Chapter Five #2
She nodded, subsiding gratefully into a chair. Time to finalise this.
Wary eyes met his. ‘Have you looked at the material about the dam? It proves—’
‘We’ll talk about the dam soon. Our first priority is the crown.’
Benedikt watched her stiffen, the corners of her mouth crimping down.
‘The issues are linked. I told you, if you kill the dam project, I won’t press my case to be Queen.’
‘Saving that valley means more to you than ruling the country? With all the wealth and influence that brings?’
If so, she was remarkable. Through the ages, all around the globe, people had struggled and connived, even killed to win a crown.
A vast chasm carved open his belly. Was that what his father had done? Killed for a crown?
He’d probably carry that suspicion for the rest of his life. Another weight to add to his already heavy burdens.
‘Yes, it does mean more to me. There’s no benefit to Edelforst from the project, only destruction.
The power generated will be diverted elsewhere and so will the profits.
There are better, more cost-effective ways of generating power than flooding the valley.
We’d lose our heartland. We can’t allow that. ’
Was that a royal ‘we’? With that spark in her eye and tone of condemnation, she was every inch the displeased monarch.
‘What about the next project you don’t like?’
Her brow knitted in confusion. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘If the government decides on a future policy that affects your province, a policy you disagree with. What will you do?
‘Bring forward our concerns, of course.’
‘If that doesn’t work and you lose the argument, what will you do then? Reassert your claim to the throne? Threaten a constitutional crisis to get your own way?’
‘This isn’t about me .’
Benedikt shook his head. ‘It’s absolutely about you. No matter what you say about altruistic motives, if it’s proven you have a right to the throne, what’s to stop you wielding that against me, or my heirs?’
‘I’m not interested in being Queen.’
‘But you are interested in what happens to Edelforst. Look how far you’ve gone to protect it.’
She opened her mouth then snapped it shut. ‘I’ll sign a document written by your lawyers, giving up my right to the throne, on condition—’
‘Yes, I know. On condition the dam doesn’t proceed.’
He’d heard more than enough about that. What he needed to sort out was whether he could legitimately rule Prinzenberg or be forced to hand it over to a woman who wasn’t interested in it, and who had few if any of the skills to run it.
Not because she wasn’t intelligent, but because she’d never learned.
How long would it take a novice to come to grips with what he’d spent a lifetime learning?
Especially with so many so-called advisers ready to lead her into decisions that would serve them rather than the country.
Cronies who’d benefited from his father’s rule and administrators with a vested interest in stifling public scrutiny.
Could Prinzenberg afford to wait years for her to catch up?
Benedikt thought of the problems he’d uncovered in just six weeks and knew they didn’t have that much time.
He dragged in a sustaining breath. ‘You could sign such a document. And I’m sure that at this moment you’re convinced you’ll abide by it. But if later you change your mind, I’d be the one facing the fallout.’
Her brow knotted. At least she hadn’t jumped to contradict him.
‘Look at it from my point of view. If it came to light later that you’d signed away your right to the throne to save your precious valley, it would seem like coercion.
Maybe, technically, you’d be barred from taking the crown.
But all hell would break loose. The people and the parliament could take sides.
There’d be division and argument. Prinzenberg would be brought to its knees. It could take years to sort out.’
She sat stiffly, her eyes flashing pure green in her flushed face.
No wonder he’d thought her familiar yesterday.
He’d believed he’d looked into that clear gaze before, and he had.
But it wasn’t Annalena’s. The eyes he remembered belonged to Crown Prince Christian, the man whose death had ushered in his own father’s rule.
Those vibrant eyes looked down at Benedikt every time he passed the royal portraits on the way to his office.
She had her father’s eyes.
If he’d still believed that right always won out, he’d be tempted to step away now. Let her have the crown while he pursued his own interests in America and elsewhere.
But Benedikt wasn’t that unworldly. Living with his father, not to mention years in business and working for his country, had ensured that.
His country needed a strong monarch who’d protect and serve it well.
‘You doubt my word?’
