Chapter 16 #2
Florence bobbed a quick curtsy and hurried from the room, leaving Hugo alone.
He wandered over to the bed and ran his hand along the pajamas.
They were buttery soft and of higher quality than anything he’d ever owned in his life.
The chambers were breathtaking. And Everand was one room away.
This visit to the palace felt very different from his last one.
It also felt like Everand heavily influenced the welcoming side of things rather than his mother.
Would the queen have dared to put Hugo so close to her son if Everand hadn’t interfered?
Probably not. Her earlier matchmaking stunt was likely an attempt to remind Everand that he needed to look for a husband, not that she was endorsing Hugo for that role.
And it was possible that introducing them had backfired for her. Was there any chance in the world that she could accept him as a husband for her princely son?
Hugo scoffed at his silly thoughts. What he needed right now was some sleep. Afterward, he could figure out how he was going to tell Ev and his mother about this magic nonsense.
Something was tickling his nose.
Hugo tried to bat it away and return to sleep, but a low chuckle and slight shift in the bed had him bolting upright.
He wasn’t alone. He blinked awake, his heart leaping into his throat.
In the dim gaslight, he found Everand lying next to him, his head on the neighboring pillow and a beautiful, mischievous smile gracing his lips.
“Ev!” Hugo gasped. “I mean, Your Highness.”
“No, you were right the first time.” The prince popped up and cupped Hugo’s face, pulling him in for a sweet kiss.
Those perfect soft lips moved across his mouth, coaxing him to relax.
Hugo sank into that warmth, that perfect touch, forgetting about everything except the simple joy of being with Everand again.
His joy was a palpable thing between them, like a sweet drop of candy rolling on his tongue.
Even after Everand broke off the kiss, he continued to hold Hugo’s face, brushing their lips together and rubbing the tip of his nose against Hugo’s. He was a cat who couldn’t get enough affection. “I’m going to say something dreadfully embarrassing. I hope you won’t think less of me.”
“Doubtful. What is it?” Hugo pressed a kiss to the corner of Ev’s mouth, not wanting this moment to end.
“I missed you. Even though it was only a few days, I missed you.”
Those simple words gave Hugo’s heart wings. He felt as if he could fly around the room. “I missed you too.”
Everand hummed happily. “Then we need to make the most of our time together. You’re not allowed to leave my side for the next couple of days.
We’re going to get you ready for the ball in grand fashion.
We’ll go riding, and I’ll have our chefs stuff you with the best food you’ve ever tasted.
At the ball, we’ll have a wonderful time.
We’ll dance and sip champagne. Everyone will marvel at the handsome man at my side. ”
But the prince’s elaborate plans became buzzing in Hugo’s ears. Hugo had gotten caught on his first sentence.
…make the most of our time together.
This was all temporary. It was clear the queen saw that his value was in a magical skill he didn’t actually possess. If he was going to be worthy of a prince, he had to prove himself. And the first step was telling the truth.
“Wait, no. We can’t.” Hugo pulled free of Everand and rolled out of the bed. He couldn’t have this conversation wrapped in silk pajamas and seated in the world’s most comfortable bed. Not when Everand was looking at him like he’d hung the moon in the sky. Everand trusted him.
He spotted a robe neatly folded on the bureau and pulled it on. Only after he’d tied the sash with trembling hands could he face the prince. Everand had climbed off the mattress and was leaning against one of the canopy posts, his left arm loosely draped on it.
“What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to spend time together. Even better if we’re not running for our lives.”
“I do. Gods, I do,” Hugo half moaned. He wanted nothing more than to live in a perfect daydream with Everand for a day or two. “But I need to speak with your mother. Can you get me an audience with her? She refused to see me earlier. Please help me.”
Everand’s smooth brow wrinkled, and he huffed out a laugh that sounded awkward. “If you’re planning to ask for my hand in marriage, that conversation is usually held with my father. Not my mother.”
“Please, Ev! I’m serious,” he snapped. His voice cracked, and his hands shook so badly that he had to squeeze them into fists.
The prince closed the distance between them in a flash and grasped Hugo’s hands, which now felt like blocks of ice. “Hugo, you’re scaring me. Talk to me. What’s wrong?” As he spoke, he ushered Hugo over to a chair.
Hugo swallowed hard. “I can’t sit. I’m too nervous. You sit. It’s important for me to explain everything. Why we met. I’m just terrified that you’re going to hate me.”
Everand’s expression softened. He took the seat but held on to Hugo’s hands, squeezing them gently. “Nothing you could do would make me hate you. I don’t believe it.”
“You trust me, but I’ve lied. To you. Your mother. I’m not who you think I am. Or who your mother thinks I am. And after I tell her the truth, she could have me executed. At the very least, she’ll never allow me to see you again. Not that you’d want to see me.”
“Hugo, my heart, you’re not making any sense,” Everand said gently.
The endearment was the bit Hugo needed to spit out what was gnawing him hollow. “I can’t spin straw into gold.”
Everand sat perfectly still for a heartbeat as a myriad of emotions flashed across his face. Hugo couldn’t identify most of them, but he seemed to settle on incredulous.
“Who would ever think you could? That’s nonsense,” he scoffed.
“Your mother.”
“What?”
