"I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be." - Charles Dickens

Chapter 29

Two days later Clary made her way to the Lightwood Manor atop of Aura, her mare carrying her easily as usual, the two moving as only a good horseman and her mount can. Clary looked up at the big, quiet manor. She had it on good authority that Jace would be alone there that afternoon. Isabelle had told her some relatives of theirs were visiting Alicante and that they would all be in there until late in the evening, all accept Jace. He always made some excuse for not accompanying them on such family outings. He knew he was their family and they were his, but they weren't blood, and extended Lightwood family gatherings weren't really Jace's cup of tea.

So Clary had saddled Aura and slipped away from her house late on Sunday afternoon, with merely "I'm going for a ride," to her mother as she left. Prior to her relationship with Jace this would not have bothered anyone in the slightest, and Clary didn't wait around to see if this was still the case now that she had a serious boyfriend. Some instinct told her that it wouldn't really be okay, but you can't break a rule if it hasn't been made. Besides, there was one thing she knew would be real concern her mother and Luke had about her being alone with Jace, and Clary wasn't planning on doing that, at least not for some time.

Clary stabled Aura in Lightwood's stables and then went and knocked softly on the front door of the Lightwood Manor. She was let in by a butler. The Lightwoods had several more staff on their estate than the Fairchild Manor did. The Lightwoods had a butler, a maid, a stable hand and coachman. Clary attributed this to the varying histories of the two families, the differing personalities of the current members, and Robert's status as the Inquisitor.

"Master Jace is in the library," the butler supplied. "The rest of the family is out."

"Thank you," Clary said softly. She looked at the foyer, taking in the several options to her, two doorways and a hall. She had only visited the manor a couple of times, and wasn't quite sure where the library was.

"Down the hall, almost to the end. Follow the sound of music, it will probably be something by Chopin," the butler told her kindly.

Clary smiled gratefully and started down the long, dimly lit corridor. As with all of Idris, the wards prevented electricity from working, so the manor was lit with witchlight. The style of the manor was more foreboding that Clary's open, well lit home. Clary was used to open windows galore that let the sunlight stream in. This probably had a lot to do with Jocelyn's artistic nature. The Lightwood Manor certainly had windows, but they were curtained by heavy, drawn drapes.

Clary followed the music and listened intently as it grew louder as she grew closer. Perhaps Jace was playing a record while reading or plotting demon fighting strategy. Maybe he liked to plan his movements to the rhythm of the music. Unsure of what she would find, she crept into the library and came to a silent stop as she took in the sight of Jace sitting at the black baby grand piano, his fingers running along the keys, producing the delicate, exquisite melodies Clary had been listening to. It seemed almost incongruous that the same fingers that wielded weapons of death and destruction could create such beautiful sounds. It wasn't that beauty and Jace didn't go hand in hand, for he was beautiful, almost painfully so. It was that the music coming from Jace's fingers was beautiful, in a refined, artistic way, often gentle and peaceful at times.

Clary sunk silently into an armchair to listen, her eyes closing in contentment. She wasn't sure, but this might be her favourite side of Jace yet. As she would later learn from years of listening to Jace play, she sat as Jace moved from Etude no. 3 in E major, Op. 10 no. 3, "Tristesse" to another Chopin classic, Fantaisie Impromptu. He played with no sheet music, merely playing from memory, his fingers running up and down the ivory and black keys of the piano.

Eventually he stopped, and then said without turning or moving from the piano said, "I don't play for just anyone, you know."

"Seeing as I've never heard you play, or that I never actually knew you played, I'd say that was safe bet," Clary said dryly. "Do you have any more secrets?"

"Plenty, but I thought you'd want to wait to find out some of them at least," Jace said slyly.

Clary blushed and quickly willed her features to return to normal as Jace rose easily from the piano stool and moved towards her. "When did you hear me come in?" she asked. "I thought I'd slipped in unnoticed."

Jace barely concealed a snort and said, "I heard you knock on the front door and heard Taylor let you in. My hearing is pretty great, you know."

"Right," Clary said, mentally slapping herself.

