Chapter Text
They last several more rounds--Seiji loses track after five. It's dark outside, and the rain has finally let up, and the two of them are blissfully resting in bed when there's a knock on the door.
Seiji groans in protest and rolls over so that he's facedown on the pillow. He half-expects it to be his mother coming in again to tell him he's getting married.
Beside him, Nicholas slips out of bed and fumbles through putting on his trousers. A stripe of light splashes across the floor as Nicholas opens the door, just wide enough to speak to the person on the other side.
Seiji can make out Dmytro's voice, something about dinner being ready.
"Have it brought up to us," Nicholas tells him, and the man leaves, the door shut behind him.
Seiji turns to see Nicholas lighting a candle by the bedside. He looks handsome in the warm glow of the firelight, and a smile eases onto his face upon seeing Seiji.
"I think it's for the best you asked dinner to be brought to us," Seiji tells him as he sits beside him.
"You think so?" Nicholas quirks an eyebrow with his charming grin. "Can you even walk?"
And before Seiji can edit himself, he answers, "I hope not."
Nicholas laughs at that, and when he leans in closer, Seiji is already there to meet him for a long, slow kiss.
The servants come bringing food, and they set several courses' worth of mouthwatering trays over the foot of the bed. They leave, and Seiji can enjoy dinner with his new husband alone, for once.
"Yoshimi was right," he says, biting the corner of a mincemeat pie. "They kept telling me, 'you'll figure it out.'" (And the part about even the farthest guest room from yours will not be far enough tonight, a sentiment which Seiji can understand completely by now.)
Nicholas gives a laugh. "And we did figure it out eventually, didn't we?" He takes a sip of wine to wash down his palate. "I hope the past couple nights haven't given you much trouble."
"Oh," says Seiji, waving a hand. "It's not your fault, neither of us knew what we were getting into." He thinks about how just the other morning, he had tried to run away again. "Your brother said you were in love with me, but I didn't believe him."
"So that's what he told you," says Nicholas with a curious expression.
"Yes," replies Seiji, "and I told him off for it. I didn't want to believe it was true; I thought it was a cruel joke."
Nicholas nods slowly, before glancing away pensively. "You said you've been in love with me for some time," he says. "For how long?"
"Oh, since our betrothal, I suppose. I grew a bit soft when you got me those flowers in the market, and when you took me to the Colosseum? You could have asked me to elope then, I probably would have said yes."
Nicholas breathes out a chuckle. "Really?"
"More or less." Seiji takes a sip of wine, although his drinking has been much more judicious than their wedding night. "So what about you?" he asks. "How long have you been harboring feelings for me without my knowing?"
He means it in a light, flirtatious manner, but Nicholas' expression is quiet, serious. His thick eyelashes cover his eyes as he looks down, lost in thought. But the moment is gone before it started, and he looks up with Seiji with a playful grin. "You don't want to know."
Seiji laughs at that. He reaches to brush a stray hair off Nicholas' forehead, himself blushing a little at his own boldness. Everything has changed. "Alright, then," Seiji tells him. "It's not important."
Nicholas smiles back at him.
***
Sally finds herself sweating a little as she reaches the top of the stairs in the warm Italian summer sun. Alessandra stands at there waiting, tossing back her blond hair, shining in the sun, and removes her sunglasses to take in the beauty of the surrounding green hills.
"Here it is," the woman calls to Sally, pointing to the doors of a 15th century Roman Villa, where outside on the cobblestone pavement, a standing sign reads APERTO - OPEN TOUR.
"This is it?" Sally asks her, looking up at the imposing facade of the building. It stretches out into the hillside, a garden of green shrubs and bubbling fountains cradled in trellis and stone to the side of it. It looks so idyllic under the eggshell blue sky.
"This is the one," replies Alessandra, a smile creasing the corners of her lips. She holds her hand out. "Come on."
