***
A week later Jason awoke to the sound of one of the king’s messengers banging on his door. Jason was informed that the king had summoned him to the palace. He had never previously been summoned to see the king before nine thirty in the morning. It was seven in the morning now. An emergency must have arisen. Alternatively, he could possibly have unintentionally done something to displease the king. He was ushered into the Chamber of Knights fifteen minutes later. The king was seated at the round table dressed only in a dressing gown. He was unshaven. He was engrossed in two documents on the table in front of him.
‘What have you done to my daughter?’ the king enquired without looking up. His tone was deep, almost menacing. It was not a side of the king Jason had experienced before. He felt more than a little anxious. He decided it would not be wise to feign complete ignorance.
‘Nothing at all, your majesty. Any activities likely to result in the raising of eyebrows ceased long before anything untoward occurred.’
It was unclear whether the king was pondering on Jason’s utterances or whether his focus had returned to the documents in front of him.
‘Of course they did,’ the king concurred without looking up. It was presumably his way of informing Jason that he was aware of what had transpired. A further silence prevailed.
‘I expect nothing less of my daughter,’ the king added eventually. Still, his eyes remained fixed on the documents in front of him. Jason wondered why the king had only singled out his daughter for laudable mention. After all, did not Jason the gentleman contribute appreciably to the restraint which had eventually prevailed?
‘And I expect nothing less from you.’ There was another long dramatic pause during which the king persisted in his avoidance of any eye contact. The king mumbled something under his breath. It sounded something like ‘My future son in law.’
‘Pardon me your majesty?’ Jason remembered the last time he had been referred to similarly by one of the Garibaldis only to realise that Ruan had been pulling his leg. Jason’s confusion increased as he reminded himself that the king did not share his son’s wicked sense of humour.
‘You heard me,’ the king said in a matter of fact tone. This did nothing to clarify the situation as Jason remained uncertain as to whether he had heard the king correctly in the first place. This time the king glanced up at Jason and glared at him over his spectacles for a moment before he continued with what he was doing.
‘I’m not sure I …’ Jason was lost for words.
‘You do not love my daughter?’ the king’s tone was a curious mixture of surprise and impatience?
‘Yes, your majesty. I think I fell in love the first moment I saw her.’
‘Then why do you not know if you want to marry her?’
‘I would marry her at the drop of a hat, majesty. I am not sure she feels the same way.’
‘I saw her this morning. I do not know what you did, but she feels the same way. You will forgive me for my impulsive intervention in this matter. In becoming involved I rely upon my royal prerogative as king to do so. I also rely upon the privileges and the indulgences afforded to those who do not have long to live. I have recently been told that I have only a few months to live. A year at the most. It’s my lungs,’ the king explained before returning to the original subject. ‘Ruan is a fine young man but he needs the guidance and judgment that someone like you can best provide. I suspected you were the right person for my daughter and for this kingdom on the first day I met you. I remember that you were uncertain about whether to become involved in the affairs of this kingdom. You seemed disinterested in the money I was offering. You only agreed to work with this palace after you saw Renate.’ He looked up and directly at Jason. ‘Am I wrong?’
‘No, your majesty is not wrong. Her presence that day was no coincidence, I presume?’ Jason enquired.
The king smiled at the question and then continued talking as if it had never been posed.
‘However, Renate is rather independent. She prefers not to listen to any advice from her father. So I said nothing to her at all about my impressions of you. If I had it might have been the kiss of death. So I had to exercise a little patience. Not an easy thing for a man like me. I am not known for my patience. Fortunately she both loves and trusts Ruan. After I arranged for you to be at the ball, you apparently met Ruan. Unsurprisingly Ruan took an immediate liking to you and when that happened I knew Ruan would influence her to reflect on you with fresh eyes. Ruan may not be ideally cut out to be king yet, but my son and I do have one thing in common. We are both excellent judges of character.’
The king seemed happier than Jason had ever seen him.
‘Well, don’t just stand there. What do you say?’
‘I say yes, your majesty.’
‘No. No. No. I’m the one who says yes or no. What do you say?’
‘Might I have your majesty’s leave to have the hand of your most gracious daughter in marriage?’
‘That is more like it. That is what you say,’ the king exclaimed in delight. He was beaming.
‘Your majesty?’
‘Now what?’
‘Your answer. You have yet to give it.’
‘Of course the answer is yes,’ the king stated. He rang the bell on the table loudly.
‘Fetch my daughter at once,’ he barked at a butler.
Jason studied Renate intently as she entered the Chamber of Knights. From the second Renate’s gaze connected with his he knew that nothing had changed since their last encounter. Her eyes lit up instantaneously. He kissed her on the cheek in the king’s presence. He felt for her hand. The surge returned as their connected. The king excused himself to provide Jason with an opportunity to update Renate.
‘I hope you are not going to be displeased. I asked your father for your hand in marriage. I know this is all sudden, impulsive and strange. But I did it anyway.’
‘Displeased? I am delighted! I only hope that you do not consider that my father cornered you or anything.’
‘I feel a little shocked rather than cornered. This time last week I did not know how you felt about me. Now your father is planning a wedding. It is a lot to take in. That is all.’
Renate kissed Jason passionately.
‘I cannot wait to be with you,’ she whispered quietly in his ear.
Jason went down on one knee.
‘Will you marry me your royal highness?’
‘We are already engaged to be married. In Montuga it is up to the king to decide whether or not I get married and he has the power to consider my opinion or not. We had a discussion early this morning. I told him I knew I had found the man I want to marry.’
‘What did the king say?’
‘He glared at me and said: ‘Well it had better be Lord Cavendish if you want my consent.’ ’
Jason entered Ruan’s quarters later that morning to announce the news. Ruan sat up and considered the news for a moment. Then he got out of bed and embraced Jason affectionately.
‘Welcome to the family. You are both lucky. I am delighted for both of you. And I am pleased to have you in the family. I did warn you that it could happen.’
‘Perhaps you consider that my decision may have been hasty?’ Jason asked.
‘Your decision? I think you probably had your first royal family experience this morning. Get used to it. Your life is no longer all your own. Decisions of this nature are matters of state.’ Ruan laughed. ‘Your decision. How amusing. The last time you made one of those was probably immediately before the first time my father’s messenger arrived at your door with your first invitation to lunch at the palace.’
Jason tried to maintain a blank expression as he considered Ruan’s words. Of course he remembered the morning of the invitation. It was the day that he had decided to leave Montuga and to relocate his fleet, and the trade centre, to Naples. He must surely have made other decisions since then.