the Royal Intelligence Institute, so that they could find and free her and Shane. Unfortunately, Sara also knew the Black Knights. And there was a very good chance indeed that the RII wouldn’t reach the captives before they met with a bad end.
“As I told you before,” she began in her most professional voice, trying not to think about that last bit for now, “the Black Knights have been around for about a decade. These days, they’re a sinister lot, to be sure, very well organized and very well funded, and completely without morals or scruples. Who’s doing the funding, no one knows for certain, in spite of extensive investigation. Theories abound, however, and some of them even point rather high in the Penwyck administration. There are even some who think—”
Here, Sara halted. Shane didn’t need an advanced coursein the Black Knights. What he needed was the introductory version. Not only were there facts and theories about the group that weren’t relative to their current situation, but knowing too much could honestly be dangerous for him.
She started again. “Anyway, no one can say exactly for sure who runs the organization, and we’ve not been able to identify where their financing comes from. But this past year alone, they’ve been responsible for a number of acts of sabotage against both the military and the government, not to mention the kidnapping of Prince Owen and the attempted kidnapping of Princess Anastasia.”
At this, Shane’s head snapped up. “What? No one told me anything about any kidnappings.”
“Well, Owen and Anastasia both were eventually safely recovered, and the kidnapping of her children isn’t exactly the kind of thing Her Majesty wants to dwell on, is it? But it’s not been any great secret.” She shook her head slowly again. “All in all, it’s been an odd year for the royal family, I’m afraid. The queen found out her brother was involved in an assassination attempt on the king some years back. Princess Anastasia had a bout with amnesia, of all things. Princess Meredith took ill and there was concern she would lose her baby. Owen found out he fathered a child four years ago, while he was in America at school. And Princess Megan turned up pregnant, out of wedlock, which was scandalous enough in itself. Of course, she eventually married the baby’s father, but he’s the earl of Silvershire, of all things, which goes beyond scandal.”
“Uh, why is that such a bad thing?” Shane asked.
“Well, he’s from Drogheda, for heaven’s sake,” she said, certain that would be the only comment necessary there.
Shane, however, didn’t seem to understand. “And that would be significant because…?” he asked.
Sara expelled an impatient sound. She didn’t have time to tell him the history of the warring nations of Penwyck and Drogheda. Instead, she only told him, “Well, the families have been feuding for generations, haven’t they? The last thing anyone could have seen coming was a royal wedding uniting them.”
“Ah,” he said, though he clearly didn’t understand at all.
So Sara continued as best she could. “But as strange as all those developments are, none of them is the strangest thing that’s happened in Penwyck. The strangest thing is that King Morgan contracted viral encephalitis and lapsed into a coma around the time of the wedding—something else we suspect the Black Knights are behind—and the RII trotted out his identical twin to rule the country in his place. They’re quite a powerful group, and they stepped in when the king went into his coma. Thing is, though, the RII never bothered to tell anyone at first, not even the queen, that it was Broderick they’d put in charge, and not King Morgan—”
“Broderick?”
“The king’s twin,” Sara clarified. “Evil twin if you ask me, though no one wanted my opinion, did they?”
“I don’t know. Did they?”
“Well, no one asked.”
“Mmm,” Shane replied blandly. But his
“As I told you before,” she began in her most professional voice, trying not to think about that last bit for now, “the Black Knights have been around for about a decade. These days, they’re a sinister lot, to be sure, very well organized and very well funded, and completely without morals or scruples. Who’s doing the funding, no one knows for certain, in spite of extensive investigation. Theories abound, however, and some of them even point rather high in the Penwyck administration. There are even some who think—”
Here, Sara halted. Shane didn’t need an advanced coursein the Black Knights. What he needed was the introductory version. Not only were there facts and theories about the group that weren’t relative to their current situation, but knowing too much could honestly be dangerous for him.
She started again. “Anyway, no one can say exactly for sure who runs the organization, and we’ve not been able to identify where their financing comes from. But this past year alone, they’ve been responsible for a number of acts of sabotage against both the military and the government, not to mention the kidnapping of Prince Owen and the attempted kidnapping of Princess Anastasia.”
At this, Shane’s head snapped up. “What? No one told me anything about any kidnappings.”
“Well, Owen and Anastasia both were eventually safely recovered, and the kidnapping of her children isn’t exactly the kind of thing Her Majesty wants to dwell on, is it? But it’s not been any great secret.” She shook her head slowly again. “All in all, it’s been an odd year for the royal family, I’m afraid. The queen found out her brother was involved in an assassination attempt on the king some years back. Princess Anastasia had a bout with amnesia, of all things. Princess Meredith took ill and there was concern she would lose her baby. Owen found out he fathered a child four years ago, while he was in America at school. And Princess Megan turned up pregnant, out of wedlock, which was scandalous enough in itself. Of course, she eventually married the baby’s father, but he’s the earl of Silvershire, of all things, which goes beyond scandal.”
“Uh, why is that such a bad thing?” Shane asked.
“Well, he’s from Drogheda, for heaven’s sake,” she said, certain that would be the only comment necessary there.
Shane, however, didn’t seem to understand. “And that would be significant because…?” he asked.
Sara expelled an impatient sound. She didn’t have time to tell him the history of the warring nations of Penwyck and Drogheda. Instead, she only told him, “Well, the families have been feuding for generations, haven’t they? The last thing anyone could have seen coming was a royal wedding uniting them.”
“Ah,” he said, though he clearly didn’t understand at all.
So Sara continued as best she could. “But as strange as all those developments are, none of them is the strangest thing that’s happened in Penwyck. The strangest thing is that King Morgan contracted viral encephalitis and lapsed into a coma around the time of the wedding—something else we suspect the Black Knights are behind—and the RII trotted out his identical twin to rule the country in his place. They’re quite a powerful group, and they stepped in when the king went into his coma. Thing is, though, the RII never bothered to tell anyone at first, not even the queen, that it was Broderick they’d put in charge, and not King Morgan—”
“Broderick?”
“The king’s twin,” Sara clarified. “Evil twin if you ask me, though no one wanted my opinion, did they?”
“I don’t know. Did they?”
“Well, no one asked.”
“Mmm,” Shane replied blandly. But his
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