The Queen's Gambit (The Wonderland Series: Book 4)

  “Might this be about the traitor Everly?” Jurgen asked as he took a sip of his brandy and crossed his feet at the ankles in an effort to get more comfortable.

  “It’s been less than two days since Everly’s arrest and already all of London is buzzing with the news. Having been one of Monmouth’s conspirators, he’s viewed as something of a hero, so I must tread carefully. Executing a man who risked his life to bring about a Protestant monarchy will not only turn him into a martyr, but will be the worst possible way to begin my relationship with the British public and nobility. I must rule with a firm hand, but being seen as a despot is not my objective. Besides, the evidence against the man is scant, to say the least.”

  “You can always release him,” Jurgen offered half-heartedly.

  “Which would make me seem weak and overly trusting,” William countered, “inviting my enemies to plot against me with no fear of reprisal.”

  “So, if you won’t release him and you dare not execute him, what do you propose to do with the man?”

  “I can try to obtain more evidence to support the accusation, but as it appears now, it might need to be fabricated, which is dishonest and not the way I choose to rule. I consider myself an honorable man, Jurgen, not someone who orders an arrest and then provides the evidence to support the accusation.”

  William sighed with frustration, still annoyed with Mary for making the decision to arrest Everly in haste. Had she sought his counsel, he would have advised her to have the man watched, his correspondence intercepted, until they had the proof they needed. But now it was too late, and Everly was already in the Tower, awaiting a trial which would be nothing short of an embarrassment.

  “There is another way, Will,” Jurgen said, his eyes crinkling with humor as he watched his friend battling with his conscience. Jurgen always found William’s desire to be honorable something of a joke, not being encumbered with such a sensibility himself. Sometimes William wondered if Jurgen even had a conscience, or a fear of God, but always felt guilty for thinking such uncharitable thoughts.

  “And what way is that?” William finally asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer.

  “The way in which you can claim total deniability,” Jurgen replied. “Why not leave it to me?”

  “What have you in mind?”

  “Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Jurgen Van Houten replied as he rose to his feet. “I’ll see to everything.”

  It wouldn’t be the first time William allowed Jurgen to get him out of a difficult situation. He’d taken the blame more than once when William was caught sneaking out of his bedchamber or returning just before dawn in clothes that were soiled and reeking of cheap perfume and tobacco smoke.

  “All right, old friend, and I thank you. Dealing with Everly’s possible treason is not something I relish.”

  William clapped his friend on the shoulder as he laboriously rose to his feet. Wilf was instantly at his side, ready to assist him with preparing for bed. William yawned widely and stood still as Wilf began to undress him.

  Notes

  I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of the Wonderland Series. As always, reviews are much appreciated as they make the series more visible to other readers who have yet to discover my work. Even if your reviews are not favorable, they are still welcome. I value your opinion.

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  The Queen’s Gambittouches on a subject which has always been of interest to me— the Glorious Revolution. I find it extraordinary that the English people were willing to accept a foreign prince rather than allow a Catholic monarchy to flourish. Inviting William of Orange to take the throne of England and govern jointly with his wife Mary proved a fateful decision. It spawned the doomed Jacobite movement, which resulted in deaths of thousands over the next hundred years as one rebellion after another failed to restore Stuarts to the throne. The Jacobite rebellion culminated in the battle of Culloden in April of 1746, and the subsequent defeat of the Jacobites by the Royalist Army resulted in the decimation of the Highland clans and severe sanctions for the Scots.

  The Act of Settlement of 1701 was passed to settle the succession of Sophia Hanover (granddaughter of James I of England and VI of Scotland) to the throne of England. The act served to prohibit a Catholic from gaining the throne, therefore excluding all Catholic descendants of James Stuart from the line of succession. Sophia’s son, who ascended the throne in 1714, became the first Hanoverian king. The law was amended in 2011 to allow a Protestant monarch to marry a Catholic, but a Catholic still cannot rule. The Act of Settlement changed the face of British monarchy forever.