The Spare and the Heir
Page 22
“It gets worse.” Gabe slumped in the chair. “My father knows she used public funds and not only kept it quiet, he didn’t repay it.”
And that was a whole different matter entirely. “Will he be forced to step down?”
“Most likely. It will depend on the deal the prosecutor is willing to make, or the deal my father is willing to accept. The prosecutor may let him abdicate and give whatever reason he wants, then repay the funds with a large fine quietly, perhaps even calling it a donation or something. Neither one of them would have access to public funds ever again, though their private fortunes are plenty to live on quite comfortably.”
“You don’t think your father will go along with that?”
“It’s hard to say. He might be willing to in order to keep things quiet, but he’s just as likely to proclaim his innocence and let it play out in the courts while accusing the prosecutor, the investigators, and even me of a witch hunt. He could even come after you saying you leaked the story to me in hopes of dealing with my brother rather than a seasoned, experienced monarch.”
Esme actually snorted. Something she rarely did. “He’s been monarch less than a month longer than I have.”
Gabe nodded. “I know this, you know this, the public knows this. But he’s the elder statesman of the two of you simply by virtue of his age. He could even accuse you of trying to take out both him and my brother as heirs to the throne and use our marriage to take over Auverignon.”
* * *
Even as Esme gaped at him, Gabe suspected that’s what his father would do. Fight the accusation and try to turn it into a publicity battle against Esme.
“Why would I want to bring Auverignon into Islas del Sargasso?”
“You wouldn’t. But my father can use that accusation as part of the fight. Say you wanted to gift it to me, which would allow me to gift it to our second child, setting him or her up as monarch after your passing eventually.”
She sat slumped back in her chair, mouth wide, and looking completely unlike a queen. “That has to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. How do we get ahead of it?”
Gabe had been thinking about that for days. “We don’t. We stay quiet, make no comment. If that’s the route he takes, we issue a statement unequivocally denying it. I even offer to rescind my Auverignonian citizenship. Hopefully, it won’t come to that. I’d rather not as it would make travel back and forth a bit more difficult, but I will if I have to.”
He leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him. “It’s complicated, though. If I don’t give up my citizenship, and something were to happen to my brother before he has an heir, or my uncle who never had one, then by virtue of our marriage, you would become temporary regent of Auverignon until our second child is of an age to become monarch. If I do give up my citizenship, and something happens, Auverignon would be absorbed permanently into another Quad Country.”
Running a hand through his hair, Gabe concluded the argument. “There is a legal basis, sort of, for what my father could say, though everyone would know it wasn’t true at all.”
That would mean their second child would never truly be considered “the spare.” He or she would always have been the Auverignonian heir - as long as Gabe kept his citizenship. “If I give up my citizenship, I also give up my claim to the throne which would put Auverignon into a Constitutional crisis if the worst were to happen.”
“Then we do our best to prevent that from happening. If that’s the route your father takes, we publicly disavow his claims. If the question of citizenship comes up, we state the same reasons anyone else would want to maintain dual citizenship, including ease of travel between the two countries.”
“Daniel’s brother is going to the prosecutor tomorrow. It won’t stay quiet long.”
Esme leaned forward, resting her forearms against her desk. “The news with Mr. Wray is going to break soon as well. Chairman Franklin just left.”
She explained to him what had been found and what was still being looked into.
“Is this classified?” he asked. “Am I even allowed to know these things?”
“Yes, it’s classified. Yes, you’re allowed to know. You’re my husband. It’s expected I would share most things with you. Your seat on the Council will be approved tomorrow anyway.”
“Will Wray be there for the vote?”
“Most likely. I doubt Roland will be able to find what he needs before then.”
“Will he cause trouble? Try to keep me from being confirmed because I still hold my Auverignonian citizenship?”
Esme tapped not her pen against the blotter on her desk. “He could, but I doubt he will. It would be too forward and doesn’t have a prayer of working. It would give him too much unwanted attention.”
“I hate that it’s come to this.”
“You’re not the only one, but none of this is our doing. He’s the one who chose to betray his country.”
“And his future queen,” Gabe reminded her softly. “The woman he once claimed to love and want to spend his life with.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I made my peace with him a long time ago.”
“Not with him betraying you. That’s new information.” It had to be weighing on her, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
Esme stared at her folded hands for a long moment. “Why did you do it, Gabe?”
The sudden change in subject caught him off guard. “Do what?”
“Become the man you used to be. The Playboy Prince.”
He really hadn’t expected that question. Not now. The question itself wasn’t unexpected, but he’d thought she would ask long before now or never.
Gabe didn’t want to have this discussion here, not in the office where she was the queen and not his wife. He blew out a breath. “Can we discuss this later? I’ll tell you anything you want to know, but I’d rather not here and now unless you’re not willing to wait until later.’
“Later is fine.” Something in her changed, like a switch had been flipped. “I have work to finish before I can be done for the day.”
