The Royal Romance - The Valtoria Diaries

The House of secrets

"What is your name?" Anton's defence counsel asked him.

Anton cleared his throat. "Anton Severus."

"You are pleading not guilty on all of the counts that were presented against you yesterday. Today, the jury needs to know why you consider yourself not guilty of these crimes. Please, in your own words, could I ask you to put forward your defence."

Anton nodded, and threw a smirk in the direction of the Royal Gallery. "Of course."

Yesterday he had portrayed himself as the timid victim, but today, Jen thought, he seemed much more assured.

He looked around the courtroom. "Listen. I'm not saying that I wasn't involved in all of this. There's way too much evidence to place me at some of the crime scenes. And, yeah. I hold my hands up. I was part of it all. The whole overthrowing the monarchy thing. But, nobody's stopped to consider why I was a part of it all. So that's what I'm about to tell you."

His face contorted into a frown. "There are greater forces at play here. Or should I say, a greater force. And, until today, I've feared for my life to reveal the truth. But, in a court of law, the truth is the only thing that I can speak. And so, here it is." He paused for dramatic effect.

"You all know from yesterday that when I was young, my parents and the Nevrakis family entered into a marriage alliance. For me to be married to their daughter, the lovely Olivia over there." He blew Olivia a kiss, and it took both Rick and Bastien to hold her down, such was her outrage.

"And for the two of us to be the next heirs to the Cordonian throne, should the Rys family find itself.." He threw a callous look at Rick. "..lacking."

Jen glanced at Rick, who was maintaining a dignified expression, his hand still on Olivia's shoulder.

"Now, for most of my life, I didn't even know about my secret. I respected and admired the Cordonian royal family. Others, however, resented them, and wanted them out, but not for the good of the Severus and Nevrakis houses, no. For their own good."

Jen looked nervously around her. She wondered who on earth he could be referring to. Her friends all looked just as anxious, and confused. Remember what Rashad said. He'll come up with lies.

"And so, I was blackmailed, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I was forced to become the face of this programme of terror, against my will, by a dangerous man who discovered my secret. A dangerous man, who is sitting right over there, in the Royal Gallery."

There was shouting from both galleries, and Jen continued to look around her, as did the others.

"Ah, you see," Anton went on. "You can look around you all you want. But, like you knew my secret, I know your secret. And now the whole of Cordonia will know it too. I was working for you. In fact, I started working for you in a slightly different capacity. Didn't I, Bertrand?"

Jen felt as if her heart had leapt out of her mouth, and stared at Bertrand in horror. She heard Maxwell's stunned voice from next to her. "No. That's not true."

Bertrand was too shocked to say anything, his face growing red with anger.

"I came into the Duke of Ramsford's employ as a PR agent. He needed some help with a wayward suitor, who had not succeeded in securing the hand of the King in marriage, and needed an image change pronto to have a second stab at it. Had she become Queen, Bertrand would have had more influence over the Crown, via his little mole, Jen Jones. And it wasn't just influence he needed, no. He needed cash. Because, unbeknown to most of the Cordonian court, House Beaumont is penniless. Their fortune is spent."