The Duke's Bride

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

"I'll go get them then do you mind if I take these or would you rather I get them and come back so we can go over them together?"

[Siegfried]

"Ah, my handwriting might be a little... I don't... perhaps I should help?" he offers, swinging his leg over as if to get up. 

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

" you're not walking all that way! Get back to bed I'll come back in a few moments " I smile gently as I turn and leave shutting the door behind me.

I hurry to the still and find decades worth of books. I select the two years prior and the year of the accident and then all these since. Before returning.

I settle myself in the chair next to his bed and beguin to look over the first book. I rember doing the book keeping for my uncle the king once he hear I had a head for numbers.  I finished the first two and fount he mistake right away I third.
"Your had writing is not that bad" I tease gently knowing full well it's bad but not the worst I e seen.

I run the numbers long into the night long past when Siegfried fell asleep to the rustle of pages.  I've solved it  all by the time the sun is rising.

I pull a sheet of paper out of the scraps tucked in the desk and beguin to write. The knights that had stolen from the estate would be taxed along with the citizens who hadn't payed taxes in six years. The enterprises that had reported profit and never paid up. It would all be sorted soon.

I sigh and stretch before heading to the kitchen to start breakfast

[Siegfried]

Siegfried stirs, blinking awake. "L-lady?" he slurs, sleepily. 

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

"Breakfast" I say cheerily rendering with the two bowls of portage having sent off the letters and dropped of the third bowl to pick up the empty one of soup

[Siegfried]

"L-lady, surely you did not need to-- I would have-- I am late, forgive me, I must have overslept," he stammers, sitting up in a hurry. 

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

"Nonsense you're to keep off that foot rember? Besides it's just come five and I was already up."

[Siegfried]

"You were -- my lady, did you sleep?!"

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

"No"I say bluntly "but it's alright I'll rest in a bit"

[Siegfried]

"My lady, with all due respect, the estate has been in this state for many years. It will not become significantly worse overnight if you were to sleep."

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

"I know but sometimes when I get stuck into something I can't stop until it's done." I yawn and smile "I'll come back later I say softly as I take my breakfast and head for the door.

[Siegfried]

"...if you desire company, my lady," Siegfried begins, hesitant, unsure how to breach this distance between them. Unsure if it's proper to try. 

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

I smile and turn back settling into the chair next to him

"How did you sleep" I say gently taking a bite of Prague

[Siegfried]

"Not well," he says slowly. "I dreamed of wolves."

At night, when she was working, there was some howling out in the woods, but nothing too strange for this area. 

[Countess Elaina Moorwood]

" do they frighten you? The lights are being recalled so you won't have to worry about them." I say gently