Hieronymous stopped Alice on the way to supper that evening, pulling her into an alcove beside the hallway. As usual, the other students merely passed them by, not stopping to stare or to attempt to listen as they might have last year. By now, the two of them together seemed no more remarkable to the student body than Petunia's garish clothes.

"Sorry, but I won't be eating with you tonight. I'm just here to get a few things for Ellen and Virginia…they don't feel like coming out," his wife explained.

He was a little disappointed by that, but he understood. The test had been traumatic, for her roommates at least. He enjoyed that Alice carved out time to spend with him every day at supper, and over tea during the weekend at the very least. She regularly spent her leisure time with him, giving him her full attention during those hours. It was something his father had never done for him, leading him to believe that he was unloved by his own family. Of course, his childhood retainers and later his students gave him their attention, but only because they had no other viable choice but to do so.

No one but Violet had spent nearly so much time with him when they had had a true choice of whether or not to do so. It had shocked him when Alice had asked him for his permission to do so last year, after their marriage had become public knowledge. It had made him consider that there was a plausible chance that what he had wanted to see in Alice was actually who she really was. He knew that in infatuation one would see the object of their desire as the viewer wanted to see them, whether that was an inaccurate estimation or a true picture. Infatuation could develop into love if what you wanted to see actually turned out to be reality. It was then that he had known that there was a very real chance that he could fall in love with her, but that had left the question of whether or not being in a real relationship with him would be what was best for Alice.

He had initially thought to refuse her offer, begging off with the excuse of preparations for the final exams, but then had decided to risk that tattered remnants of his own heart and offered to let her come on the weekends. He had recognized that he did not have the right to make the decision of developing a relationship with him for her, and it was not as if she would receive no benefit if she decided to remain married to him. He figured that, if nothing else, their marriage would make her a lady and keep her in comfort for the rest of her life. There were, after all, women that would vie for such a life. He had not known or suspected at the time that she had actually been born even more privileged than himself.

Alice had accepted his offer, perhaps without realizing the full connotations, and had used his given name for the very first time. It was then that hope had truly been born for him. And now, little more than a year later, she stood before him as his wife by her own choice, his hope made reality.

He could not begrudge her choice to spend the evening following the most harrowing examination her class had faced yet with her best friends instead of him.

Hieronymous grimaced. "I…some sophomores do not react to this test very well," he admitted. "It is necessary for a mage to work even when under extreme duress, but Petunia and I take no pleasure in creating that duress…or it might be more accurate to say the students' perception of duress as it is their own fears rather than anything necessarily anchored in reality."

Duress. He called it duress, and yet another understatement had escaped his lips. What that particular spell did was create in the mind of the enchanted one a scenario in which their greatest fear could take place. Only when their mind was entrenched in that fear would they be allowed to wake and continue with their examination. He had feared that his wife would have found herself betrayed and abandoned by everyone that loved her...including himself…in that test but Alice had somehow broken free of the spell, and then proceeded to wake her friends. There was not only that, but although she seemed sufficiently determined she had not wept or screamed upon waking as most students taking this test had. Either she had found a way to completely avoid the effects of the spell, or her mind had not accepted whatever the spell showed her as reality and she had been able to find her way out.

Petunia had woven the spell that had caught Alice, as he had been unable to do so himself. The other scenario he had feared was if she had to watch his death as he had watched Violet's, and that it also occurred in a tragic or gruesome manor. He did not want to be responsible for giving his wife pain. She had had enough of that when her sister had been torn from their parents. Intellectually, he knew that he should treat his wife no different from any other student in the classroom or during exams, but Petunia had indulged his moment of weakness and had taken care of the matter herself. Despite what he was sure had been a flawless spell cast by the Headmistress, Alice appeared to have escaped its ravages.

It went right up on the list of the things he had not seen a student do during exams that his wife had managed to accomplish. Whatever her method had been, he could not deny some very personal relief on his part.

