Madelaine sighed. “Thank you for being honest.”
“You’re welcome. Anything else?”
She didn’t particularly want to address the “anything else,” but they couldn’t ignore it. “So now you know for certain neither my father or I were plotting to kill anyone, yet my father stealing the king’s list remains a fact. And it remains a fact that I tried to help him.”
Grey set the tray on the table beside her bed. “The king knows nothing of your part.”
She frowned. “Are you not sworn to tell him?”
Grey nodded. “I am. And I vowed to put him above all else and everyone else as long as I served him as a spy, which is why I can no longer serve him.”
“What?”
He took her hands in his. “When you’re well enough, we’ll make our way to Windsor and marry, if you’ll have me?”
She wanted to nod, but what was his condition? “What is the sacrifice?”
“Sacrifice?” His brow wrinkled as if she spoke in a foreign tongue.
She glared at him. “Don’t act as if you don’t know what I’m speaking of. At what price will our marriage take place?”
He squeezed her hand. “A price I am more than glad to pay.”
She averted her gaze to their intertwined hands, suddenly fearful of what he was going to do. Something was missing. “Where is your ring?”
“I no longer wear it.” He held her gaze without blinking.
“You would turn against your vow for me?” Her body shook with her question.
“I already have.” Passion laced his words. “I love you. You mean more to me than my honor or my life.”
“Grey.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. “I cannot allow that. We’ll tell the king what I’ve done and beg his mercy for myself and my father. It can be no other way.”
He shook his head. “I’ve already told the king you had no knowledge of what your father did. And I told my brother the same thing. I swore you were innocent. If you say otherwise now, you risk my life for lying to the king.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You’ve trapped me.”
“Yes.” He did not look the least bit ashamed or repentant. He cupped her face. “I had to. I’m sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry. “I love you, and I couldn’t risk your demanding to save my honor by risking your own neck.”
Warm tears slid down her face. No one, not even her father, had ever put her first above all else. She loved Grey with a fierceness that scared her. “What will you do if you’re no longer a spy?”
He kissed her on the head and then rose. “Perhaps I’ll really try my hand at being anequerry. Or maybe I’ll just spend the rest of my life making sure you’re happy.”
“Won’t you miss serving the king?”
“I will.” His tone was grave. “But how can I serve him when I’ve broken my vow to put his concerns above all else?”
She twisted her hands together at the look of sorrow on Grey’s face. “You did it for me. You won’t break your vow again. I know you won’t. You’re the most honorable man I know.”
“My sweet, Madelaine.” Grey brushed a hand against her cheek. “I would break my vow again if it meant saving you. And if we are blessed with children, I would break my vow to protect them first as well. No. I can no longer trust myself to keep the vow I gave.”
She rose up to her knees, her head spinning with the sudden movement. Grey caught her behind her waist and held her against him. Her fingers curled into his side. “Your father surely felt the same way. Surely, he put you and your brother, sister and mother before the king.”
Grey’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know. I don’t know if he ever had to make a choice between us and the king.”
Desperate to make things right for him, Madelaine’s words came out in a rush. “I want to marry you, but I vow I won’t unless you promise me you’ll speak with your brother before you tell the king you no longer wish to be a spy. You don’t have to tell your brother about what I’ve done, though I wish you would. Simply ask him if your father ever had to make hard choices, learn what your father did and then decide your path.”
After a moment, Grey nodded. “All right. Once we get to Windsor, I’ll speak with my brother. Now rest, if you feel up to it we’ll travel back tomorrow. I don’t want to delay any longer.AndI’ve an idea for how we can perhaps convince the king to be lenient toward your father.”
