“Our family?” Not eloquent, but I am doing my best.
“Yes. I petitioned the emperor for custody of Lady Sophia, which he has graciously granted to me.”
“But, why…?”
“Why not? I am head of a noble house; she will be well cared for here at Richtenholst.”
“You are being uncharacteristically obtuse, my lord. I mean, why did you petition the emperor?”
“It took me a while to come to terms with the notion, I confess. My hostility toward her father runs deep, but I believe I have arrived at the correct solution for us all. I did not wish to mention my intentions to you, I wanted to be sure I could gain custody of the child before raising your hopes. I was confident, my influence at court is not inconsiderable, but the history between my house and that of the late count de Chapelle is known so I had to convince the emperor that my intentions were altruistic. My reputation is honourable enough, but until the courier arrived just before dawn with the documents, and of course Sophia, I could not be certain of the outcome.”
I frown, still trying to make sense of this, to fully comprehend the implications of what Stefan has achieved. “So, Sophia is… what? She is now your ward?”
“Yes.”
“What does that mean? For her?”
“It means she is in my care. She will live here, with us, until such time as she marries whereupon I will no doubt be called upon to provide her with a generous dowry. I gather the count de Chapelle died in somewhat strained circumstances so she can expect little in the way of inheritance. Still, I daresay we will manage.”
His smile is indulgent, but I do not underestimate the extent of my husband’s generosity. And his forbearance. “You did that for me. You took in another penniless orphan, the daughter of your enemy at that, just because you knew I loved her and that I was missing her?”
“Of course. Why would I not? I love you. I want you to be happy. I once, mistakenly, believed that becoming a nun would achieve that for you. I much prefer this solution though.”
“Me too. I cannot believe you would do this. For me. For Sophia. Will her presence not be… painful for you?”
Stefan smiles at me. “I am no scholar, ‘tis true, but I hope my intellect is sufficiently well developed that I can discern the difference between an incompetent warmonger, one who has been dead for the best part of a year at that, and a small child playing in the corner of my hall. If there is some physical resemblance between them, it is lost on me since I never met her father. I am confident I will not confuse the two.”
“You will grow to love her?”
“Yes, I daresay.”
“I don’t know how to thank you.”
“I suspect you will come up with something, my love.” His smile fades and for a few moments his expression is serious. “You know how precious my children are to me. Why would I consider yours any less so? And please be under no illusion, my love, if it is within my power there is little I would not do for you. I love you, so ‘tis simple. Even on that first day at Hohenzollern, had I known of Sophia’s existence and her importance to you, we would not have left without her. You could have trusted me even then, though I do understand why you did not.”
I lower my gaze, ashamed now of my doubts. I was quite certain there was no chance, I knew with cold certainty there was no means by which I might affect Sophia’s fate. I have no influence, no power, no friends at court. I never considered for one moment that Stefan might intervene, that he would do this for me. I should have, I see that now.
I make a belated attempt to explain myself. I owe him that much. “I apologise, my lord. It never occurred to me that you would allow Sophia to come here, to be with me. The child of your old enemy, not even my own daughter.”
“Allow? What is this talk of allowing? Have I ever denied you anything you needed or desired, if it was in my power to provide it?”
“No, but…”
“And you should realise by now that family is not always about blood. Certainly ours is not. I thought you understood that, your attachment to Sophia is proof of it. Clearly I have some further work to do in convincing you.” His expression takes on a more stern aspect as he narrows his eyes at me. “As the switch is out of the question for the next few months I must come up with something else sufficiently compelling.”
“I am sure you will not fail me.”
“Your confidence is heartening, but I am open to suggestions nevertheless.”
“Stefan?”
“Mmm?”
“I love you.”
His expression softens and he kisses me. “Thank the dear lord for that. It is about time you got around to telling me.”
“If I tell you every day from now on, will it earn me more spankings?”
