by D. J. Holmes
“If you will follow me,” James said. “I have a room prepared.”
It only took a few minutes to reach the room James had ready. Without having to ask, James’ butler appeared with three drinks. James’ coffee was just how he liked it and as neither his uncle nor the King complained about what they received, James assumed their preferences had been taken into account. I’ll have to ask him later how he already knows what the King drinks, James thought to himself.
“Where is Ms. Rodriguez?” James’ uncle asked after taking a sip of his drink.
“She should be here any minute,” James answered. “I only told her about the meeting about an hour ago. She didn’t take too kindly to my delay in informing her, I haven’t seen her since she left to get ready.”
“Ha!” Edward shouted, almost spilling his drink. “You only gave her an hour to get ready to meet the King of the British Star Kingdom. I’m surprised she didn’t shoot you. Dear me my boy, you may know how to handle a warship but you have a lot to learn about women, let me tell you!”
“I think she also said something along those lines,” James said.
Just then a knock sounded on the door. When James shouted, “Enter,” Suzanna rushed in.
“My sincerest apologies your Majesty, Admiral, I hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long?” she said as she came over to shake Edward’s hand.
“Not at all Councilwoman. We have just sat down,” Edward said as he stood to shake her hand.
“I am pleased then,” Suzanna said as she took the remaining seat in the room. James smiled at her but in return she shot him an accusing look.
The King is right, James begrudgingly admitted, I do have a lot to learn.
“I don’t have much time,” Edward began. “So I want to get right down to business. Fairfax and I have a proposition to make to the both of you.”
Uh oh, James thought. There is no way I’m going to like this.
“Suzanna,” Edward began. “Once the bill to accept Haven as a protectorate is passed in both houses, Fairfax and I would like to appoint you as the first Governor of Haven.”
“What?” Suzanna blurted out, taken completely by surprise. “But I am from Haven, I am not British. I serve on the Haven Council. I cannot be a governor. I want to represent my people,” Suzanna continued without thinking as she fired out all the reasons why the King’s idea was a bad one.
“We plan to abolish the Haven Council and establish a new Senate with senators elected by the Haven population after the protectorate has been set up,” King Edward cut in. “We feel that you will be able to serve your people and us far more effectively as Governor rather than just a senator.
“I will confess; I have my doubts. You are still an unknown entity. Yet I am sure you will agree that even if we can remove the Indian problem. We will still face an uphill challenge in getting your people to vote to join the British Star Kingdom. If they know in advance that one of their own will be the first Governor, then I am sure that will go a long way in alleviating their fears. Don’t you think?”
“I see where you are coming from,” Suzanna said in a more conciliatory fashion now that she had had a few seconds to take in the King’s suggestion. “If that is the wish of the King and the Prime Minister then I will have to consider it seriously. If your government can free my planet from the Indians and secure our future, then it would be an honor to serve both your people and mine.”
“Excellent,” Edward said. “There is just one problem however. You were right before. No non-citizen can be appointed to a position in the British government. That is why we have you both here. We have a prerequisite to you accepting the governorship. We want you both to get married.”
“No way!” James almost shouted as he rose to his feet, his anger barely under control. “There is no way you are manipulating my love life again,” he added as he prepared to turn and storm out of the room. The words of his uncle barely held him in place.
“Sit down Captain, now!” Admiral Somerville said. “That is an order.”
James hesitated. Almost everything inside him wanted to bolt. King Edward was once again trying to ruin his life. This time it was worse. His own uncle was against him. How can this be happening again?
Slowly, as James stood in place, the red mist faded. Reluctantly he sat. He would obey his uncle, if only to protect his career. It doesn’t mean I am going to do what they want.
“That’s better,” Admiral Somerville said. “We know this isn’t something either of you have thought about. Yet it is a duty we are asking you to take on. For the sake of both our nations. James, you are a Duke of the British Star Kingdom. In fact, you are fast becoming one of the richest Dukes in the Kingdom. Your marriage is important to our country. You cannot escape that fact.
“And Suzanna, our Parliament will never fully trust you unless you have ties to us. This marriage will make you Lady Somerville. Even if it means nothing to you, many in Britain will think it will bond you to us. They will think you less likely to put yourself or Haven before the British Star Kingdom.
“What’s more. You are forgetting I have read the reports of your conversation together in Haven and elsewhere. I have also been watching you both closely. Neither of you can deny that there is an attraction between you. It’s not as if we are asking you to marry someone you hate or find repulsive.”
James felt his face heat at his uncle’s last words. He felt like protesting but he knew it would be useless. Instead he looked over to Suzanna. When he caught her eye, she looked down and her cheeks visibly reddened.
