Annika stared at Fin’s sleeping profile unable to keep the smile off of her face. He had always risen just before dawn, regardless of how hard he had worked, or what time he had gone to sleep (unless drugged by notorious Madame's...). Apparently after one night in a cell he was able to easily sleep well into the morning, and the Viscountess couldn’t deny the delight it gave her to sip her coffee and watch his defenseless slumber. It was fortunate that Fin had left a stache of the ground beans and had taught Raymond how to prepare them to his mistress’ liking for moments such as these.

His slanted eyes, even when closed, were beautiful. His mouth that let out whatever he happened to be thinking while he was awake hung slack, and motionless.

That was one blessing Annika discovered she was grateful for. He didn’t snore.

He did sweat though…

Casting an appraising eye at the damp pillow beneath his head, she then turned her gaze for the tenth time to the open balcony doors where a cool sea breeze drifted in.

Despite no one being conscious to witness it, Annika lifted her single shoulder in a shrug. She heard that men sweat while sleeping, but her previous husband had been quite elderly and he tended to be on the cold side…

After a few more moments of enjoying the smell of the fresh sea breeze and the peaceful warm coffee, Annika acquiesced that she needed to rise and resume her work. Even if she wanted to linger in bed with Fin and wait for him to awaken.

Slipping from the bed, she stepped over to her wardrobe and drew out a pale blue muslin dress with a long slit up her leg. Casting another glance at the wardrobe she had recently… improved, she closed the cedar doors and set to dressing herself.

Fin had expressed his preference for Troivackia’s summer styles for women on more than one occasion, and she couldn’t fully explain the burst of glowing emotion she always received when she saw him staring her up and done helplessly. Pinning part of her ebony tresses back with a bejeweled clip, Annika picked her coffee mug back up and left the room quietly.

Making her way to the solar she found Clara already seated with a fresh batch of missives carrying various reports from the Troivackian interrogations and short notes from her various sources around the continent.

“You should begin with this,” the maid waved a scroll with the King’s seal.

Stepping forward hastily, Annika snatched the parchment and unfurled it. Her eyes flew across the page and at the end she gradually collapsed onto her settee with a faint blush in her cheeks.

“What is it?”

“The Queen is fine, and the Princess is to be named Alina. Ainsley says she is excited for me to meet the new baby. I also need to begin investigating any merchant ships with ties to…” Annika let out a small sigh, unable to hold back her small smile. “Madame Mathilda.”

Clara blinked several times. “Why is it you are blushing? Are you ill?”

Annika’s cheeks deepened in their rosey hue.

“No, I just… I keep thinking how I already knew this thanks to Fin. As for Madame Mathilda… once again… Fin.”

Clara was unable to stop herself rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “Not that your newly discovered feminine side is without its charms, but perhaps we could put it to the side while working, hm?”

Annika’s smile faded, and she gave the maid a flat look. “You’re right, but mind your tone.”

Clara’s face became shuttered before she once again donned the dutiful maid persona.

“I will meet with Tooley down by the docks after the dinner hour to see which ships are most likely to be tied to the Madame. By then most of the men will be well into their cups,” the Lady mused out loud before turning her gaze to the other reports in front of her.

It would be another long and stressful day, but… perhaps she would get to see Finlay in the evening, and that knowledge alone made her immediate future just a little bit brighter.

That is if he managed to keep out of trouble for once…

*

Fin stared at the filled tub before him and glanced down at his bare chest.

The serving staff had to have brought it in and prepared it while he slept, but that also meant they’d all seen him in a state of undress. While the witch knew it was entirely common for them to do so for nobility, he couldn’t help but feel more than mildly embarrassed.

Then again, Fin gave his underarm a courtesy sniff.

Annika most likely had ordered it.

The cell had not done him any favors, and so pressing his embarrassment back in his mind, the redhead climbed into the warm soapy waters that surprisingly didn’t have any of Annika’s scent. Instead the staff had added smells such as bergamot… perhaps mint? It was quite refreshing actually.