Sally looks to the open hand and hesitates for a moment before she smiles and takes it, clasping their fingers together.
They walk down one of the long corridors, taking in the ornate furnishings that have faded in time.
"Who was it that used to live here?" Sally asks, glancing at one of the many portraits on the walls.
"Vittoria, one of my something-something great aunts," Alessandra explains. "She married into the Coste family sometime in the 16th century. They made their residence out here. Oh! And I was named after her grandmother, too. Alessandra Donati the Magnificent."
"Really?" Sally lifts an eyebrow. "I was wondering the connection to the Coste family. That's not the same as Robert Coste, is it?"
Alessandra looks to her with a mischievous grin, and then laughs. "I don't know. It's not like I've ever asked him! Why don't you call him sometime and ask?"
Sally makes a face, and Alessandra laughs again. "I'm not the one who coaches his son," Sally replies with a shrug of her shoulder.
"Ah, we can't be related, can we?" muses Alessandra. "That would be too much of a coincidence."
"Maybe you're right."
The two women stroll into one of the grand rooms, the bed at one end signifying something of a bedroom. Sally gives a small hmpf in disbelief. The room itself is larger than her first apartment.
"So many years have passed between these walls," Alessandra wonders aloud. "I wonder what history they've seen."
"Who knows?" replies Sally.
Alessandra gives Sally's hand another squeeze, and they move on to the next room.
***
When I wake up, everything is quiet. The rain outside has stopped. There is no noise from servants in the corridor. The room is starting to lighten from daylight seeping in through gauzy curtains, and I see Seiji lying next to me, asleep.
He looks so peaceful now, eyelashes brushing against his cheeks as he sleeps, the little mole on the side. Black hair an uncharacteristic mess, ruffled by the pillowcase. So much has happened over the past few days--this is the first time we've spent a morning together where neither of us is running away. I reach out, as though checking to make sure he's still real, and gently touch the side of his face.
His cheek is warm to the touch, and he stirs, eyes still closed as he lets out some kind of startled noise, a sharp inhale--but just as I think he's going to open his eyes wide and stare back at me in shrewd disgust, he opens his mouth and utters the faintest "Nicholas..." and reaches toward me.
My eyes blink open, and instinctively, I pull him towards me, and Seiji doesn't protest, in fact, he settles his head against my chest, hairs tickling the side of my neck.
Last night, he asked me how long I've been in love with him, and I was afraid to answer. If he knew the truth, I'm not sure if he would still be here.
It was years ago that I first caught a glimpse of Seiji Katayama.
There was no other rider like him. The way he carried himself with such poise and grace, his steady weapon arm as he surged down the jousting track, like a powerful lightning strike from a dark storm cloud. I was fascinated.
I always watched him. When I heard the crier call his name, I was always pushing through the crowd, craning my neck to see him compete. And when he won, as he often did, he would remove his helmet, revealing his perfectly combed hair and handsome features, and canter back to the stables, crowd cheering.
I would go home each night and go to sleep, and he would gallop through my dreams.
But I never dreamed that I would meet him, and as an equal, even.
After Robert took me in, he put me in riding practice right away. I was already competing in tournaments in a matter of weeks, and it would take months still for me to work up the courage to talk to Seiji. It wasn't even the first time I had gone up against him, either--of course, he beat my ass that time, too. But I found myself in the stables, and he was just there, I knew I couldn't keep putting it off. So I went up and introduced myself.
You know how well that went. I was crushed.
So imagine my surprise when just a couple days later, we're all standing in his house, and there is Seiji Katayama, my newly betrothed.
I was angry at first, as though life had played a cruel joke on me. And yet, despite everything, here we are, and he says he's in love with me, and he wants me to put my hard prick up his culo and fuck him for hours, and kiss him long and slow and sweet until the early hours of the morning.
So how am I supposed to tell him the truth?
