell him.
Because of the imminent trip her outings with Brendan were fewer and then stopped altogether. Archie and Terri could have told Jeff, who wondered for a moment at the sudden change, why, but of course he didn't ask.
The recent atmosphere of calm had suited Archie and Terri. Although they'd enjoyed their part in exposing Prentiss and Simpson and the excitement it caused, a little peace and quite was nice.
The period before Crystal's declaration to Jeff had been just so. She came in after university, changed her clothes and went out again, humming. It was a happy time in the bedroom; everyone was enjoying her recovery and new lease on life.
In stark contrast the afternoon of the declaration, as it came to be known in the room, and the days that followed were not.
First there was the breaking of the china by Crystal. She snatched a tea tray from Jessie and flung it against the wall. Then there was the furious telephone call to Brendan who thought he'd been struck by lightning. Crystal accused him of interfering in things that didn't concern him without offering any further explanation. Then there was the ripping up of her diary which she had begun only recently, a daily account of her rather chaste relationship with Brendan.
When she recovered from her tirade she took herself to her grandmother's sitting room and sat. What she was waiting for she didn't know, her grandmother wouldn't return that night; she was away visiting something or other. Worn out with her anger Crystal calmed down and started to think.
'I didn't get the reaction I wanted, that's the trouble. "Fuck Brendan" can mean anything. It doesn't mean he cares about me. It probably means he'll do whatever he wants. I've completely misunderstood him, he's just doing his job, nothing more.'
The tears that followed that night were absorbed by her poor pillow which hated it when she cried and it became soggy. Powerless to help it lay under her streaming face and sighed,
'Oh dear, I'm so glad I'm not young any more.' His better half, which lived on the other side of the bed, agreed,
'So tiring to be young.'
Archie and Terri were more sympathetic but unable to help. They lay on the bathroom shelf and whispered to each other so as not to wake the mirror, but finally fell asleep while Crystal continued to sob into the early hours. In the morning she seemed to pull herself together and went out determined to ignore Jeff but one look at him sitting waiting for her in the car undid all her resolve.
When she'd spoken yesterday she hadn't realised she wanted him to declare himself, say she was his, not Brendan's, now she did. She wanted to tell him how she felt but held back, fearing he didn't want her. It was rather like being hit by a truck: the realisation that she loved him and couldn't have him left her with nowhere to go. She had to just accept it.
Love doesn't just come, it takes you over. We don't choose who we love, we just fall into it. There's no point in resisting, surrender is the only option. Hopeless or not, in love one is. Crystal knew all that in an instant. As a result the next week was a nightmare for her, being near him at least twice a day and unable to penetrate the frosty crust he wore like a coat. She missed the closeness, the intimacy of being with him, but he shut her out very effectively. Jeff just didn't know what to do.
It was Crystal's grandfather who brought things to a head. A no nonsense man who remembered what is was to be in love, he could see what was going on. Whenever he saw Crystal and Jeff in the same room sparks seemed to fly. Their attraction to each other was obvious to him.
'What are they waiting for?' he asked himself.
Finally, the night before they were to fly out and join the yacht he sent for Jeff who was staying in the Palace overnight because of their very early start in the morning. Jeff came in and was offered a seat and given a large whiskey.
'It's Jeff, isn't it?'
'Yes sir.' Jeff was as uncomfortable as he'd ever been. The beauty of the panelled room and its dancing fire were lost on him as he looked at Crystal's grandfather who was undoubtedly annoyed with him.
'What have I done now?' he asked himself.
'I want to tell you a story young man and at the end of it I hope you'll reconsider your position.'
'My position, sir?'
'Yes, in relation to my granddaughter. You love her, don't you?'
Jeff's face drained of colour and he felt a sinking in his stomach. He couldn't speak as Crystal's grandfather said,
'Perhaps some of the whiskey will help.'
Jeff looked at the glass and drank of half of it. He felt it warm him but it didn't really help.
'Did he love Crystal? He'd thought about little else for days. He'd also been thinking about how you marry the very rich granddaughter of the Queen when you're just a young copper. The Prince said,
'Well to my story. When I was a young man I came from a good family but we were not rich. We were connected and I moved in some good circles but the money thing was always an issue. I didn't have enough to offer anyone a comfortable home, particularly someone like my wife. That was my view anyway. When I met my wife I fell for her within minutes but it was out of the question, I was poor, she was rich and would be a queen. She needed someone else; someone of her station. So I did nothing.'
Jeff remained silent, taking in the story, part of which was already public knowledge.
'A number of years passed and I went out with other women but it was just filling in the hours; I felt empty when I was with them and, as I'm able to admit now, lonely.'
He took a sip of his drink and sat down opposite Jeff. He stretched his long legs out to the fire and leant back in his chair.
'My wife finally proposed to me. It was terribly embarrassing at the time but I am so grateful to her now. She knew as I did not that I had to swallow my pride and let her look after the money. It's frightening to think that but for her good sense we might have wasted our lives married to other people. Regret lasts a lifetime Jeff; I hope you don't have to live with it.'
Jeff finished the drink in one gulp and asked,
'Could I have another sir?' He was given a couple more over the next hour as they talked about making a life with a royal.
'At least she won't be queen,' Jeff said at one point.
'No, our son will, God help us.'
When Jeff left with a slap on his back and a firm handshake he'd never been more grateful to anyone in his life. All he had to do now was try and mend his relationship with Crystal while on a public tour to Africa with the Queen, her consort and an entourage of about a hundred people.
'Nothing to it,' he said.
Cr
ystal's grandfather didn't tell him that was exactly why they were taking Crystal on the tour. Surely they could work that much out for themselves.