9. Chapter 9
Fitz
W hen was the last time I’d slept? The days blurred together into one glob of exhaustion. One crisis bled into the next, leaving me in a state of constant panic and planning. Was this what ruling as king would feel like? Had this been my father’s lot in life for the past five decades?
But it didn’t matter anymore; at least, not for the time being.
He was alive. My father still lived and reigned over Nolcovia.
I rubbed an open palm over my face and sank onto the plush couch outside my parents’ chambers. Bishop sat in an opposite chair, body folded forward with his elbows on his knees and hands locked behind his neck.
It was an interminable night for both of us.
It started with a knock on my door about an hour after Coco had deserted me. Fearing the worst, I braced myself for the news that my father had passed. Instead, I found an irate cook’s assistant yammering about a witch in the kitchen brewing potions for the king.
What I found instead was Sadira creating the soup she’d made for Michaela after she’d been injured. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought to try it sooner, bless her for thinking of it. I did have to go head-to-head with my mother, but what was the risk when death was imminent? We were losing him, and if her concoction killed him an hour too soon, it wouldn’t matter in the long run. Desperation drove me to try anything.
But an hour passed, and then another; each time she returned, Lady Sadira managed to feed him more. His strength returned, much to the surprise of Father’s royal physician, but even when pressed, Sadira refused to give up the contents of what she fed him.
I honestly didn’t care if it meant he might survive. Was it foolish to hope that she could cure him altogether?
“You look about ready to break out of your skin, Cousin.” Bishop’s voice took on a gravelly quality when exhausted. “I’d think you’d be happy right now.”
“I am.” No question about it, I felt a miracle had occurred. Gratitude and happiness were my only options.
“Then smile or something, would you?”
I started to fire back with some less than witty retort, but the chamber door opened and Sadira exited. I rushed forward, eager to hear her report. “How is he?”
Her sleepy smile spoke of the hours she’d sacrificed to do this service for him. “Stronger. He’s sitting up now. The queen is with him.”
Sitting up? For the past week, he’d been unable, but in one night she…
“I don’t know how to repay you for this.” My hand slipped over hers, but she didn’t pull away. “You’ve done something no one else could.”
“I’ve balanced his system, that’s all. It’s not a cure, Your Highness.”
“From where I’m standing, it looks like more of a cure than anything I’ve seen from the dozens of doctors who came before you.” When she ducked her head away, I sought her out again until she met my gaze. “Tell me, what can I do to show my gratitude?”
She drew in a soft breath, delicate lips parted but only barely. “I’m sure you’ll find a way, Leonidas.” Pulling away, she bobbed in a short curtsy. “Pardon me, but I need to take this to the kitchen.”
Like a scared mouse, she hurried from the room. I watched her leave, more conflicted than ever. Eight hours ago, I was ready to run away with Michaela, and now, with Sadira saving my father, I didn’t know what to think.
“There, that look.” Bishop pointed at my face like he was spotting a rare lark. “That pained, agonizing, perhaps slightly constipated look on your face. What, pray tell, does it mean?”
I groaned and rubbed both palms over my face. “It means that love is fickle and complicated and I’m ready to either run away and join the circus or perhaps become a eunuch and do away with the whole lot of it.”
Bishop whistled through his teeth. “If I’m weighing in, might I suggest the circus.” He crossed his legs and cleared his throat. “But, if you’re talking love, isn’t that a good trouble? All things considered? That was the goal, wasn’t it?”
“Love with one woman,” I clarified.
“And you find yourself in love with…”
“ Two women.” I glared. Wasn’t it obvious?
“Well,” Bishop’s leg dropped to the floor as he shrugged, “since you have three on the line, I’d say you’re whittling it down. I’ve found myself in love with five or six at a time. Once,” his finger popped up, “the whole female cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream out of Salisbury.” He sighed as if caught in a memory. “What a spring that was.”
“Come on, man.” I kicked his boot. “This is my life, not your soap opera. You can’t possibly expect me to believe you were fully in love with six women at once. There is a difference between love and lust, you know.”
“Same animal, different uptake, at least in my opinion.” He smirked, perhaps hoping I would hang onto his lighthearted approach, but I wasn’t having it. His palms slapped against his thighs. “Very well. Ask what you really want to know.”
I drew in a deep breath to clear my jumbled mind. “Is it possible, do you think,” I hated to even ask, making me feel like a traitor from four different directions, “to love two women at once?”
