‘Just practising, Bertie, in case I ever need to infiltrate a Holmland military hospital. I’ll be up in a minute.’
‘That’s what I wanted to hear. I don’t want to pin a medal to your pyjamas. Most undignified.’
‘Medal?’
‘Apparently I have one for each of you, but they’ll probably have to wait, your mission’s being top secret and all that. For now, I want to hear everything.’
Aubrey and his friends looked at each other. ‘Where do we start?’ he said.
‘Start after the Stalsfrieden factory fire. I have reports of events after that, but they’re so spotty I could use them as a leopard suit. Fill in the details, if you would.’
Telling the heir to the thrones of Albion and Gallia about their adventures became so much like old times that Aubrey almost forgot where they were. Caroline, Sophie and George all butted in, correcting his account, taking over, handing it from one to the other and laughing at the prince’s astonishment. Sophie was hesitant to begin with but, heartened by the others, she even managed to groan at one of Prince Albert’s execrable puns about firearms and finding people of the right calibre.
The tone of the recounting became more sombre as they came to describing the events at the front, and Aubrey hoped that Bertie was taking this in. The front was no joking matter. The prince grew more and more angry when they described the hardships of the trenches, and Aubrey thought it was anger most well directed.
After Caroline narrated the last episode – sensibly, as Aubrey had no idea about how she’d dug him out of the collapsed trench, de-peached him and then organised a squad to carry him to medical aid – Bertie sat back, thinking.
‘You’ve done a fine thing, all of you. A touch reckless, Aubrey, but effective.’ He put his hands together. ‘I like to think our generals are a little more aware of what they’re sending our soldiers into than the Holmlanders, but am I deluding myself? Perhaps I should recommend that all members of our High Command must visit the front, and do so regularly. In fact, I’ve a mind to do so myself since I’m so close.’
‘Begging your pardon, Bertie,’ George said, ‘I don’t think you’d be let within ten miles of the front. You’re too valuable.’
The prince grimaced. ‘They do say that, don’t they? I had enough trouble getting this far.’
‘Which makes me ask,’ Aubrey said, ‘what exactly are you doing here, Bertie?’
‘I’m doing my bit.’ The prince hesitated and he turned his cap over in his hands a few times. ‘I wanted to do something, you see. Even figureheads can, was my thinking.’
‘You’re far from a figurehead.’ Aubrey knew how much work Bertie had done in the last few years. Ever since his father had grown incapable of fulfilling the role of king, Bertie had taken on many of his ceremonial roles as well as the tedious bureaucratic roles. Even though the public knew the King was ill, Aubrey was sure they had no idea how ill – thanks to Bertie’s work.
‘I appreciate that, Aubrey, but I decided a gesture or two could be important. So I decided to leave Trinovant and to rally the troops. And the alliance.’ He nodded to Sophie. ‘You’re aware that the alliance with Gallia has been coming under some pressure?’
‘It is true,’ Sophie said. ‘My father said that many people are unhappy about the war. They think that Albion is using Gallia as a wall to stop the Holmlanders. And there are others who are unhappy with the way we are governed. They want a king.’
‘Gallian royalists, in this day and age. I can’t believe it,’ Bertie said, without any hint of irony. He picked at the braid on his cap. ‘You forgot to mention the Gallians who are horrified by such a possibility.’
‘Gallia is used to political unrest,’ Sophie said, ‘but it is a bad time for such things.’
‘So you decided to shore up support with a goodwill tour,’ Aubrey said to Bertie.
‘A little more than that, actually.’ Prince Albert hesitated a little and straightened his tie before going on. ‘I took the Gallian Crown Jewels with me to Lutetia and reunited them with the Heart of Gold. After that I read an official document to the Gallian assembly, declining our claim to the vacant throne and promising that our family would never pursue it.’
Aubrey had survived a few bombshells in recent times, but he still hadn’t grown used to them. Especially not when dropped in his own bedroom.
Caroline recovered first. ‘And how was this received in Gallia?’
‘Barely restrained relief is the best way I’d describe it. As Miss Delroy noted, it’s a bad time to be arguing about such things. My quashing any possibility of an Albionite reclaiming the throne of Gallia was the best solution.’ He chuckled. ‘They held a banquet to commemorate this important occasion, but I think the unanticipated nature of my announcement caught them rather on the hop. They couldn’t find the state silver to serve the dinner on and had to borrow some ancient gold plate from the sisters at the Cathedral of Our Lady.’
Aubrey’s curiosity jabbed him. ‘The Gallian state silver is missing?’
‘Stolen, someone said, but the president told me that it had been sold. Silver prices have been going through the roof. He’d ordered that the state silver be sold and the proceeds put into the war effort, to show that the government was serious about sacrifice.’
‘Of course,’ Aubrey said, but another item was nagging at him. ‘And His Majesty, the King? What does he think of these developments?’
‘It was Father, of course, who thought this was the best course of action. He wanted to go with me, but the Privy Council advised against that in the strongest terms. When his doctors also spoke out, he subsided, reluctantly, and agreed when I said that I’d do it by myself. After he made up his mind, he was firm on it. Even when he took a turn for the worse, he insisted that I go.’
The state of King William’s health was of great concern to every Albionite – and every Albionite with close knowledge of his illness was always concerned with how much to tell the public. The war was an additional complicating factor. A strong leader was an advantage in wartime; a gravely ill one a handicap.
‘Prime Minister Giraud would have been happy at your announcement,’ Sophie said carefully. ‘He is a staunch republican.’
‘Indeed he is, Miss Delroy. His glee at my announcement was palpable.’
‘But what about the royalists who’ve been coming out of the woodwork?’ George said. ‘Sophie, you said your father was concerned about them.’
‘He was,’ she said. ‘Some of them have made troubles.’
‘As you say,’ Prince Albert said, ‘Gallia is accustomed to a level of unrest. I believe, and Prime Minister Giraud agrees, that the war against Holmland and its allies is far more important than a long-ago claim to a vanished throne. The royalists are patriots, after all. They will support the government in this time of crisis.’
‘Wait,’ Aubrey said. ‘You said something about the Gallian Crown Jewels. I’ve never heard about Gallian Crown Jewels.’
‘You’re not the only one who does research, Aubrey. I’ve been busy ever since your discovery of that awkward document suggesting my claim to the Gallian throne. After Dr Tremaine’s orchestrated announcement in Fisherberg, I’ve redoubled my efforts.’
‘And given employment to many researchers, no doubt.’
‘Hardly.’ Prince Albert drew himself up, mock seriously. ‘I rummaged about myself. Too sensitive, all this. I didn’t want people talking. No matter how loyal they may have been, a horde of researchers would, simply by their presence, cause gossip.’
‘Dusty work, researching,’ George said.
‘As I found, but I also found some interesting old books in libraries in various palaces about the country.’
‘Bertie, you do understand that you’re one of the few people in the world who can talk about more than one palace, don’t you?’
‘I’m aware of my position, Aubrey. It sometimes has benefits.’ The prince shrugged. ‘I’m sure that no-one has opened most of these books for years, centuries even, tucked away as they are.’
‘You could donate them to a library,’ Caroline suggested.
‘Or build a new one,’ George added.
‘A new library?’ Prince Albert considered this. ‘A capital thought. I’ll look into it, when this war is over.’
Aubrey wondered how many plans were now being appended with ‘when this war is over’. Normal lives were suspended, human trajectories interrupted. He could see this conflict affecting a generation – more than a generation. It would be a marker for decades to come.
