Like so many active duty couples, the wedding had been hasty and the honeymoon delayed: it would have been too horribly awkward with a house full of guests. Although Leo had filed the requisitions to have her transferred out of the women's barracks and she'd updated her marital status- much to the shock of the clerical staff- the ripple of social backlash had been minimal. Then again, it was only Brass Castle. They were among fellow soldiers and friends. Once the news reached Vinay del Zexay, the reaction would be much worse.
Moving from a straw cot in a room shared with three other women off the edge of the female barracks to a full suite of rooms with a feather tester was a jump in accommodations to say the least. Had they not been so horrendously busy, she might have had time to think it all a bit awkward. However, they were both soldiers. It would not be the first time either of them had had to share sleeping arrangements. Indeed, there were few moments at which either of them lay down or got up at the same time. Despite popular rumor, the first few weeks of their marriage were emphatically devoid of romance.
It wasn't until winter leave, as she and Leo were riding home, side by side, that the reality began to sink in. They were going home, not just to his home but itheir/i home. They were married now. She was Lady of Gallen Manor. It was too surreal to try to process, and so she put the thought aside, allowing it to simmer at the back of her mind.
There was a groom waiting for them in the stable yard, but rather than hand him the reins, she held tight.
"Where shall I put her?"
The groom turned and looked to Leo, bewildered.
"Wherever you wish, there's plenty of space," Leo told her. "Choose as you will."
There weren't many animals in the stables- one stall was a bit grander than the others, clearly that of Leo's charger. However, aside from three more modest quarter horses, a draft horse, and a sturdy little donkey, most of the stalls were empty. The one next to Reilan's was vacant and she led Cierelle into it.
"Ronald cares for the animals," Leo told her over the dividing wall. "He'll soon learn what Cierelle likes."
Aurella smiled and nodded, turning to see to her own animal. The groom might know his business, but she wasn't ready to turn her mount, her greatest possession, over to a stranger. Even Felicia was usually spared the drudgery of mucking stalls and grooming dusty fur and knotted tails. A horse was what made a knight a knight and not simply a foot soldier. Ronald would care for Cierelle one day, but not today. Still, it pleased her to notice that he was watching her, taking note of what she did and how she addressed her animal. Leo was right, the groom did know his business.
Inside the manor it was blessedly warm. Although the snow had not yet been swept in from the sea, the air was crisp and sharp. Until she stepped inside, she hadn't realized how cold she'd been. The interior was dim and cozy, a fire crackling in the hearth. While the surroundings were passably familiar, it was hard to think of being in Gallen manor as anything but a guest. The last time she had stood in the comfortably worn parlor, she had been married there. It had been the first time she'd ever set foot in the house. Now, it was her house too.
"Your Ladyship."
It took her a moment to realize that Leo's steward and butler, Sanson, was addressing her.
"Welcome home." The old man's smile was kindly as he took her coat and then Leo's. It felt funny to be given preference, to be waited upon first. In the back of her mind she wondered if it would always feel so strange?
"Will you and Madam Gallen change before dinner, or would you prefer to eat first?"
Rather than answer, Leo cast her a questioning look. Aurella shrugged, returning the decision to him.
"Sanson, has the parcel arrived?"
The old man nodded. "It has, Milord. The items in question have been prepared and are in your room."
"Very good. I believe we'll clean up a bit first."
"I'll inform Mrs. Bella." With that, the butler bowed and left. Aurella watched, bemused, until Leo offered his arm. Hooking her hand on his elbow, she followed him upstairs.
The second floor of Gallen manor was sectioned off into rooms on either side of a wide hallway. During the hunting party, her room had been on the left hand side of the hall, with Chris's right beside. On the right were three rooms that had been occupied by the male members of the six mighty knights. Leo's, as the master suite, was near the end of the hall next to the solar which took up the far wall. Behind them, a wide window above the stairs let in the pale winter sunshine.
Sanson and the rest of the staff were nothing if not efficient. Leo's things had already been unpacked and put away, any soiled clothing spirited off to the laundry. Having little enough of her own, Aurella was not surprised that her belongings had also been neatly tucked away. What confused her, however, was the large picnic basket sitting atop the chest at the foot of the bed. Confused, she turned and asked.
"Leo what is this?"
"A belated wedding present," he smiled. "It's tradition for the Gallen men to gift their brides. Open it."
Shrugging to herself, she undid the latches and pushed back the wooden flaps. Her lips parted as she drew out a paisley shawl made of fine cashmere, done in shades of deep red and gold. Beneath this she found a bottle of perfume packed in lace-trimmed handkerchiefs. A handsome pair of leather gloves lay bound with a satin ribbon at the wrists to keep them together. At the bottom sat a finely carved traveling case, the top engraved with a familiar cipher- a crossed sword and short axe.
"Leo," she breathed. "It's too much. I cannot accept this."
"But you must," he insisted, stretching to kiss her cheek. "You are my wife. It isn't fair for the bride's family alone to stump up a dowry. It's no more and no less than my own mother received. Indeed, if it makes you feel any better, some of this is her hand-me-downs."
She laughed at this, and ran the shawl through her hands, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric.
"You have earned it," he assured her, seeming to read her thoughts. "You deserve this. I want you to have it."
"Well," she smiled, leaning in for a kiss. "If you insist."
Aurella felt like not just a Lady, but a Queen, descending the steps in skirts, her hand on Leo's arm and the paisley shawl draped over her shoulders.
"I can show you around a bit more tomorrow," he told her, "unless you'd rather explore on your own. This is your house. If you want to make any changes, do so. You hold the keys now."
