“We’re not leaving.” Her eyes opened in question. “King Theodore asked me to stay.” I lifted my hand back to my left cheek. “Roman isn’t pleased.”
“Stay? For how long?”
Roman said morning. I didn’t relay that. Instead, I said, “The king didn’t offer a timeline.”
“Let me get you settled, and I’ll call for clothes to be brought from Monovia.”
“Is it safe?”
“You will be safe.”
“For the people bringing me clothes?” I shook my head as we stepped into the private parlor. “I don’t need more clothes if it will put anyone in danger.”
Lady Buckingham smiled. “Your Highness, your concern is noted.” She pulled back the satin bedcovering. “Rest. I’ll get some ice.”
Oliver
Lord Martin announced the arrival of the chief minister. “Mrs. Drake is here to see you, Your Highness.”
Mrs. Drake curtsied before coming closer.
Nodding to Lord Martin, he retreated, leaving me alone with the woman in charge of my hire. Losing the accent, I spoke, “The curtsy is unnecessary. You know who I am.”
“Remain in character, Oliver. If you don’t, you could slip up, and there’s no margin of error here.”
While there was something reassuring about hearing my real name, the seriousness of her tone brought the reason of this visit to mind.
With the accent intact, I took a seat and gestured to the chair before me. “If this is to continue, I’ll need access to more state information.”
Mrs. Drake took the seat. Her lips remained sealed.
“What is the end game?” I asked.
She inhaled and exhaled. “In a perfect world, you would continue to fill in for the crown prince and during his time of recuperation he would see the errors of his recent decisions and step back into his role aligning himself with his father’s ways.”
“How long exactly do you believe that transformation will take?”
“Do you want more money?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. This isn’t about my compensation.” I was living in a palace with assistants at my beck and call. My salary was accumulating in offshore accounts until I resumed my real life. “It’s about my future, hell, the future of Molave, a country I barely knew existed a little more than a month ago. What if a perfect world doesn’t occur?”
“Your Highness?”
Character, fine.
I pressed my lips together as the prince would do. “What if Prince Roman doesn’t conform? Isn’t that his prerogative as the sovereign ruler?”
“There is much at stake.”
“I have been here over a fortnight.”
“And I heard that today’s exercise went well. I will be giving Lord Martin a schedule with more appearances.”
“The queen spoke of unrest.”
Mrs. Drake nodded. “You will reassure your people.”
“Why did he levy the tariffs?”
“Mr. Honeswell—”
“No,” I said loudly as I stood. “You may not tell me to stay in character and then strip me of that character the moment I ask a question.”
Mrs. Drake’s lips curled. “Yes, you are doing well.”
Possessed.
That was an explanation for what was happening. This was Invasion of the Body Snatchers in a poor royal adaptation. And somehow, I’d found myself in the leading role.
“Surely, you don’t expect me to undo what the true prince has done.”
Mrs. Drake stood. “In a perfect world, he would be the one to do that. However, if that perfect world doesn’t exist, then yes, it would be up to you.”
“Nothing you’re proposing is up to me. You want me to do your bidding.”
“You are being compensated to play a role. You, sir, are not writing the script. The Firm is first and foremost interested in Molave and the royal family. This is an unusual situation, but we believe it will work.”
I shook my head. “I was informed that the royal family is the Firm. From where I’m standing, I would disagree.”
“And why is that, Mr.” —she nodded— “Your Highness?”
“Because it seems as though you and I are working independently of the king and queen. I’m concerned that what you’ve asked me to do is illegal.”
“Nothing is illegal when you dictate the laws of the land.”
“Molave has a parliament,” I reminded her.
“And the king is the parliamentarian. The current king is competent, the future one…I have my concerns. If Roman’s plans that put the country at risk become known, he will be forced to abdicate.”
“Will he do that?”
“You will in his stead.”
I shook my head. “That can’t be legal.”
“Again, stop thinking as an American. Here the king makes the rules.”
“What would happen if Roman abdicated?”
“After King Theodore’s passing, Princess Isabella would become queen.”
My thoughts were spinning. “She is married to the Duke of Wilmington.”
“Of course, he would need to renounce his title.”
“You are making many assumptions, Mrs. Drake.”
“No, sir. I’m holding the deck of cards in my hands, and I know which card to play.”
Shaking my head, I walked to the windows. Darkness veiled the landscape as a light rain pelted the glass. Molavian weather was unlike Southern California. Cold and damp instead of warm and sunny.
“Your Highness,” she said, “leave the crown prince to me. Molave will forever be in your debt.”
I spun toward her. “I believe I will be resigning.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Roman is paranoid about the crown losing money on our mining.” Elizabeth Drake was speaking fast. “Since Borinkia was claimed as a sovereign state ousting the Letanonia regime, Molave has not worked with Borinkia. If Roman Godfrey has his way, the two countries will become one. He believes Molave has the means to take over Borinkia, not through force but through financial occupation. That is one of the reason he’s assessed tariffs on imports. Alek Volkov, the prince of Borinkia is using the prince’s arrogance as a tool to manipulate him. Roman Godfrey’s plans would mean the end of Molave. I implore you, sir, you and only you can save us.”
I was an actor, not a politician.
This was life-and-death shit, and I was in the center.
“Who knows what you just told me?”
“I do, my top advisors, as well as a select few in Parliament.”
“Who knows I’m an impostor?”
“Mr. Briggs, Lord Martin, Lady Caroline, and myself.”
She didn’t mention my voice instructor, and I wasn’t about to remind her. “The king?” I asked.
“He will.”
“If I fail…”
Mrs. Drake shook her head. “You cannot. If my plan doesn’t work, Molave will cease to exist.”
“You said yourself that the king makes the laws in Molave. If King Theodore would perish, Roman would take the title. He may do as he pleases.”