Their lives changed again and took a new routine. Jack didn't wait for her to wake up. Instead he'd wake up at dawn and leave to deal with the matters of barony management, observing Uncle Robert and his council of elders. At the moment he merely watched and learned, although every now and then he had to use his Wolf's persona to get them in line. So he learned that to control something it wasn't enough to have sheer power. One needed knowledge and skills. A lot of knowledge and skills. He hasn't been taught this managerial and political part of being a baron's son. Only Cai did. And this defect in his education had to be rectified. And fast. So, for now Jack only attentively listened to all that was said around him, agreeing with most of it without comment or discussion so that he could think on it in depth later. Let the Ushers think he was ignorant; let them laugh behind his back thinking they fooled him while they tried to accomplish their deeds out of his knowledge. People always were overconfident and underestimated him. He wasn't a fool. He learned fast. And if previously he had no interest in this cursed place and tried to make a life for himself in Devon, now he had an enormous incentive to learn all the intricacies of the clan management. This would be his land: his and Isabelle's.

Still, despite all the apparent busyness - and because he didn't want to seem too soft to his relatives, he took over the military training and preparedness in Torquay - he tried to find time in his schedule to share meals with Isabelle. It turned out that he got spoiled easily and couldn't stand to be away from her for too long. Even if 'away' meant being in different wings of the same manor and 'too long' meant the time between meals. Not seeing her for several hours made him miss her too much. Especially when she was so happy so see him. They ate together, sharing food from their plates as became their tradition, and this simple process compensated for their absence from each other in this place where they were each other's only friends. They ate and told each other of what had transpired in their days and it was addictive in its normalcy.

Uncle Robert finally finished this particularly boring - obviously chosen as a punishment - report about the state of things on the borders of Torquay and in its waters. The summer this year happened to be especially hot and there weren't rains for a while, which meant a serious likelihood of poor harvest and loss of animals. So far things haven't been too bad, but there were signs of possibly consequence of the drought. This could be a problem for the clan and its people and it required some careful planning ahead.

Elders sighed and shook their heads and talked about the God's will. Jack, who sat in the dark corner of the library, watched with furrowed brow as the elders dispersed. The last to leave was Uncle Robert, who spared one look at Jack, scrunched nose in distaste and shut the door. Jack could have sworn he heard lamentations in the hall.

"I haven't sinned and I attend church regularly, what have I done to deserve this? Ushers, all of them, exist to make my life difficult."

Jack was sure it had nothing to do with the possible poor harvest and everything to do with him. However, he wasn't interested in his Uncle's snide remarks. He was deep in thought, when the door opened slowly with a squeak and when he lifted his gaze he squinted in disbelief. In the doorway stood, like a vision on pastel, Isabelle. She smiled and walked towards him, a tray in her hands.

She put the tray down and he saw that it had contained light repast. She placed it on his table, pulled a chair close and sat opposite to him. He already knew that she cared little about the etiquette and rules. Like right now, she should not be seen serving food as she was a lady. Even if it was to bring it to her husband. Still, he felt like she was more comfortable with him and did how she felt like doing. This was another sign of her trust in him.

She went ahead and poured a drink for him, but he stopped her with a gentle hand on the pitcher that he took away from her. Then he poured a drink for her. It was completely wrong, especially for a baron's son to serve anyone, but he didn't care. He only wanted to reciprocate: he responded to her care for him.

She smiled and took it in stride, but he was impatient to ask.

"Why are you here, milady?"

"Why? Should I ask to be seen by you by appointment?" she snorted and blushed a little. Then she took a sip and recovered. "I just wanted you to know that you shouldn't be too late coming from your council meeting this evening. When I was in town, I had ordered your clothes from the tailor, Mr. Simon. I was told that he has the best selection and best tailors. And you know, what was brought today looks great and I liked it. It seems that he lives up to his reputation. Everything was made with skill and quickly."

"Why?" Jack asked surprised at her joyful enthusiasm. "I mean why more clothes? I seem to have enough..."

"You mean your wardrobe of only black? You are taking monochromatic theme to an extreme. You could do with some accents of color," she returned and he was lost a little at seeing her mock furrowed brows. She looked like she wanted to scold him again. For what he wasn't sure. Maybe for asking questions? "To answer your question: because you are my husband and you must look attractive."

"What?" Jack had blinked in confusion, thinking he misheard. It was that usually words like beauty ad attractiveness didn't apply to him. At all.

Isabelle sighed deeply as if he was missing the most obvious things. She often made him feel like that: stunned, confused, unmoored.

