Page 27 of The Heart of the King

His city.

His country.

His people.

His responsibility.

When he was younger, he’d thought being the second in line for the throne meant he could do whatever he wanted. He’d partied. Had more one-night stands than he could count - if they could even be called onenightstands. He’d never gone totally over the edge. No drugs. Not ever. But that didn’t mean he was proud of the rest of it.

As he’d grown older, he’d started to watch some of the other monarchs and princes around, especially in the Quad-Countries and Belles Montagnes. That’s when David started to realize that maybe there was more to it than doing whatever he wanted. With the rank and title came the responsibilities and not just the privileges.

“How are you?”

He saw Jasmine in the window’s reflection before he heard her.

“Overwhelmed.”

Her hand slipped between his arm and body. “You were created for this, David. We haven’t known each other long enough for me to know the depth of your faith, but I can assure you. Before the dawn of time, God knew you would be here, in this moment, and what tasks would be set before you.” She rested the side of her head against his shoulder. “God’s got this, and you, in the palm of His hand. He didn’t bring you this far to let you down.”

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Thank you.”

“I think it’s why I’m here.” Her hand slid around his back underneath his suit coat. “To help you.”

“Then you’re doing your job admirably.” He turned so he was facing her and wrapped his other arm around her. “You know, at some point we’re going to have to figure out what exactly is going on with us, you and me, as a couple.”

She turned her head and rested it against him. “I know. I wish we could remember why we chose to get married. I think that might help.”

“I don’t remember much. I remember I had a reason to talk to you, to ask for your help with something, but not much more.”

“What’s the first thing on your agenda as king? Do you have a first hundred days kind of thing like American presidents do?”

“Not really. I’ve thought about the first thing I want to do for a long time, the causes I want to champion, but I never really settled on anything specific. I know there are certain charities I’ll continue to support and other ones I’ll start to, but as far as anything policy related goes, I just don’t know what I want to tackle, other than somehow creating more opportunities for women, but that’s still so nebulous that I don’t know where to go.”

“If you had an older sister, would she be queen right now?”

“No. We have male primogeniture still.”

“If you have only daughters, will your oldest daughter be queen someday?”

David looked down to see that she’d moved to look up at him. “Not likely. If there’s no male heir in the top ten, then she would be.”

Jasmine wrinkled her nose. “That’s utterly ridiculous.”

“I agree. There are some amazing queens, worldwide. Queen Elizabeth, of course, and Queen Margarethe in Denmark. In my generation, there are Adeline of Montevaro, Christiana of Ravenzario, and, most recently, Esme in Sargasso. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to have a queen of Auverignon without jumping through hoops.” Should that be his first major policy move? What would public opinion be on that?

“I only know about Queen Elizabeth, but I’m sure the others are excellent, too.”

“I need to do some digging, or have Stewart do some.” He pulled her a bit closer. “There’s this vague memory in the back of my mind about a movement to change this when I was young. It wouldn’t have mattered yet, because Gabe and I were already born, so, in theory, there wouldn’t be an opportunity for a queen until I abdicate in a few decades at the earliest. The first person that could have been affected would be my daughter, if I had one twenty years after the discussions were being held, so maybe it’s just a trick of the mind.”

“Were your grandparents there today? I know your parents weren’t, which makes sense, but I haven’t heard anything about your grandparents since the discussion about your grandfather as a possibility for our detour.” Her head rested against him again.

“They weren’t there. I haven’t heard from either one of them. As far as I know, my grandfather hasn’t made a statement about any of it.”

“I’m sorry.” She loosened her hold on him and stepped back slightly, her hands still on his sides. “Have you heard from your brother?”

This time, David nodded. “We haven’t talked, but he did text me congratulations about our marriage and that he wouldn’t bother me this week, but he’s always available if I want to talk about anything.”

“That’s good.”

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