The Last-Ditch Heir

6 In With the New, Part 1

Uther's funeral was attended by Royals from other countries, heads of state, and representatives from many countries. Sean handled the details with the assistance of the House Staff while Richard appeared in public constantly.

A black carriage drawn by four black horses pulled Uther's coffin down the main street from the cathedral to the Palace, followed by Richard and Sean and a few other family members. He was buried in the family crypt.

Richard, as expected, left much of the work of government to Sean. "I must travel and meet my people," he told his cousin, and spent the next month shaking hands, visiting cities, schools, hospitals, the military bases, and anyplace where he could be assured of a large reception and an adoring audience.

Sean started work every morning at seven, facing piles of paperwork, reports and visitors. He dealt with Parliament, the Cabinet, and most of the day-to-day drudgery that running a monarchy required. If the day ended at seven at night it was a short day.

Vivian moved into a wing of his town house and was mostly a comfort to him. His phone rang with a call from her every night at six. "Sean, my dear, will you be home for dinner tonight?"

"Not tonight, Mum," he told her most days, and when he arrived home at nine or ten or eleven, made a point of seeing her for a cup of tea before he fell into bed.

Ibby, on the other hand, pouted prettily and wanted him to spend the nights with her, or better, let her move into his house. He refused. He did not want his mother and Ibby in the same house. Ibby's bad reputation, one messy divorce with rumors of her threatening to ruin her first husband's family, and a second marriage that was open to many adventures until her husband's early death.

"Ibby," Sean said for the fortieth or fiftieth time, "We need time to show the people your good side. Mum will help, but she needs to accept you. I'm working on it." Ibby snorted at that. She had Sean eating out of her hand. Her only concern was the threat of his family refusing to accept her, and someone revealing the money she still demanded from her first husband. "Very well, Sean. Time is passing quickly, and we need to make a show of being committed to each other. We are committed, aren't we?"

"Of course, my love," Sean said before hanging up and crawling into bed for five hours of sleep.

Pam decided to leave Forland when her visa expired. The King and the Duke were far too busy to help her extend it. She planned to return to South Carolina in June, and wanted to make the most of her last few weeks.

Sean hired a private secretary, the efficient Bjorn Dag, and after a week Bjorn had begun to reduce his workload. Not by much, but it helped but every quarter of an hour helped. Soon he could regularly get six or seven hours of sleep, and felt somewhat refreshed.

The enthusiasm that welcomed Richard stabilized, and he spent a little more time on his duties. Sean was able to transfer some of the work that needed the King's attention to Richard, with the help of Prime Minister Haraldson. Richard hosted parties, vacationed, and prepared to host his first State Visit from the King of Senland.

King Paul of Senland was Sean's heir, and if he inherited the Duchy would annex it to his Kingdom. Forland would be a tiny Kingdom with the prosperous Westmere gone.

The treaty that made Paul the heir to Westmere would expire in a month, and then Sean could legally acknowledge Richard as his heir. Paul planned to prevent that, and had brought his daughter and niece in an effort to arrange Sean's marriage to one of them.

Paul also knew the truth of Ibby's first marriage, and planned to have the details revealed by Pierre Smit, Forland's premier news anchor, with details from an anonymous source.