Jace sat down next to hair in the roomy armchair, Clary pressed up close to him, but not quite in his lap. Jace leaned over and gave her a long, slow kiss. "So, to do what do I owe this pleasure?" Jace asked as he pulled back from Clary.

Clary, to her credit, managed to regain her composure and said "I heard you might be in need of some company."

"Well, not really, I'm excellent company, and I'm always with me," Jace said cheekily. "But I'm always glad to see you. But let me just check. Jon or Luke aren't going to burst through here any minute are they? Or you mother. She's pretty fierce for that matter."

"Yes, we Fairchild women are very intimidating, and it would do you well to remember that," Clary said with a grin. "But no, I would hope they can control themselves and not follow me wherever I go. It would be easy enough, but it would make them crazy stalkers. They need to live their lives and let me live mine."

"Thanks for that lecture, but I don't think you need to deliver it to me," Jace said with a snort. "Save it for you relatives for when they do eventually track you down."

"It is going to be an issue you know," Clary said with a sigh, snuggling into his side.

"I don't care. They can't stop us from seeing each other, and so long as we can be together, nothing else matters," Jace said firmly.

"If they had it their way, all of our contact would be fully supervised and I would have to take a vow of celibacy," Clary said dourly. "And I don't want that."

"That's a relief," Jace said, wiping his brow in mock relief. "Look, I'll comply with whatever is reasonable. And you should probably have a chat to your mom about what is reasonable, because I don't want to earn her ire. I do actually want your family to like me. I don't want to be your 'bad boy' boyfriend."

"But you are my 'bad boy' boyfriend," Clary said with a playful pout. "Ugh, it would just be easier sometimes if they weren't around."

The moment the words were out of her mouth she regretted them.

"Oh Jace, I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't meaning to be thoughtless," Clary said quickly, feeling terrible. "I just meant…"

"I know what you meant," Jace said quietly. "And sometimes it is easier. But I know you didn't really mean it that way. You can say things flippantly like you'd say to anyone else without worrying about my feelings. The Angel knows I do."

"I still shouldn't joke about things like that. With what we do, there of plenty of people missing family members and I shouldn't take mine for granted," Clary said seriously.

Jace suddenly scooped Clary into his arms, put his face close to hers and said, "How about we forget about your family for now? And about everything else?" He didn't need to persuade her further, and for quite some time, Jace, and his lips, and his hair, and his chiselled and sculpted body were the only things on her mind.

Some time later Clary's stomach gurgled and she pulled away from Jace and giggled. "I hope you were serious about that dinner offer. I think I forgot to eat lunch," she said with a laugh.

"You forgot to eat lunch?" Jace said incredulously, extending a hand to help her off the arm chair. "What were you doing?"

"Painting," Clary answered with a sheepish smile.

"That's my girl," Jace said with a chuckle. "Do you ever worry that you'll take a paintbrush into battle instead of your stele or your sword?"

"Of course not. I might accidentally take it as an extra, but never instead of my stele or Heosphoros," Clary replied, as Jace led her down the dimly lit hallway.

"Now, I can promise that dinner will be excellent. We keep a very good cook as Maryse is not much of a cook and Isabelle is particularly shocking. When you work as hard as we men do we need to be guaranteed of coming home to a decent meal," Jace said seriously, his eyes twinkling.

"I was not worried, I figured dinner would be more than satisfactory," Clary replied. "The only thing that crossed my mind was where we'd be eating. I know the Lightwoods have a formal dining room, but is there anywhere else more casual we can eat? I don't really feel like sitting at opposite ends of a huge table, with eighteen dishes and fifty nine candles between us. And imagine trying to pass the salt and pepper."

"Oh that's easy enough. Between us we have some pretty impressive reflexes and hand-eye coordination, we could just throw them back and forth. In fact, we could throw all the condiments. Actually, we could just throw our food at one another. I believe the Japanese call it teppanyaki," Jace said, keeping a straight face all throughout his comical diatribe.

"If we're having Japanese I'd much prefer sushi, it's much simpler to eat," Clary retorted. "I wonder if they always eat sushi at the Tokyo Institute?"

