"Amara?" He stepped in front of me and stopped the pacing with two firm hands on my shoulders. "Will you answer me, I'm starting to worry." His voice was soft, soothing almost, and I found myself leaning into him and soaking up his warmth.
"Sorry, I'm a little out of it," I replied.
"What happened? Your cousin again?"
I shook my head. "No. Yes. I don't know."
"She really gets in your head," he observed.
I pulled away from him and sighed, walking around to the other side of my walnut desk and slumping down into my seat. Albert was honoured he got to see this side of me. No one else who'd ever seen me in this office had seen the relaxed side of me. Normally it was back upright and no nonsense in here.
"She's made her jealousy the defining part of our relationship since we were small," I replied.
"She's third in line to the throne, after my Aunt."
"Don't you mean second?" he prompted.
"Yes, sorry, second. But I doubt my Aunt would take it at her age. She's only a couple of years younger than my mother, and her health isn't that much better either."
"So basically, Margaret is your heir."
"Until I have a child of my own, yes," I replied, trying not to think of a small boy with Albert's dark hair or a girl with Carter's eyes.
"Okay. And that's led you to be paranoid about her trying to take the throne from you?" he prompted.
I shook my head. "I don't think I'm paranoid. She's definitely stepped up her game recently. And I don't think it's a coincidence that she's turned up with a man in tow at exactly the same time that the marriage law came into play. Coincidences and Margaret just don't go together."
"Marriage law?"
My jaw dropped open, before I promptly shut it. "You don't know?"
The puzzled look on Albert's face told me all I needed to know. "Care to enlighten me?"
"Just before the ball, I was informed that there's a stupid law which means I have to get married in order to be coronated."
"So the journalist was right?"
"Kind of. But I wasn't lying either. I'm not getting married because a law says I should. That is not what marriage is to me. It's the twenty-first century. The man I marry will be a man I love and there's nothing anyone can do about that."
"Hence why you were so adamant to progress our relationship." He didn't sound sad about that, just thoughtful. Which scared me if I was honest.
"I suppose it was a small factor, yes. But even after the first couple of meetings I knew it was going to be more than that." I prepared myself to beg him to stay with me if I needed to. It couldn't be nice for him to discover I could have some ulterior motive. But at the same time, I never tried to deceive him. And I wanted him. As a man and not a prince.
"I believe you," he replied. "You had an easier option with Carter anyway."
"I can't marry Carter," I pointed out. "It would create a scandal."
Albert laughed. "More of a scandal than keeping both me and him?" He raised a questioning eyebrow and I gave him a weak smile.
"I suppose not, no."
"Besides, the people love you, Amara. I think they'd forgive you almost anything."
"I'm not sure about that." I glanced down at my hands, not wanting to meet his eyes. I knew he believed what he was saying, but I also doubted it was true.
"I am. Have you seen how they react whenever you're about? They really love and respect you." He reached over the desk and took my hands in his.
I looked up, meeting his gaze, but still not quite trusting the truth.
"I don't know. They love my mother still. I suspect a lot of them want her to be Queen still."
"No." He paused. "I mean, yes, they love your mother, but they also love you. They'd be idiots not to. You grew up as one of them. Your life has been shared with them from the very beginning. You are their Princess, Amara. You need to believe that."
The thing was that in some ways, I did believe it. I saw how the people loved me. I saw how they reacted when I went places. They'd always been the same. My parents had treated me like a normal child except for the royal engagements, and it had made me a people's Princess unlike any of the others before me.
But that didn't help.
Because this wasn't exactly about what the people thought of me.
Tears began to pool in the corners of my eyes as I realised exactly what the problem was.
"What if I'm not a good Queen?" I whispered.
Understanding dawned on Albert's face.
"Of course you will be," he comforted.
"Not necessarily. I already want to do things differently by having two men. To do that and be the Queen, I'll have to live a lie."
"It's not living a lie, Amara. It's living like the person you're meant to be. And the two of us are happy to help you make that happen. Next point?" He smiled at me reassuringly and a feeling of true safety welled up within me.
Albert truly cared about me. And he was making it clearer and clearer as the moments went on. Sleeping together had just deepened that bond between us.
"What if Margaret would make a better Queen? What if she's not doing this for her own gain, but because she actually thinks she can do this better?" The question was almost inaudible. I didn't want to accept I was even thinking it, never mind voicing it to another person.
"Do you really believe that?"
I sniffed. "No, I don't think so. When we were ten, a visiting dignitary came from Zimbabwe and brought his ten year old son with him. Margaret spent the whole meal making fun of his clothing."
"Was there anything to make fun of?" Albert prompted.
"Of course not. His clothing was traditional to his own people, like ours was. And like us, I'm pretty sure he didn't have a choice in what to wear anyway."
"Because you were all children." He nodded in understanding. "And what did you do at the banquet?"
"I did think his hat was a little funny at first. But I didn't say anything. I just sat and answered his questions about the foods he didn't know."