“Absolutely.” He put up his palms to claim innocence before I fired back with a quip about his love life record. “I mean it too, but not from personal experience.” He cleared his throat and shifted, displaying his discomfort. “I was in love with someone who was in love with me and someone else.”
I rocked back a step. The idea of Bishop being in love at all was unbelievable, but to pair it with the look of pain in his eyes, I knew it had to be authentic. He meant it.
“And she chose him?” Stupid thing to ask, but it tumbled out without much thought.
“No, we have eight children and we summer in Yorkshire. Haven’t you received the holiday post? Young Timmy got a puppy. And Tabitha got high marks last semester, We’re so proud.” Bishop rolled his eyes and shook off his sarcasm. “Blimey, Leo. Obviously, she chose the other bloke.” He cleared his throat again, this time to cover the way emotion choked his throat. “I don’t blame her. My track record was blighted at best and I was the foreigner; her Coco, so to speak. She chose the safer option, at least on the surface.”
Something triggered a memory. “Wait, the American? That’s who you’re talking about? The starlet from the movies? You loved her?”
Bishop pushed to his feet and started for the window. “I thought we were talking about your love life. Why on earth have we settled on mine?”
“Sorry, I just… You’ve never said much about that time… I wasn’t sure how deeply…” His eyes begged me to abandon the train of thought. “Yes, my love life. Feel free to weigh in.”
“You know where I stand, Cousin. Sadie may have come through in the moment, but your heart has belonged to Michaela since you were young.”
“And what of the kingdom? I must sacrifice the crown to have her. But with Lady Sadira—”
“Sadie,” Bishop corrected.
“Sadira,” I restated. “Perhaps our love could become what I have with Coco over time. Look at my parents—”
“Oh, you mean the woman who has been lobbying for her chance to rule in the wake of her husband’s death? Yes, please,” Bishop nodded eagerly, “let’s talk about that.”
I rolled my eyes. “She’s overjoyed that he’s recovering, and you know it.” She’d been at his side the whole time, helping Sadira wherever possible. The picture of a doting and devoted wife.
Bishop left it alone. “Perhaps this mystical soup ,” Bishop waved his hands through the air like he was divining our futures, “will heal your father and you’ll be off the hook for another twenty years. What then?”
I couldn’t claim the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. “Then, don’t I owe it to Sadira to marry her in gratitude?”
Bishop’s shoulders slumped. “Is there not a selfish bone in your entire body? Or is it all honor and duty with you?” He stopped me before I could defend my thought. “You know what your problem is?”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll enlighten me.”
“Of course. And you’re welcome.” He feigned a bow that meant very little. “Your problem is that you only see Michaela as your friend. You have not put her on equal ground as the others.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s all been about friendship.” Immediately, memories of our heated kisses flashed through my mind, turning my cheeks hot with guilt. If I thought my cousin would ignore my misstep, I was sorely mistaken. He leaned forward, crooked grin in place, finally invested in the conversation.
“You rogue.” He lobbed a pillow at me from one of the benches, but nothing but pride showed in his face. “You mentioned the first, but I gather it’s happened again? I suspected but I wasn’t sure. A proper snog, then? Once? Twice? How recent?”
I rolled my eyes. “Never you mind any of it. A gentleman never tells.”
“Ah, yes. That’s my issue. I’ve never been a gentleman.” He shook his head. “Your adventures aside, my point still stands. You’ve taken all these other women out, but never once your dear Coco. And certainly not as Lady Michaela. A few secret moments don’t count toward a real relationship.”
I frowned. He had a point. The tables had turned in Sadira’s favor after our solo date to the old castle. Same with Blair. Michaela had never been given that chance. Perhaps it was time to remedy that situation. I loved her, I wanted her in my life, but Bishop was right, I lacked the resolve to make it happen.
With six strides, I pulled open the doors to the hallway. “Reginald?” I didn’t have to wait even a full minute for him to appear. He had a convenient habit of lingering.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Please set up a meeting with Tom. I need to let him know of a few changes I’d like to make to the filming schedule.”
“As you wish.” With a curt bow, he departed and I pulled the door shut, mind alight with excitement.
Bishop narrowed his eyes. “Dare I ask, what does that look mean?”
“It means, dear cousin… we need to plan the perfect date.”
Tom loved the pitch of a solo date with Michaela, but he begged me to give him time to run promos hyping the idea. Apparently, this was the sort of thing the viewers, worldwide, had been clamoring for. I still took issue with the idea of thousands of people weighing in on my love life and future, but if it would put pressure on my mother to stay out of it, then it was worth it to play to the masses.
