Chapter 14
Fourteen
James
I left the meeting with a bounce in my stride. It had gone very well, and everyone now worked on pushing things forward that had lapsed in my first life. Well, lapsed until it had been far too late.
The memory of walking through entire towns burned to the ground, all in an effort to stop the plague of salence sweeping through the country, would likely forever haunt me.
Whole families had been boarded up in their homes even with only one family member ailing, basically left to rot.
We hadn’t known, in the beginning of the epidemic, how to even take effective preventative measures.
Royce hadn’t discovered them until three months in, and it had been hard to get the word out, as everyone had stopped traveling and was staying close to home by then.
A shudder went through me. Let’s not remember those grim days.
I was already a step ahead of the disease this time—Royce now had direction on the correct preventative, which would lead to the cure—so let’s just keep on it, and hopefully salence never got a foothold in this country at all in this lifetime.
Now, thinking ahead, the next problem to tackle would definitely be the seawalls. Before Retazo’s Wrath hit and wiped out half the lower city.
In that case, I’d need to—
Edwin, walking at my side, cleared his throat slightly. “Your Highness, I have a question for you.”
My mental thought went snip as I switched my focus to him. “Of course, what is it?”
“Why include me in the meeting?”
I looked down at him, puzzled by the question. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He met my eyes levelly. “I didn’t have to be there. The three of you planned just fine between yourselves.”
“Excuse you? You brought a whole arsenal of testimonies and records I didn’t know existed and you think you were superfluous to the meeting?
” I rolled my eyes expressively. Why was Edwin like this?
He always downplayed his own part in matters.
“Edwin, I am quite aware of how capable you are. You could run this entire palace without issue even on a bad day. I included you in the meeting because you have your finger squarely on the pulse of this place and because you think of things I fail to consider. I will, in fact, take you with me everywhere for this reason.”
At that, his eyes twinkled a little, and he seemed satisfied. “I understand.”
“Well, now that you understand, you can help me with the next item on the agenda. The seawalls, I mean. I need a meeting set up with the mayor and a foreman—in fact, I think Jethro Bates is the foreman for the projects.”
“You’re correct, he is.”
“Excellent. Set up a meeting with those two. The sooner the better. I need to get those seawalls fixed before we lose people and buildings to the next serious Wrath.”
“I’ll do that next.”
“You’re motivated,” I teased him. “Because your house is down there, I assume.”
“You assume correctly.”
Look at him, bantering with me. Still nothing like we used to do, but hopefully, we’d get there.
Sunday dawned and it was a relief to see the sun.
I still wasn’t sleeping well, unfortunately.
Vuheia’s symbol over my bed gave me peace of mind, and it did seem to help me at least relax in the bed, but true sleep eluded me.
I supposed even a religious symbol could only do so much.
Sleeping potions were easy to get addicted to and left me groggy the next day, so I avoided using them every night.
It might have been a mistake to skip using it last night, however, as I hadn’t slept at all, just tossed and turned before giving up at around one a.m. and going to the yard to train.
I’d trained for three hours before I felt exhausted enough to sleep again—and even after all that, only managed two hours before waking up screaming from yet another nightmare.
Would it be sacrilegious to ask Vuheia to knock me out tonight?
Eh, I probably shouldn’t.
I’d definitely need to down some kind of sleep aid tonight, because exhaustion left me barely able to form sentences. Still, I must get two things done today before I could retreat to my rooms and lounge about uselessly on the sofa.
I longed, with every fiber of my being, to be a useless sofa demon. It was the bane of my life that duty forced me into boots and conversations instead.
Still, needs must. I dressed, downed three cups of the blackest of khavés, and picked up two knights on my way out the door. Namely Captain Rowan and Sir Pedan, as they were on duty today and both completely trustworthy.
First, to my company. I really had to check in on King’s Paper and sign a few things. Rhody insisted on this for some reason. Then I could use the cover of looking into my company to have a very pointed meeting with my spy, Tremon.
So I skipped to my business office (please note the profound sarcasm) and signed the signy things, and then promptly ignored the lot of it so I could focus on the very competent spy in my office.
Tremon excelled at his job for two very good reasons.
One, the man had a memory like a vault. He forgot absolutely nothing.
Two, he looked so everyday man, so average in appearance, he could blend into any background.
I still praised the day I’d met this man and hired him.
It was one of the best decisions I’d ever made across two lifetimes.
Tremon greeted me with a little bow. “Your Highness.”
“Sit,” I said. “Ah, don’t mind Captain Rowan or Sir Pedan, either. They’re both trustworthy.”
“Yes, I know,” he answered calmly.
Come to think of it, he likely had looked into every single person now surrounding me. Tremon was thorough. Snorting a laugh, I oriented my chair behind the desk to face him properly. “All right. I need you to—actually, no, I’m curious…do you know why I called you in here?”
“You want me to look further into Lord Gillespie and into anything to prove Prince Victor incompetent enough to axe any possibility of him being declared king.” Tremon’s tone was matter-of-fact.
He was absolutely correct, too. “I knew you could read between the lines. I do have one of my staff members looking into Gillespie. Stedman’s a natural-born spy who sadly got somehow sidetracked and became my secretary instead.
Partner up with him, if you’d like, to see what he’s already dug up.
I trust you to find the truly shady shit, though. ”
He nodded. “Sure. Prince Victor’s up to his neck in shady shit already, but that’s an open secret. It’ll take more than that.”
“I’m well aware, which is why I want to undermine his support base first. Too many of the young lords and the greedy older lords support him.
