When Ioreth finally finished, Boromir let out a gusty sigh of relief. The throbbing slowly faded into memory, the sharp sting hot on its heels and when she passed him a towel, he did not hesitate to swipe the sweat from his forehead. "Do I need worry about this again?"
She shook her head. "I do not think so, no. We will keep an eye on it, same as I've been doing."
"I'd rather not have these stitches opened again if we can avoid it."
"Take care then, and hopefully, we won't." She passed him his tunic. "So, I understand you and the tavern keeper's daughter have become quite close."
He paused, half into the shirt as he said, "I beg your pardon?"
"Do you think I did not know?"
He pulled it completely over his head and emerged to find her offering up a knowing look. "Know what? Gabby and I have been friends since we were children."
"You are children no longer, though."
"Ioreth," he held her stare easily, "just say whatever it is you are thinking."
"My lord, are you being careful?"
"Careful?"
She rolled her eyes. "Do you take me for a fool, Boromir? Think me so old that I know not what happens between men and women when they are no longer children?"
"I think this line of questioning is silly."
"I know she spent at least one night with you and someone told me they'd seen you leaving her family's tavern this morning. So, I ask again, are you being careful?"
He sighed softly, lacing his tunic as he shook his head. "No, actually. I've not been careful with her at all."
"Boromir."
At one time, the note of disappointment in her voice would have had his defenses up, his hackles raised. But this time, he bit back a grin as a hint of color appeared along her sharp cheekbones. "What?"
"You are not a boy any longer. Surely you know—"
"Trust me, I am well aware of what the consequences could be. And they do not trouble me."
"Would they trouble her, though?"
"I don't know. She's voiced no concerns to me." The sting in his chest faded completely, thankfully.
"Would she be comfortable doing so?"
"I think so, yes. She and I have known long enough where I think she would be more than comfortable with asking me to make certain I took precautions."
"You should speak with her about it. To be sure."
He sighed, sinking back into his chair. "I do not think I would be upset, if she were to become pregnant, Ioreth."
"Ah, but how does she feel?"
He offered up a sheepish smile. "Don't all women want babies?"
She did not smile back. "No, they don't. And do not be a man who sees women only as mothers, for you will be selling her short if she has no desire to have children. You may be in for a rude awakening, should you desire them while she does not. Remember, she has been running her parents' tavern on her own for some time now, and has done so smoothly. She may not wish to give that up."
"But, that was before. Now that peace should be returning, so will those who sought refuge elsewhere."
"You don't know that. Many may choose not to return." Ioreth's iron gray brows pulled low. "Talk to her. Make certain you both want the same things. And do so before you think to take her to bed again."
He sighed softly, raking a hand through his hair. "Of course."
"She is a lovely girl, you know. And I believe your father would have approved of your match with her." Ioreth's hand came to rest on his shoulder, her touch almost maternal. "When you first returned, she wouldn't leave your bedside for any longer than was absolutely necessary and she drove me and my staff mad with all of her questions and her insistence on being kept updated with your progress." Ioreth offered up one of her rare smiles. "I do believe she loves you, Boromir."
He smiled then and nodded slowly. "I do not deserve her, Ioreth. It is a mystery to me why a woman like her would care for me at all."
"Nonsense. You are a good man, Boromir. Do not sell yourself short, either."
The truth lingered at the tip of his tongue but he held back. He'd known Ioreth since he was a boy and he trusted her as if she was family, but even so, this was not something he was at all proud of doing.
"I'll make sure to speak with Gabby," he said as he rose. "And I will keep an eye on my wounds."
"And you will come to me to let me keep an eye on them as well," she told him sternly.
He moved the door, where he nodded. "Of course."
When no further lecture was forthcoming, Boromir left the Houses of Healing and made his way down to his apartment, his thoughts far weightier than he'd expected them to be.
In truth, he'd given very little thought to being careful where Gabby was concerned. It wouldn't be long before they were married and no one would think twice, should a child arrive less than nine months after. After all, they would hardly be the first couple expecting when they took their vows.
Still, he had to admit, he'd not given any serious thought to whether or not Gabby might want children to begin with. They'd never discussed it. He'd told her he wanted to have children with her, but aside from commenting that she'd never heard him mention such things, she gave no opinion on the matter either way. So, he simply assumed that if she became pregnant, she would bear the baby.
But what if she had no desire to have children at all?
And did he want children?
He paused, his hand hovering over the handle of his apartment door. Yes. He did.
Or did he?
