Chapter 363: The past (1)
"Breakfast was lovely, wasn’t it? I don’t know how I feel about Annalise and River going off to the yard to show each other how they use a sword, but they are bonding. It’ll be great if everyone could continue to get along when we meet her family," Beatrice said, thinking of a gift for Annalise’s mother though she didn’t know when they would meet in the future.
To get Annalise’s father to take a liking to them, Beatrice decided to get close to Annalise’s mother first.
"Her mother reminds me of you. It is only her father who isn’t thrilled about our relationship. Annalise is still his little girl," said Rafael.
"That isn’t surprising. If I had a daughter, I would find it hard to let her go. You’ve been all over the kingdom doing dangerous things so I don’t worry about you getting married. That is the least of my problems. Your father and I will be going home today. I don’t want to impose on your time with Annalise," Beatrice said, hooking her arm with Rafael’s as they walked.
"You are not disturbing us," Rafael said.
Normally he wouldn’t be happy to see his parents constantly visiting right after he returned, but now, he didn’t mind it. With his mother close, he knew that she was safe and he could keep an eye on what his father was up to with Travis.
"You are trying to be kind, but I was your age once. Eventually, you would want me out of your hair so you and Annalise could be more comfortable. That is the purpose of you having your own home. I hope that when I am not around, there aren’t any more accidents like her getting slapped. It upsets me each time I think about that happening to her," said Beatrice.
Beatrice thought of giving the maids another talk, but Mavis seemed to have become stricter and she needed to allow Annalise to take care of these problems in the future. She had to start now since life was only going to get crazier from here.
"Not everything needs to be resolved with violence. I don’t want people to think she doesn’t know how to act. When will you start expanding the manor? From my walk with your father, it didn’t look like they got far," Beatrice said, stopping to look out one of the windows. "So much has changed here since I first arrived."
"I’ve stopped the expansion because I plan to be closer to the border. Annalise has a lot of responsibilities that she can’t travel back and forth from. The best option is for me to go there. I will try to have more homes built for the knights with families who might want to move," Rafael said, looking down at the view of the yard where Annalise sat watching his father.
"Is there a town near the border?" Beatrice asked as she wasn’t sure of what near the border was like. Whenever it was brought up it was always about war so she wouldn’t be interested in hearing about it. She didn’t want to hear about war from her husband or son and then when she was trying to enjoy her time with her friends.
"There isn’t a town so slowly we will build up one. Once it is declared that the border is safe, some people might move there for a new life. People from the border might move closer to mix the two kingdoms. More couples like me and Annalise might be willing to go there so they don’t have to hide," Rafael explained.