Previously: Mercenary Leon meets MI6 spies David, the Prince of Wales, and socialite Wallis Spencer. David abdicates the throne to marry Wallis. He becomes Bahamas governor. Leon dies and his son Sidney turns mercenary. David hires him as his valet. The years pass and the organization wants all three of them and the Royal family dead, but Sidney makes sure that doesn’t happen.
The next morning David awoke, disappointed to discover he was still alive. His doctor told him he’d die in a matter of days. He wished he had breathed his last after the visit from Queen Elizabeth. Past differences dissolved as they talked in his sitting room. He chose to ignore the tussling going on behind the curtain. And the sharp pain when the IV line wrenched about. A lifetime of believing nothing had meaning seemed like a life wasted. But even regarding life as a waste was not true. His life was what it was—filled with disappointment, heart break, romance, thrills and, in the end, the satisfaction of love based on mutual trust and affection.
A knock at the back hall door caused David to look over to see Sidney enter carrying a tray with a teapot and cup. He smiled at the bud vase holding a single white rose, a daily gift from Wallis.
A white rose. I know Joachim Von Ribbentrop sent Wallis a white carnation each time they made love. Now she gives me a white rose just to show she cares, and everyone knows roses are more precious than carnations.
“Did you sleep well last night, Your Highness?” his valet asked.
David grunted. His throat cancer made conversation painful.
“I brought you mint tea. It seems to ease your pain.” Sidney poured tea into the white china cup and handed it to David. “The cook picked the mint leaves herself from the bush in the garden. She said the morning is wonderful. The air is crisp and clean.”
The old man took a long sip. “Hmm. Good.” After drinking more of it, he motioned to Sidney to lean into him.
I now realize Sidney was more than my valet. The man from the Bahamas was most likely a mercenary hired by the organization, but at some point he changed his allegiance to us. How can I let him know my gratitude without creating discomfiture for him?
David whispered in a raspy voice. “I had a nightmare.”
“Oh dear. Whatever could have caused that?”
“A man came into my room and rolled a—“he paused to sip his mint tea—“corpse from under the bed and rolled it out the door.”
“Hmm.” Sidney lifted the pot and looked at David. “How odd. Perhaps it was from all the excitement from the Queen’s visit yesterday. Would you care for a second cup? It seems to help you speak.”
David nodded.
Sidney took the cup, poured in the tea and handed it back to the Duke.
“Thank you.” Before Sidney could pull away, David clutched his sleeve. “Truly, thank you.” David watched his valet’s face flush.
“You’re welcome.”
The old man waved him closer again. “You look like a man I used to know.”
Sidney returned the pot to the tray. David studied his valet.
I wonder if Sidney might admit to the truth? It would make this moment less awkward. It could be their last chance to acknowledge their friendship, equal to equal.
David grunted to make Sidney come close again.
“You never talk of your father.”
Sidney averted his eyes. “He died when I was young.”
“He would have been proud of you.”
Before the valet could respond Wallis made a grand entrance from the sitting room door. Swooping to her husband’s bedside, she kissed his brow.
“How are you, darling?”
“Fine.”
“Well, I am simply exhausted.” She fluffed his pillows. “I haven’t entertained that many people in years. Lillibet doesn’t look a thing like her mother. Thank God. Phillip is still a gorgeous man. Poor Charles. He never grew out of that awful horsey face.”
David smiled. Wallis always amused him. Today he tried not to laugh. It hurt too much.
“Oh, I see Sidney brought you mint tea. How clever of him.” She went to Sidney and smoothed out the collar of his uniform. “I enjoyed my bath this morning. It was sparkling clean.”
“I scrubbed it myself,” the valet replied.
So an assassin tried to kill Wallis too, and somehow Sidney intervened. If someone wanted us dead they must have tried to kill the Queen, her husband and her son. When else would all of us be together in virtual seclusion? I would ask him about it but I don’t have the strength to speak, and he has too much honor to answer.
“What will we do without you?” Wallis smiled in her wicked way.
“You need not worry about that, Madam.”
Her smile melted, and she stepped closer to Sidney. David could hardly hear what she said.
“Honestly, after David—I mean, when I am alone, I will have enough staff to care for me. I want you to go home to the Bahamas. You have family there, don’t you?”
David watched his valet hesitate. “A family I chose for myself. Yes, I have family there.”
“Go to them,” Wallis ordered. She stepped closer. “I know I’m losing my mind, just like Aunt Bessie did. I’m not scared of it like I used to be. My only regret is that I will forget you.” She patted his shoulder. “Why, you’re almost like a son to me. Family. What is it I have heard you say so often? Oh yes, we must fill the bellies of our family. You’ve always taken care of us. Now you must let them take care of you.”
That’s right. Sidney’s father had saved their lives many times also. Even then he considered us a part of his family, and we had to be fed. If there is any justice in the world, I hope Sidney’s family in the Bahamas fills his belly well.
(Author’s Note: This is the final chapter. This story is much longer than I anticipated. I thank two good friends, Anne Buckingham and Linda Welker, for their editing and critiques. I couldn’t have finished it without their help. I will now start running two chapters of Booth’s Revenge a week. I have other stories in the planning stages. I thank the kind readers who have left gracious notes about the novel. If you liked it please drop a dollar or two in my donation basket. I’m 72 and need all the help I can get.)