Seiji stirs again in my arms, lifting his head and blinking his eyes awake, his deep brown eyes that I seem to get lost in sometimes. He smiles a little and kisses me good morning.
"How did you sleep?" I ask once he pulls away. I can't help but smile as his tired eyes fall closed again.
"If this is what quality sleep is like, I haven't slept well all year," he says, laying his head on my chest again, one hand idly tracing a line up my side.
We stay there for some time, enjoying the peace, the sound of birds chirping in the garden outside.
Eventually, there's a knock on the door. Seiji makes a sound of protest as I gently move out from under him to go answer it.
Servants are here with a hot bath, and it's well past due. I don't know how I'm going to explain to them the mess we made of the sheets.
I let them fill the tub, and before they leave, I ask them to return later this afternoon to change the bedclothes, if they would be so kind. The Coste family servants nod politely and don't ask questions, although I'm sure they already know everything.
I look over to the bed, and to my surprise, Seiji's sitting up, looking more alert. He smiles at me.
"Do you want to go first?" I ask him.
"So chivalrous," he teases, his dry sense of humor a surprise delight, one of many things I'm learning about him.
Seiji moves to stand, but as soon as he puts his weight on one leg, he wobbles, and I'm quick at his side to catch him.
"I thought you were joking last night!" I tell him, feeling him rest his weight against me, stubbornly determined to stand on both feet. I laugh. "You really can't walk?"
"I may need some...help, getting in the tub," he says quietly, avoiding my gaze.
I grin back at him, steadily supporting his arm over my shoulders. "What have I done to you? My poor husband."
"I don't think poor would be my choice of word," he answers, letting me help him lift one leg into the warm waters of the bath. "And whatever you've done to me, I'd gladly ask you to do it again."
So this is the man I've married.
He lets out a quiet sigh of relief as he settles in the bath. I step away, looking for my dressing gown. It must be around here, I know they packed it--
"Where are you going?" Seiji calls to me in disapproval.
I turn to him, and our eyes meet in understanding, to my utter delight. "Alright. Move over."
In my excitement, I run towards him a little too quickly and dip myself in the water, the tub barely large enough to fit both of us. Water sways in waves around us, splashing onto the floor.
Seiji looks down at the new puddles spotting the tile, but says nothing. Instead he leans back into me, eager to share my touch.
"I can't believe my own husband was about to abandon me to bathe by myself," he says, and I smile over his shoulder, leaning in for a kiss.
***
After we're dressed, we head down to the dining room for breakfast this time. Seiji could probably walk on his own by now, but after making a joke about me bridal carrying him again, I pick him up, and he doesn't refuse it. There's some brightness in his eyes, like he's enjoying knowing what this feels like sober. I carry him all the way to the other end of the villa without any argument from either of us.
Breakfast is lovely, and I am delighted to see Seiji enjoy his usual breakfast. I had no idea what to think when his squire told me what he normally eats, but he seems revived by it, and that's high praise enough for me. I sneak a spinach leaf off his plate when he's not looking, even though I hate spinach, but of course he still catches me. He just laughs when I cough it back up.
I didn't know this could be so easy, being in love with him.
After breakfast, it's drizzling lightly outside, and I end up showing Seiji to the small library. He seems delighted to look through our selection. It has been a long moment of him leafing through one of the older tomes before he looks up at me, and I realize I've been staring. He smiles.
"Nicholas, what do you like to read?"
"Oh, me?" This is a prickly subject. "I haven't read much, yet."
His warm gaze doesn't falter. "What have you been reading for your studies?"
"Oh..." I study the shelves, although I don't think we would have any copies here. Finally, I find something in Italian, by the same author as the last book I've read. I explain this much to him, handing it over.
He sits down on one of the plush brocaded couches. "Will you come read it to me?"
"Me?" I ask, reluctant, but not enough to keep myself from sitting beside him. "You don't want to hear me read again, do you?"
"Nicholas," he says softly, placing a warm hand on my arm. "Yes, I do."