She didn’t actually say the words, but Gabe knew when he was being dismissed. He stood and bowed at the waist. “Until dinner then.” Was he toeing the line between being polite and respecting her position as queen while not coming off as snooty or obnoxious or condescending?
Instead of returning to his office, Gabe went straight to their quarters, calling the chef as he did. This night needed to go well. If it didn’t, it would set their relationship back, possibly irrevocably.
So when Esme arrived after she finished working for the day, a table for two had been set near the fireplace. A bottle of her favorite wine waited, as did her favorite meal, or would when it was time.
“What’s this?”
Gabe wore a suit, complete with sash proclaiming his status as prince consort, but tilted his head toward their room. “Change into something comfortable. Dinner is ready when you are.”
She gave him a skeptical look but went to their room. Rather than wearing something comfortable, Esme had changed into a cocktail dress and heels and did something to her hair.
He couldn’t help but whistle. “You look incredible, but I really did mean for you to be comfortable.”
“You’re wearing a suit,” she offered by way of explanation as she walked to her chair.
Gabe had to scramble to hold it for her.
“Why are you doing all of this?” she asked once he sat down. “Trying to butter me up?”
“Kind of,” Gabe admitted taking the dome off her tray to reveal a salad.
“Is what you have to say that bad?”
He rolled a small tomato around with his fork. “Maybe. Maybe not. What I’m afraid of most is that you’ll think I blame you in some way for my behavior when that isn’t the truth at all. I made my choices and take responsibility for them and how they hurt you and others, but that doesn’t mean the actions of others, including you, didn’t influence my decisions.”
Gabe knew he had to be completely honest. “Yes. At one point I blamed you for my actions.”
28
Staring at her salad wasn’t going to change anything, wouldn’t change that Gabe had blamed her for his actions.
“When I was about eighteen, there was a series of stories published about you and some guy about my age. You would have been fifteen at the time, but all of the stories speculated that he was your future prince.”
Esme nodded. “Bryant. We were friends. Nothing more. He never even kissed me.”
“That wasn’t what the stories made it sound like. Unnamed sources close to the palace said you were talking about spending your lives together.” He took a sip of his wine then a bite of his salad. “I knew we were supposed to get married. I followed all of the stories about you. I asked my parents to let us spend time together and was always told there would be plenty of chances later.”
This was the first Esme had heard of about that. She’d always thought it was his choice they never saw each other.
“I had been spending some time with this girl. Fairly casual because I knew nothing could come of it. She wanted more. I think she might have hoped she’d get pregnant and force me to marry her, but I don’t know why I think that. I didn’t think it at the time. She knew I had a politically arranged marriage waiting for me eventually, though she didn’t know who and didn’t know that I already knew who my wife would be.”
Esme couldn’t force herself to take more bites of her salad. She hated hearing all of this, though she knew she was the one who wanted him to tell her, that she really did need to know on some level.
“I’d always thought I was already in love with you.”
That caused Esme’s head to snap up. “What?”
Gabe looked her in the eye. “I was in love with you. Or rather, I was in love with the Esme in the papers, on the Internet. The Esme I thought I knew, but really didn’t.” His focus returned to his plate of food. “When I thought you’d fallen in love with another guy, that you wanted to marry him, I decided that it didn’t matter what I did. I called her up and took her out on a date. When we got back to her flat, I walked her inside...”
He stopped, but Esme didn’t want to know any more. “I see.” It was all she could choke out.
“We only went out a couple more times. She became incredibly clingy and started talking constantly about spending the rest of our lives together and didn’t believe me when I said I was still going to marry for political reasons someday. It was the last time I... spent that kind of time with a woman in Auverignon. I never did here, but when I was anywhere else, it was easy to find a woman who wanted to go back to the hotel with me. It didn’t bother me to be seen with a different woman every few days. You were in love with someone else. I didn’t think it mattered what I did.”
“That’s not true.”
“I know that now, but when I was eighteen or nineteen years old, I didn’t think the same way I do now. I didn’t know better, not really, and I certainly didn’t have my father and grandfather telling me to straighten up because my future wife, you, would be hurt by my actions.”
“Are you saying none of it was your fault? It was mine, your father and grandfather’s?”
Gabe shook his head. “No. That’s what I would have said eight or ten years ago, but I would have been wrong. I knew better, even if I didn’t have voices of wisdom in my life.” He reached out and covered her hand with his. “I thought you were having the same kind of relationship with another man, so why did it matter that I slept with other women? I know now it shouldn’t have mattered. Even if you were, I should have remained faithful to what I knew to be right. I regret every moment of that part of my life, for what it did to you, for experiencing with those other women what should have remained between us.”
He slid off his chair and knelt next to hers, one hand still clinging to hers while the other cradled the side of her face. “I’m so sorry, Esme. I know you’ve said you forgive me before, but I need to say it again. I’m sorry. With every fiber of my being, I’m sorry.”
