How she became The Queen of Scotland

Chapter 4

"Why would the Queen want me there for this meeting?"
"To be honest, Maddie, I don't know. This is a first for all of us." William kept his eyes on the road while answering Maddie who sat in the back of the car.
"I hope the black windows are enough to shield you, Maddie. The very last thing we need is the press running wild now."
"Darling I am afraid that will happen one way or another." William rested one hand on his wife's leg. None of them knew what to expect.
"I think William is right. But still, it would be nice to have a few more hours of piece and quiet before hell will break loose. My parents are so worried about me already. The only thing that could convince them not to board the next plane was the promise that I go and visit them as soon as all of this is over."
"Why wouldn't you want them to come?" Kate turned around in the passenger seat to look at Maddie properly.
"I don't want them to get messed up in all of this. I know what I signed up for becoming a part of your family, but this was my decision and mine alone. My parents are private people and want to remain as such as far as possible. So having them here now would practically be a suicide to their private life."
"Hm I remember my parents saying something similar before we got married."
"The only difference being that your parents have a fenced property to live in which is completely shielded from the public."
"Yes I suppose that's true."
"Ladies, I don't mean to interrupt but there are dozens of photographers outside the palace. If we want to shield Maddie, you have to look outside the front shield now, darling."
Kate turned immediately. The very last thing she wanted was to add anything to Maddie's chest.
The guardsmen opened the gate as soon as the black van approached it.
At the palace entrance one of the servants was already waiting for their arrival.
"Good Morning, Your Royal Highnesses, Miss Bach." He bowed his head before extending his hand towards the door. "If you would like to follow me please."
William, Kate and Maddie were lead up the Grand Staircase.
Maddie was still in awe every time she walked up these stairs. Even though she had been to Buckingham Palace a couple of times at this point she still got star struck by its pomp and glory.
The palace servant stopped in front of the Blue Drawing Room and politely knocked on the door.
Opening it he stepped inside announcing "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Miss Bach."
He bowed his head towards Charles before stepping to the side to let William, Kate and Maddie pass him.
Maddie waited for William and Kate to greet Charles and Camilla, before approaching them and greeting them with a kiss on the cheek and a courtesy herself.
"My dear Maddie, I am so sorry." Camilla pulled Maddie in a comforting hug right away.
"Thank you, Camilla." Maddie tried to avoid looking directly at her, so she could keep her posture and stop herself from dwelling up with tears.
"I know it doesn't change anything you are feeling right now, my dear, but we want you to know how fond we are of you. Both of us."
"Actually it means quite a lot. Thank you." This time Maddie gave Camilla a hug, before the two led go of each other.
William had approached his father. "Do you have any clue what this is about, Pa?"
"No, I'm sorry to say I'm just as clueless as the rest of you. Harry asked me to get Mummy onboard to help and see to it that Maddie gets out of this okay. But that's all I'm in on so far. I did call Mummy right after Harry left my office yesterday and she agreed on helping straight away. Not that I was surprised. She has grown very fond of Maddie. We all have." With his last words he looked over to Maddie who was standing closely together with Kate and his wife.
"What do you make of this whole... Well I'm looking for a better word than disaster." Charles turned back to his son.
"I haven't quite made my mind up yet to be honest. I mean if Harry isn't sure about his love for Maddie he did the right thing but I wonder what befell him to think that in the first place. Just three days ago both of them were sitting in our garden having tea and everything was just perfect. Maddie and Kate were going on about the wedding while Henry was just as love struck as he was when he first told me about her. There wasn't the slightest doubt about the wedding let alone the marriage. He was so sure. I mean he was talking about his dream of becoming a father soon. Looking to Maddie he said that he is the luckiest man on earth to have that gorgeous woman to be his partner in crime for this journey for goodness sake."
"Do you know if he will be here today?"
"No, I only know that he has been invited as well. But I hope for Maddie's sake he wont be. She deserves better than this."
"Agreed. She is such a wonderful person. The last and to be honest only woman whom I ever thought so positively about to join our family is Kate and..."
