Chapter Twenty-Nine - Part Seven
Lessa
"But it wouldn't be so great in the long run. No matter how well-meant it was. I've read enough of the histories to see what the pushback is like against such progressive politics, especially when the succession is left unsecured. A short reign doesn't tend to lead to anything positive."
Nate looked disappointed in me. If he thought that I was handing myself excuses for not doing the right thing then he was way off. I fired back a suspicious glance and continued.
"So we come to my second option: find a way to extend my time left. I could arrange a speedy marriage of convenience to a random butter-brained lord of my choice. No question of the merest hint of romance of course, there wouldn't be enough time for such a luxury. The very minute we've officially sealed the deal, we'd then have to get down to the serious business of spawning a gaggle of heirs.
"I think that having six or seven children running around with their fair share of the family power might be enough to save my life. But that's just an estimate. I'd need ten or so little ones to be sure of safety."
I rolled my eyes. "That sort of thing would make the council happy. And it would keep me on my back in the birthing chamber rather than sticking my nose into any court business. But I'd have to cross my fingers very tightly that I wouldn't die in childbed. That would transfer the problem to a helpless baby who wouldn't have the same sort of choices that I do. And that would seem a little bit less than fair."
Anyone would have to admit that it was quite the grim picture I painted. I'd put a lot of thought into my various scenarios and hadn't been able to come up with a good answer for my problem.
"It doesn't matter though," I continued. "I don't think I have that much time left anyway. Also, to be disgustingly sentimental about it, I'm not ready to get married."
Something had occurred to Nate that made him grin in a way that was almost as wicked as the perverted highwayman. "Well, if you don't want to die a virgin, I'm sure we could go and find a nice quiet haystack somewhere."
Part one of this chapter can be found here.
Part one of Privileged can be found here.
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