I take the book from him and hesitantly open to the first page. Seiji moves closer, his arm behind me on the back of the sofa. And now, I begin to read the words, slowly and carefully.
"Signori e...cavallier, che ve..." I squint at the word. "Adunati?"
I turn to Seiji, who listens intently, and gives a nod of approval. "Go on."
I continue. "Per odir cose, di-"
The word is long and unfamiliar. I frown.
"Dilettose," he supplies.
I nod. "Dilettose," I repeat, "dilettose e nove."
I'm expecting Seiji to be as appalled as he was in the market, but he seems to be watching me with an encouraging expression.
"Can you read the rest?" he asks.
I look back at the rest of the stanza, wondering how long it would take me to read it aloud. I hold the book out towards him. "Maybe you should read it."
Seiji doesn't take the book. "I want to hear you read it," he replies.
Looking down at the passage again, I take a deep breath, and continue the rest of the stanza.
Stati attenti e quïeti, ed ascoltati
La bella istoria che ’l mio canto muove;
E vedereti i gesti smisurati,
L’alta fatica e le mirabil prove
Che fece il franco Orlando per amore
Nel tempo del re Carlo imperatore.
It takes some time, and I struggle a bit with the longer words. But Seiji just listens, following along, helping me when I get stuck. When I finish, he smiles.
"You have such a nice voice."
"Oh," I say, and I must be blushing. "I thought you would think I couldn't read well enough."
"You're learning," he says. "I didn't appreciate it before. I'm sorry."
I'm a little surprised to hear this.
Seiji rests his chin on my shoulder, peering down at the text. "Can you read some more?" he asks.
I smile because I don't think I could refuse him at this point. "Alright."
There's a warm fire burning in the fireplace, and I turn the page, ready to start the next verse.
***
The next few days are more blissful than I could have imagined. There's more fucking, yes, but we keep finding new ways to enjoy each other's company. When the sun comes out, we get the idea to pick up wooden swords and spar in the courtyard. Seiji's just as good of a fighter off horseback, and he puts me on my ass a couple times, the perfect moment for me to cheekily remind him he's on top of me again. But he doesn't get embarrassed this time, just kisses me, and then pulls me to my feet with a pleading expression that I know means he wants to go back to the bedroom to pick up where we left off.
I practice reading to him some more. He says he wants to join me on some of my tutoring sessions when we return to the city. One afternoon, we sit in the library writing letters to our families.
Seiji first writes to his mother to complain about her sending Yoshimi to spy on us, and to inform her we are doing just fine, we are doing great, actually. And he writes a second letter to Yoshimi, assuring them he has definitely "figured things out." By the time he has sealed the two letters, I'm halfway through my own letter to the Costes.
"How's it going?" he asks, sounding encouraging as he peers over my shoulder.
I bite the end of my quill in thought. "Um, how do you spell bellissimo?"
"How do you think it's spelled?"
"B-e-l-l-i-s-i-m-o?"
"You're close."
Seiji proofreads the first half of my letter, and helps me through the rest of it. It's easier with him next to me, somehow.
I finish the letter, and we send them off before dinner.
When Seiji can comfortably ride a horse again, we pack a prepared lunch and head out on the country trail, to the clearing we visited before. It's a perfect blue sky overhead, and we lay down a soft blanket in the grass and take out the picnic, with glasses and a bottle of wine. We lie there in the warm spring air, eating leisurely and sipping wine, talking and laughing.
"I can't believe you threw those flowers at me," he says, and I blush with laughter as I remember it, too. "But I deserved it. I really was an asshole. I just didn't want to admit my feelings for you."
"If only you knew how I felt about you," I tell him. "I would have forgiven you for anything, because I--"
I stop myself. Seiji stops laughing, and he looks to me, a smile still resting on his lips.
"What?" he asks gently.
