Chapter 330 - Rich rich

Chapter 330: Chapter 330 - Rich rich

Eric sat beneath the canopy with his fan resting forgotten across his lap, biting lightly at his lower lip as he stared toward the distant forest.

The betting had seemed like an excellent idea earlier.

Now, after sitting there long enough to actually think about how much money he had thrown onto Ryan’s name, he was beginning to question his intelligence.

He should have asked questions first.

Basic questions.

Has my husband ever won this thing before? Is he actually good at hunting? Does he know how to shoot something smaller than an enemy soldier?

Instead, Ryan had looked handsome on a horse, smiled at him once, and Eric had apparently decided that was enough evidence to gamble an entire sack of coins.

He popped another grape into his mouth and chewed irritably.

Beauty really was dangerous.

A sudden blast from the hunting horn rolled across the grounds.

Eric immediately straightened.

Around him, conversation stopped. The women lowered their fans and embroidery hoops while servants moved toward the edge of the field. The long, deep sound of the horn came again, signaling the end of the first hunt.

"They’re returning," someone said.

Eric was already looking.

The first riders emerged from between the trees a few minutes later. Horses walked slowly beneath the weight of tired riders, and servants hurried forward to collect their catches. One nobleman returned with two deer, their bodies tied securely for transport, and was greeted by enthusiastic cheers from his family.

Another hunter brought back a large boar.

Then came pheasants, foxes, rabbits and several more deer.

Eric’s attention moved impatiently from one rider to the next.

No Ryan.

He reached for another grape.

More riders appeared.

Still no Ryan.

Eric chewed harder.

Where is that husband of mine?

He had put money on the bastard. The least Ryan could do was have the decency to appear before Eric developed an ulcer.

Then the crowd suddenly grew louder.

Eric looked up.

A group of imperial guards emerged first, followed closely by the Crown Prince. The prince sat proudly atop his horse, his hunting clothes slightly disheveled but his expression bright with satisfaction.

Behind him, several attendants were struggling to transport an enormous mountain lion.

Eric stopped chewing.

The animal was huge.

Even dead, it looked terrifying. Its tawny body was stretched across a wooden frame carried between several men, its heavy paws hanging over the sides while the crowd broke into impressed cheers.

The Crown Prince dismounted to congratulations from all directions.

"His Highness brought down a mountain lion!"

"An excellent hunt!"

"His Highness may take first place again this year."

The Crown Prince accepted the praise with an easy smile while one of the officials moved forward to inspect the kill.

Eric stared at the mountain lion.

Then slowly looked toward the empty forest behind him.

Well, suck it.

His shoulders sank.

There was no way Ryan was beating that.

What was the man going to bring back? A slightly larger deer?

Eric slumped deeper into his chair.

He could practically feel his money growing wings and flying away.

He should never have gambled.

This was why responsible people investigated things before throwing money around. He had allowed himself to be distracted by broad shoulders and one tiny smile, and now he was going to suffer financially for it.

A soft voice came from beside him.

"His Highness is quite impressive, isn’t he?"

Eric turned his head.

One of the women who had warned him earlier was smiling behind her fan.

There was far too much satisfaction in that smile.

Eric narrowed his eyes.

Another woman joined in. "The Crown Prince has always been an excellent hunter. A mountain lion is very difficult to bring down."

"Indeed. It seems he may win this round."

Someone farther down sighed sympathetically. "What a shame. His Highness placed so much on General Ryan."

Eric knew exactly what they were doing.

They weren’t openly mocking him, of course. Noblewomen were apparently too refined for that. Instead, they wrapped mockery in pretty words, covered it with a smile, and served it with tea.

Eric hated to admit he respected the technique.

He picked up another grape.

"The competition isn’t over yet."

"Of course not."

That answer was far too sweet.

Eric ate the grape and looked away.

Laugh while you can.

Unfortunately, his confidence was mostly for show.

Where the hell was Ryan?

More riders returned, and each one made Eric’s hope shrink a little further. Most of the participants were already back. Servants had begun arranging the catches while officials walked between them to record the results.

Still no familiar dark horse.

Eric sighed and sank farther into the cushions.

Maybe Ryan had gotten lost.

No, ridiculous. The man probably knew forests better than Eric knew his own bedroom.

