“Mary is Verity, through and through. Even now she is hunting down E?ians with the intent of purging them from England.”
“I know,” said Archer grimly. “Haven’t you heard that the royal servants have already been interrogated, and anyone thought to be an E?ian has been jailed? They’ll be burned in less than a fortnight, I hear.” He took a deep drink from his mug of ale. “But we E?ians have survived hundreds of years of persecution. What does it matter to us if the reigning monarch is E?ian or Verity?”
Bess stepped forward. Everyone looked to her—there was just something about Bess that commanded a room. “Freedom,” she said to answer his question. “Real freedom, Mister Archer. You’ll be equals to Verities. No longer persecuted.”
“Begging your pardon, my lady, but King Henry made the same promise when he transformed into a lion, and that didn’t change much for us.” Archer shook his head. “Be king or don’t. It doesn’t matter to me.”
This wasn’t going well.
“But I am your king!” Edward said. He was saying that a lot lately. Too much.
“Nope,” said Archer. “But if you leave now, I might let you walk out of here with your lives. Because I’m feeling generous today.”
Like we mentioned earlier, there were seven people in the tavern, and now six of them had some sort of weapon drawn.
The members of Edward’s party exchanged anxious glances. Well, they’d tried and failed. Gracie had been right: there was no reasoning with Archer. Perhaps they’d just have to consider it a victory if they got out of there alive.
Edward sighed. “All right. Come on.”
He turned to go.
Jane stepped forward. “Wait. You’ll join us,” she said to Archer. “And it will be for one very simple reason.”
Everyone was looking at her now.
“Times are hard.” Jane hid her trembling hands behind her back and moved to stand before Archer. “You’re a powerful band, but that doesn’t make you immune to the world’s problems. The Pack is being hunted. You say you’re not concerned about the mass burnings Mary has scheduled for the E?ians, but I heard your voice catch when you talked about it. Likely some of those palace servants work for you, and you know there’s nothing that you can do to help them. But Edward could help them. He could stop the huntings. The burnings. The endless circle of killing and being killed. If you align yourself with the king, it will benefit the entire Pack. Are you so full of pride that you don’t see that?”
Archer lifted an eyebrow in Edward’s direction, and Edward took the opportunity to puff out his chest. “If I regain my throne, the Pack will be pardoned, on the condition all illegal activities cease. And I will make this country safe for E?ians. I swear it on my life.”
“Right. But why do you care so much about E?ians?” Archer challenged.
“Because he is an E?ian,” Jane said.
Archer’s gaze swung appraisingly to Edward. “You? You’re an E?ian?”
“Yes.” Edward met the Pack leader’s stare. “I am.”
“What creature?”
Edward looked down at his hands. “A type of bird. Like a falcon.”
The side of Archer’s mouth curled up. “Interesting.”
“We do not make these promises lightly, Mister Archer,” Bess cut in, before the man could ask them to prove their E?ian status and they’d all have to get naked. “A pardon, food, medical supplies, coin, whatever you need: all will be made available to you.”
Archer’s eyes flashed greedily. They’d done it, Jane thought. He would agree to fight alongside them.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said after a long moment. “I just don’t believe you’re the kind of king I want to fight for.”
Edward was flabbergasted. “Why?”
“Let’s be honest.” Archer leaned back in his chair. “The kingdom wasn’t in the greatest shape before you allegedly died. Verities still hunted E?ians. The authorities were corrupt. Even a shilling isn’t worth what it used to be. You never did anything to help us then. You may be an E?ian, and you act like you’re the one in charge, but your ladies have been the ones making all the compelling arguments.” Archer gestured at the others in the tavern. “We have a decent life here. None of us want to risk our skins for someone who hasn’t proven he’s worth the effort.”
Edward took a deep breath. “How would you have me prove my worth?”
“There’s something I want,” Archer said, and Jane suspected he’d had this in mind all along, maybe even before they’d made their initial plea. “If you can deliver this item, I will join you.”
“What is it?” Bess asked.
Archer looked at Gracie. “I want Gracie to return the item she stole from me.”
After a moment of surprise, Jane and Edward both turned to Gracie.
“Well?” said Jane.
“Go jump in a river,” Gracie said to Archer. “You’re not getting it.”
“It belongs to the leader of the Pack,” he argued.
“It was Ben’s, and he’d have wanted me to have it.”