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As they stepped outside after she informed her cook that she would not require dinner and her lady’s maid that she was headed out for the evening, Ni Na settled in next to him for the long walk to his house.  She glanced up at the blue sky.  She was feeling terribly self-conscious now. 

With each step, her feelings for him seemed to grow larger and more intense.  She took a steadying breath.

Her father had never attempted to arrange a marriage for her.  Though she wasn’t really sure why.  Many of her acquaintances had suffered such a situation long before their fifteenth birthday.  Here she was, well on her way to eighteen, yet she was uncommitted.  A fact for which she was supremely grateful today. 

Perhaps Appa was simply too busy representing the king hither and yon.  Too occupied with his diplomatic affairs to give his daughter’s future any sort of proper consideration.  Whatever the reason, she sighed with relief.  And slid a surreptitious glance towards the lofty lord escorting her to his house.

Only to be speared by that heated, green gaze.  “What thought is resting so heavily on your consciousness right now?” he murmured.

And grinned with delight as her cheeks suddenly bloomed two bright roses.

Instantly, he flashed that gorgeous grin at her once more, and she felt her heart sliding towards him yet again.  Would she ever recover if this man didn’t choose to spend the remainder of his life with her?

She lifted her lips in a careless smile.  “Nothing so terribly heavy,” she lied as she glanced away from him.  “What is your mother like?” she attempted to distract him from pursuing her true thoughts.

“Utterly delightful,” he claimed with a grin.  “But you already know that.”  He chuckled inwardly as he eyed her curiously.

“Oh, right,” she muttered.

“Are you sure that you’re all right?” he queried with a knowing gaze.

She sighed.  “I have just begun to question my life of late.”

His interest piqued, he quirked one arching eyebrow.  “Have you now?  How so?”

“Mmm.  I’m wondering how much longer I shall live alone,” she uttered truthfully.

“Ah.  You are speaking of marriage.”

“Or of my father returning.”

He glanced pointedly at her.  “Is he often gone?”

“He is gone all of the time,” she intoned flatly.

And for some reason, his heart hurt as he listened to her low rumble.

“Why does he not take you with him?” he asked curiously.

Her lips flipped up into a humorless smile.  “I think he believes that, in general, he is traveling places that might endanger me.  A defenseless woman.”

“Defenseless, eh?”

She nodded as her eyes captured his.  Her lips twitched.  “I am, you know?  I’ve never had one second of training in self-defense.”

“Does it interest you?”

“Not really,” she shrugged.  “I would much rather live in my pottery room than traipse about the earth looking for trouble.  I did not inherit a single one of my father’s adventurous bones.”

He frowned.  “And why do you think that is?”

“I do not know.  I’ve always been terribly cautious.  Perhaps because my mother died so young,” she postulated.

“What happened to her?”

She sighed.  “She came down with a fever.  It never left her.  Instead, she left us.  And taught me that sometimes life is terribly fleeting.  And always precious.  So…why put myself in harm’s way if I don’t have to?”

He eyed her with concern.  “Do you worry about your father when he is gone for so long on all his diplomatic trips?”

“I have learned to compartmentalize that part of my life.  That is another area of my life over which I can exert no control.  He has long been absent from my day-to-day existence.  He has been an ambassador my entire life.”

His heart released a pang.  This poor girl.  She had been alone for years.  With only servants for comfort.  And her friend, Ae Ri.

“How long have you and Ae Ri been friends?” he asked abruptly.

And she flashed him a wide grin as she chuckled softly under her breath.  “Forever.”  She sighed.  “Ae Ri has been the one constant in my life.  Well, her and Auntie Dan O.”

“Auntie Dan O?” he quizzed her in confusion.  “You have an aunt?”  He had thought that she’d had no chaperone.

She shook her head.  “She was my mother’s lady’s maid.  I inherited her.  Though, I don’t do her skills justice.”  She smoothed her hands over her white robe.  “After Eomma’s passing, Auntie Dan O gave me her special attention for several years.  She helped me navigate my grief.  As well as the difficult years of adolescence.”

His lips twitched.  She was still walking through those years.  Wasn’t she?

“So…she is special to you?”

“Very,” she beamed.  “And I adore her granddaughter, Da Hee.” 

He could tell she did.  Her face melted in tenderness suddenly.  Causing another odd flutter of his heart.

“She’s fourteen months old.  And she’s absolutely adorable,” she breathed sweetly.

His lips curved in an interested smile as he responded, “You must be looking forward to having a child of your own someday then.”

Her entire countenance suddenly lit up.  Like the noonday sun had swallowed her face whole.  “More than almost anything!” she gasped.  “Except…I don’t want just one.  I want a whole houseful.”

She had taken him quite by surprise.  “A whole houseful!” he ejaculated.

She bobbed her head.  But she noticed his reticence.  And her heart fell.  “You do not desire a lot of children?”

“Um.  I haven’t given it much thought.  But I always thought two would be enough.”

“Two?” she mourned.  She shook her head.  “Two is definitely not enough.”

His lips quirked upwards wryly.  “How many would be enough?”

“Mmm…”  Her eyes slid up towards her eyelids.  “…maybe four?” she glanced at him questioningly.

“Hmm.”

Had she just lost him?  Was he put off by the idea of such a large household?

“I suppose…four could be…quite delightful,” he murmured. 

Though, really, he wasn’t sure.  That seemed like a lot of babies.  And he wasn’t certain what one did with a baby.  Although, making them would be quite a bit of fun.  He grinned mischievously down at her suddenly.