After a good scrub, Fin felt the last of the grime fade from his person, and so he eagerly exited the most luxurious washing he’d ever been privy to.

Scanning the room for his clothes, he noticed that they weren’t anywhere to be found. With a sigh he opened Annika’s wardrobe, hoping to find something to cover himself enough to summon a footman or maid. He froze.

Inside Annika’s wardrobe, beside her light Troivackian dresses and a couple of her more modest Daxarian garbs, were tunics. Men’s tunics... and trousers. All in his size. Fin blinked in astonishment.

When had she had any of this made? Why would she…

Fin snatched the items he required without much thought and dressed himself quickly before backing towards one of the lavish chairs in front of the fireplace and collapsing into it numbly. Resting his forearms on his knees, his reality suddenly drenched him like a bucket of clear cool spring water.

He and Annika were going to get married.

He was going to be her husband... Which meant either the servants in the house were going to either have a new master, or were going to have to bid farewell to their mistress if he botched the entire thing.

His cheeks suddenly flushed.

“Gods… what have I…” Fin rubbed his face.

He knew he had anguished over this very thing long before he and Annika had dove into the whole affair but, then he had jumped in and hadn’t really dealt with the actual events. Instead they had been caught up in their own bubble of happiness that was entirely removed from the real world. The serving staff never criticized, never questioned. His aides kept their quiet, and offered silent support, but one day… it wouldn’t be so easy.

He glanced around the chamber, and tried to imagine it being his. That the estate should be his home…

It didn’t fit.

Somehow he still felt like a dalliance who shouldn’t deign to even dream about laying any claim.

Only… all of it came with Annika, and he knew without a doubt she was his.

At the same time however, he didn’t even know what to call her! They were sharing a bed any chance they got, but they weren’t technically courting or betrothed.

“Gods we haven’t talked at all.” Fin stood suddenly. Urgency coursing through him as he pulled on his pair of boots- fortunately they were the ones he had been wearing all along.

Stalking from the room, he stopped the nearest maid and demanded where he could find Annika. The woman gave him a strange look, but told him she was in the solar, and so he made his way taking impossibly long strides.

Bursting unceremoniously into the room, Annika and Clara both jumped and turned in time to see him rounding the sofa. He then swiftly bent down and tossed the Viscountess over his shoulder- not entirely unlike a bag of potatoes, and then proceeded to exit the room before either of the women could get a word out.

Once Clara had recovered from the shock however, she darted to the door and shouted at his back.

“Good Gods, I just got her to stop smiling like an idiot!” Sighing exasperatedly, the maid turned back to the room and stomped over to the crystal decanter that held Troivackian moonshine. Pouring herself a small cup she muttered, “Godsdamn lovers and their godsdamn nonsense…” Then she smiled a little before taking a practiced sip of the dangerous clear liquid.

Once Fin reached Annika’s chamber, and placed her back on her feet, his hands went to his hips as he stared down at her with one of the most perplexing expressions she had ever seen on him.

“Fin, I know some women prefer a bit of rough handling prior to bedding each other, but I was in the middle of-”

“We need to talk. Now. Work and new crises keep cropping up, and-”

“Not to mention a certain fondness for sharing an enjoyment of-”

“Each other’s company, yes.” Fin blushed, unable to let her finish her sentence. “However, we have not talked of what we are doing to ensure our future together, nor have you told me anything about your days recently. We can’t keep the world at bay forever. We need to know what we’re making together, otherwise I may be trying to make a roast while you try to make a pie and that just will not work.”

Annika raised an eyebrow, her bewilderment didn’t need to be expressed.

“What is your plan with us?” Fin threw up his hands, his cheeks red.

Annika was still a little disoriented from literally being hauled out of her solar, but she wondered what was causing this sudden urgency…

“Has something happened I am unaware of?” she asked slowly.

