The September ride
The orange rays of the setting Autumn sun made the oaks in the alley cast long shadows. The clatter of hooves was muffled by a rug of colourful leaves laying on the path. It was a good day for a short horseback ride - probably one of the last this year, at least for her. A good day to tell him, too, Tessa thought.
She glanced at the man riding a beautiful black horse next to her, and caught him looking at her, his blue eyes sparkling under the mop of dark hair. She grinned, and he chuckled silently.
She had loved their horseback rides since the day they had moved to Wales. Will had offered to teach her, and at first she'd agreed just because of his extreme enthusiasm. But, to her surprise, she had actually enjoyed it. The fresh air and the landscape - so beautiful she couldn't have ever gotten bored of it; it all finally convinced her. After a month of riding lessons he had surprised her by bringing home a beautiful mild grey mare, just for Tessa.
They always talked a lot during their time on the horseback; whether it was during the slow, peaceful rides, or the insane races down the hill, when Tessa gave up all her skirts and a women's saddle for a few hours, and instead put on the Shadowhunter's outfit she had once gotten. They talked about things that bothered them, and things that made them smile; they laughed and joked and bickered. It was then, when Tessa felt as carefree as a child.
When they left the shadows cast by the oaks, Tessa saw nothing but fields and hills bathed in the orange sunlight. She inhaled loudly, suddenly aware of the pure nature around her. She heard a small sigh, and glimpsed at Will. Sat on his black horse, with his face turned towards the setting sun, he was smiling so peacefully, so happily. It was a face that said "This is it, that's my home right here", and Tessa knew only Wales could give him this feeling. He sensed her looking at him, and his eyes locked with hers. His expression did not change at all. Smiling lovingly, he reached out, took her hand, and gave it a light squeeze. Yes, today is the perfect day, she thought.
They crossed a small arboreous valley and headed towards their favourite hill. Will was talking about a book fair he had somehow found out about. It was going to happen the next week in the nearest big town and apparently the fair was small and secret, only for the chosen. Will tried to seem indifferent about it, but Tessa knew better. His fast speech and the sparks of excitement in his eyes gave him away. She absolutely adored seeing him excited like that, especially over things they shared interest in, like books. Sometimes she tried to imagine what it was like to be Jem or other people, when she and Will started one of their 5-hour long discussion about books. Whenever she put herself in the poor witness' position, she felt a bit embarrassed because the witness must have felt sligthly excluded from their conversation. But only then she felt bad about it. Those discussions were usually her favourite moments of the day. And now Will was smiling widely at her and asking whether she would go to the book fair with him, as if the answer hadn't been obvious.
"Oh, I don't know," Tessa pretended to hesitate. "I thought it was very exclusive. Only for the chosen."
"Obviously," he replied, a sarcastic smirk immediately appearing on his face. "I was thinking you could put men's clothing on again and-"
"For God's sake, Will," Tessa rolled her eyes, although she felt herself blush. "Quit those fantasies. It's not going to happen."
"Worth a try, though," he chuckled.
They finally reached the top of the hill. The view on the valley was, as always, astounding. They got off their horses, and while Will started rummaging in one of the bags by the saddle, Tessa intensively repeated in her mind what she was supposed to say. She sighed, smoothed her dress, and turned towards Will.
"Will," she said softly.
"Yes?" he murmured, distracted by fixing the saddle on his horse.
"Do you remember when last week I talked to Brother Enoch?," she asked, glancing nervously at her husband.
"Of course I do!" Will exclaimed, turning towards her. "I tried to bribe him to make him tell me what's going on, but the bloody rotter apparently prefers a dusty bottle of thousand-year-old wine to the best Scotch whisky." Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his already messy black hair. "What a waste of good alcohol."
Tessa crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I also prefer wine to Scotch," she told him. "Whisky burns your throat, and it tastes awful. I don't understand why you like it so much."
"Of course you don't," he smirked. "Only real men, like me, know what good alcohol means."
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide a smile.
"Anyway," she started again."No matter how drunk he'd been, he wouldn't have told you anything. Assuming Silent Brothers can get drunk, because those stitches on their lips could be a potential problem," she added, frowning.
"Oh, I bet they can, somehow." He returned to fixing the harness. "Imagine how boring their lives would be if they couldn't. And even if they can't, I am convinced my charm would have made good old Enoch tell me everything if only I had more time. Let's be honest, what was so secret and important? Why wouldn't he tell me?"
"Because I asked him not to," she replied bluntly, and bit her lip.
"Oh," Will's hand hovered over the black horse's nostrils for a second, and then stroked them gently. "And why is that?" he asked, trying to remain indifferent.
Tessa smoothed her skirt nervously.
"B-because," she stuttered, and sighed. "Because I wanted to tell you myself."
Frowning, Will turned around and took a few steps towards her. She saw concern in his dark blue eyes.
"Tell me what?" he asked, his voice low.
She reached out and took his hand. He looked down at their intertwined fingers, confusion now visible on his face. He looked up again, his piercing blue eyes into her grey ones.
