Chapter One
The door to the council chamber slammed open, and Darragh didn’t even look up from the trade agreement he was reviewing. He already knew who it was. Only his advisers had that particular combination of pompous throat-clearing and determined footsteps.
“Your Majesty, we really must discuss…”
“No.” Darragh signed his name with a flourish and reached for the next document.
“But, Your Majesty…”
“Still no, Aldric.” Darragh finally glanced up at his chief adviser, whose balding head had turned an impressive shade of red. Behind him, the other three advisers clustered like nervous sheep. “Whatever you’re about to say, the answer is no.”
Aldric’s cheeks quivered. “You don’t even know what we’re going to ask.”
“I know that look.” Darragh leaned back in his chair, letting it creak in the silence. “That’s your ‘we’re going to pester the king about marriage again’ look. So, no.”
“Your Majesty, please.” Helena stepped forward, her gray hair pulled back so tight it probably gave her a headache. Good. She deserved it for bothering him with more nonsense. “Just hear us out.”
Darragh gestured broadly at the papers spread across his desk. “I’m working. Come back never.”
“The World Council summit is in six months,” Marvin blurted out.
That got Darragh’s attention. He straightened, his chair scraping against the stone floor. “So?”
“So” - Aldric seized the opening like a drowning man grabbing a rope - “when we agreed to host the annual treaty summit two years ago, everyone assumed…”
“Everyone assumed I’d be married by now.” Darragh finished the sentence and rubbed his face with both hands. “Because you all thought my ‘great marriage quest’ would be successful.”
“It could have been,” Helena said primly, “if you’d given any of those lovely young women a proper chance.”
“Those lovely young women agreed with everything I said.” Darragh stood up and wandered over to the window overlooking the harbor. Three merchant ships were coming in, their sails bright against the gray sky. “Perfectly lovely ladies who all giggled at jokes that weren’t funny, and simpered and blushed when I asked them honest questions.”
“They were likely being polite,” Thomas offered, usually his quietest adviser.
“They were boring me to death.” Darragh turned back to face them. “I told you two years ago, and I’ll say it again. I’m not marrying someone I can’t stand to have a conversation with. I’d rather stay single.”
“But the summit…” Marvin tried again.
“What about it?” Darragh crossed his arms. “We host it, everyone signs their treaties, renews their agreements, drinks our wine, and goes home. What does my marital status have to do with any of that?”
The four advisers exchanged glances. Darragh knew that look too - that was their ‘we’re about to say something he won’t like’ look.
“Spit it out.”
Aldric cleared his throat. “The other kingdoms...they see Safe Harbor as somewhat...rough around the edges.”
“We build the best damn ships in the known world.”
“Yes, but…”
“Our harbor is the largest and safest anywhere.”
“Of course, Your Majesty, but…”
“Our trade routes are the most reliable and secure among any seen with other countries.”
“Your Majesty!” Helena’s voice cracked like a whip. “Will you please let us finish?”
Darragh shut his mouth and glared at her. She glared right back, which was one of the reasons he’d kept her on after his father died. She had a spine of steel.
