“I’m very much afraid that I am,” he said, dryly. It was wrong of him, but he revelled in Forsyth’s shock. “I’ve already packed my personal possessions. And I’ve also written a speech. Do you like it?”
“You can’t go up in front of the media and say that,” Forsyth objected. “It would do inestimable harm to the country! People’s confidence would be shattered…”
Henry waved a hand around to indicate the luxurious room. “I don’t think they’d be amused to discover that people like you and I were still living in luxury when half the country is starving,” he said. “And let’s be honest, shall we? That is precisely what we are doing.”
He stood. “I’ve explained everything to my father,” he added. “And while he isn’t too pleased, he understands. I’ll be leaving London tomorrow and I won’t return.”
Winchester cleared his throat. “Perhaps we could arrange a compromise, Your Highness,” he said. “There are ways we can appease both sides of the issue.”
“There’s no room for compromise,” Henry said. He ticked off points on his fingers as he spoke. “I do not want to be part of the Royal Family any longer. I don’t want my fiancée or my children to be part of the Royal Family. I…”
“Janelle Lopez has her duties to the Royal Navy,” Forsyth said. “She might not be allowed to resign…”
Henry smirked. “You do realise you’re talking about a heroine, one of the few people to know Admiral Smith and survive? I dare say the media would be very interested if you tried to pressure her.”
Forsyth blanched. “But…”
“But what?” Henry demanded. “You kept me here through ties of love and loyalty and patriotism. I still love my family, but I see no reason to surrender the rest of my life to become a figurehead for the government and the country. What could I possibly do to show the people that the Royal Family is part of them that will outshine almost dying in the final battle of the war?”
He snorted. “And stop trying to appeal to my loyalty,” he added. “I got sick of it after they took photographs of me on the toilet as a young boy. If it had been anyone else, you assholes, the reporter would have been charged with taking indecent pictures of children and slapped in jail. But for me… the bastard got away with it scot free.”
Winchester held up his hand. “We would not presume to threaten your future wife,” he said, “but the country is not particularly stable at the moment. You leaving now could threaten confidence in the government when we need it to remain stable.”
Henry snorted. “At rock bottom?”
“We have a compromise,” Winchester said. “There will be an embassy on Atlantis, as I believe the alien homeworld will be designated. You are a naval officer with considerable experience of working with the aliens, as is your future wife. I believe you could be assigned there for the remainder of your term in the military, if not longer. You would have privacy, Your Highness, and you would be well away from Earth.”
“And my sister would succeed the throne, if she wants it,” Henry said. “Let’s face it. She will make a much better figurehead than myself.”
He paused. “And what about my children?”
“If your sister dies childless,” Winchester said, “they would be in line to take the throne…”
“No,” Henry said. “My price for doing this is that I and any children I might have are excluded from the succession permanently. If Elizabeth dies childless, there are other potential heirs…”
“And you’re the one in first place,” Forsyth said.
“And it hardly matters,” Henry snapped. “If there was power in the throne, I might take it and use it… and my first decree would be to have you beheaded. But there’s no reward for making myself a target for reporters, pollutions — sorry, politicians — and everyone with a grudge against Britain.”
He took a breath. “You have my terms,” he said. “If you can handle them, let me know and I will speak to Janelle about it. If not… bye-bye.”
Grinning, he turned and walked out of the room. Maybe it wasn’t quite as satisfying as the fantasy he’d had of slowly feeding Forsyth and his ilk into a mincing machine, then feeding their remains to reporters, but it had felt good. And even if he did take the post on Atlantis…
… He would be a long way from any damned reporters.
And that, he knew, was all he really wanted.
James hadn’t visited his father’s study since the day he’d entered the Academy. It had normally been denied to him and his siblings, as his father did most of his work from the manor and flatly barred his children from disturbing him during office hours. The only times he’d visited had been when the servants had wanted to report his conduct to his father, who had always taken a dim view of it.
He looked around the room, marvelling at how little had changed. The walls were covered with bookshelves, the desk — a copy of one in Buckingham Palace — was bare, save for a computer terminal and a piece of paper with a handful of scrawled notes. He was studying the book titles, wondering how many of them his father had actually read, when the door opened, revealing Percy and Penny Schneider. Behind them, Gayle — their nanny, according to Commander Schneider — looked reluctant to enter the room.
“Please, take a seat,” he said. “All three of you.”
He sighed inwardly as he met their eyes. Percy was clearly trying to be a grown man, suppressing his emotions in public, while Penny and Gayle both looked badly upset. It was hard to blame any of them. Their mother — and Gayle’s parents — had vanished in the tidal waves, while their father had died shortly afterwards on active service. And they were far from alone. Hundreds of thousands — perhaps millions — of people remained missing, presumed dead. Or perhaps they’d simply changed their identities and vanished.
“Your father was a very brave man,” he said, simply. “He gave his life to save countless others.”
He looked at Gayle. “I believe he intended to adopt you, at least until you reached adulthood,” he added. “He certainly filed the paperwork to do so before Ark Royal left Earth for the final time. I don’t think there would have been any major objections. He was a war hero, after all, and already the father of two teenage children.”
“Yes, sir,” Gayle muttered.
James understood. She’d lost her parents, then her prospective adopter in quick succession. The normal legal headaches to adoption had been removed in the wake of the crisis, but the legal protections had also been removed. There had already been incidents, according to the media, when children and teenagers had been adopted by deliberately abusive adults and treated worse than slaves. Gayle had no reason to look forward to a bright future. None of them had, not really.
“It is my intention to adopt you,” James said. “All three of you. I believe your father would have wanted me to see you — all three of you — safe.”
Percy frowned. “And the price of this?”
“Nothing,” James said. He understood. Percy would have been exposed to more darkness in the last few months than he’d seen in his entire previous life. It had matured him, but it had also left him cynical and worn. “Just… try to live up to your father’s standards.”
Penny sighed. “But here…?”
“For the moment,” James said. He looked around the room, trying to understand how it must seem to them. Their parents had never been rich. “There are options, if you don’t want to join my extended family. I believe there are asteroid settlements, or farmsteads on Britannia, or… I could probably arrange almost anything for you. But I believe that if you live here, at least until you become legal adults, you’d have the best possible introduction into society.”