I am her son! Rupert shouted, pushing Angelica back. Angelica knew she should have been afraid of him in that moment, but the truth was that she wasnt. For the moment, at least, she was the one in control.
Yes, you are, Angelica said. Her son, and her heir, and she tried to take all of that from you. She tried to give it to someone who would have hurt you. It was practically self-defense.
Rupert shook his head. People wont they wont see it like that. When they learn what I have done
Why should they learn that? Angelica asked, in a perfectly reasonable tone that pretended not to understand. She moved over to one of the couches there, sitting and taking a cup of chilled wine. She gestured for Rupert to do the same, and he drank his at a speed that suggested he barely tasted it.
People will have seen me, Rupert said. They will guess where the blood came from.
Angelica hadnt thought Rupert was that stupid. Shed thought he was a fool, obviously, even a dangerous fool, but not that much of one.
People can be bought, or threatened, or killed, she said. They can be distracted by rumors, or even persuaded that they were wrong. I have people listening for hints that people are speaking up against you, and any who are will be either silenced or made to look like fools, so that they are ignored.
Even so Rupert began.
There you go again, my love, Angelica said. You are a strong man, a confident man. Why are you second-guessing yourself with this?
Because there are so many ways it can go wrong, Rupert said. I am not a fool. I know what people think of me. If rumors start, they will believe them.
Then I shall see that they do not start, Angelica said, or that a more suitable target for them is found. She reached out to take one of his hands in hers. When you have bedded some nobles daughter in the past and been too rough with her, did you worry about their wrath?
Rupert shook his head. I have never
Lying is your first tool in this, Angelica said, calmly. She knew exactly what Rupert had done in the past, and to whom. Shed made it her business to know every small detail, so that she would be able to use it if she had to. Originally, the plan had been to destroy the prince when she married Sebastian, but it could be just as useful now.
I dont know why youre bringing this up, Rupert said. It isnt relevant. Its
Distraction is your second, Angelica said. We will find better things for the people to focus on.
She saw Rupert flush with anger.
I will be your king, he snapped.
And that is your third tool, Angelica whispered, moving in to kiss him. You are safe. Do you understand, my love? Or you will be. The trick now is to shore up your position.
She watched Rupert relax visibly as the idea started to sink in. However deeply killing his mother had touched him, he knew how to get away with whatever he did. Hed been doing it for long enough, after all. Or maybe it was the prospect of power that calmed him, the thought of what would follow.
I have already spoken to my allies, Rupert said.
And now it is time to get them to act, Angelica replied. Make them a part of this from the start. The Dowagers death is already rumor for the city, and it will be announced formally soon enough. Things must move quickly now. She drew him to his feet. All kinds of things.
Which things? Rupert asked. Angelica put it down to the shock.
Our wedding, Rupert, she said. It must happen before people have a chance to argue. We must present them with a stable front, a settled royal dynasty to follow.
Rupert moved surprisingly quickly when he grabbed her by the throat, the anger there rising up again with dangerous rapidity.
Dont tell me what I must do, he said. My mother tried to do that.
I am not your mother, Angelica replied, trying not to wince at the strength of the grip. But I would like to be your wife before the day is done. I thought wed discussed that, Rupert. I thought it was what you wanted.
Rupert let go of her. I dont know. I dont none of this is what I planned.
Isnt it? Angelica asked. You planned to take the throne. Surely you knew what sacrifices that would involve? Although Id like to think that marrying me is hardly that much of a hardship.
She moved back from him. If you like, it is not too late to call things off. Tell me to leave, and I will vacate Ashton for my familys estates. Choose to wait, and we will wait. Of course, then you would not have my familys strength, or their allies. And there would be no one to help you to contain all those difficult rumors.
Youre threatening me? Rupert demanded. Angelica knew how dangerous a game that was. Even so, she was going to play it, because the real game she was playing was far more dangerous.
Im simply pointing out the advantages you gain by going through with it, my love, Angelica said. Marry me, and I can make all of this so much easier for you. It is better to do it today than a month from now. If I can act as your wife, I have a reason to protect you from the world.
Rupert stood there for several seconds, and for a moment Angelica thought she might have misjudged all of this. That he might walk away after all. Then he gave a single, terse nod.
Very well, he said. If it matters to you, we will do it today. Now, Im going to get some air and start contacting our allies.
He turned and walked out. Angelica suspected that he was more likely to seek out wine than their allies, but that didnt matter. It was probably even to their benefit. She would soon have them doing all that they should, sending messages on behalf of her husband.
She rang the bell for a servant.
See that the clothes Prince Rupert was wearing when he came in are burned, she said to the girl who came in. Then fetch a priestess of the Masked Goddess, and invite the members of the Dowagers inner council to meet at the palace. Oh, and send someone along to my dressmaker. There should be a wedding dress waiting for me by now.
My lady? the girl said.
Am I not speaking clearly enough? Angelica asked. My dressmaker. Go.
The girl went. It was strange how stupid people could be sometimes. The servant had obviously assumed that Angelica would have made no preparations for her own wedding. Instead, shed begun sending messages out for the preparations almost as soon as she got the idea to have Rupert marry her. It was important that this wedding looked as much like one as possible given the short notice.
It was a shame that there would be no opportunity to have a bigger ceremony later, but there was one obvious impediment to that: Rupert would be dead by then.
Today had shown the necessity of that more clearly than Angelica could have believed. Shed thought Rupert a man as much in control of himself as she was of herself, yet he remained as changeable as the wind. No, the plan shed put in place was the way to go. She would marry Rupert tonight, kill him by morning, and be crowned queen before his body was even in the ground.
Ashton would have the queen it needed then. Angelica would rule, and the kingdom would be better for it. Everything was going to turn out right. She could feel it.
CHAPTER THREE
Sophia could only wait as the fleet advanced on Ashton. As her fleet advanced. Even here and now, after everything that had happened, it was hard to remember that all of this was hers. Every life on the ships around her, every lord who sent men, every piece of land from which they came, was her responsibility.