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Several hours later, Soo Ho and his father returned home.  Lady Bit Na was up waiting for them.  But both of her young charges were sound asleep now.  Soo Yeon had tucked the little girl into her own bed and decided to remain with her throughout the long night.  In case the child awoke.  Soo Yeon didn’t want her to be afraid.  She’d left a lamp burning in her bedroom so that Bo A would recognize her strange surroundings.  And her new dolly was tucked safely in her arms.

Jung Sook had eaten a light dinner and reclined on the bed in the chambers Lady Bit Na had lent her.  Surprisingly, Jung Sook had also fallen asleep early.  Though she had feared that the trauma of the evening would keep replaying in her mind, causing her too much distress to overcome with sleep, she had still managed to drift off. 

Hoping to distract the young woman from the distressing scenes of earlier that night, Soo Ho’s mother had remained with her, reading to her from one of her favorite stories.  Apparently, her plan had worked.  For not a half an hour into that reading, the older woman had glanced up to find the young teacher sleeping peacefully.

Now Lady Bit Na examined her son and his father as they strode into the front room.

“Has it all been dealt with?”

Her husband peered down at her.  “Aye.”

“And the girl’s mother?  Did she want to come see her baby?”

“Yes.  But I convinced her that she was being well taken care of here and was most likely already asleep.  I also reminded her that she has three other children to console tonight.”

“What was the woman’s frame of mind?  Is she upset with Soo Ho?  And Gwan Jung Sook?”

Lord Kim Seub inhaled sharply.  “She was numb.  I think that, on the one hand, the man’s death was a comfort to her.”  He glanced at his son.  “She was mottled with bruises, Bit Na.  I think the man must have taken out his ire on his wife in his daughter’s absence.  So she must be relieved that she’ll no longer be his victim. 

“But…she has four mouths to feed.  And the older three are all boys.  Though, the oldest is nearly seventeen and may be able to take over his father’s forge.  I don’t think she’ll struggle as much as she’s anticipating.  Her other boys are twelve and fourteen.  Practically grown themselves.”  He paused.  “But, Bit Na, there is something else.”

Wrinkling her brow, she murmured, “Yes?”

“She’s one of our servants.  That new one.  The maid that you hired a couple weeks back.”

Her eyebrows shot up.  “Ga Hee?  Bo A is Ga Hee’s daughter?”

He nodded his head.  “She is.  So, I assured her that we wouldn’t allow her children to starve.  The fact that she now works for us…I think it made her husband’s passing a bit easier for her to handle.  She can provide something for her children now.  And I told her not to worry about being late for work tomorrow.  Uh, today.”  They had already passed midnight.

“I think she was mostly worried about what her daughter witnessed.  And suffered,” Soo Ho added.

“Did you speak with her?” Lady Bit Na addressed her son.

He nodded.  “I did.  She knows that I’m the one who killed him.  But she is also aware that he was attempting to rape Jung Sook.  Appa is right.  The woman is in shock.  Who knows how she’ll react once it wears off?”  He glanced around.  “Where is Jung Sook?”

“Sound asleep.  In her own chambers.  I gave her the cherry blossom rooms.  But, Soo Ho,” she spoke now in a stern tone, “you’re not to visit her there.  Understood?” 

She hadn’t upbraided him in that voice for a while, but there was a definite twinkle in her eyes.  He smiled at her. 

“Eomma.  What did she tell you?”

“That you’re going to make me a grandmother one of these days.”

Her husband choked on the tea of which he had just taken a swig.  He set his wife’s teacup down abruptly and turned towards his son.  Ire flashing like lightning across his countenance.  But before he could speak, while she noted the alarm in her son’s face, Lady Bit Na was quick to correct her husband’s false assumption. 

“After you marry the girl, of course,” she murmured.  “Seub, calm down.  He hasn’t slept with this one.”

Her husband turned astounded eyes on his wife.  “You want him to marry her?”

She bobbed her head definitively.  “I adore the girl.  She’s intelligent.  Brilliant, really.  Sweet.  Compassionate.  And she must be the bravest soul I have ever encountered.  Not to mention that she is absolutely perfect for our dear Soo Ho.”

“You just mentioned it, dear,” her husband responded dryly.  But affectionately.

“And to squelch any of your objections, she is quite wealthy.”

“No, Eomma, I must stop you there.  She has no silver.”

“She might not have any silver, son.  But she is worth her weight in gold.”

Soo Ho furrowed his brow at her.  “Who told you that?”

Lord Kim Seub jumped in, “Son, it is well known.  Her husband was a famous – and quite successful – trader.  He left behind no other heirs.  Gwan Jung Sook inherited it all.  How did you think she had the money to open her school?” 

Soo Ho frowned.  “She’s teaching the daughters of wealthy members of society.  I just assumed that she charged them a fee.”

His father shook his head.  “No.  She has never charged anyone for the lessons which she gives.  She has no need to.  Her husband left her well-supplied.  For life.  Probably, for many lifetimes.”

Soo Ho’s face fell.  “That means she lied to me.”

“Son,” his mother’s voice cut through the distress flowing through him, “do you know anything about the man she married?”

His eyes met hers.  He nodded his head.

“Did she tell you what sort of person he was?”

He stared at her.  Holding her gaze.

“The man you killed tonight…her husband was his twin.”

As his eyebrows jumped up, she clarified, “Oh, not literally, of course!  But he was cut of the same cloth.  In his treatment of women.  Of Jung Sook, in particular.”

With one obvious exception, Soo Ho thought.  But he would not be enlightening his mother on that point.

“I am aware of this, Eomma.”

“Then just for a moment, I want you to imagine all the fears she’s carried around concerning men.  Honestly, the fact that the woman would even entertain the notion of marrying again is a miracle.  Were I in her shoes, I would steer clear of men.”

“She has.”  His lips twitched.  “Until she met me.  But I…I wouldn’t let her get away.”

“Quite right,” his mother beamed at him.  “She’s delightful, Soo Ho.”

He glanced from one parent to the other.  “Does this mean that you will both agree to our marriage?”  After catching sight of his mother’s happy nod, he looked at his father.  “Appa?”

The defeated man sighed.  “You’re going to make me disappoint the aspirations of a certain Lee daughter, are you?”

“Ae Min?!” cried Soo Ho softly.  “Oh, Appa, come on!  She’s a child!  What is she?  Twelve years old?”

“Well, I didn’t think you were going to be mature enough for a wife for several more years yet.  I wanted to make sure the girl would still be fertile by the time you were ready to settle down….”

“You haven’t made them any promises, have you?” the boy asked as dread circled his heart.

His father heaved a deep sigh.  “I have…not.”

Relief spiraled through both Soo Ho and his mother.

“Is it settled then, Seub?” Lady Bit Na prompted her husband gently.

“I hardly think so,” he huffed.  Then he turned towards his son.  “You haven’t even asked the girl to marry you, have you, Soo Ho?”

The sun rose early that morning in the countenance of a young hwarang as he suddenly sprang forward and clasped his father to his overjoyed bosom.

“Not yet.  But what is tomorrow for, if not for a proposal?”