"Sharon Green - [ebel 01 - Rebel" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Sharon)

to change that state of affairs. He had the rest of the ride to his fatherтАЩs palace to think about the problem
and come up with a plan of action, which he certainly would do. And he would, he promised himself as
he stared at a very straight back in a red jacket, he would!

Chapter Three
Mayne waited only long enough to make sure that Adair was being taken care of by the palace servants,
and then he went looking for his father. King Rodick was working in the large study with secretaries
doing work at their own desks not far from the kingтАЩs larger desk, but the kingтАЩs work didnтАЩt continue
past MayneтАЩs appearance. The king glanced up, saw Mayne, then put down his writing instrument and
rose to his feet. Five minutes later they were in a small and private meeting room, with the door firmly
closed behind them.
тАЬIs she here?тАЭ King Rodick asked as soon as they were alone. тАЬWhat was the problem?тАЭ
тАЬSheтАЩs here, but I think the problem is more complicated than I believed in the beginning,тАЭ Mayne said
with a shake of his head. тАЬIтАЩll tell you what happened, Father, and then you can tell me what you think.тАЭ
Mayne joined his father in sitting down, and then he began the story. He left out nothing, and by the time
heтАЩd finished, the king was shaking his head.
тАЬSometimes I hate having this throne,тАЭ MayneтАЩs father muttered with a sigh. тАЬIf I donтАЩt keep my eyes
wide open all the time, I run the risk of suddenly finding a knife in my back. It does look like Duke Elden
has his own agenda, but at the moment I have no idea what his plans might be. Do you?тАЭ
тАЬAll I can get out of what happened is that Duke Elden wanted to make sure I signed the marriage
contract,тАЭ Mayne said, pulling the contract out of his coatтАЩs inner pocket and handing it to his father. тАЬI
read the thing carefully before I signed it, of course, and itтАЩs nothing but your ordinary, standard marriage
contract.тАЭ
тАЬWhich the girl Adair knows nothing about,тАЭ King Rodick said as he took the papers. тАЬIs she really likely
to make much of a fuss when she finds out that she wonтАЩt be leaving the way she expects to?тАЭ
тАЬтАЩFussтАЩ isnтАЩt quite the proper word, Father,тАЭ Mayne answered with a wry smile. тАЬExplosion, raging
attack, screaming murder attemptsтАж Any of that would be much more accurate, IтАЩd think.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩre worried about what a slip of a girl will say and do?тАЭ his father asked, faint amusement behind the
curve of his lips. тАЬA man who canтАЩt handle his own wife also canтАЩt aspire to running a kingdom.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm sure you know IтАЩm not worried about being able to handle my wife, Father,тАЭ Mayne returned,
sharing his fatherтАЩs amusement. тАЬBut being able to handle her isnтАЩt the same as getting along with her, not
by a long shot. I have a feeling that Adair is the kind of woman whoтАЩll keep me on my toes no matter
what I end up doing in this life, even if I end up in the street as a beggar.тАЭ
тАЬBut right now sheтАЩs not even admitting that youтАЩre alive,тАЭ his father pointed out with even more
amusement. тАЬHow do you intend to change that stance?тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩve gotten an idea or two, and if those donтАЩt work I just may end up seducing her,тАЭ Mayne answered
with a small laugh. тАЬGetting her into bed might not make her talk to me, but the silence will become a lot
more тАж pleasant.тАЭ
тАЬAt least for the rest of this week,тАЭ his father pointed out as he got to his feet. тАЬI expect you to see that
there isnтАЩt an тАж explosion at the end of that time. The other young ladies have been arriving all day,
which means theyтАЩll all be here by dinnertime. DonтАЩt give your Adair so much attention that you forget
about the other girls. I want this nonsense about choosing to go on as long as possible.тАЭ
тАЬOf course, Father,тАЭ Mayne agreed as he also stood up. тАЬIf youтАЩll excuse me now, IтАЩll go and freshen up
from the trip.тАЭ
тАЬKeep in mind that your brothers donтАЩt yet know about this signed marriage contract,тАЭ the king said,
gesturing with the papers he held. тАЬThe contracts werenтАЩt supposed to be signed until the end of the
week, after all, but I canтАЩt help feeling that I would have done just as you did about signing early. IтАЩll put
this away in a safe place, and then weтАЩll both forget about it.тАЭ
Forget, yes, but only until the end of the week, Mayne thought as he simply agreed with his fatherтАЩs
orders. After this week I wonтАЩt be the only one who remembersтАж