“I’ve been asking you this question for two weeks.”

“Yes, but you seem rather flustered…”

“There are tunics and trousers for me in your wardrobe,” he cut in as though that answer cleared up any confusion.

“Do you… not like the trousers and tunics…?”

“No, it isn’t that!” Fin rubbed his face aggravatedly. “Annika, what is your plan with us?”

Feeling more than a little put on the spot, and still baffled over the redhead’s exasperation, she tried to find the best place to begin.

“Well… as you may know, I set up Marigold and Lord Nam. Now that the Queen is clear of death’s carriage, I expect Lord Ryu will come sometime over the next few days to answer my queries regarding Lord Nam’s background so that regardless of whether or not Marigold comes with a title to offer, the marriage is acceptable to warrant Zinfera’s aid.”

“Jiho’s coming here?”

“Yes, most likely in a few days. I had thought to remind you to go ask him, but you’ve been rather busy. Being arrested and all.”

Fin gave her a wry look before gesturing for her to continue.

“One option is I surrender two thirds of my wealth as a penalty tax and just marry you without going through the proper channels. It would help fund the war and honestly save us both a lot of trouble, but that would mean I’d be so fallen from grace I wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near politics or the Queen.”

“Not an option,” Fin agreed firmly. “So what is the next possibility?”

“The other option is to get you Knighted, and place you in circumstances that let you shine. You could become a Baron in a year if you happen to succeed in helping some of the war efforts I’ve mapped out. Once ennobled, I can help you anonymously here and there with some financial decisions with the land you’d be given with your title. After building a small fortune, we’d be able to marry. I’d fall out of the inner court circles for a while, but I’d be able to see Ainsley a few times a year should she travel nearby. Not ideal, but if we manage to rely on your growing relationship with his majesty, Earl Fuks, and the Captain-”

At the mention of Antonio Fin’s eye twitched. Fortunately, Annika was too lost in her explanation to notice.

“-Along with your Coven, you could prove a valuable consultant.”

“There are more qualified witches to offer insight to the Coven.”

“True, but none that have a track record of saving the King’s family. Or getting into drunken adventures with him for that matter…”

Fin feigned innocence at the last barb, but then straightened.

“Annika, approximately how long do you predict this taking?”

“Six years if we do everything carefully. Three if we don’t mind being the biggest scandal of the next few decades. A lot also depends on the war.”

Fin’s mouth hardened into a firm line as he stared down at her calm brown eyes, and the beautiful slope of her shoulders.

“Too long.”

Annika started backwards in surprise at the forcefulness of his words before regaining her composure.“Well please enlighten me of your superior plan,” she replied hotly.

“Captain Antonio proposed marriage to my mother.”

Annika’s jaw dropped.

“After the war, he is saying he will become a Baron and take on the lands his majesty has tried to give him several times. So, we just need to end the war as quickly as possible.”

Spluttering, the Viscountess tried to find the words for the shock she had just received.

“We shouldn’t just rely on the Captain and your mother though, that was an awfully quick betrothment and often these things fall apart rather quickly. We should still-”

“I’m glad us ending a war is more manageable than my mother’s second marriage turning out well,” Fin remarked dryly. Annika looked appropriately sheepish before she spoke again.

“That isn’t what I meant, and you know it.”

Letting out a sigh, Fin reached out and drew her into him, hugging her to him, and burying his hands in her long black hair. “There is one important part of both of our plans that needs to be addressed.”

Annika’s muffled ‘What’ was all the prompting Fin needed to release her. He wanted to be sure he heard her perfectly clear the next time she spoke.

“Well, you see, I realized I haven’t known what to call you for the past two weeks. Yet everything we discuss is assuming our future is bound together, so I think we missed an important step of the process.” Fin’s hands were back on his hips as he regarded her seriously.

The Viscountess didn’t have time to fully gage what he meant before he asked what should’ve been the most obvious question in the world.

“Annika, will you marry me?”