Page 122 of The Unlikely Spare

He’s right.

We’ve been treating the shadowy threat that followed Nicholas from Britain, the one that seemed to be targeting British institutions, and the activism against the crown from Indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand as two separate threats to Nicholas’s safety.

But what if they were one and the same?

“Those nationalities you gave me of the people who have been involved in the incidents so far were all from former colonies. And the history of colonialism isn’t exactly great, is it? Lots of atrocities were committed against Indigenous people.”

“I’m a Catholic from Northern Ireland, Nicholas. You don’t have to explain this to me. The Irish are very well acquainted with oppression by the English.”

“Yes, I believe you are.” His voice is still quiet.

“But it doesn’t make any sense. It might be why they are targeting you, but it doesn’t explain the link to Harry Matheson and Toby Webley’s kidnapping.”

There’s something not clicking. I pace in circles on the grass, trying to get my thoughts in order.

Colonialism. Justice.

Harry Matheson and Toby Webley. Two politicians.

Prince Nicholas. A member of the royal family.

He’s definitely linked to the atrocities of colonialism. His ancestors literally signed every treaty that dispossessed Indigenous peoples. But what link would Harry Matheson and Toby Webley have? Besides the fact that they are politicians, members of the British government. But it’s not as if modern politicians bear direct responsibility or are still benefiting from the injustice. Unless it’s simply because they represent the British government.

“Are you planning to tell me what you’re thinking, or are we going to attempt charades?” Nicholas asks.

“I’m just trying to work out the connection between the Matheson-Webley kidnapping and you as a target. Aside from you representing two British institutions that were involved in colonialism.”

Nicholas tilts his head slightly, studying me with those sharp blue eyes like I’m a particularly dense student. “You’re ignoring the other obvious connection.”

“What connection?”

“Well, Matheson’s protection officer was the inside agent, wasn’t he? So you should be looking at what connection lies between Harry Matheson and me.”

My brow furrows. I’m still not seeing the link.

“Harry Matheson is a member of the aristocracy. He renounced his earldom so he could stand for Parliament.”

I stop still.

The aristocracy.

Prince Callum is the child of Prince Michael and an American actress. While his half-brother, Prince Nicholas, is the product of Prince Michael and a duchess. Nicholas’s mother is a member of the Preston-Alexanders, one of the oldest aristocratic families in Britain.

Blue blood on both sides of his family.

Nicholas is still staring at me.

“Who benefited the most from the exploitation of the colonies? It was the aristocracy in Britain, wasn’t it? Oliver just told me a few weeks ago how there is a movement in the Caribbean for recompensation for the descendants of enslaved people. Apparently, when we abolished slavery, the British government compensated the enslavers, and didn’t finish paying off that debt until 2015. But they’ve never given anything to the actual enslaved people nor their descendants.”

Nicholas’s words land like a punch to my gut.

Didn’t I know firsthand how the British aristocracy had exploited people in the lands they controlled?

The aristocracy of Britain, who got rich on the blood of the colonies, still have that wealth today. Country estates built on sugar plantation profits, art collections purchased with opium money, family fortunes that trace back to slave ships and stolen diamonds. Every pound in their trust funds drips with someone else’s suffering.

Their children still attend Eton on endowments funded by historical atrocities, while most of the descendants of the exploited scrape by in poverty.

Nicholas is standing now too, like he needs to move to process the weight of his own realization. He’s pacing in tight circles that make his ridiculous T-shirt billow around him.