No one else seemed to know, however, hence these three being unsure of his intentions.
“Good morning, Royce,” James said. “Lord Heaton, Lord Chuffey, Lord Maynard.”
They reciprocated with various renditions of “good morning, Your Highness.”
“Royce, I’m on my way out, but if I could have a word?”
Seizing upon the excuse, Prince Royce perked up visibly. “Yes, of course. Excuse me, everyone.”
Smoothly done, James. I trailed along behind until we were out of earshot, and a glance back confirmed the trio had already turned and walked in the opposite direction. Only then did I dare take James’s hand again.
James laced our fingers together and asked, “Royce, what was that about?”
“You rescued me without knowing?” Prince Royce gave him a thankful smile. “Bless you. They were, in short, trying to convince me to seize the opportunity to ascend the throne. They were not keen on hearing a no.”
“Ah.”
Ah, indeed. I could understand why people would seize upon Prince Royce, being the next biological son of the king and queen, but it was a nonsensical choice to me. Prince Royce didn’thave any ambition for the throne. He didn’t have the political savvy to rule well. He’d make a marvelous puppet figure and that was all. In fact, giving him the position would be dangerous.
It was why I agreed that if James wouldn’t take the throne, Princess Helena was the best choice. She knew how to manage the nonstop political intrigue in this gilded cage.
Prince Royce paused once we reached the gate of the garden, his shoulders slumping. “I shouldn’t have been born a prince. I wouldn’t be any good at being king. Few seem to care, though.”
“Oh, they care. They think you’ll be easy to manipulate because you don’t want to invest in ruling.”
Ouch, James. Accurate but brutal.
Prince Royce grimaced. “I wish I could refute you, but unfortunately…”
“Until our parents have designated a new heir to the throne, this is going to be a common situation. I suggest either permanently hiding in the hospital until it all blows over or coming up with a good response if someone corners you again.”
Prince Royce pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. I suspected he was already entertaining ideas of how to fake his death.
“I’ll hide in the hospital,” he finally said. “I don’t know of a good way to get people to leave me alone.”
“Probably the safer bet,” James admitted wryly. “Although run to me if you need to.”
“You’ll be my port in the storm?”
“I will.”
Relieved, Prince Royce smiled. “Thank you. I’ll take you up on your offer, so you best hold true to your word.”
James snorted, more amused than anything. “I will. But run for the hospital before someone else catches you. You were on your way there, were you not?”
Prince Royce looked about as if only just remembering his original purpose. “Oh! So I was. I’ll be off, then. Thanks again.”
For a man who preferred scholarly pursuits, he sure could move quickly when he was of a mind to. Look at him, he was halfway to his carriage already. Motivation was a powerful thing.
“Well, that side tangent out of the way, back to horses.” I continued leading James toward the stables.
“How many horses did you get, exactly?” James inquired.
“Seven.”
“Really? Seven horses for the seven knights stationed here?”
“No, six for the knights stationed here,” I corrected. We had four on a rotating basis up north, of course, so they didn’t count. “One for you.”
