Hugo snapped out of his daze. The sudden weakness in his knees disappeared in an instant, and he lifted his head to stare at the royal couple.
“Honeymoon?” he squeaked.
The king had made him a duke and given him a vast tract of land, possibly making him a landlord. Now he was getting married? What had Everand said to his parents?
Queen Lilianna reached over and smacked her husband’s arm. “Hush, Hubert. You’ll scare him.”
“Pfft. Scare him? He dealt with that menace king and his black knight, Ryze, with no problems. This is nothing. Everand adores him and says he’ll accept no one else. Of course, they’regoing to marry,” King Hubert declared, but the queen at least looked like she wanted to consider Hugo’s feelings.
“Lord Baker,” she began, giving Hugo a jolt. It would take some time to get adjusted to having a title. “We know you and Prince Everand care for each other. After all that you’ve done for Everand and the kingdom, you’ve more than proved that you’re worthy of being the prince’s consort. We would be happy to have you marry our son. Would you be amenable to such an alliance between our families?”
This was it.
This was the moment he had expected to happen.
His hands had become as cold as blocks of ice, and his stomach attempted to turn itself inside out.
Very carefully, Hugo dropped to his knees before the dais. “I beg your indulgence, Your Majesties. It’s true that I love Prince Everand with all that I am. I want nothing more than to spend my life at his side, even if I were nothing more than a lowly servant charged with polishing his boots. Marriage to him would be a wonderful dream come true. But I cannot marry the prince.”
Everyone in the room gasped, but silence immediately descended when the queen raised her hand.
“Why can’t you marry him if you love him so much?”
“Because I owe my life to another. Your Majesty has summoned me to the castle twice and requested that I spin straw into gold. The first time, it was obvious I would lose my life if I failed. The second time it was not so clearly stated, but I feared the arrangement was the same. Today, I confess to you that I misled you. Both times, a masked man appeared in my tower cell and spun all the straw into gold. He allowed me to take the credit and saved my life. If you don’t take my life today for my deception, I feel it is only fair to offer it first to the one who saved me.”
Hugo lifted his gaze to the royal couple. The king’s expression had grown quite smug and possessed an air of “I told you so,” while the queen had grown pale.
“Have you discussed this with Prince Everand or our masked guest?” Queen Lilianna inquired, her voice wobbling.
“Prince Everand knows of the masked man’s help but does not know that I feel I owe this man such a debt. The masked man knows nothing of my feelings of duty.”
“What if the masked man doesn’t want you?” The queen’s words grew stronger as if she were confident that she’d found a loophole to exploit.
“I’ll accept his wishes and see my debt as filled. Afterward, I would beg Prince Everand to allow me to remain at his side. I wouldn’t care if it was as his husband or as his servant.”
“I guess we should summon our masked friend,” the king announced, grinning at his wife.
The queen shot her husband a dark look as she motioned for a servant to come closer. She whispered several things to the young woman. She nodded and hurried out of the throne room. While they waited, the queen dismissed the waiting ministers and all but one servant, leaving the grand throne room even emptier than it had been when Hugo first entered.
A quarter of an hour ticked by slowly. Hugo was allowed to rise, and the king passed the time by asking him many questions about Wulia and King Victor. It was more than a little telling that King Hubert asked quite a lot about his personality and preferences, as if he wanted to get to know the man who was his nephew, not just another country’s king.
As Hugo was relaxing, a door off to one side of the throne room opened, and the masked man in a ragged cloak and clothes danced out as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His mood was carefree, and Hugo’s heart gave a skip.
“Your Majesties,” he greeted with a grand flourish and deep bow. Before either could reply. He spun on his toes and hopped over to Hugo. “I thought we agreed you’d never speak of our arrangement.” His voice was low and rough but still pleasing as Hugo remembered.
“Yes, but the king and queen wish me to marry their son. I can’t. You saved my lifetwice. It belongs to you. Until you reject me, I’m not free to pledge myself to another.” Hugo’s stomach twisted into giant knots, and his mouth became as dry as the sun-scorched earth in the middle of summer. This was such an enormous wager he was making. If he was wrong…
“But…but you paid me. The glass rose. And the ring.” It was the first time since their meeting in the tower so long ago that the masked figure sounded anything but confident.
“My life is worth more than a glass rose and a ring.”
“You would give yourself to someone who doesn’t love you?” The masked man laughed and danced around Hugo as if it were all a game, but the laugh sounded forced and strangled compared to his other playful noises.
“Honor demands it. Even if you don’t love me, I would promise to serve you as a loyal helpmate. My gift is not as valuable as gold, but every coin I earn would go to you.”
“You would marry me without ever seeing my face? How do you know I’m not a hideous monster under here?” The man leaned in close enough to touch the tip of Hugo’s nose with the mask. As their eyes met, the man darted away again.
“Your appearance doesn’t change the generous act of kindness,” Hugo stated. He turned, trying hard to meet the man’s eyes. “Do you not want me?”
