Claude knows he'll surprise Esme by being here now which is exactly what he wants. He knocks on the door that has been designated as Esme's sewing room. "Esme, darling, can I come in?"

"No! No, I'll come out. Just one moment." Esme is surprised to hear Claude's voice. She sets her lunch down and slips out of the room and into Claude's arms. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working?"

"I brought you a present to go with your new dress." Claude says. He draws a box out of the folds of his robes and passes it to Esme. It's a large, square, flat, velvet box. Claude slowly opens the lid on the box to reveal a delicate, sparkly, elegant necklace. "The green reminded me of your eyes."

Esme is in awe of the beautiful piece of jewellery that Claude brought her. She's never seen anything so lovely in all her life. She runs her fingers softly over the piece feeling the facets beneath her fingertips. "I don't deserve this. It's too beautiful for the likes of me."

Claude wraps his arms around Esme's waist. "My darling, you are going to be my wife. You do deserve this. Don't worry about the money, I didn't purchase this item. It was my mother's. I merely retrieved it from my vault. She would be happy to see someone else wear this again. It was one of her favourite pieces."

Esme leans her head on Claude's chest just near his heart. "Are your parents still alive? If they are I should meet them before we marry." Esme whispers.

"My parents are long gone, but my brother, Jehan, still lives. I have written to him to tell him about you. I hope to hear from him soon. I would like him to stand up with me when we marry." Claude sighs as he thinks about his family.

"You never told me you had a brother before. I bet he's younger than you." Esme says quietly.

"How did you guess?" Claude asks looking down at Esme.

"You just don't seem like a younger sibling to me. You are too stern and too rule oriented to be a younger sibling who was looked after by someone else. You look after everyone else and it seems as if you always have. You're used to being in charge and I suspect that you've been that way since you were young." Esme tells Claude honestly.

"Well, you are right. My brother is 4 years younger than me. He is the only one who made it to adulthood with me. Jehan has not had an easy life, but he's trying and I feel so responsible for him. I practically raised him when my parents died." Claude tells a little bit of his past to Esme.

"Can you stay for lunch or do you have to go back to work?" Esme asks snuggling against Claude.

"I should go back to work. I don't want to, but I should. Put that necklace somewhere safe and I'll see you at vespers." Claude kisses Esme and presses the box into her hands.

"Alright, my darling. Don't work too hard. You're always so tired when you come home. I worry about you." Esme says sweetly.

"I promise I won't work too hard. I have a time limit anyway since I'm going to vespers. I promise I will keep an eye on the time so you won't have to face the crowd on your own." Claude promises Esme.

"Good, I'll see you later. Go be a judge and be important. I'll see you in Notre Dame." Esme stands on tiptoe and kisses Claude's cheek.