County Goodwater was half the size of Gévaudan and not nearly as lucrative, but such was the difference between the lands of an Earl and a Baron. Goodwater was bordered on one side by water, a massive lake that you couldn't see the other side of with the naked eye. Across that lake laid the great expanse of Gévaudan, but from the shores of Goodwater you couldn't even see it. It was like being in another world.
When Stiles had moved to Gévaudan, he'd expected to feel close to home. The two counties were technically bordered by each other, but the sides of the lake were not heavily populated and mostly consisted of plain roads. Their first true towns and cities were so far apart that it would take almost a full-day's carriage ride to go from one to the other. The Argents didn't live near the lake, preferring to live closer to their more heavily populated areas. Altogether it meant that Stiles had not seen his home by any stretch of the imagination for his entire internment.
Posey, on the other hand, was closer in size to Goodwater. The only reason Goodwater was larger was because the lake was considered part of the lands, so anyone doing business on it – such as fishing or farming – had to pay the Baron of Goodwater for that privilege, even if they lived in another county. Like Gévaudan, Posey bordered Goodwater, though not near the lake. Posey and Goodwater marked their edges with a different natural landscape – the Nemeton Forest. A river split the forest almost in half, even forming a ravine in parts, and that river was the border.
Stiles stared out at the water as their carriage passed over it. He knew there was no true difference in the air between counties, that the lighting wasn't actually different, that sounds weren't clearer just because he crossed a bridge, but it all felt true to him.
He remembered this forest, so much denser and more beautiful than the forest around the Argent Estate. Even though they were well into autumn, the bushes and trees were thicker here, as though they had been gifted with an extra energy while they grew. There must be something in the water.
Stiles had the window open, letting the cool air hit him, long before they arrived at their destination. It was like a carriage ride through his memories of a life before… before everything. It looked like home. It sounded like home. He leaned on the window frame, taking in as much of his county as he could without stopping their progress.
They passed by several farms and then through a town. The fields looked well tended, and several herds of livestock were dotting the landscape. The homes and business did not look in too bad of disrepair. Though one store had suffered a recent cave in of their storefront overhang, the rest were all in good condition. He saw no obvious signs of poverty, though he was sure he would discover some eventually. Many people stopped walking and stepped aside to let the carriage pass. Most eyes followed the sight of a fancy carriage even if they hadn't been in its path.
Though he'd been absent from their lives for five years, Stiles thought some of the people recognized him in their brief glimpses of him. One woman was close enough that he heard her gasp, but then she was out of sight.
"I'm getting a bit nervous," he admitted.
"Why?" Scott sat across from him, Allison beside him.
"I don't know how to be a Baron. I barely paid attention when my father tried to teach me, and now I have to jump into the role. All of these people are going to be expecting me to know what I'm doing." He leaned back from the window, suddenly self-conscious about being noticed.
Shaking his head, Scott leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee. "Nonsense. You've been helping me do my job for a month. Mother and I knew you'd need a refresher on the job, and what better way to do that than a sort of internship with me?"
Stiles rolled his eyes. He'd almost forgotten – Lady McCall and her son had known Stiles was still a Baron even before Allison had. Lord Argent had discovered the news, of course, when the beating had occurred. He'd written to the McCalls to ask their help even before that – he needed to transport someone very important out of the county, preferably in secret. The near-death beating Stiles had received had sped up his itinerary, but not by much.
He'd warned Lady McCall about Stiles' noble status – that was what Stiles had almost overheard during his transport, just before he'd lost consciousness again. Lady McCall and her son had then taken it upon themselves to give Stiles a crash course in how to be a noble again, to help undo some of the undermining Katherine Argent had done to him in her four years of control over his life. Stiles could argue that he was still pretty lackluster in the personality department, even before Kate had gotten to him, but he didn't want to disappoint the McCalls, so he just nodded and said thank you.
"It was a very informative month with you, Scott, but a month of learning doesn't magically clear up a lifetime of anxiety." Stiles gave him a half smile to assure the other Baron that he wasn't upset about this. "But I suppose I'll always be able to write to you and ask for advice, so that's a comfort."
Allison laughed teasingly. "Going to have Baron Posey do all the work for you?"
"Absolutely!" Stiles grinned widely. "Why do any work when you can get your friends to do it for you?"
They laughed together for a moment, but then the carriage began to slow and Stiles' laugh got stuck in his throat. They had arrived. It was the moment of truth. He was going to step out of this carriage, and that would be it. He wouldn't be a nobody anymore. He wouldn't be invisible. He'd be re-declaring himself to the world.
Was he ready for this? He wasn't ready for this.
The carriage stopped. The door cracked open. A familiar head popped inside. Blonde and unfairly attractive, Officer Parrish gave them a bemused smile. He cast his eyes around the carriage until he found Stiles.
