Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [117]
Contraceptive precautions were simple enough, efficient enough...but unfortunately, nonpermanent birth-control measures were never foolproof. He had imposed a regimen on the King and Queen and assumed they would follow it. Maybe they had. But even if it was an innocent mistake, they should have come to him immediately. If they were on the same team, if they truly had the best interests of the Hansa at heart, then Peter and Estarra would never have done such a thing, would never have hesitated to keep him in the loop, even with difficult decisions. Instead they had been selfish and shortsighted, hiding important information from him. These days, it seemed only the Chairman himself had the proper focus and dedication. His hands clenched into fists again.
As thoughts raced through his mind, he wished Sarein were there. She had been on Theroc for more than a month. He missed her, dammit. And it wasn’t just for the sex. The Hansa Chairman could acquire a satisfactory bed partner whenever he wished, but he and Sarein were comfortable together. They understood each other—and she had never pulled a ridiculous stunt like this. They had made love hundreds, possibly thousands, of times, and Sarein had never gotten pregnant.
Then, with a frown, Basil recalled several times over the course of their relationship that she had indeed acted strangely. Her moods and unexpectedly snappish responses had made him wonder if she might be having an affair...or if something else was bothering her, something she didn’t dare tell him. But if Sarein had actually been carrying his child—
He let his shoulders relax. If that had been the case, then she’d taken care of the matter quietly and demonstrated her level of responsibility. Still, the thought troubled him that someone so close to him might have managed to keep such an enormous secret. It was just one more instance in which the pieces did not fit together properly. His supposed allies were shirking what was right for everybody and stubbornly going in their own directions.
“We simply can’t have this right now,” he said. “There must be miscarriage-inducement drugs that won’t appear on poison-detection instruments. We can terminate this fetus before it’s too late. The Queen may even believe it’s a natural occurrence.” He worked his jaw, his thoughts racing ahead. “Even so, King Peter needs to be punished for this breach of cooperation. He’s been sliding, growing too independent again—”
The Chairman cut himself off as he noticed his voice rising, losing its careful control. His face felt hot. He steepled his fingers, pushing them together until his knuckles turned white. He needed to take charge of the situation again. Too many things were slipping from his grasp.
Cain quietly asked, “Do you realize, Mr. Chairman, that of late you have made a fair number of what could be considered harsh decisions that border on irrationality?”
Basil turned to the milky-faced man with scorn. Here was a target against whom he could vent. “I have been considering you as an eventual successor, Eldred, but comments like that make me see how little you understand the responsibilities of leadership.”
Stung, Cain withdrew. “I’m sorry, Mr. Chairman.”
Basil tried to calm himself. His cup of cardamom coffee was cold and bitter; with a grimace he set it aside. “Both of you are dismissed. We’ll discuss these matters later. For now”—the words spun through his head like a tempest and he tried to get them under control—“for now I need to attend to our main contingency plan. King Peter will continue to be oppositional unless he believes our replacement for him is ready. Thus, I must go lecture young Prince Daniel and put the fear of Basil into him.”
The Chairman surprised himself with the menace and sheer volume in his voice. “Get to your feet!”
Chubby Daniel scrambled from the bed where he’d been lounging in loose clothes. The shirt was stained with food, the cuffs smeared with a dried substance, presumably from wiping his nose on his sleeves.
“What? What did I do?