“A lot of things are making more sense to me now,” Branford said. “That’s also why you tried to throw yourself at me when I returned, is it not?”
“Yes.” I looked down at my hands where they wrung the sheets.
“I didn’t touch her,” he said definitively. “I have no reason to lie to you about this, Alexandra.”
It was true. Wife or not, if he chose to bed another, it would be an embarrassment, but there would be nothing I could do about it. Lying would serve no purpose, for I could not accuse him of anything. Yet here I was, accusing two noblewomen of wrongdoing.
“What will happen now?” I asked quietly.
“With Kimberly and Nelle?”
“Yes.”
“I have not yet decided.” Branford shifted a little closer to me. “I don’t wish to talk about them. It’s getting late, and you look exhausted. We have much to speak of, but before I tell you anything else about me, I’ve been…instructed to explain my behavior this evening. Sunniva seems to thin
k it’s rather critical to knowing me, and though I can’t say that I want to do this, I’m going to tell you what happened to…to my parents.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” I told him.
“Actually, yes, I do. Sunniva made it pretty clear it was part of her mandate. Regardless, it is too long a story for this hour and will have to wait until morning.”
I nodded, feeling my fatigue. It seemed these past days, though little work was involved, held more hours than any other days in my life.
“You have not responded to my request,” Branford said softly. “Will you please tell me before we lie down? Otherwise I fear I will not be able to sleep.”
“What request?” I asked.
“Will you give me another chance?” Branford asked. “Will you let me try to be a good husband to you?”
I did not know how I should respond. He spoke of choices, but was there really any choice in this for me? We were already wed in the church, and anyone would know that we had been together if I stayed here in Silverhelm. I dreaded the idea of going to another land where everything would be strange, and I would have no one there I knew. What choice did I have whether he wished to be good to me or not?
“I…I don’t know what that means,” I admitted. “To be a good husband…or wife.”
“Could we figure it out together?”
I looked up and met his eyes, bright green and earnest.
“I wish to ask you something,” Branford said. He sat back away from me a little and placed his hands on his thighs. “When you answer, I need your honesty. Please, do not answer in a certain way because you believe it to be my desire to hear the words.”
“If you wish,” I replied.
“Do you want to be my wife?”
All breath left me, and I could not speak a word. How could I answer a question honestly when I didn’t really understand what it meant? Indeed, he did not seem to know either.
“Does your silence mean the answer is no?”
I took a deep breath and forced words from my throat, as truthful as I could be.
“I don't know.”
“That's fair, considering how I have failed you,” Branford said with a nod. “I haven't been a husband to you thus far. I haven't considered your needs except when they fall in line with what I want.”
“What do you want?” I finally asked.
Branford reached out and cupped my chin, tilting my face toward him as he liked to do when he spoke directly to me.
“I want to be a good husband to you,” Branford said quietly. “I enjoy waking up with you in my arms. I want to take care of you and keep you safe…protect you. I want to be in the arenas, look at the spectators, and see you watching me. I want to offer you whatever prize I take home.”