"Welcome home, Sir," he said, stressing the word. Stiles recalled the theater, how Officer Parrish had called him the same title there, and realized that the Duchess of Roden had probably known Stiles was a lord by then. As such, Parrish had known too. No wonder he'd been confused when Stiles had tried to correct him.
"Good to be home?" Stiles said, though it was more of a question.
Technically, this was not Stiles' home, not by a long shot. When he'd lived in Goodwater, his family's home had been a few miles north of here, but this was still his first time back in his county, so sure. Welcome home and whatever.
Stepping out of the carriage, Stiles stared up at the building before him. The local courthouse was more intimidating now than he'd ever found it before. Before, it was a minor detail in his life because lords couldn't be charged with most crimes and it was his father who was called in to settle large issues, not him. Now it held the power to change Stiles' whole life.
"This way," Officer Parrish said and motioned for them to follow him. They went up the steps and through the large front doors. "My Lady couldn't be here today, but she sent me in her stead to ensure everything goes smoothly."
"Does the duchess always take so much interest in the lives of barons?" Stiles asked. He'd helped the duchess with a carriage wheel once, but surely she had more important issues and people to focus on. Yet she'd sent her personal guard to help Stiles. Why?
Officer Parrish shrugged. "When you spoke at the theater, she realized more was going on than she'd known of. After you left, she asked Lady Cora for anything she knew about you. Then she asked several other members of the court as well. When she discovered you'd essentially been held captive by another noble, she swore to intervene." He frowned and glanced at Stiles while they walked. "Are you aware that no one in your county knew where you'd gone?"
Stiles was so nervous that his hands were shaking more with every step closer to the barrister's office. "No," he said, only half listening. "Honestly, I didn't think anyone cared… because I thought they had a new baroness."
"No. Apparently, Lady Katherine has been unable to access any of your family funds. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The barrister can explain it all to you." He motioned to a door. "Here we are. Please, allow me to go in first and announce you properly."
It had been years since Stiles had been announced by anyone. He nodded numbly, and Parrish eased the door open.
"Good afternoon, barrister," he said. "I am Officer Parrish, here in the stead of her Ladyship, the Duchess of Roden. Please allow me to introduce Lord Stilinski, Baron Goodwater. Accompanying him today are Baron Posey and Lady Allison Argent."
The barrister beckoned them in further. She sat behind a large oak desk that was covered in papers and files. A plaque on the desk read 'Tara Graeme, Barrister'. Stiles saw her dark hair and skin and immediately relaxed. He knew this barrister.
"Tara," he said with a sigh of relief.
She smiled fondly at him and stood. With a bow of her head, she said, "I always knew you would return, my Lord."
"Tara, please." Stiles shook his head. "You don't have to do that."
Her smile turned a little impish. "Perhaps, but I've always wanted to address you properly at least once." The grin vanished. "When you disappeared after the fire, I worried I might never get the chance. But then that horrible woman came around, trying to claim your rightful property and I knew something wasn't right. Don't worry though, Stiles. She hasn't laid a hand on even a penny of your family funds."
Allison's eyebrows rose. "My- I mean, Lady Katherine hasn't been receiving payments? Even though she's been claiming to be the baroness?"
Tara nodded with pride. "No one but the Stilinski family will get access to their vault on my watch." Then she turned to Officer Parrish. "Unless, of course, the royal family asks."
"Of course," Officer Parrish agreed, but he obviously hadn't been worried about that at all.
They all sat around the desk to hear the facts. After the fire, Stiles had been in the hospital. Soon after he'd been discharged, Lady Katherine had shown up at the courthouse with her phony claim to the title. Of course it was checked out and discovered to be a forgery, but Lady Katherine swore she had a right to the county funding. Every lawyer and barrister in Goodwater had been blocking her attempts for the past five years, because they were all still loyal to Lord Stilinski, and his son wherever he was.
"But if Lady Katherine hasn't been running the county as baroness, who has?" Stiles asked, leaning forward in his seat so he could lean on the desk.
Tara grinned again, this time like she was revealing a juicy secret. "Myself and two others here in the courthouse have been keeping things running smoothly. We've done our best to maintain the standards set forth by your father, but we knew we were only place holders for the day you returned."
This was all fantastic news, of course, but Stiles frowned anyway. "I appreciate your support," he said. "I… apologize. I was tricked into believing a lie, but… I mean, that's not a good excuse. I should have come home. I-"
"Nonsense," Tara said, shaking her head. "We've received letters from the Duchess of Roden and the Earl of Beacon. We know what happened to you. Lady Katherine kept you as a scribe against your will and fooled you with her counterfeit letter of patent. Both the Duchess and Earl assured us that you have been kept in the dark about the truth and would have returned immediately, had you known. They both also requested a swift and smooth transition to your return to power. However, even without those letters, I doubt anyone in this office would have opposed you."
