Page 81 of Rogue Royal
“Andrew, that wasn’t nice,” his mother admonished. “Leave them be.”
“What? I don’t mind the reunion, but do I need to see my son with his tongue down his boyfriend’s throat?”
Douglas snorted as laughter flowed through the room. How the idea of him and Mav together wasn’t upsetting his father was beyond him, especially after their last conversation regarding it.
“Let’s go through what we’ve found out.”
Douglas sat on a loveseat, pulling Mav with him despite his protestations. As Freddie began explaining what had happened, Douglas took in the occupants of the room. Freddie, George, Damon and his parents he’d expected, but he hadn’t expected Quinn, Kendal and a woman he didn’t recognise.
“This was all Talon’s doing?” Douglas summarised.
Mav’s hand squeezed his, and he noticed the tension running through the room.
“Not entirely,” his father said. “We believe Charles is behind it.”
Douglas frowned. “Cousin Charles? Why would he…” His voice trailed off as he remembered the argument. “It makes a certain sense. He’s always had it in for us. For me, especially.”
“That’s his mother’s doing,” Queen Louisa snapped. “The vile woman needs to receive some of her own medicine.”
“Now, now, love. Don’t go upsetting yourself. I will deal with everything. You have my word.”
His mother reached for his father’s hand, covering it. “I know. I hate that her part of the family is targeting mine.”
“There will be repercussions, but we need to find evidence that points to Charles. Until we have it, we have nothing,” Freddie said.
“The key thing is we’ve cleared Douglas’s name, and he’s back home with us.”
“And we have Mav to thank for that,” his father said, surprising them all.
“Don’t forget Umar,” Kendal added, a hint of defiance showing in his body language as he faced the king.
His father smiled. “And Umar. Douglas, this is Umar’s sister, Amaya. She is also a sub at the club.”
“Nice to meet you, Amaya.”
“Thank you for your kindness, though I know we don’t deserve it. We have been told what happened and will speak to Umar as soon as we can. I don’t think it’s fair for him to be at the club after what he did, regardless of his reasons. We will find—”
“No.” Douglas held out a hand. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but we will welcome him back to the club with open arms. He had a hard choice to make, and many people would have faltered. In the end, he spoke up. That’s what matters. As far as I’m concerned, this is the end of the matter.” He glanced at his father, receiving a nod.
“Thank you, Prince Douglas. You are very generous.”
“Right, I think you’re all up to speed, so you may all go back to your day. Thank you for being here to help clear things up,” King Andrew said. “Douglas, Mav, would you mind staying for a few minutes longer?”
Douglas wanted nothing more than to get Mav beneath him as soon as possible, but he’d wait. A few more minutes wouldn’t make a difference. He received hugs from everyone except Amaya before they left, then it was just the four of them. Douglas could feel Mav’s hand trembling in his, and he squeezed it, hoping to reassure him.
His father rubbed a hand over his chin repeatedly as he stared at the floor. It was what he always did when he was trying to gather his thoughts.
“Maverick, I want to thank you for everything you did to figure out what happened. I know you spent many hours searching for information to help. Not only with this, but your work ethic has been flawless, too. With that in mind, I would like to offer you the chance to keep your position as social media manager for Douglas. Technically,” his father glanced at him with a smirk, “it’s a conflict of interest, but I know you work well together, and you have not let your relationship interfere with the work that needs to be done.”
When Mav stayed silent, Douglas smiled and prodded him. “Oh, um…yes, Your Majesty. That would be fantastic, but, um…” He took a deep breath and straightened his spine. “Can I clarify, does this mean your opinion about our relationship has changed? Because if it hasn’t, I would have to decline.”
Douglas stared at Mav, his heart galloping at his words. Why would he say no? Mav wouldn’t meet his gaze, choosing instead to stare at King Andrew.
“It has been brought to my attention that my opinion was incorrect.” He smiled at his wife. “I have never seen my son as happy as he has been these past few weeks, and despite my initial reservations, I believe we can weather whatever is thrown our way regarding your relationship. All I ask is one thing from you both,ifthere comes a time when you are having second thoughts about your relationship, come to Louisa or me first. It’s easier to deal with things when they haven’t already made it into the press, as you well know, Maverick.”
Douglas and Mav shared a glance and a smile before agreeing to the terms. His heart was ready to burst.
“In which case, you have our blessing. Though you don’t need it.” The king sighed.
