After taking a sip of water, she explained how she’d returned to Ellington in order to speak with her father before facing the king. “I was only home for a few days when the princes arrived to escort me to the king’s castle. Once there, I handed over the box. But when King Eldon opened it, the letters were gone.”

Henrick paused mid-bite. “Gone?”

She nodded. “I think Ackley may have taken them.”

“Ackley?” Dexter asked, his sharp gaze snapping to her. “You mean Prince Ackley?”

Reid mentally kicked herself for speaking so informally.

Henrick rubbed his forehead. “I need to think about this.”

“The king sequestered me to my room,” Reid continued. “Two weeks later, he summoned me to the throne room. There, he told me I was to marry Dexter. My father agreed to the king’s request in exchange for a pardon and his deed. King Eldon then ordered me to spy on you and to find the missing letters.”

“Which is interesting because your father had already sent me a letter inquiring about a union between you and my son long before the king did.”

“Really?” Reid recalled seeing her father send out a rider the same night the princes had arrived to return her to the king’s castle. Was that when her father sent a letter to Henrick about opening marriage negotiations?

“I offered my son in marriage to a daughter of any of Marsden’s dukes to show I had no intention of going to war with northern Marsden. Your father accepted my proposal. Only, he didn’t want you to marry Dexter and live in Ellington. He insisted you come to Axian where you would be safe and out of the king’s clutches.”

Dexter set his fork down. “Are you more than a spy for the king?”

Although she felt her face warm at his implication, Reid glared at him. “No, of course not. My virtue is still intact.” Grabbing her goblet, she took a sip of water, trying to regain her composure. “Did no one else accept your offer?”

“Actually, several of the dukes agreed.”

“Then why did you choose me?” What made her more enticing than the other ladies?

“Duke Ellington officially declared you his heir,” Henrick explained.

“Me?” Reid asked, incredulous. Why hadn’t her father chosen his eldest daughter?

“Nara and I spoke on the matter. We feel a union between you and Dexter is more advantageous.”

The opportunity presented itself, so Reid took it. “Then I assume Dexter is your heir?”

The room went unnaturally quiet.

“The law is simple,” Henrick stated. “The heir is the firstborn male.”