“There, you see,” King Edward said at the look on both their faces. “It’s not so bad. In fact, I think being married might just do both of you a bit of good.”
“But what about my people?” Suzanna asked. “If they see me as part of the British nobility then they may not accept me as their Governor.”
“You will just have to convince them otherwise. You forget, we have seen you speak on behalf of your people. I’m sure you can convince them,” King Edward said. “Besides, it’s the famous Captain Somerville you will be marrying. The hero of Haven. I’m sure your people won’t hold that against you. If anything, it will serve as a constant reminder that Haven exists only because of the RSN.”
“Just as you planned it I’m sure,” James said bitterly.
“Listen boy,” Edward said sternly. “It’s time you grow up and realize this world isn’t just about you. Don’t you think that if I could have, I would have loved to see my daughter happily married? Get real. You have no more freedom than I do. We each have our roles to play. My daughter came to realize that and it’s about time you did as well.
“If you really don’t like it you can divorce after twenty years or so. That will be long enough to cement Suzanna as Governor and see her accepted among the nobility in Britain. Then you can go running off after your heart all you want. But for now, this is your duty. This is what your Prime Minister and your King are asking of you. For the good of the people of Haven, can’t you set your selfish desires aside?”
James was stung. He had fallen out with the King before. Yet then the King had just dismissed him as an unworthy subordinate. Now the King was talking to him as if he was chastising a son. It hit home. If he was honest with himself he knew he liked Suzanna, quite a lot if truth be told. And he wanted to do everything he could for the people of Haven, not least because they were her people. Yet I’m not just going to give in to the whims of the King, James thought. Not again.
“I will think about it,” was all he was prepared to concede.
“Good, good,” Admiral Somerville said. “That is all we ask at this stage. And Ms. Rodriguez?”
“I will think about it too,” Suzanna replied.
“Well, that’s not the most enthusiastic start to a marriage I have ever seen,” King Edward laughed. “But it will do. How is your speech coming along?” he asked.
“It is almost finished,” Suzanna replied. “James has been helping me wi
th it and I think it is what you are after.”
“Good, it needs to be perfect. It will be broadcast live across Britain and our Sol colonies. If you can sway public opinion in your favor it will win us a number of votes in the Commons. That is where we are weak at the moment and so to a certain extent we will be counting on you.”
“I understand,” Suzanna said. “I will be giving it my best. I know what is at stake.”
“Very well then,” Edward said as he stood. “In that case, we will take our leave. You both have a lot to think and talk about. We will see you tomorrow in Parliament.”
James walked the King and his uncle out to their shuttle. As the King walked up the ramp to the shuttle James’s uncle turned back to James. “I am sorry about this James, but we need to tie her to us. And I know you like her. It’s about time you got married and produced an heir. It may sound horrible now, but you will come around. And if she is half the woman she appears to be you won’t regret it either.”
James said nothing. He just shook his uncle’s hand and then watched him ascend into the shuttle. I knew I wouldn’t like it, he thought as he shook his head.
*
Ten hours later James was lying in his bed thinking. He hadn’t stopped since the King and his uncle had left. Suzanna hadn’t been in the house when he had returned from seeing them off and one of the staff said she had gone for a walk. It was just as well as James hadn’t known what to say to her.
As much as he didn’t like to admit it, he knew that his way of thinking about the situation was changing. He liked Suzanna, there was no point denying that. If he had examined his feelings before, then maybe deep down, he had been hoping their relationship would develop into something. Yet he had been holding himself back. Ever since he had met Christine he had dreamt of marrying her and spending the rest of his life with her. He had even promised he would marry her.
He knew that if those feelings would just go away his life would be much easier. Yet they wouldn’t, and a part of him didn’t want them to. He was a man of his word. He had known that his father had been a liar even before the suicide and debt scandal had hit. James’ mother had died when he was young and growing up he had watched as his father had gone through woman after woman. From an early age, he had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t be like his father. Giving up his promise to Christine and his feelings for her felt like a betrayal of who he was. How can I do that, even if it is for my country?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his bedroom door opening. Instantly James was fully awake. He tensed his muscles, ready to pounce on whoever was trying to sneak into his room.
“James,” Suzanna whispered. “Are you awake?”
“Yes,” James whispered back as he let out a sigh of relief. “You gave me a fright. What are you doing here?”
As James had been speaking Suzanna continued towards the bed and then slipped in beside him. “Scoot over,” she said.
Bewildered James obeyed. “I think we need to talk,” Suzanna explained.
“Do you want the lights on?” James asked.
“No, it might be easier in the dark,” Suzanna said.