‘I doubt that you fully understand the bomb you’ve primed to explode. Whether it’s now or in the future, it will explode, unless we deal with it.’
‘We can keep this secret. My grandmother kept the circumstances of my birth secret all these years.’
‘Which is an extraordinary feat. But only a few, very loyal people knew.’ He leaned forward, tempering his voice to hide his urgency.
‘Think about what’s happened since you came here.
The people who have seen you and know you stayed here overnight.
Administrative staff who are wondering why certain files have been requested.
Only a hand-picked few have conducted interviews in Edelforst, but gossip will be circulating already. ’
She slumped in her seat, eyes round. He had to make her understand.
‘This is no longer about a very few, trusted people with your well-being at heart. It’s gone beyond that. People will be curious and start digging. People who aren’t necessarily loyal to me or you. People who learned under my father to use knowledge as a currency to win power for themselves.’
‘Why do you keep them on?’
‘I won’t. But change takes time. I can’t sack all his staff and advisers on the spot.
I owe them the chance to prove themselves, or not.
But my point is, we can’t assume everything will be solved with your signature on a piece of paper.
We have to prepare for a future when this secret may become public. ’
He didn’t mention the other possibility. That Annalena might change her mind down the track. What if she had a baby? Maternal instinct might prompt her to claim the throne for the sake of her child.
She stared into the distance, biting her bottom lip, and heat shafted to his groin.
His mouth firmed. He didn’t need the distraction of sexual awareness on top of everything else.
But it had been there from the moment she’d marched into his office and it wasn’t fading.
Seeing her in casual clothes, in something like her own environment, only heightened his response.
As did her ignorance of or apparent lack of interest in her sexual allure.
How long since he’d met a woman like that? Even in college the women he’d met had been supremely conscious of their appearance and his reaction to them.
And that you were heir to a throne and a fortune.
Excitement tickled his backbone as he surveyed Annalena.
The sexual awareness wasn’t one-sided. He’d seen the way her pupils dilated, her gaze on his mouth when he spoke. The way she leaned closer until she realised what she was doing and abruptly pulled back.
Yet she didn’t care about his money or status. If anything, those counted against him.
That mutual attraction was the only positive he could see in this whole tangled mess. It would be useful when—
She shook her head, pink lips forming a moue of concentration that made him harden. How could he be susceptible to such an innocent expression?
‘I can’t see we have any other alternative but an agreement like I proposed.’
Benedikt took his time replying, tamping down his unsettling physical reaction.
He’d come up with an alternative and spent the night and all today testing its weaknesses. It would be difficult but not impossible. Unconventional, but so were the circumstances.
That fact that it was something he’d rather avoid was immaterial. It would be manipulative and ruthlessly efficient, but then wasn’t he Karl’s son? He swallowed bitterness that perhaps he’d inherited his father’s conniving mindset after all.
‘I have a solution. You’ll get what you want for your province, no dam.
I’ll get security of tenure as King. And the country gets the stability and leadership it needs.
’ He paused. ‘That’s vital. It’s not public knowledge and I don’t want it to be, but Prinzenberg is facing serious problems. My father and his supporters stripped public assets for their own gain.
There are other issues too that will take time to sort out. ’
His heart thudded against his ribs. He hated sharing that but needed to make her understand the gravity of the situation.
This wasn’t just about Annalena and Benedikt and their personal preferences. It was about the well-being of their homeland. He couldn’t renege on that responsibility.
‘And I thought it would be straightforward.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘What’s your win-win solution?’
‘Now you’ve opened this can of worms, we can’t pretend it didn’t happen. We have to move forward. We’ll make the best of the situation, for everyone’s sake.’
Her frowning stare met his. ‘I get a bad feeling when you don’t give me a straight answer. What’s so bad you have to cajole me into accepting it?’
Benedikt spread his hands, palms up in a gesture of openness to show he had no hidden agenda.
‘My coronation goes ahead in a couple of weeks and you’ll be at my side.’ He watched her eyes widen. ‘As my bride. We’ll be crowned together.’