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A few minutes later, a knock on the outer door interrupted their conversation.  The servant who answered it ushered an elderly man and his wife into the sitting room.

“My lord, Kang Seo Jin and Kang So Yi,” the servant intoned before bowing and departing the room.

Lord Lee Beom Sook stared in consternation at his unexpected guests.  “Can I help you?”

“No, my lord, we are here to help you,” the man bowed.  “I am Kang Seo Jin, and this is my wife, Kang So Yi.  We are servants of Lady Kim Tae Hoon.  And she has graciously suggested that we assist you in your noble endeavor.”

The young lord remained unenlightened.  His countenance testified to that fact.

So the man cleared his throat and continued, “We would like to offer our services for the night shift, my lord.  This young lady,” he gestured towards Ae Ri, “explained that you need some married couples to watch over your students at night.  When you,” he glanced at Ni Na, “and the young teacher head home for the evening.”

Ni Na wondered how the man knew that she was the teacher.  Process of elimination, probably.

Beom Sook gazed silently at the servants for a moment.  Lady Kim Tae Hoon was a good friend of his mother’s. 

“I will, of course, wish to speak with your employer before I make any decisions,” Lord Lee responded.  “But I do thank you both for your willingness to help.”

Uncomfortable now, the elderly servant bowed to him.  “We will await your call then, my lord.”  He and his wife both bowed again before leaving.

“Beom Sook,” Ni Na frowned as she turned his way once the couple had left the house, “why did you send them home?”

“I do not know them.  I cannot vouch for their character.  Can you?”

“Um.”

“I will not leave those children in the care of someone I do not know, Ni Na.”

Her heart dipped.  She felt as though he was rebuking her.  “You are, of course, correct, Beom Sook.  I…don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You were simply excited that we’d found a couple that wanted to help you,” Ae Ri insisted.  Her brow wrinkled.  “Now who’s going to watch the children tonight?”

“I will take care of that,” Lord Lee responded.

Ni Na quirked her eyebrows at him.  Wondering what he was up to.

“I need to head out for a little while.  I will return before dinner.  Ni Na, can you visit with my chef to discuss tonight’s menu?”

She bobbed her head at him.

He smiled sweetly at her.  “I will return as soon as possible.”

Both girls wondered what errand was removing him from their company.  But neither questioned him any further.  After he’d slipped out the door, Ae Ri turned towards her friend. 

“You do now know that that man must be crazy about you, right?”

Ni Na gasped.  “What?  Ae Ri, don’t be ridiculous!”

“Ridiculous?  That man just gave you a house, Ni Na!  An entire house.  Not just a house.  But a…palace, practically.”  She glanced around at the tall ceiling, “He gave you a palace for a bunch of orphans!  You do realize that most married women don’t receive a whole house from their husbands even!  Not to use for whatever the woman wants.”

Ni Na shook her head.  “It’s not like that.  The man simply has a compassionate heart, Ae Ri.  And he wanted to help those children as much as I.”

“You’re wrong,” her friend insisted.  “That man adores you.”  She sighed deeply.  “It’s so romantic!  If only Lord Han looked at me the way that Lord Lee looks at you.  I would be content…for the rest of my life.”

Ni Na gaped at her friend.  Before turning to head for the kitchen.  Ae Ri was clearly spinning tall tales again. 

Ni Na too sighed.  Wishing that a certain handsome lord really did look at her the way that her friend seemed to be fantasizing he was.  But she knew that there was little hope of that ever happening.  The man’s heart had already been claimed by someone else.  If only she had known that the first time that he’d flashed his jade eyes at her.  Perhaps armed with such knowledge, Ni Na would not have found herself so defenseless against his beauty.  And his tenderness.

She recalled the warmth of his arms the day that he’d embraced her in her home.  She hadn’t felt that measure of comfort in years.  Not since her mother had been alive. 

She groaned.  Beom Sook did make her crave so many things!

––

“Eomma, I need your help.”  Lord Lee Beom Sook failed to greet his mother politely half an hour later.  Preferring, instead, to get right to the point.

“Beom Sook,” she exclaimed cheerfully.  “Come, give your mother a kiss, and tell me how that delightful Choi Ni Na is!”

He chuckled.  “She’s the reason I’m visiting you right now.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, the girl has roped me into her latest scheme.”

“And what might that be, dear?”

“Running an orphanage and school for impoverished orphans.”

She gasped.  With delight.  “Oh!  I knew I loved that child.”  Her fine brow wrinkled lightly.  “But wherever did she find a group of orphans to mother?”

“In the forest, Eomma.  Or the marketplace.  Depending on your point of view.”

“What ever are you talking about?”

