“You told her to sleep with a Bruslan lackey?” Christoph asked next.
“No, she merely took a liking to him,” Everard said. “I couldn’t disapprove when I have kept her from marrying anyone but you.”
“Why me?”
“You were supposed to succumb completely to her, that would have neutralized you. But we overestimated her allure.”
“We?”
Alana peeked around the other sofa corner for a second before she hid again. Her heart was beginning to pound. Good God, what was Christoph doing, asking so many questions before he had control of the situation? Or did he think he did have control? He was armed, though he wasn’t revealing anything other than the saber on his hip. But he’d taken two pistols out of his saddlebag and stuck them both in the back of his pants before they’d entered the house. Yet if Braune admitted to an involvement with the Bruslans, he was going to have to kill them all to make sure it went no further than this room, and he still held the pistol!
She positioned the dagger in her hand, then peeked once more. She had a clear shot at that pistol, as well as Braune’s wrist and arm, which were extended as he pointed the weapon. She might not be able to knock it out of his hand, but she would definitely distract him long enough . . .
“Nadia and I,” Everard said.
Christoph laughed shortly. “So you would have foisted a used bride on me?”
Alana groaned with the realization. Christoph was getting a confession, one he might not get if Everard didn’t think he had the upper hand. And that’s why he’d made no move yet. He wanted that confession! He’d be furious with her if she interrupted it by trying to save him. She moved quickly back to the other side of the sofa to gauge Christoph’s intention. She’d actually have a better view of her target from there, all of the man, instead of just his arm. Christoph couldn’t get angry if she just helped when the time came.
“That wouldn’t have mattered if she had succeeded,” Everard said. “In the meantime, it did no harm for her to toy with the young man she likes. She doesn’t like you any longer, apparently. And he delivers messages for me, so he is often here. It is difficult, visiting my friends without stirring up suspicions. You have them watched too closely.”
“Of course I do, and Karsten Bruslan will soon be arrested for treason.”
Everard laughed. “Arrest him, no one cares. He was a fool to let his men attack the palace after someone, I daresay not you and your men, beat him up. Probably some jealous husband.”
“The rebels weren’t his idea?”
“Of course not. All of you have misjudged the Bruslans. They’re rich, and spoiled, and lazy. They like other people to do their work for them. This new generation is not like Ernest and the old guard. They were fighters!”
“You’ve prodded them?”
“The young bucks, yes. Someone had to so you’d keep your eyes on them. There were only ever two Bruslans who took the initiative, Ernest and his mother. His mother had the right idea, to just get rid of Frederick, and she paid for a number of assassins, but luck remained with Frederick. Then she lost her mind, and her memories, and no one else in that family would take up the gauntlet, they were too complacent. The truth was, no one was left who wanted that throne enough to kill for it.”
“I should have known. You were one of the nobles that had been hit the hardest when the Bruslans lost the throne. You had been the most outspoken in advising King Ernest to gain Napoléon’s favor with a real army instead of money, which was all that had been asked for. It might even have been your suggestion to begin with.”
Everard laughed. “Now you give me too much credit.”
“I doubt that. You’ve kept the flame alive when it might have otherwise faded away.”
It was as if the man simply couldn’t help bragging. The smirk was in his tone when he said, “Perhaps.”
“Why rebels? What did you actually think you would accomplish with that plan?”
“An army, one big enough to storm the palace, a repeat of history.” At Christoph’s laugh, Everard added, “Yes, I know. We should have taken that approach before Frederick proved himself such a worthy king. We underestimated how beloved he really is. We instilled fear, that he was sick, dying, but the fools were horrified at the thought of demanding he step down because of it, they would rather have him right up to the day he dies than another in his place. And you!” Everard finished in disgust. “If Nadia had succeeded in seducing you to our side, nothing else would have been necessary. You’re the one who forced us to desperate measures because you’ve made it impossible to get near him.”
Leonard spoke up, “Who hired me to kill the princess eighteen years ago?”
Everard gave him a blank look. Alana didn’t think it was contrived. He didn’t really seem to know.
Drawing the same conclusion, Christoph asked, “Who is the we that you mentioned?”
Everard smirked. “Do you really need that spelled out? The other nobles like myself who lost so much when a Stindal took the throne.”
“So all these machinations are just to get your land and titles—”
“Our power is what we want back. We want a more pliable, shall we say more wealth-oriented, man on the throne, such as one of the older Bruslans.”
“Not Karsten?”