“What’s that look for?” she quizzed him abruptly.

He wiped that grin off his face.  And attempted to appear mild.  “What look?”

“Oh, no, you can’t hide it from me.  Something made you grin from ear to ear.  What was it?  Surely, not the idea of having four babies.”

He chortled.  “’Twas the idea of making four babies that made me smile.”

He watched in delight as her face turned into a scarlet sheet.  Instantly.  And she dropped her gaze.

“But, truly,” he continued without missing a beat, “what on earth does one do with four babies?”

“What does one do with them?” she queried in confusion. 

He bobbed his head.  His countenance clearly questioning hers.

“Why, one doesn’t do anything with them.  One simply enjoys them.”

“Enjoys them?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes.”  She tilted her head to the side.  “Have you never been around a baby?”

“I daresay I have not.”

“No?” she breathed in astonishment.  “Never?”

He frowned as he considered her question.  And wracked his brain for a truthful answer.  “Never,” he remarked after a moment.

“Well, no wonder you’re at a loss.  You’re an only child, right?”

He bobbed his head.

She sighed deeply.  “So am I.  A fact which I have long mourned.”

“Truly?” he queried in surprise.

She bobbed her head.  “I always wanted a sister.  Someone to share my hopes and dreams and most intimate thoughts with.”  She sighed dreamily.

“You may share your most intimate thoughts with me,” he murmured softly.

Her eyes crashed into his.  “My lord!” she gasped.

“Are they really that shocking then?” he teased her mischievously.

“No!” she denied his accusation.

And he chuckled.

This girl was utterly delightful.  And so very easy to tease.

She cleared her throat and marched on.  And he continued to chortle as he took his time catching up to her.

“So…tell me,” he began.  “How do you enjoy a baby?  What’s so fascinating about them?”

“That they are so absolutely perfect.  Beautiful.  And utterly powerless.”

“What?” he asked, surprised.  He had not expected her to say that last.  “You love that they are powerless?”

“They’re so trusting.  They depend upon you for everything.  They are completely defenseless.  Yet their smiles are always ready to pop out and delight you.  It’s so fun to surprise a laugh out of a baby.  There is no dearer sound in all the earth.”

Although, this man’s voice was a close second.  And one of these days, it just might overtake a baby’s laughter for first place in her heart.

“Hmm.  You have made me curious.  Have you any babies that I can meet?” he murmured with interest.

And she had to admit that she did love that low rumble.

She bobbed her head.  “Several, actually.”

“Several?” he gasped.  “You know so many babies?”

She giggled breathlessly at his shocked response.  “I am a young lady.  And I have known many young ladies who have married in the last five years.  And their most common pastime is birthing babies, you know.”

“So…does that mean that you wish to have a child soon after you marry?”

“It is the natural course of things, is it not?” 

But then she frowned as she considered her poor friend, Lang Kyong.  The woman had been married for nearly three years now.  And still, she had yet to conceive a child.  A constant source of sorrow for the young woman who hoped to be a mother soon.

“Hmm.  Indeed,” he muttered as his eyes searched her countenance.  “By why are you so melancholy all of the sudden?”

She sighed.  “I was just thinking of one of my friends.  A fellow student of Kim Jung Sook.  My friend has been married for quite a while, but she has yet to become pregnant.  I know it grieves her greatly.”

He frowned.  “I see.”

“I hope it happens soon,” she breathed a moment later.

His lips twitched.  “As do I.”

He glanced ahead of them.  “That’s my house.”  He gestured towards an impressive structure that clearly had many rooms.  It was, in fact, the largest house which she had ever seen.

“That’s your home?” she breathed in shock.  “Are you certain that the king doesn’t live there?”

He chuckled.  “Quite.”

“But…how do you not get lost in such a massive building?”

“Hmm.  That’s a good question.”  He grinned suddenly.  “Of course!  It must be the maps.”

“The maps?” she quizzed him, completely at a loss.

He bobbed his head.  “Yes.  One of the servants will greet you with a map.  That way you can’t get lost.  You know, a layout of the house.”

Astounded, she allowed her mouth to drop open.  “Someone drew up a map of your house?  And you pass them out to guests?”

“Well, not me.  One of my great army of servants.”  His eyes were twinkling at her.

She stared up at him.  Dumbfounded.  “Are you serious?”  She had ceased to walk.

So he stopped too.  “Of course not,” he laughed.

Making her feel foolish.

Grumbling, she continued on.  Breaking their eye contact.  Which he found disappointed him greatly.

“I was just teasing you,” he admitted good-naturedly.  “I have lived there all my life.  I haven’t gotten lost since I was a tiny lad.  Don’t worry.  I shall accompany you everywhere.  You won’t have the chance to become lost.”

She bobbed her head as she studied his property in awe.  “You own that entire house?”

“And several others.”

“What?” she gasped as her head swiveled towards him.  “What need have you of more than one house?”

“That is a very good question.  I haven’t.  Still,” he shrugged, “I own them.”

She simply shook her head at him.

“Would you care to see my honey room?” he queried suddenly.  A hopeful expression lighting up his handsome face.

She grinned at him.  “I would love to!  Especially if there are free samples.”

He snickered.  “I think, perhaps, that could be arranged.”

“Excellent,” she murmured.  “Most excellent.”

Though she doubted that his honey could be as sweet as he was.