He doesn't know what I mean. We've spent all this time and effort getting to the point of marriage, coming out to this villa, confessing our feelings to each other. Suddenly, the reality sets in that we'll be returning to Rome, soon, to live our lives together. And Seiji doesn't know the whole truth. He deserves that, at least.
"Seiji, I have to tell you something."
His face falls, brows knitted in concern over his deep brown eyes. "What's wrong?"
I look away, not quite able to face him. "The other night, you asked how long I've been in love with you. The truth is--"
"Let me stop you right there, Nicholas. You think I haven't figured that out by now?"
My eyes open in surprise and turn to see him with a little smirk on his face.
"So tell me," he says. "How long have you been watching me joust?"
My heart skips a beat. "A while," I manage, the answer quietly slipping out.
Seiji chuckles a bit. "My biggest fan, then." He reaches out to brush a hair out of my face. "You're lucky you're so handsome."
I'm still processing this as he pulls his hand away. "You're not mad?"
"Nicholas," he tells me, sounding very sure of himself. "I'm the third child in my family. I've been passed over for everything. You think I could be mad at someone who has always put me first?"
A smile grows on my face, I can't stop it. "I suppose not," I answer quietly, and he leans in and kisses me. I wrap my arms around him, and kiss him back, enjoying every second of it.
Our lunch becomes abandoned, kicked aside, I pull Seiji on top of me, and he's already pulling his chemise over his head.
We kiss each other for awhile until I finally pull him down next to me, take off his and my remaining clothes, and crawl on top of him. I fuck him there in the open clearing, no one else around but the trees, no one but me to hear his moans of pleasure.
Later, when we lie in the bright sun, wearing nothing but each other's sweat, I savor the time holding him, listening to the birds sing in the trees around us.
"You know," I tell him, "I think my father decided to arrange our betrothal because I used to mention you so much."
"Then I owe him," Seiji replies, his voice echoing into my chest.
I breathe out a laugh.
After a moment, Seiji tells me, "I've had dreams about you."
I wonder what they're like. "I've dreamed of you jousting," I admit.
Seiji lifts his head and gives me an amused quirk of a smile. "Have you had any dreams of me where I wasn't jousting?"
Gazing back at him, I answer, "Does this count?"
I feel a sharp pinch on my arm.
"Ow!" I say, and shift to rub my arm where he pinched me. I can't help but laugh. "Thanks for that."
"Anytime," he says, and then leans up to steal another kiss.
***
I can't seem to recall the state of things when we left, but I'm feeling incredibly refreshed as I return to the city with Nicholas, my new husband.
We sit in the carriage together this time, holding hands--never letting go of each other's hands the whole way back into town. Nicholas' eyes are bright and full of energy at the sounds of the city, and I find myself forgetting all my usual complaints about Roman traffic.
"You should give me a tour of the palazzo when we return," I tell him. "I nearly got lost last time."
"Of course," he says, giving my hand a squeeze. "Are you nervous to see my family? Well, your family now, too."
I would be. But with Nicholas at my side, I'm not alone. Somehow I take comfort in knowing that if he's around, it will feel like home.
"I'm not worried about it."
He beams back at me. "That's good."
When the carriage arrives at Palazzo Coste, Nicholas hops down first, and then offers a hand to help me down. It's so sweet and unnecessary, I can't help but smile as I take his hand and step out of the carriage.
Robert is already walking out to greet us, a curious Jesse following a few steps behind.
"There they are!" Robert calls, spreading his arms in greeting. "Nicholas, we just heard from you the other day. Your letter was remarkably well-written!"
"Thanks, father," Nicholas tells him. "I had some help."
"He's being modest," I interject. "Nicholas' studies have been going very well."
Robert seems pleasantly surprised by this. "Seiji, welcome home. Can I get one of the servants to show you to your quarters?"
"Oh, no, Nicholas is going to give me a tour," I answer right away, wrapping an arm around his, a smile resting on my face. "Don't disrupt the servants on my account."
