"Is something wrong?" Amelia asked curiously. "Are you feeling unwell after working so hard? Why don't we step outside and walk around Medellín for a while?"
There was genuine concern in her voice. More than anyone, she had witnessed the effort Carlos had poured into maintaining the fragile, half-formed government over eastern Antioquia.
The great families were not fully on his side. Some were brazen enough to stir internal trouble, quietly sabotaging his administration while pretending loyalty to the Crown. If Carlos lost, they intended to present themselves as faithful royalists who had merely infiltrated the rebels.
A few had been careless. Those who left evidence behind were dealt with mercilessly. Carlos confiscated their estates and redistributed portions of their wealth among servants and officers loyal to his household.
But others were more cunning.
