by Annie Dyer
“We have a delegates’ dinner in Manchester coming up next week, so I thought we’d announce it privately then. There’s a rally the following day when I’m speaking; we’ll go public after that.” He looks at my father, who doesn’t nod or smile.
“I think you’re best waiting until after the rally, and the dinner. Hold a celebration here and a press release following that. Keep your love life separate from your day job.”
“I want to support Lennox with his day job,” Elise says to my father. “Like Maighread has done for you.”
“And you will,” my father’s voice is quietly strong. “But this announcement should be a cause for celebration, something to temper the undercurrents that are blazing through the country and The South. If Lennox announces it at the same time as his speech, your engagement will be used to criticise him. If you take my advice, you’ll wait a few weeks, maybe until St Andrew’s Day.”
“That’s a long time to wait.” She smiles, but there’s petulance in it that I know my father will spot.
“You’re hopefully going to be a long time married, so what’s a few more weeks?” He turns away, his input over, and picks up a mug of tea with a hand that shakes.
I hope Elise doesn’t continue her point.
“You’re happy for us?” Lennox asks me, offering me a plate.
We’re eating informally, not around a table, picking at a brunch buffet that’s been set out near the window. I follow my brother’s lead, taking a rasher of bacon and sausage, ignoring the carbs. My hunger has gone, but I can hear Ben’s voice in my head. When he stopped leaving me first thing in the mornings before I woke, he’d bring me breakfast.
One morning he fed it to me and I think of that now, how he’d cared and laughed and touched and we’d talked. There was intimacy, like I hadn’t had before.
I wonder if Lennox will do that for Elise, or whether instead of a queen, he’s playing her as his pawn.
“Yes.” I’m happy my friend finally has what she set out to get.
“Good. This gives you more freedom, you know. The focus will be on Elise and she’ll be able to take some of your duties.” There’s an edge to his voice, one of forced persuasion.
“Let’s talk about it later. Dad looks a lot better. Let’s enjoy some time with him.”
I eat with my family, the conversation switching between weddings and parties and the loch and the mountains. Elise’s eyes caress the walls that she’ll one day choose the decor for and watches my brother.
My ambitious, clever, thoughtless brother.
All for the love of a tarnished crown.
I head to the stables after brunch, smelling the sweetness of autumn starting to settle in. Ben is away for a meeting somewhere, so I know there’s no chance of seeing him here. He rides most mornings now, having taken on a new stallion that needs breaking in, a large black creature with more spirit than manners. He’s been given the name Thane, the old Scottish title for a lord and it suits him, although he’s at that age which is the equivalent to a wild teenage boy who knows how attractive he is and has the arrogance to match.
I hold a sugar cube over his stable door and he eyes me as he eats it. “Never let them totally tame you.” I have no doubt he’ll ever do that.
“I hoped I’d find you down here.”
Lennox’s voice startles me.
“Where’s Elise?”
“Talking weddings with my mother. It’s quite sweet actually.”
“Just let me know what part you want me to have in it.”
He doesn’t nod or acknowledge what I’ve said, or rather what I haven’t.
“Can we go for a walk? I want to talk to you by ourselves.”
We head to the loch about a mile from the castle, where there’s a small jetty designed for fishermen, or my father, who would come here to fish when he needed to think. The skies are back to Scottish grey, the mornings and evenings having the bite of early autumn. It’s a relief after the vicious heat of autumn.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you the head’s up about Elise and me getting engaged.” It’s the first words we’ve spoken since we left the stables.
“You don’t need to give me the head’s up, Lennox. It’s your choice.” And if he had, I’d have tried to persuade him otherwise, which he probably knows.
“It works. Elise will be right for this.”
“Len, it’s not about her being right. You’re going to be married to her, she’ll be the mother to your children and your consort. It’s more than a job she’ll be doing. She’ll have the power to make or break you.” I hear the tension in my tone.
Lennox picks up a stone and skims it across the water. When were children we’d have competitions to see who could skim it the furthest.
“She said you’d be hostile about it.”
I skim my own stone. It goes further than Lennox’s.
“She’s wanted you for years. She feels more for you than you for her. And why now? You’ve been fucking her on and off for months – even in Antigua, when you were sleeping with Genevieve too. Don’t tell me you’ve just fallen madly in love with her?” This time my stone crashes into the water.
He puts his hands on his waist and his back to the water. “No. But I could.”
“Len…”
“Leave it, Blair. Elise knows what this entails. She’s ambitious, I get that. She’s also beautiful and has the right air about her when she’s with people. She’s ideal.” He won’t look at me.
“And she’ll turn a blind eye to you sleeping with other women?”
“I won’t. I’ve promised her I won’t. You don’t want to hear about it, but she can be what I need in bed.”
“Until the novelty wears off.”
“Don’t be bitter, Blair. This gives you more freedom. Unless you’ve changed your mind and you want more involvement in the running of the country.” He turns sharply towards me.