"We don't want him to get lost again," says Nicholas with a grin, and I find myself laughing.
"Nicholas," Jesse speaks up, "I remember you left to the villa with Seiji Katayama. Who is this man you've brought back with you?"
***
Settling into life at the Costes' takes some time, but it's a welcome adjustment. The dinner table conversation is more lively than what I used to have dining alone with my mother, and I certainly don't mind retiring to the same bed as Nicholas every night. I visit his studies during the day, and his progress seems to be going quite well.
When it comes time to prepare for a jousting tournament, we practice together. I'm wondering if we should rent a room at an inn farther closer to the edge of town so we can be close to the competition grounds, and when I bring this up with Nicholas, he pats me on the back and says,
"No need. We can stay at my mother's inn."
The Cox inn is a cozy old place on the eastern side of the Aventine hill. The hostler takes our horses, and upon entering, I recognize the friendly woman I met at the wedding. She lights up upon seeing us.
"My darling baby boy!" she calls. "And his handsome husband. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Mother, we need a place to stay during the tournament. Do you mind if--"
"Of course!" Vannozza turns to one of her hired hands. "Davide, go and prepare the upstairs rooms."
The young man nods and disappears up the stairs.
"I've missed having you around to help, but we manage just fine," she says to Nicholas with a smile. She takes his face in both hands and greets him with a kiss on both cheeks. "So lovely to see you! They look like they're feeding you well over at that overstuffed wedding-cake of a palazzo."
"Don't worry, they are," Nicholas replies with a chuckle. He turns to me with a fond expression. "Mother, you remember Seiji, of course."
"Of course! How could I forget," she says, and when I hold out a hand to shake hers, she pulls me in for a hug instead.
"Well," she says, once I've recovered my personal space, "Why don't you two come join me in the kitchen? I almost have supper on the table."
***
I haven't spent a lot of time in kitchens, and when Vannozza had asked us to come into the kitchen, I feared I was about to get a cooking lesson. Instead, I learn that this is where the family and servants eat--there's no separate dining room.
Nicholas hops up to sit on the table, and immediately, Vannozza taps him on the arm as she sweeps by.
"Get down from there. Don't think that just because you're married now, you don't have to follow the house rules."
"Yes, mother," replies Nicholas, jumping back down to the floor. He glances to me with an amused smirk on his face.
Supper is a warm hearty stew, with some crisp bread. It's filling and quite tasty, despite my expectations. The servants have their fill and leave, and then it's just the three of us. Nicholas leans on my shoulder, starting to drift off--it's been a long day for him, with his studies, and the hours he spent practicing in the courtyard. I give his arm a squeeze.
"Maybe you should retire for the night," I suggest. "We have a big day tomorrow."
He lifts his head, reaching my gaze in understanding. "Alright." He gives me a peck on the cheek and stands up. "Mother--"
"I've kept your old room for you, don't worry," she tells him with a kind smile.
He nods. "Well, goodnight, then," he says with a yawn, and touches my shoulder again before disappearing upstairs.
Vannozza turns to me, holding up a bottle of wine. "Would you like some more?"
"A bit more, thanks," I say, holding out my glass, and she fills it. "I assure you, I won't be drinking quite as much as I had at the wedding."
"I'm glad," she replies, refilling her own glass. She holds it up. "To your successful marriage."
"It very much is." I toast her, and we drink.
"I'm so happy everything worked out," she tells me. "Nicholas was so nervous before he met you, you know?"
"Oh yes," I reply. "He told me about it." I pause, thinking. "You know, Nicholas thinks that Robert set me up with him after him mentioning me so many times."
"Well, it was me he was always telling about the jousting matches," replies Vannozza, taking another sip of wine. "And Robert has been trying to set up a union between your families for decades. It only made sense for me to bring it up on one of his visits."