It felt all too easy at first, but Stiles soon realized it would be a full evening of work. Tara and the others had been keeping things running, and each had to be present in order to transfer rights back to Stiles. There were forms to sign, procedures to follow, and each one had to give a lengthy description of what they'd been in charge of. Tara assured him that they would work with him until he understood where things stood in the county and could manage on his own, but they still gave him enough information that he had reason to worry he'd never see them again. Most of their information went right over his head, as well, since they mentioned people and events he was unfamiliar with.
It was an arduous process, and Stiles dismissed Scott and Allison shortly into it. The other two nobles left to pass the time together until Stiles was done. When at last the sun had set and Stiles was finished, he set out to find his friends. Officer Parrish had remained present the entire time, and he followed Stiles out into the dark evening.
"Does her ladyship require you to follow me now?" Stiles asked.
The officer stood straight backed and professional, the same as he'd been doing for the last several hours. "No. But she asked me to deliver a message as soon as you finished getting reinstated."
Curiosity sufficiently peaked, Stiles faced the guard and held up his hands as though the message involved a gift. "Well? What are you waiting for? What's the message?"
Officer Parrish looked torn between embarrassment and amusement. "Now that you're a lord again, her ladyship requests that you be a man and not hold grudges against people that don't deserve them. She also gave the order for you not to mess up a beautiful little county by being a useless nobleman." He bowed his head to Stiles. "But she has every faith in you and wishes you the best of all lucks."
"Her ladyship is an interesting person," Stiles said, forehead drawn together in confusion. "Um. Tell her I'll do my best and I appreciate her support."
He was confused when Officer Parrish stepped into his carriage and was carried off into the night. He was still confused when he hopped into his rented barouche and set off to find Scott and Allison. Stiles couldn't tell if the duchess was being specific or generic in her orders. The young woman barely knew Stiles, and yet she claimed to have every faith in him? People were so odd sometimes, and he wasn't just thinking about the duchess. Lady McCall would certainly say the same crazy things, and he'd only known her a month or so.
All the positive energy aimed his way was freaking him out a little bit, if he was being honest.
About a block from the court house, Stiles almost called for the barouche to stop. In the crowds around the theater and the bank, he thought he'd spotted a familiar scruffy face, a set of dark eyebrows. But when he stood up in the barouche and turned back, he couldn't spot anyone he knew. It was just a mass of moving bodies and faces, too clustered together to see any one individual. Frowning with disappointment, Stiles slid back down into his seat.
No. He was not disappointed that Derek hadn't been in the crowd. He wasn't. He pressed a hand to his chest, trying to rub away the soreness inside him. Why did Derek have to pop up in his thoughts and ruin an otherwise great day?
He found Scott and Allison sitting on a bench outside a local winery. They had taken a tour of the building, but the business had closed when the sun went down, so the two nobles had to vacate. This didn't seem to have bothered them, as they were deep in conversation when Stiles drove up. Scott helped Allison into the barouche first and then clambered up beside her, leaving Stiles on his side alone.
Stiles's mind was still vaguely on the potential of Derek being in Goodwater, so it was a good thing that Scott and Allison needed no input from him to keep the conversation moving. In fact, Stiles was as good as invisible in that moment. The winery had clearly been a breeding ground for chemistry, as Scott and Allison seemed quite enamored with each other.
Stiles had never seen Allison so animated, so happy with a conversation partner, as she appeared in this one barouche ride with Scott. The two laughed at each other's jokes but also when they just agreed with each other. They were alive with energy, and their eyes never strayed from each other. It was as if they were the only two people in the whole town.
In fact, they kept up their constant stream of animated conversation all the way into the hotel and up to their rooms. Stiles went to the desk to check them in, though they had sent word ahead of time to prepare the rooms. The clerk almost fell over herself when she realized who was coming to claim the room. She bowed, garnering the attention of other workers, who then also scrambled to bow and shake his hand. There were a lot of greetings and 'welcome back's and all sorts of niceties, all of which Scott only mildly noticed so he offered no support during it.
Eventually, a porter took them to their rooms. Unfortunately, it meant he was witness to Scott and Allison's embarrassing display.
"Well I'll… see you in the morning, I suppose?" Scott said, hands clasped nervously behind his back so she couldn't see.
"Yes. Bright and early." Allison's hands were held in front of her, but no less nervously so. "Unless you wish to sleep in. Then I'll see you after breakfast?"
"Oh no. No, I'll definitely see you at breakfast." Scott held his hands up defensively, as though her suggestion was a shock. "And maybe… I could have the honor of spending the morning with you afterward?"
"Oh, yes!" Allison nodded, her cheeks flushing slightly. "I would enjoy that."
