Ewan’s eyes bulged in surprise before he leaned back and let out a loud belly laugh. Perhaps it was good that there was no one around to hear him as the sound from the ballroom below drowned out their conversation.<br/><br/>“You’re… you’re really going through with this, aren’t you?” he asked, wiping away a tear. “By God that is amusing. You? What are you, sixteen? How much intrigue have you dealt with in your delicate, pampered existence my dear? Do you know a few secrets? Maybe pulled a few strings? Do you really think that makes you qualified to blackmail and extort the brother…” he voice turned dark and sinister as he finished his thought, “<span style="font-style: italic">… of the King?</span>” Ewan leaned in to within an inch of the young girl’s face with a terrifying expression of malice. “Do you have any idea who you are dealing with? Do you know how many webs I walk through? How many favors I am owed? How many people I have destroyed? I think perhaps not,” he finished ominously before stepping back and composing himself, straightening his outer jacket.<br/><br/>“Now, seeing as you are a novice at this and I’m in a generous mood, let’s discuss your first mistake and go from there. One, you led with your information. Never do that, child; it projects amateurism and weakness. Always lead with what you want. That way you give your target the opportunity to cave in before they even know what you have. I still don’t know what the hell it is you want from me. If I had a secret worth killing for, though, I might have done so before you could even make your demands. That is a mistake you sometimes make only once.”<br/><br/>Ewan continued the impromptu lesson without giving her an opportunity to interject or explain herself further.<br/><br/>“Two, the information you have must be more harmful to your mark than yourself. If I am revealed as your mother’s lover, how does that hurt me? If anything the peerage will consider me a masterful seducer. Yes, the priests will lecture me about sin and all that – but they do anyway, don’t they?” He allowed that idea to sink in before continuing.<br/><br/>“Now you – on the other hand – have everything to lose by telling your secret. Not only would releasing that information humiliate your father and demonize your mother, it would turn your half-brothers and sisters into bastards,” he explained, casually admitting to being the father of her younger siblings. “They will never find proper wives or husbands; your family would be devastated and would never recover. Your parents would never speak to each other again in kindness; family life at home would disintegrate. Your life, and the lives of your siblings would become a living hell – and it would all be your fault.”<br/><br/>He raised a hand to stop her front interjecting. “No – I am not done,” he explained firmly. “Your third mistake is underestimating your mother. Victoria is not in love with your father. She is not, frankly, in love with me either – although I do make her quite happy between the sheets. No, your mother is in love with only one thing – and that thing is power. She will destroy anything and anyone who stands in the way of her gaining power. Don’t hesitate for a moment to think she wouldn’t throw you off the battlements if it meant keeping her secrets. You mean very little to her, my dear; in the grand scheme of things. She is not like most mothers. She would kill you with her bare hands if necessary and sleep soundly afterwards.”<br/><br/>“One more,” he added for good measure, driving home the end of his lecture. “Your fourth mistake is perhaps your most dramatic. Minors should never, ever plot against their parents. Why? Because your parents can commit you to the dungeons without reason. The gaolers rather enjoy little virgins who fall into their hands. What would any potential husband think about a bride who had spent time in their care? After experiencing their… gentleness for a week you would be begging for the oubliette, I think.”<br/><br/>“So, tell me know how you feel about your little plan. Are you going to make your demands? Or should I tell your mother all about our little conversation the next time I<span style="font-style: italic">fuck</span>her?” he said, dropping his voice back to a menacing tone as he unloaded his vulgarity. He had little patience for this rank amateur who dared accost him with this triviality.