could see the little boy worshiped his adoptive father. He had crawled into Nicholas’s lap and was playing peekaboo using Nicholas’s tie. The fact that Nicholas didn’t participate in the game didn’t faze the boy.
The girl, though, worried him. “You, ma petite,” he said, pointing to the older child, whose name he still couldn’t recall. “How do you like living with Mr. Standish?”
“Uncle Nick is wonderful,” she replied solemnly. “He brought us to live in a pretty house in a nice village. We have all the food we want, and I have a pet lamb that Nick says we never have to eat, and we have as many blankets on the bed as we need. He takes me to school every day and he’s teaching me French.”
“Indeed.” Easton was charmed despite himself. The delicate little girl reminded him of his sister Magdalene when she’d been that age, God rest her soul. “And what about the Princess Amelia?” Easton asked. “What do you think of her?”
The child looked taken aback by the question, but Easton was merely trying to get the child away from her rehearsed speech.
“Princess Amelia is very pretty,” the little girl said. “I didn’t know she was a princess till Uncle Nick read about her in the newspaper.”
“Really?” Easton asked. “What happened then?”
“He got real mad,” the girl said matter-of-factly. “He said some words. I think they might have been bad words, but they were in French so I didn’t understand them. And he threw a couple of things.” She looked over at Nicholas and, seeing his expression of dismay, quickly added, “Oh, but Uncle Nick hardly ever says bad words. And he mostly threw things that didn’t break, and he didn’t throw them at anyone.”
Easton chuckled at the child’s sober sincerity, then quickly sobered himself. This situation put him into quite a sticky wicket, though it wasn’t the stability of Nick’s home or the quality of his guardianship that concerned him. Eleanor had told Easton everything he needed to know about her brother’s dependability.
“What is it you want from me?” he asked Nicholas point-blank.
“Intervention,” Nicholas answered quickly, decisively. “You’re the king. One phone call from you and the dragon-lady social workers from the Ministry of Family will drop their case against me and leave me in peace.”
“Dragon ladies,” Jakob repeated, then giggled.
Easton found nothing to laugh about. This was serious business. He rose from his chair and paced. “I don’t think you fully understand what you’re asking me to do. Korosol is a constitutional monarchy, not a dictatorship. I’ve successfully ruled the country for fifty-something years precisely because I don’t throw my weight around. The Parliament makes rules, the police and courts enforce them. And I don’t go meddling in affairs that aren’t my responsibility, no matter what my personal feelings.”
“If you don’t meddle, and you don’t make or enforce laws, what do you do?” Nicholas asked with a trifle too much arrogance, Easton thought. But he chose to overlook the breach of protocol.
“I do many of the same things the American president does,” Easton explained patiently. “I’m commander in chief of the Korosol Armed Forces. I’m the head of state, and I undertake a number of diplomatic duties. I act as an adviser to Parliament. But I don’t run around giving orders. Maybe that’s what kings did a hundred years ago in Korosol, but not now.”
“So you won’t help us?” Amelia asked, incredulous. “Help Nick, I mean. You wouldn’t have to issue an order. You could…advise the Ministry of Family, couldn’t you? I’m sure they would listen.”
“My dear girl, to make requests such as you suggest would open a Pandora’s box. Pretty soon everyone would be asking me for personal favors, and many would be as persuasive as you, with causes just as righteous, just as urgent.”
“But I’m—” Amelia objected, then stopped herself. He deduced she’d been about to remind him of her newly special status as his successor—as if he needed to be reminded. “I’m your granddaughter,” she continued. “A member of the royal family.”
“And to alter my standards and ethics just because you’re royalty and not some peasant would be even worse. I abhor favoritism under any guise.” He turned his attention to Nicholas. “I sympathize with your situation, but it wouldn’t be practical for the king to step in and usurp the authority of one of my ministers. I suggest you let the Ministry of Family conduct its investigation. If the situation is as healthy for the children as you say, they’ll rule in your favor, without my interference. The Ministry does good work. I have complete faith in it.”
“I’m afraid they won’t,” Nicholas said. “They’ve made it pretty clear—no wife, no adoption, no kids.”
Easton felt for this cobbled-together family, he really did. But his hands were tied by his own principles.
A long, awkward silence followed Nick’s pronouncement. When it became clear Easton wasn’t going to change his mind, Amelia cleared her throat and stood. “Well, then, I’m sure you have important matters to attend to.”
“We appreciate the audience,” Nicholas added. “It’s…interesting for an ordinary citizen such as myself to get a firsthand look at how the royal mind reasons out problems.”
Easton had come close to the end of his patience with Nicholas Standish. His veiled sarcasm didn’t come close to escaping his notice. A generation ago, men had been thrown into leg irons for lesser insubordination. But Easton knew how upset Eleanor would be if he did anything to her brother, and good secretaries were hard to find. So, again, he let the comment pass.
Nicholas stood and hoisted Jakob onto his hip. He gave Easton a curt nod, then held the king’s gaze until Easton nodded back, giving him silent permission to withdraw. The little girl stood last. She said nothing, didn’t even look at Easton. But he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. The silent tears were almost Easton’s undoing, and he knew he would be haunted by her solemn eyes for many nights to come.
NO WIFE, NO ADOPTION, NO KIDS. Those words ricocheted through Amelia’s head as Ellie escorted her, Nick and the children down the echoing embassy hallway toward the elevator. Nick’s face was hard, impassive, but Josie was blinking back tears. She understood what had just happened. Even Jakob was quiet.
“Come home with me,” Amelia said impulsively. “We’ll have a nice lunch, and we’ll try to figure—”
“No, thanks,” Nick said curtly. “The kids and I are going back to our hotel to change out of these clothes, then I’m taking them to the Statue of Liberty. They might as well learn some history while they’re here.”
Amelia made herself smile at the kids. “That sounds like fun!”
“You can come with us,” Josie said cautiously, which pleased Amelia. It was the first friendly overture Josie had made to her.
“No, she can’t,” Nick said, speaking to Josie but looking at Amelia. “Her Highness can’t step out her front door without reporters and groupies descending on her, and I’m not up to dealing with that right now.”
Amelia wanted to argue that he was wrong. She could usually move about the city with a certain amount of anonymity, provided she was careful. But she knew an excuse when she heard one. Nick
