Josephine

𝓔𝓹𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓭𝓮 30: 𝓐 𝓒𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝓕𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼 𝓐𝓭𝓿𝓲𝓬𝓮

April 19, 1972

Word had just come from the front: Field Marshal Mackenzie had launched his long-anticipated offensive from the Detroit River. Using decoy assaults on Montreal, his troops are rushing into Ontario. Now that I had placed him in command of all forces in Canada, the war would be easier.

And also, I could try and kill the guilt that crept up and kept me down.

Our affair if you would call it that lasted little more than five minutes. William, oh my dear William had cut it off... for obvious reasons. We were both married, as estranged as mine was that didn't give me a right to be adulterous. Vittorio still hadn't tried fixing our relationship, and I was seriously considering annulling it. There was no point in remaining legally bound to someone who didn't care.

Right?

God, I'm just so confused. Vittorio was the first man I was in a romantic relationship with... did I make a mistake? I had been so smitten with Vittorio, that I had immediately fallen for his charms. Was the spark already gone after a year and a half? Almost two years?

I missed William Mackenzie so much, but I knew it was just an infatuation. Because my husband was never there I turned my emotions to someone else. But it was wrong! I knew it but I just can't contain my feelings for him. And I was mighty ashamed of myself.

Ring Ring! Ring Ring!

I was taken by surprise by my phone ringing.

Ring Ring! Ring Ring!

I reached forward and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Your majesty, Benjamin Conroy has arrived from Tejas," The voice on the other line said.

"Of course, I will be down momentarily," I replied.

I hung up the phone and practically bolted out of my office. Conroy had officially retired from the Guard and moved all the way to Tejas to live on the Gulf Coast. As much as I resented the decision, I understood it just as equally.

The man was seventy-five years old, had cancer for the past four and had been in remission for two. He had served in the Guard for fifty-five years. He deserves this, and at least he was willing to send letters and call every week. Despite the serious age gap, the man was my best friend, having been my bodyguard for as long as I can remember.

I rushed down the stairs, my footsteps echoing through the hall.

"Your majesty!" I heard Conroy exclaim.

I stopped cold, and a grin opened up across my face.

"Conroy, it is so good to see in flesh and blood again," I said.

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Definitely, it is great to be back in the palace, especially to visit you, your majesty," He replied.

"Please Conroy, you are no longer entitled to address me like that. Please, use my birth name,"

"If you request Josephine, so do you have any coffee? I am exhausted from the flight here, and jet lag is, for a lack of better terms, a bitch," Conroy said.

I chuckled softly, never tired of his dry cut and sarcastic humor.

"Of course Conroy, I have a coffee pot in my bedroom," I responded to him.

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"Oh god, I forgot just how incredible the coffee in the palace is!" Conroy groaned as he sipped a mug of steaming coffee.