He smiled. “Happier, Clara. Know that. Helena was too innocent, and I too scarred for us to love each other as she—aswedeserved. But you…” He pulled her in close, his lips grazing her nose. “I love you more than I can bear.”
“So serious,” she chuckled.
“Would you have it any other way?”
“I have but one condition…” She pulled back and looked down the row of portraits.
“Name it.”
“I cannot help but wonder where our portrait is. Are we married, no? It seems to me that we must have one made at once.”
He laughed. “I could not agree more.”
Despite this castle now feeling like a home, as they walked its halls and opened its doors and windows, Clara still felt that something was off. Not that it took her long to realize what this was, a point she was sure to tell Alaric once the tour was finished.
“We shall be making some changes here, I think.”
“Oh?”
She smiled. “This castle… it is far too empty for how big it is. How many staff would you say live here?”
“Ah… a dozen, perhaps.”
She shook her head. “We need to double it, at least. Plus, we will hire some gardeners. Some boys for the stable. And if you think we are not going to redecorate, I have some bad news for – what? What are you smiling at?”
“Am I smiling?”
“Either that or you are having a stroke.”
He laughed. “I was just thinking to myself how much I missed this.”
“Missed what?”
“This…” He gestured to her and the castle both. “It has been so long since I have cared about anything to do with how I lived. That I have had a reason to care. But you are right, Clara. This will not do, and first thing tomorrow we will make plans to turn this dusty old pile of stone and brick into a home.”
She could not stop herself from smiling… a smile which grew when another thought came to mind. “If it is a home, it seems to me that it will need to be filled by more than the likes of us and some members of staff.”
“What do you mean…” He leaned back as if unsure.
“A family, Alaric…” She stepped into him, taking his hands, looking into his eyes. “Perhaps it is sudden. In my mind, it is not sudden enough. But if we are to do this, as we so clearly are, then it is time that you and I discuss the possibility of starting a family.”
“Do you mean…” She saw the panic in his eyes. “Having a child?”
“What else?”
The thought clearly terrified him.Not that I am surprised, for all this is new to him. Dammit, it is new to me! But that's why I know it is right, and for the first time ever, I have never been so certain of what I want.
Having learned of Alaric’s past, Clara found that she loved him even more than she had. Worried that the stories of him bore some truth, that his wife’s death was caused not through hate but because of how much he cared, brought her relief like she could not have expected. Strange that he was so convinced all this time that he was a monster, a killer, not a hero, because heroes saved people. Only for her to see the truth of it immediately.
He is a hero. He is a protector. And I am the same for him. We need one another like that, and if we bring a child into this world, that will be one more life to protect as it protects us.
Still, he was hesitant. “Clara… there is something I need to show you.” Silently, he took her by the hand and led her deeper through the western wing.
She could feel how tense he was. How nervous, too. Wherever he was taking her, she sensed that it held for him a most serious memory that he was now deciding to show her.
They came to a closed door which he unlocked and then bade her inside. It was dark, sheets covered everything, but the one she took most note of was at the center of the room. The sheet wasn’t covering a couch, nor was it covering any piece of furniture that she recognized. “What is…” she hesitated, not certain she could bring herself to reveal it.
Alaric walked ahead and tore back the sheet, which made Clara gasp.
