“And a beautiful angel appeared to Mary,”Eve said to the circle of wide-eyed children sitting on the stone floor before her. “The angel said to her, ‘do not be afraid’.”
“Was she afraid?” a small girl with dark brown hair asked.
“No. It was an angel of God. There was nothing to be afraid of.”
“Were you afraid when you saw the angel?” another child with freckles asked.
Caught off guard, Eve glanced over the small group of children collected before her. The children were silent, staring raptly at her, waiting for an answer. “I never saw an angel and even if I did, I would not be afraid,” she admitted honestly.
The children exploded with questions and talking. “I would have been afraid.” “Was the angel flying?” “Did she have wings?”
“Eve.” The voice boomed through the small room.
Eve saw her father standing in the doorway. She quickly stood, apologizing to the groaning children, and made her way to her father. He was a tall, battle hardened man. His dark hair was graying at the sides and his mustache was completely gray. “I’m sorry, Father,” she said softly. “I promised them a tale and –”
“You should not speak of the incident.”
Eve stuttered for a moment, knowing how he disliked when she spoke of it. “They asked. I couldn’t –”
“You fill their heads with fancy and the next thing you know they will all be out looking for angels.”
Eve bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Father.”
“They should be preparing for their station in life. Many of them will not survive winter if we do not have enough food.”
“We were granted fields full of healthy crops this year. We have more than enough food.”
He stopped and faced her. “You misunderstand. They are children from lesser families. You should not be wasting your time with them.”
Eve’s mouth dropped. Her mother always had time for the children, making certain that as a child she played with all of them. Her father had grown cynical and pompous after her mother passed. Eve closed her mouth. “Yes, Father.” But she had no intention of following his advice.
“You have guests waiting in the Great Hall to celebrate your marriage. Spend your time with the nobles.” He strolled down the hallway.
Eve watched him go, longing for a different time. Longing for the time when he would look at her with tenderness, when he would carry she and Eden on his shoulders, proudly. She longed for that father. “Father!”
He paused and turned to her.
She wanted… what? What did she want from him? To tell him to love her again? To tell him about Eden, that she was happy, that she visited with her sister? He would only become angry. She shook her head. “I was thinking of mother is all.”
His lips pursed. “We don’t have time to remember her. There is always work to do.” He turned and continued down the hallway toward his solar. “Sir Michael is awaiting you in the Great Hall’s antechamber.”
Eve watched her father leave. She had learned to live with his coldness. She had learned to live without his love. But it never stopped hurting. She wet her lips and waved goodbye to the children before moving down the hallway to the antechamber. As she neared, she heard voices. She recognized one as Michael’s.
“She isn’t perfect.”
She froze, unable to continue. Some sick part of her echoed the words she had tried to suppress.
“Perfect?” Another man’s voice echoed. “You can’t tell me you love her.”
“Love? No. I love her lands.”
Eve knew Michael didn’t love her. Many marriages began as a loveless union. She had to remember that he had saved her. She was his property.
“Ahh! Yes. Her lands are prosperous and vast.”
She inhaled and prepared to enter the room.
“There’s only one thing I find repugnant about her,” Michael continued. “That hand.”
