Fated Eclipse: The Illegitimate Princess And Her Alpha Suitors

Chapter 414: A Partnership of Equals

Lyria’s POV

I tilted my head, considering him.

”I-I confess, Your Grace, I did not think to e-establish terms.”

He regarded me for a moment.

”No. I rather suspected you had not.”

There was a faint amusement in his expression, though it gave way soon enough to something more considered.

”This is proving rather more difficult than I had anticipated. I believe we must alter the terms of our arrangement.”

My eyes widened at that.

”S-surely y-you jest.”

”I do not.” He held up a hand before I could speak further. ”And you need not be alarmed, Your Highness. I shall still teach you, precisely as you requested. That part remains entirely unchanged. But I cannot very well permit an arrangement in which you are the sole recipient of whatever I have to offer.”

I stared at him.

”That would render the relationship rather unbalanced,” he continued. ”You would learn from me, draw upon my experience, seek my counsel, and benefit from my assistance, whilst I received nothing whatsoever in return. It would place you in my debt when you ought not to be. If anything, I should rather be the one indebted.”

”I-I did not mean—”

”I know. And that is precisely why I asked for terms.”

He leaned forward slightly in his chair.

”If we are to call this an arrangement between us, then it ought to benefit us both. And, as you have just presented me with an opportunity to acquire something I have long wished to obtain, I should be rather a fool not to take proper advantage of it.”

I narrowed my eyes.

”A-and what m-might that be, p-precisely?”

”You could teach me also,” he said immediately.

”A-and what could I p-possibly teach a m-man of y-your standing?”

”Drawing,” he said. ”And painting, perhaps.”

The suggestion sounded like jest, and yet his expression was entirely serious.

”You are an accomplished artist, Your Highness.”

”I-I am not certain I w-would go so far a-as to—”

”I would.”

I fell silent at once.

”And, as it happens, I am in possession of one of your works.” He paused. ”Though I confess I have no intention of returning it.”

I stared at him as I turned the information over, trying to determine precisely when that could have occurred and which piece he might mean.

Duke Valenridge spoke, drawing me back from my thoughts.

”You need not trouble yourself over which drawing it is. As I have said, I have no intention of returning it regardless. You would do better to attend to the matter presently before us rather than concerning yourself with which particular piece of paper I happen to be in possession of.”

”Your G-Grace,” I said, with as much composure as I could manage. ”W-what you propose is h-hardly a skill b-befitting a m-man of your s-standing.”

”That is precisely why it may prove useful,” he replied. ”I have no particular ambition to become an artist of any consequence. I merely wish to be able to produce something sufficiently worth giving to another person.”

He paused briefly.

”And besides, is drawing not another means of preserving a memory?”

I grew quiet at that.

It was true. Some moments existed only in the brief window before they faded, and a sketch, however simply rendered, could hold what words could not. Even a discarded piece of paper carried something of the moment that had produced it.

”If t-that is truly w-what you wish,” I said at last, ”then I s-shall teach you.”

His expression brightened.

”Excellent.”

”Though I c-cannot promise you s-shall be particularly g-good at it.”

He waved a hand, unconcerned.

”I require only that whatever I produce be a considerable improvement upon the dreadful figures I am presently capable of.”

I nodded slowly.

”I m-must be honest w-with you, however, Your G-Grace. This s-shall depend entirely upon whether y-you prove to be a good s-student.”

I paused, allowing that to settle, before adding,

”After all, y-you do have a r-rather notable history of r-running away from your l-lessons.”

For a moment, he looked genuinely startled then a laugh escaped him.

”You are using my own words against me.”

”I am m-merely s-stating facts,” I said, though I could not entirely prevent my lips from tilting upward as I said it.

He laughed again, shaking his head.

”I believe I shall have to reconsider your title. Curious wolf no longer quite suffices. Devious wolf, I think, is considerably more accurate.”

I only smiled in response.

For a moment after that, the chamber was quiet in a way that was not uncomfortable.

Duke Valenridge rested his hands upon the arms of his chair and regarded me with an expression that had grown more serious without losing its ease.

”There is one final matter concerning our arrangement,” he said.

I nodded.

”You said you wished me to teach you to be strong. Very well. I shall endeavour to do so. But there shall be no master and servant between us within the terms of this partnership. If we are to call it a partnership at all, then neither of us shall place himself above the other within it. We are partners. Nothing more and nothing less.”

I considered that.

”I q-quite like that.”

”Furthermore,” he continued after nodding in agreement,”if you encounter a difficulty, you are to bring it to me if you so wish. If you find yourself uncertain, you are to seek counsel rather than permitting indecision to consume time you cannot afford to lose. Do not waste even a moment simply because you are reluctant to impose upon me.”

”And you must show me what you learn.”

”I w-will,” I said.

He shook his head.

”You misunderstand me. I do not mean that you are to recite my lessons back at me as a pupil repeating something from a book. I do not intend to teach you merely through words.”

He continued without pause.

”Observe the court. Observe the people within it. Observe how they enter a room and whom they approach first, whom they avoid, where their gaze travels when a particular name is spoken aloud. Listen not only to what is said, but to what is deliberately left unsaid.”

”Observe your enemies in the same manner. You are observant by nature, Your Highness. That is a considerable advantage, and it is one you have not yet learned to use to its full capacity. Observation is of little use if one does not know how to interpret what one sees.”