I left him with those words echoing in my mind. Again and again, I told myself I had done nothing wrong. If I had not reached forth to claim Buckkeep, another would have.
“Who?” Chade demanded angrily of me some hours later.
I sat looking down at my feet. “I don’t know. But they would have found someone. And that person would have been far more likely to cause bloodshed. To act at the King-in-Waiting ceremony, and jeopardize our efforts to get Kettricken and Shrewd clear of this mess.”
“If the Coastal Dukes are as close to rebellion as your report indicates, then perhaps we should reconsider that plan.”
I sneezed. The room still smelled of bitterbark. I had used too much. “Brawndy did not come to me speaking of rebellion, but of loyalty to the true and rightful King. And that was the spirit in which I responded. I have no wish to overthrow the throne, Chade, only to secure it for its lawful heir.”
“I know that,” he said briefly. “Otherwise I-would go straight to King Shrewd with this … madness. I know not what to call it. It is not treason, quite, and yet …”
“I am no traitor to my king.” I spoke with quiet vehemence.
“No? Let me ask you this, then. If, despite, or save us all, because of our efforts to save Shrewd and Kettricken, they both perish with the child unborn, and Verity never returns. What then? Will you still be so eager to cede the throne to the rightful King?”
“Regal?”
“By the line of succession, yes.”
“He is no king, Chade. He’s an indulged Princeling, and always will be. I’ve as much Farseer blood as he does.”