Page 70 of A Royal Obligation

“I would say that we should stay here forever. But, I think you’re right. We need to get back inside.” He gulped. “I need to finish what I started.”

They walked back to the palace attached at the hip. She kissed the back of his hand and gave it a slight squeeze, providing him with the strength he needed to walk into the room.

“Sorry for the delay.” Barrett said, gesturing for Jules to stand slightly behind him after they had returned to the formal dining room.

“I know this will come as a shock to all of you. But after much thought and consideration, and due to the fact that you were not willing to amend the marriage law, I am enacting Article 4, Section 1 of our law.” A few gasps and murmurs rang out across the room as people put together what law that was.

“I love Lady Charlotte’s assistant, Jules Smith, and I have asked her to marry me. Therefore, I have come to the difficult decision to abdicate the throne.”

Liam spit out his drink in fake shock, covering the unsuspecting Lord Howard’s face in a spray of water. His brother looked over at him and winked.

Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any better.

Barrett covered his laugh with his hand as Lord Howard wiped his face with a napkin. Even after he had wiped off the water, his eyebrows remained pulled down and his nose wrinkled in a look of disgust.

His father coughed and stood up, wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin as the cough wracking his chest subsided.

“Barrett, do you realize what you’re doing?” King Henry’s voice bellowed through the room.

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life. I know exactly what I’m doing. I had to make this decision for myself.”

The king looked at him with a mix of sadness and admiration in his eyes. “We will discuss this as a family later. For now, please enjoy the rest of your meal, everyone.”

Barrett and Jules rejoined the table, both unable to wipe the grins off their faces.

“May I be the first to congratulate the happy couple on their upcoming nuptials.” Lord Howard said, raising his glass with a sly sneer on his face.

“Hear, hear.” A member of his father’s council slammed his hand down on the table before raising his own glass.

The rest of the dinner was filled with quiet side conversations. Everyone left promptly after dinner, aware of the tension in the room. Lady Charlotte was the last guest to leave, politely excusing herself. Barrett noticed Liam watching her leave the room with an expression he couldn’t quite discern.

“I wanted to tell you before I announced it to everyone, Dad. But I was afraid you would try to talk me out of it. I’m sorry if you were caught off-guard by this.”

“Do you know what you’ve done? Do you fully understand the ramifications of this?” his father roared.

“I understand exactly what I’ve done. I’ve tried every other avenue I could think of to have both her and become king. I’m sorry that I couldn’t find another resolution.”

“I never thought it would come to this.” The king moaned, rubbing his hand on his forehead.

“Does this mean I’m officially next in line now?” Liam asked.

“Yes, after all these years of you asking, I can finally tell you that I will be passing the throne to you, Liam.”

“Took you long enough.”

“I can always count on you to lighten the mood.” Barrett laughed at his brother’s antics. “I truly am sorry for how I went about this though.” He reached over and took Jules’s hand. “I couldn’t hold my feelings in any longer.”

Liam made a gagging sound while sticking out his tongue.

“Real mature coming from the future king,” Barrett chided, using one of Liam’s own phrases against him.

Liam looked at him and busted out laughing. “Touché.”

“We will discuss the details of all this later.” King Henry was slow to rise. He leaned over and kissed Jules on the cheek on his way out of the room. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile before he left.

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds be. Congrats, by the way, and welcome to the family, Jules.” Liam gave her a genuine smile.

“Let me walk you back to your room.” Barrett pulled Jules’s chair out for her and took the long way back to her room, wanting to spend as much time with her as possible.