Chapter Three #3
As Gustav and Livia entered the room, his father didn’t turn immediately, though Gustav was sure the king heard them.
Instead, he waited until they approached, then finally acknowledged their presence with a slight lift of his chin.
This was exactly the kind of greeting Gustav got from Edvin on those rare occasions when they saw each other, when his father called his two sons into the same room.
Edvin’s sneer—and his silence in the face of his father’s excesses—told Gustav everything he needed to know about his half brother.
Gustav had taken this as the warning it was: Edvin would follow in his father’s footsteps.
“Your Majesty,” said Livia, lowering her head and bending into a deep curtsy. She looked almost…uncertain.
The thought caught him off guard, and a wave of sympathy washed over him as he contemplated how completely her life was about to be upended.
Gustav clenched his jaw and reminded himself that she had entered into the devil’s bargain with this family willingly.
He pushed that feeling away, focusing instead on his father, who gestured to the two seats positioned across from him.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?” asked his father. “The press is going wild with claims that Edvin has returned, and I couldn’t help but notice that instead of quelling these speculations, you have simply let them grow.”
“You haven’t responded, either,” Gustav pointed out.
His father’s expression was carefully blank. “You appeared at Livia’s doorstep. I felt it best to wait.”
Interesting answer. Before Gustav had time to parse it, the king turned to Livia.
“Is this something that the two of you have come up with together?”
A trace of the old Livia still existed because Gustav recognized the irritation that flashed across her face. “I keep my own council, as does everyone in this family, it seems.”
These were the sharp edges that he remembered, well honed to make her point absolutely clear, even in a situation like this, where circumstances were out of her control. Gustav felt a reluctant surge of nostalgic admiration for her that he knew he shouldn’t entertain.
The king turned back to Gustav. “Am I to assume that this is some sort of negotiation? Is Livia your bargaining chip?”
Gustav laughed at the last question because, in a sense, it was true, though not quite in the way his father foresaw.
“This is not a negotiation.” He paused, enjoying the way his father’s jaw tensed.
“In a few moments, an announcement will go live that it was I who stepped off the plane, not Edvin. It will also reveal that in a few hours, Livia and I will be married.”
Gustav leaned back in his chair and waited. Livia’s face transformed into what could only be called horror. She parted her lips as if to speak, closed them, then opened them again.
“You can’t do that,” she finally whispered.
“Clearly, I can.” He tilted his head and watched her with the satisfaction of knowing that this time, he would be the one to decide the course of their relationship.
Livia shook her head, and he felt a vague twist in his gut as she drew in short, panicked breaths. “You can’t make me marry you.”
“You are correct,” he said with a cool smile. “I am not forcing you into anything. You are welcome to publicly reject this announcement. Of course, a scandal will likely follow.”
Of course she would care about scandal. He had negotiated enough with Henri Jacard to understand her parents were social climbers, a trait Livia had clearly inherited, despite what she had claimed when she was younger.
He felt another brief flash of guilt because there would eventually be a huge scandal anyway, when his plans had come to fruition, but he pushed it away. She had chosen her path.
Gustav enjoyed the way the room went quiet. He enjoyed the clench of his father’s jaw and the furrow of Livia’s lovely brow as the picture he had just conjured seemed to sink in for both of them.
“But we just walked out of my apartment holding hands,” she muttered. “People will think…”
A vision of exactly what people would think flashed through his mind, but he pushed it away. Instead, he lifted an eyebrow and asked, “What will people think?”
She frowned and looked away, but he saw the flush rise to her lovely cheeks.
“I wouldn’t underestimate my father’s need for money, Livia. He will likely be willing to overlook just about anything, and the PR teams will work to salvage the situation.” Gustav turned back to the king. “Isn’t that right, Father?”
Anger slashed across the man’s face.
“Royal protocol demands that you may not marry before the crown prince,” his father said sharply.
“Exceptions can be made in extreme cases,” added Gustav. “This situation would qualify as extreme, and I am sure you can see the reasons why you will grant your permission.”
“But it would wreak havoc for the royal house,” Livia said, shaking her head slowly, and Gustav got the sense that she was speaking to herself. “Why do you think my parents will agree to this switch?”
“I have already spoken to your father,” he said, and her frown suggested she didn’t like this answer.
“While he had negotiated for a crown prince, he agreed that Edvin’s behavior over the past few weeks suggest that I am a more reliable candidate.
Especially since I am in favor of bringing you to the altar immediately. ”
He flashed her a satisfied smile. After his brother’s disappearance had dragged on, one of the steps in his plan had been to contact Henri Jacard and present what Gustav had called a backup solution, should the need arise.
Jacard, ever the businessman, had been open to it.
Instead of the courting period with Edvin that had already dragged on for months, Gustav had promised to make Livia a princess within days—in exchange for control of the promised money.
And soon after, he would have control over the monarchy.
Not his father. Not his brother. Gustav, the Bastard Spare they had pushed aside.
“Of course,” he continued smoothly, “my brother could appear any time and fight valiantly for his beloved betrothed. That is, if anyone knows where he is.”
The room was silent except for the tick of the grandfather clock. It had doubtlessly presided over generations of scandals in this family, marking era after era of excess.
Finally, the king spoke. “You care so little for our family reputation that you will hold it over my head?”
Gustav gestured around the room. “All of this is a game, is it not? You taught me that long ago. A game I was set to lose from birth. So, I came to the conclusion that the only answer is to change the rules entirely.”
The king looked thunderous, but he said nothing. Gustav smiled. He would indeed hold it over his father’s head. His marriage—and his power to end it—would be used as leverage to control the money.
“The wedding will take place at the royal church on the north side,” Gustav continued with a smile.
“We will immediately depart for our honeymoon on the royal yacht. We will tour the archipelago for a week, and then our new princess will be officially introduced to the public. I suggest you use this time to contact Livia’s father about her money. ”