Gwen carefully folded up the piece of parchment that she had been quietly reading and placed it in the inner pocket of her robe as she replied steadily to Elisabeth, "I think that you ought to go and see Aurelius."
Elisabeth, who had been fidgeting nervously with an owl of her own, looked up with surprise at her friend and asked, "Are you serious? You think I should go?"
"Yes, I do. If you marry Thomas without being sure how you feel about him or about Aurelius than you will never be happy. Just go, Elisabeth. It doesn't matter what I think or whether I approve of Aurelius."
"Are you sure? You've always said that…"
"That I don't approve of him? Well I don't. I think he will make you unhappy because he is unstable and unreliable. Thomas loves you even though he knows you are still hooked on Aurelius. He would wait until the next decade if he thought he could win you and I think he is worthy of you. But this is a decision for you to make. I don't know that you would approve of whatever decisions I have made about my own marriage. Perhaps you know better for yourself what you need."
"Oh. Have you, does that mean that you have decided?"
"I have."
"You have accepted a proposal then? Does that mean that you will be married soon?"
Gwen looked into the mirror as she adjusted her hair, avoiding looking at her friend as she responded, "Yes, I accepted a proposal. I don't want to talk about it please. I cannot talk to anyone about it until I have met with my mother."
"But, doesn't she know? I thought that she was involved with the negotiations."
Gwen turned round and fixed a quelling eye on her friend. "She is too caught up with Father's treatments to be worried about anything as unimportant as my marriage. I don't want her to worry about anything else, either. Father needs her. I will talk with her when she comes to meet with the Ministry about applying for a new residency permit, since hers expired when she had been outside the country for more than 30 days."
"Do you really think that they would refuse permission?"
"They might. They haven't proved anything against Father, but they know that Mother has a record with the Central Ministry for using dark magic. The fact that the potions she has made were legal in Brittany isn't of much interest to your Ministry, since they are very illegal here."
"But she hasn't done anything since she lived in Wales."
Gwen laughed. "Of course she has, silly. She has been making Father's potion every week for the past 18 years. They know it, of course, but they cannot prove it. I think that she will probably get permission to return to Wales, but she won't be in a very good mood when she meets with me, I'm afraid."
Elisabeth stopped biting her nail to ask with confusion, "But she'll be happy that you have decided, won't she?"
Gwen sighed. "I really would rather not talk about it, Elisabeth. Are you going to meet Aurelius?"
Elisabeth jumped up from the bed and bent over to read the small clock that was spinning on the table by her bed. "I suppose that I will. I don't know what Mum will say, but I think I have to go."
Gwen shrugged. "Don't tell her. Just go, Elisabeth. I will cover for you whilst you are gone."
Elisabeth hugged Gwen quickly, but said with surprise as she turned to grab a cloak, "I'm almost tempted to think you are under a spell, Gwen. You have been so different lately."
Gwen shook her head. "I'm still me. Go on and don't worry."
Elisabeth pushed her wand into a pocket saying, "Thank you. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Gwen nodded and watched as Elisabeth flew from the room. She waited as she listened to the sound of Elisabeth's feet running down the back stair and then sat down on the bed. After several moments of sitting motionless, she reached into her inner pocket and pulled out the sheet of parchment that had arrived at the same time as Elisabeth's owl from Aurelius.
It was obvious to her that Bill was very upset. Gwen knew what was worrying him, but she did not know how to reassure him adequately. The only thing that she could do was to reiterate that she was not sorry about what they had done and that she also was waiting for the time when they could let everyone know that they were married.
Gwen knew that Ginny especially would take a long time to really forgive her for the deception. Gwen had known this for months and yet had not seen any way that she could prepare Ginny, since Gwen had never been too certain what Bill was willing to do. For all the quiet encouragement that Gwen had tried to give him, Bill had never done anything despite the interest that Gwen had been sure she had seen as far back as the day at King's Cross. Any French wizard would have understood.
Gwen read over the words that Bill had written and sighed deeply. It was going to be difficult to learn how to manage Bill. Despite being a pureblood and a member of the oldest warlock's society in Western Europe, Bill did not really understand how impossible it was to expect her to comply with modern expectations. She had been almost shameless in how she had said and done everything that she could think of to push him to make a declaration that night. She was still embarrassed at how blatantly desperate she had been and was only glad that he, being too English, did not understand it.
Gwen stood up from the bed and walked over to Elisabeth's gilded, white writing desk. She pulled out several of the drawers until she found a bottle of ink that was neither sparkly nor pink and parchment that did not have Elisabeth's initials embossed on it. Sitting down on the delicate white desk chair with two pink silk cushions under her so that she could properly reach the desk surface, Gwen dipped a quill into the ink and began to write.