"Like the perfect little Queen in training." He smiled, affection glowing in his eyes.
"I wouldn't say perfect. I got into my fair share of trouble," I pointed out.
"With Carter?"
"Mostly. Though there were a few times that Lord Vincent got me into trouble at school."
"The same one who keeps making trouble around here?" Albert asked, a furrow forming between his eyes.
"One and the same. We've always had a kind of animosity."
"I don't think that's animosity," Albert countered. "He seems far too interested in you for that."
"Interested?" A small giggle escaped from me. "I doubt Vincent is interested in me."
"Really? I've seen the way he watches you. He's definitely interested in you."
Heat flooded to my cheeks as Albert rose from his seat and made his way around to me.
He tipped my head back and leaned down so our faces were mere inches apart. "Any man would be crazy not to be interested in you."
His lips brushed against mine and I relaxed into the kiss instantly. Despite it all, Albert really had made me feel a lot better about myself.
A hand slipped around the nape of my neck and a small moan escaped from between my lips. I could get used to spending time like this.
A sharp rap pulled me out of my kiss induced haze and my gaze flicked to the door.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Vincent said.
My heart sank. He seemed to be gaining a knack for walking in at exactly the wrong moment. It was almost like he had a scandal detector attached to him.
"You are, actually," I said coldly. "Please come back another time."
"I'd rather not," Vincent replied, sauntering into my office and flopping himself down on the chair Albert had recently vacated.
He swung his legs around and draped them over one of the arms. I winced. The wood was centuries old and deserved to be treated with more respect than he was showing.
"What can I do for you?" I asked through gritted teeth.
Albert straightened up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder in solidarity. Remembering what he said, I took Vincent in with different eyes. His gaze was locked on me, and more importantly, on my shoulder, where Albert and I were touching. Maybe my Prince was correct after all. Maybe he was interested in me.
"Does the gardener's son know?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
I considered denying whatever it was that he was insinuating, but didn't really see a point.
"Yes," I answered simply.
Albert didn't flinch at all.
"Damn, I thought that would get a rise out of one of you. Instead it got one out of neither. How boring."
"What do you want, Vincent?" I repeated, gritting my teeth and trying not to lose it with him. If he wasn't careful, I was going to put him on the blacklist. He wouldn't be able to enter my palace then.
"You."
"What?" I demanded, shock running through me.
"I want you, Amara."
Chapter Seventeen
“Albert, could you leave us a moment?" I asked, nerves making cracks appear in my voice. I wasn't really sure I wanted to be alone with Vincent, but I knew it'd be easier to sort this out without anyone else in the room.
"Of course, I'll see you at dinner?"
I nodded once, and Albert dropped a kiss on my forehead, causing me to close my eyes and smile serenely to myself.
I watched his retreating back as he made his way out of my office and off to do whatever he had planned for himself. Knowing Albert, it was more work. He didn't seem to think he'd ever done enough.
"What do you really want?" I demanded on Vincent the moment the door clicked shut.
"You," he repeated.
"For what? To make your own scalp? As a torture victim? As some kind of weird escort?" I really couldn't work it out. Nor did I know what I wanted him to say.
"I don't want anything that you don't want. I just want you."
"You keep saying that." I jumped up, scraping my chair backwards and resumed the frantic pacing which had stopped when Albert had arrived. Maybe I shouldn't have sent him away after all.
"That's because it's true, Amara." He drew out my name, caressing each part of it as if it was the best thing in the world to trip off his tongue. But that made no sense. He'd never expressed an interest in me before…
"But why? Is it that you want to be King?" I demanded.
"We both know I'd be the Prince Escort at best. But no, it appears that role has already been filled."
I narrowed my eyes at him, still not entirely sure where this was going. I took the easiest option, and said nothing. If he was going to talk in riddles, then he could. But that didn't mean I had to play along.
Vincent sighed and swung his legs around so they were firmly placed on the floor. I didn't want to admit it, but a huge weight lifted from me now he wasn't abusing my furniture.
"I've always liked you, Amara."
An involuntary snort escaped from me before I could even fully process what he was saying.
"That seems unlikely," I responded.
"Why? Because I never did anything obvious like kiss you?" He raised an eyebrow.
Realisation crashed through me. He had kissed me, after all. And there was definitely something there. Not like there was with Albert or Carter though, but something different. Something neither of them brought to the table.
I brought that train of thought to a swift end. I shouldn't be comparing men like that. If I wasn't careful, I'd end up with more men around me than I could count. Though keeping up with three sounded like hard enough work to me.
"Fine. Okay. If I accept that you like me, where does that even leave us?" Exasperation coloured my tone, but I didn't know how to avoid that. He just had a knack of bringing it out in me.
"I think that's for you to decide." He shrugged as if it was of little importance, but I could see something in his face that suggested it wasn't.
