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He rolled his eyes and turned away. “My father is the king’s brother. It’s a well-known fact that he has no interest in ruling if Leonidas fails to qualify by law. Which means it would fall on my shoulders once my father passes the honor.”
I glanced at his hand as he turned back to face me. “Are you married?”
“No.” His roguish grin only deepened. “Are you offering?” Quirking his eyebrows suggestively, he waited for my answer. I didn’t budge. Bottom lip pouted out as if I’d ruined his fun, he explained. “It’s well known that I don’t have the same need as my cousin to find love in order to marry. Any maiden would do if I wanted to rule, and as you’ve seen, they line up for the job in droves.”
I circled back to what he’d said before. “You said, if you wanted to rule.”
“Yes,” he sucked in both his cheeks as though I’d made this game worse by the moment, “because I have no intention of ruling. I don’t have the attention span or mind for it, and I certainly have never had the love for it like Leo.”
“So, like me,” I needed to make my point, “you’re not a threat at all.”
I didn’t think it was funny, but a deep laugh rolled from his chest. “Quite unlike you, dear Coco.” He bowed mockingly and looked up at me from his slightly prostrate position. “Because unlike you, Lady Michaela, I stand very little chance of mucking it all up, but you, my new, sweet, foreign friend, could make a real bog of the whole thing.”
How? Other than a few faux pas, like the incident with the gate and nearly becoming a human torch, I hadn’t done much to get in the way.
“What are you talking about? I’m here to help Fitz.” I growled under my breath. “I mean, Prince Fitzborough.”
Caught off guard, the stranger’s head tipped a couple degrees. With narrowed eyes, he watched me the way a math teacher analyzed a complicated problem. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
He turned away to pace the floor, speaking softly to himself as he went. “Of course, maybe he doesn’t know either.” He turned back to me, finger pointed at my heart. “He’s never told you?”
“Told me what?” My patience was pretty decent, but he had been wearing it thin for a while.
As if I’d confirmed his wicked thoughts, he smiled. “You’re his little secret. That’s the only explanation. For you to be here all these years later, the two of you must have been in some kind of contact, yes?”
Still confused, I answered carefully. “We wrote letters.” What did that have to do with anything?
“Yes, I’m sure. Illegal post because I know for a fact that Leonidas was ordered to sever all ties as a condition of leaving the country for a year.” He looked me over again, but this time more like I was a museum exhibit or one of the seven wonders of the world. “And yet, he kept you. For a bloke who follows every rule with passionate precision, that’s highly unusual, don’t you think?”
His ramblings were full of holes from my perspective, but slowly I pieced it together. Speaking under my breath, I said, “The king and queen don’t know about the letters?”
“Definitely not,” he answered. “And now, I ask you, why would our prince take such a risk on one American girl?”
“Because we’re friends.”
The answer amused him. “Right. Friends.”
What was he… It was like he was suggesting… My mind stumbled like I’d tripped over rocks in the path.
Me and Fitz?
“I have to go.” I reached for the door handle, but he pressed a palm against it to keep it closed.
“The question is, are those feelings reciprocated, milady?”
“I’m here to help him.” I jerked the door, but it barely budged. “That’s all.”
“And if I’m supposed to believe that—” The door pushed open and shoved him back as Kabir cut off his words. The guard’s large stature filled the doorway as he faced the stranger.
“Bishop. When did you arrive?”
“An hour ago,” the stranger answered.
“Has His Highness seen you?”
“No,” Bishop motioned to me, “but I’ve been keeping Lady Michaela company in the meantime.”
