Although it felt a little heavy, she liked the feel of the warm weight of her husband’s head upon her shoulder. Again she gave thanks to God for her two boys, these two who loved her unconditionally and were completely dependent upon her, the people she loved most in the world.
*
‘What happened next, Papa?’ Little Hannah was valiantly trying to combat her drooping eyelids and twelve-year-old Richard, although he had recently proclaimed that he was too mature for bedtime stories, was listening with poorly concealed interest.
Their father shot a wicked grin at their mother. ‘The beautiful princess gave the prince two tight slaps for presuming to think that she had saved him because she cared for him in the least. She pointed out that any woman would shield with her reverenced helplessness a man in danger from an army of evil goblins.’
Hannah had lost her battle with sleep and Richard his with comprehension. Goblins were all well and good, but what was this about rev-ity-whatsit something-or-other? Absorbed in pondering this, he missed his mother’s hiss of ‘I never slapped you! And the rioters were not ‘evil goblins’!’ and his father’s reply of ‘Poetic license, love!’ and his subsequent attempts to escape her trying to prove she had never slapped him by correcting this mistake now.
When he did notice, he rolled his eyes, trying not to smile. Honestly, his parents behaved like children sometimes – but for all that, he could see how happy they were together and he was glad of it. He raised his voice a little so that they could hear him over their bickering. ‘Good night, Mother; Father.’ Of course he had long since given up the childish habit of calling them Mama and Papa, as that baby Hannah still did.
‘Oh,’ continued the extremely mature, grown-up boy as if he had just remembered, ‘Hannah will be wanting you to tell her the rest of the story tomorrow night, so do make sure you finish the rest of it. She won’t be able to rest without knowing the happy ending.’
The prince and princess had no objection to this plan, except that they could not provide a happy ending for their story as their happiness did not look like ending any time soon.
*
She was standing appraising herself somewhat critically in the bedroom mirror, wondering if her new gown was perhaps a little too revealing for a woman of her age when he knocked and walked in.
‘Love, I just came to say we should be leaving in –’ He stopped speaking abruptly as he took in her appearance.
She returned his gaze a little anxiously. ‘Do I look alright? Oh, you don’t think it’s a little too –’
He let out a shaky breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and moved instantly to her side, taking her into his arms. ‘You look wonderful. More than wonderful.’ He nuzzled her neck. ‘Do we have to go out? I think I’d much rather stay here.’
She moved purposefully, if rather reluctantly, out of his embrace, looking at him archly. ‘Sir, you cannot be suggesting that we turn up late to our own party?’
Into the Embers
Start from the beginning
