Drabbles: Bereft (G)
Title: Bereft
Author: cruisedirector
Rating: G
Summary: Bertie has the 1944 Christmas broadcast completely in hand.
Warning: Very RPF-y. Please do what I do and keep saying "movieverse" to yourself.
Note: All the dialogue in this was swiped from Lionel's published diaries and letters. The last line was quoted by his grandson in a television special; I thought it made an interesting contrast with his "official" comments in the book The King's Speech.
~
Two days before Christmas, all seems right with the kingdom.
Lionel goes to Windsor to go over the wording of the holiday broadcast, the most optimistic of Bertie's reign. "Let us hope that before next Christmas Day, the story of liberation and triumph will be complete," Bertie will tell his people. Lionel changes "calamities" to "disasters," since it would be calamitous indeed to hear the King stumble over the hard C.
Then, as they sit by the fire, Bertie shatters the peace with one sentence: "Logue, I think the time has come when I can do a broadcast by myself."
~
Bertie doesn't mean to shock. His recent speeches have gone over exceptionally well. And Bertie feels guilty that Lionel is never home with his family for Christmas dinner, though Lionel's sons are grown, though even Myrtle knows that Lionel would just as soon be with the King.
The Queen suspects as well. She has already declared her belief that she and their daughters should sit beside the King while he speaks. If his voice is strong and confident, his subjects will credit it to the nearness of his family, not to guidance by a teacher whom Bertie has finally outgrown.
~
To Queen Elizabeth, Lionel is all smiles. "I feel like a father who is sending his boy to his first public school," he says, chuckling as she pats him on the arm.
To his guests, Lionel appears so busy with preparations for Christmas dinner that he nearly forgets the speech. Minutes before it begins, he disappears into the bedroom to listen, then comes back, beaming, to their congratulations.
To his wife, Lionel tries to make light of his feelings. He even allows their guests to hear him afterward speaking on the telephone, joking to the King, "My job is over."
~
Lionel will try to remember it as a happy Christmas, particularly the next year when he must face the holiday without Myrtle. The speech goes as well as Lionel or Bertie could have hoped. When, afterward, Bertie half-apologizes, telling Lionel that he wanted to get through just one on his own, it is with pride in his voice.
Lionel expresses pride as well. He does not give voice to the pain that made him listen in privacy, neglecting his guests, feeling his age.
Bertie has gone on alone before, on tour, at meetings, among royals. Yet Bertie has always returned.
~
"I wonder if you realize how grateful I am to you for having made it possible for me to carry out this vital part of my job," Bertie writes in the new year. "I cannot thank you enough."
Lionel claims that he only ever wanted Bertie to be able to speak without stumbling, replying, "I would not be human if I were not overjoyed that you can now do these things without supervision."
It's a lie, like what he told the Queen. Yet Lionel only confesses the truth to his diary: "I felt like a father bereft of his son."
~
Author: cruisedirector
Rating: G
Summary: Bertie has the 1944 Christmas broadcast completely in hand.
Warning: Very RPF-y. Please do what I do and keep saying "movieverse" to yourself.
Note: All the dialogue in this was swiped from Lionel's published diaries and letters. The last line was quoted by his grandson in a television special; I thought it made an interesting contrast with his "official" comments in the book The King's Speech.
~
Two days before Christmas, all seems right with the kingdom.
Lionel goes to Windsor to go over the wording of the holiday broadcast, the most optimistic of Bertie's reign. "Let us hope that before next Christmas Day, the story of liberation and triumph will be complete," Bertie will tell his people. Lionel changes "calamities" to "disasters," since it would be calamitous indeed to hear the King stumble over the hard C.
Then, as they sit by the fire, Bertie shatters the peace with one sentence: "Logue, I think the time has come when I can do a broadcast by myself."
~
Bertie doesn't mean to shock. His recent speeches have gone over exceptionally well. And Bertie feels guilty that Lionel is never home with his family for Christmas dinner, though Lionel's sons are grown, though even Myrtle knows that Lionel would just as soon be with the King.
The Queen suspects as well. She has already declared her belief that she and their daughters should sit beside the King while he speaks. If his voice is strong and confident, his subjects will credit it to the nearness of his family, not to guidance by a teacher whom Bertie has finally outgrown.
~
To Queen Elizabeth, Lionel is all smiles. "I feel like a father who is sending his boy to his first public school," he says, chuckling as she pats him on the arm.
To his guests, Lionel appears so busy with preparations for Christmas dinner that he nearly forgets the speech. Minutes before it begins, he disappears into the bedroom to listen, then comes back, beaming, to their congratulations.
To his wife, Lionel tries to make light of his feelings. He even allows their guests to hear him afterward speaking on the telephone, joking to the King, "My job is over."
~
Lionel will try to remember it as a happy Christmas, particularly the next year when he must face the holiday without Myrtle. The speech goes as well as Lionel or Bertie could have hoped. When, afterward, Bertie half-apologizes, telling Lionel that he wanted to get through just one on his own, it is with pride in his voice.
Lionel expresses pride as well. He does not give voice to the pain that made him listen in privacy, neglecting his guests, feeling his age.
Bertie has gone on alone before, on tour, at meetings, among royals. Yet Bertie has always returned.
~
"I wonder if you realize how grateful I am to you for having made it possible for me to carry out this vital part of my job," Bertie writes in the new year. "I cannot thank you enough."
Lionel claims that he only ever wanted Bertie to be able to speak without stumbling, replying, "I would not be human if I were not overjoyed that you can now do these things without supervision."
It's a lie, like what he told the Queen. Yet Lionel only confesses the truth to his diary: "I felt like a father bereft of his son."
~