He’s right. With Elise as his consort I can take a step back. The spotlight will revert from me to her, leaving me freer. My partner, my children, will never come under the same scrutiny as theirs. By marrying Lennox, Elise gets what she wants and I get what I’ve always craved.
“No. I’ve always been glad you were born first.”
He nods, looking at the water. “I won’t let her have any power over you. You know that, don’t you?”
His arm goes round my shoulders and I remember being here before, as pre-teens. Resting my head on my brother’s shoulder, his arm around me. Sibling solidarity.
“Keep your word on that.”
“I will. How’s Ben?”
He knows. Everyone knows. “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him other than after the explosion at the casino.”
“He’s a good guy.”
“He has his demons.” And I didn’t know what they were, other than they were stopping him from being with me in the way I wanted.
“Isaac was there in the casino, wasn’t he?” Lennox’s arm becomes lighter.
I know Lennox is aware of exactly who was there and who wasn’t. By now, he’ll know more than me. Our intelligence agency will have details, records, identities.
“Yes. I was with him when the alarm went off.”
“Alone?”
I move away from Lennox and look at him through narrowed eyes. “Yes.”
He shakes his head. “Goldsmith doesn’t trust Isaac.”
“I don’t trust Goldsmith.”
Lennox picks up another stone and skims it. “There are rumours about Isaac. No one knows who his father is or where his money’s from. He’s secretive. Someone suggested that his lovers are both men and women, and I thought you should know that.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. As long as there’s consent.”
My brother’s jaw tightens. “Don’t get dragged into whatever world he functions in, Blair. We have no idea what his agenda is. He’s an excellent advisor and passes on information to Goldsmith that’s invaluable, but we’ve no idea what his in
telligence sources are.”
My muscles tighten. “What does he know that he shouldn’t?”
“Nothing that has affected us so far.” Lennox sighs and shakes his head. “Isaac is intelligent, maybe dangerously so. He knows things that Goldsmith’s tried to keep hidden. I can’t tell you who not to speak to, but please be careful with Isaac.”
I feel a twinge of satisfaction.
“I’m always careful.”
“He’s a player, Blair. And not just with women.”
I sometimes wonder if my brother would be less promiscuous if he had better taste in women or if he could ever find what he was looking for.
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
“I know. I’m just concerned about what Isaac’s game is. I don’t want him to scupper the work Goldsmith and I have been doing.”
I hold the exasperation I have in, caused mainly by Goldsmith’s name. My brother appears to be enamoured with the man.
“Are you sure about Goldsmith?”
“Surer than anyone else. He’s been in agreement with most things I’ve put forward. He wants to take you out again. I think he’s genuinely interested.”
My brother was a fool.
“I’m not interested and I’m not pretending to be either. I’ll be civil to him, but don’t try to sell me out to him.” My words echo over the rippling waters.
Lennox doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. “It would solidify the relationship between the two countries if you were to be involved.”
“What happened to your engagement and future queen giving me more freedom, Lennox? This isn’t resonating with that.”
“I know. And I’m not asking you to, just maybe do as much as you can while we’re still in talks.”
Talks that have lasted years, from before William Goldsmith was Prime Minister. “Where are you leading these talks? What’s your endgame?”
It’s the first time I’ve asked him so bluntly. So far, Lennox has been acting on our father’s behalf, but recently, his own ideas have taken forefront.
He shakes his head.
“Len, tell me. Where are you trying to take us?”
“Reunification. But nothing as straightforward as it being a monarchy or with a parliament as it is now. It didn’t work before; we can’t go back there. But this fracture isle doesn’t work for anyone.”
I freeze with his words. Our father has worked for strengthening the bonds without reunifying, making England and Scotland one country again. This is maybe a step too far.
“You’re going to cause war.”
“We already have war, Blair. We have extremists in every camp. Goldsmith’s of the same mind as me; we just need to work on this treaty and how it’s delivered. My speech next week is around the closer trade links. Making it cheaper to import and export to each other. Build reliance between us and not with the rest of Europe and America.”
I don’t go into detail about the economics of it. I understand what he’s trying to do, and the implications.
“What’s Dad said?”
Lennox shrugs.
“Tone it down. Slow it down. There’s too much unrest. Why not make your engagement the focus, get people on your side more?” Make the most of his blushing bride-to-be. “Dad’s health is going to hit the news and we’ll have to cope with people’s grief. Changing too much of what he’s done now will turn people against you.”
I see his jaw clench. He doesn’t like my words.
“You need to be less impulsive, Lennox. It could get you killed.” I start to head back to the path, the wind rustling through the leaves. We’re in for an early winter, the squirrels are already starting to stash food for it.
“You’re okay about Elise?”
Suddenly I am. There are bigger worries than Lennox marrying someone for something other than love. “Yes. I hope you’re happy together.”
Franklyn is hovering for me when I return to the castle. He doesn’t ask about Elise or what was announced, probably because he knows, probably because he’ll hear me talk about it later.
“You have a parcel, Blair. It was hand delivered this morning.”
I follow him through to the family sitting room where my mother is sat at the table, going through papers.
