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“Never, never that,” he said in a shaken voice. “Never think that.”

Fen stared at his expression, and found her darkest fears slipping away. It was a few moments before either of them spoke, and when he did, it was in a thoughtful, reflective manner.

“I think, on some level,” Oswald said. “I knew you were mine, when you sailed into my office that day with your brother on your heels. I was certainly determined not to let you out of it until it was settled your place was with me.”

Fen gazed at him. “I couldn’t tell. I couldn’t read you at all then,” she admitted. “I thought you were angry”

“Angry?” he sounded startled. “Why?”

Fen cast her mind back. “I sat down and looked up at you, and you were glaring at me.”

Oswald’s frown cleared. “That was because your fool brother made you fetch your own chair.”

Fen opened her mouth to defend Gil. “He is a bit of a fool,” she found herself admitting instead. “It’s a good job he’s marrying a woman of character.”

“Is he?”

She didn’t get the chance to answer as he leaned forward and kissed her lingeringly on the lips again, before pulling back and rolling out of the bed.

“Husband, wait!” blurted Fen, struggling to sit up.

“I’m not going anywhere,’ he answered, turning to show the jug of water he’d gone to fetch from the table.

“Oh,” feeling rather foolish, Fen pulled the sheets up around her to try and preserve her modesty, even though he was walking round entirely naked.

Oswald was draining his cup. “Fen,” he started. “You need to understand that leaving me is never acceptable. No matter what the misunderstanding, or even if I act like an ass.”

“Well, you see-,” she said.

“I’m never going to be a reasonable husband,” he carried on as if she hadn’t even spoken. “When I said that to you, I was lying. I can’t even tell you I wasn’t aware that I was lying because I knew full well that I was lying through my teeth and I didn’t care. I would have said anything to make you mine again. And I didn’t even realize that I loved you then.”

Fen stared. ‘What?’ she said faintly.

“It’s true. I didn’t even spend an instant in your company, that day you walked into my office prattling on about another fucking man, without realizing that you were all mine. I didn’t remember our betrothal for whatever reason,” he waved a hand. “You were a child and so was I to all intents and purposes. I refuse to feel guilty about that.” He pressed his thumb and finger against his eyes. “I’m tired of pretending to have reason when it comes to you. Because I don’t. Not one scrap. I’m not going to pretend anymore, so you’re going to have to get used to it.”

Prattling about another man? Fen’s brain reeled to find out that was truly how Oswald viewed things. She’d been divorced by her husband of eight years and he viewed it as unnecessary chatter about another male! She gave a slightly hysterical laugh. He ignored it. “Um, Oswald…”.

“I’ve bought us a town-house in Aphrany,” he carried on steadily. “And we’ll have to buy another place, close to the summer court, where we can live when the King is at Caer Lyonnes. It seems, unlike the majority of the rest of the royal court, I cannot bear to be apart from my wife.”

“A town house?” she gasped after a stunned moment. “Like the Robertses?“

“You want to live in your own household, so that’s what we will do.”

She stared. “Is it really so simple?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Yes.” His gaze was wandering down from her face to where the sheet was slipping down. She realized she was going to have to at least try before things turned physical again. “Husband,” she started resolutely. That bought his eyes snapping straight back to hers. “I may have only been fifteen,” she said with dignity. “But I did love you. It broke my heart when our betrothal was ended, and that’s probably why I didn’t love Ambrose like I should have,” she hurried her words, anticipating his reaction. “But our marriage has now healed me, she placed a hand against her heart. “So, I find I can now love you with my whole heart…”

“What are you saying now?” he interrupted her sharply.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me,” she carried on firmly. “I can prove it over the next fifty years or so of marriage and one day you will…” she bit off her words as Oswald plunked down the water jug and walked back to the bed.

“What did you say?”

She took a deep breath. “I said that I didn’t love Ambrose and that I only ever loved you.”

He pursed his lips. “You should be very careful bandying around words like that.”

“No more than you,” she answered pertly. “And now you can see that embarrassing tapestry, on a daily basis, so you must have known it already.”