Maybe he had decided to stay behind and hunt until someone physically dragged him back.

Or perhaps—

Eric stopped himself.

No.

He was not going to start imagining accidents.

Ryan was a general who had survived years of war. A forest full of animals was hardly going to kill him.

Still, Eric found himself staring toward the trees again.

The grapes no longer tasted quite as sweet.

Then a murmur moved through the crowd.

At first Eric ignored it, assuming another noble had returned with something moderately impressive. But the murmuring quickly grew louder. People began standing. Even several officials near the judging area abandoned what they were doing and looked toward the forest.

Eric frowned.

"What now?"

Someone beside him stood for a better look.

Eric followed her gaze.

A dark horse emerged from between the trees.

His heart immediately lifted.

Ryan.

Then Eric saw the blood.

For one terrible second, everything else vanished.

There was blood across Ryan’s face, his neck, his arms and the front of his hunting clothes. So much of it that Eric couldn’t immediately tell where it had come from. Even the side of his horse was stained.

Eric’s stomach dropped.

Did something happen to him?

He was on his feet before the thought had even finished.

The fan fell from his lap onto the grass.

Eric didn’t notice.

He gathered the front of his robes and hurried down from beneath the canopy, ignoring someone calling after him. His heart was pounding unpleasantly as he crossed the field.

"Ryan!"

The man looked up.

Only when Eric drew closer did he finally notice what Ryan’s horse was dragging behind it.

His steps slowed.

A massive bear lay on the ground.

No.

Massive wasn’t even the right word.

The thing was enormous.

Its dark body dragged heavily across the grass, leaving a flattened trail behind it, and one of its paws looked nearly as large as Eric’s head. Several broken arrows protruded from its hide, while the amount of blood covering Ryan suddenly made much more sense.

Eric stared.

The crowd behind him erupted.

"A bear!"

"He brought down a bear!"

"General Ryan hunted it alone?"

Even the officials looked startled as they rushed forward to examine the animal. Several servants were needed just to move it away from the horse.

Eric’s fear vanished so quickly that his knees almost felt weak from the change.

Ryan wasn’t hurt.

The blood wasn’t his.

And that enormous bastard of a bear was definitely bigger than a mountain lion.

Eric slowly looked up.

Ryan was already looking at him.

For a moment, the general seemed to freeze. Whatever cold, unreadable expression he had worn while entering the camp softened the instant their eyes met.

Then Ryan smiled.

A real smile this time.

Small, but unmistakable.

Eric stared back at him.

Then his eyes moved toward the bear.

Back to Ryan.

Toward the Crown Prince’s mountain lion.

Then back to the bear.

His lips slowly stretched into a grin.

I won.

The realization hit him with such force that every ounce of concern disappeared beneath pure, shameless joy.

"I WON!"

Eric spun around toward the canopy.

The women who had been subtly consoling him only moments earlier had gone suspiciously quiet.

Eric’s grin became unbearable.

Oh, this was beautiful.

He turned back and practically rushed the remaining distance toward Ryan.

"My wonderful husband!"

Ryan had barely gotten one foot out of the stirrup when Eric reached him.

The general caught him automatically as Eric threw his arms around him, one strong arm circling his waist to steady him.

Eric didn’t care that Ryan was covered in blood.

He didn’t care that half the hunting grounds were watching.

His money was alive.

Better than alive.

His money had killed a bear.

"You did it!" Eric laughed, squeezing him tighter. "I knew you could do it."

Ryan looked down at the man clinging to him, visibly caught off guard by the enthusiastic welcome.

"You knew?"

"Of course."

There was absolutely no reason for Ryan to know that ten minutes ago Eric had been mourning his terrible financial decisions.

Eric pulled back just enough to beam up at him.

"I never doubted you."

From somewhere behind them came a very delicate cough.

Eric ignored it.

Ryan’s expression softened further. There was something almost tender in the way he looked at him, and his hand remained firmly around Eric’s waist.

Eric was too busy mentally counting his winnings to notice.

Rich.

He was going to be rich.

Well, richer.

Technically it had been Ryan’s money in the first place, but that was an unnecessary detail.

His husband had defeated a bear for him.

Perhaps marriage really was wonderful.