Nico leaned toward Max. “I thought we were keeping this confidential.”
“She’s on our side,” Max told him.
Nico raised one eyebrow but said, “If you still think it’s a good option, I will accept.”
Marie-Therese’s eyes, already lined with makeup until she resembled an anime character, widened still further. “You’re kidding me.”
Maxence smiled at her. “Not at all. I think Nico would be an excellent choice.”
“He’s not eveninthe line of succession.”
“Sure he is,” Maxence said, turning to look at Nico. “You’re, what? Number thirty-two? Thirty-three?”
Nico waved his hand in the air. “Every time someone has a baby or passes eighty years old, it changes. I can’t keep track.”
Marie-Therese rolled her eyes. “The conservatives arenevergoing to vote for him. The ones who think there shouldn’t be an election at all, that there should just be a confirmation for the next person in line, arenevergoing to vote for someone who’sso fardown the line of succession.”
“The point of the election has always been to safeguard the throne from someone who would abuse it,” Maxence said. “Why shouldn’t we elect the person who would do the best job?”
“If we’re going to do that,” she pulled Max’s arm toward her and whispered, “we might as well be a democracy.”
Maxence whispered back, “Splendid idea.”
Marie-Therese stepped back. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Maybe,” he told her, “but I think Monaco garners sufficient publicity from the royal family not to abolish it completely.”
Marie-Therese shook her head. “I’m going to go get drunk, because you obviously already are.”
Maxence called after her, “Don’t forget we have to open the dancing!”
Nico stared at her retreating back. “If we can’t convince people like Marie-Therese to vote for me, this isnevergoing to work.”
Maxence turned back to him. “She was just surprised. I’ll bring her around tomorrow. Let’s go to the dining room. Supper will be served in a few minutes.”
She had been shocked by the switch to Nico, however. Maybe Maxence should prepare the members of his voting bloc to vote for his second cousin Nicostrato Grimaldi tomorrow.
The supper was served on the upper floors at round tables seating twelve people each. Maxence switched a few name cards to seat Nico next to him so they could plot their coup for the next evening. The other ten people at their table were senior government ministers and VIP guests. They vied for Maxence’s attention because they thought he was going to be the sovereign, when they should have been competing for Nico’s attention, which amused Max for the duration of the supper.
Nico seemed solemn, which Maxence thought was a good look for him. If he held that expression at the election the next day, people might be more likely to vote for the young man who took the job so seriously. Some nobles had privately expressed worries that Pierre might not have taken the responsibility seriously enough, considering his reputation. Emphasizing that Nico would approach the job industriously might win over a few more electors that Maxence had not been able to quite persuade.
Nico asked him, “And you were serious when you said you’d stay for at least six months? Or a year if I need it?”
“Absolutely.” After Max was ordained,ifhe were ordained, he would immediately ask for a leave of absence to make sure Nico was taken care of before he began the last stage of his Jesuit training.
“You’re sure? It feels like you’re humoring me.” Nico had known Maxence for a long time.
“Before I make any other commitments, I’ll make sure that I can be here for the next six months, possibly twelve.”
Nico tilted his head, smiling a little at Maxence. “What are you planning?”
Max shrugged, grinning a little and looking over the crowded round tables filling the room. “I’m not sure yet. It depends.”
Nico leaned toward him just a little bit. “Does it have anything to do with Princess Grace’s engagement ring that you took out of the vault this morning?”
Conflict rose in his head. “I wanted to see it. I wanted toholdit. I remember her, you know. She was extraordinarily kind, at least as much as I can remember. She smuggled cookies to me when I was at home and mailed them to me when I was in kindergarten at Le Rosey.”
“I think she was my great grand-aunt, maybe. I was presented to her and Prince Rainier III a few times when I was a toddler, but I don’t really remember her at all.”
