This man is…confusing. Everything he is saying reflects the truth, and yet he has not said anything negative against me despite being my opponent. He must have an ulterior motive behind his choice of words, though I cannot fathom what it is.
He sits forward. “I’ve been among the people far longer than you have, so I know well the concerns our people have about your rule, should you be crowned.”
“So you know how to best me,” I surmise.
“I know how to help you,” he corrects.
“What?” It is Elliot who says that, and he stares at Grimstad like the man is talking nonsense. At least I am not the only one confused.
Grimstad shrugs. “Like I said, if the people choose you to be their queen, it should be because you are the best candidate for them. But there’s one thing that worries them more than most, and I would imagine it is not something they’ll tell you, even when you join them for lunch.”
I can almost feel the tension rolling off Elliot’s shoulders as he shifts closer to me, as if I might be in more danger from the calm and collected man sitting across from me than I was from the crowd on the street. “What is that?” I ask, not certain if I want to know.
“You are unmarried.”
A humorless laugh escapes me. “I am aware.”
“And that would leave the throne vulnerable.”
That is what Halevik said.
“You are also unmarried,” I counter.
Grimstad’s smile grows, like he finds my comment amusing. “I’m aware.”
“Does that not make you an equally vulnerable choice?”
“I have no interest in marriage unless it benefits more than myself, and as that outcome is unlikely, it would be a waste of time for anyone to try.”
“No interest at all?” Why that is my question, I do not know. It surprises me, I suppose, to think a man as even-tempered and handsome as Markham Grimstad would deny himself a partner.
“I have little time for love and affection, and I imagine being king will not change that.”
“I do not appreciate your presumption,” I mutter. “You may not end up as king, no matter how popular you are.”
Amusement flickers in his eyes. “Being kingwouldnot change that,” he says, once again perfectly content to correct his mistake. “If you are elected queen, many people are worried that power-hungry men will do whatever it takes to become your husband regardless of the danger it poses to you and your family.”
“Good thing she’s got me,” Elliot says in a growl.
Grimstad glances at him, a discerning look on his face before he turns his focus to me again. “Say you don’t have that problem. Say you are safe from predatory suitors. You are thirty-three, Your Highness, and with no heir in sight, you—”
“You are two years older than me,” I retort.
He acknowledges that with a nod. “But I also wouldn’t be required to carry a royal line if I took the throne. You would. If something happens to you before you provide a line of succession, people are afraid it will leave Candora in a state of emergency, given your brothers’ unwillingness to rule and your mother’s inability to return to the throne once she relinquishes her right.”
“That is why the people will not vote for me?”
“Among other reasons.”
Uncomfortable, I sit rigid in my seat and consider what he is telling me. Sander and Hex still have claim to the throne, but they have made it clear on numerous occasions that they will never take the crown. There are laws against forcing someone of royal lineage to rule, just as there are laws against a monarch reclaiming their crown once they have given itup. With no willing candidate, the state of Candora’s government would need to change, but it would not happen in a controlled way, such as through an election. If I were to suddenly lose my life, my country would more than likely suffer under a Parliament-appointed steward while the House of Lords implemented the new constitution and organized an election.
If Grimstad were to winthiselection now, the change would happen gradually over the course of his fifteen-year term rather than all at once.
The chances of me dying an untimely death are low, but if this is an obstacle in gaining the people’s support, I will need to find a solution before the election.
I tap a finger on the table as I think. I know what Liam would say if he were here: “Time to get yourself a baby, ASAP!” He would say it in jest, but a part of him would be in earnest. Itwouldsolve the problem of succession. But I am neither prepared to become a mother, nor would that solution help me in the next two weeks. Bonnie and Cole would both tell me that I am the only person who can determine the course of my life, and I should not let someone like Grimstad put ideas in my head. I have no idea what Derek would say, and the urge to send him a text hits me hard.
He always knows what to do.
