“Someonehad to.”
“And—youdid.”
“Ofcourse,I did.”
Alexandre stared at him for a beat, waiting, blinking his large dark eyes, and then said, “All right, the subtle approach isn’t working. Maxence, you should take the job.”
Shock.“What?Absolutely not!”
“Absolutelyyes.”
“Alexandre, Ican’t.”
“What’s your excuse this time? It can’t be that your brother has priority. Surely, you’re not still insisting that you want to be a priest. I saw the pictures of you down on one knee in front of some girl who looked oddly like your secretary at the Sea Change Gala before all hell broke loose.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to be the sovereign prince.”
“Monaco needs you, Maxence. And despite all the inconsistencies in your life decisions, you’ve always been there for Monaco when the country needed you.”
“Yes, of course, but that doesn’t mean I want toruleit.”
“But it doesn’t mean you don’t. Do you want Marie-Therese to be the sovereign?”
“Of course not. Marie-Therese will destroy this country, whether or not she’s a puppet of her father.”
Alex grabbed Maxence’s upper arms and stared straight into his eyes. “Max, my cousin, I’m going to give you what you always wanted no matter how hard you’ve tried to deny it.”
Shock slammed through Maxence like his soul was leaving his body. “No,wait.”
Alexandre pushed through the crowd and bounded up onto the dais in front of the throne.
Maxence yelled after him,“Wait!”
Alexandre raised his hands and shouted, “Everybody! During the previous proceedings, I called for a roll call vote during the motion to disqualify Prince Maxence Grimaldi from the line of succession. I demand that we hold this roll call vote, so everyone’s position is on the record. Something this important should not rest on an impromptu voice vote. Prince Maxence Grimaldi, heir apparent to the throne of Monaco and chosen successor of Prince Rainier IV—”
Maxence thought Alexandre was overstating that position by several orders of magnitude.
“—come stand here on the stage while we call this vote.”
Maxence hesitated.
Lady Valentina Martini appeared beside him. “For the love of God, get up on that stage and look regal.”
The crowd stepped away from Maxence’s path, and he stepped up onto the dais and stood beside Alexandre, his gaze level.
His heart was pounding so hard that his veins echoed the rhythm.
The Crown Council meeting had become a haze for Maxence. If you’d asked him just hours ago what he’d do if someone tried to crown him the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, his answers would have includedgo immediately to Rome to take Holy Orders and become a cloistered clergyanddrown myself in the Mediterranean,mostly in jest.
Mostly.
But Monaco was a woman in danger, and Maxence had never walked away when someone needed rescue.
More arguing broke out in the crowd, and the bickering turned to shouts.
Over on the left, shoving started.
Maxence drew a deep breath, inflating his lungs like bellows, and announced over the noise,“The meeting will come to order.”
