𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛. ʙʀɪᴛɪsʜ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ

33 ♔♕ 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀

"It won't ruin it." His reply was firm, fully believing in what he was saying, "it won't ruin it at all Bell, this is what I want okay, I want you and I don't care if we have to sit in meeting after meeting just so that I can take you out to dinner, this is what I want... I love you, and having to deal with the circus isn't going to change that."

"You love me?"

Alex hadn't realised he had said it.

He hadn't realised. It was so natural. It felt like such a natural thing to say, like he had been saying it all his life. But it was true. It was so unbelievably true.

She consumed his thoughts. Constantly. All he wanted was her to be happy, to be loved. And he did. He did love her.

With every fibre of his being he loved her.

"Yes," he smiled back, "of course I do... I think I've loved you ever since you got me to move your sunbed for you."

Bella laughed at that. It was like music to his ears.

"Good," she grinned, reaching up on her tiptoes so she was closer to his face, "because I love you too."

"You do." He smiled, slowly lowering his own face to close the gap.

"Mhm," she nodded, closing her eyes as he leaned in, "I love you."

♔♕

"Can you cook?"

"Yeah course I can," Bella replied, pushing herself up onto her elbow so she was looking down at Alex, "I've been taught about basic survival skills in case I ever get kidnapped and I manage to escape."

"Well you wouldn't last very long if what you cooked me that time is the full extent of your skills."

"Oh shut up." She exclaimed, slapping his chest lightly as he laughed, "that was once and you said it was very nice."

"Sorry you'll have to remind when I said that, was it before or after I was violently sick?"

Ignoring the sound of Alex's laughter increasing, Bella continued to protest her innocence, "you were only bloody sick because you ate the curry that you found in the fridge, the one I told you not to eat."

"Yes darling whatever you say."

Falling back onto the bed with a huff, a smile grew on her face as Alex snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"I've been thinking -"

"Steady on."

He received another light slap at that, the laughter that he had just got under control starting up again. "Shut up," she chuckled before taking a deep breath to continue with what she had been saying, "I've been thinking, maybe it is time we told some more people."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Bella smiled, "I mean I'm not quite ready for my brothers to know, or pa... but maybe Zara, and possibly Anne... maybe even Camilla, then she could slowly introduce the idea to pa."

"I think she'd have to do it very slowly." Alex grinned back, "you are his only daughter after all... bloody hell it took my dad six months to get used to the idea of Tommy and he's got four of them, I think he's only just started to like him and they've been married a year."

"Oh god, we might have to start with pa now then... you know, he likes you now, but knowing that we're together," she shook her head, blowing out a long breath as she thought, "I think you'll have to get used to one less christmas present for the time being."

"Don't worry, I can manage, you're completely worth missing out on the Christmas card for."

"That's good to know."

"You know," Alex began, "I'll bet you a fiver that Anne already knows, and a tenner that Camilla has guessed."

"Oh you're on," Bella grinned back, extending her hand out to him so they could shake on it, "there's no way they know... I am a very good actor," ignoring the laugh that escaped from him at that, she continued, "what about Z though?"

"Oh Zara definitely knows."

♔♕

"Of course I know."

There was no way for Bella to hide her disappointment as her cousin spoke the words. The two of them had joined the family for a walk around the grounds of Sandringham and, as usual, everyone had gone off into separate groups and were now all walking in completely different directions.

"Really?" She pressed, "are you sure that Alex hasn't rang you and told you, I can see him doing that just so he'd win."

"You bet on it?" Zara asked with a chuckle, "no Bell he did not ring me... it's just, so obvious."

"How?"

"You're smiling, constantly... it's actually quite annoying."

"Good." Bella quipped back, sticking her tongue out at her cousin who just laughed back at her, "it's your just deserts, you used to smile all the time when you and Mike got together."

♔♕

"Ooh Camilla!" Bella exclaimed, rushing over to pull her to one side as they headed into lunch, "glad I've caught you."

"I was just going to have lunch," she began to protest as Bella shepherded her away.

"Yes well, it's just a quick question but I don't want the others to here...they're all worse gossips than Cindy Adams."

Pulling her further away from the door that led to the dining room, Bella leaned in, lowering her voice as she asked, "how much warning do you think pa needs if I'm going to tell him I have a boyfriend, I just wouldn't want to give him a heart attack and then ruin things for William."

♔♕

𝗔/𝗡: 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀! 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗶 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘁!