Getting back in the swing of things was not difficult. Take class, study, eat, sleep, and relax enough that her brain did not explode. The first week had been mostly review for her, but it was useful since she had not gotten the chance to perform any magic while at home, which had probably been the point. Alice had checked on her brother a few times during that first week and had given him a heads up about initiation. She guessed that his would go better than hers had gone. His scheme had worked, and by Friday the whole campus knew him as Grabiner's wife's younger brother. Whatever senior got him would be extra careful not to try to make him do anything too drastic. Clark was treated the same by her husband as any other student in class, but there had been no trouble either in class or outside of it that Clark was involved in. This made it difficult to tell if Hieronymous' protection of her extended to her brother or not.
Anyway, she thought that it was unlikely a senior would practically hit Clark to encourage his obedience, as had happened with her. Alice had considered herself justified in skipping initiation, especially since Damien had been expelled for something violent later that year.
Alice checked the detention room on her way to the cafeteria to make sure Hieronymous was not there before collecting a tea tray. Either no one had managed to get detention the first week, or they had been sent from the room to do some grueling task. This meant that her husband was probably in his rooms now.
Since she was not yet skilled enough to balance the tray in on one hand, she turned sideways when she reached her husband's door and knocked with an elbow.
"Yes?" she heard from inside.
"It's Alice, and I brought tea," she answered.
She heard a few footsteps before Hieronymous opened the door and ushered her into the room. Alice sat the tray on a small table that sat between two chairs, all strangely devoid of either tomes or manuscripts. Alice smiled, he had obviously prepared for her arrival.
A sudden awkwardness descended as they both prepared their tea, both keenly aware that this was the first time they had been truly alone since the first of May.
She was about to open her mouth when he took the initiative. "First of all, I would like to say that it was pleasant corresponding with you over the summer, Alice."
She smiled then nervously bit her lower lip, wondering where he was headed. This could either be very good, or very bad.
"I just wondered…I just wanted to clarify…." He drew a long breath. Alice blinked in surprise. She had never seen him this apprehensive before. Oh, it could not go wrong now.
"What I wanted to know is if you remain of the same mind as you were during our last conversation here; that you wanted to continue in our marriage past January and see if we are indeed suited to each other. You have had ample time to reconsider…."
His hand that had held his teacup was on the table trembling slightly. Alice took it in both of hers, squeezed it, and looked into his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere Hieronymous. And if you're going to try that 'I a bitter old man and you would be better off without me' bit again, you can just forget it."
The tension seemed to drain out of him as he smiled at her. "You realize that you're insane, of course."
"But I'm not completely off my rocker," she replied.
"And how do you figure that?" he asked.
"Well," Alice started. "Both completely sane people and completely insane people think that they're perfectly sane. Therefore, logically, the only way to be certain you haven't gone off the deep end is to know yourself partially insane."
For perhaps the first time ever, Alice heard Hieronymous Grabiner laugh. "I have never heard it put like that," he admitted. "I'll have to remember that one."
"Dad told me that once when I asked why he made and defused bombs for a living."
Her husband blinked in surprise. "He does what?"
"Well, he used to, for the military. He also said that having that particular job made everyone else on the ship not want to give him any grief. Apparently the last guy you want upset is the one responsible for taking care of the old underwater mines. They still run into leftovers from World War II sometimes. He has a different job now," she admitted.
"In that case I will have to be very careful as to how I present myself when I finally meet him. I understand that most fathers frown on 'robbing the cradle,'" he replied. "And here I thought the worst response I might have to face is him attempting to manually rearrange my face, but explosives can change that."
Alice could not stop a very un-lady like snort. "How old are you anyway? I just realized that I never asked."
"Twenty-nine."
"And mages can live hundreds of years?"
"Yes, especially if they are any good at Green magic," he confirmed.
"That is partially why my father is getting desperate about me wanting to take over his responsibilities. He is now getting so old, as normals know it, that he should be dead quite soon. He has to wear an illusion when in public on earth to avoid suspicion about his mysterious youthful appearance."
"Interesting," she said, sipping her tea. Alice wondered if she would have to do so one day, as well.
"Now, if you will indulge my curiosity," Hieronymous said, "please elaborate on what you were telling me last Sunday when I left you at your door. After all, I would like to know exactly whom I am married to. You implied that my father might not be entirely pleased?"
She smiled. "Well, I believe Grandfather said the fact that you don't get along with your father is 'a recommendation to your character.'"
Alice then went over everything her grandfather had told her, he husband leaning forward in his chair as he listened carefully. Finally, when she was finished, he sat back in his chair, clearly amused.
"This could be interesting," he finally said. "Father originally wanted me to take a wife from one of the other Houses. I doubt that he considered House Carleton a possibility considering his political rivalry with your grandfather."
She noted that his father had almost certainly objected to Violet.
"Will it be problematic?" she asked.
"Likely not," Hieronymous answered. "As I have said before, he was desperate for me to marry. This match will make him uncomfortable when he becomes aware of it, but he will not squawk in public. It will be a political inconvenience as it appears to be a trade in his favor, and others will want to know what he offered your grandfather to make up the difference.
"However, you do realize that you would have control over your own House if you choose to dissolve our marriage. Father owns successful businesses and a fair amount of property, but your House is wealthier than mine."
Alice shrugged. "It's not like I'll go hungry. Besides, Clark is perfectly able to take my place there. If one of the twins manages to mature, they could probably run the bank so Clark could focus on the politics. And then there's Nancy. It's not like Grandfather does not have heirs besides me."
He nodded gratefully. "I just wanted to be sure you understood." He paused for a moment. "Does Clark wish to take over for your Grandfather eventually? I know your…and his…circumstances differ from my own but you have only met the man once."
"Well," she answered, "someone has to make the world a better place."
Hieronymous leaned back, considering that. "Well, in any case," he finally said, "I need to write your grandfather. It is only polite to inform him that I intend to formally court you."
"Court me?" Alice asked, certain this was something out of a Jane Austin novel.
"Well, yes," her husband answered. "Our circumstances are irregular, so some modifications can be made. For example, since we are legally married, we will not require the services of a chaperone."
"So it's like dating?" she asked. Perhaps the traditional upper-crust of the wizard world still behaved like Victorians when trying to find a spouse. Or perhaps Hieronymous just found it a more appropriate way of getting to know his technically underage wife. That might be all right. It was not as if she felt they were ready to rush off to their honeymoon anyway.
"Yes, in a way. We would continue to have conversations, such as we are doing now. I would escort you to events, give you occasional small gifts. We would make plans together with the assumption that we will not be separating. We would also take our time with the…physical…side of our relationship. I would not expect anything substantial to happen on that front at least until you turn eighteen this spring."
He was actually blushing. Alice guessed there was a little pink in her cheeks as well. "Sounds like a good plan to me," she answered. "One small alteration, if that would be okay. I planned to tell my parents that I asked you out first so they can blame the…disregard…of our age difference primarily on me."
"So instead of me robbing the cradle, you would be robbing the grave? Very well," her husband said.
"With that in mind, sophomores are allowed at the Apple Festival if they have earned merits, correct?"
"Correct."
"So assuming I am able to earn some merits by then, will you go with me?" she asked.
Hieronymous smiled. "I may have to ask Petunia to handle any detentions that might arise, but I doubt she would mind. After all, the woman spends every opportunity she has trying to push us together. If you can earn the necessary merits, I would be happy to escort you."
Alice smiled. "I have extra motivation to pass the first exam, then."
Done with the tea, and apparently the conversation, Alice rose from her chair.
"One more thing, before you go Alice," Hieronymous said, retrieving something from his dresser. "Are you familiar with floriography at all?"
"No," she answered as he handed her a small book. She opened it to see various flowers and plants in pictures, with their descriptions listed beside them.
"It is the use of flowers to give a message. This is reference booklet is for you…it is important that both parties use the same reference material as some plants hold multiple meanings when different guides are used."
"You're going to give me flowers that I get to decode all year? I thought you said that you didn't have 'fun,'" Alice said.
That got another small smile out of him. "Petunia keeps an extensive greenhouse for the benefit of students practicing their Green magic on plants as well as a source for potion ingredients, and a rather well-stocked catalogue of seeds. Do not expect large bouquets or even flowers every day. Some may not even be floral. Just do not be supervised if you find a few flowers teleported onto your desk every now and then. Since it would hard to control how they fall onto your desk, please disregard the presentation when interpreting their meaning."
So normally flowers presented horizontally meant one thing, and vertically they meant another? Still, this sounded like a fun game.
"Your first installment," he said, giving her a small vase that contained a bell-shaped white flower with a green center, and another eight-petal open white flower.
Alice smiled, stood on her toes to brush his lips with a kiss and went to her room to decipher her gift. She found the open flower first. It was Indian jasmine, meaning "I attach myself to you." The other was snowdrop, meaning 'hope.'