"Molly has asked me to speak to you again, Bill. She's very worried."
Bill leant back in the chair across from his father and nodded his head. "I know she is. But there isn't anything that I can say, you know."
"I'm concerned, too, Bill. You are withdrawing from everything again. I haven't seen like this in months. Your sand needle usage has increased, which is not healthy, and you have been eating very little."
Bill closed his case and replied, "I know that I have been using too much. Even Anders says so and he inhales two packets a week."
Arthur shook his head at the proffered case and said, "Your mother will smell it on me. She doesn't approve. She won't even let me smoke my pipe indoors any longer."
Bill nodded. "I know. I'm sure she knows that I still inhale needle, but she doesn't say anything any longer. Not since I reminded her that even the Minister occasionally uses needle."
Arthur sighed. "It has become far too popular with the younger generation in the last few years, Bill. There is talk in the Ministry of making it illegal again to curb youth usage. There are so many long-term health risks."
"It probably should be illegal, but then so should bloodwhisky, considering everything."
Arthur smiled gently. "Very true. I wish you would tell me what is causing you to become so depressed again, Bill. I want to help you, son."
Bill wiped his face with his hand and let out a deep sigh. "I can't. I really can't."
"It is about Gwenaëlle Gurley?"
Bill dropped his feet off the ottoman and sat up a little more in the chair before answering, "Yes."
"Do you want us to approach her family?"
Bill's face registered surprise as he responded, "No. I have read both what their laws require and what her family wants for her."
Arthur nodded. "They are almost as difficult as the Castilians, Bill."
"I know."
Arthur picked up the silver case from the desk and opened the lid with a flick of his finger. "What do you want to do, son? Are you going to do something about it or are you going to continue to destroy yourself?"
Bill frowned. "I am sorry, Dad. I can't talk to you about it. I need you to accept that. I am not going to say any more about it."
Arthur hurriedly closed the sand needle case as a light knock was heard on the door. "What is it, Molly?"
The door opened and Molly Weasley entered the room holding a scrolled parchment that was heavily sealed with red wax. "Bill, dear, I…I didn't know what to do with this. I suppose the owl brought it here because it didn't know where else to go, but…"
Bill looked at the name that was inscribed on the other side of the scroll and felt his cheeks turn white.
"I'm so sorry, Bill. Maybe I shouldn't have given it to you, but I thought perhaps you would want it anyway."
"Thank you, Mum. I will take care of it."
Molly hovered for a moment next to her son before hurrying from the room as she mopped her eyes with a large white handkerchief.
Bill stared at the sealed owl, which had been addressed to Mrs William Weasley, and then peered closely at the marks in the red wax. It was possible that the owl had been meant for Fleur, as his mother had supposed, but it was more likely… Bill straightened back up and looked across at his father, having ascertained that the seal was charmed to the thumb mark and that the markings were the coat of arms for the Carmarthen Gurleys.
Speaking in an uncharacteristically sharp voice, Arthur Weasley asked his son, "Bill, tell me that you did not."
Bill stood up from the chair and said, "I am sorry."
Arthur's voice was angry as he asked, "Bill, do you have any idea what you have done?"
Bill placed the scroll in his pocket and replied, "Yes, I know exactly what I did. Please, you cannot speak of this yet, especially not to Mum."
Arthur was now also standing. "No, I won't say anything for now, but I don't think that you can have considered what this will mean for Gwenaëlle. If her family does not approve, which they very likely won't, the French government will not recognise the marriage. Any children would be illegitimate under French law."
Pausing with his hand on the door, Bill responded in as level a tone as he could manage. "I knew what I was doing and I know she did, too. It may have been wrong, but I do not regret it."
Bill quickly closed the door behind him and propped himself against the wall of the corridor outside. It was only two more days until Ginny's wedding. He would not let Gwen's family ruin Ginny's day. He couldn't open the owl and it might be dangerous to ignore it, since Gwen's mother might be planning to come reclaim her daughter soon. He would have to take it to Gwen even though it would probably destroy the little bit of composure that Gwen had been able to manage the last two days since she arrived back at the Burrow.
Bill climbed the stairs and walked down the corridor to Ginny's door. He could hear the laughter of four girls as well as Ginny's voice and paused for a moment before he knocked. He heard a trill of laughter and then Ginny's voice call out, "Who is it?"
"Me, Gin."
The door was opened by a short, blond girl that Bill knew as Cassiopeia, who said with a giggle, "Hi, Bill."
Bill looked round the room at the girls who were all lounging facing Ginny, who was seated in the middle on a pile of cushions. "Sorry to interrupt, Gin, but Gwenaëlle got an owl so I thought I would bring it up to her."
Ginny's face immediately showed concern, but Gwen stood up quickly and said, "I'll be back in a minute, Ginny. Did you want me to bring up some more cake?"