The truth was, despite what he'd told Gabby, he'd not given it more than a passing thought for himself, either. He'd always assumed his would be a bachelor life. A dalliance here and there, perhaps, but he hadn't met any women he wished to build a life with, so children were no more than a fleeting thought when he'd see someone else with their offspring.
The door opened without a sound, the silence that greeted him as loud as thunder, and yet softer than his own thoughts.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized, yes, he'd like to have children with Gabby. They would be older than most of the new parents in Minas Tirith, but truth be told, the thought of having a child with her was one that made him smile. He rather liked the idea of a little one bursting into their room far earlier than should be allowed, liked the idea of a little one who looked to snuggle with them. Rather liked the idea of passing his own knowledge on to his son or his daughter. He recalled the dream he'd had, the one of him teaching his son how to wield a sword while a pregnant Gabby watched and encouraged them both, recalled how it felt to lift that boy in his arms and hold him close.
It reminded him of how Denethor had been in the days before Boromir's mother, Findullas died. Patient. Kind. Loving. That all died when Findullas did. Boromir had been ten when that happened and from that point on, gone was the loving, smiling, adoring father he and Faramir had known. In his place was left a scowling angry man who saw his older son as everything a boy should be while his younger son was, in his eyes, a disappointment. Faramir was a dreamer, always eager to sit at Gandalf's knee and listen raptly to the wizard's tales and legends. Although he trained as a soldier alongside Boromir, Faramir did not have what their father saw as the killer instinct. He was gentle, with children, animals, anything he saw as weaker than him and in need of protection. And to Denethor, his was not how a man presented himself.
Perhaps he'd always felt that way toward Faramir and Findullas made certain her youngest never knew the truth. All Boromir knew was that as the years passed and Denethor made no secret of his comparison of his sons, made no secret of the fact that Boromir was far and wide the favored son, and Faramir was the disappointment.
Faramir knew it as well and when he realized his brother had figured it out, Boromir stepped up, made certain Faramir knew someone loved him. They'd been close ever since and there was no one in all of Middle Earth Boromir trusted more than Faramir.
Except for Gabby.
From the time they were young, the three of them forged a bond unlike any other. Each understood the other's place in their lives. Gabby would never come between him and Faramir, and Faramir would never come between him and Gabby. Not even when the time came they each had families of their own.
A son of his own. A daughter of his own. At one time, he'd thought of them in passing only. But now... now he'd been given a second chance at so many things.
He sank onto the sofa with a low sigh. He'd given no thought to whether or not Gabby might want to have any babies, but simply assumed she would be overjoyed at the thought.
But what if she was less than thrilled?
He sat back, letting his head come to rest against the cushion. His eyes closed as a heaviness sank into his heart. At first, he thought it was because he had no way of knowing whether or not Gabby would want to have children. But as his eyes stung and his throat tightened, he realized that it wasn't that at all.
The realization that he was now the steward. That he was now the head of his very small family.
That Denethor was truly gone.
The sun was low in the sky as he made his way down the wide cobbled street that wound down through the city. He'd spent the remainder of the afternoon making the final arrangements for Denethor's funeral, which would be a week from then, and then he went to check on Faramir once more and now, he was just around the corner from Gabby's tavern. The street lights flickered, the lamplighter still in sight as he moved from lamppost to lamppost.
The door opened, a raucous laughter spilled out, and he smiled as he heard Gabby growl, "Watch yourself, Seward. Do that again, and you'll be minus a hand."
He moved faster toward the door, and as he stepped into the pub, it was to find it fairly crowded and choked with smoke already. The door closed behind him, rendering him blind for a few minutes as his eyes adjusted. When they did, his gaze was drawn toward the rear of the taproom, where Gabby stood behind the bar. It was almost like seeing her for the first time, with her hair pulled up and away from her face to spill down her back in a fall of shimmering pale gold. She smiled at someone at the bar and the sight of it made Boromir forget how to breathe for a moment.
Then she caught sight of him and her smile changed, becoming a bit more sly in a way that had his heart skipping a beat as well. How had he gotten so lucky, to win her hand?
He wove his way through the people to step up to the bar, where Gabby smiled as she said, "What can I get for you, sir?"
A wink accompanied her words as she picked up a tankard to fill as he said, "What do you recommend?"
"Everything." She passed him the tankard with another wink. "Are you all right?"
He accepted the tankard and nodded. "We'll talk later."
Her forehead furrowed. "Boromir?"