"I don't think so," I responded. "You've never expressed any interest until now. Until there is a crown on the line and power within your sights," I half-shouted.
Vincent jumped to his feet, anger flashing across his features.
"I do not want your power, Amara. I have power of my own. I'm landed gentry, with a seat in the House of Lords. I don't have that much less power than you do. Nor do I want your crown. I wouldn't even know what to do with it if I did."
"Then what is is this all about?" I demanded. "I don't get it."
"It's about you, Amara, you. There is only one thing in my life that I've ever wanted that I didn't already have. Then I found out about you and Carter, and I thought I had no chance in the world. But then, I found out about the prince too, and suddenly, what I wanted seemed possible. If you've already opened your heart to two men, then the chances for a third are strong too." His chest heaved with emotion.
"I don't know what to say." And as if to prove myself correct, my words just dried up, even if thoughts were tearing through my mind at a mile a minute. I found myself putting all the interactions I'd had with Vincent into perspective given his revelation. And, to my surprise, it seemed to make sense.
Plus, that kiss. The memory of which was making my lips tingle.
"But why are you telling me now?" I whispered.
"There's never been a better time. You're just starting to think about an unconventional relationship anyway. Ideally, I'd have waited until after your coronation, but things have started to move a little too fast for that."
"Why after my coronation?"
"Because then your throne would have been safe. It's a lot easier for someone to steal your throne when you're not technically on it yet. Once you're coronated, you'd have been surer that I wasn't just saying this for my own gain. And in some respects, I was being a coward. I like you, Amara. A lot. But I also like the back and forth between us. I honestly never expected to find someone who was such a good match for me." He shrugged.
"Right."
"You still don't believe me." He sighed, and slumped back into the chair.
"It's not that I don't. It's just...Margaret," I admitted, retaking my own seat and feeling instantly stronger now there was a desk between the two of us. It was like a barrier that kept us from doing anything too crazy.
Then again, it might be fun to use the desk for other means…
"I know what you're thinking," he blurted. "You're not very good at hiding your thoughts," he added.
"Maybe not," I replied. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to act on it."
"I honestly didn't expect you to yet. These things take time, Amara, I know that as much as anyone else."
I frowned at him. What he was saying made sense, but it didn't quite match the vision of Vincent I had in my head.
Then again, I'd had that same thought about the different parts of Albert too. Maybe I was just a bad judge of true character. Wasn't that a cheery thought. It would certainly make my job all the harder.
"So...the timing?" I reminded him..
"I came back to the palace because of Margaret, but it's not what you're thinking," he replied. "She mentioned something to me a few years back that made me expect her to make a move to steal the throne around this time. As soon as your mother first mentioned abdication, I began to infiltrate Margaret's household. I knew the moment she put her plan into motion."
"And now?"
He shrugged. "Now I pretty much know all that she does. She knows about Carter for definite, Amara. You need to be careful there. If she leaks that one...it's going to be hard to explain. Especially with the public knowing about Albert."
The blood drained from my face. What did this mean for me? I didn't want to lose either of my men, not when I'd just gained them properly. But if Margaret knew…
"What part does her husband-to-be play?" I asked.
"I'm not entirely sure. Most of the time he seems to act like just a puppet. But I don't think that's quite th
e case."
"So what? You think he's only part way in on it?"
"Yes. I think he's marrying her because she's effectively your heir. But I don't think he knows Margaret is wanting to make the passing of the crown a little sooner than anticipated."
I nodded. "But you don't know any of this for sure?"
Vincent shook his head.
A small part of me doubted him. He could still be working with Margaret for all I knew, and if he was, then I was playing right into their hands at the moment. But there was an earnestness in his voice and in his face that I couldn't quite ignore. Deep down, I knew he was telling me the truth. Or at least, he was telling me enough of it for me to believe his general story.
"What I know is from staff gossip and supposition."
"Reassuring," I muttered.
Vincent laughed. "Very."
"So what do you propose we do?" I asked.
"How do you feel about playing right into her hands?"
My heart skipped a beat as his words sunk in. If he wanted me to do that, was there a chance he was doing it so Margaret could get the upper hand? Would he do that? It seemed like a pretty genius way to get things to go her way really.
"What did you have in mind?" I asked eventually.
I still wasn't sure about this, but it was better than sitting back and letting my cousin have the upper hand just because I couldn't trust someone.
"Here's what I propose we do..."
Chapter Eighteen
There were a lot of ways in which this could go terribly wrong. And each one was assailing my brain and not letting go. Everyone who needed to be was in on the plan, but that didn't mean anything. Vincent's loyalty was still questionable anyway, and Albert...well, I didn't want him actually doing this.
Ironic as it was, jealousy was rearing its ugly head within me. I didn't want my Prince anywhere near my cousin, even if it was the key to thwarting her plans to take my throne.
"Amara, you need to relax," Vincent chided me.
It was easy for him to say though, he was lounging about on a chair again, not caring at all about what was going down in a room not far from here.
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