““I don’t know how these matters are supposed to go,” she said finally, in the dark. “I was raised amid mountains and the Milky Way. But it seems to me that if a lady tells a gentleman she is in love with him, even if she’s actually just a serf, he ought to either reciprocate the emotion or else leave the room.” “Oh? Is there not a third option? Perhaps, say, a thorough ravishment instead?” “That is hardly gentlemanly. And I don’t think you should call me Princess any longer, either. I’ll be a countess, I suppose.” “No, beloved. Remember? A king.” “I’ll settle for queen.””