"Everything is fine, all things considered. It's simply this isn't the place for it."
"Are you certain?"
"I am." He lifted the thanked for a long swallowed. The, he lowered it to add. "It was simply a very long day. So, what time will you be finished here?"
"We close at midnight."
He looked about. "And you are alone?"
"I cannot afford to hire any help just yet. But," she leaned an elbow on the bar's clean, but somewhat scuffed top, "if the war is just about over, hopefully it won't be long before I'm able to bring at least one on board."
"Will you be safe here?"
"I've known most of these people almost as long as I've known you."
"Yes, but you had your father if any one of them thought to take liberties."
"I will be fine."
"I can leave you my sword."
That earned him an eye roll. "I'll be fine."
"Boromir, how are you doing?"
He turned to the man on his left. "Cadell, how do you fare?"
"I've had better, but I've had worse. Now, you're not thinking of taking liberties with our Miss Gabby, are you?"
"Cadell," Gabby said, her voice low with warning, "I assure you, it's quite all right."
"I intend to take no liberties," Boromir replied evenly, looking over at the older man. He vaguely recognized him. "You work in the stables, do you not?"
"I do, aye. And what interest do you have in Gabby?" Cadelle folded his arms over his chest. "Keep in mind, I watch over her in her parents' stead."
"Down, Cadell," Gabby told him without a hint of amusing, "for I need no watching over. And—"
"My interest?" Boromir broke in softly. "I plan to marry her. That's my interest."
He took a bit of satisfaction in the look of surprise on Cadell's lined faced. The older man leaned back, one elbow on the bar. "Marry her, eh? And how do you feel about this, Gabby?"
"Cadell," Gabby shot him a look, "you are not my keeper, no matter what my father might have told you."
"He told me to watch out for the steward's son," Cadell replied without hesitation. "For he knew why you came around so often. He had a feeling you—"
"Cadell." The warning in Gabby's voice deepened. "Enough."
"No," Boromir smiled at her, then turned back to Cadell, "let him finish. I'm curious as to what he was told."
"Well, I'm not and I have customers to take care of." Gabby looked from him to Cadell and back. "So, if you two wish to brawl like two bears, please go outside and do so."
With that, she took herself off, moving down to the far end of the bar, where as light as anything, she said, "Welcome! What might I get for you?"
Boromir watched her for a moment, then turned back to find Cadell glaring at him. "So, tell me," he said, lifting his tankard once more, "what did her father tell you about me?"
"He warned me, is what he did. Said to watch for you. That you'd be sniffing around his daughter and that I should put a stop to that. He knew."
"He knew what?"
"Why you'd be sniffing around her. And she's not that sort of girl, you know."
An image of Gabby astride him, naked and perfectly at ease with him flashed through his mind. Oh, she was absolutely that sort of woman and he was ever so thankful for it.
But, he would never gossip about her in that manner, so he just said, "And what sort of girl is that, my friend? And take care, for I am no longer the steward's son, but the steward himself and she is no longer Agnar's daughter, but my intended."
"Your intended. Is that so?"
"Aye, ask her if you don't believe me. So, now, what sort of girl does that make her?"
A hint of color swept into the man's ruddy cheeks. "Agnar asked me to keep an eye on her while she was here alone and he was concerned that you might... take liberties with her."
"Did he not approve of my friendship with Gabby? He gave no indication of that with me."
"Of course not. You were the steward's son. He wouldn't dare take exception to your friendship. And I believe he would be happy to hear of you betrothal as well. It was simply he was afraid you—or your brother—would think her beneath you and therefore see her as yours for the taking."
"I would gut a man who would think to treat her that way and I include my brother in that," Boromir told him, lifting his tankard to his lips once more. Then, lowering it, he added, "You can be certain to tell Agnar that his daughter is in good hands."
"I am not at all certain he wishes to think of her in any man's hands," Cadell replied with a grin. "But, she could certainly fare far worse than with the steward himself."
Boromir relaxed then. Agnar should only know the thoughts that went through his mind any time his gaze alit on Gabby. Of course, not all of them were lust-filled, but he had the feeling that only a single lustful thought would earn him an enemy in Gabby's father, so when the time came Agnar and Gabby's mother returned, it would be best to keep anything even remotely lusty to himself.
Still, her parents weren't here yet, so, when she glanced down their way, Boromir winked and offered up a slow smile that he knew she understood when he saw the hint of color rise along her right cheekbone.
Cadell signaled to Gabby, who came down to them. "Are the two of you finished arguing?"