"I know you don't," Alice acknowledged, then tilted her head slightly while looking at him. "I think this is part of the reason it's a good thing that I won't have you as my teacher anymore. You won't have to feed badly about making me work hard."

Ah, the topic he had actually wanted to speak to her about. "But it appeared to be less of a struggle for you than your companions. You woke yourself up, instead of the spell releasing you. I had not seen a student do that before."

"So…will I be getting merits for managing to get out of the spell, or demerits for not taking the test as it was intended to be taken?" Alice asked.

"And Petunia seemed to think there was some kind of interference," he finished.

Alice pursed her lips before speaking. "Grandmother had a message for me, and was able to take the spell as an opportunity to give it to me. The message was a distracting one, so one could say that I did not entirely miss the spirit of the test. And you know from experience that I can use magic effectively even when under duress. I recall an incident involving a Spiral Gate earlier this year…."

"Is this something you have to act on?" he asked, curious.

"Not at the moment, Hieronymous," she answered. "I'll let you know if or when I need your help. Right now, it's best to just let the events unfold."

Another message about the future carried by a ghost? And one she did not want to expose for the time being. He had to admit to curiosity, but next to a hallway frequented by students on their way to the cafeteria was not exactly private. And if he understood his wife's tone, she was not sure that it was something she should divulge even in private.

If it was about the future…he understood that it was not an issue of trust, but one of practicality. The future was fluid, given to change. If the wrong person knew too much about it, it might change. Apparently, this was something that she either wanted to happen or wanted to avoid very badly.

He bowed his head slightly towards her. "As you wish, my lady."

Her eyebrows rose, and he almost laughed at her. "You are going to have to get used to hearing that, sooner rather than later since you will soon be in charge of a houseful of servants. You may as well start now."

A corner of her lips twitched up. "Of course, my lord," she said, and then brushed his cheek with a quick kiss before heading off toward the cafeteria.

...

"I have chocolate in various forms, and fruit," Alice announced, walking into her dorm room.

Virginia was spread out on her bed, staring at the ceiling, and Ellen's face was puffy, as if she had been crying. Alice put the tray down on her desk, which already held a peach on it.

"You know that the test was about making your fears come true in your mind, and then seeing if you were still able to work your magic, right?" Alice asked. "None of it was real, or would necessarily happen." They had been told that upon exiting the test, but Alice guessed that it had not sunk in at the time.

Ellen shivered before drawing herself to sit up. "I hope you're right," she said fervently.

Virginia, however, had not appeared to move.

"Thank you," Ellen said, reaching for an apple on the tray. She froze for a second, staring at the peach that had already been there. "Is the peach yours? Was it leftover from breakfast?"

"It's mine," Alice admitted, "but it was not left over from a meal."

"From your husband?" Ellen guessed. "But why a peach? I mean, flowers are one thing, but fruit not even properly in a fruit basket?"

"They're messages," Virginia finally said, still spread out on her bed. "It's an old courting tradition, different plants mean different things. I asked Minnie about it once. I don't know which plants mean what, though."

"Oh," Ellen said, looking at the peach with a new understanding. "If I may ask, what does a peach mean?"

Alice wondered when Virginia had found out about that. At least, she had not appeared to bother to look up what she had been receiving. She guessed that Virginia did not really want to know.

"It means, 'your qualities, like your charms, are unequalled,"' Alice answered, grateful that this week's installment had not been something more personal.

"That's a nice sentiment," Ellen admitted, then was quite for a few seconds before continuing. "He's very much in love with you, isn't he." It was not a question.

Alice nodded. "And I with him," she confessed.

Ellen smiled. "And I would want nothing less for you." Brightening, she took the apple and then headed toward the door. "I think I'm going to see how Donald is holding up after this," she said, shutting the door behind her.

Alice sat down in the chair near the head of Virginia's bed. Her other roommate was still staring at the ceiling. "Do you want to talk about it?" Alice asked. There was still what she had said concerning Clark during the exam.

Virginia sighed. "How did you fall in love with Grabby?" she asked.

"I…do you mean when did I know that I loved him?" Alice asked.

"No," Virginia clarified. "I mean how. Was it an accident? Did you do it on purpose? Did Cupid himself show up and shoot you both?"

"A combination of the first two I think," Alice said, thinking. "As we got to know each other better, we discovered that we 'fit.' We got to know each other on purpose mostly, once it became necessary for us to do so. How we got together in the first place was an accident…on our parts, at least. And I decided that I cared for him before I decided that I was in love with him. That isn't always the same thing."

"I know," Virginia said. "I care for Clark, but it's the same way I care for you and Ellen. He's a wonderful guy, and any girl would be lucky to have him."

"But you are wondering if you 'fit,' and if the relationship would go anywhere," Alice guessed.

Virginia finally turned her head to face Alice. "He's pretty much everything I thought that I wanted, right down to his strange sense of humor, so I thought that it could work but…. I've been trying to see if I could love Clark the way I think he wants me to, but I'm not sure that I can."

Alice sighed. She wondered how her brother would take this news. Still, it was better now than later. "You should not try to force your feelings for anyone, my brother or not. Let love wake when it wishes to. Once you've found it, keep it. You might just not be ready for it to find you, yet."

Virginia finally sat up on the edge of her bed. "I was afraid that you would not understand."

Alice gave her friend a quick hug. "I understand that you will try to do the right thing by Clark, and by yourself."

An almost shy grin crept to Virginia's lips. "Everyone in school is going to think I'm crazy for breaking up with him, you know."

"Probably," Alice admitted. Her brother was kind, intelligent, and was not bad looking if not exactly handsome either…never mind the family fortune. With those qualities in mind, it would seem easy to most girls to deal with his dry sense of humor and occasional absent mindedness. Some might be more understanding if Virginia said that she didn't want to deal with the politics that his wife would have to one day. "You could explain that you found out that you have an allergic reaction to politics, so you decided that you should just be friends instead."

That shy grin twitched before disappearing. "That's the other thing. I don't think that I'm cut out for that kind of life. I'd probably be an embarrassment to your…his…House. I mean, I would have made every effort if I had decided that I loved Clark but…."

Alice nodded, understanding. "So, are you also abandoning your plans of a paper marriage?"

"He deserves better," Virginia said. "If he wants to choose someone himself, he should be completely free to do so. If he decides to go the political route, well, your grandfather would not have the freedom to start arrangements if Clark were already married, even if it was just a single-year contract."

"So what are you planning to do?" Alice asked.

Virginia sighed. "I think I want to talk to Mom and Dad about it. Maybe there's a family friend that wouldn't mind being married for a year. I'm wondering if I should avoid any choice I would have at school, anyway."

"I could see why," Alice acknowledged. "If you immediately started dating someone else, everyone would assume that it was very serious because they would think that you broke up with Clark to be with whoever it was. That could create pressure that you wouldn't want."

Virginia blinked. "I hadn't even thought of that. I was just thinking that no one would want to date…much less marry…the crazy girl."

"Virginia," Alice said, "you are crazy…but in the best way possible."

Virginia slowly shook her head. "Coming from the girl that was crazy enough to decide to stay married to Grabby, I'm not sure how to take that."

Alice shrugged. "Sanity is overrated, and boring. Sane people never have any fun."

Virginia snorted, and then allowed herself to be momentarily distracted by the chocolate cake Alice had brought before leaving the dorm to try to find Clark.

...

Author's note: I hope this clears up what happened during the final exam if anyone had any questions. It occurred to me to wonder how ghosts knew anything about the future, so I thought of something and then discovered that I already had a use for it.

Well, almost done. Only two chapters left to go. It's been fun writing, and a special thanks to those of you that review, especially those of you who do so regularly. :D

If I didn't think that anyone was interested, I might have stopped posting some time ago. ;)