AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So this episode here in Sweden won’t be complete without a proposal. But this time I want to make it a little different...” The camera showed Rathe leaving his guestroom in the Aehrenthals’ home for a moment. When he came back, he had Saffi’s child, Alexei, in his arm.
“Watch this...”
He started to hum, and Alexei chortled. His tiny fingers opened, revealing a ring. “There you go, Mary. Alexei’s helping me propose.” He snatched the ring out of the baby’s hold. “Can’t be too careful,” he murmured. “He might end up swallowing it.”
After dropping the ring back in his pocket, he faced the camera again. “I miss you, little pearl. I love you. Wherever you are, I hope you’re doing fine.”
“Guess what came in the mail today.” Rathe showed the camera a copy ofTimemagazine. “Apparently, my mother found the article you wrote, sent it to the editor she knew and here it is.”
Her article was on Time?
“Did that surprise you? I hope it’s a good kind of surprise and you don’t get mad at Mother for it.” He waved the copy on the camera. “If you want your copy, you know where to get it. Also, it comes with a freebie: an engagement ring. You’ve probably memorized – bloody hell, even the kid in the supermarket I bumped into yesterday memorized my lines. Everyoneknowsmy lines, but I’m going to say it anyway.”
“Viewers, feel free to repeat after me.”
“I miss you. I love you. I hope you marry me one day.”
“So...it’s been fourteen episodes and it’s the end of Season 1.” Rathe was alone in his bedroom, seated on the edge of the bed. “I do wonder, though. Maybe the network has Mary hidden somewhere, just so we’d have as many seasons as the Cardigans?”
One of the his cameramen choked in laughter, muttering something too soft for the recording to catch.
A moment later, Rathe flushed. “Sorry, I meant the Kardashians. I keep forgetting.”
“You’re a shame to the reality TV community, Your Grace,” another staff from behind the scenes joked.
Rathe flushed more deeply. “I apologize. I’ll make sure to remember now.” He faced the camera once more. “Back to business then. It’s been thirteen episodes before this, which means I’ve been proposing to you thirteen times. It means you’ve turned me down thirteen times, too. Obviously, fourteen if I still don’t see you after this episode.”
He reached for a couple of gossip magazines on the bedside table. “And in case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a sample of what people’s been saying about me.”
“Magazine #1: Duke of Flanders, Desperate for the Entire Season.”
“Magazine #2: British Aristocracy Demands Lovesick Duke to Relinquish Title.”
“Magazine #3: Will Someone Stop That Wellesley Dude from Whining?”
Rathe smiled. “But don’t worry, little pearl. The Wellesleys have the last laugh in the end...” He took his iPad next, its browser already open in a pre-loaded website. “See here...these are the latest viewership ratings and we’re not just #1 in our timeslot. We’re also the #1 reality show in theworld.”
Setting it aside, he took the last item on the bedside table. “And finally, we come to this.” Holding them up for the camera to zoom in on, he said, “This is what I’m being charged for the people I’ve asked to help me search for you. Of course I know I’m up against my mother, who’s done a bloody good job at keeping you hidden from me. I know Yanna and Saffi are aware of where you are, but I also know I won’t be able to get a thing out of them.”
Returning the receipts to the table, he said quietly, “I just wanted you to know that I haven’t stopped searching for you. I love you, Mary. I miss you. And so for the fourteenth time – will you marry me?”