"Tess," he exhaled.
She smiled warmly, and gently squeezed his hand.
"Will," she said softly. "I'm pregnant."
He blinked. She saw a range of emotions go across his face. Shock, confusion, disbelief. When he hadn't said a word for 3 minutes, she began to worry.
"Wi- ," she started.
"I think I need to sit down for a second," Will said quietly. He sounded breathless. He let go of her hand and sat down on a rock.
Tessa didn't know what to do. Was he sad? Disappointed? Maybe he didn't even want a baby? But she had always assumed...
She bit her lip, and walked up to Will who was sitting on a rock and staring into space, his eyes wide open.
Gently, she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Will, are you all right?" she whispered. He blinked and frowned.
"B-but...how...we were sure you couldn't...how is that possible?," he mumbled.
She let go of his shoulder and looked down, at the valley.
"I- I don't know," she whispered, feeling helpless. "I talked to Brother Enoch and he just said-"
Suddenly, he jumped up and, before Tessa could move, his arms were around her, and that was when she knew it was going to be all right. He hid his face in her hair and whispered so softly that his voice almost drowned in the sound of the wind. Tess.
She felt his fingers under her chin, gently pulling her head up to look at him. As she did so, she looked in his blue eyes. His eyes so full of happiness, and love, and strength and vulnerability at the same time. And a promise saying that he would never leave her.
"I love you," he said, looking at her as if he saw the biggest treasure in the world. He was that for her, for sure.
"I love you, too," she whispered breathlessly. He bent and his lips touched hers lightly. It was a soft, sweet kiss, but a memorable one – they both would remember this moment forever.
Abruptly, he pulled away, confusion on his face. Tessa looked at him, puzzled.
"Tess," he uttered.
"Yes?" she asked hesitantly.
"You rode a horse." He looked at her seriously.
"So did you," she replied, not knowing where this was going.
"But I am not the pregnant one here," he said bluntly. "Is this healthy for the baby? I don't know about all the medical things, but… won't it look like a tiny Ravener demon if you keep riding a horse?"
She stared at him for a few seconds and then started laughing, so hard that she couldn't catch her breath. Will just stood there, trying to look serious, probably for the first time in his life. Finally he couldn't help it, and a short while later they both were bursting with laughter whenever one looked at the other.
It was already dark when they were coming down the hill, the horses by their sides. The sky was so clear, Tessa was still amazed how much more stars she could see here than in London or in New York City.
At the foot of the hill she stopped so abruptly that Will almost ran into her.
"Help me up, would you?" she asked him, indicating her head at the grey mare.
"Wha- I thought we agreed you won't ride any more," he looked at her, bewildered. "Remember? Half an hour ago? I told you the baby would look like a tiny Ravener demon and then we laughed so hard we almost fell over. And then we had a serious talk. Does it ring a bell?"
Tessa raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Will," she said. "I remember it all perfectly. I am pregnant - I don't have any mental problems, thank you very much. But I do have to get back home somehow, don't I?"
"Well, you could go on foot...," he started, not really convinced himself.
"On foot. Really?" she looked at Will in disbelief. "Are you really going to make your pregnant wife go on foot a few miles at night because you think it's safer than just let her ride a horse for twenty minutes?"
She looked at her husband expectantly. Will crossed his arms, trying to look menacingly.
"Theresa," he said, and when she heard him using her full name, along with the warning tone in his voice, she almost snickered.
"William," she mocked his tone. For a few seconds they looked in each other's eyes, challenging one another. Finally, Will broke the eye contact.
"Fine," he sighed and helped her sit in the saddle. "But it's the last time you ride a horse in the next nine months, all right?"
"I promise," Tessa grinned and bent down to plant a little kiss on his lips. "There is no fun with you!"
As he mounted his horse, he shot her a funny look.
They soon reached the familiar oak alley and, from there, could see the lights of their house. The clatter of the hooves seemed louder in the evening silence.
"So," Will started. "The book fair next week. I am going to get you in, Tess."
"Why, thank you. I'm pretty sure they will let us both in, though, considering we are married."
It hadn't been long since their wedding, and it sometimes happened they both just forgot about that fact, which always seemed to amuse their friends to no end.
"Do you think Lisa will scold us for coming home late again tonight, Mr Herondale?" Tessa wondered.
"Seeing as she's convinced that her duties as a housemaid include treating us like 5-year-old children, I think that she will," responded Will. "Especially you, in your state, Mrs Herondale, because I imagine she knew your little secret years before me."
His white teeth flashed in the dark, when he grinned.
"Perhaps. But I am not the one who will not get his favourite chocolate biscuits tonight," she teased.
"We could have avoided all this if you had chosen to tell me at home instead, Tess," he grumbled.
"Says the man who took me to the British Library just to propose to me, when he could easily do that on the spot," she replied, smiling at the memory.
"But where's the fun in that?" he exclaimed, and she chuckled, their laughter echoing in the dark.