entered my club now and threatened more than just your sister. So I won’t leave.” He inclined his head slightly. “There may even be a chance that I can help.”
Grantham held Rivers’ stare for a long moment, sizing him up, Ilaria thought. And then his expression grew less hard. “How?”
“I have connections,” Rivers said softly. “And I can find things that perhaps even your courtiers would find difficult to uncover. I will offer my assistance in any way I can. But I must understand what happened in my club tonight and why.”
Grantham ran a hand through his hair and looked at his family, then back to Rivers. “Very well. If I have your word that nothing I say here leaves this club, I don’t suppose I have much choice.”
“I swear to you that nothing you say will ever leave these walls,” Rivers said, his gaze intense on Grantham’s.
“I think I believe you.” Her brother sighed heavily. “I suppose we’re all being revealed as liars tonight. There has been trouble since I took the throne, a trouble I…I kept from all of you. There is a faction of our people who do not wish to have a monarchy anymore. Apparently they would go so far as to murder my sister to make that point abundantly clear.”
As Sasha and Giabella gasped, Remi got up and crossed to the desk. He squeezed their brother’s arm and picked up the flag. “They want you to, what…abdicate?”
Grantham nodded. “I’m receiving regular reports of their behavior from home. My advisors keep telling me to squash them, do it swiftly and harshly enough that it will never happen again during my reign. I’ve resisted—I do not wish to turn might against my people. But I never thought it would go this far.”
“It seems odd it would.” Remi fingered the cloth. “Odd to leave a calling card like this when they must know you are being pressured to retaliate. It feels too obvious.”
Jonah cleared his throat. “I don’t disagree with Prince Remington,” he said softly. “But I think the matter at hand is that Princess Ilaria’s life has been threatened, not once but three times in a short period. She is the target, no matter what the purpose of the attacks is in truth. And she must be our focus. Your Majesty, you asked me to do a duty. To protect your sister. And I have a suggestion as to how that needs to be carried out.”
Grantham glared at him, and Ilaria had to force herself not to stand up, to insert herself between the men, defend Jonah in a way that would make their bond all the more obvious. “You have a suggestion after you have failed three times? After you allowed her to come here three damned times? For what purpose, I can only imagine.”
Jonah flinched, but did not defend himself. He cleared his throat. “She needs to be removed from London,” he said. “Secreted away, even if only for a short time while you investigate.”
The queen got to her feet. “I don’t disagree with Captain Crawford,” she said softly. “My daughter must be protected at any cost.”
“Then we should return home,” Grantham snapped. “We could be on the boat by tomorrow.”
“And destroy all your hopes for this visit?” Ilaria gasped in horror. “Undo all you’ve built?”
Jonah shook his head. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, I’m not sure that solves your problem. You are dealing with a person or persons who are driven to make some kind of point. They might be with this rebel group you describe, or your brother might be correct that they are not. Going home may not alleviate the pressure and if you cannot trust someone within your own household——”
Ilaria’s stomach turned. “You think the culprit could be someone in the household?”
“No,” Grantham said. “I cannot believe it.”
“Then you’ll leave yourself open to danger,” Rivers said softly. Grantham cast him a dark look, but Rivers seemed unmoved. “We don’t like to think that those we trust haven’t earned it. But it is sometimes terribly true. If Crawford could take the princess to safety, I could have my own people, people you can trust completely, look into this attack and its true origins.”
“And how do we explain a missing princess?”
“You don’t.” Sasha’s hands shook as she grasped Ilaria’s. “I will stand in her place.”
Grantham jerked his face toward her. “Sasha!”
“Please don’t pretend that this isn’t exactly what my presence was always meant for. Ilaria’s schedule includes many events where most will