The doors were opened again and another palace servant entered announcing the arrival of The Queen.
"Her Majesty The Queen."
The Queen entered the room followed by her private secretary.
The women turned towards her curtsying while William and Charles bowed their heads, before everyone approached her personally to greet her with a kiss on the cheek and a bow or curtsy.
Maddie was the last person to approach and greet her. After curtsying the Queen grabbed her hands holding them tight for a few seconds. "I am so sorry, my dear."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The unexpected kind words made Maddie choke for a second. She didn't want to cry here. In Buckingham Palace. In front of the Queen.
"Please everyone take a seat."
The Queen made a small gesture pointing to the round table that had been set up in the middle of the room. Her private secretary had set a file in front of every seat, before leaving the room.
After everyone had taken their seats Maddie noticed that one chair was empty. That could only mean one thing. And she had hoped so much to avoid him.
"Good morning again everybody and thank you very much for coming here on such short notice. I think we all know why we are here this morning. My private secretary has put a paper in front of you all with the details we have been able to agree on last night in the privy council I had called in. Before I start I want one thing to be quite clear." She turned to Maddie who was sitting next to Kate. "My dear Madeleine this is about your future and yours alone. Whatever will be decided here will affect you for the rest of your life. A decision one should not take lightly. Never the less I want you to know that the decision is all yours. What has been agreed in this paper is a formal offer to you. We are all here to help, advise and guide you."
"Thank you very much, M'am. I am grateful for everything all of you have done for me. Right now and in the past months and years."
"Very well, let's get started then. I would like to start with a summary of the paper before you all will be given time to read the details in full. The paper states possibles options for the public announcement that will have to be made as well as a possible future for Miss Madeleine within our family."
Everybody looked up from their papers.
"A future in the family? How could that be achieved?" Charles question was just the same as everyone else's.
Maddie heard his words but they sounded blurry. She sat there not being able to say anything.
"My privy council and I agreed on one thing rather quickly. Miss Madeleine has been a very valuable part of our charity work ever since her relationship with Prince Henry has become public. She is respected by the public. In addition she had to give up her job as soon as the public had become aware of her relationship. Given her current position she can not return to her work as a nurse for the foreseeable future so she wont be able to make a living for herself. Additionally her parents house will not give her the protection she needs when all of this is announced. So it has been agreed that we are responsible for her and her wellbeing at the moment, at the very least that we must give her the chance of being looked after otherwise the press lash would be catastrophic as well as the public outrage about us leaving her alone to fend for herself."
She paused to give everyone the chance to process what they had just heard.
"The decision has been made to offer Miss Madeleine a permanent place in our family detached from her relationship to Prince Henry. It has been found as the only way to allow us to look after Miss Madeleine using state funds. Miss Madeleine would join our family as a working member with a title in her own right which will enable her to use our protection system and would allow us to benefit from her public standing as well as her compassion. Additionally it lessens the question about who is to blame for calling off the engagement which hopefully will be cooling off the situation. I know this is a lot and something that has never been done before but I would like to remind you that this is a new situation. One we never had to deal with before. Please take your time to read though the paper. You will find a summary attached in the end."
Nobody dared to say anything after the Queen had finished her statement. Mostly out of surprise.
Maddie didn't quite know what to expect from that meeting but she most certainly didn't expect this.
One after the other regained their posture and started to read through the paper.
In the middle of the reading silence the doors were opened again.
"His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales."
Maddie's blood froze without laying eyes on him. She didn't dare to look up. She was too scared to look at him, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears once their eyes met. So she kept her eyes fixed on the paper in front of her.
Harry entered the room bowing his head noticing Maddie only while approaching his grandmother. He stopped before he had even reached the table.
He looked at her while she tried her best not to look up.
Harry noticed how perfectly postured she sat next to Kate. But he also saw a glimpse of her real feelings underneath. How she desperately tried to hide her eyes from him by looking down, staring at the paper in front of her.
"Henry you are late." The Queen's voice was just as calm as a rock but Henry noticed the slight shift of disapproval in her voice. Something she only ever did when surrounded by her family. Her only exception from the lifelong rule never to side or declare a position.