When my father showed signs of improvement, Tom also suggested a royal interview with the king for each of the remaining contestants. At first, I hated the idea, but bless Bishop’s foresight, he reminded me that Coco’s appeal was in personal connections. If anyone could charm the king into changing a few laws, it would be her.
“Keep your options open,” Bishop reminded me.
He assumed responsibility for aiding Michaela in her preparation for the royal interview. Which left me alone to arrange the date scheduled for tomorrow evening, just before the choosing ceremony. The initial excitement and novelty of the ceremonies had transformed into tedious drudgery.
I had no doubt that I would send Esmerey home, but Tom insisted that we had to keep the pageantry of it all.
I tossed the notepad on my table, frustrated with my life.
Two days. I only had two days before I had to name the woman I would marry at the New Year’s Ball. Though Father grew stronger at first, the signs of disease had started to creep back in. I feared it would only be a matter of time before he faded once more. Doctors called Sadira’s soup a placebo. What did I know? Nothing mystical, practical, or ancient had worked yet. It was as if something stronger led the charge.
Fate would wait on no one.
I looked over the list in my notebook.
Carriage ride to countryside
Picnic by lake
Boat ride with music
It all felt wrong. These were the sorts of things that the rest of the ladies would want. But Coco? What we needed was a trampoline, a sky full of stars, and no one else in the world. We needed snacks and old movies, maybe a mix tape full of the best songs from the early 2000s and gummy worms to tie into ropes to see who could eat one the fastest. None of these romantic outings meshed with Coco, not really. And yet, my heart pulled for her in ways it never had with anyone else.
I sighed and stood. The interviews would be starting soon. I couldn’t intervene, but I wanted to be present just the same. I pulled my suit coat from the back of the chair and slipped it back on again. After the interviews, I would talk with Bishop. Maybe he had some ideas to bring romance into my evening with Coco.
Or maybe it wasn’t coming together for another reason.
I hated the thought, but perhaps we simply weren’t meant to be.
Michaela
“You realize I have been interviewed before, right? And recently.”
Bishop gave me a side eye that would rival the sass of a thirteen-year-old girl. “You realize you have never been interviewed by a king, not to mention the father of the man you’d like to marry, to whom, or to which, or… oh, whatever. Tosh! All that fancy twaddle.” He put his hands up as we walked down the hallway together. “Frankly, your love is illegal and this is your shot to fix it. So maybe stop being so bleeding cocky, yes?”
Obviously beat, I stopped by a marble statue of a rearing ram. At least its significance finally made sense to me. I frowned at Bishop, but his one arched eyebrow wasn’t giving way at all.
“Fine.” He wasn’t wrong. “But I swear, I know not to stutter or speak over anyone. I’ve memorized all the talking points for the kingdom that you gave me. I really don’t think I’m going to suck.”
Bishop started walking without me. “And if not sucking ,” I could practically taste his disgust over my word choice, “was the goal, then you would be golden, but you not only have to be good, you have to be better than the others and show that you are royal material despite your American birth.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing…”
“Explain how it’s a good thing,” he quipped back. Immediately, he brought himself into check. “Sorry, I have a quarrel with an individual in America, not the whole country. She’s been recently unearthed in my memories and it’s all too fresh.” Bishop flitted his hand through the air as he pulled ahead with his longer legs. “As you were.”
I jogged in my kitten heels to catch up with him. “Wait, that sounds like a story. Spill the tea.”
“What tea?” He shot me an alarmed look. “And why in heaven’s name would I spill perfectly good tea? Really. You Americans, so wasteful.”
“American slang. It meants tell me what happened, dummy.” I finally caught up to him. “I think we’ve stumbled upon your villain origin story.”
“One man’s villain is another man’s scorned and charred heart.” He took the final turn. “Oh dear, look at that.” He waved to the doors that led to the king’s chambers where the interview would be held. “Looks like we’re all out of time today for intrusive questions, perhaps another day, dearie.”
I rolled my eyes. “You aren’t even going to wish me luck?” The heavy doors loomed like a portal to another world full of dragons and ghouls. Since Fitz’s parents were on the other side waiting for me, the idea didn’t feel far off.
“Luck? No. But I shall wish you all the best and give you my faith that you are the superior choice.” He took my shoulders and faced me with a solemnity I didn’t expect from him. “Not only for him, but for the whole country.” Before I could speak, his grip spun me to face the doors again and with a gentle shove, he sent me forward. “Go on then, earn your crown, m’lady.”