Maid For You 3

Chapter 63

His eyebrows rose as he took in the unusual scene—Nikolas and I on one side with Coleman and Marstella on the other, and Luke between us on the end.

"Um..." the boy started. "You, uh, you're Lucas Prescott, are you not?"

Luke blinked. "Me?" he asked.

"Yes, you," Prince Duarte said. "Look, my cousin, Calista, she wants to be sure she gets a dance with you. Won't you go in and dance with her?"

Luke swallowed anxiously, and peered back at the heated situation.

"You should go," I told him. "I think we're all out of things to say, anyways."

Luke blanched, and looked down at his feet. "Alright," he said. "Can you show me to her, Duarte?"

"Uh, yeah," the little Prince said, still surveying the scene with great curiosity before finally peeling his eyes away and walking with Luke into the ballroom.

What a mess, I thought. What a crazy, wild mess! What even came after this? Were Luke and I finished? Was I going to go to jail for assaulting Marstella?

I sighed. I didn't want to go back to the ball, but I was Calista's lady-in-waiting, was I not? Maybe I could tell her or someone that I felt ill and was retiring to my room. I was sure Coleman would do that for me, and then I could just leave.

However, Nikolas spoke for the first time since he had suggested I not leave my safe spot from the corner. Looking at Marstella and Coleman, he shook his head scornfully.

"What a pair you two make," he started. "You both require that Luke and Cassie, respectively, must be at your beckon call at any moment and that they must sacrifice any real relationships in their lives so that you can snap your fingers whenever you please and have them rushing to you. That is extremely selfish and irresponsible."

               "Excuse me," started Marstella. "But I fail to see how this is any of your business. I mean, I've never even talked to you before."

               "Lady Allegro," Nikolas said. "You've had several months to attempt to reconcile with poor Mr. Prescott, but you waited until he was in a relationship to try to lure him back him. This tells me that you do not really want him, but you do not want anyone else to have him. You clawed your way into nobility, but nobody respects your position—did you ever think that this wasn't because of the unfortunate circumstances of your birth, but because of your general disregard for others? I've looked into your unfortunate plight, and your father's irresponsibility towards you and your mother is indeed incorrigible, but perhaps you have more of your father in you than you care to admit."

               "I am nothing like that man!" Marstella snarled, her fists clenching. "You don't know anything."

"And yet you've both displayed the same selfish tendencies. But perhaps you did not merely inherit this trait from your father; I suppose you've learned how to be a Lady from your lover, because all these accusations and more reside in Coleman."

His eyes flashed to Coleman. "The two of you are nobility and thus the responsibility in these delicate matters of the heart fall to you. You are the ones that hold the status and power, but you abuse this in order to satisfy your own carnality with little care for what your victim feels. These people are your inferiors in rank and thus you should take extra care with them—you are not on equal playing fields."

               "You are out of place, Prince Nikolas," Coleman snapped. "I don't pretend that I'm your precious Virgin Mary, but I have never made promises to any of the women I've been with. I've never promised them a crown or—"

               "You do not have to promise them that! Even if you say that you will not grant them such things, the allure of the crown and your money circles you still. It is your job as their superior to understand this pull that you have. You must treat your inferiors with respect, but you do not. People are not your playthings!"

               "Oh, but you do treat them with such great respect?" Coleman guffawed. "Mr. Boundaries and Lines? You're obsessed with the separation of us from them!"

"I do believe that we are above the common servant, but that is not why I set lines. I set boundaries because I understand the magnetism of the crown.  I do not like to confuse my servants by playing the role of jovial friend or even lover in private only to turn around and reject them in public. You ignore such conventions and you sleep with whoever you like."

"Not everyone is like you, Nikolas! Many men have several partners!"

"But you are not an ordinary man. You are a prince and thus it is your duty to be better than the common man. 'Of whom much is given, much is required' but you have completely disregarded that. You take, take, take, but you do not give in return. You won't allow Cassie to make any advantageous connections—you force her to leave events early and you poison other noble men against her, but you won't court her yourself. You just want to keep her on your backburner permanently. If you truly cared about her, you wouldn't try to hold her back and keep her hidden. But you only think about yourself!

"As future rulers, we are served by the people as is their duty, but our duty is to respect and serve them in turn. Your father is a great King because he dedicates his time and wisdom to improving your country and thus improving the lives of his people. In contrast stands King Diego of New Spain, who destroyed years of dutiful work from his forefathers in order to lead a frivolous, selfish life. I see the same irresponsibility and selfishness in you, and it has always been my greatest issue with you. You waste your talents and abilities on bedding women that you hold no respect for. You toy with hearts expecting no consequences, but one day your actions will catch up to you if they haven't already."

"You are out of line!" Coleman boomed. "I could be better, I'll admit, but you've blown my faults out of proportion and have insinuated that I'll drive Aregano to the ground just as King Diego has. Might I remind you, Nikolas, that there is a long history of Kings who have sex with whomever they please without them driving their kingdoms into the ground."

"Maybe you will hurt your country, and maybe you will not. Perhaps you truly will manage to keep your attitude about your bedroom affairs separate from your ruling, but if you do not change your ways I have little doubt that you'll find out that your actions have consequences. Your blatant disrespect for the fairer sex will bite you one day." Nikolas then placed his hand on the small of my back. "Now, we will take our leave of you two." He then steered me away from the pair of them and lead me back into the ballroom.