Hubert Black and Gerard Black were still stupefied as Luke strolled out of the room and to the front door, closing it behind him securely as he exited the home. Sebastian had a smile curled upon his lips, amused and impressed by the crown prince's declaration he would spend the day doing farm labor in his expensive clothes. The crown princess had turned to watch him go, wistfully staring at his backside as she wished that they had a single day to themselves without complications, difficulties, and arguments, to see if the intensity of their passionate lovemaking was a sign they were not impossibly matched. Moments like these made her wonder. Neither one had to strive as hard as they did to prove themselves; he did not [i]need[/i] the blessing of her family, and she did not [i]need[/i] every member of the palace staff and public to adore her, and yet they did not logic impede their efforts. Internally she had to concede perhaps she was trying so hard for him, because she believed that there was a spark beneath his pretentious exterior, that he had the makings of a greater king than his predecessors. Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to believe in her as well.

"If anything happens to him, I won't forgive you," she told the three gathered men sternly. "If he comes back and he's anything more than tired from the field work, I'll visit his injuries on each of you tenfold," Rhiane threatened severely. Her tone of voice was indicative of just how serious she was. The Black household was guilty of shouting and yelling when they were angry with one another, but there were not cases of domestic violence, the worst physical transgressions being when the siblings would fight in their youth.

"Why do you care for him?" Gerard asked her in an accusatory tone. "All you are to him is a woman who fought for the right to have his children. Your body won't even be cold before he moves on to someone like Sophia, if he even waits that long. Leave him now and stop this madness. We don't need his damned money!" he sputtered with venom. Luke had underestimated the feelings that his new in-laws had for him; they did not just dislike, they loathed, they hated, they doubted, they despised with every fiber of their being. That he had undersold the toll of the plague, and spoken of it with numbers instead of empathy, had done nothing to win them over.

"What has been done with that damned money?" Rhiane inquired as she turned towards Sebastian, expecting neither her of her blood relatives to give her a direct answer. "It hasn't been used for repairs or to replace the furniture, clearly."

"Hubert tried to refuse the stipend," the blond shrugged, "but they couldn't allow our refusal. There was a deposit made into an account with all our names at the bank, and we were sent the access information for the funds." It made sense. If there had been an investigation and the reward had not been forced upon her family, it would have made Queen Camilla appear weak, and would have been a blight on the forthcoming union. Public image was everything while the monarchy's loyalists trickled away and the revolution's numbers grew. The love story had to remain intact by any means possible.

"Can you give me that information?" the brunette asked of her friend. He nodded in affirmation as they began toward the study where it had been jotted down on a piece of paper.

"Rhi!" Gerard called out testily.

"I don't expect him to care about me, Ger," Rhiane replied, knowing the reason he had interrupted her. He needed to have her answer, to know why she clung to the royal so firmly, why she shielded Luke from the very people she loved so fiercely that she was sacrificing her life to gift them financial security. "Dad had Mom, and you and Sebastian have each other, and your love is so miraculous that I never thought I could have the same thing," she confessed softly, "so let me do this for all of you. Let me leave behind a legacy that makes your lives comfortable, and if we're lucky there will be a little bit of us in the next heir to throne, a spitfire with Mom's good sense, or Dad's moral compass. That's more than most people can hope for," she smiled sadly.

"Fuck," Gerard whispered under his breath as he fought back tears.

True to his word, Sebastian handed over a scrap of parchment with a series of numbers representing an account number, password, and PIN that would allow her unrestricted access to the funds. They did not speak during this exchange. There was nothing more to say. The foreigner realized that his sentiments would not pierce the carapace guarding Rhiane's heart on the topic, and she knew that she could not persuade him to appreciate the crown prince with the strength of her emotions.

"Luke," his betrothed said as she stepped outside the door. Hubert and Gerard were changing into work clothes while Sebastian gathered the tools that all four would need for the day ahead. Waiting until he concluded his phone call she pulled him to the side, trying to ensure that the security detail could not overhear. "I want to order furniture, appliances, things they need and are too stubborn to purchase themselves. Can you ask the guards to let deliveries through? I could ask them myself, but we both know it's you that they take orders from. Being stuck here doing nothing all day would drive me mad," she explained. There was much she could accomplish with hours to herself. With the name of Rhiane Black, future queen of New Rome, she was guaranteed to have services expedited without request, as it would be priceless for merchants to be able to proclaim she was a patron of their establishment.