"No, sire; I protest."
Adrian stood up, and the other perforce rose with him.
"You yourself said it," the boy stated, his chest heaving with passion. "Now, the test. I have the right; you know it. Do you govern me, or I you?"
"Sire—"
"You or I?"
Stanief looked very steadily into the blazing young eyes, himself colorless with the restraint forced upon his own emotions.
"I believed there were two promises given on the Nadeja, sire," he answered, never so quietly. "It seems that only one is to be remembered and that Baron Dalmorov wins. But I make no complaint; I suppose your last question was hardly serious."
"You consent?"
"I obey," he corrected pointedly.
At once victorious, and dominated by his kinsman's bearing, Adrian flung himself on the seat and motioned the other to the place beside him. But Stanief remained standing, choosing not to see the invitation, and there was a pause.