“Ok,” James replied. Wanting to explain about earlier he spoke first. “I’m sorry if I offended you earlier. I was upset, but it wasn’t at the prospect of marrying you. King Edward has already had far more of a say in my life than I ever wanted. I got angry at him, not at the thought of having to marry you.”
“So you have really wanted to marry me all along?” Suzanna asked playfully.
“No,” James blurted out. “I mean; I hadn’t thought about it. It was a shock, that’s all.”
“Well, Captain Somerville, you are going to have to think about it. I don’t think it is something we can avoid now, can we?”
“What do you think?” James asked her.
“I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it before. The political benefits from such a marriage would help my people a lot. But it would have put me in an awkward situation. People back on Haven might say I sold them out for you,” Suzanna replied.
James’ heart sunk a little, even she sees me as a political pawn, he thought.
“But if I am honest, I also thought about what it would be like to be with you,” Suzanna continued. “You may not realize it, but you are quite handsome. And you are the hero of Haven after all. What girl wouldn’t want you?”
“I don’t know about that,” James said, embarrassed.
“Tell me, what do you know?” Suzanna asked getting more serious. “What do you think of the King’s proposal?”
“I understand where they are coming from,” James began. “Our marriage would solve a lot of their problems. And it would help your people in the long run. I want only what is best for them. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t find you attractive. I have loved the time we have spent together on Haven, on Endeavour and especially here. You are more than I ever dreamed of in a wife.”
“Really?” Suzanna asked coyly.
Before James could respond Suzanna leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Caught by surprise James didn’t know what to do. Yet as she leaned in more, he began to return her kisses. She pressed her body against him and then she rolled on top of him and kissed him with more vigor.
Images of Christine filled James’ mind.
Instinctively James broke away from Suzanna’s lips and rolled her off him. “I’m sorry, I can’t,” he said.
Rolling onto his side away from Suzanna he stared at the rose compressed between two panes of glass that was standing on his bedside table. The moonlight coming in the overhead window illuminated it perfectly. He had to fight back the tears that threatened to run down his cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Suzanna looked over James’ body to see what he was gazing at. “A rose, the flower of the house of Windsor?”
“Yes,” James replied. “I picked it for Christine on our first date. When I gave it to her I promised to love her for the rest of my life. She sent it back to me when her father persuaded her to marry Na.”
As Suzanna came to realize the depth of James’ hurt she snuggled up to him. “I’m sorry,” she said as she turned him around and pulled one of his arms around her. “I understand; I don’t want to take her place in your heart. But I want my marriage to be real and not just a scam. Can you find room in your heart for me as well?”
“I don’t know,” James replied. “I would like to. You deserve to be happy, to be loved. If we have to get married, then I want to give you those things. But I can’t change how I feel, I’m just confused.”
“There is no rush,” Suzanna said. “If we have to get married for our people then that is what I will do, and I know you, you will too. But love takes time, we just need to give it time to grow. I am prepared to wait; I know you can make me happy. And, though I don’t want to boast too much, I believe I can make you fall in love with me,” she finished as she gave James a playful tickle.
“I guess Councilwomen think a lot of themselves back on Haven,” James said as he tickled her back.
As they struggled, Suzanna’s hand brushed up James’ leg. He tensed.
“I’m sorry,” Suzanna said. “I don’t want to rush you. Let’s just talk, I don’t want you to do anything you are not ready for.”
“Ok,” James replied as he pulled her into a tighter hug, “talking I can do.”
“Do you think Haven can hold off the Indian fleet?” Suzanna asked after a couple of minutes of silence.
“I don’t think so,” James said, much happier to talk of something else. “If the colony still had the defenses it had before the attack by the Overlord’s fleet then maybe. The two defense stations would certainly have been a big surprise. But no, I’m afraid not.
“The Indians have three battlecruisers in their colonies. On its own, one would probably be able to destroy what is left of the Haven fleet. With all three together, Haven doesn’t stand much of a chance. I’m sorry, the Indians are just too st
rong.”
“What will they do to my people?” Suzanna asked.
“It depends,” James said. “The Indians will no doubt have some ground troops with them. They maintain a far larger army than we do. Will your people try and resist a ground invasion?”
“Maximillian will, of that I am sure,” Suzanna said. “I think the people will rise up too. They have all grown up hearing horror stories from Earth. Since coming to Earth I am sure they have been exaggerated over the years, but we didn’t know any better.”
“Then there will be fighting on the streets,” James said, not wanting to hide the truth from her. “The Indians will show no mercy, at least until they have gained full control over the planet. I fear there will be a lot of deaths.”
James felt a wetness on his shoulder as a few tears escaped Suzanna’s eyes. “Then we have to make this marriage work,” she said. “My people are counting on me. I can’t protect them now, but I will be there for them in the future.”