Page 46 of The Heart of the King

The luncheon went betterthan David had hoped. Jasmine was wonderful. She carried on intelligent conversations. Asked for clarification on issues when she needed it, but also refused to give definitive opinions on most of them until she’d had a chance to look into them more thoroughly.

That impressed some of them and annoyed others. David wasn’t shocked by who was in either group.

He leaned back in his chair and tapped his pen against his other hand. Jasmine reallyhaddone an excellent job holding her own with the Parliamentary and Council leaders. She’d given excellent and insightful answers, while avoiding being cornered into giving an opinion on something she wasn’t well-informed on.

An idea began to niggle around the outside of his mind. He pressed the button on his desk phone to call Stewart in.

“How can I help you, sir?”

David motioned for him to take a seat. “Tell me what you know about the King’s Seat.”

Stewart opened his tablet and tapped on it a few times. As he searched, he spoke. “It’s a seat on the Council held by the king’s appointee. Generally, it’s held by the former or previous king, but I don’t think that’s a legal thing. Clearly, your father couldn’t hold the seat, though your grandfather likely could. The seat was immediately vacated by your grandfather when your father’s conviction was handed down. It was an automatic thing.”

“I knew that much, but what are the legal requirements for filling the seat? Clearly the last king isn’t an option. There is no next king at the moment, except my uncle or possibly Gabe’s second child in the extreme scenarios. I donotwant my grandfather to hold the seat. He would undermine me at every turn, and we’re not even certain he wasn’t behind the delay of our return flight.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone besides the last or next king holding the seat, but I’ve also never heard about any restrictions on it. I know this isn’t legal, but the council website simply says the King’s Seat is appointed by the king. It doesn’t list any requirements.” He tapped a couple more times. “The requirements to be on the Council in general include being eligible for the particular seat, being an Auverignonian citizen, and not being a felon.”

David rocked lightly in his chair as he turned that information over in his head. “What does Jasmine need to do to become an Auverignonian citizen?”

“I know that answer already. By marrying a member of the royal family, she automatically becomes an Auverignonian citizen.” Stewart tilted his head. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking Jasmine might be a good addition to the Council in the King’s Seat. If there are no legal issues, of course. Does she retain dual citizenship? If so, can she be on the Council? Or would she need to give up her U.S. citizenship?” Other thoughts flew through his head, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of putting Jasmine on the Council. The only thing that made him hesitate was the thought of her leaving. She hadn’t committed to staying more than a short time, yet.

David sighed. “Find out the legalities. Then I’ll go from there.”

“Yes, sir.” Stewart checked his tablet again. “In five minutes, the queen will be introduced to her new security team. You said you wanted to be there.”

“I do.” He set his pen on his desk and stood. “Where is the meeting taking place?”

“Her office.” Stewart stood and bowed slightly. “I will get on this right away.”

“Thank you.” David walked to the door to Jasmine’s office and knocked, entering when she called out. “Good afternoon,” he told her.

“Hi.” She stood and brushed her hands over her stomach. “How do I look?”

He tilted his head. “Fine. Lovely. Just like you did earlier. Why?”

“I’ve never met a security team before. I’ve never had someone whose job is to, literally, do whatever necessary to protect me.” She tugged on the hem of her blouse.

“It’s their job,” he reminded her, though he’d never really stopped to think about it before. He’d been assigned security for as long as he could remember. “Some members of the security team are third, fourth, or even fifth generation.”

Which was something he needed to discuss with Randall or Daniel and make certain that anyone loyal to his father or grandfather were not in positions to be the sole protector for a member of his family.

“I know.” Jasmine’s shoulders slumped, and she blew out a breath. “It’s just one more thing that will take some getting used to.”

“You’re doing incredible. You did amazing at the luncheon and with the cake decorating children.” He put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. “I was very proud of you.”

“Thank you. It was harder than I thought it would be, but easier at the same time.”

“How do you mean?”

She shrugged as her fingers played with his tie. “It was just like talking to any other group of stuffed shirts. Be polite and diplomatic. Don’t take a stand on anything you’re not certain about or need more information on.”

David chuckled. “Sounds about right. You did an excellent job when some of them tried to corner you.”

The phone on her desk buzzed. “The security team is here to see you, ma’am.”

“Send them in,” Jasmine called, leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek then stepping back.

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