Royal Love (23 page)

“It’s your engagement ring, silly. Did you really think I wasn’t going to give you one?”

“You really didn’t have to,” Michael said and then opened the box.

The look that came over Michael’s face told Darren all he needed to know. Michael was speechless for the first time since Darren had met him.

Michael looked up at Darren with eyes full of tears and said, “It’s magnificent. I’m stunned.”

“Put it on! I wanna see how it looks!”

Michael moved around on the bench seat until they were sitting next to each other.

“You put it on me, please,” Michael said through tears.

“Prince Michael Windsor, will you marry me?” Darren asked.

“If I don’t say yes, a lot of very important people are going to be pretty cheesed off. Yes, Darren, I will marry you.”

Darren slid the platinum ring onto Michael’s ring finger, and it practically lit up the room. Michael’s tears increased as he looked at his finger adorned by an engagement ring.

“I can’t believe you got me something so beautiful and precious. I’m stunned.”

The waiter had appeared but saw what was happening and stood by silently.

“It is nothing but a token of the love I hold for you, my prince. Shortly, we’ll be married, and these rings will serve as a physical symbol of our commitment to each other,” Darren said.

Michael noticed the waiter, took his napkin, and wiped away the tears.

“Pardon me,” the waiter said. “I didn’t wish to interrupt your moment. Am I correct in addressing you as Your Highness?”

“Yes, you are. It will be all over the papers tomorrow anyway, so why not. We’re engaged to be married.”

“Congratulations to you both, and may I wish you many years of happiness together. I’m gay, and I’m hoping my boyfriend will ask me to marry him one of these days.”

“Well, there’s no reason why you can’t ask him, is there?” Darren asked.

The waiter thought about it and replied, “Actually, you’re right! But I’m not supposed to talk about my personal life to guests. Have you decided what you’ll be having this evening?”

“Yes. My husband-to-be,” Michael answered.

The waiter smiled. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I don’t believe he’s on the menu.”

“He’s on
my
menu. What do you recommend?” Michael asked.

“If you like beef, I highly recommend the chateaubriand for two.”

“That sounds fine,” Darren said.

“There you have it, then,” Michael said.

“Very good, and congratulations, once again.”

The waiter couldn’t wait to tell the kitchen staff who they were cooking for and what had just happened. Before five minutes passed, the entire restaurant staff knew who was eating in house that night.

As Darren and Michael ate their dinner, the waiters all watched the happy couple. When they had finished dinner, they passed on dessert. The wine was gone, the bodyguards had eaten, and it was time for the bill.

“Thank you for joining us this evening on such an important occasion,” said the waiter as he presented the check. He got a look at Michael’s ring and couldn’t contain himself. “Oh my, that ring is beautiful, Your Highness!”

“Thank you.” Michael handed the waiter a credit card with the royal crest on it and added a large tip to the bill.

“Thank you, sir,” the waiter said. “I’ll say a prayer tonight for you both.” He left the table as they stood.

“I know it isn’t proper, but I have to know. How much did we spend?” Darren asked.

“£5,462. I’d say it was worth every pence!”

As they walked out, the restaurant staff gathered to applaud the happy couple. Michael and Darren said thank you and waved as they left holding hands. Once outside, they were ushered straight into the car, and off they went.

It had been a very beautiful evening, and Michael could not resist. He leaned over in the back seat and kissed Darren passionately on the lips.

“Thank you for a fairy tale evening. I love the ring,” Michael said.

“And I love my ring, and I can’t wait until December first.”

When Darren walked into Winfield House, he was immediately set upon by David and Shane.

“So, how did it go? Did he like the ring? Was the dinner good?” David quizzed.

“Yes, it went flawlessly. He loved the ring so much he was left speechless. He even told the waiter who he was and that we were getting married. The dinner was incredible, and Michael ordered a five thousand pound bottle of champagne, which was also incredible. It was like another fairy tale experience. Thank you again for buying the ring, Uncle David. He said he’ll never take it off.”

“Congratulations, Darren, I’m glad it all went well for you,” Shane said.

“Did you two know that Buckingham Palace and the White House are announcing our pending wedding in the morning?”

“I knew they were going to do it soon, but I didn’t know it would be tomorrow,” David answered, while Shane smiled.

“Uncle Shane, you knew, didn’t you?”

“Guilty. I learned about it yesterday but wanted it to be a surprise for you.”

“Well, the king told Michael, and Michael told me at dinner. I’m so glad I had the ring with me and was able to give it to him so he has it for tomorrow.”

T
HE
NEXT
morning, the announcement was made, and the papers in Britain went nuts. In America, it was only news because the president’s son was marrying a prince, but both the White House and Buckingham Palace were bombarded with questions from the press. Michael and Darren made one public appearance but refused to answer any questions.

Michael, Darren, David, and Shane all appeared at Buckingham Palace to meet with the king. After the formalities were disposed of, coffee was served. It was then that the king spotted Michael’s ring.

“Good Lord, Michael, where did you get that ring?”

“Darren gave it to me at dinner last night. Isn’t it brilliant?” Michael replied as he showed it to William.

“Absolutely stunning! Darren, did you pick this out?”

Darren blushed a little. “Well, the stones were set in a lady’s engagement ring, and we had them set in a man’s ring. They really are beautiful stones and fit the person who wears them.”

“Very impressive. You have excellent taste for one so young. David, you and Shane should be proud of your nephew here. Splendid, really splendid. Wait until the princesses see this. They’re going to be positively green with envy.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Darren replied.