The package is on a side table, a long thin shape, wrapped with green paper and tied with gold-coloured ribbon.
“It’s been checked, of course.” Franklyn means it’s been scanned. No explosives or anything chemical.
I undo it with my mother’s eyes watching.
It’s a jewellery box and before I open it up, I know what’s inside.
A gold chain, cleaned and restored, with three emeralds set into it.
“Let me fasten it.” My mother is there, taking it out of my hands, inspecting it as she places it around my neck. “It’s beautiful. I think I recognise it.”
“It was part of an estate.” My hand goes to the stones as it weighs against my chest.
“It’s perfect to wear all the time. Who’s it from?”
I don’t know if I can tell her.
There’s a note in the box, handwritten. Brief.
If you can’t see the stars, look at these.
I x
Chapter Nineteen
The area around the Midland Hotel is in lockdown. We’re in the centre of Manchester; the roads around us have been blocked and there’s an exclusion zone around the hotel. I look out of the window at the city, the mixture of buildings that are old and new dominating the skyline, along with a mountain range of cranes. Security is in maximum mode; there are two guards outside the door to my suite and more around the hotel and in the vicinity. There are complaints about the cost to the city and the tax payer, with police drafted in for overtime. All for a posh dinner and a speech.
Lennox has spent the day in talks with Goldsmith and his advisors. Both of them are speaking to the public tomorrow in one of the city’s squares that’s near the hotel, which is probably our security department’s worst nightmare.
I’m dressed for dinner; black dress, simple and fitted. Three-quarter-length sleeves with an ankle-length skirt and a split to the top of my thigh. My hair is up and I only wear gold stud earrings and one other piece of jewellery: my emerald necklace. The black is the perfect background to the gold and the three green stones.
“You look elegant.” Franklyn’s eyes cast over me, checking, possibly judging. “Do you need anything setting up here?” He looks around the suite.
“I don’t think so.”
“You know Ben’s here for this.”
I pause, bite my lips together. It’s the first time Ben’s name has been mentioned by Franklyn, although he knows all about him. He’s found him in my bed before now. I didn’t know Ben was here. I knew he should be; predicting him was a different matter.
“I didn’t know it was confirmed.”
“He’s here. He’s also very grumpy.”
“It isn’t like you to offer an opinion, Frank.” I sit down to put my shoes on.
Franklyn shrugs, then automatically smooths down his suit jacket. “Not something I usually need to do. You need to head downstairs. Your presence was required about five minutes ago.”
I roll my eyes at him because he likes to remind me that I’m usually late.
The hotel is huge and empty; its usage purely for the members of states and royalty that are attending the dinner and the conference. The floors have been allocated to different groups of people, different wings and corridors to give us space from what can be an intense few hours and days. Franklyn walks with me as we head to the elevator, security placed outside them. He speaks on his phone before we enter, letting whoever it is on the ground floor know I’m on my way.
When we get to the bottom, the doors open and my heart gives one heavy thud and seems to stop.
Ben stands there, dressed in a tuxedo, only his tie is missing and the top button of his shirt is undone. His eyes drink me in when he sees me, from head to toe, over my breasts, l
egs. His gaze is slow, but not deliberate.
Franklyn coughs. “I’ll see you in the morning, Blair.”
I pull my own eyes away from Ben and fight the urge to beg Franklyn to let me go with him. I don’t know if I can do this.
Isaac is here tonight, has been all day and I wear the necklace he bought for me. And Ben is here and I don’t know what I can say to him apart from why and ask for answers I know he won’t give.
I’ve never been afraid.
I haven’t been taught fear. But now I feel it.
“Can I walk you to the reception.” Ben offers me his arm.
It’s the first time I’ve touched him since we were in the maze. I don’t flinch when I feel the shocks that I always get; I plaster a mask on my face and remember my title and my role, but inside I’m crying. I don’t want to stop touching him. I don’t want to have to stop touching him.
He leads me down a wide hallway, past rooms with no one in them. In the distance I can hear music, a piano and a singer, something to keep the silence away.
Ben puts his free hand on top of mine that’s linked into his arm and I interlace my fingers through his. He grasps back and I take a quick look at his expression. His eyes look to the floor and he’s fighting something.
“Ben.” I tug his arm till he stops walking.
“Whatever the reason is that we can’t carry on what we’re doing, we need to find a way round it.”
The English Secretary of State passing us, not sparing a glance. We all carry our own crosses here.
He checks a door handle and finds the room open, we enter, closing the door behind us and Ben blocks it with his back.
“It’s been shit without you this week.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets.
“It was your choice. You were the one who said it was too difficult.”
He grits his teeth hard enough for me to see his jaw clench. “It is. That’s the problem.”
I shake my head. “You don’t get to say that without explaining and so far you haven’t giving me a rational reason as to why we can’t at least carry on what we’ve been doing.” When Lennox marries Elise I’ll be free to an extent. The world won’t judge the same way as they would if I was still Scotland’s princess; they’ll have Elise and a Royal wedding instead.
