“Thank you,” he said, with a nod toward his wife.“Pay no attention to Michael’s grandmother.She’s old school when it comes to the House of Blue, even in these modern times.She was a confidant of Queen Rosemunde, your grandmother, when you were born.”
“I’m sitting right here.I can hear you, darling.”Granny glanced at Scottie.“Your presence is most welcome.We are honored.”
“Thank you, Granny,” Michael said.“And to be clear, I’m not joining Pratt anytime soon.”
“I asked her not to mention Pratt tonight,” Granddad said with one of his trademark smiles at Granny.“But she’s on your mother’s bandwagon, anxious for you to come aboard.You will.When the time is right.”With that, Granddad stood and taking Granny’s hand, they wandered off to join a circle of friends.
“What time might that be?”Michael muttered.“When I’ve lost my mind?When the world’s on the verge of collapse?”He snagged two flutes of champagne from a black-tie server.He handed one of the bubblies to her.“To families.”
She laughed softly and he tried to memorize the sound.“To families.”
“There you are, Mick.”Michael turned to find Evan and Tracy approaching, along with several friends and family members, all thrilled to meet Lady Royal.Especially Tracy.
They’d just finished introductions when Finn came flying out of the evening shadows, throwing himself against Michael.“You’re here!You’re here!”
With one arm, Michael lifted him up and spun him around.“Don’t you look nice in your suit and tie.”
“Dad made me.”Finn’s face, very much like his father’s at that age, was alight with excitement.“Can we play football later?The lads are made up you’re here.Will you show them the scissor kick, please?”
“I don’t know, old chap.We’re at Granddad and Granny’s party.”
“But all the cousins are here.Besides, we never see you.”
Michael bent to Finn’s ear.“Later, when the grown-ups have had too much punch.”
With a wide grin, his nephew shot him two thumbs-up and darted toward the cousins—a conglomerate of grandchildren, nieces, and nephews—and friends, dressed like miniature adults.If that didn’t bring back a memory or two…
“When Evan and I were young, we’d—” He was speaking to Scottie, but she was gone.“Scottie?”He tapped Evan on the shoulder.“Where’d Lady Royal get off to?”
Scanning the crowd, his affection for the little cousins and childhood memories gave way to adrenaline.Moving through the party with controlled motion, chuffed she’d disappeared, he ran through de-escalation scenarios and determined avenues of escape.Then he heard her voice.
“Do you feel your cause is just?”she was saying in her warm Tennessee accent, surrounded by a thick crowd of men and women.
“I do, Lady Royal.Your interest surprises me.”MP Hamish Fickle’s rhythmic Midlands’ accent cut through the air.“The RECO party now holds eleven seats in the House of Commons.We’re gaining influence and—”
Michael broke into the circle of men in white-tie tuxedos and women playing coy under wide-brimmed hats, which included his mother.
“And two lords in the Senate have moved in the RECO direction,” Mum added.
“Indeed,” said Fickle, with a sloppy grin.In his mid-thirties, the good-looking Member of Parliament with a quick mind was becoming a thorn to the House of Blue.And his political influence was just getting started.“Lord Bexley and Lord Innis.Wise men, I’d say.”
“Isn’t that to their own demise?If the House of Blue goes, so will the aristocracy,” Scottie said, holding the attention of those around her.“What would be your purpose for abolishing the monarchy?”
What was she doing?Rule number one of the House of Blue:Political opinions are never discussed in the public square—which in this case was quickly gathering a larger crowd.
“Old-fashioned.Out of style,” Fickle declared.“We know now, thanks to America, what a constitutional republic looks like.We don’t need a ruling class to—”
“Come now, Hamish, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water,” said Lord Sanzenbacher, whose family had held a Senate seat since the sixteenth century.“The American government isn’t perfect, is it, Lady Royal?”
“Lord Sanzenbacher,” Fickle said with a grin.“We must toss out the baby.She’s all wrinkled.Been too long in the water.”
“Hasn’t the queen done a good job of leading Lauchtenland into the twenty-first century?”Scottie said as Michael shoved in next to her.“She’s not in the way of progress.She’s leading it.”
The group chuckled their assent, and Fickle turned to Michael.“Did you bring Lady Royal here to campaign for her mother’s causes, Cross?”
“No, he didn’t.He’s probably thinking I should keep my fat yap shut.”Scottie’s comment earned a laugh.“I’m just curious about your animosity toward such an ancient family.Believe me, America has its problems.No government is perfect.”
“Quite right,” Hamish said.“But we’d rather have a balance—preventing governments from confiscating property and money without a citizen’s say.”
