"No, Sire,"—the General was speaking—"there is no mistake. Thou art thy father's son. I have this day kept my oath to him and given you your own without bloodshed."
"There is no mistake, Sire," said Marbosa. "We have seen the proofs in the Cathedral and we know."
"We know," said the Grand Dukes and the nobles.
I was overjoyed. If this were true, and there seemed no doubt of it, the future loomed bright for me. With Nicholas King in Bharbazonia, what had I to fear? To think that I had lived all these years with him without knowing. But how could I know when the General had kept the secret even from Nick? His father's plan in sending him to various countries to educate him had been to prepare him for this very day.
Nick walked down the steps and bade his two kneeling subjects rise. They gathered around him and explained everything until he was convinced of the truth. The Patriarch also entered the discussion, and I could see that he did not accept Nicholas as readily as had the army. Even with the army and the nobles on his side, his throne was not safe without the cooperation of the all-powerful Church.
"The Patriarch is urging him to deliver us into the hands of the church," whispered Solonika.
"He'll never do it," I replied confidently.
Whatever was the outcome of the conversation it was Nicholas that spoke to me.
"I trust, Dale, that you and—this woman will submit to arrest," he said with a dignity that was new, but which was rightly a part of his kingship.
"We will surrender to you, Sire," I replied.