Bet him to bed the girl he talked to

Being away from the palace and the duties of the crown are giving Stewart a sesnse of fun and adventure that he has not felt for a while. He considers his brother’s wager and says, “Alright, I’ll make a bet with you.” He gestures toward the two young women who had just rejected Duncan’s advances.

Duncan looks at the ladies and replies, “Seriously? Out of all the women here for the Festival, you have to pick the only two who hate all life forms born with a penis?”

“So you’re not quite as sure of your seductive charms as you think, are you?” replies the king. “Because they are the first women who haven’t fallen for your lines since you were fifteen, you write them off as man haters. In truth, if you showed even a smidgen of tact and treat them with respect, I believe you would find them to be delightful company.”

“Says the man who has to sneak a Ciguapa into his chambers just to be able to get any,” Duncan says with a scoff.

Stewart bristles. “That’s hardly true! I have feelings for Chantelle. I know the prospect of being satisfied with one woman is totally alien to you, but when a man and woman can look each other in the eye as equals, you’ll find that you don’t have to run after every available skirt.”

Duncan’s eyes remain on the two young ladies as they stop at a merchant’s stand and view some scarves. He appears to be deep in thought about them, even as he responds to his brother.

“You act as if I dehumanize my lovers in some manner, Stewart. The fact is that I am quite intentional about looking them in eyes. As I like to say, ‘When everything’s in its proper place, man and woman come face-to-face.’” He rubs his chin, thoughtfully. “So you’re saying you have been monogamous with Chantelle and not at all tempted by the sumptuous female flesh that palace life offers?”

Stewart is about to indignantly respond in the affirmative, when he suddenly remembers the recent one-night-stand on the evening of his ascension to the throne. What was that chambermaid’s name again? Letty? Linda? Lisa? Stewart is chagrined that she has so quickly become nothing more than a brief and pleasant distant memory.

Duncan looks at his brother and can read the expression on his face. He smiles in triumph and says, “I thought so! I know you too well to believe that you have so quickly lost your taste for feminine smorgasbord! Tell you what.... I’ll take your bet, but I’ll up the ante. Let’s both try our best with the ladies. Whichever of us scores first has to be the servant of the other for the rest of this charade. Instead of going undercover as two brothers, one of us can be a middle-class merchant, traveling with a servant. That will allow us to stay in more comfortable surroundings, anyway.”

Stewart looks doubtful. “I don’t know, Duncan....”

Duncan continues. “Not so sure of yourself now, are you? Tell you what... I’ll even let you pick which girl you want to try your charms on. What do you say?”