51. King Lawrence
King Lawrence
“What do you mean you can’t get close to their home?”
“Your Majesty—”
“What do you mean you can’t get close to their home!”
I didn’t wait for George to answer. I threw my cup right at him, cursing as I felt the rage impossibly build even more than it already was.
It never left me anymore.
I stayed in a constant state of annihilation.
I couldn’t have a conversation with an aide or servant without making them cower or cry.
Nothing was going as planned. The media was having a field day with Penelope’s relinquished title.
If it wasn’t for a hopeful future, I would have let her crash and burn.
I would have told them what I really thought about Vaughn and how he had ruined her. Broken her mind!
But I didn’t say anything. I used her mental health to explain how she wasn’t ready for the responsibilities yet.
It was bullshit. Penelope could have easily run her estates and everyone elses.
She had a knack for business. For leading.
She was better than average. Better than even most of the skilled workers I’d come across.
And she was giving it up.
No… she was giving me up. It had nothing to do with the work and everything to do with distancing herself from me.
My fists squeezed.
Yes. That had to be it. I made her question Vaughn’s hold over her. I made her feel something other than his suffocating grasp on her mind.
I’d fix her soon.
When I finally got my hands on Penelope, there’d be nothing left of Vaughn. I’d erase him from her mind completely until all she knew was me.
I turned, glaring at George.
“The ball is tonight. I will figure out a way to separate her from Vaughn, and you will take her. Do I make myself clear?
George shifted on his feet.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to work.” He paused as I took a step forward.
“Why?”
“Because, Sire, I checked the list before I headed up here. Ms. Taylor will not be attending tonight. She sent word in not an hour ago.”
“Not coming?” Heat blistered only to calm. My lips pulled back on the side, and my pulse spiked. “Not coming. She’s not coming. That’s actually… brilliant. It’ll work in our favor. She’ll be alone. We can easily get to her then.”
At his expression, my smile melted.
“What?”
“What if she’s not at home? What if she stays at The Order?”
“Then I guess you better find a way in to get her.”
“That’s impossible, Your Majesty. It would be a wasted mission. I can’t do it on my own. I’d need… at least two dozen men. At least. The Order’s numbers are staggering. And that’s just what I’ve seen. It’s like another world underground. It takes up a huge portion of the entire city.”
My eyes lowered, and my mind raced.
“Two dozen?”
“More, if you can spare them, but two dozen might work.”
Slowly, I nodded.
“You must not let anyone know you’re my men. Find guns somewhere else. Everything, down to the clothes the men wear should be untraceable. You get in, get her, and then you take her to Esher. Make sure there’s no survivors on our side. I do not want this getting out. Make sure it doesn’t.”