Page 43 of Legacy of Glass
“I do hope you’re going to tell us how you managed to convince your illustrious parents, by the way,” he drawled. “I wouldn’t have thought they had it in them to accept a servant girl in the name of love.” One eyebrow quirked. “Didn’t think you had it in you either.”
“Watch it, Zane,” Cade growled, making Julius sigh. The last thing Cade needed was a brotherly tussle when he hadn’t even seen a doctor yet.
“It’s past time I got you to a doctor,” Julius said to Cade with a weighted look, firmly shutting down the other discussion. He glanced at Zane. “Are you coming?”
He hoped not—he would prefer to talk to Cade privately. But if Zane wanted to accompany his brother, he couldn’t deny him.
“I’m sure you have the matter well in hand,” Zane said with a nod. “Our family has always appreciated your favor to my baby brother.”
Cade bristled but subsided at a warning look from Julius. Even more than their ages, the difference in temperaments was exactly why he had always been closer to Cade than Zane. Zane was too interested in politics and his family’s honor, and he could never resist casting slights at his brother.
Zane gave a respectful nod before wandering off, sweeping Ashton along with him.
Julius turned to Cade with a wry grimace. “My apologies. You must be in pain and that all took far too long.”
Cade laughed. “And you’re making far too big a fuss about a minor scratch. How many times do I have to say I’m fine?”
Julius sighed. “I shouldn’t have been so careless. Even ascratchas you call it could become infected. I haven’t made such a mistake in two years.”
“No,” Cade agreed in a thoughtful tone. “You’re usually far too serious and responsible for that. Should I assume it’s the effect of your beautiful bride?”
Julius stiffened, but a moment later he relaxed and sighed again. Cade was the one person Julius could be open with, so the last thing he wanted to do was ice him out.
“I was angry with you at the start of our bout,” he said, “but given I skewered you, I’m not sure I can take the righteous high ground anymore.”
“Angry at me?” Cade sounded genuinely confused. “Whatever for?” He took a step closer and lowered his voice. “What is going on, Julius? Who is Olivia?”
Julius didn’t answer, his eyes catching on a servant passing down one of the corridors bordering the courtyard. Cade followed his gaze, stepping forward to flag the footman down.
“We’re in need of a doctor for a minor matter.” He gestured at his arm with an easy grin. “Could you please fetch the royal physician to the prince’s sitting room?”
The footman glanced at Julius, waiting for his nodded confirmation before he bowed and hurried away.
Cade turned his grin on Julius. “Clearly you have a story to tell, and I don’t have the patience to wait on the doctor’s leisure before I hear it. We’ll let him come to us, and if it takes a bit longer, that will just give you time to confess all.”
Julius glanced uncertainly at Cade’s arm, and his friend rolled his eyes.
“If you say one more word about my deadly wound, I’ll draw my sword again and see how you like being stabbed.”
Julius laughed reluctantly and let Cade lead him to his private sitting room. It was probably better that they saw the doctor in private anyway. There were enough rumors about him currently circulating without adding talk of his doing violence to a nobleman of the court.
As soon as they were safely shut away from curious ears, Cade whirled on him. From the look on his face, he must have been working hard to restrain his rampant curiosity all morning.
“Why has Lady Marigold been sent off to visit relatives?” he asked before Julius could even take a seat. “What happened? Who is Lady Olivia? If the citizens of Sovar were surprised to discover your great and secret love for a commoner, you can only imagine how I felt! And while I hate to agree with Zane on anything, I would very much like to know how you convinced your parents to humor you on a matter of such significance.”
His expression dropped. “And why didn’t you tell me about her? I thought you trusted me. We even talked about it all before the ball, and you never mentioned Lady Olivia.”
Julius dropped into a chair and groaned, covering his face with a hand. “Actually, I did.”
“Impossible.” Cade seemed too animated to sit. “If you ever admitted something so shocking, I wouldn’t forget it in a hundred years. You never go against your duty.”
Julius wished for a moment that Cade had truly forgotten their earlier conversation. But it had only been a matter of days, and his friend wasn’t likely to forget such a tale.
“I never said her name because I didn’t know it,” he admitted with a sigh. “But I do recall mentioning she was very beautiful…”
He looked up at his friend, waiting for the moment of realization. He wasn’t disappointed.
Cade’s eyes widened, and he gave an involuntary crack of laughter before staring at Julius. “Not the girl from the hill? The one who stopped you walking straight off a cliff? The one who didn’t know who you were but probably thought you were lacking some or all of your mental faculties? But you said you weren’t in love with her!”
