Now he ruled them all as prime minister.
“Lila, girl.” Lemaire pulled her into a bear hug. Lila had missed seeing her father over the last few weeks. He spent most of his time at Unity but governed from Bullstow during Father’s Week each month, for the bulk of his children resided in or near New Bristol. “I hated watching the news last week. I couldn’t help feeling like I’d really lost my daughter. The senators and highborn in Unity offered me their condolences for two days straight. I worked from my suite because I couldn’t listen to it anymore.”
“I’m okay.”
He squeezed her one more time, then reluctantly let her go. “Never do that for real.”
“Same to you,” she said with a smile. “I heard your plane landed this morning. I knew you’d turn up early.”
“I always do, don’t I?” He turned and smiled at the chairwoman. The smile was not the smile of romantic love but the smile of equals, the smile of soul mates, the smile of many roads traveled in the company of a friend. He kissed the chairwoman’s cheeks, lingering too long on each. “Bea, you look stunning as usual.”
“Likewise. It’s been weeks since you’ve seen the compound. You should come back with me after the auction. We could share a bottle of wine and watch the leaves fall.”
“Your offer is tempting. It’s so tempting that I’ll have to accept.”
Her mother chuckled, a real chuckle for once. Lila knew the difference.
The prime minister laughed back, pleased to hear it as well.
“Where’s your security force?” Lila asked, thankful they had not entered the room during the failed heist. Their practiced eyes would have deemed her suspicious as soon as she’d pulled out her palm.
“I gave them an hour off for a late lunch. The LeBeaus seemed to have everything well in hand.”
“I doubt that sincerely.”
Her father let the comment slide. “Bea, I see that you’ve put up Oskar Kruger for auction.”
The chairwoman inclined her head.
“Unity wants him.”
“Everyone wants him. Does Unity want him enough to pay?”
“Yes.”
“Enough to pay what the others won’t?”
Lemaire eyed the chairwoman. “The government cannot compete with the whims of the matrons. You know I’ll not be able to outbid anyone in this room.”
“Then have this conversation with the winning matron. Perhaps she’ll gift him to you.”
“I could push something through Unity. Some bit of legislation favorable to your interests?”
“You do that for me already. It was one of the perks of pushing through Lila and Shiloh.”
The prime minister sipped his wine. “Let me explain the big picture, Bea. Oskar Kruger has the potential to mend fences between the Allied Lands and the Holy Roman Empire. Perhaps he might even stop this war for a century or two. If I get him for Head Councilman Abbot, then the Allied Lands will have quite the bargaining chip with the emperor. As an ancillary benefit, America would rise above the rest of the commonwealth. I could trade that child for more independence for us all, and the boy could return to his father. Everyone wins.”
“You rise. You win. It seems you aim to rule the Allied Lands one day.”
“Abbot will step down soon. Why shouldn’t I try for the council? I hear Paris is nice this time of year.”
“You want to pave your way to the council by helping Peter Kruger? The man’s a terrorist, Henri, and he tried to kill your daughter. Do you really want to help him and his spawn have a happily ever after?”
“Alleged terrorist,” Lila offered before shrinking under the combined weight of her parents’ stares. She looked away, her eyes following a pale member of the militia who squelched toward the ballroom’s entrance. Olivia crinkled her nose at his drenched uniform and muddy boots. She barely listened, then waved him away with a firm shake of the head.
Unless Lila was very much mistaken, Olivia had disagreed with the man’s plea to double the militia’s presence.
How very sloppy.