Page 7 of Learning to Rule

“Why are you bowing to me, Felix? I’m not leaving the room, and I suspect you aren’t either until you’re dismissed. Plus, you’ve already seen me today, so why bow?” Dalton scolds the personal secretary, and I suppress a chuckle—even I know that rule.

Next to Dalton, I’m standing straight with my shoulders back and my chin parallel to the floor. Eventually, the king looks up at us.

“This better be good, Dalton. After your outburst earlier, I’m ready to send you back into exile.” The king turns his head to me. “Somewhere other than Florida. Since it seems you’ve continued your ways there, despite my warnings.”

“Don’t you dare suggest that Elodie is the same as the women I’ve previously had relations with! There’s no comparison. Now you will listen to what I have to say, Father. This is how it’s going to be in future.”

“You don’t get to speak to me like that.”

“I do if you want me to be your future heir,” Dalton interrupts his father.

I glance toward Felix, who doesn’t know where to look. He eventually chooses a fascinating spot on the wall opposite him.

“Fine, you have five minutes, and then I have the important business of running the country to attend to,” the king orders.

“Fine, effective immediately, you will stop blackmailing Marianne into marrying me—it’s not going to happen, and I think you know exactly why. If you want an heir, you are trying to marry me off to the wrong person. After all, we’re both attracted to the same sex. I don’t know what you have on Marianne or her lover, and to be honest, I don’t want to know, but you will leave them both alone from now on.” Dalton pauses, waiting for an answer from his father.

“I should have guessed you’d know about that disgusting woman’s persuasions. I’ll see her banished from court for this.”

“You will leave her alone.” Dalton thumps his hand on the king’s desk.

“Get to the point.” His father rises to his feet and slams both his hands down on the desk.

“Elodie and I are in a serious relationship. It’s still in its early stages, but there’s the strong possibility of marriage and her becoming the future Queen of Janastria, so you better get used to it. You couldn’t find a better woman to stand at my side. As soon as she realized she needed to know certain court protocols and procedures, she asked Hinchbootie, without my knowledge, to teach her because she didn’t want to make a mistake.”

The king cocks his head toward me. “Is that true?”

I step forward toward the desk. “It is, Your Majesty,” I reply, and then take a step backward again.

I watch as he presses a button on a technical looking phone on the desk in front of him.

“Have Mr. Hinchbottom sent in here at once.”

He ends the call with another press of the button, and we all stand in silence, as we wait for the other personal secretary to arrive. Dalton reaches behind and takes my hand in his. When I look up, I see the king’s eyes following the movement.

It doesn’t take long for Mr. Hinchbottom to arrive.

“How may I help you, Your Majesty?” Mr. Hinchbottom questions.

“Have you been teaching Miss Nash matters of the court and etiquette?” the king asks with a jerk of his head toward me.

“I have. I hope that is all right, sir. Miss Nash asked me to ensure she wouldn’t cause embarrassment to His Royal Highness, Prince Dalton, when she attended the black-tie event in Florida. She’s a quick learner and picked up many of the more difficult customs in no time at all. The feedback on her behavior was extremely positive.”

The king sits back down in his chair and stares between Dalton and me. “Miss Nash, do you share the same feelings my son seems to have for you?”

I take a step forward again to answer.

“At first, I thought he was a complete jerk, Your Majesty. He threw me out of the studio where I teach yoga lessons. But, I got to know him, and yes, I do share the same feelings as His Highness.” I lower my head in deference to the king’s powerful position before stepping back.

“I’m not going to back out of this, Father. I love Elodie. All I’m asking is for you to give her a chance. Get to know her, and you’ll see just what an amazing woman she is, and how good she would be for this country when my time comes.”

The room falls silent as the king rubs at his bearded chin. I carefully take the man in for the first time since I met him. He’s dressed in a stylish suit with the rings of office on his fingers. He doesn’t have Dalton's handsome features. His eyes are closely drawn together, and there’s a cruelty about them. Dalton is muscular in his build, but his father is more rotund, probably from a lifetime of rich food and indulgence. Dalton clearly gets his family resemblance from the ancestor I saw in the picture earlier, rather than from his father.

“All right, I’ll give Miss Nash a month to prove to me she can take on the role of a member of the royal family without causing incident or upset. You can announce that she is here as your consort.”

“Thank you, sir.” Dalton bows his head to his father, and I instantly do the same.

“Don’t think this will be easy. I’m not going to give her a gentle introduction to our world. Miss Nash will be thrown in at the deep end. Her first engagement will be the opening of Parliament tomorrow. You better make sure she’s prepared. If she cannot show me that she’s good enough for Janastria within the month, she’ll be on the first plane back to Florida, and you’ll be marrying a woman of my choosing.” The king raises his eyebrow at both Dalton and me. “Do you agree?”

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