A knock on the door interrupted the happy couple for a moment. "Drat," said Clarisse. "Someone's finally noticed that I'm not working and they've come to drag me away."

"They can't drag you anywhere yet you're not dressed." Joseph said calmly. "Come in," he called to the person at the door.

"Grandma where have you been? There's so much to do and you're in here having breakfast! How could you!" Mia had come in to the room and started talking right away. She was stressed out enough as it was without having to look all over for her grandmother.

"Amelia at some point you have to take ownership of your own wedding after all it's not me getting married this time." Clarisse sighed as she got up off the bed and went over to her granddaughter.

"Why do I have to take ownership of my wedding right this minute though? I don't even know what I'm doing. This is all so stressful!" Mia flung herself onto the end of her grandmother's bed and then looked at Joseph who was chuckling at the scene going on before him. "What's so funny?" Mia asked demandingly.

"You are," Joseph said as he moved the breakfast tray and sat next to Mia on the bed. "You take everything so seriously. This is not a session of parliament. This is your wedding and you can do whatever you want. It is your special day with Nicholas. These aren't decisions your grandmother and I should be making."

"Well why didn't someone just say that in the first place! That would have made life a whole lot easier! Thanks Joe! Never mind grandma you stay here with Joe. I'll call you if I need you." Mia was off as quickly as she had come and the room was quiet again. Everything made sense to Mia for the moment, but Clarisse knew that she'd probably need help at some point.

"You're a miracle worker Joseph. I've been saying the same thing to her for weeks and she didn't listen. You always manage to keep her calm. Thank you." Clarisse snuggled into Joseph's open arms as she spoke. Her granddaughter always managed to exhaust her completely and utterly, but Clarisse loved her all the same.

"She just gets so frazzled when she's doing everything and she doesn't see how easy she can make it for herself. She just needs to remember that this wedding is for her and Nicholas and the two of them only. It doesn't even really matter what we think, Clarisse, just as long as she's happy with how everything turns out." Joseph rubbed his hands up and down Clarisse's back.

"Where was your good advice when I got married? I was about as stressed as Mia just was and I had Rupert's mother and my mother to deal with. I nearly went nuts." Clarisse sighed remembering that time in her life. "It looks like we have the day to ourselves now because Mia has figured out she can do everything on her own. What do you want to do?"

"I think we should go riding out to the old cottage I used to stay in and spend the day there. There are a few things I need to collect anyways that I didn't go back for after we got married. What do you say?"

"That sounds wonderful Joseph. I'll go with you as long as I don't have to cook any more today. You're difficult to cook for." Clarisse leaned back against Joseph's chest as she spoke.

"No more cooking for you I promise. In fact I'll cook today. I happen to have a wonderful recipe for pasta with marinara sauce which I know you prefer over any Alfredo sauce. We'll have a nice quiet, calm, relaxing day and we won't tell Mia where we're going. She'll have to fend for herself for today." Joseph smiled as Clarisse sighed in his arms. It was exactly what she needed and they both knew it.

"What do I wear? Just something casual I suppose?" Clarisse asked as she looked up at Joseph.

"Something that you're willing to get dusty and something you can go riding in. I haven't been back to the cottage since we got married so I suspect it's quite dusty." Joseph said as he ran his fingers through Clarisse's hair.

"I'm sure the designers would be appalled if I wandered into such a situation in a designer outfit. I think I may have a pair of jeans and an old sweater lying around somewhere." Clarisse thinks carefully.

"That's perfect. That's all you need. Let's get dressed and then we'll ride over. Please, promise me you'll actually follow me this time. You don't know where you're going." Joseph says cheekily.

"Alright, I promise, and that was only once. I'm not a rule follower and I hated being constantly watched at that point, although I did discover being watched by you wasn't so bad."Clarisse teases her husband.

"No, you're right following rules is not your strong suit, but you did get better with me around. My predecessor warned me about you, but you clearly like me better." Joseph teases back.