My face falls at the realization. "You--"
"Yes, Sir Seiji," she replies with a careful nod. "I was the one who came up with the idea. Nicholas was adopted into the Coste family so that he could marry you."
I stare back at her, incredulous.
"That's right," she continues. "We always knew Nicholas was Robert's bastard. Robert never stopped visiting me throughout the years, and sometimes, he'd tell me about his business. I know a lot of the gossip around Rome; as an innkeeper, it comes with the trade. One day, he tells me he wants a trade deal he wants with Lady Katayama, that it needs to happen within the year. I knew from my contacts she had been trying to marry you for some time. Not only that, but Nicholas kept mentioning you when he talked about the tournaments." She gives me a kind smile. "All good things, of course. So I suggest to Robert that all he needs to do is recognize Nicholas as his son, and then he has another heir to marry to you."
"I don't understand," I tell her. "If he wanted to marry me into the family, he couldn't have married me to Jesse?"
"Ah, you see," she says, "It was long assumed that Jesse and you might marry. The two of you grew up together. But you two had some kind falling out, and after that, Jesse went to his father and said he wouldn't do it. Robert was kind enough to honor his request."
I think back to the time with Jesse, our arguments that I've blocked from my mind. In hindsight, I feel relieved that we were never made to marry each other.
"So Robert took in Nicholas, formally recognized him, and spent three months turning him into a fine nobleman for you to marry. Lady Katayama agreed to everything without much trouble, the only hiccup being that the two of you happened to meet each other right before the betrothal. And it did not go well, I hear."
I frown. "But he didn't know he would be betrothed to me until the signature?"
"Exactly. Robert plans this whole thing, all the pieces are in place, and just two days before the betrothal, Nicholas comes home fuming that he met you, that he hates you now. But it's too late for Robert to back out of the deal, so he says nothing and brings Nicholas to meet you anyway. He had already paid Lady Katayama for a shipment, and she wouldn't bring it to him until you were married. Hence the wedding date being so soon."
"I...see," I answer, finding this a lot to take in.
I had always thought Robert had taken in Nicholas out of the kindness of his heart, and although it's not entirely shocking that he had an ulterior motive, it still makes my heart ache a little. In our time spent together enjoying our honeymoon, I had forgotten this reality of our marriage, that Nicholas and I were always pawns in our parents' business interests and political games.
"What do you think about it?" I ask her. "You said you miss Nicholas."
"Oh," she replies with a sigh. "Of course I miss him. But he's better off this way, he has means and education now. He has more choices as a Coste than if he had remained some nameless bastard."
"I suppose so," I reply. I place a hand on hers. "I'll make sure that we visit when we get the chance."
Vannozza smiles at me. "That's kind of you to offer, sir."
"Just Seiji. We're family now."
"Seiji." She nods. "I appreciate you coming by."
I thank her for dinner, and take a candle to find my way upstairs. I follow her instructions to find Nicholas' room, and when I open the door, I find him peacefully sprawled out on the low bed.
Nicholas' old room is sparse with belongings and modestly sized. Is this where he'd lie at night and dream of jousting?
I sit down on the foot of bed, which is just large enough to fit two people. I remove my boots and dress down to my undershirt. My husband seems to be taking up the whole bed, so I gently shake his arm.
"Mother, let me sleep--"
"It's me," I tell him gently.
"Seiji?" he answers in surprise, followed by a more lucid, "Oh, Seiji, it's you."
He shifts to make room for me. I slide into the covers next to him. He pulls me into a familiar embrace, and we settle down to sleep together.
"Nicholas," I say after a few minutes, when I'm still awake.
"Yes?" he asks, apparently still stirred from sleep.
"I'm very glad to be married to you."
"Oh, Seiji," he says, his voice breaking into a yawn. "I'm glad to be married to you, too."
I smile, even though he can't see it in the dark. I close my eyes and let the warmth of his body lull me to sleep.