"Finish your drink or it would go stale."

He glanced at the cup in his hand still stuck in mid-distance to his mouth. Huh, her words stunned him so much he forgot he had something in his hand. Still, he followed her advice and took a large gulp.

"I can't believe I have to convince you to look the part of the baron's son and heir," she said with consternation.

"People don't use words like attractive to talk about men," he managed to squeeze out the first thing that he could come up with in counter response. He fervently hoped his argumentative wife would drop this subject.

"Used or not used, whatever," Isabelle said casually, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. And then she looked at him and added with conviction. "I don't care. You must know that a good husband would indulge his wife."

"Ha! I thought you came here to take care of your husband, like a good wife should. Instead you are here to extort. That makes you a bad wife."

"A good husband wouldn't have a bad wife."

"See, right there, that was extortion," Jack responded more calmly. He always enjoyed their banter and mock grousing, because unlike others Isabelle never wanted to truly hurt him. He laughed at her demonstrative pout as she tired to come up with a response. He poured out the liquid from her cup and refreshed it from the pitcher.

"There. It had gone stale," he said mildly, taking care of her like a good husband should.

In the evening, this good husband was standing in front of a large mirror and watched as Isabelle turned him this way and that, adjusting clothes on him and ironing out the invisible wrinkles with her hands. She seemed to be in a good mood, chatting about the tailor, the fabrics, the cut and asking him if he had any preferences. The clothes did fit him perfectly and were well made, at least no worse than Devon-made options. However, he stood there like an idiot watching Isabelle and paying little attention to his own reflection.

He recalled one moment in Devon, when Cai managed to trap him and make one of his many derisive comments to Jack. In that instance he mocked Jack about his vision for a future bride. At the time, Jack was only learning under Hrodolph and was no more than a knight-in-training, but he still had his pride. So he threw a short description to get his brother off his back and not appear to pathetic. But even then, he felt the truth of that statement in his bones. That was the reason he never paid attention to any young ladies and all but ignored Donna, when Aunt Leona tried to arrange a marriage for them. It was because he had nothing to offer to a lady like Donna. And now... Was it possible that it some strange way his words were willed into being? That he became dear to someone? Was it possible that someone wasn't repulsed by his face?

What nonsense! But somehow, right now, he was ready to believe Isabelle when she talked about his attractiveness. Even when he looked at himself in the mirror, saw the mask and knew the scars it hid. It was why he agreed to put new clothes so as to appear handsome for her, knowing that she probably meant the expensive attire, not his person. It was these words, which would be a cruel and unforgivable insults coming from anyone else, were different when she said them. Hundreds of questions and doubts, mixed in with the gentle sprouts of hope and filled his mind and didn't let him figured out his own feelings. Feelings that sprung in his heart like a small brook, which chiseled at the dam drop by drop so that in time it would break through and rush unrestrained like a strong river that would flood all the land around it. At that moment Jack felt like a twig that was carried by a current somewhere unknown.

Kim run her hands over his shoulders again, refraining from doing more than that. It would be so tempting to run them all over him... She had to remind herself that this was not America in 21 century and she was not free to do so. Even if he was her husband. Still, she was attracted to him. She liked him. He was her friend here. A friend, who took her safety so seriously, he was taking on his entire hateful family to ensure her well being. That nightmare she had of him being poisoned drove to her in perfect clarity that she and him were bound together for all intents and purposes. If something happened to him, she would be devastated. Her crush on mysterious and sexy man, grew into a deep appreciation of him as a friend and now it was making her head spin to know that he was so honorable and protective. Was it any wonder that she was falling for him? Unfortunately for her, Jack either was too honorable to overstep whatever boundary he set up for himself, or he simply didn't see her as a woman.

She missed him a lot these days, even though she understood in her mind that he couldn't spend all this time being next to her. He had matters to attend, he had obligations. At least now he wasn't in charge of the defense in Devon and didn't have to travel out on missions. But all these arguments didn't help. So she tried to keep herself occupied by coming up with chores. For example, she made full inventory of all medicinal items that she and Jack possessed and made a point to learn all that they were supposed to accomplish. She quietly got rid of various suspicious looking substances like dried dung, but kept most of the herbal mixtures. This was how she discovered that Isabelle Corneille's family packed a lot of cosmetics, conveniently labeled, and she was spent some time learning all that these items were supposed to do.

