Page 25 of Wear It Like a Crown

“Subscription toAttitude,” Nate said anyway. “And his email password isMore Dicks 4 Me.”

Leo honestly, sincerely hoped that Nate never had and never would use his powers for evil.

“George might also be too much of a friend. Or too professionally affected.” Leo got back up, waving the parcel. “And with this, I’ll leave you to do your thing while I go check on the tragic state of my inbox. I’ll sneak this back into Joshua’s mail on my way home.”

Nate looked as though he considered making some kind of joke. In the end, he merely nodded and turned back to his computer. Leo watched him for another second before he turned and left the office.

Maybe Leo would confess to knowing Joshua from before—not now, but in a few weeks. When it wasn’t quite this fresh in his mind. Nate was a good listener, and entrusting that particular piece of the past to him… Yeah. That one piece, Leo might be willing to share.

He would still hold on to the rest.

* **

Approximately thirty-six hours after the proverbial bomb had dropped on Joshua’s head, he was back at Clarence House. This time it was only his mother and Emma, and Joshua cringed through Emma’s rant about all the ways she wanted to see Johnson suffer. In reply, he offered vague promises that he’d think about it,really, justpleasenot now, can’t we just have dinner? Please?

“You can’t let him get away with a slap on the wrist,” Emma said around a bite of salmon. “That’s fucked up, Shrimp. Twat deserves to be deported to a Siberian labour camp. Or worse.”

“Language,” Mum reprimanded, but she didn’t sound as though her heart was in it. “Also, political correctness. Also, table manners.”

Emma set down her fork and raised her head. “That arse fucked with my baby brother.No onegets to fuck with my baby brother. And it’s just us, anyway.”

It was, actually; Mum must have asked for a private meal since the servants had come in only once, right at the beginning, to bring in a range of choices before leaving them alone.

Maybe you should talk to them.

Taking a deep breath, Joshua wiped his mouth with a napkin and folded it into a neat triangle. The smell of the fish fillets turned his stomach. He kept his gaze on his hands, his voice barely loud enough to rise over the gentle jazz music his mother had recently come to enjoy. “Mum, Emmy. If I—I think that I want to come out. Maybe. What do you think?”

For a horrible,horriblemoment, the world tilted and lurched on its axis.

Then Emma jumped up, napkin falling to the floor, and went to hug him, their faces pressed together. “Been waiting for that, Shrimp.”

His mother got up more slowly, taking the time to set aside her napkin before she bent to give him a kiss on the cheek. Her voice was warm, and when Joshua dared look up, he found her watching him with a proud shine in her eyes. “Of course I approve, darling, but it will take a lot of courage. Are you quite certain?”

“No. I’m not certain at all.” Joshua struggled to breathe around thesudden lump in his throat. “But I think, like, maybe? Probably. You really would approve?”

“A million times over.” Mum made it sound like a foregone conclusion.

“But you neversaidanything.”

“I didn’t want to push you.” She frowned, a crease appearing between her brows. “Why, what did you think?”

“I…” Another intake of air, easier this time. “I thought you would maybe not approve. Because it might be a problem for the country. Or our family.”

Her frown deepened, but her voice was gentle as she rested a warm hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “Baby, that isnotthe kind of duty to your role that I tried to teach you.”

“I think this could even have a positive effect,” Emma said. “It makes us seem modern, doesn’t it? Shake off the dust. Welcome to the twenty-first century!” The last part was said in the tone of a sports announcer, and she spread her arms, beaming. With her aubergine hair and loose-fitting T-shirt, nothing suggested she would become the reigning monarch of sixteen nations one day.

“I am all in favour of a bold move,” Mum said, much more sedate. “We’re an old institution, but that doesn’t mean we can’t set a precedent, give society a little nudge. And if this causes a Commonwealth state to break its ties, then that would not be a country I want to represent anyway.”

Joshua felt like crying. Instead, he clambered to his feet and pulled both his mother and Emma into a tight embrace. It felt like he was constantly clinging to people these days—Tristan and Mo, his mother and Emma, seeking reassurance in their closeness. If he did this, he couldn’t use them as his crutches; he’d have to hold himself up on his own. Be strong all by himself.

With a quiet sniffle, he pulled back and wiped at his eyes. His smile might have turned out a little watery, but he decidedit was the effort that counted.

* * *

At this point, Leo would equate the appeal of porn to that of curdled milk. Yet it was only his conscience that stopped him from checking out the contents of the USB stick. Pesky thing, conscience.

True to his word, he swung past Joshua’s place on the way home, only to find the windows dark. The lock of the building’s door wasn’t worth much. It took less than a minute for Leo to pick and, if they were friends, he would have some choice words for Joshua about taking safety more seriously.