Kenna woke up and startled at the presence of Bash's arm draped over her. When did they start sleeping so close together? Her movement woke Bash and he quickly retracted his arm.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Sorry for what?" Kenna asked as she rolled over to face him.
"For startling you. I just. I don't know-" Bash replied.
"It's alright," Kenna said, reaching for his hands, "I was just surprised that's all. You do remember that when we first married you slept on a chair and prior to that my sleeping arrangement often found me waking up to dead girls so really this is quite nice."
Bash's eyes widened and Kenna quickly remembered that Catherine had instructed her to keep Henry's more malicious sexual activities from becoming common knowledge.
"Umm forget about what I just said, the past is in the past right?"
"Right..." Bash responded, but by the look on his face Kenna wasn't too sure he would forget about it so quickly. She knew his anger had shifted towards his father and was not directed towards her anymore, but she still felt shame over what she had brought into her marriage. Then again, for all she knew he might still have Mary on his mind even as he laid by her side. They both had things they needed to move on from if they were going to ever be truly happy together.
"On a more pleasant note, I was able to talk with some craftsmen yesterday about the work that needs to be done on the house," Bash continued, "It will take a few months to bring it up to your standards before we can move in permanently, but thankfully most of the work that needs to be done is cosmetic and not structural. Catherine may not have gifted us the grandest estate, but it's well built."
They had been at the estate for a few days and Kenna had been compiling a list of things that she wanted fixed or changed. Fortunately, Catherine had kept the estate lightly staffed so they didn't need to hire anyone.
"That's wonderful Bash. There are things I'll miss at court, but there are also things I'll be relieved to leave behind." She'd miss Mary and Lola and Greer of course, but she wouldn't miss Henry and the painful memories that accompanied him. She wanted to be able to fully devote herself to her husband without the constant looming presence of the King, no matter how hard she tried to avoid him.
"Well the good news is that we won't be far enough away to keep your friends from visiting but far enough away to discourage unwelcome visitors," Bash responded, almost as if he'd read her thoughts.
Kenna watched Bash get up and walk over to the window. Her husband might lack in title and fortune but he was handsome for sure, she blinked and shook her head before he could turn and realize she was staring.
"It looks like finally pleasant weather this morning, this rain has been maddening," Bash commented, "would you like to go for a ride after breakfast?"
Kenna had never been overly fond of riding before marrying Bash, mostly stemming from a childhood of riding in posh carriages, but he had been a patient instructor and now she enjoyed going for long rides with him. Besides, she was the Lady of Horse and Hunt and even though the title itself held virtually no worldly worth, to her it symbolized the new life she had with Bash, so it only made sense for her to take up riding. "Of course," she answered.
"Why don't I see about getting some breakfast sent up then while you change," Bash replied as he walked over to the door.
Kenna nodded in response as she got out of bed and walked over to her trunks to get her riding clothes.
After riding for a while Bash stopped at a small stream to allow the horses to drink and rest for a bit. Kenna walked over to a rock and sat down, thankful for a chance to rest her legs. She knew Bash had stopped just as much for her as for the horses.
After making sure the horses were properly secured Bash walked over and joined her. She noticed that he had a thoughtful look on his face and it seemed like he had something to tell her, but she didn't want to press him. After a few minutes he turned to her and grabbing her hands said, "Kenna, I want to apologize first of all for how I misjudged you when we first wed. I thought you to be shallow and selfish and quite frankly the last person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I was angry and I directed it towards you when it should have been solely towards my father. I know you didn't want this any more than I did. I was wrong though. Since we've been married I've come to see you as someone who is loyal and caring and smart. Someone I'm proud to consider my wife. You've been mistreated and had your heart played with by my father and I can only hope to undo some of the damage he's done to you. I won't lie and say that my feelings for Mary are completely gone, but I'm ready to begin letting them go. "
Kenna didn't know what to say at first, she thought her heart might burst. How could she possibly have wanted anyone other than the man who sat beside her? She managed to breathe out a thank you before pulling him to her for a kiss. It wasn't their first kiss but it was different than all the others. Finally she know exactly where they stood in regards to one another, it wasn't true love... yet. But she knew she was falling fast and she could only hope he would too.
Since this is a little later than I wanted to have this chapter up I made it a little longer :) As always thank you so much for your reviews, I enjoy reading your comments so much.
ScarletCourt- I'll be sure to do another chapter from Mary's POV once Bash and Kenna are back at the castle. I think I'll do one or two more chapters with them at the estate first though.