Chapter 92 - She Changed Him (2/2)
Sigmund's eyes narrowed. ”I do believe I need to have a long conversation with my father.”
Unfortunately, that was difficult to do. The king had fallen ill recently and was not the most lucid. He might have better luck speaking with the queen but she was as tight-lipped as she was regal. Getting information out of her would not be easy either.
”Putting that aside for now…what do you intend to do about Franz? Court opens in slightly over two weeks and we still do not know exactly what he is planning,” Charles pointed out.
His friend's hand curled into a fist on top of the desk and his expression grew much darker. This was one of his sorest points. Try as he might, Franz's true plans always evaded him.
”No, we do not. Since Mariela's pregnancy was announced he has not left the palace nearly as often as he used to. All of his correspondence is handled by a royal guard he trusts implicitly, Sir Luken Marino. My spies have not seen so much as a single line written on those messages.”
Charles wished the second prince was less careful. They would have already figured out his plans by now if he was not the most paranoid person on earth.
Alpheus was not nearly so careful. If he was, he would have noticed someone following him earlier today. And all of the other times Sigmund's spies trailed them partway to town. For someone who might very well be working with his brother, he had none of his common sense.
”Do you think whatever Alpheus is up to is connected to Franz's plan?” Charles asked.
There had to be a connection somewhere. He and Catherine spent far too much time supposedly visiting Mariela. That would provide plenty of time for all of them to plot together. However, it did raise the question of what Alpheus was getting out of it.
Charles had known him for many years because of how much time he spent in the palace with Sigmund. The third prince was a gloomy, apathetic person who did not care about anything that happened either within the palace or outside of it. All of his time was spent alone.
At least, that was how it was until Catherine came along. With her sharp political mind…had she convinced her husband to work with Franz? Why would she do that?
”I do,” Sigmund said darkly. ”I also believe that whatever it is, Katie is behind it. She changed him for the worse. He was much easier to control before she came along. He never would have dared to defy me before.”
Charles didn't like that one bit. He could see it too. That dull, depressed prince had become lively under his wife's influence. He had the feeling that if she wanted something that Alpheus would move heaven and earth to make it happen.
The real question was what Catherine wanted. What had made her side with the second prince instead of the crown prince? What potentially brilliant ideas had she given him? How much danger was Sigmund's position in?
”You promised not to touch her,” he said slowly, suddenly unsure. ”Even if she is an instigator…you won't do anything to Catherine, will you Sigmund?”
His friend's expression hardened and softened so rapidly Charles wasn't sure whether or not he had imagined it. He seemed perfectly calm when he spoke. ”You know I am a man of my word, old friend. I promised Katie to you no matter what she has been involved in and I intend to make that happen.”