"I am awfully sorry, M'am." He brought himself to stop looking at Maddie to greet his grandmother properly before taking his seat between his father and brother.
"Please read the paper in front of you. It is the formal offer for Madeleine's future within this family detached from your relationship and engagement that has been agreed on in the Privy Council last night."
As expected Harry stopped reading immediately just as all the others had to look at his grandmother. Before he could even open his mouth the Queen cut him off.
"You are here to advise and to advise only. You will not be part of the decision my dear. Please just read the paper. A summary is attached in the end and we will discuss any open questions as soon as everybody had a chance to familiarise themselves with the paper."
Harry didn't dare to talk back to his grandmother. But his thoughts kept raising. What was the meaning of this?
Sure he wanted Maddie to be looked after but was this the right way to do it? Weren't they practically throwing her to the lions?
The thought that the family didn't really have another choice to properly look after her didn't occur to him at this point.
"So if I am reading all of this correctly we are giving Maddie a title for life so she is protected and able to profit from the Privy Purse?"
"Exactly. Madeleine, my dear, what do you think of it? After all it is your future we are contemplating here."
"To be honest, M'am, I am a little overwhelmed by it all. It is a very generous offer and I am beyond grateful but it is a big decision."
"Indeed, it is a life changing decision. I am sure I can speak for everyone here at this table that nobody will pressure you into anything. It is a decision for life." The Queen's words were not the words of a head of state or head of family but of a loving grandmother. They seemed caring and sincere.
Henry sat silently not daring to say anything. This wasn't his decision. He was still and would always be incredible fond of Maddie but her getting a title in her own right would also mean that she would always be there. They would always see each other. Surely it would be limited to the yearly occasions the whole family was required to attend but they still would be seeing each other. He was certain it would hurt both of them especially in the first months and what would happen if he would want to introduce his new girlfriend to the family? Maddie would be there...
Maddie took a deep breath and looked around the table. All eyes were on her. William and Kate, Charles and Camilla, The Queen and of course Henry.
She tried to go over the points in her head. The advantages were undeniable. But there was also one big downside. Henry would always be there. There was no escaping him. Sure their meetings would be down to just a few per year but there would be meetings. And his new girlfriend, a thought that made her shiver and slightly angry at the same time, she would meet her eventually.
The only thing left for Maddie to do was to debate which side was stronger.
"Is it possible for me to excuse myself for a short walk? I need some air to clear my thoughts."
"Of course my dear, take all the time you need. And when you come back inside we will have a private tea together. Just you and me."
"Thank you, M'am." Maddie excused herself how she had been taught in her Royal Lessons curtsying to The Queen and not turning her back on her until she had reached the door.
"That is very nice of you, Mummy. To set up a private tea with her." Charles noticed after Maddie had left the room.
"I think its good for her to have some time to think about it. And being alone with me might take some pressure off of her."
"Yes, Granny because having tea with you is so relaxing." William chuckled.
The Queen smiled knowing exactly what her grandson meant. But she was still confidant to help Maddie with her decision. After all she was never meant for the role she ended up in either.
Henry had been silently watching everything. This was not what he had in mind when he had asked his father to get his grandmother on board to help. Throwing Maddie into this lion pit their life's were wasn't fair on her. But on the other hand his grandmother was indeed right. If they wanted to help her they had no other chance. Of course they could always fund her from their private money but that would still leave her with nothing to do for a living.
By his side she had been in the public eye for the past four years and the public had taken in interest in her as they had done with all of his past girlfriends. Especially after their relationship had been announced officially and Maddie had the permission to accompany him to some events the interest had increased drastically. The scrutiny intensified to such a degree Maddie had to stop working as a nurse because the press even chased her at work.
So by giving her a title in her own right the family made it possible for Maddie to continue working. It would give her more freedom in this perspective but it would also cut her short in others.
The decision would be difficult to make no matter how she would decide.
Henry made his. It didn't matter to him what had happened during the last two days, Maddie would always have a place in his heart and he wanted her to have a good life. He would support her whatever decision she would make.