Hugo dragged in a deep, fortifying breath and pulled free of Everand’s grasp so he could start pacing.
“At the Winthrop ball weeks ago, Lady Hawthorne overheard my mother making outlandish claims that I could spin straw into gold. No one believed her because it was so impossible, but Lady Hawthorne carried the story back to the queen. The day before we first met—at the luncheon—she summoned my mother and me to the palace. Rather than admit that she exaggerated at the ball, my mother…lied to the queen.” Hugo swallowed hard and forced the words out of his mouth.
“I had no choice. To protect my mother, I told the queen that I had told my mother I had such a skill. The queen demanded I prove it.”
“I don’t understand. How did you prove it? Did you confess the truth to her?”
Hugo shook his head. “She locked me in a room with straw and a spinning wheel. Just as I was contemplating throwing myself out the window—rather than having my head chopped off—a strange man appeared and agreed to spin the straw into gold for me. The next day, gold replaced the straw, and the queen was happy. I thought that would be the end of it. Especially after our fateful first meeting.”
Everand flashed him a weak smile. “I was sure you were another of my mother’s horrible attempts at matchmaking. If I could get you to hate me, you’d never return.”
“You were my reward for spinning the straw into gold.” Hugo rocked his head from side to side and corrected himself.
“Well, that and being allowed to live.” But the amusement that flitted through Hugo withered quickly.
“However, when the rewards were delivered to my house for saving you…” Hugo paused to give the prince a stern look.
“You did save me, but continue.”
“I also received an invitation to the ball from the queen that instructed me to arrive days in advance. I had a dark feeling she’d require me to spin more straw into gold, but I thought I would have the chance to talk to her upon arriving.
My plan had been to confess immediately and beg for mercy.
But I was taken directly to a room filled with straw and a spinning wheel.
There was no chance to talk to your mother.
Once again, the stranger appeared and handled the task for me.
” Hugo held up one finger. “As an aside, I do not know if you are aware of this strange man wandering about the palace. He seems harmless enough, but he’s always wearing a mask and ragged clothes.
You might want to speak to the captain of the royal guards about him.
I don’t want him hurt because he’s been very nice to me, but I don’t want you hurt either. ”
Everand grinned and rose from the chair. He grasped Hugo’s tense shoulders and squeezed. “I know the person you speak of, and he is an odd friend of the family.”
Hugo exhaled. That was a relief at least. “I need to tell your mother the truth. I can’t spin straw into gold. Maybe she won’t kill me, but there’s no way she’ll ever allow me to see you. I’m no one, Everand. Certainly not worthy of a prince’s notice. I—”
His trembling words were cut off as Everand’s mouth crashed into his, stealing away all his voice.
Hugo wrapped his arms around him and kissed him with everything he had, afraid that it might be their last kiss.
He wanted to memorize everything about it, burn it into his brain so deeply that it became part of him for the rest of his days.
The velvety feel of his lips. The rich taste of his mouth.
The hauntingly crisp, woodsy scent that tickled his nose.
The crushing weight of his arms. They were all so perfectly Everand.
“I’m sorry,” Hugo whispered against Everand’s mouth. “So sorry I ever lied or misled you.”
“My treasure, stop, please. I can’t,” Everand begged between desperate kisses. “I can’t take it.”
“What? I don’t understand.” Hugo was so confused.
Everand was kissing him and begging him so sweetly to stop, but he didn’t understand anything.
Why wasn’t the prince mad at him? Hadn’t he deceived him just so they could meet?
He wasn’t any better than the other frauds who would do anything to get close to him.
Everand pulled away and held his face in both hands, swiping away stray tears with his thumbs.
He smiled at Hugo so warmly; it made Hugo’s heart ache.
“Yes, you lied, but you only did it to save your mother’s life, putting your own at risk.
That’s bigger than a silly little lie. Far more forgivable than some of the nonsense other people have said in this castle.
You have nothing to apologize for, and if you continue to be so amazing, I’ll have to do something insane like beg you to marry me. ”
Hugo shook with a soundless laugh. He couldn’t force any noise past the lump that had formed in his throat. It took him a moment to clear it before he could finally speak. “You’re ridiculous. Your mother would definitely have me executed.”
“I wouldn’t allow it. I’d stop her. And if I couldn’t, I’d kidnap you and run off to live out in the wild with you as my husband. We’d raise rabbits and have a garden where I complain about our rabbits stealing the carrots.”
“That’s nonsense,” Hugo chided, but he still laughed, feeling lighter for telling him the truth.
“It is, and it isn’t. I’ll do anything to keep you, Hugo Baker. You make me happier than I’ve ever been, and I’m not about to let that go.”
Hugo wrapped his arms around Everand’s waist, pulling him in close. “Then don’t. However, I must talk to your mother. My conscience won’t let me continue living this charade.”
“Let me talk to her first. Soften her up. Get her to see reason. She has to know she forced you into this corner. I’ll fix this.”
A frown tugged at the corners of Hugo’s mouth.
He didn’t want Everand to be involved with this.
It was his problem, but he could see the wisdom in it.
Everand probably knew the right words to say to get his mother to relent.
A few good words from him might also help get her to consider Hugo as a true suitor for her son.
“Very well,” Hugo mumbled.
“Good. Now, let’s get you undressed and into the bath.”