"Well, we probably could get away with that, but from recent experience, I'd say it's not advisable," Jace retorted cheekily. "No, I was thinking more of after we graduate the Academy. Traditionally we get shipped out to various Institutes to spend time there, immersed in their cultures and helping out with demon killing. Ring any bells?"

"Yes, smart ass," Clary said, taking a seat in the chair Jace pulled back for her. "Of course I am aware of that tradition, but what makes you think we'll get to go off travelling together? You have a parabatai, you'll need to be with him. He's already 18. You're older than me too. And I can't see my parents letting me go off to other continents with my boyfriend."

"It's two years away. They'll have learnt to let go a little by then," Jace said matter-of-factly. "And yes, I'll probably head off on my great pilgrimage with Alec before they let you leave, but there's no reason you can't join me wherever we are. You could bring Isabelle."

"And what about Simon?" Clary asked seriously.

"What about Simon?" Jace asked blithely. "If he's Ascended and finished training at the Academy I guess he can come too. Hell, bring Jon as well. We'll just travel around in a big gang. Institutes are typically huge. I'm sure they'll be able to accommodate five or six eager, full trained Shadowhunters to help keep their streets clean."

"Well, when you put it like that," Clary said with a smile. "Nice of the staff to set the table like this, although I was looking forward to playing catch with the condiments."

"Maybe another day," Jace said with a grin. "Chicken, milady?"

"Yes, thank you. And potatoes, carrots and beans please," Clary said. "And lots of gravy."

Once they were both served and eating Clary said, "So, who are the Lightwoods visiting in Alicante?"

"The Blackthorns, they're visiting from the Los Angeles Institute," Jace replied.

"Aren't they technically relatives of yours too?" Clary asked. "I know my family trees."

"Yes, but as I understand it, my ancestor Will Herondale wasn't a huge fan of Tatiana Blackthorn, who was born a Lightwood, so in a show of solidarity, I don't join the Lightwoods on family visits to see them," Jace supplied eloquently. "If it's not a family visit then it's all good, the Blackthorns are a lot of fun."

"So, you and the Lightwoods are actually related too," Clary mused. "Distantly now, but you had ancestors who were first cousins."

"Enough with the genealogy, all Shadowhunters are related, somewhere along the line," Jace said, spooning some peas into his mouth.

"Fine," Clary said quietly. "How about your grandmother. Any plans of seeing her any time soon?"

"If I thought she had any interest in seeing me I'd oblige her, but my presence seems to be more of a burden than anything," Jace said evenly.

"I'd like to meet her," Clary said firmly. "You've met my family so it's only fair I get to meet your closest living relative."

"I'm sure she'll swing by on business in the next few years," Jace said, unperturbed. "I'll set up a meeting."

"No, I think we should visit her at the London Institute," Clary pressed. She wanted to see for herself what the relationship between Jace and his grandmother was really like, and to see if there was anything to be done to improve it, on either end. "You can pick when we go, and for how long, but I'm serious about this."

"Fine, how about Christmas? That's a great 'family' time. Actually, there's always a fantastic party at the London Institute, often a masque ball. The liquor flows freely. If we have to go, we should go then," Jace said drolly.

"That's fine, I'll hold you to it," Clary said, her eyes set. "Should I check with my parents soon, just so we're all on the same page?"

"I think Alec might be seeing Magnus Bane?" Jace said, changing the subject without answering Clary's last stipulation.

Clary new he was changing the subject, but it was such a delicious subject that she had to bite. "I thought that too!" she exclaimed. "The way he kept sneaking off in New York, and then his slightly suspicious behaviour when we went and saw Magnus. Plus, Luke mentioned Magnus Bane is coming to Alicante some time next week, and he's apparently offered to stay for a while to consult on the aftermath of the Faerie War. But more on that later."

Jace looked a little shell shocked.

"What?" he asked quietly. "I was joking, just trying to distract you from your mission to mend my relationship with my grandmother."

"Well you got more than you bargained for then, didn't you?" Clary said tartly. "We'll revisit that at another point, I can assure you."

"Alec is actually seeing Magnus Bane?" Jace asked quietly. "He didn't mention anything to me."

