Wedded Bliss

[Existentially Odd]

Rochelle flinched away from the look that was turned upon her, anticipating that she would gain a lot of nasty words to go with it.  She turned helpless eyes towards the man who was still standing before them, unintentionally appealing to someone who was a complete stranger but who\'d been the closest thing to someone she\'d connected with here this morning (apart from her parents who were, of course, attending this final function before they departed mid morning).

Freddy\'s expression also became stony as he saw the way Hew looked at Roche and she turned to him (for help, he believed).  "You didn\'t know," he stated flatly, thinking only of the fact that he\'d just done the one thing he\'d vowed not to do; betrayed his king and favoured the child over the regent.  It was exactly what Lam had done.  "Well, you surely didn\'t think she\'d be thanked for what she did," the captain said reasonably, making his opinion on the matter clear.  He gave Hew enough credit to believe the boy would realise Lam had made her choice and understand that she\'d received appropriate consequences because of that decision.

[Trillian]

"And what a convenience it has been for you that she performed one last thankless duty," Hew told him snidely, needing to get his own back at someone.  His father had been deaf to every beg and plea he\'d made, to every valid point, to every word uttered.  He would make himself heard and if it happened to be the new Captain, then so be it.

[Existentially Odd]

Not given to anger easily, Freddy merely cocked one blonde eyebrow and stared at the prince while he gave some thought to his response.  It wasn\'t the time or place to cause a scene and he could very reasonably understand that Hew was giving a knee-jerk reaction to the news he\'d just received, but he didn\'t enjoy the implication that he\'d only been after the captaincy and was glad that circumstances had conspired to give it to him.

"She made the decision," he said shortly, giving Hew a look that said, Thanks to you, who forced her to have to make it.

[Trillian]

Hew didn\'t catch the exact meaning of the challenge in Frederickson\'s eyes but he did know that there was disapproval.  If there was something he was very in tune with right now, it was disapproval.  He resented the fact that the new captain dared to look at him this way, but like Frederickson, he knew that this wasn\'t the time or place.
 
For once he turned to his wife and spoke with her civilly.  "We should tend to the other guests," he told her before glancing back at the man who was Wilson\'s replacement, "Captain."

[Existentially Odd]

"Your majesties," Freddy replied with the same undertone of snappiness, recognising that they would likely have this conversation before their next training session and rather wondering if that would be a good idea.  Hopefully, it would be a while before that transpired, while the prince took the time to settle into married life.

"Freddy," Roche added, thoroughly bewildered by what had transpired, but being forcibly removed from the conversation left her with the inkling that the captain would be the key to her understanding why her husband was so opposed to their marriage.  If she could ever meet up with him again, she believed it would be a good thing.

For the time being, she restored her polite smile and forced the thinking about the fact that Mayhew seemed most upset by the lack of another woman\'s presence - Captain Wilson - to the back of her mind.  She would listen out for that name in future but, for now, she would assume that the woman in question was the one who truly held the prince\'s heart and that was why she was banned from being at the palace and why Mayhew wanted to not be married.  It was the best theory she\'d come up with so far.