Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

" Y ou know, when I was your age, I used to spend hours in my grandmother's garden," Ciara spoke, enchanting Margaret and Henry during their dinner at the Kirdale's. "There was this one time we thought we found a fairy ring…"

Henry's eyes widened, his fork pausing midway to his mouth. "A fairy ring? Really? Did you see any fairies?"

Ciara laughed softly, the sound like a melody. "Well, I didn't see any fairies, but I believed they were there, watching us. My grandmother and I would leave little gifts for them, like flowers and pebbles, and sometimes, we'd find them moved the next day."

Margaret clasped her hands together, having that wonderful dreamy expression on her face which Ciara remembered so well. "That sounds magical. I wish we could find a fairy ring here. Do you think there are fairies in our garden, Henry?"

Henry, not to be outdone, nodded vigorously. "Of course, there are! We just need to look harder! Your Grace, will you help us find one?"

Ciara's eyes twinkled with delight. She could see that Rebecca was listening to their conversation intently, and it seemed that even the men had stopped chatting, listening to the story of fairies and their ring.

"I'd love to help you look, my dears. But remember, fairies are shy. We must be very quiet and very kind if we hope to see any signs of them."

Margaret leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "We'll be the best fairy hunters ever. Right, Henry?"

Henry nodded solemnly. "We'll even leave them some of our dessert tonight. Fairies like sweets, don't they, Your Grace?"

Ciara chuckled, glancing at the half-eaten cake on Henry's plate. "I'm sure they do, Henry. And you know what? They also love stories. Maybe if we tell them a wonderful story, they'll come out to listen."

Margaret's eyes shone with excitement. "Oh, yes! We can tell them the story about the brave knight and the dragon that I read in one of my books. It is my favorite!"

Ciara nodded with a smile. "That sounds perfect. We'll have to make sure we remember every detail so the fairies will be captivated."

That was when Rebecca interjected gently. "It seems that we have a grand adventure planned for tomorrow. But for tonight, it is getting late."

"Must we go to bed, Mother?" Margaret asked, pleading for more time.

"Yes," Rebecca nodded tenderly.

"But we have to search for fairies!" Henry whined, but that whine was followed by a yawn, and everyone knew what time it was.

"You'll do it tomorrow and then, when I see you again, you'll tell me how it all went," Ciara assured them, and after her words, the children seemed pacified.

"All right," Margaret nodded. "We know what to do."

"I have no doubt about that," Ciara replied as they bid everyone goodnight, leaving the dining hall.

"You have a wonderful way with children, Ciara," Rebecca told her after she returned from putting her children to bed.

Archie and Jonathan seemed immersed in their own conversation, while the two women turned to each other.

Ciara smiled, her heart swelling at those words. "I simply adore them. They remind us of the joy and innocence in the world."

Their conversation continued from there after which it was time for Ciara and Jonathan to bid them farewell and head home in their carriage.

"I had such a lovely time," Ciara gushed as they hopped off the carriage and entered Silverbrook Manor.

"I have promised the children that I would come for another visit, and it will be so lovely to see them again," she added as they ascended the grand staircase.

"Ah yes, the children," he nodded without much interest although he loved the sight of his wife beaming in such a manner. However, the topic of children did not interest him.

To be quite honest, he didn't think there would be a need for it. Their marriage was one of convenience although the lines of their arrangement were now somewhat blurred. But there were certain things he was adamant about, and those were children.

Or better yet, the lack thereof.

They entered his chambers. After he closed the door behind him, he took off his shoes, his thoughts jumping to the ways he could take off each article of clothing that she wore.

"They are so sweet and well-behaved," she mused, fidgeting her fingers, obviously unable to remain still with excitement. "Do you think ours will be the same?"

He stood still in front of her.

"Our what?" he asked, missing the point as his eyes were still half-focused on the clothes before him.

She locked eyes with him, beaming like the moon in the darkest of nights. "Our children, of course."

Jonathan felt his throat go dry, and he had to clear it more than once to feel comfortable again.

He needed to clarify a few things to her, things that they had never discussed before because he didn't think they needed to. Up to now.

"What do you mean our children?" he asked, frowning.

Her smile immediately disappeared. She sounded confused, perplexed. "Well, I… I thought that since things are different between us now, I only assumed that you would want to have children with me, not to mention an heir."

"No," he snapped much more angrily and loudly than he had intended to. "I do not want to have children with you or with any other woman for that matter."

She still had that confused, astonished look in her eyes. But hope held her in its grip hard. "I understand it may seem daunting right now. We can discuss this at a later point. Maybe in the future?"

"No," he cut her off again. "Not now, not ever."

"But… why?" she asked, her voice on the verge of breaking.

"The world doesn't need another descendant of my father."

"I do not know how your father was exactly," she started pleading. "I understand what having… difficult parents may do to someone, but that doesn't mean that you should deny yourself the happiness that children can bring. You don't know?—"

"No, Ciara, it is you who do not know!" he exclaimed loudly. "You don't know me. Just because we share a bed and I've shown you some of my drawings, it does not give you the right to impose your own desires onto me!"

"Imposing?" she asked, aghast. "Is that what I am to you? An imposition?"

"Well, tell me what else to call this?" he replied to her question with another question. "I tell you that I do not wish to have children, and you try to convince me otherwise. I am not a boy who needs to be shown the error of his ways. I am a grown man, Ciara. I know what I want and most certainly, what I do not want."

"I know, Jonathan," she said apologetically. "I wasn't trying to convince you of anything. I was merely saying what I assumed would be natural for every married couple."

"We are not like any other married couple, or have you forgotten that already?"

As soon as he said those words, he knew that he had made a grave mistake.

Yes, it was true that they weren't like any other married couple, but that was because, for them, it all started with convenience. He could see the look of hurt in her eyes, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He had said those words, they left the confines of his mind, and now, he had to deal with the repercussions.

"I know very well what we are," she said through a voice that was on the verge of breaking. "You don't need to remind me of anything."

"Perhaps we should return to our original plan of living separately," he said, pushing the final boulder off the cliff.

He could see her jaw tightened as she clenched her reply through it.

"Very well. If that's what you wish husband, so it shall be."

She turned on her heel and slammed the door behind her, leaving him alone in the dead of night.