Playing Dirty(149)
“How did you find out about the baby?” I asked through gritted teeth.
He waved one of the photos at me. “I’ve been following you two to get pictures like this, and I overheard you talking about it yesterday. So how much would it be worth for that information not to reach the press?” he asked. “After all, you can’t exactly deny it; not when I’ve got these photos.”
“What the hell do you want, Michael?”
Michael’s eyes flared. “What I deserve, dammit!”
“A kick in the nuts?”
“Very funny,” he replied. “You never deserved to be King. You’ve always squandered the opportunities that were yours simply because you happened to be born first! You’ve neglected your duties, treated the people with contempt…”
“I know.”
Michael was brought up short by the unwanted and unexpected interruption. “What?”
“I said: I know.”
“I know what you said!” he snapped. “The ‘what?’ was supposed to allude more to ‘what do you mean by that?’”
“I mean that you’re right. I’ve done all that you said and more, and I probably don’t deserve to be King. But that’s the way the system works. And, for the record, I know you fulfil all your ‘duties’, but I’m not sure you’re that much better of a person than me. Neither of us is worthy to succeed our mother.”
“Well, one of us is going to, and it’s going to be me!” Michael said, getting back on track. “You’ll give up your right to the throne in favor of me. If you don’t, then I will be going to our mother with these pictures and with some information pertaining to you and your little trollop. Then I’ll be going to the press with the pictures, and I’ll inform them of her pregnancy. Imagine what the tabloids will say about her for years to come. It’ll ruin her. So what do you think of that, big brother?”
I burst out laughing.
“Why are you laughing?” Michael asked. He’d clearly had a picture in his mind of how this confrontation was going to proceed, and now that picture was being irritatingly warped by my reaction.
“I’m laughing,” I said, struggling for a breath, “because it’s funny! You actually think that I would care about becoming King?”
Michael’s face made it clear that he couldn’t imagine anyone not caring about being King.
“I never cared about being King!” I said. “I’ve never cared about anything much until recently. And now that I’ve finally found something that I actually care about, you think I’d suddenly start caring about the thing that I never cared about in the first place? You can’t see why that’s funny?”
Michael jumped, now clearly worried that he’d somehow broken my mind.
“I’ve found someone I love, Michael!” I continued. “There’s only one thing I care about as much as I care about Keira, and that’s what’s inside of Keira. You think I’d want to keep this from the press? That I’d be ashamed? That’s the funniest thing of all! I’m proud, you little idiot! I’d shout it from the rooftops if I could! In fact—this afternoon I might do just that. I’m in love with a beautiful, brilliant woman and she’s pregnant with my baby, and I couldn’t be happier or prouder! And if there is anyone in this castle, in England, in Britain or in the world who doesn’t understand that, then I pity them. And that’s the funniest thing, Michael, although also kind of sad. You’re threatening me with something that makes my life worth living. I really hope one day you get to understand that. Happiness isn’t in a crown, little brother.”
“You’re just saying that because you lost already!” By now, Michael was furious. He obviously thought that he was the one who was in the right; he was the one who held all the cards, he should be the one dictating terms. Instead, I’d owned up to my shortcomings and then proceeded to instruct him on why love was more important than royalty. Most frustrating of all was the fact that Michael seemed to have got exactly what he wanted, but I’d taken the fun out of it.
“I’ve lost nothing,” I said. “Don’t you get that?”
“People have fought wars to get what you’ve lost!” Michael snapped back.
“Well more fool them!” I replied. “Take it from me, they’d have been a damned sight happier if they’d stayed at home, found themselves a nice girl and had some kids. Trust me, every king who spent his life clawing his way to power over the bodies of others, once he got to the throne, he found himself wondering what happened to the girl he left behind in the little village he grew up in and wishing he could trade his kingdom for her.”