She tried to recall any of the advice from women's magazine about attracting attention of men. Or remember stories of her friends in school when they talked about their crushes. Was she supposed to flirt? Flip her hair? Bend and snap? She giggled trying to imagine the scene of her bending low in her dress and trying to snap. She didn't think the stays on her dress would survive such an attempt. What was the time appropriate method of showing preference? Should she drop her handkerchief? Show the top of her boots? Ankle? Bare shoulder? It's not like they haven't been living together and spend their nights in the same room. Granted, her nightdress was long, voluminous and had long sleeves, but still... And they have been close to each other physically. When they rode the horse, for example...

That's why when the new clothes arrived, Kim was so excited. Half-listening to the explanation of how Mr. Simon put other orders on hold and made every single apprentice focus of this urgent order, she looked at the new shirts and vest. He would look so good in them... But he was coming late each evening. She even delayed her bedtime just to keep up with the story-telling tradition that seemed to develop between them. She could let him know with a servant or she could surprise him. Putting her idea to life, she called for refreshments and had Rose bring it to the library, where the council met. On the way she ran into Master Robert. The man was barely polite, only nodding briefly and clenching his teeth. She guessed she should be happy with this level of civility, given how much they hated Jack. In fact, most noble people she met here were like that.

This she learned when she realized she met ladies of the manor.

She had been busy with her pharmaceutical audit and inventory when someone knocked on the main doors to their quarters and pleaded an audience with the Lady Isabelle. Kim nodded and Mary quickly brought in the visitor. It was the steward, Mr. Burger, who immediately began bowing low and practically sweeping the floors with the hem of his vest. She knew the reason for the show of deference: Jack had instilled a great deal of fear in all servants. The maid who brought Kim to Lady Usher was whipped on the orders of Master Robert, but everyone assumed it was Jack's doing. Kim cried when she learned of that and pleaded with Jack to interfere, but he only confirmed that it was proper punishment. This was one of those times when Kim remained quiet for the rest of the evening and the whole next day. Later, Rose told her that Jack had sent a healer to the maid and even got her reassigned to their retinue of servants, but she was not allowed to come near Kim. She had to reconcile her modern sensibilities to the harsh life she now had to live.

"Milady, in honor of your marriage, the ladies of the Usher clan would like you to join them for a celebratory meal," Mr. Burger said pompously.

Kim acquiesced: it wasn't the mad Lady Usher that issued an invitation. This must be Aunt Leona and her granddaughters. Kim looked at herself in the mirror and decided that her comfortable day dress was appropriate for an unplanned visit, even if it was in her honor.

Philip Burger escorted her to the veranda that overlooked the lake. Obviously it was a concession to a warm day and the view was spectacular. There was already a table set and she found several women sitting there. All of them talked among each other, but stopped and bowed to her. It surprised her. The most senior of the ladies approached Kim with a smile.

"Lady Isabelle, we are glad to welcome you here. Unfortunately, we weren't properly introduced to each other. I am Katherine Watson. I am Robert Watson Jr's wife. These-" she pointed at the two women standing behind her, "-are my daughters: Donna and Claire. The rest are some more of our distant relatives and you will meet them all properly given time."

"Pleased to meet," Kim said politely and tried to remember how Lady Marshal behaved in these kind of circumstances.

The maids showed her to the head of the table and she took the seat. Then she used the moment as others returned to seating and studied her hostesses. There were a total of ten ladies present, all of different ages and all of them staring at her with unbridled curiosity. While the servants served the food, she attempted to decide on her behavior tactic.

Before she could decide anything, Claire asked her with great interest, "Lady Isabelle, how is it to live with a husband like that?" At least she waited until the servants were out of earshot.

"I beg your pardon. What do you mean?" Kim frowned in confusion. She hasn't experienced such blatant curiosity in her personal life before.

"Well, for example, everyone knows that you share the sleeping quarters. It is ever so... unusual. Aren't you upset that you have leave like a poor peasant?" the lady explained herself with wide eyes, holding a hand to her cheek in mock horror. Kim knew exactly what was going here. It was the same condescension disguised as concern trolling, while keeping the polite expression on the face.

"On the contrary," she shrugged and smiled contentedly. "It is ever so useful. Because while I share rooms with my husband, I shall be certain that I am the only woman in his life." Kim knew what she was doing: this time frame was rife with men taking mistresses, who often were more influential than official wives.

"That is... certainly... true," Lady Katherine mumbled. She exchanged glances with her daughters, who looked lost at this unexpected response, and then they both looked away. Kim was pleased: obviously both Master Roberts have been lees than faithful to their wives. Even if it was considered the norm, she imagined few wives appreciated it.