“Don’t mention it. The reason I asked to meet with you this morning is to make sure all the arrangements are in place. As I understand it, the guest list has passed security muster, the cathedral is ready, the press are aware, and your living arrangements and reception are set. Have I missed anything?”

“Just a reminder,” Michael said. “With Darren’s mother coming, security is going to be heavy. I’m afraid it’s going to brass off some of your subjects if they try to drive around when the president is mobile.”

“Yes, well, they’ll be used to such inconveniences. After all, it’s only a half hour before the wedding, during the wedding, and afterward. That totals about an hour and a half. Then she’ll return to Winfield House for the night. While motorcades the size of the president’s aren’t common, the people will understand that a mother is attending her oldest son’s wedding to a member of the royal household.”

“Where are you two staying on your wedding night?” Shane asked.

“We’ll be here at Buckingham Palace until my mother returns home, then we’re going to slip off to Windsor Castle for a few days. Then we’ll return to here, get settled into our apartment, and be briefed on our duties,” Darren answered.

“That all sounds great. No urge to honeymoon on an island somewhere?” David asked.

“No. The arrangements we’ve made suit us just fine. We can do the island bit when we’re ready for a holiday. As you may or may not know, Darren will travel with me on official business. The king is being very open-minded about all of this.”

The door to their room opened, and His Royal Highness, Prince Harry, came in with a smile on his face.

“Brother, how nice to see you!” the king said.

They hugged, and then Harry turned to Michael and Darren.

“You two ready to take the plunge?”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” Darren answered.

“Damn it all, you’re becoming one of the family. Call me cousin or Harry when we’re in private.” Harry turned to Michael. “Nice ring, where did you nick that?”

“Darren gave it to me.”

“You have good taste, Darren. May it rub off on some of the women in this family!” Harry said, and everyone laughed.

“I’m honored and very pleased that you’ll be at our wedding. I hope your wife and children will be with you,” Darren said.

“Oh, my wife wouldn’t miss this for anything. We’ve had gay members of the family in the past, including some kings, but this is the first formal marriage under civil and church law. It makes me proud of our country that we’ve come this far so fast on this issue. I had gay soldiers under my command in the war, and they were just as fine as any other man at the front. I’m going to be there in full regalia.”

“That was purely for security reasons. There are a lot of nuts out there, as you well know. And we have to remember who Darren’s mother is. I don’t want the US Air Force to succeed where Hitler failed because Darren was harmed by a nutter.”

“I understand both Michael and Darren will be in service to the Crown,” Harry said.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, I’d like to be able to call upon both or either from time to time, if that’s all right with you?”

“I don’t have any objections at all. How about you two?” the king asked.

“No, no, objections at all. It would be a blast to help you with anything, unless it’s babysitting, that is!” Darren said, and everyone laughed.

“You do have a good sense of humor, Darren, and that has always been needed in this family. William, surely we can do better for Darren than Prince Consort?”

The king smiled. “You never know what might happen on a wedding day.”

“True, you sly dog,” Harry replied.

“Well, then, if all of the various security agencies know what’s going on, I think we’re set for the big day. For your information, I and my lady will be arriving in a Rolls Royce. Other members of the royal family will travel by Rolls also, and I’ve directed that one be put at your disposal. So, on the morning of the wedding, Michael will be taken to the cathedral from the palace, and Darren will be picked up in one Rolls Royce from the royal fleet.”

“And Shane, Jack, Mary, and I will travel in a limousine following President Wilson and the Secret Service war wagons. There will, of course, be agents inside St. Paul’s and on the rooftops a couple hours before the first arrivals. All that has been coordinated with MI5 and 6,” David said.

“Then I believe we have nothing more to do but wait. Thank you all for coming,” William said.

David and his party said good-bye and headed back to Winfield House with Michael.

When they were settled in at Winfield House, they relaxed while David returned some phone calls on embassy business, and Darren and Michael talked about the future. Jack was a little jealous of all of the attention given to Darren but realized there was nothing he could do about it. His time would come; he knew it.

“Well, let’s all hope the next couple of weeks fly fast, and December first will be here before we know it. Can you think of anything that hasn’t been planned for Darren and Michael?” David asked as he finished his last call.

“No, we believe we’re all set to go. We were just talking about the king’s cryptic reply to Harry’s remark that, ‘we can do better than that for Darren,’ or words to that effect.”

“Yes, I caught that too. I haven’t a clue what it could mean. Shane?” David asked.

“No, I’m in the dark this time. On a side note, Darren’s dual citizenship was officially announced today in the press releases from the palace and the embassy. So, the people know about that,” Shane answered.

“So we wait,” Michael said.

D
AVID
, S
HANE
, Darren, Michael, and Jack watched the beautiful blue-and-white
Air Force One
jet land at Heathrow Airport and taxi to a heavily restricted area of the tarmac, where they waited. Prince Harry had joined them as King William’s proxy to greet the president officially.

The steps were rolled up, and the door opened. Out stepped a radiant president of the United States and mother of one of the grooms, followed by the First Husband, Brandon, and the other guests, including some gay members of Congress.

A receiving line formed with Prince Harry at the head.

Everyone was in an incredibly joyous mood, including the congressional delegation. After all the hugs and kisses were given out, the giant motorcade sped off, causing a truly nightmarish traffic jam in central London. It was some distance from the airport to Winfield House, and the entire route was secured. After what seemed like hours, the motorcade entered the grounds of Winfield, and the gates were closed and guarded. The VIPs were moved quickly through the front door and into the inner sanctum of the ambassador’s residence.