Page 81 of Wicked Queen

Unknown to both of them it was an audition of sorts. I wasn’t certain that I could persuade Smith Price to join my staff but I was willing to try.

“And who is this?” Lord Byrd whacked a walking stick at Smith’s feet.

Smith bared his teeth before he answered. “Smith Price, junior barrister.”

“Junior?” Byrd sniffed as though this distinction was important.

“He was being considered for King’s Council before he took a sabbatical.” I understood what clout meant to men like this.

May peered at him from over his reading glasses, finally abandoning his newspaper. “He’s too young.”

“Formidability will trump age it seems,” I said coolly.

“Enough of this,” said Prime Minister Clark, who looked uncomfortable by both the proceedings and his surroundings.

He didn’t seem the type to belong to this group. He’d risen through the House of Commons and although his upbringing was privileged, it had not reached the upper echelons of snobbery.

A waiter appeared offering me a brandy menu but I waved it away. Smith followed my cue but didn’t look pleased about it.

What he didn’t realize was the subtle shade I’d just thrown at the panel. This did not escape them, however. If old men could be counted on for one thing it would be the stubborn acceptance of nonsensical traditions.

If the king didn’t drink, neither did they.

Norris smiled next to me and straightened his tie. It was time to get down to business.

“You called me here,” I reminded them, leaning back into the chair and spreading my arms.

“There is a vocal majority in the Parliament who have brought up concerns regarding the Royal Prerogative. Most feel your arrest of Oliver Jacobson is in direct conflict with English law.”

“The last time I checked I was the head of English law,” I said, tapping the leather arm.

“Figurehead,” Clark corrected me. “With the Fixed-Term Parliament Act and the—”

“I didn’t come here for a civics lesson,” I interrupted him. “There are conditions in which I may exercise some rights that have more recently been largely forgone. Surely, the assassination of my father and attacks on the Royal line warrant my actions.”

I looked to Smith for confirmation. He tipped his head, pressing his lips together, as if to say I was firmly in a grey area in this line of thought. I made a mental note to ask him how to move that firmly out of nebulous territory.

“But when the King’s action conflicts with Parliament’s ability to function, we have a problem.” There was a carefully concealed message in May’s words. “There are procedures for such a matter.”

“If I may,” Smith said, ignoring the shocked looks from the cadre of grumpy, old men, “we have consistent and compelling evidence that the Crown has been victim of a continued conspiracy meant to eradicate the monarchy.”

“There have always been attempts to abolish the monarchy, they never make any progress,” Byrd said loudly.

“There is abolition and there is treason,” I said in a low voice. “Jacobson was involved in the latter.”

“What about this attack on the Child Watch symposium, the one believed to target the Queen? He was in custody!”

“We’re intelligent men.” Smith shifted in his chair, covering his smile momentarily before continuing, “No plot of this magnitude involves a single man. In fact, we’ve come to suspect that Jacobson is merely a pawn in a much larger scheme.”

“Who knows how deeply it’s rooted wherever it’s planted,” I said, measuring each word for maximum impact.

“There’s an implication there I don’t appreciate.” Byrd tapped his cane.

“I am well aware of all of these things.” I was losing patience. In the past few weeks I’d sat in a number of meetings with others members of Parliament, assessing their feelings on the Crown. I had no idea where these men stood and I wasn’t certain I cared. They were amongst the oldest living members of the House of Lords and therefore heralded from a time before the scales were tipped more equally. “Why did you wish to speak with me?”

“These accusations concern us. We could not simply allow you to hold one of our own with no consequences,” May said to my surprise.

“You held a different opinion when we last spoke,” I said, recalling our meeting in February.