Hot tears coursed down her cheeks. “I know you are.” It took everything in her, but she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I know you are,” she repeated, her forehead resting against his.
They stayed like that for several minutes until Gabe moved back to his seat. “Does that tell you what you wanted to know?” he asked as their nearly untouched salad plates were removed and the entrees brought in.
When they were alone again, Esme answered. “It makes the reason I asked much more ironic.”
“What’s that?”
“The reason I began seeing Emmett in the first place was because you were gallivanting around with a different woman every day it seemed. I didn’t intend to fall for him, but just to show you that I didn’t care what you were doing.” She hesitated. “Both of our reactions to what we thought the other was doing clearly backfired on several different levels.”
“If only our parents had let us have a relationship to start with.” He sighed. “We could have avoided all sorts of heartache and been married for a few years before your mother’s passing instead of just a few weeks. We would have been much better prepared.”
“You could have contacted me,” she pointed out. “Or at least my mother.”
Gabe shook his head. “My parents told me repeatedly I wasn’t to have any contact until you turned twenty-one. It was part of the deal they signed with your mother.”
Esme picked up her wine glass. “I’ve seen the agreement. There was no such stipulation in there. In fact, our families were to spend two weeks together a year starting when I turned sixteen. One week here, one in Auverignon.”
Understanding crossed Gabe’s face. “But by then, I was already earning my reputation, and your mother refused to enforce it because she didn’t want to hurt you.”
“That’s my best guess, but I don’t know that for certain.”
More of the weight seemed to settle on his shoulders. “If I hadn’t been out sowing my oats, as it were, you would never have dated him, and he wouldn’t have felt the need for revenge. He never would have been a part of the hostage situation.”
* * *
After quickly wiping his mouth on his napkin, Gabe set the napkin on the table and stood, taking Esme by the hand and pulling her to her feet then into his arms.
“It’s my fault you were in danger.” The reality of it flowed through him until it reached his innermost being.
“No, it’s not, Gabe. We both made mistakes. Yours were more public than mine. You shouldn’t have gone off the dating deep end just because you heard through the paparazzi that I had a boyfriend. I shouldn’t have let my guard down with another man, even if you were seen with different women regularly.”
She was giving him an out, forgiving him again.
He didn’t deserve her.
“But no matter what either of us did, even though Emmett and I went through a bad break up, that doesn’t excuse his cooperation with Isaiah. The reality is, if Emmett hadn’t helped Isaiah, Isaiah still would have found a way onto that island. He wanted those girls too badly to let them go.” Esme held on more tightly to him.
Gabe let her and clung to her all the more.
“What do we need to do to make sure I’m confirmed?” he asked. “I want to be there with you when he’s around. Until I’m on the Council, he can claim things are classified.”
“Nothing. Just show up tomorrow. It’s going to happen.” She leaned back until she could look up at him. “I know I have security all over the place, but it makes me feel safe to know you want to be there, to protect me.”
When she kissed him, Gabe let himself get lost in it, at least until he realized it was leading to something more than just a kiss. “Esme...” he whispered. This wasn’t the time for them to do more than kiss. There was too much still
to discuss, details to be dealt with.
“No.” She took a step backward, pulling him with her. “Forget about all of it, just for a little while. This. Right here. This is what something out there was fighting against. I know there’s good in this world, and I know there’s evil. I know who the Father of Truth is, and where the father of lies lives. You. Me. Together. That’s what the great deceiver wanted to prevent. I don’t know why, but I know you and I together are right.”
By the time she finished talking, they’d made it to their room. Gabe kicked the door shut behind him then swept Esme into his arms as he kissed her further.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he told her as he set her back on her feet a few steps later. “I know it’s nothing I did, but I’m so grateful that God in His infinite wisdom and mercy saw fit to put us together.”
He kissed her again, and this time neither of them stopped.
Much later, later enough the room was lit solely by moonlight, Gabe sat in one of the chairs near a window and watched his wife sleeping. After reaffirming that they belonged together, they’d laid there and talked for a long time.
Gabe told her things he’d never told anyone. More about his hopes and dreams, his fears of being overlooked and unimportant. She’d shared that she’d always feared never living up to her mother’s legacy.
And Esme had explained what she’d said the other day.
That she feared she’d be unable to have children.
He’d whispered words of reassurance, reminding her the doctor said it was unlikely to happen again. He reminded her that the last pregnancy, despite the fact it ended before it truly began, saved her life in many ways. Because she was the queen, they would have kept looking for the source of the pain, but if she hadn’t been pregnant, would they have waited? Given it time to go away on its own and waited long enough her appendix ruptured instead.
But mostly, he tried to reassure her that no matter what happened, he’d be there with her every step of the way. Whatever disappointments came their way on a personal, professional, or political level, they’d be together.