"Arguing, my dear girl? We did no such thing," Cadell said with a booming laugh. "I was but making certain our lord's intentions toward you were nothing but honorable."
"His might be," Gabby replied with a smile. "But, as for me? I only want to get him into bed."
Boromir bit back a laugh at the look of utter shock on Cadell's lined face and the collective gasp of everything at the bar and within earshot.
"I—er—that is you—" Cadell stammered, his ruddy cheeks ruddier still. "I think I should keep that to myself."
"Why? I'm certain that would trouble them no more than anyone worrying about my purity, which is what you seem to be doing on their behalf."
"It is not the same for ladies and you know that, Gabby."
"Only because men have determined it to not be the same." She rolled her eyes, then shot him a pointed look. "And I assure you, my value as a person does not decrease because I might have known a man who was not my husband just as his—" she jabbed a finger in Boromir's direction—"value does not increase based on the number of women he might have known who were not his wife."
Although he had no reason to feel as if Gabby's words were aimed at him, Boromir nonetheless felt decidedly upbraided as well. She'd known about his prior relationships, and for the most part, what went on in them, and never gave any indication that it bothered her in any way.
But then again, neither one of them had acknowledged how they truly felt about one another at that time, either. And if he was truly honest with himself, he'd rather not think about any man who might have come before him.
He winced. Poor choice of words, idiot.
"We both know that isn't true, Gabriella," Cadell replied, his expression growing stern.
"Again, that is only because of men. You all like to think you have something magical, of utmost power between your legs and it is not nearly as magical or powerful as you seem to think. Now, if you're done?"
"I was going to buy the steward a round," Cadell replied, rapping his knuckles against the bar, "but I think it would be best if I took my leave now. Good evening, Gabriella."
With that, he turned to Boromir. "Good luck, Steward. You will have your hands full with her, you know. I hope you are prepared for that."
"I think I'll muddle through just fine."
Cadell bobbed his head, but said no more as he took himself off and Boromir turned to find Gabby glaring at him now. "What did I do?"
"You agree with him, don't you?"
"Agree with him about what?"
"About my worth being linked to whether or not I'm a virgin?"
He coughed, painfully aware of the other patrons around them. "This really is not the place for such talk, do you think?"
"I knew it."
"Wait, I never said—" The words died on his lips as she marched off once more and this time came around the bar to go out onto the taproom floor. He waited for her to return, but when she did, she was far too busy for him to pull her aside and clear the air. In fact, she grew so busy that he eventually found himself behind the bar, taking and filling orders for her and it wasn't until well after midnight before she was locking the door to slump against it.
Drawing her wrist across her forehead, she breathed, "Has everyone returned to this city? We haven't been this busy since before the city evacuated."
He leaned an elbow on the bar. "People are beginning to return, now that word has gone beyond our borders. I can only imagine what it will be like, should Frodo be successful. But, as of earlier, the Eye still watches."
She sighed softly, still leaning against the door. "Is that how you'll know? It'll go dark?"
"I hope so." He met her gaze. "Gabby, you know I do not agree with Cadell, don't you? About your worth—or the worth of any woman—being tied to her virginity or lack thereof."
"Is that so?"
"You should know it is."
"Because you'd have not asked for my hand if you did see it as he does?"
It was best to head this off before it blew up in their faces. They were both tired, and words had a way of becoming far angrier when uttered through lips that were both exhausted and irritated.
That in mind, he drew in a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and dove into the deep end head first.
"It matters not to me that you've known others before me," he said softly. "I care only that they do not compare to me, that they fall short, whereas I do not."
It was a risk, and for a moment, he thought perhaps he'd made a mistake in taking it when she just stared at him for a long moment. But then, her scowl softened and she smiled. "Would you think otherwise?"
Relief rippled through him as he came around the bar and crossed over to her. "As long as I have wiped the memory of any of them from your mind, that is all that matters to me."
She draped her arms about his neck, meeting his gaze as she murmured, "Wiped the memory of who?"
"Exactly." He slid his arms about her waist to tug her flush against him.
"And what about you, Boromir? I know you've known other women before me, so..."
"What women? I can recall no one but you in my bed, Gabby." He let his thumbs brush lightly along her back. "And to be honest, I'd much rather we go back to my apartments so I might find you there again."
"People will talk."
"Let them." He bent to her and caught her lips in a slow, teasing kiss.
When he pulled back, she whispered, "I have to finish closing up."
He grinned. "I'll help."