While the older ladies looked among each other, Donna has butted in, not even trying to hide her arrogance, "But still, it must be horrifying to observe him so up close every day. If I were in your place, I would have agreed to ten mistresses. Everybody knows how ugly he is with all the scars."

"What scars?"

"What?" the young woman looked lost for a second and stared open-mouthed.

"What do you mean?" Kim continued innocently and even added the batted lashes to the picture of innocence. They would have to explain themselves fully and that was simply too impolite and prurient of them to inquire after intimate life of others. Besides a lady could not be heard talking of men's bodies. "What scars?"

"But Lady Isabelle..."

"Enough," an older lady appeared at the table. She was very beautiful even in her fifties. She spoke and gave Donna a withering look. "Behave yourself like a young lady. It is not polite to ask spouses about their intimate life! What would Lady Isabelle think of our manners?"

"Mother! We haven't expected you to join. Are you not still resting after trip to the monastery?" Katherine exclaimed.

"I am fine. Don't make me out as an old lady." The newcomer turned to Kim with another polite practiced smile. "I am Leona Watson. You are born Corneille, aren't you?"

"Pleased to meet you. And, yes, I am formerly a Corneille."

"I used to know the former head of the family. The new one is not even worth talking about." She huffed and looked at Kim even more pointedly. "So you married Jacob Bruer. I wondered what all the fuss was about ever since I returned from the monastery. Only to discover that he had married. That boy never misses his chance to upset the Torquay. And now he wants to assume leadership the clan..."

"As is his position as an heir, non?" Kim asked mildly, knowing full well that it ought to irk them.

"Indeed," Leona drawled and her polite smile gotten even more forced. "He's shown remarkable willingness to involve himself, whereas before he couldn't leave Torquay fast enough. But, I suppose, marriage changes people."

Kim inclined her head and added, "Life shapes us into who we are."

This was as close a hint to his abysmal childhood at their hands as she could allow while being polite. Leona's face tightened a little and Kim knew that she was understood: Jack didn't forgive or forget.

"I heard you met Lady Usher. That was unfortunate. The poor soul doesn't know what time of day it is. Or even what year... Just like Jacob's own mother," Leona had looked pointedly at Kim.

"I cannot discuss someone who I haven't met. I only hope that she found peace at last," Kim's response was enough to make them drop the subject altogether.

Leona's face was more calculating than mad and Kim wondered if she ought to worry about poisons for real now. She now understood all that Jack was telling her about the Ushers. How did he survive these vile people?

Jack was staying up late in the their quarters trying to finish the book he began this morning. However, the more he read, the less sense it made. Letters blurred together and became some incomprehensible scribble. But Jack valiantly fought on and kept reading. Only at some point the blurred scribbles became one dark spot that grew and grew until he was dozing off sitting in the chair. He dreamed of something confusing, some distant memories that drifted past him. Darkness and fear was prevalent and he whimpered thinking he as lost in the forest again.

Then came a sensation of something light and soft. It was so unusual that he almost woke up. And then he felt someone's hands touching his face. No! No! No! People's hands meant pain. No! He didn't want to!

He tensed and tried to wake up from the dream. With effort he opened eyes wide.

But it was only Isabelle next to him, looking at him with trepidation. Jack grew cold. Was this continuation of the nightmare?

And then he noticed her hand hovering near his face. It was her hand! She touched his face?

He looked at her again. She was calmer now, but looked with concern. He exhaled, feeling the beads of sweat on his forehead. He wiped his face with a sleeve, messing up his hair and Isabelle reached out to move the strands out of his face, momentarily touching the skin. And maybe because he wasn't fully awake, but her light touch suddenly became a great temptation to him and he didn't resist. He gently took hold of her palm and pressed it to his cheek. Closing his eyes he recognized it: that light feeling was back. Just a little longer... He would stay like this a little longer...

He felt her fingers move, but she didn't break away. Instead her other hand landed on his shoulder. Sliding up the neck, she slightly nudged at the back of his head and he, completely lost in the uncommon sensations, followed her movement and his head was in her lap. He inhaled the scent that lingered in the skirts of her dress and felt how her fingers combed through his hair.

So this was how it felt... when a mother comforted her child. He had no idea... His mother was gone and memories of her hazy.

But those thought and memories faded as she continued her ministrations and he fell asleep with no bad memories marring his sleep.

A/N: I changed Bobby's name to Watson, as Wasabi wouldn't have worked in this story.