"Well, I'm not sure, but I do think so. I was going to keep quiet about it until he was ready to talk about it, if there was anything to talk about. At the moment their just my suspicions from my observation," Clary explained gently.

"And Magnus Bane is coming to visit, for an extended period some time in the coming week?" Jace queried.

"Yes. I believe he's staying in Ragnor Fell's cottage while he's away in Moscow," Clary elaborated. "Magnus, as the representative for the warlocks on the Council has offered to attend the Faerie Trial as it continues and advise on the best course of action to take, particularly in relation to the Seelie Queen, and her knight, Meliorn."

"And you think it's also a happy coincidence that he'll be able to see more of Alec," Jace surmised.

"Yes," Clary owned. "Would you mind?"

"No," Jace eventually answered. "I want him to be happy. I want him to be happy enough to share things like that, with me at the very least."

"Just give it time," Clary said. "All things take time, some more so than others."

"I love you," Jace said tenderly. "Ask your parents about London. Maybe we should all go. We could all spend Christmas in London. If I have to see my grandmother, I'd at least like the rest of my family around. We've got two months to make plans, I'm sure everyone will be on board."

Clary wriggled in her seat, excited. "That might be one of the better ideas you've had, and before you say it, you have a lot of good ideas."

Jace grinned and sent a forkful of chicken into his mouth.

"I don't know why they need to hear from Magnus to decide what to do with Meliorn and the Seelie Queen. He should be banished to the depths of the demon realms and then brought back and eaten by wild dogs, not werewolves, wild dogs. Rabid dogs. The Seelie Queen, well that bitch should just have her head cut off," Jace said with vicious conviction.

"And that's why you're not in charge of politics around here," Clary replied, a smile playing about her lips. "I'm sure they'll come up with a suitable punishment. Something that brings great shame to the fae without riling them up so that they burn our world to the ground. Better minds than you or I shall determine that, and if Magnus can help, then so be it."

"There's no room for sanity at this dinner table," Jace said, his face wearing a deadpan expression.

"Oh, that's a pity, I guess you'll have to dine alone," Clary said impishly, rising. "I should be on my way home."

Jace let her get a few feet from the table before he rose quickly, elegantly and grabbed her, twirling her into his arms and kissing her passionately.

"Stay," he whispered. "Insanity and all. Stay."

Clary nodded and said, "Only until after dessert."

Jace chuckled, kissed her again, and led her back to her seat.

"And then I'll take you home," he promised.

"You don't need to do that," Clary protested. "Aura and I will be fine on our own."

"I know, but as the boyfriend it's my right to want to take you home," Jace replied. "I promise not to come within archery distance of your manor."

"Chicken," Clary accused playfully, laughing outright when Jace picked up the platter of chicken and offered it to her.

"I am not chicken, but merely wise. I'd hate to spoil our evening by inciting the wrath of your stepfather and brother by flaunting my existence in their faces," Jace pointed out. "Some other time."

"Yes, perhaps brunch next Saturday," Clary suggested. "Everything's so much more civilised by daylight. Nobody commits bodily harm either in front of a 3 year old."

"I'll be there," Jace promised. "Now, how late do you think I can get away with returning you tonight?"

"Don't push your luck," Clary teased. "It'll only be a matter of hours before we see each other again. Tomorrow it's back to the Academy."

"Excellent, I love a good chance to show off," Jace said roguishly.

"Yes dear, I know," Clary said impassively, her eyes twinkling and they both laughed.

AN: I hope you enjoyed all that Clace! They were a delight to work this this chapter. It's a long weekend here, so I used the time to get out another chapter, and I'm pretty pleased it's only two weeks since my last update.

Thanks to everyone for reading.

Please review! This chapter foreshadows a few of my plans that will feature as this story comes to an end, so sing out if there's anything you'd particularly like to know about the characters and their lives in this universe.

Also, I know it's summer break for a lot of you, so if you're looking for a new book or series to get addicted to, I'd recommend anything by Sarah J Maas or Jessica Shirvington. Also, Claudia Gray - A Thousand Pieces of You.