Mostly because he’ll let them do whatever they want.
Victor wants power and prestige but not the drudgery that comes with ruling, another open secret.
For that reason, I want you to look into Aurora. ”
Tremon’s eyes narrowed. Both Captain Rowan and Sir Pedan tensed, gazes locked on me, obviously curious.
“Aurora,” Tremon said slowly, searching my expression, “is the investment fund Prince Victor started several years ago. It’s highly invested in by various lords, a way for them to make money without actually dirtying their hands.
Why do you think… That is, what is it about the company that’s caught your interest? ”
“I think it’s a shell for embezzlement,” I said easily. “Almost a paper company, in a sense. I need proof.”
Tremon let out a low whistle, sitting back in his chair. “If you’re right, and all the money is vanishing into Victor’s pocket to pay for his vices, then…”
“Oh, the lords who’ve invested in him will be very, very upset. Well, those of them who aren’t also embezzling. I have a feeling it’s not just Victor. At any rate, go forth and prove me right.”
Captain Rowan and Sir Pedan didn’t know me well enough to anticipate what I would do with this information. Tremon, however, did. He chuckled, eyes sparkling with mischief.
“You already have a plan on how to throw him out, don’t you? How thoroughly are you getting rid of this man?”
“Oh, if all goes well, he’ll be exiled from the capital and the royal family and live the rest of his—likely short—life in a sort of house arrest.” I buffed my nails against my shirt, smile benign. “The whole country will thank me for it.”
Tremon kept chuckling. “I do love working for you.”
“I give you good entertainment, I know.” I winked at him. “Okay, anything you need from me?”
He waved this off. “All I needed was a direction. I’ll report back to you when I have something substantial.”
“That’s fine. Stedman’s been given a month, just so you’re aware.”
“Understood.” Tremon stood, gave me a bow, and took himself off.
Shaking my head, I also stood and stretched. My energy was dropping, but I wanted to do one more thing. Time to do some shopping.
Neither knight questioned me as we went back out. My business office was in the shopping district, for ease of convenience really, so it wasn’t difficult to walk down to the corner and enter a bookstore.
Now, I knew Edwin’s taste very well and which authors were his favorites.
I didn’t by any means know his entire library, but I still had a firm grasp on what he liked.
It was no trouble at all to roam around the bookstore, look through their selection, and pick a book.
A clerk assured me it had been released just the day before, so odds were Edwin hadn’t managed to get his hands on this one just yet.
Pleased with myself, I had them wrap it in brown paper before I left. A good courting gift needed to be wrapped.
Edwin’s schedule had him working every other Sunday. The palace didn’t function on a normal work week, since most of our parties and events were held on weekends. I knew he worked today, so I went straight for our palace office.
Almost immediately upon entering, I realized my mistake. It was high noon. Edwin, very much a creature of habit, would be eating lunch outside in his favorite spot. Really, that was all for the better, as that way I could speak with him privately.
I shooed Captain Rowan and Sir Pedan off, telling them to go find lunch in the kitchens, which gave me a wonderful opportunity to speak with Edwin one-on-one. A hard-won thing, that.
Finally alone, I passed by the kitchen doors, hearing people chattering from inside, the clinking of cutlery and pans, the hissing of grilling meat. Lovely sounds and smells, which sparked my appetite.
There, under the tree, sat Edwin. A fork in one hand, a book in the other. Perfect. I felt a surge of energy, mostly from my heart, as I walked quickly toward him.
“A good book?” I asked as I slung into the seat opposite his.
He glanced up, then did a double take when he realized it was me and closed the book altogether. “Ah, yes, quite a good one. What can I do for you, Your Highness?”
I didn’t like that I’d put him on a formal tone. “No, no, I’m not here on business. Rather, I wanted to ask if you’d grab lunch with me. Oh! I brought you something as well. I stopped by a bookstore on my way back.”
Edwin hesitantly accepted the book when I offered it to him. I wasn’t sure why he looked so uncertain and…uncomfortable? Hopefully I was reading him wrong. My Edwin had never been uncomfortable with me.
He unwrapped the brown paper and looked at the book, expression turning perplexed. “How did you know I like this author?”
“I’ve seen you read one of their books before.” On that I was confident.
Er, wait, had that been in this lifetime or the last? Shit, I hoped I hadn’t gotten the two timelines mixed up.
Judging from the look on Edwin’s face, I had.
To mask this, I gave him a hopeful smile. “I did get it right?”
“Yes, this is a favorite author…” He spoke slowly, thoughtfully, his eyes never leaving the cover. “Your Highness, why bring this to me?”
“Because I hoped to eat lunch with you and have you read to me. I love your voice.” All absolutely true and hopefully not high-and-mighty sounding. I was trying to push an agenda without pushing an agenda. I wasn’t sure how good I was doing.
He shook his head before handing the book back to me.
“I appreciate the thought, but it wouldn’t be appropriate.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, as I know you regard all people as your equal, but accepting this gift will give me nothing but backlash from the staff.
You’re a very popular man with a fan following, in case you didn’t know. ”
All I heard was the rejection and deflated. I had pressed too far too fast, apparently. I took the book back and stood, feeling uncomfortable in Edwin’s presence for the first time ever. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put you in an awkward position. Forget today happened.”
Then I turned and speedwalked away, my appetite completely gone now. I kicked myself as I retreated to my rooms. I was being too heavy handed, clearly. I must be more subtle when approaching him.
But how?