Chương 11

By nine-thirty, the house was preparing to leave. Staff moved through the halls with luggage, checked cars, and carried last-minute instructions from room to room. Louis stood in the breakfast room with a cup of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other. There were no new messages. The last exchange with Angelique was from the night before. Five days had passed in scraps.

They had not said much: a photo of the sky, a complaint about weather, one of her horses doing something stupid in a field, a dusk picture from her window in Portland. Serana came around the corner, her hair pulled back in a braid. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat across from him.

"Can you please look useful for once? Or at least stop looking like you're waiting for the house to collapse?" Louis raised his cup toward her.

"Good morning to you too."

"You're too relaxed." she rolled her eyes.

"It's annoying." He smiled.

"Should I panic? Would that help?" Before she could answer, Judith came in from the corridor, Élise behind her with a folder.

"Has protocol sent the updated motorcade order?" she asked, already reaching for the paper. Élise handed her a fresh sheet.

"Ten minutes ago." Judith scanned it.

"Good. What about the drone operations team?"

"Already on site. They're running a final sweep of the route to the airport."

"Excellent." Only then did she look at Louis. The corner of her mouth lifted.

"I hope you didn't stay up too late reading," she said.

"The Bourbons are going to be here soon." She glanced at Serana.

"Remember to come downstairs when the cars arrive." Serana nodded, drinking her juice.

"I know." Judith nodded and turned to Louis.

"And try to look like you're not dreaming of anything but your flight schedule." She leaned in and kissed him once on the mouth before turning to leave. The Bourbon convoy came through the inner gate exactly on time. Louis set down his coffee and followed the others out to the front steps. Maria emerged first from the middle limo. The driver opened the door, and she stepped out, smoothed one cuff, and looked up once at the façade before turning to Judith. Judith was already coming down the steps.

"My dear," Judith said. Maria kissed her cheek.

"You're too kind to have us here so early." Jacques came out behind her, already looking faintly irritated by the day. He glanced toward the open doors and saw Louis at once. He gave him a small nod. Then Angelique stepped out. She was dressed for travel: dark trousers, a pale shirt, a coat over one arm, her hair falling in loose waves past her shoulders. She looked rested. She saw him and gave him a quick wink before smoothing her expression.

"Good morning," she said.

"Welcome back to California." Her eyes flicked over him, amused.

"You look more awake than I expected."

"Long night of study." He tilted his head.

"I'm halfway through." Her eyebrow rose.

"That's ambitious of you. Have you learned anything useful?" This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"Only that some histories are harder to carry than others." The corner of her mouth moved.

"Good start." Before he could say more, Judith reached them. She placed a hand on Louis's arm and drew him half a step toward her.

"Angelique, how lovely to see you again so soon," she said warmly.

"I trust the flight was smooth?"

"Very smooth, thank you." Angelique dipped her head.

"It's kind of you to host us before the trip." Judith laughed.

"I wouldn't miss it. It isn't often we get to leave the Dominion in such good company." She glanced between Louis and Angelique, her hand still resting on his arm.

"I'm glad you two had a chance to catch up at the university. I hope Louis wasn't too much of a distraction from your mother's lecture." Angelique gave a dry smile.

"He was very well behaved. And my mother is used to distractions."

"I can imagine." Judith patted Louis's arm and let her hand drop.

"Well, we have a long day ahead of us. Why don't you both get settled in? We're keeping brunch informal in the courtyard. It's a lovely morning for it." Angelique nodded.

"That sounds perfect." Brunch was laid in the courtyard with white linen and crystal glasses. Covered dishes sat over small burners. Judith seated Maria at one end of the table and gestured for the others to sit wherever they liked. Louis pulled a chair out for Angelique. She sat, and he took the seat beside her. Judith waited until coffee had been poured before she turned to Maria.

"How is Charles this morning?" she asked.

"I was sorry to hear he couldn't come."

"Better than yesterday," Maria said, folding her hands.

"Well enough to be offended by being left behind, which I'm taking as progress." Judith smiled.

"I hope he'll join us next time. It would be lovely to have the whole family together."

"He had a fever in the night. Nothing serious, just bad timing. The doctor told me he'll be miserable for forty-eight hours and entirely recovered by the time we get back to Oregon." Maria looked up.

"Though I suspect he's already planning his revenge for missing this trip." Angelique smiled faintly.

"He is mostly offended that Texas will happen without him." Judith leaned forward slightly.

"He's been there before?"

"Two unofficial trips. With Philip." Maria took a sip of coffee.

"He has some fascination with their cavalry history. He came back with a ridiculous number of books about military horse breeding and spent two weeks talking about saddle rigging." She smiled dryly.

"I had to remind him that he was a prince, not a stable boy." Louis laughed.

"Sounds like he'd get along with their First Consul."

"Oh, he would," Maria said.

"That's the problem." She buttered her bread.

"They have a way of making young men feel useful. It's dangerous." Judith tilted her head.

"In what way?"

"They make power feel accessible," Maria said.

"Especially to boys who are old enough to want it and young enough to believe the uniform means something. They dress up military tradition like a gentleman's pastime, then hand you a rifle and tell you you're serving something bigger than yourself." She took a sip of her coffee.

"Charles is exactly the right age to find that convincing." Louis raised his eyebrows.

"And you don't?" Maria looked at him.

"I find it convenient when it serves my purposes, and alarming the rest of the time." Judith made a soft sound of agreement.

"I can see that. Especially for a family that already has more than its share of history to manage."

"Exactly." Maria took another sip.

"The Collective thinks they are offering honor. But honor is easier to talk about when you still have something to spend on it. We don't." She shook her head slightly.

"We have nostalgia instead, and that costs more than people think." She looked toward Angelique, who had been listening without interrupting.

"Wouldn't you agree, darling?" Angelique's expression remained calm.

"I think nostalgia is what happens when people run out of things to do." She glanced at Louis.

"And Texas is where people go to pretend they have too many things to do." He grinned at her.

"So you're not looking forward to it."

"I'm looking forward to the horses," she said.

"The rest can wait until I'm bored." Jacques snorted from the end of the table.

"You'll be bored by day two." Angelique turned her head toward him.

"Then I'll find something else to do." Her gaze flicked back to Louis.

"I'm good at that." Judith laughed.

"Well, at least we can promise good company, even if the schedule is uninspired." She sipped her coffee.

"Don't forget we are going to Florida. A little time in the more civilized parts of the Collective should restore everyone's faith in modernity." Then she added, "Though if anyone has a sudden desire to learn about cattle futures, we can certainly arrange a field trip." Maria smiled.

"I think we'll pass on that particular enlightenment." The conversation eased after that into lighter subjects. Afterward, Judith took Maria toward the west terrace to show her the new sculptures along the upper garden path. Jacques disappeared toward the guest wing. Serana followed him, either to irritate him or to save material for later. Angelique set down her coffee.

"Your mother does that very well," she said. Louis looked at her.

"What?"

"Leaving a room while making everyone feel she's still in it." He laughed softly.

"That's one of her kinder habits."

"And one of your family's more efficient ones." She rose and looked around the courtyard.

"Do you have anywhere in this house that doesn't feel supervised?" He stood too.

"A few places." She tilted her head.

"Show me one." His heart beat faster.

"This way." He opened one hand toward the side path.