The Controversial Princess (The Smoke & Mirrors Duology #1)(128)

She looks across to me, and I see the sorrow on her face. Sorrow for the burden of the crown now passing over to our beloved Eddie. “Helen, leave us,” the Queen Consort demands, and that’s all it takes for my sister-in-law to run out, sobbing uncontrollably as she goes. I have no sympathy for her. That’s all reserved for Eddie now. As soon as the door closes, Mother is up and across the room to me, but I instinctively back away, not liking her change in persona, from the unfamiliar harshness, back to her soft and pacifying approach. “Adeline.” She reaches for my hands, and I pull them back, wary, backing up more.

“Where’s Eddie?” I ask, my jaw tight. “Tell me, Mother.”

Her shoulders drop, defeated. “I don’t know. He ran out.”

“This is madness,” I yell, heading for the door. I should be grieving the loss of my father and brother, and instead we’re dealing with lies and betrayal, fighting our way through the poisonous web that is my family.

“Adeline, wait.”

I ignore my mother for the first time in my life, swinging the door open, on a mission to find Eddie. He can’t have left the grounds; no one is coming in or out, so he must be here somewhere. I head for the library, catching Davenport’s anxious stare as I pick up my pace. Not even Josh stops me when he appears ahead, obviously hearing the commotion, Damon behind him. “Have you seen Eddie?” I ask, not slowing my rushed steps, passing them all and entering the library.

“Not since we returned,” Damon confirms, hot on my heels.

“What’s going on, Adeline?” Josh joins my side, not attempting to slow or stop me, but demanding in his question.

“I need to find Eddie. John’s unborn child is being bypassed, which means Eddie is now King. He doesn’t want to be King. I need to find him.”

“Oh Jesus,” Josh breathes, looking back at Damon. “Any ideas?”

“The maze.” It comes to me as I push my way out of the doors into the gardens of Claringdon. It’s where he always hid as a child, the place farthest from the stifling palace as we could get as children. Adrenalin pumps through my veins as I race toward the back of the grounds and weave my way into the center of the maze with efficiency.

And when I emerge into the clearing, I see him. On his arse, back against the shins of our grandfather, a bottle of whisky in his hand. His green beret by his thigh, his eyes closed, his head limp and dropped. “Eddie.” I rush to him, kneeling by his slumped form. The smell of Scotch hits my nostrils, strong and pure.

His heavy head lifts, his eyes barely open. He’s wasted, a sorry state. “Sister,” he slurs, a disorientated arm feeling for me. “What a pleasant surprise.”

I sigh, thinking today has been too much for everyone. How much more can we take? But I must prioritize the troubles that have been rained down on us relentlessly. Eddie is my priority right now. I look back when I hear the sound of heavy steps, finding Damon and Josh have found their way to me. I shake my head at them both when they find me on the floor with my wasted brother, telling them to leave us be. Both men back off, and I return my attention to Eddie.

“Have you heard?” He looks at me, one eye closed, struggling to focus. “Have you heard what a fucking joke our family is?”

I sigh, taking the whisky from his hand. “I’ve heard.”

“Give me that back.” Eddie reclaims it on a snarl, swiping it from my hand viciously and tipping the bottle back. As he swallows down too much liquor, he looks past me, his snarl taking on a new edge of ominous. It’s a look on my brother that I’m not used to at all, not from the famously happy-go-lucky prince. “Oh, goody. Mother’s here.”

I look over my shoulder, seeing the Queen Consort, breathless, her even olive skin tinged pink. She ran here? Giving my brother the benefit of the doubt, I refrain from scorning him for his disrespect, not because the woman to which he’s referring is the Queen Consort, but our mother, too. He’s angry, and I completely understand. “Eddie, the news is a shock, but how do you think getting yourself mindlessly drunk will help?”

He looks at me, his brow knitted in confusion. Then the line creasing his forehead smooths out, and his head retracts slightly on his neck. “You don’t know? Oh, baby sister, there is far more scandal for you to learn.”

“Eddie,” Mother warns, the volume of her voice telling me she’s closer. “Not here.”

“If you don’t tell her, I will,” he slurs, waving his bottle in the air before slugging down another healthy dose.

I look at my mother in question, knowing I’m missing something. Again. But equally worrying is that my mother seems to be in the know of everything. She turns to Damon and Josh. “Leave us.”

I can’t even wonder what she’s thinking about Josh’s presence and what she thinks that might mean for me. Josh steps forward to object, but is stopped by Damon. “We should give Her Royal Highness some privacy with her children,” Damon says quietly as Josh looks at me for confirmation. I smile when I see his thumb hovering between up and down.

“I’ll be fine,” I assure him. “Wait in the library.”

Eddie starts laughing abruptly, a proper belly laugh. I have no idea what he’s finding so funny, putting it down to his inebriated state. “Say goodbye, Mr. Hollywood,” he chuckles.