She beamed at him. “Yes, but you may be surprised at the deal I got for you. You might even think it worth it.”
Then there was a rustling to one side, and a handful of figures appeared in one of the arched doorways. The king, the prime minister, and most of the Privy Council – and her father, of course. Enough to badly outnumber them, except for one thing. Rowan, who perched a few dozen feet behind Roderick.
As the newcomers took their seats, Frederica made a court curtsey to the king and a shallower one to Lord Liverpool. “Your Majesty, my lords, may I present to you Mr. Roderick Glendower, commonly known as Roderick ap Rhodri of Gwynedd?”
“Ah, yes. We remember you from our days at Pemberley,” the king pronounced.
She shot Roderick a questioning – and annoyed – look. Why had he not warned her?
I will tell you later,Roderick said inside her head. Aloud, he added, “Your Majesty has an excellent memory. You are most gracious to agree to having this meeting out of doors, so the Honorable Rowan may attend.”
As if Rowan could not have heard every word of it through his bond with Roderick, regardless of his location! No, Rowan was there solely toprotect Roderick and to provide an escape for him, should it be needed. Frederica was not enough of a fool to think that the ministers would not be tempted to seize Roderick and force him to do their bidding. But not with a full-grown dragon looking on.
Lord Liverpool cleared his throat. “Mr. Glendower, thank you for coming. I understand you possess the ability to allow Mr. Jack Darcy to utilize his King’s Bond in defense of England.”
Frederica was pleased to see Roderick looking down his not insubstantial nose at the Prime Minister of Great Britain. “The ability, yes, but I have no inclination to hand over vast magical power to the oppressor of Wales.”
He might as well have commented on the weather, for all the difference it made to the prime minister’s expression. “Lady Frederica told us you might be willing to do so under the right terms.”
Roderick shook his head. “Against my better judgment, I agreed to Lady Frederica’s pleas to hear your arguments. My first duty is to my own people, though. It is unlikely you can tempt me.”
Lord Liverpool folded his hands and smiled condescendingly. “In return for your assistance, we are willing to grant the historic kingdom of Gwynedd the ability to rule itself, within the laws of Great Britain, and to remit half of its excise taxes for ten years.”
What? That was not what they had agreed to! Frederica glared at him.
“This is a waste of my time.” Roderick’s voice dripped scorn. “Good day, gentlemen.” He turned on his heel and headed away, and Frederica could not blame him. But good God, he had turned his back on the king!
“Wait!” cried the king. “Stop this nonsense. Give this gentleman our true offer, Liverpool.”
Roderick turned back but kept his distance, his arms crossed. “I have no interest in playing games. I am here solely as a favor to a fellow dragon companion.”
The Prime Minister sighed. “Very well. We are willing to surrender our claim to the historic kingdom of Gwynedd and allow it to become an independent principality, separate from the United Kingdom and no longer subject to our laws.”
Roderick’s hand twitched. Good; he was surprised. But he handled it well. “Is that all?” he asked with a scornful laugh. “I could have taken that any time by using my King’s Bond to expel all the Englishmen.”
The Prime Minister was every inch the suave politician. “I wonder why you have not done so.”
“Why, because of my family’s alliance with the dragons of Wales, which goes back a thousand years. I chose to honor their wish to stay hidden, and that meant I could not draw attention to our province. It will be different soon, once the Great Concealment comes to an end.”
The minister from the War Office was looking nervous now. Good.
The king leaned forward. “What is it you want, then?”
Roderick narrowed his eyes, as if considering the question. “All of Wales. Everything west of Offa’s Dyke.”
Lord Liverpool shook his head. “We cannot do that, not without risking a war with Scotland.”
“That, sir, is not my problem.” Good heavens, Roderick was good at this! “I will not abandon my countrymen.”
Lord Liverpool grimaced. “We will reduce the excise taxes in Wales by half for twenty years.”
Frederica raised her eyebrows. That was a generous offer.
“Stop them completely for thirty years, and then keep them at half for another fifty,” Roderick retorted. “All English troops to be removed from Wales.”
“Impossible!” cried the War Office minister. “We must maintain a defense on the Irish Sea!”
Roderick tapped his foot slowly, one time, twice, thrice. “An agreement might be made for specific strategic garrisons on the coast, in exchange for recompense to the local people.” He sounded dubious. “If I can convince my father, and that is a very big if. Especially when the French Emperor has offered to give us all of Wales if we stay out of your war.”