"Fantastic!" Stiles interrupted, unable to watch any longer. He paid the porter and then shoved Scott through the door to their room. "I'll be right in. You start getting ready for bed."
The porter disappeared down the stairs and the door shut loudly behind Scott, then it was just Allison and Stiles together in the hall. He walked her the few short feet to her room and opened the door for her.
"Was I being too forward?" Allison asked. "Too obvious? I'm sorry. I just really like him."
"I noticed," Stiles assured. He shook his head good naturedly. "Scott is a great man, Allison. I think he likes you as well, and the two of you will make a star couple. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I just couldn't watch you two being so obviously interested in each other anymore. It was grating on my nerves."
Allison placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from leaving. "You'll find someone, Stiles. Title or not, you had people interested in you. You'll see. There's someone out there who loves you."
Whether she was thinking of someone specific or not, he wasn't sure. But she left him in the hall with that thought and shut the door in his face. He frowned, not sure if he believed her these days, and wandered back to his room with Scott.
Not having Allison around did not stop the shows of affection, it turned out. Scott ranted about how amazing Allison was long into the night. He detailed everything about her and what they spoke of, so much so that he even repeated full sections of conversation that Stiles had been present for.
"Oh, by the way," Stiles said, several hours into listening to Scott's recounting. The other lord stuttered to a halt and gave Stiles his full attention. "No one rebuilt my house after the fire – wonderful, that – so is it alright if I continue to live with you until a new one is built?"
"Of course!" Scott nodded excitedly. "I'd have you stay forever if you needed it. Have you gone by the bank to see your funds? It must be massive these days, considering you haven't touched it in five years."
Stiles shrugged. "The lawyers who've been running the county took their portions, of course, but Tara says I got my dues out of the taxes as well, as the rightful owner of the lands. Lady Katherine has been trying everything short of robbing the bank to get access to my family's vault, but luckily she hasn't received a penny of it."
"Do you think Earl Gévaudan knows? That she's been lying about your title and trying to get your money?" Scott asked – the beautiful innocent Baron that he was.
"Absolutely," Stiles said with conviction. "I'm sure he was just angry that she was failing to obtain anything. In fact, I'd say that even if he didn't help her original plan to burn my house down, he's probably been giving her tips about how to undermine me in the eyes of the law so she could get my money."
Honestly, he had no idea how much money was left for him. His father had been well off, of course, but Stiles had thought all of the money to be gone – sucked up into the coffers of the Argent family years ago. His first stop in the morning was the bank so he could figure out his budget for the new house. After that, he had a meeting with the architect and the company that would do the actual building. But-
"Honestly… Even if I had the funds of the entire country, I'm not sure how large I want my home to be. I've lived in large houses, mansions, and estates my whole life, so I don't think I'd do well with a tiny home, even if it was quaint. But… I'm just one person, and I don't know that I'll ever need a house as large as the Argents or the Hales, which can easily house ten people or more. Even my old house was meant for a family of five, despite the fact that it only held my father and me. It used to hold all five, but my grandparents died, then my mother, so then it was just us." He hummed. "Maybe I'll aim for that size, though. Because a library, a study, a sitting room for guests, and at few bedrooms – one for me and some for a guest or two… Yeah. That sounds nice."
"It sounds very cozy." If anyone but Scott had said it, Stiles may have thought they were jeering at him, but somehow Scott made the statement sound earnest and sweet.
"It does, doesn't it?" Stiles lay back on his bed and smiled at the ceiling. "Good enough for me, at least."
Maybe not good enough for an Earl, but it was enough for a Baron. He rolled over to face away from Scott and frowned. His mind had somehow drifted to Derek again. Dang it! It didn't matter how large Derek's house was or what size Derek would prefer. It wasn't as if the soon-to-be Earl was going to pop in on Stiles and use the guest room. It wasn't as if he'd be living there full time. Even if he and Stiles had met as lords, had courted properly, had begun a proper relationship, it wasn't like Derek would have moved into the smaller house. They would have-
If Stiles moved in with Derek, who would be in Goodwater? There'd be no resident lord. Who would witness the people's needs and work to correct them? Stiles could still be the Baron in another county, but managing from afar would never equal the quality people would receive if he managed from within the county.
He frowned into his pillow. Damn. Even if they'd both had titles to begin with, things would have been too complicated for a full relationship.
"Shut up," he mumbled into the pillow. "You don't care, remember?"
"What was that?" Scott asked, slipping out of bed to put out the lamps.
"Nothing," Stiles said, loud enough to be understood this time. "I was just going to say goodnight."
"Oh. Goodnight." He bought the lie almost too easily, too cheerfully. Then the room was cast into darkness, and Stiles did his best not to think until sleep could claim him.