"Do I really?" She couldn't help the curiosity in her voice.
"Of course. Sanson's managed things for me, and done so very well, but that's really the job of the Lady of the manor. If you don't want to, please don't feel you have to, but I know things would be expertly run in your hands."
The only answer she could give was a nod, her mind too busy mulling over the possibilities and already tallying the accounts that such an estate would require. The sight of the long, dark polished dining table and the horrible thought that she and Leo might be seated at opposite ends made her stop short. However, he drew her along, and pulled out the seat to the right of that at the head of the table, the same one she'd occupied during the hunting party. Of course. This was the wife's seat, the Lady's place. With a small sigh of relief, she sank down into it.
"You can move down if you like," he teased, having noticed her nerves. Aurella made a face.
"No thank you. I'd rather not have to use smoke signals to ask you to pass the salt."
Leo laughed at this, causing the corners of her own mouth to pull back into a grin.
"As I said, arrange things as you will. I've been a crusty old bachelor for too long. Aside from finally indulging Sanson in having some of the furniture reupholstered, I'm afraid this place has gone rather to seed. I don't know much about decorating."
"Neither do I," she reminded him as a footman brought in food.
"No, but I don't want you to think we've got to keep the collection of deer antlers in the parlor, or the tapestries in the solar. Stupid place for them, really. Sanson's had them covered for the last twenty years and for the life of me I cannot imagine why anyone would put them there in the first place if they're just going to fade."
Aurella chuckled with him at that.
"Don't be afraid to do as you please. There's no knick-knack or piece of furniture that merits any sort of sacred honor. I want you to add your own touch to this place."
"A woman's touch?" she asked with a smirk. Leo hid a smile behind his wineglass.
"Something like that."
"It may be a bit heavy-handed," she warned. Reaching, her covered her hand with his own.
"So long as the hand is yours."
A tame forest was a curious thing. Deer and boar roamed here, but not free as they might elsewhere. The animals were herded to a degree, to keep them within the Gallen borders. Only Leo and herself, the gamekeeper, and some of the tenants had the freedom to roam as they would. Leo had shown her and the others around on previous visits, but today she didn't want a tour. Instead, they'd saddled their horses and ridden off into the baring branches. Leaves crunched under the horses hooves, slow and stately as the animals ambled along. Without warning, Aurella heeled her mount and darted ahead. It took Leo only a moment to respond in kind and chase after her. Cierelle was not a small horse, but much shorter and slimmer than Leo's great black charger. Lying flat against the mare's outstretched neck, Aurella managed to avoid the low-hanging boughs and reaching branches that tore at her husband. Reilan, though large, was just as nimble and dodged readily around spaces too narrow to accommodate his girth.
The path widened as the trees drew back, and Leo raced ahead, snatching the hat from her head as he galloped past. With a cry more of amusement than shock, Aurella urged Cirelle on. The forest soon closed on them again, and rather than follow, she turned aside to weave through the trees. Leo waved the hat, taunting her with a laugh until it was snatched from his hand by a low-hanging branch. Aurella turned aside, and grabbed it, but almost lost her saddle. Leo had grabbed her wrist in a firm yet gentle grip. Unwilling to let her hat fall to the forest floor, she kept her fist closed.
Edging Cierelle closer, she leaned and caught Leo's cheek in her hand. Drawing him close, she stretched to kiss him. Rather than lean so far in the saddle, Leo reached and pulled her from her mount and onto his own, arranging her between himself and the saddle horn. She wrapped her arms around him, partly to keep her seat, but mostly to be close to him. His whiskers tickled her throat as they broke apart, a low chuckle warm against her skin.
"An empty house and you choose the woods?"
"Stage fright," she told him, hiding her face in the warm spot just under his jaw. "I cannot be expected to perform in front of an audience."
"Sanson is hardly going to watch through the keyhole," he told her amused. "The servants won't bother us."
"The servants were my equals once," she reminded him. "It's strange to be giving orders to civilians."
"It will come," he assured her, hugging her close. "And I don't make a habit of kissing servant girls in corners."
"Just in the forest?" she teased leaning in again.
"Perhaps," was his somewhat breathless reply. "I don't suppose you're shy of horses?"
She couldn't help a wicked grin. "Not hardly."
"We should have gotten married in the spring," Leo huffed, his breath a misty cloud in the chill air. "It's too cold out now."
"Don't tell me you've taken a chill?" Aurella chided, her own cheeks still burning.
"Hardly that," he replied, flushing a bit himself, "but I'd rather not make a habit- at least not in December."
She couldn't help laughing as he lifted her down. Taking advantage of the proximity, she stole a kiss. For once, she didn't mind leaving her animal to the care of someone else, and handed the reins over to the groom without a second thought.
Rather than sit at table as they had the first night, she and Leo ate a simple meal in front of the fire in their room.
"I'm sorry it's not a finer spread," Leo apologized for the soup, bread, and cheese laid out for them. "With us leaving for Vinay del Zexay in another day, it's not worth it to prepare a large meal."
"No one to eat the leftovers," Aurella nodded in agreement. "I for one certainly don't mind. It's far better than what the mess hall usually serves up."
The mess was, by and large, not that bad. Nothing was mouldy or rotten, though the bread was frequently a bit stale and the pottage in need of salt. It was a common joke among the cadets that the castle cooks never bothered to change the menu board and regardless of what was served, every entree was "stew".
"It's not a far ride, is it?" she asked. Leo shook his head.
"Not from here, no. Only a few hours."
"Good," she returned, leaning in to kiss him. "Then there's no need to turn in early."
"No indeed," he agreed, reaching and pulling her close.