“One of them slipped her hand in Ni Na’s pocket and stole her silver.  My grand girl chased her down and followed her into a forest.  Where a large group of children surrounded her.”

“Did they threaten her?” she gasped again suddenly.  This time, not in delight.  She flew up to sit straight as a board on the edge of her seat.

“Um, the boys’ bearing was rather threatening.  But I quickly put an end to any danger by brandishing my sword.”

“Ah!  My boy, the romantic hero!  How did you come upon them?”  Her eyes were twinkling at him now.

He grimaced as he doubted that Ni Na had found him in the least romantic.  Or heroic.  “She ran past me out on the street when she was pursuing the girl.  Curious, I followed her.”

“Good boy,” his mother approved.  “But what happened after you brandished your sword?”

“She offered to buy them all a meal.”

“Of course, she did,” that good woman murmured, grinning.  “Every bit the heroine in your story, Beom Sook.”

He frowned deeply suddenly, and his mother didn’t miss it.  “What’s wrong, darling?”

“Eomma, I’m…I know that you’re hoping that I’ll propose to her…”

Startled, she leaned forward.  “I thought you wanted to propose to her.  Isn’t she the girl you’ve chosen?”

He nodded.  “She is.  She was.  The thing is…Eomma, she’s in love with someone else.”

“Is she now?”  Her eyebrows threatened the beams overhead.  “How can this be?” 

Her eyes raked her son from head to toe.  Before returning to his glorious green eyes and his full head of midnight hair.  She shook her head.  “It’s a wonder.  You’re every bit as gorgeous as you were a month ago.  Nay.  You’re even more beautiful now.  How can the girl resist you?”

Grinning lopsidedly at his mother, he chuckled.  “Eomma!  Of course, you’d say that!  I’m your son.”

She shook her head.  “No, darling.  It is common knowledge that you’re gorgeous.  In addition to being richer than the king.  And a complete gentleman.  How can the girl resist you?”

“I’m telling you.  She loves another.  So…how can I propose to her now?”

She frowned at him.  Pouting her lips.  “Why has she not married him?”

“Apparently, he loves another.”

“Oh, the poor girl.  Well, Beom Sook, there’s only one thing for it.”

“What?”

“You’re going to have to sweep that girl off her feet.”  She beamed up at him.  “It should be an easy enough task for you.”

He grimaced.  “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Never mind for right now.  Tell me about this grand endeavor that you two have set out upon together.”

“I gave her a house.”

Her mouth dropped open.  “You what?”  Her eyebrows assaulted the ceiling again.  “Well, that ought to be a good beginning to wooing her.  Why did you give her a house?”

“For her orphanage.”

“Ah.  Of course.  So…let me get this straight.  You two are housing all these children now?  In your house?”  She furrowed her brow.  “Which one?”

“The one on the outskirts of town.”

“Ah, yes!  That would be just perfect.  How many children are we talking?”

“A couple dozen.”

“That many?” she ejaculated in surprise.

“Yes.  And she wants to educate them too.  So we’re setting up two classrooms in the halls.”

“Wow.  You do go to extremes to woo a girl, Beom Sook.  Your father would be so proud of you.”

He chortled.  And shook his head.  “Anyway, I need your help, Eomma.”

Her face smoothed out as an enquiring mask slipped over it.  “What do you require from me?”

“I need you to act as our chaperone during the days that I’m teaching alongside Ni Na.”

“Ah.”  She grinned at him.  “Of course, darling.  Anything you need.”

“I also need you to spend the night there tonight.  With me.  And the children.”

“What?”

“I have yet to find houseparents for the children.  I’m going to begin interviewing couples to take the nightshift.  So I can go home to my own house at night.  And so can Ni Na.”

“Why don’t you just marry the girl, and then you can both live there with the children?” his mother suggested sensibly.

He sighed.  “Would that it were that easy, Eomma.  But as I told you—”

“…she loves another.  Yes, yes.  You told me.  But it seems to me that she is already building a life with you, my darling.”  Her smiled stretched from one ear to the other.  “Just give her a little time.  In the meanwhile, I will help you in any way that I can.  Including spending the night there tonight.  Let me pack a few things, and we shall return together.”

“Eomma, you’re splendid!”

“I know.  Where do you think you get it from?”  She flashed her own pretty set of pearly whites at him.

“There’s one more thing, Eomma.”

“Oh?”

“Your friend, Lady Kim Tae Hoon, has offered a pair of her elderly servants as houseparents.  But I am unfamiliar with this couple.  Could you find out if they are truly suitable?”

“Hmm.  Of course, darling.  But I’m telling you.  Marry the girl.  And you’ll have solved all your problems.”

If only marrying her wasn’t a problem all its own.