I was quite alright sacrificing Victor for answers.
A moral reprobate he might be, but stupid he was not. Victor’s head dropped and he whispered, “I’ll take the villa house.”
The most sensible choice, to be sure, because then he still had a guaranteed living. He’d blow through any lump sum in a few months’ time. Victor had no idea how to budget.
Lifting his head, he stared at me with hollow eyes. “I suppose you’ll take my position.”
“I can’t be made king,” I reminded him. “Helena would be my choice in replacing you. But we’ll see, I suppose. Father, Mother, any other words?”
Both shook their heads, and I gestured for my knights to step forward. They both seized Victor by the arms and dragged him, unprotestingly, from the room. The door shut behind them with a sort of finality.
“I don’t know what to do now,” Beatrice whispered in the silence of the room. “My heir is banished, my daughter’s engagement broken, all in the space of an afternoon.”
Yes, it was a bit much all at once. Even I could agree there. “Mother, I would suggest letting things ride for a month or two. Just step back, breathe, get some perspective. Rushing into the next decision won’t do anyone any good.”
She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. “I’m going to go lie down.”
“Do, rest,” I encouraged her.
Beatrice exited the room, each step heavy, as if she had rocks in her shoes. She had always leaned toward the dramatic, but in this case, she had every right to be upset.
When the door closed behind her, I shifted, intending to rise and leave also, but King Patrick lifted a hand to stay me.
“James, I have two concerns. First, my eldest has several young lords backing him.”
“Blekinsopp, Compton, Humphries, and Plupott.” I knew them all too well.
He grimaced. “Indeed. They’ll be outraged and no doubt cause trouble over Victor’s loss of power.”
“I anticipated such and have some safeguards in place. Still, I’ll help you wrangle them if they get too out of hand.”
“That’s very appreciated. They’re as loose in their morals as Victor, and unfortunately with the bad tempers to match. Now, the next thing—Aurora.”
“Ah. Quite.”
He let out a long, frustrated sigh. “I read through the report you gave me. It will cause us a great deal of trouble to end Aurora because of who has invested in it, but if we time it right, we might be able to save some face?”
“Use Victor as the scapegoat?”
“That’s my thought. Itishis fault, after all.”
“Quite. He has some properties under his name, does he not?”
“Well, yes, but some of them are intrinsically tied to his position as heir. They’re not something we can sell or transfer, as they’re meant for the heir to the throne.”
I hadn’t known of that wrinkle. I’d just known the properties had been automatically transferred to me once I’d become king. Huh, interesting.
“I would reimburse all those who invested in good faith.”
King Patrick nodded as if exhausted. “I will. I’ll take care of that aspect if you’ll make sure Aurora is dismantled.”
“I can do that, certainly.”
King Patrick was trustworthy with this sort of thing, and I didn’t have the power to handle some of those properties, so I had to leave parts of the dismantling up to him. I made a mental note to have Edwin track the progress, however, so if anyone approached me with questions, I’d have answers.
I gave him a consoling pat on the arm. “I know this isn’t the outcome you wanted. For that, I’m sorry.”
King Patrick attempted a smile, but it faltered almost before its conception and left a tired, depressed man in its wake. “I fear I spoiled him too much as a child. If I’d been sterner with him, would he have been a better man?”