One of the other girls said immediately, "Yes, and more juice. I'm parched."
Gwen smiled at Ginny and stepped over one of the other girl's legs as she moved to the door. Once outside in the corridor, Gwen closed the door quickly and turned to Bill with a tiny gasp. "Who is it from?"
Bill gestured that they should move away from the door, so Gwen followed him down to what had once been his and Charlie's room. Bill opened the door and waited for Gwen to enter before he carefully shut the door and placed a silencing charm on it.
Bill held out the sealed parchment scroll saying, "Your mother. She knows."
Gwen read the name on the owl and looked at Bill with troubled eyes before she placed her thumb over the seal, which immediately cracked open. Bill put his hand on her shoulder and tried to press her down into a chair, and when she resisted he said, "Sit down, love."
Gwen complied and after reading what her mother had written, said shakily, "Oh it is awful, Bill. Horrid."
Bill's stiff posture drooped as he said, "Tell me what she is saying, please. I need to know."
Gwen handed it to him. "She is expecting me to show it to you. She wrote it in English, since she doesn't know you can read French."
Bill took the parchment from her and began to scowl as he read what Marc'harit Gurley had written to her daughter. "It is about is bad as we had feared."
"The Central Ministry must have reported it."
"We knew that they would, Gwenaëlle. There was a very slim chance of it not happening. I have been surprised that it has taken this long."
"Uncle Gwezheneg is going to come over."
"Yes, but that was to be expected too, love."
"I won't let them ruin Ginny's wedding. If they come now then it will destroy everything for her."
Bill nodded. "I am going to request a meeting for Saturday. Ginny and Harry will be in Cornwall and the guests will be gone. Your family will want time for your mother and your uncle to talk after he arrives, so hopefully they will agree."
Gwen reached for the parchment and Bill handed it back to her. "I hope so, Bill. What are we going to do when we do meet with them? They are threatening to…"
Bill placed his hand back on her shoulder and said, "Yes, but I will not allow that to happen. They will not find me an easy wizard to overcome and I won't allow them to take you back with them, Gwenaëlle."
Gwen stood up so that she was so close to Bill that he could not see her face. Unsure what she would allow him to do, Bill touched his hand tentatively to her back and said, "If you know something, anything that I should expect, then you must tell me. I have read a little about your traditions, but you are the one who really knows, love."
Gwen moved infinitesimally closer to Bill and said, "We have two choices, I suppose. Either we choose to act as though we assume that the marriage is accepted and we make it clear that you have taken me over or else we stay apart and we take a repentant stance and ask for them to agree to the marriage. In that case you would remember that I still belong to my family."
Bill took a deep breath and said gruffly, "I won't do that, Gwenaëlle. I would like for them to agree to accept us, but I won't pretend that I will bow to their wishes. No matter what they decide you will remain married to me, as far as I am concerned. If you have changed your mind then that is different, but I am not going to pretend anything." Bill could feel that Gwen had relaxed slightly so he raised his hand to her head and lightly stroked his hand once along her hair.
"I had hoped you would say that. I think to do anything else would be cowardly. But you understand that you will have to make it very clear that you have taken me over, Bill."
Bill pulled himself back so that he could look into Gwen's face. "I suppose I do know what you mean, but I do not like the idea that you are considered a possession, Gwenaëlle. I am not comfortable with that aspect of your culture."
Gwen bit her lip before she said, "Whether you like it or not you are responsible for me now. You may choose for us to act like equals but legally we are not. You have to understand that or you won't ever understand anything. If my family believes that you cannot handle me then they will feel that you are not a very capable wizard, no matter how many societies and councils you belong to, Bill."
Bill stepped back further so he could comfortably look at Gwen as he asked seriously, "I expected that, Gwenaëlle, but what I need to know is whether you think that, too."
Gwen did not look at him for a moment before finally responding, "I know that English wizards are different. I understand that. I do not expect for you to act like a Breton wizard or even a French one. I believe that you are a very skilful wizard, Bill."
Bill set his jaw grimly. She did expect for him to begin acting more like a very old-fashioned, pureblood wizard husband. She actually wanted for him to expect her to follow his orders. He had not imagined that her thoughts were so ingrained in the archaic Breton world that she would not consider herself a wizard's equal. This was going to cause definite problems.
"I will write to your uncle and request a meeting with him and your mother. You had better go back in with Ginny before they get worried."
Gwen nodded and turned to leave.
"If you wait here, I will apparate down and get the cake and juice, so they will not be suspicious that you have been gone so long."
Gwen replied softly, "Alright, thank you." She sat down on the bed to wait and leant somewhat forlornly against the bed post as Bill raised his wand and turned round to apparate to the kitchen.
