“Hmm.”
“What hmm? There is no hmm, sir. The fact is…” I shook my head, gripping my rein on and off and shifting. “The fact is that the marriage is there. It will happen. Sam asked me to call Sam, so, I call him Sam. Actually, I call him His Highness now. Thank you very much.”
“But he did not declare himself,” he said. “Even before.”
“What part of this is difficult for you to comprehend?” I asked. “Perhaps if I could identify the word or concept you’re stuck on, I could?—”
“Sameer did not declare himself,” he pressed. “He asked you to call him Sam; I asked you to call me Cyrus. I did not declare myself, nor would I, as once again, I do not meet the prerequisite of your instruction.”
“The what?”
“The prerequisite. It means?—”
“Are you—? Do notdaredefine the word prerequisite to me, Sword! I knew the meaning of that before you knew your alphabet!”
“That’s a statement!” he cheered.
“You irk me,” I muttered.
“And you think, because I am some stable buck, I could not be half as smart as you,” he said.
“…No.”
“You hesitated,” he said.
I said, “I don’t think you’re stupid because you're poor.”
“I’m not poor,” he said.
“I meant.” I sighed, giving up and letting out a whine. “I’m sorry,” I said.
Cyrus cocked his head around.
“It’s all I can say. My words were… I…You…” Finally, I just withdrew. “I’m sorry.”
“Prerequisite.”
I frowned.
“Just wanted to see if it angered you,” he said.
“Mr. Evergreen.”
“Are you calling memisterto prove a point?” he asked.
“No, Mr. Evergreen.” I shut my eyes, opened them, and exhaled, just to catch the ends of his lips as they sank.
He said, “We both know that your answer will be far more sentimental than mine. We both know I’ll have every right to exploit that. Deal or no deal, Your Royal Highness Princess Svana Eisson, first of her name?”
I eyed him. “Seriously?”
“Deal or no deal?” he asked.
“The fact that you have to bargain with me over your level of public ridicule defeats the very purpose of the trade, Mr. Businessman. It no longer matters if you vocalize your laughter, I’ll know you will be laughinginternally, which, to me, is somehow worse. No deal.”
He snickered. “Then how do I convince you to tell me what you like?”
I shrugged. “And there you’ve changed the question again.”
