Roland raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at Sigrid as if she had just said the most perplexing thing he had ever heard.
"You are my wife, who courts his wife? The very purpose of courtship is marriage and I believe that for us it has been fulfilled."
"I do not agree, continuous courtship is the best way to maintain a relationship between a couple. To date, my grandfather brings flowers for my grandmother, they dance together when nobody is watching.
I have seen him kneel down and help her put her shoes on when her back was aching. When she is sick, he takes care of her personally.
He buys her sweets, plants her favorite flowers all year round, everything he does is to make her happy and she does the sa for him. My father learned from him, so he treats my father as his own father treats his mother.
My brothers are following in their footsteps, one wife for life and a lot of pampering." she spoke on them with pride.
Roland felt admiration for the Thorin’s, no wonder they were a happy united family, more than most he had ever seen. He wondered what his life would have been like if the royal family was like the Thorin’s. If his father had never brought in a secondary consort, would they have been happy too?
He had never seen his father give his mother flowers, not even once. Even when they danced together at balls, it was because they had to and it always looked forced.
"May I ask you a question?"
Her voice cut into his thoughts and she went ahead to ask the question before he could respond.
"Why did you wait so long to get married? You are a crown prince, many won want you. If the king had asked all the won interested in marrying you to line up, the line would start from the castle gates and go all the way to Nemoris." she paused and chortled, "And then Nemorian won would join and it would reach doris, cross the ocean to...."
"Many won, I get it." he cut in.
It sounded to Sigrid like he was stifling a sigh and she thought that perhaps she was not the first to ask this question.
"I hate to break it to you but they would not be that many, my reputation is black in so places."
She thought about the negative things that had reached her ears and those of every other Eldorian and nodded. "I am well aware of your infringents, they say you are quick tempered, rude and brutal. But your reputation is not all bad, you have redeeming qualities.
You are a gentlen nothing rakish has ever been said about you. You are brave and loyal, just and kind. Many won talk about your eyes, your rugged looks, great physical stature. In simple words, you are practically sex on a stick."
Roland shook his head in befuddlent, "I am what now!"
"It’s slang for you are very, very attractive." she inford him carefully, avoiding to ntion that it was sexually attractive to be specific. "You can have any woman in the world, so why not marry even though your father and mother pressured you?"
"Most n marry to secure an heir, I have always hoped that my marriage would be different, it would have a deeper aning. Those won that would willingly line up to marry , how many do you think would want if my royal title and wealth was stripped away from ?"
"That’s fair," she replied.
However, she could not help feeling like the bad guy because she was only sleeping with him for the sake of bearing him an heir, a child to secure her position. Well..the process was enjoyable, extrely so.
Had there roles reversed? He wanted true love and happiness like a romantic young woman and she wanted an heir like a cold noble lord.
"Good Lord!" she exclaid in her mind.
He brought the horse to a stop, they had reached the courtyard already. She wiggled around, ready to dismount but he held her back with that strong arm around her waist.
"An unhappy marriage is not fair on the children, that is why I want us to be civil and why I have not complained about the fact that you and my father took away my right to have a secondary wife without my consultation."
He let her go, swung one leg and dismounted, he reached his hands up and then carried her from the horse’s back and put her down.
She looked at his handso face and, wondering how that decision had affected him. There was no lie in his words, she had only been looking out for herself and what was best for her. Even though she felt the slightest guilt, the reminder of how she would die if she did not take precautions killed it.
"Do you hate for it?" she quizzed.
He looked into her eyes and answered honestly, "Yes and no, yes because you had no right to decide that for . Both of you treated like a commodity and put a price on . Apparently the crown prince of Eldoria is equal in value to a few salt farms."
Sigrid grimaced and looked away, the guilt was back. If she had been the one in his place, traded like that, she would have made a big commotion. Why did it never cross her mind that he would feel the sa way about sothing that seed so minor?
"Allow to apologize for that." she spoke softly that he barely had her.
She set aside her pride and accepted the bla for what she had engineered. He had hidden his feelings so deeply, but beneath the brutish exterior a soft heart lay, one that nobody had the privilege of seeing except her.
She could not hide away for long, he captured her face and made her look into his eyes.
"Another part of does not bla you because deep down, I always knew that having two wives was not the road I wanted to take. Lately, I am beginning to think that I do not hate you as much I used to think I did. There might be hope for us just yet, Sigrid."
Sigrid let out a breath that she did not know she had been holding in. As long as he did not hate her, she had the smallest chance to wedge into his heart.
"I have the most stupid urge to thank you." she mumbled.
He chortled in return, moved his hand from her cheek and traced a thumb over her lips. It was a slow movent, one that spoke volus and revealed hidden desires. Sigrid clenched her toes and told her restless heart to calm down, not that it listened.
"Don’t thank just yet, you still have a punishnt scheduled."
He dropped his hand and let go of her completely, his eyes looked at the door where a butler with a very amused smile on his face was watching them from.
Roland cleared his throat and told her, "Let’s go in before those darn peacocks decided to return for another round."
He was not sure if he had the patience to spare them again, especially the one that bit on his buttocks. It had made an enemy of him, that was for certain.
Reviews
All reviews (0)