“You should let him take a look. He is good at finding potential flaws,” Lady Mae said.
“He said he’s set a few enchantments on fire.”
“He has and, in doing so, shown us where new safety features were needed in our gondolas.” Lady Mae frowned and stepped closer to a wall. Only too late did Blaze realize she’d found one of the lewd carvings an elfling had made. “Interesting taste in décor.”
But she made no complaint and left the cabin with the same cool, breezy air she’d had a moment before. Slowly, Blaze followed her out. “Is that all, my lady?”
“Not quite.” Lady Mae walked over to the steering wheel. While she inspected it, she asked, “Do you intend to marry my son?”
“I … I feel it’s early to ask that,” Blaze mumbled.
Lady Mae fixed her calm gaze on him and lifted a single eyebrow.
The squirming that had begun in Blaze’s guts when Durae had casually asked, “Are you proposing?” kicked up again. He’d managed to ignore the twisting in favor of enjoying Durae’s company, but his hopes were mingling with his fears. Impulse told him to ask the question already. Fear and logic demanded he gather more data before trying. The combat was an exhausting one.
“Should we want to marry, I would marry him,” Blaze answered carefully.
“And if his fathers and I strip him of his inheritance, would you still pursue him?” Lady Mae demanded.
“My whole life, I have watched my fathers choose their love over and over again. I honestly thought they were sappy fools and that I’d never be so dumbstruck by anyone. Then Durae smiled at me, and it’s like I’ve been drifting in this fog, and he is the sun come to burn away the confusion of the world.” Blaze swallowed, but once begun, the torrent of his feelings followed the easiest path. “He teased me last night because I said something close to a marriage proposal. It wasn’t the right time, and he … he wants to be with me, but it was the heat of the moment in the middle of the night, and his words are untested. If loving me cost him his family, I … I wouldn’t want that for him, but I don’t want to lose him, either.”
“Would you give him up so he could return to us?” Lady Mae asked.
“I would honor what choice he made about the circumstance, though my heart would break if he walked away from me,” Blaze replied.
Lady Mae held his gaze.
Blaze refused to blink first.
After several long moments with the only sounds being that of the neighborhood and the gentle slapping of water against the hull, she smiled, and the happiness reached her eyes. “You are a suitable suitor for my son.”
Now, Blaze blinked several times.
Lady Mae laughed lightly. “You shouldn’t be surprised! You’ve been forthright in your conversation with me. And I’ve seen the way you look at him. You admire his mind and heart as much as his body. I think your hesitation to propose shows wisdom, not doubt. Three days is not a long time to know someone when our lives are very long. I will say that Durae is not taking this ship into the air with you until I see those plans myself.”
“Understood, my lady,” Blaze said.
“And Durae can’t spend all his time here. You would probably feel more at ease knowing that he chose you from a crowd rather than because you were the first to take him to bed,” Lady Mae replied.
Blaze choked on air. “You know aboutthat?”
“Durae was trying to scandalize me. I am glad that he managed to tumble into the arms of someone worthy to hold him.”
Relief flooded through Blaze and brought a measure of stability to his queasy stomach. “You wouldn’t mind if I publicly courted him?”
“I would not.”
“Lord Perro doesn’t feel the same,” Blaze told her.
Lady Mae narrowed her eyes. “How do you mean?”
“The day of the opening ceremony party, Durae took me to relax under one of the canopies where Lord Perro was. He made it clear that he didn’t approve of our association,” Blaze said.
“Did he.” Lady Mae clicked her tongue. “I will have words with him. You and Durae needn’t worry about his reprisal.”
When he had time, Blaze was going to stretch out on his deck and let the stress that had built in his system unspool completely. Whatever he and Durae might be was a question that could be solved at their leisure, with the blessing of at least two of Durae’s parents. He knew his fathers would love Durae dearly. It was impossible not to fall for him.
Oh no. I’m in love.
